Chapter 19
You Can’t Rob a Bank Alone
* * *
Pruno. It was the moonshine brewed by the prisoners locked up in the labor correctional facility.
It was made by mixing all sorts of leftovers from vegetables or fruit scraps that came out with meals with moldy bread.
“What, you’re the guy who went to get bread? Even so, how can you compare it to that dogshit booze? This one’s made with proper yeast.”
Indeed, though the smell was similar, there was clearly a slight difference. Kairus still frowned as he replied.
“Except for the yeast, the rest of the ingredients look exactly the same to me.”
That was why the miraculous price of one pint or five drem for two bottles was possible.
At Kairus’s words, the old woman trying to sell the liquor pouted her lips.
“You yap on so damn much. Are you buying or not?”
“I’ll take one bottle.”
It hadn’t been that long ago, but just smelling that nauseating odor made the sordid memories of Carlson Labor Correctional Facility pass through Kairus’s mind once again.
“Even if you buy only one bottle, the price is the same as buying two.”
Kairus nodded and handed over one pint.
“Be careful when you open it. If you mess up and break the bottle, no refunds.”
“I’ve drunk this trash plenty of times.”
Saying that, Kairus deftly uncorked the bottle and took a sip.
When people drank pruno, what they worried about wasn’t the taste, but their health.
Fruit that had completely gone bad, leftover vegetable scraps, and finally, moldy bread…
Will I be all right after drinking this? That primal fear naturally brushed through his mind.
Strictly speaking, the moonshine Kairus had just bought wasn’t real “pruno,” but except that the moldy bread was replaced by yeast, every single ingredient was exactly the same as pruno.
“Still, well.”
Kairus didn’t need to worry about stomach trouble.
Not only pruno, but none of the countless delicacies he had eaten in Carlson Labor Correctional Facility had ever succeeded in harming his health.
Thanks to the procedure he had received the moment he was born into the House Featherwing, Kairus possessed an additional, special digestive organ.
Sarang, the Death Sac. Its name came from the digestive organ found in birds.
Anything Kairus ingested arrived first in the sarang before reaching his stomach.
Over time, all sorts of poisons, harmful bacteria, and parasites would be removed there.
The filtered toxic substances would be enveloped by a secretion from the sarang and stored, then later regurgitated when convenient.
Because of the sarang, members of the House Featherwing never died of poisoning and rarely starved to death.
‘In emergencies, it’s fine to chew up cloth, paper, or leather belts too.’
The sarang also served the role of breaking down things like cotton, silk, linen, or paper into nutrients that could be absorbed by a human body, then sending them into the stomach.
Shoes or leather clothing could be chewed up and swallowed on the spot without any additional preparation. All the chemicals used in processing the leather would be filtered out by the sarang, leaving only the nutrients extracted from the hide.
He had received a great deal of help from it back in Carlson Labor Correctional Facility.
When he was locked in solitary confinement, he had picked writhing maggots out of the filth in the toilet and eaten them, or torn apart the carcass of a dead rat to eat raw, but he hadn’t died, and it was all thanks to this organ.
“This should be the place.”
While sipping the foul, viscous liquid in the bottle, Kairus surveyed the collapsing buildings around him and stopped in front of a creaking, moldy door.
“What an awful taste you’ve got.”
A grotesque bronze ornament in the shape of a face with snakes growing instead of hair served as the doorknob. A tongue hung limp from its wide-open mouth, with the ring attached at the tip.
Kairus slid a card into the slot below.
…
After waiting about ten seconds, a voice came from beyond the door.
“Ah, you’re here? Just hold on a second.”
Then the sound of something rattling echoed through the door. It seemed the locks were being undone. Kairus crossed his arms and waited patiently.
“Damn it. This thing always sticks like hell. No matter how much rust I scrape off, it comes back after a few days.”
A creaking sound followed. It was partly the noise of the rusted, warped iron bars and screws behind the door, but also the sound of Kairus’s patience creaking.
“Let me in already.”
“Huh? What are you talking about? I’m almost…”
Kairus, who had been waiting patiently, finally reached out and gripped the door itself. With a crunching sound, the whole door shuddered.
As he kept applying force, a tremendous crash rang out and the door’s hinges tore free.
“Hey, do you have any idea how much I spent on this security?”
Spring Parsley was wearing a mask that didn’t suit her at all. It was her attempt to conceal her identity in her own way. Kairus looked at her and let out a short laugh as he replied.
“I don’t know how much you spent, but judging by the fact it couldn’t even stop me, it was definitely a waste of money.”
At Kairus’s words, Spring Parsley couldn’t find anything to say. It was true, after all. Of course, Kairus wasn’t an ordinary man, but the darkness of Bennett City was deep and dank.
Even at this moment, there were others lurking about with skills surpassing Kairus’s, and formidable criminals who had committed grave offenses kept slipping into Bennett City to hide themselves.
Security that couldn’t even stop Kairus truly deserved to be called a waste of money.
“See? Wasn’t I right? Let’s go in now. We have a lot to discuss.”
At this moment, Kairus was displaying an unusually proactive attitude. Ever since he had drifted into Bennett City, it was the first time he’d gotten his hands on a substantial sum of money.
Of course, the money mattered, but more importantly, it meant that after several years, he could finally pursue a goal he had chosen for himself. It was the starting point of racing toward a purpose he’d set as a free man.
There was no way he wasn’t happy.
“All right, come in for now.”
Kairus went into the building with Spring Parsley. And in that instant, the excitement he’d been feeling turned in a flash into sheer bewilderment.
“What is all this.”
At his words, Spring Parsley replied.
“What do you mean, this is my room. Why?”
The first thing to catch his eye was a giant canopy bed fluttering in a pastel pink tone, covered in layers of lace. The very thing people commonly called a princess bed.
On top of that, a sweet scent like cotton candy tickled Kairus’s nose. The ceiling was adorned with a colorful mobile.
It was an utterly dizzying sight. Was this truly the living space of a middle-aged man with a belly sticking out?
“I didn’t know you had a daughter. Raising a child in a city like this can’t be easy.”
At Kairus’s comment, Spring Parsley made a noise.
“A daughter? Nonsense. I’m single.”
“Mm, I see. And I think I understand why.”
He had wondered if perhaps there was a daughter involved, but when Spring Parsley answered that he was single, Kairus immediately accepted that explanation as well.
It would certainly take remarkable courage to marry a middle-aged man who decorated his own room this way.
“So this is where you’re planning to rob the Valorn Empire’s tax transport convoy.”
At Kairus’s remark, Spring Parsley stuck up a thumb and answered.
“That’s right. This is the very place where that historic plan will be devised, and it’s my proud hideout.”
It seemed Spring Parsley was confusing the word proud with shameful.
He clearly didn’t care at all that his taste in aesthetics was quite… unique.
A huge map was laid out on a cute desk, painted in a delicate blend of beige and sky blue. Kairus decided he wouldn’t pay attention to the rest of the trinkets anymore.
If he kept questioning everything, his head would only start to ache.
“Sit down. This will take a while.”
At Spring Parsley’s invitation, Kairus sat on a chair distinguished by its bear-shaped cushion.
Clearing his throat briefly, Spring Parsley took a sip of water. Watching him, Kairus finally couldn’t hold back his curiosity and spoke.
“Why in the world are you using a baby bottle as a glass?”
“It keeps me from choking when I swallow. Besides, the design’s nice.”
“Choking, my ass. What a load of crap.”
“What did you say, punk?”
At Kairus’s words, Spring Parsley’s face immediately hardened.
“Hasn’t anyone ever said that to you?”
Spring Parsley looked Kairus up and down for a moment, then answered.
“…Architects don’t usually bring people into their workrooms. Since you already know my face, it doesn’t matter anymore. Most architects don’t live long once their faces get exposed.”
“That so. Makes sense.”
At Kairus’s remark, Spring Parsley replied coolly.
“There are guys who don’t like the idea of splitting the payout with someone who just draws up plans behind the scenes… and when you put together a scheme, you have to pick contractors, but the ones who get dropped or never contacted often hold grudges.”
It was similar to the conflict between office workers and field workers at a construction site.
And in Bennett City, if you weren’t skilled at fighting but still managed to create friction with others, the outcome was usually horrific.
“There’s no such thing as a good death in this world, but there sure are worse ones.”
And once an architect’s identity was discovered, they tended to meet deaths that were considered among the most unpleasant a person could suffer.
“So it’s fair to say I’m holding your life in my hands right now?”
As soon as Kairus spoke, Spring Parsley reacted.
“That’s right. But if you ever decide to expose me…”
“You wouldn’t just sit still in the Rose Garden, I’m sure. Not that I have any intention of outing you, so don’t worry.”
Kairus clapped his hands once and spoke to Spring Parsley.
“Rather than this petty talk, the plan.”
At Kairus’s words, Spring Parsley let out a little sound and pulled out a notebook. The taxes were transported by steam locomotive.
“The cargo car holding the taxes boasts a safe half a span thick, made with the Alans Signature Mark III.”
The cargo car itself used ordinary locks, but the safe containing the tax money appeared to be a custom-made piece.
Kairus let out a low whistle.
“They already rolled out the Alans Signature Mark III? Time flies.”
When Kairus had entered the labor correctional facility, the Alans Signature Mark II was still under development.
Feeling the passage of six years in a place like this struck Kairus as rather strange.
Spring Parsley let out an intrigued sound.
“You sure know a lot. Makes me curious about where you came from.”
“You don’t need to know. Just tell me how you plan to crack the safe. I’m curious.”
At Kairus’s words, Spring Parsley answered without hesitation.
“I’m planning to bring in something good from the Daeyeon Kingdom.”
“That country across from the Antaria Grand Canal, right?”
The northern entrance of the Antaria Grand Canal was located in Bennett City, where the Valorn Empire and the Aylan Republic shared a border. The opposite entrance lay to the southwest, in the territory of a nation called the Daeyeon Kingdom.
“That’s right. Those rice-steaming bastards introduced me to something pretty nice this time. They sent over a little sample, and let me tell you, it’s absolutely incredible.”
As Spring Parsley spoke, he made a pshshshshsh sound with his mouth and stuck up his thumb.
“When you light it, it makes this noise and burns so fiercely that the metal plate underneath melts away in an instant and leaves a clean hole.”
It looked like he planned to use that to melt the safe door holding the tax money, like a snowman hit by spring wind.
“Wouldn’t that risk damaging the contents inside the safe if something goes wrong?”
At Kairus’s question, Spring Parsley immediately replied.
“That’s why you have to measure out the exact quantity. Even the slightest mistake would be a disaster.”
“You’re not seriously expecting us to figure out the exact quantity ourselves, are you?”
At Kairus’s remark, Spring Parsley flinched and protested.
“Do I look insane? I’ll pack the main batch and the backup separately and hand them over to you. I’ll also send someone who’s good at handling it.”
In that case, Kairus had no complaints.
While they were talking, Spring Parsley glanced at the pale yellow cuckoo clock on the wall, decorated with little hearts, and spoke.
“All right, it’s time to go meet the other contractors we’ll be working with.”
“What, are we going together or something?”
At Kairus’s question, Spring Parsley shook his head. Architects had to keep their identities hidden while they operated.
If they ever carelessly exposed themselves, they usually ended up with their lives in danger.
“Then what are we supposed to talk about with them on our own?”
Spring Parsley was the one who had prepared the plan. If he didn’t come, it was like having guests at a wedding but no bride or groom.
“I’ll do it by telephone.”
Kairus stared at him in disbelief.
“How the hell are you planning to use a phone line here? This isn’t some city hall. It should be prohibited.”
Phone lines were precious. They weren’t equipment you could just install and use however you liked.
Hearing that, Spring Parsley gave Kairus a look as if he were the one being ridiculous.
“What era do you think you’re living in? If you have money, you can get a line put in. You just have to wait about two years for your turn.”
It seemed the regulations about telephone lines had changed while Kairus was stuck in the labor correctional facility.