CH 87

In search of Brandon, I ended up in the red light district. The reason I came here was that, knowing him, the chances were high that he would come here to blow off steam after everything that had happened. Even if I couldn’t find him here in the red light district, this trip would still be killing two birds with one stone since I had some connections in this place. So I began to search around various establishments in search of information regarding Brandon’s whereabouts.

For a while, I searched around the red light district, going to various places that he would be likely to go to, but I wasn’t able to find a single trace of information about him. Given this complete lack of information, it crossed my mind that there was a possibility that he put a gag order in place regarding his whereabouts. But the more I thought about it the less likely it seemed, since there was no way that the likes of a mere former Healer’s Guild Chief would be able to accomplish something like that.

After asking around for a while, it didn’t seem like there was any hidden information… it seemed that he simply hadn’t been here. I expected him to be going wild in the red light district, but unexpectedly he must’ve been sulking somewhere in low spirits. It was kind of a drag to make fun of someone who was already depressed, so for now I decided to go visit a connection I had in the area.

From the red light district, I headed to a dirty bar called Binkus. This establishment was owned by an ex-information dealer who helped me out a lot in my younger days. Even though he was a “former” information dealer, it would be no exaggeration to say that he was the most informed person about the goings-on in Grezesta. Personally, he wasn’t someone I wanted to meet, but… I was trying to mess with Brandon. I didn’t have much choice, so I went in.

After taking a breath, I opened the door to Binkus, and the tattered wooden door loudly creaked and screeched unpleasantly. Grimacing at the noise, I walked into the bar. Although the exterior was filthy and decrepit, the interior was on the contrary rather elaborate and stylish.

“Welcome. Just one—- I was wondering who the hell ‘twas, but ain’t it Irene-san? It’s been a long time. Thought you woulda kicked the bucket by now though.”

“So what’s up today? I woulda been happy if you’d come for a drink though.” (Harold)

“Tsk. Who in their right mind would come to your place just for a drink?” (Irene)

“…So that means you’re hopin’ I’d sell some information to ya?” (Harold)

The moment he said that, I tossed a few gold coins at him. He was standing there polishing the glasses just a second ago, but he deftly caught them all in mid-air. I used to pass the coins to him just like that in the old days, so seeing him catch them as always made me feel nostalgic.

“3 gold coins? I don’t have as good information as I used to back then, you know…?” (Harold)

“It’s already been several decades since that happened, you’re still gonna hold that against me? I was still young back then, I just happened to trick the wrong person. It’s already been so long, can’t we just let it be water under the bridge?” (Harold)

“No way. Anyway, how about you tell me the information already? I want to know the whereabouts of the former Healer’s Guild Chief, a guy called Brandon.” (Irene)

“Ahh. Brandon, is it? He’s a hot topic right now. If I’m not mistaken, I heard he’s been frequenting a bar called Sea Mole.” (Harold)

“….Sea Mole. A pub in the slums, huh? A nobility supremacist like him, drinking in the slums… he’s fallen a long way. No wonder I couldn’t find him in the red light district.” (Irene)

“Well, he’s been stripped of his noble court rank after all… Is this all the information you need? Since you gave me three gold coins, I can give you some information on Arthur-san if you’d like.” (Harold)

“As always… y-you can’t take a joke. I thought I was going to die.” (Harold)

“It was your fault for telling a joke that wasn’t funny. Next time you mention Arthur’s name in front of me, I’ll make sure your head really goes flying.” (Irene)

“…I w-won’t say it anymore.” (Harold)

“Then, I’m out of here. Thanks for the information,” I said to Harold, who was slumped face down on the counter, and left Binkus. I almost lost my temper and killed someone there before I could properly get the last laugh at Brandon, but I managed to calm down in time.

…All things considered, I really didn’t like that Harold guy. Since he had so much information at his disposal and had always been a man with a rotten nature, he often derived pleasure from digging up people’s past traumas like that. Putting aside that small annoyance with Harold, I arrived at the slums and headed straight for Sea Mole.

From the moment that I entered the slums, a number of people had been eyeing me quite closely. Of course, they weren’t lustful eyes but the eyes of people who were looking to rob me. I would never lose in a fight against these folks who gathered in the slums, but it was never pleasant to have such a gaze directed at you. While ignoring their gazes, I watched my back as I arrived at Sea Mole.

Sea Mole was undoubtedly the kind of place that the penniless dregs of society would gather to drink alcohol. I really didn’t like this kind of unsafe and vulgar place, but I’d already come this far, so I had to go in. I’d already gone through the trouble of paying 3 gold coins to come laugh at Brandon anyway.

The moment I opened the door, the drunkards inside all turned to look at me. Every single one of the scoundrels was wearing shoddy, threadbare clothes. As I walked in, they had villainous grins on their faces as if they thought they’d found their prey.

In the midst of all this, I immediately caught sight of a man sitting alone, lying with his face slumped on the table and a drink in his hand. His appearance was strange, but it was without a doubt, Brandon.

Now then, it was time to settle my score, and Lewin’s too, and properly make a fool of Brandon… in our last battle.