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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 162: Kill Yourself
I dragged the unconscious man onto one of the transport carriages gathered at the edge of the city.
The driver's eyes widened slightly as he saw us, but he quickly composed himself, as if he were used to such sights.
"Where to, sir?"
"Downtown. I'll pay double the fare."
"Understood. Thank you."
There were two types of transport carriages: ground carriages and magic carriages that traversed the sky.
I purposely paid extra and chose a magic carriage.
Not long after the carriage departed, the unconscious man suddenly opened his eyes.
He checked that his hands and feet were tied, calmly looked around, and then stared intently at me.
He hadn't even let out a groan, despite the considerable pain from the puncture wound that had only been roughly treated to stop the bleeding.
"...Kill me now. I won't say a word no matter what you do."
When I didn't answer, a look of bewilderment filled the man's eyes.
After a while, as the cityscape came into view outside the window, I instructed the driver to slow down and carefully examined the area below.
After circling in the air for a while, I pointed to a spot.
"Stop there."
The place where I got off the carriage was a residential area in the northeast of the city center, a little distance from the heart of downtown.
I gagged the man in the alley and headed towards a deserted street, knocking on the door of a two-story house with a quiet garden.
I sensed someone looking out through the small hole in the door, and then Iron opened it.
"Commander? How did you know this place?"
"There are ways to know everything. I thought we needed some cover."
From the magic carriage, I had clearly seen the brutes meditating in the garden.
"Tell everyone to gather."
I passed through the garden and sat down at the round table in the center of the main hall.
I roughly sat the man next to me, and the brutes began to gather one by one. Perhaps because it was late at night, no one was missing.
I looked at Arin and Palge and said,
"You found a good house."
"We put some effort into it."
"It's quiet and nice."
Perhaps because it was a relatively run-down area in the residential district, there weren't many people coming and going. The building itself was old, but it was a good place for training.
"I also stopped by the Gold Exchange. It's a hassle to carry gold bars around, so I exchanged them for Gold Exchange notes."
"Excellent work, fatty."
Zion, who had been away for a while, came in with alcohol and snacks and sat down at the table. He opened a bottle, and a strong, unfamiliar scent wafted up.
"Hmm."
"Ah, it's not easy to get moonshine, Commander. Just drink this."
I poured myself a glass, took a sip, and immediately shook my head.
"It's no match for moonshine."
Suddenly, Zion slapped the man sitting next to me.
Smack—
"Why are you staring like that?"
"..."
Zion looked at me.
"Who's this?"
"The guy who tried to assassinate me."
"He's got guts. What does he do?"
"Leader of the Sahwa Party."
"Ah, so this is him?"
Zion slapped the man again. Arin asked me,
"Who's behind it?"
I untied the rope that was gagging the man and asked,
"Who's behind it?"
"Shut up. I won't say a word no matter what you do."
I looked around and said,
"The Blue Magic Tower is behind it. You all must have seen him. That patrol guy or whatever. His name is Vaph or something. He's the culprit."
The man's eyes widened.
Zion exclaimed,
"Wow, Commander, you really pick the best ones. How do you always manage to pick guys like this?"
I looked at the man.
"Go to the Alliance and turn yourself in, Sahwa Party Leader."
"Shut up! Don't humiliate me, just kill me now."
I looked around and said,
"See? This is the kind of guy he is."
Zion looked at me.
"Should we give it a try?"
"Sure."
The brutes quickly and efficiently moved as one, dragging the man away.
I went into an empty room in the corner and sat down with my eyes closed to meditate.
In my judgment, this man wasn't the tight-lipped type.
Sometimes there were those who wouldn't reveal the identity of their client or would keep their mouths shut out of loyalty, but this guy wasn't one of them. I could tell by his eyes.
A desperate look in his eyes.
That kind of look often came with a story.
Screams and the chanting of my subordinates could be heard from afar.
***
Early in the morning, I went out to the main hall and saw my subordinates gathered in a circle.
The man was sprawled on the floor, exhausted, but strangely, there were no external injuries.
"What happened?"
Palge looked at me with a proud face.
"Oh, Commander, you're here? I kept healing him."
"Don't tell me... You healed him every time he broke a bone, every time he fainted? So you could keep hitting him?"
"Exactly."
"That's even more terrifying."
Zion shook his head and looked at me.
"This guy is stubborn. He won't open his mouth. He hasn't said anything except that his name is Haengsu."
The man, who had finally managed to get up, smirked with his torn lips.
"Keuk, I told you. Just kill me."
I pulled the Red Dagger from my waist and tossed it to Haengsu.
"Kill yourself then."
"...What?"
"There's no special reason why I've kept you alive until now."
"..."
"You're just evidence to be used against Vaph. I only spared you because it would have been a pain to drag your corpse back from the city streets. I never intended to let someone who tried to assassinate me live. So kill yourself now."
Haengsu hesitated as he looked at the Red Dagger lying at his feet.
"Why? Can't bring yourself to do it now that you're actually about to die?"
At my taunt, Haengsu, with his lips tightly shut, picked up the Red Dagger.
"Good thinking. Hurry up and kill yourself. You have to pay for what you've done. How many people who entered the demon realm safely died because of you and your idiotic subordinates' blades? End your pathetic life as a third-rate gangster, now."
Perhaps it was because death was imminent.
Haengsu's expression suddenly changed, and he looked at me with a face full of resentment.
"...There weren't any."
"What?"
"I never intended to kill you. I've only killed one person in my entire life doing this. He deserved to die. Other than him, I just collected money. I needed the money. Don't talk like that when you don't know anything."
"Did Vaph make you do that too?"
I looked at Haengsu's silent expression and nodded.
"Now I see. You weren't hired for the job; you were a hunting dog. Were you being threatened? What is it? Your family?"
Haengsu brought the Red Dagger close to his neck, hesitated for a few moments as if contemplating stabbing himself, and then sighed.
"Sigh."
Looking at Haengsu's complicated expression, I confirmed that my deduction was correct.
This man's will was too strong for a typical third-rate gangster who was only after money.
"You idiot. Do you think your weakness will disappear if you die?"
Haengsu spat blood-tinged saliva from between his torn lips.
"Damn it. What am I supposed to do?"
Looking at him, I thought of the rigged gambling.
Gambling that started with a simple debt. But by the time one realized they had been scammed, they were already trapped in a pit of despair, unable to escape.
"This is the path you chose. Whatever the reason, you lived like a parasite. I don't think you'll ever reform. Even if it wasn't me, you were destined to live like a pathetic hunting dog and eventually die at someone's hands. Your subordinates are all dead too."
"..."
"Whatever it is, you're going to die anyway. If you're going to die, I recommend turning yourself in and then dying."
"Nothing will change even if I turn myself in. You don't know him."
I laughed and shook my head.
"It doesn't matter if you pretend to turn yourself in and side with Vaph, kill yourself, or actually turn yourself in. You're going to die anyway. But there is one thing that will change."
"What will change?"
"At least someone will know that the Sahwa Party Leader wasn't a scumbag until the very end."
I picked up the Red Dagger and went outside.
"The deadline is today."
My subordinates followed me out and asked,
"Where are you going, Commander?"
"To the Alliance."
Zion said,
"We don't have any evidence, do we? I don't think he'll turn himself in."
"It doesn't matter."
"Then are you just going to cause trouble?"
"What trouble? I have a plan. Just do what I told you to do."
The plan was me.
***
As soon as I arrived at the Alliance headquarters, I went to the Inspectorate.
I entered the Inspectorate headquarters through the magic circle on the second floor, and five offices appeared.
As I entered the 5th office, which was in charge of external affairs, a man approached.
"What brings you here?"
"I've come to expose the corruption of the patrol unit."
"Please identify yourself."
"Crazy Mage Commander of Samael, Ruin Samael."
"Please wait a moment."
The man disappeared, and a moment later, a mage wearing an inspector's badge appeared.
"You said you have corruption to expose? What are the details?"
"Assassination."
In an instant, the mages of the Inspectorate, who were attending to their duties nearby, all looked at me at once.
"Did you just say assassination?"
"That's right. A deputy commander of the Alliance patrol unit tried to have me assassinated. His name is Vaph."
"Vaph?"
As soon as the name "Vaph" was mentioned, I felt someone staring at me from the head seat.
He immediately approached, dismissed the person in charge, and looked directly at me.
Looking closely at his clothes, I saw that he belonged to the same Blue Magic Tower as Vaph.
"Are you referring to Deputy Commander Vaph of the patrol unit?"
"Are you the Inspector General?"
"I'm the 5th Deputy Commander of the Inspectorate. External affairs are under my jurisdiction. Explain in detail."
"There's nothing much to explain. Vaph ordered the Sahwa Party to assassinate me. The location was the Level 3 demon realm."
The 5th Deputy Commander stared intently at me and suddenly asked,
"Do you have any evidence?"
I took out the entry permit with the Blue Magic Tower's seal from my pocket.
"Isn't this a recommendation permit?"
"Vaph gave it to the Sahwa Party Leader. You'll see if you check."
The 5th Deputy Commander looked at the recommendation permit for a moment, let out a hollow laugh, and shook his head.
"This is not evidence."
"You're saying it's not evidence even though the circumstances are clear?"
"Even if it's true that the entry permit was issued, it can't be linked to assassination. Surely this isn't all the evidence you have?"
"This is all."
"Tsk."
The 5th Deputy Commander dismissed me.
"Go back."
"Don't you think you're judging too quickly?"
"That's enough. If you continue to make baseless claims privately, I'll charge you with contempt of the Alliance."
At that moment, there was a slight commotion outside, and Haengsu appeared with his lips stretched wide.
Haengsu sat down heavily next to me and looked at the 5th Deputy Commander.
"Keuk, I've come to confess. I am Haengsu, the leader of the Sahwa Party. Vaph ordered this man's assassination. I can prove it."
Instantly, everyone's attention was focused on us.
"You can prove it?"
"Of course."
Haengsu held out a few sheets of paper he had written himself.
"Target of assassination, time, place, requirements, meeting place. I can prove everything. If you compare the dates written here with Deputy Commander Vaph's leave records, they'll match."
The 5th Deputy Commander quickly snatched the papers, his eyes narrowing.
"One moment, please. I'll need to verify this."
The 5th Deputy Commander disappeared, and Haengsu and I sat facing each other in the waiting room.
"This is unexpected. You made your decision quickly."
Haengsu smirked and let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"I never thought you had the courage to reform."
"...Before I die, do me one favor."
"You're crossing the line."
"I'm not asking you to save me."
"What is it?"
"I'll tell you after this is over."
There was no further conversation.
I kept looking outside the waiting room, but the 5th Deputy Commander was nowhere to be seen for a long time.
Usually, when something like this happened, it took time to process. The standard procedure was to send the person back and then call them in separately once the matter was confirmed.
There was no reason to keep us stuck in the waiting room like this.
I went out into the hallway and wandered around, and I happened to catch the 5th Deputy Commander and Vaph talking in another office.
My funny feeling was never wrong.
I returned to the waiting room and sat down for a while, and then a man came out of the office and called us.
"Crazy Mage Commander, please come into the office."
The scene that greeted me as I entered the office was quite amusing.
Vaph was leaning back in the head seat where the 5th Deputy Commander should have been, staring at us.
He gave Haengsu and me a dumbfounded look and then stretched his lips into a wide grin.
The 5th Deputy Commander, on the other side, gestured to us.
"Come this way."
"The Inspectorate works fast. Are the results already out?"
The 5th Deputy Commander shook his head.
"This is not a matter for the Alliance to intervene in."
"What?"
Haengsu glared at the 5th Deputy Commander.
"Not a matter to intervene in? You can easily verify it if you just investigate. Did you even look at the documents I gave you?"
The 5th Deputy Commander shook his head again.
"I said it's not a matter for the Alliance to intervene in. It wasn't something that happened in the course of the patrol unit's official duties. Regardless of whether it's true or not, this is a personal matter. There's no reason for the Inspectorate to get involved."
At the 5th Deputy Commander's firm answer, Haengsu let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"...Damn it. I knew this would happen. Are you from the Blue Magic Tower too?"
The 5th Deputy Commander's expression hardened, and a strong energy emanated from him.
"How dare you insult the Alliance? If you want to argue, go to the Blue Magic Tower and argue. Who are you shouting at?"
I stopped Haengsu as he was about to jump up from his seat.
"So, you're saying this is a personal matter, 5th Deputy Commander?"
"Of course. It has nothing to do with the Alliance."
"That's good."
Vaph was looking at us with a smile.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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