Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Loyar let out a short sigh as she looked at the man who introduced himself as Argent, the vice leader of the Chilseong Pa’s action team.

“The Seven Stars, based in the Aligar district, right? Yeah, I’ve heard of you guys.”

The Rotary Club was a group that operated with the sole purpose of gathering information. Because of that, it seemed they were already familiar with the Seven Stars organization.

To put it into perspective, I had basically beaten up a member of the Chilseong Pa that was operating in the subway around Yongsan district.

“Great. Then you must be aware of what it means for one of your guys to assault one of our members, right?”

“Well, it just seems like an unfortunate incident to me. A member of the Seven Stars getting beaten up by a teenage kid says a lot about your organization.”

Loyar made that snarky comment without any particular intention of apologizing, souring the expressions of not just Argent, but the other gang members as well.

“Yeah, your guy was pathetically weak. He just collapsed with a single hit from me.”

Of course, I couldn’t hold back and had to join in. It would have been a disappointment not to throw in a comment of my own.

“Hah... You guys seem to have no clue about what’s going on. Do you really think that all the members of Seven Stars are that weak? We intended to come and talk things out nicely, but it seems that’s not going to wor—”

“It’s you who’s got no clue about the situation, you motherfucker.”

At my unexpected provocation, the eyes of the Seven Stars members went wide with shock, and so did Loyar’s.

“Wh-what did you say?” said the thug.

“Do you realize who you’re messing with? I’m a student at the Temple, a student of the Royal Class who’s receiving the full support of the empire; don’t tell me you spouted all that nonsense while knowing all of that.”

My sudden rant ended up leading me in an unexpected direction.

“The Temple?”

Although there were some that may not have known about the Royal Class, there was no one in this city who didn’t know of the Temple.

“Ah, right. You might not believe it. I get it, it’s hard to believe. But let me just say that I’m a superhuman, and that is why I am a student of the Royal Class.”

I crossed my arms and smiled at them.

“You know that if you mess with even a regular student from Temple, the security forces will step in, right? And I’m not just a regular student, I am among the Temple’s elite class.”

Students of the Temple were typically either from incredibly wealthy families or children of high-tier noble houses. As such, Temple students were not only guaranteed their status within the Temple, but also outside of it; their safety was one of the most important matters in the capital.

The last thing the empire wanted was to damage the Temple’s credibility and reputation because a Temple student was harmed or died.

And so, the safeguarding of the members of the Royal Class, who were nurtured with the empire’s full support, was unmatched.

Instead of backing down, I walked toward them and presented my cheek.

“Hey, here. Hit me.”

“What, what?”

“If you’re curious to see what the security forces will do to an organization like Seven Stars that dares to slap a student of the Royal Class, then try hitting me, you son of a bitch.”

I had no intention to fight. Rather, I was inclined to let them slap the other cheek as well.

As I approached them, the group, numbering more than ten, hesitated and retreated a step.

“How could such poor street rats like you guys possibly afford to send this kid to the Temple...?” Argent muttered in disbelief.

In response, I took out a metal card from my pocket.

“This student ID shows that I’m enrolled in the Temple; I guess you won’t even recognize it,” I said, confidently displaying the card.

Showing them my student ID was not a big deal for me. The thugs, upon seeing it, finally seemed to recognize that I was undoubtedly a student of the Temple.

They would have known well enough the consequences one would face if one messed with a student of the Temple.

“Are you going to hit me or not, you fucking asshole?” I taunted.

The man seemed to boil with rage, and his hand rose as if he were actually going to slap my cheek.

I had miscalculated.

I had forgotten that these bottom-of-the-barrel types of people threw punches with their hearts, not their heads.

Swoosh!

In a flash, I ducked to dodge his flailing hand, and as I rose, I delivered a knee right into his groin.

It had become my signature move, the “Ball Crusher.”

“Gu... Guaaah!” he groaned.

“Wow, I didn’t think you would really hit me,” I said as he clutched his crotch and collapsed to the ground.

Perhaps I had become accustomed to Ellen’s sword movements. His movement had been so ponderously slow that I hadn’t even needed to use my supernatural power to dodge.

Everyone else was momentarily stunned, but then...

“Get that fucker!” one of the thugs behind yelled, charging at me.

Thwack!

Before I knew it, Loyar was standing in front of me, and had smashed in the face of the onrushing thug with her fist.

***

There wasn’t even a need for other club members to intervene.

Loyar seemed to find it hard to believe what she had just witnessed—a person swayed solely by words. It made her wonder if her prior perception of me was just a prejudice she had formed about me.

“Sometimes I feel like you’ve become a completely different person.”

“I think so as well. Since I don’t remember what I used to be like at all, it’s hard for me to compare,” I admitted with calmness that seemed to amuse Loyar.

So what if I had become someone else? After all, I was still an Archdemon.

“Anyway, do you think they really understood your warning? If you indeed have influence over the security forces, perhaps we should consider that route. It is not unlikely that they would seek revenge.”

Loyar was right. There was a definite chance the thugs would seek to retaliate or engage in some other foolishness again.

“If they’re stupid enough not to understand the warning and act rashly again, then we really do have something to worry about. If you catch wind of them trying anything suspicious, let me know.”

There could be some in the group who might not understand my message and might retaliate rashly out of sheer anger. If this were the case, I would at least learn that these thugs could not think calmly and only acted with their emotions.

Alternatively, if they were wise enough to understand the warning and keep quiet, I wouldn’t need to get the security forces involved, and things would go as planned.

There was a risk, but I had a solid reason for taking it.

“I’m not sure what the future holds, but I’m looking at the bigger picture. That’s why I let them be. Those guys, in a way, could be part of the rough sketch of that picture.”

“The bigger picture?” Loyar asked curiously.

I offered a sly grin, as the warm glow of the campfire began to draw near. “I haven’t made a decision yet, but I might have to swallow up all the criminal organizations within the capital.”

I hadn’t fully made up my mind yet, but that time might one day come.

I couldn’t just think about becoming the next guildmaster of the Thieves’ Guild. If I were going to go through with it, I’d have to display the kind of leadership that would astonish even Vertus.

“Y-Your Highness... Isn’t your dream a bit... unusual?”

Loyar seemed to be mentally taken aback after hearing that a Demon Prince intended to become the leader of the human underworld. It was as if, instead of dreaming of being a great Demon King, I was aiming to become the king of gangsters.

“Aren’t you the one who was initially instructed to become a spy, but then created a whole organization of beggars instead?” I teased.

“Oh...” Loyar’s face turned red as her own departure from her initial mission was laid bare.

She was the one who was living an unorthodox life, so she had no right to question my ambitions.

***

We were only away for a short while, so Eleris and Sarkegar were still waiting for us by the campfire. They hadn’t bothered to go out, likely thinking that Loyar would take care of me no matter what the situation might be.

Loyar explained in detail to them the events that had just unfolded.

“Your Highness!! Indeed, what a confident and imposing manner! This servant cannot help but feel utterly amazed at your magnificent prowess!”

Sarkegar’s response was, somewhat predictably, full of admiration.

“... Your Highness. Aren’t you enjoying violence a touch too much? I think you did the right thing to just let them go, but... Perhaps you should learn to exercise a bit of self-restraint.”

Eleris’s reaction was exactly what I predicted as well. She punctuated her comment with a resigned sigh and a helpless shake of her head.

“In addition, the reason His Highness released those guys is as part of his future plan of taking over all the criminal organizations within the capital,” Loyar added.

Upon hearing this, both Eleleris and Sarkegar looked stunned.

“No, no. I’m not one hundred percent sure about that. I might do it, but nothing has been decided yet.”

The decision would be based on whether I saw a need for such action, as well as if I was mentally prepared for it, and possibly dependent on the contents of a certain conversation with Vertus. At present, though, nothing has been decided or planned yet.

Still, they seemed to consider even contemplating such a move to be absurd. In any case, I had no plans to take any action in the immediate future.

For now, we had successfully dealt with the thugs from the Aligar district who were causing us trouble, but there were likely other areas still riddled with individuals and groups trying to squeeze into our business, so the issue wasn’t entirely resolved.

“Catching lone, individual actors seems to be quite difficult. So, for now, if you see any organized groups trying to get into our business, find out which organization they belong to and the scope of their operations. Either Loyar or I can take action once you have that information.”

It would be nice if conflicts between organizations could be settled peacefully, but clashes were inevitable.

“In any case, we can’t operate on every magical train route. So, instead of clashing with newcomers right away, try negotiating with them, as though discussing territorial agreements. It wouldn’t hurt to see if they are capable of seeing reason first.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t possibly claim every route and area for ourselves. It might actually be better for us in the long run to help these newcomers and create a cooperative business environment. Of course, we’d have to make sure not to give the most profitable routes to them.

This whole thing was getting ridiculous.

Claiming rights where none existed, forcing boundaries of “mine” and “yours”—participating in such absurd thuggery brought me to the verge of self-disgust.

It felt as though I was managing an actual illegal organization.

“Let’s leave this matter here for now. Isn’t there something else we need to discuss?”

I turned to look at Eleris. There was something on her mind that she had wanted to speak to me about the night before, something about the wickedness of humanity.

She said I’d learn about it today and hadn’t provided any more details.

At my question, the expressions of the three changed, each one conveying a different emotion.

Sarkegar wore hatred. Loyar was showing anger. And Eleris, sorrow.

It was Sarkegar who broke the silence.

“There are reports that Demon prisoners are going to be traded in the capital’s black market.”

“... What did you say?”

What he said was completely beyond anything I had imagined.Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only