Chapter 23
The Fake and the Real (2)
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Gideon, who had been standing blankly, blinked and looked around.
“Did anyone hear what this bastard just said?”
As soon as Gideon finished speaking, Kairus immediately replied.
“The Representative of the Rose Garden seems to be quite an admirable person. Now, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do.”
Saying that, Kairus slowly retrieved the sword that had been resting against Gideon’s waist.
“I’m going to stab you in the forehead with this knife right here, then head to the Rose Garden and report the fact. And then I’ll swear to work for the Rose Garden.”
Cecilia was someone who tried to put a price tag on everything. As compensation for breaking a cheap item, she would gladly accept a more expensive item for free.
There was no reason for her to refuse this proposal. A faint cold sweat slid down Gideon’s back.
“Seems you think a stray like you can actually do something to me.”
“I’m doing it right now. What, did you get glass eyes implanted?”
Gideon’s attack had been blocked. But Kairus’s strike had landed. Well, Gideon was so absurdly tough that it hadn’t caused any damage, but still…
The fact remained that Gideon’s attack hadn’t reached, while Kairus’s had.
Was there any clearer proof of the gap between their skills?
“...”
Gideon wasn’t unaware of that plain truth.
Compared to Sarah, who Kairus had fought before, this Gideon fellow was far inferior. Not all executives were made equal, after all.
But from Gideon’s position, having already revealed himself as an executive of the Rose Garden, he couldn’t just tuck his tail between his legs here.
While Gideon hesitated, Kairus soon gave a bright smile and sheathed his sword.
“Next time, please don’t play pranks like this. When someone like me, with no one backing him, gets threatened like that, my knees really do start to buckle.”
The way he addressed Gideon had switched back to polite speech again. Since Gideon wouldn’t be able to back down because of his pride, Kairus was giving him a chance to save face.
Even if he could survive, that wasn’t all he wanted.
If he ended up becoming a member of the Rose Garden, he wouldn’t die. But reviving the House Featherwing and taking his revenge would become almost impossible.
Belonging to an organization meant that its goals had to take precedence over one’s personal ambitions and dreams.
“Ha… hahahaha! To be so startled by a mere prank clearly, you still have a long way to go!”
Realizing Kairus’s intention, Gideon immediately withdrew his hostility and patted him on the shoulder.
The sane ones pretending to be mad were, in the end, the ones you could actually talk to. Kairus’s gaze briefly drifted toward Tanya Lysand.
At the very least, you had to be like her to be truly called mad.
“I’ve had quite a variety of experiences, you see. I’ve met a lot of crazy people especially those who were dangerous in a very particular way.”
Bennett City was full of criminals and plagued by insecurity. Kairus had learned that firsthand.
But the proportion of lunatics who were dangerous in that way?
That figure alone…
Even Bennett City couldn’t compare to the Carlson Labor Correctional Facility.
Kairus had spent six years in the labor correctional facility and had seen countless lunatics.
“So?”
In response to Gideon’s question, Kairus spoke in a low voice.
“Thanks to that, I’ve developed a knack for instantly estimating whether the person in front of me is the real deal or just a fake lunatic.”
Kairus took another step closer to Gideon, looked him straight in the eyes, and spoke in a voice only Gideon could hear.
“The Representative of the Rose Garden and that young lady praying over there, Tanya Lysand they’re the genuine article.”
But this guy wearing a gaudy suit and spinning a fidget spinner? He was a fake. Kairus was certain of it.
“Sir Gideon, you don’t want to die, and when you face someone stronger than you, you feel fear. You care about money and beautiful women, you probably want to eat good food and live somewhere comfortable.”
He was an utterly ordinary person, moved by ordinary desires that most people could agree with.
“Then I’m curious what you are.”
To Gideon’s question, Kairus scratched the back of his head with a smile.
“They say a priest can’t bless himself.”
It was impossible to judge on one’s own whether one had gone mad. That was precisely why people called it madness because you didn’t know you were mad yourself.
“It was a bit of a messy occasion, but it’s an honor to meet you like this. I never imagined that an executive of the Rose Garden would personally come to guarantee a little gathering’s contract.”
Of course, Gideon hadn’t come to this place to guarantee any of the contracts between the criminals here, Kairus included.
He had just heard that there was some impudent bastard who had somehow managed to catch the eye of Cecilia Longhorn, whom he respected and adored more than anyone, and he’d dropped by intending to rough him up a bit.
Even though he had worked faithfully for years after joining the Rose Garden, she had never shown him any particular interest!
“Ahem, right. One must still do one’s duty.”
Just as he was wondering what excuse he should make for barging in unannounced, Kairus helpfully tossed him a suitable pretext.
Gideon had no choice but to accept what Kairus had handed him.
“Thank you.”
In truth, everyone in this room knew exactly how the situation stood right now.
Unless you were some idiot with an arrow lodged in your skull, there was no way not to notice. In Bennett City, the clueless ones didn’t live long.
‘An executive of the Rose Garden backed down before Kairus.’
‘He may only be a team leader and not a high-ranking executive, but he’s still a Rose Garden executive, and he lost his nerve to some nobody off the street.’
This was something everyone here knew.
At the same time, if you wanted to be called quick-witted, you had to know when and where to talk about what you’d noticed.
‘If I say something like “Did you get scared?” to Gideon here, I’ll be dead in an instant.’
‘Gideon was scared of Kairus, not of me.’
Gideon reviewed the contract everyone had agreed to. There was no way someone who had worked so long in the Rose Garden wouldn’t know the procedure for certifying a contract.
Even if this sort of work wasn’t his responsibility anymore, he still had years of experience behind him.
“This is it. The contract you’ve all made is guaranteed by the Rose Garden.”
The lively, high-pitched voice that had made such an impression when he first appeared was now completely back to normal. The only thing still carrying the bizarre atmosphere from moments ago was that gaudy, colorful suit.
That must have been Gideon’s usual demeanor.
“You’ve worked hard. If it were up to me, I’d like to buy you a meal as thanks for your consideration… but I can’t very well keep an executive of the Rose Garden here any longer, can I?”
To put it simply, he meant he had no further business with Gideon and was telling him to get lost now.
Gideon understood perfectly well, but that didn’t mean he could do anything about it right away. In the end, he left without further comment.
“Well, it looks like we’ve accomplished everything we gathered here to do today.”
The people here weren’t so close that they’d have a drink together out of camaraderie.
Everyone could simply go their own way. Kairus slowly walked out of the room. Erickson watched his back.
The person who had suffered the greatest loss here was Erickson. He had lost his lover so suddenly.
‘That bastard can’t do anything to hurt me.’
If the lover Erickson had lost had been everything to him or if she had been the most precious thing he had Kairus wouldn’t have reached this conclusion.
But that wasn’t the case. Erickson had many other precious things.
For example, his own life.
Or the large sum of money he would get once this job was finished.
And all the countless pleasures, luxuries, and comforts he could buy with that money.
‘From the moment he saw how much he’d earn from this job, he barely even looked at his dead lover’s corpse.’
He kept bringing up his dead lover with his mouth, but in truth, it was nothing more than an act to protect his reputation.
When your lover dies and you start drooling over money the moment it’s mentioned, it’s obvious how everyone else is going to judge you.
As Kairus strolled through the night streets of Upside, he concluded that Erickson wouldn’t be a threat. Of course, just in case, he planned to maintain at least a minimum level of caution.
But the chances of that caution ever facing a real danger were slim.
“I’d better get ready right away.”
If what they discussed at the meeting was true, Kairus needed to move quickly. After all, a train was a means of transportation that passed a set place at a set time.
If he wasn’t careful, he’d end up in the ridiculous situation of having to chase down a moving train.
When he returned to Spring Parsley’s hideout, he saw Spring Parsley stirring hot chocolate in a pink teacup.
“You know, you could use a cup that suits you a little better.”
“This is an expensive cup. A master artisan painted it by hand.”
The price wasn’t the point what mattered was whether it suited the person. Kairus thought that to himself and let out a small groan.
“You’ll have to leave right away. Your first destination is Saint Deville Station.”
Catching the bundle that was tossed to him, Kairus gave a faint smile.
“Saint Deville, huh. They have the most incredible linden honey.”
When he was a child and didn’t want to take bitter medicine, his mother would mix it with honey.
Even after he was able to swallow the medicine without complaint, he would pretend he couldn’t just so he could have that honey again.
He later learned that honey was a specialty of Saint Deville.
“Another old story? They redeveloped that area, you know. Now it’s an industrial complex built by the Imperial Textile Corporation.”
According to Spring Parsley, they’d torn everything down and put up textile mills and dye works.
The smile vanished from Kairus’s face.
“That’s… really sad.”
One of the few things that let him slip back into childhood memories was now gone.
“What can you do? Everything in the Valorn Empire belongs to His Majesty the Emperor.”
At Spring Parsley’s words, Kairus nodded.
Those who farmed the land or ran factories were merely “borrowing” it with the Emperor’s gracious permission.
Naturally, if the Emperor commanded them to clear out, they had no choice but to obey. There was no such thing as compensation money.
“When I hear things like that, it makes the Aylan Republic sound like a better place to live.”
At Kairus’s comment, Spring Parsley snorted.
“A country where a six-year-old can work fifteen hours a day for ten drem, and the moment they nod off and hurt their hand, they’re fired on the spot?”
In the Aylan Republic, everyone was a free citizen who judged and acted for themselves. Everyone had the right to choose whatever they wanted, and bearing the consequences was each individual’s sole responsibility.
So if someone chose to work fifteen hours a day for ten drem, they alone bore all the responsibility for that choice.
It was very different from the Valorn Empire, where everyone was a loyal subject of His Majesty the Merciful Emperor, and minimal working conditions were guaranteed.
After parting ways with Spring Parsley, Kairus packed a few things. Before leaving Bennett City, he stopped by Longwave Bistro to have a brief word with the owner, Jonathan.
Since he was an employee setting off on a long journey, he felt it was only right to meet and speak with Jonathan first.
After chatting about this and that, Kairus checked the clock and rose from his seat.
“Anyway, it’s a shame I won’t be able to get any more of Saint Deville’s specialties. Let’s see… looks like it’s time, so I’ll be on my way.”
“Go on, then.”
With Jonathan’s indifferent reply, Kairus left the bistro.