Chapter 38
Repaying the Favor (2)
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At Kairus’s words, the man scratched his temple hard with his hook while pondering for a moment, then finally let out an “Aha.”
“You’re talking about that funny woman, aren’t you?”
The man glanced up and down at me and grinned.
“Well, she’s pretty enough, so I get that you’re trying to act cute to hit on her… but let me give you a piece of advice.”
For some reason, I had a feeling I already knew what advice he was about to give.
“She’s a little crazy, you know.”
At my remark, the boss, who had been scratching his head with the hook, let out a sharp laugh.
“Seeing you follow her around even though you know that… You must be really smitten.”
Hearing that resolute conclusion, I sneered.
“Is your brain filled with nothing but thoughts of men and women?”
Doctor and patient, investor and entrepreneur, employer and employee.
There were countless types of relationships that could form between people. And just as many reasons for them to accompany or oppose each other.
The reason I wanted to protect Tanya Lysand’s emergency room was because Tanya Lysand was a skilled doctor, and I had benefited from that skill.
But judging by the look of this idiot who called himself the boss of the bakery association, his feeble brain couldn’t comprehend that.
I put on an expression of pity.
“They say it’s a sad beast when its head is too stupid. It’s pathetic just watching you.”
I didn’t care what he chose to misunderstand. What mattered was making sure these thugs stopped bothering the emergency room Tanya was running.
“When I asked, she seemed willing to pay the protection fee.”
At my words, the boss let out a puzzled sound.
“Then what’s the problem? If she pays, we don’t have any complaints.”
“Stay out of the affairs of the patients she treats.”
When he heard that, the boss let out an “Aha!” and slammed the table with his hook.
“That’s going to be hard.”
Just a moment ago, the mood had softened a little as he offered me milk, but now it changed once again.
I slowly swirled the milk cup in my hand as I spoke.
“Don’t tell me you thought what I just said was a request.”
A request entered negotiation if the other side refused. But if it was a notification, refusal only led to forcible enforcement.
It was much like the difference between questioning a witness and interrogating a suspect.
“And just what kind of bastard are you to be swaggering around in someone else’s den like this?”
I let out an “Ah,” scratching the back of my head. Come to think of it, I hadn’t even introduced myself yet.
There was no reason for me to bother hiding my identity just to take down a tiny gang like this.
“Kairus.”
I gave my name without hesitation.
“Wait.”
The gangster boss, who had been pondering something for an instant, suddenly stiffened.
It was a name I had heard before. Recently, it was quite a talked-about name for being the one who single-handedly took down five knights, including a decorated knight.
“You’re saying you’re Kairus?”
“…That’s right.”
When the other man suddenly tensed up after hearing my name, I couldn’t help but tense up as well.
From my perspective, I didn’t realize I had become somewhat famous. I had suspected it, but this was the first time I was actually confirming it.
“No way.”
The gangster boss must have been nervous and startled to learn that the “monster who took down five knights in an instant” was sitting right in front of him.
But I worried that the bastard sitting across from me might actually be shocked because he recognized me as the last survivor of the House Featherwing.
“You’re the one who robbed the Imperial tax convoy?”
When the word “Imperial” came out of his mouth, I almost killed the man right then and there.
But hearing what he said next, I let out a small sigh inwardly.
“That’s not really something worth being so surprised about.”
Faces of various people flashed across my mind. Someone like Sarah, the woman I fought when I got the stained glass from Cecilia, could have done it without much difficulty.
Even that idiot, Gideon or whatever his name was, who had been the team leader of the Rose Garden, could probably handle two or three knights on his own.
“You’re being modest. Among those not belonging to any organization, you’re considered one of the top talents.”
Now that he realized who he was dealing with, the boss immediately changed his attitude.
“You’ll live long.”
Switching one’s demeanor the instant he learned the other’s identity wasn’t an easy feat.
“Thank you.”
He hadn’t become a boss for nothing. You couldn’t rise to the position by simply swinging your fists around like a brute.
The moment he provoked me here, all the effort he’d put into building this organization would be smashed to bits like sesame seeds in a mortar.
He didn’t want that to happen.
“Judging by your attitude, it seems you’ll cooperate with what I asked regarding the emergency room. Isn’t that right?”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
It didn’t matter whether the rumor about me swallowing five knights alive was true or not.
It wasn’t entirely baseless, either. Now that I thought about it, since stepping into this building, I had already disabled three of his men in an instant.
I did at least have the skill for rumors to spread.
“Since you’ll cooperate, I have nothing more to say. Good luck with your business.”
Having achieved my goal, I emptied the milk that remained in my glass, rose from my seat, and left the building.
I hadn’t come away empty-handed, at least.
“To think I’d become famous just for pulling off something like that.”
I wore a somewhat bitter expression. Fame was none of my concern.
There was simply no way to feel pleased. After all, if Tanya Lysand hadn’t brought me into the emergency room and treated me, I would have been in quite a dangerous state.
“A typical fool with a loud name and no real skill.”
It was the thing I needed to be most wary of. When someone became famous without the skill to match, they eventually fell into the delusion that they truly possessed the ability their reputation claimed.
They would keep making reckless choices, and those choices would pile up until they finally paved the way to their death.
“I’ve finished what I promised to do.”
Having wrapped up the task, I found a new place to stay instead of the inn that had been wrecked, then lay down on the bed and sank into thought.
I needed various ways to become stronger.
“The Cloud Seizing Art manual will take some time.”
It wasn’t a method that could make me stronger immediately. Spring Parsley still had to finish the blueprint, and I needed to break into the Treasury Chief’s mansion and secure what I needed before I could even learn where the manual was.
In other words, even after successfully raiding the Treasury Chief’s mansion, I would have to invest additional time to track it down. It wasn’t a path to instant strength.
“The output of the battle gear… without something clever, it’ll be hard to get anything better than the stained glass.”
The stained glass I’d received from Cecilia was an excellent piece of battle gear. Unless luck and coincidence overlapped again, it would be difficult to find something superior.
“Training the Swift Blade further…”
That was something I still needed to do. Though I had completed the Swift Blade, completion and perfection were two different things.
It was the same as how a blacksmith who gained the skills to finish a sword would be called a master swordsmith, yet even among master swordsmiths, their abilities were not all identical.
If I put in the effort, there was room for improvement. But it would require sufficient time and a great deal of experience, so this too was not a way to grow stronger right now.
“Add-ons.”
I ended up letting out a small sigh. I needed add-ons.
These were pieces of equipment with various effects that could be used effectively in combat.
There was one reason I called them add-ons and distinguished them from battle gear.
Add-ons couldn’t produce output on their own. They relied on the output of the battle gear in one’s possession to function.
If the battle gear was the horse, then the add-ons were the chariot that the horse pulled.
“With something on the level of the stained glass, I should be able to handle up to three add-ons without trouble.”
It would be idiotic to carry around a pile of add-ons if the battle gear itself was weak.
It was the same as harnessing a frail horse to a heavy, sturdy chariot and expecting it to perform well.
“I have the money, and I have the eye for quality.”
There was no way someone from the House Featherwing wouldn’t know how to judge the worth of battle gear and add-ons.
And since I had plenty of money from robbing the Imperial tax convoy, I could use it to get some decent add-ons.
“…But where do I buy them?”
I stood up and blanked out for a moment.
After thinking it over, I clicked my tongue quietly.
“In the end, I’ll have to pay a visit to the Areumdri Pawnshop.”
If it was the Areumdri Pawnshop branch in Upside, I would be able to find some decent goods.
It would feel strange to just walk in and immediately declare that I was looking for the legacy of the House Featherwing, so doing a bit of small trade to build familiarity wasn’t a bad idea.
I had already heard from Jonathan about where the Areumdri Pawnshop in Upside was located.
“And first, I should collect my share that I was supposed to get from Spring Parsley.”
Useful add-ons always carried a price worthy of their performance. It was about time I set aside what I was owed.
Seeing that Tanya Lysand had set up an emergency room, she must have already received her share. I promptly contacted Spring Parsley to confirm the bank account and the passcode.
A few days later, after checking the money that had accumulated in the account, I headed straight for Upside.
“It’s pretty empty during the day.”
As a place filled with expensive brothels, gambling halls, and every kind of pleasure house, it was as lavish as a palace at night but as silent as a grave during the day.
Almost no shops seemed to be open.
“It’s enough to make you dizzy.”
The most striking thing was the countless bed sheets and towels hanging out the windows, fluttering in the wind.
They were proof of just how many customers had burned through a night of pleasure here in Upside.
The sheets and towels soiled during the night would be washed and dried in the daylight hours, prepared again for the guests who would come when night returned.
That was why nothing described Upside’s daytime better than the sight of those countless sheets and towels waving in the wind—a time of preparation and rest.
Either way, I was the only person walking the paving stones of that silent street.
“At least the pawnshop’s open. I was worried it might only operate at night.”
Fortunately, the Areumdri Pawnshop branch was open during the day as well. It made sense, since pawnshops didn’t cater only to customers bringing their own goods.
The ones who picked clean the valuables of drunken fools in the night were practically the main patrons during the day.
“This is the Areumdri Pawnshop.”
When I opened the door and stepped inside, a small bell attached to the door gave a clear chime. A young man in a neat uniform bowed to me.
He seemed to be a clerk.
“Welcome, Mr. Kairus.”
The clerk saw my face and immediately greeted me with a gentle smile.
“So you know who I am.”
“You’ve become rather famous lately, haven’t you?”
With that simple answer, the clerk adjusted the glasses perched on his nose.
“May I ask what brings you in today?”
“I’d like to purchase a few add-ons. Do you have anything worthwhile?”
At my question, the clerk nodded.
“If you have the means to pay, we always have items ready.”
It was a line full of confidence, worthy of the reputation of the biggest fence in Bennett City.
Don’t worry about the merchandise—worry about whether you’ve brought enough money.
“I’m looking forward to this.”
Strangely enough, when someone spoke that confidently, it actually put me at ease as the buyer.
“In that case, I’ll show you a few things. Please follow me and have a seat while I prepare.”
The clerk led me to the inner part of the shop. It was an area lined with several small private rooms.
When I stepped inside the room he guided me to, I saw some simple snacks and drinks laid out. There was also a plush-looking red sofa and a rosewood table.
“Please wait here a moment, and I’ll bring in some suitable items.”
The fact that the Areumdri Pawnshop knew who I was meant they were also aware of what I’d been up to recently.
They knew my wallet was full, so it was only natural they were treating me this way.