Chapter 9: Black Hand (2)

“……”

At Glenn’s question, the boss just rolled his eyes restlessly.

Brunel, who had been listening from the side, also felt cold sweat trickling down his back.

“Hm? Why the silence?”

“T-that’s, I… I’m not really…”

“Hm……”

In that instant.

The smile vanished from Glenn’s face.

At the same time, the atmosphere in the room shifted distinctly.

He slowly—and with no particular rush—drew a dagger from his belt and set it on the table.

The blue-tinged blade gleamed coldly.

“Just so you know, I don’t like lies. Especially lies from friends. I’ll ask again. The powder, this drug—do you know anything about it?”

“…I-I don’t! You just showed up all of a sudden, I have no idea…”

“This is starting to annoy me. Nedian?”

Pow!—

At a glance from Glenn, the knight threw a punch at the boss’s face.

With a thick gauntlet on, the knight’s fist was little different from a club.

The burly man collapsed and a brutal flurry of kicks followed.

“You bastard!”

“Boss!”

“Damn it!”

As their boss was beaten, the surrounding gang members instinctively began to draw their weapons.

But none dared to rush in.

“You lot, you’d best put those down if you want to keep living.”

With a quiet warning, Glenn’s gaze swept slowly over the room.

Yes, it was just that simple.

And yet, as if under a spell, no one could move.

The last person to meet his gaze was Brunel, who felt as if he couldn’t breathe.

It was as if he were prey facing a predator.

“Just stay put. That’s all you need to do.”

His persuasion came with a blade to the throat.

No—this was a threat, plain and simple.

Anyone living in the back alleys saw this kind of scene from time to time.

It was not so different from when a new apex predator appeared.

“Enough, sit him back down. And hold him tight.”

Two knights forced the burly man into a chair and pinned his upper body firmly.

The boss’s face was already a mess of blood.

Glenn dragged one of his arms onto the table and picked up the dagger he’d set down earlier.

“Feel like answering now?”

“Kuh, cough! Y-you bastard, fuck you!”

“Well, maybe losing a few fingers will change your mind.”

And with utter nonchalance, Glenn pressed the blade to one of the boss’s fingers.

After repeating this a few times, there was a sickening slice and the finger came off.

“AAAGH! You bastards, kill him! Kill him!”

“That’s not an answer. Guess you haven’t had enough yet.”

Two more fingers were severed after that.

The subordinates only flinched in place, unable to step forward.

They were paralyzed by the brutality of the torture before their eyes.

Glenn, meanwhile, looked perfectly calm.

He stared into the eyes peering from beyond the severed flesh.

Terror, fear, shock.

Confirming those emotions, he grinned.

Good, this should be enough. They’re all completely cowed now.

“Y-yes! It’s true! This is the drug we spread! Please, let me live!”

The boss, overwhelmed by pain and fear, started sobbing and pleading.

“Where did you get it?”

“There are others who supply us from outside!”

“Then who are they?”

With an irritated expression, Glenn pressed the dagger to the boss’s face again.

“…‘Red Hood.’ It’s them! We got it from them!”

“Red Hood? Those guys operating in the Empire?”

At that unexpected answer, Glenn’s eyes widened slightly.

Red Hood.

The notorious criminal organization called the Crimson Ruffians, Imperial bastards, and various other names.

They mainly operated in the Empire; in his previous life, Glenn had clashed with them multiple times.

Why the hell would those guys pop up here now?

“Nedian, does Red Hood operate in the North too?”

“It’s not impossible, but I haven’t heard of it yet.”

“So, is he lying?”

“No! Never, uh, never!”

The boss shouted spasmodically.

His face was completely contorted with fear.

Glenn had seen eyes like these often—likely, the man wasn’t lying.

“That’s something we can investigate in time. Why did you buy the drugs?”

“M-money. We wanted to make money!”

“Besides this bar, you run the brewery and the dice game hall. And now the drug business too… Where did you get the funds?”

“T-that’s…”

The cold blade in Glenn’s hand pressed into the boss’s hand.

“Ugh, aaagh!”

“I can keep this up all day, you know.”

“I-I don’t know who! I swear! The one who contacted us said he was here on someone else’s orders, that’s all. So we just assumed he was some noble…”

“Hm……”

Probably someone from Sailharun.

But do these guys really not know who that is?

They’re just taking money from some unknown backer?

Glenn’s thoughts paused there.

For now, let’s move on.

“Oh, where’s the captain of the city guard? Is he with your group too?”

“T-that’s…”

“I know about that. I handled the guard bribery myself.”

A man who had been standing rigidly at attention stepped forward from the edge of Glenn’s vision.

His name was…

“Brunel.”

“Thank you for remembering. May I explain?”

Glenn smirked.

The man’s slight lisp was one thing, but his quick-witted attitude was to Glenn’s liking.

“Go ahead.”

“Name: Lacollin. Age: 43. Divorced, currently single. Born a commoner, became captain of the Lepent city guard. Contrary to appearances, he’s quite greedy. There’s talk that he’s not at all like he was when he was young. I started slipping him bribes three or four months ago, and since last month he’s become a complete collaborator. He often makes excuses about patrols so he can loiter at our dice game hall. He’s probably there now, too.”

“Huh. Nedian, does that sound right to you?”

“…Yes, that matches the Lacollin I know. But I never knew he enjoyed gambling.”

“It’s a relatively recent hobby. So you wouldn’t have known.”

What’s with this guy?

He doesn’t seem the type to belong among these petty thugs.

Glenn gave Brunel a fresh look.

He was fairly young. Or rather, maybe even a bit of a kid?

And his skin was a little dark, hair color… is that a headscarf?

“Take off your headscarf.”

Brunel hesitated a moment, then untied his scarf.

Finally, a rare glimpse of black hair.

Seeing that, Glenn had a hunch.

“You’re a Birune?”

“…Yes.”

“A Birune, doing thug work here?”

“Telling you here is… a bit…”

Judging by his tone, even his own organization didn’t know.

Well, the Birune aren’t exactly welcome anywhere.

Glenn nodded slightly.

“All right. Brunel, I’m about to go find the guard captain—can you guide me to the dice game hall?”

“Of course.”

“And let’s finish up here, too.”

Expressionless, Glenn drew his sword and approached the barely-alive boss.

“W-wait! I told you everything! So, spare me—urghk—”

“I never said I’d let you live if you talked, did I?”

With a swift swing, he decapitated the man.

Like he was just taking out the trash.

“Brunel, are your subordinates here? If so, bring them in.”

“Understood.”

As a group of about six headed off in one direction, Glenn gave the knights their orders.

“Arrest the rest. Throw them in jail for now and let them out later.”

“Shit!”

“If you get caught, you’re dead! Get them, now!”

Glenn walked slowly toward the entrance, adding:

“If they resist, kill them all. And you lot, help as well.”

“Understood.”

***

Stepping out of the building, Glenn took in the cityscape anew.

No matter how kindly you looked at it, there was no way to call this scenery pleasant.

In his memories—and even now—it was always chaotic and bustling.

“…”

In a darkened corner near the building, the corpse of an old man lay sprawled like so much garbage.

It was not a surprising sight. Just a common scene.

Death in this age was cheap.

Not that Glenn had any right to talk, having just made another corpse himself.

Yet, looking at the shriveled old man’s death now, it just felt unpleasant.

As for the big man who’d just been beheaded—he only felt annoyed.

Death was common, cheap, and meaningless—yes, cheap.

Such cheap deaths must never come to his own family or himself.

It might even be called a miracle, but so be it—he would simply have to become that much more ruthless.

That’s enough, then.

Glenn exhaled, organizing his thoughts.

“Hoo.”

The suppression was over much more quickly than expected.

After a few beheadings, the rest, already terrified, surrendered.

The knights began leading the captured gang members out of the building, one by one.

“Duren-nim.”

“It’s over? That was faster than I thought.”

Nedian, face stiff, approached Glenn.

“You seem to have something to say.”

“…Your methods are… very cruel, milord. I worry about you.”

“Going to lecture me?”

Glenn chuckled, but Nedian’s face remained earnest.

“Tormenting the weak is not knightly behavior. I worry others may slander you for this, young master.”

“That man wasn’t just weak—he was evil, wasn’t he? How many people weaker than himself do you think he tormented?”

“Whether he was evil or not is beside the point. What matters is that you, young master, got your own hands dirty with this ugly work.”

Glenn already had many enemies.

Nedian was worried that Glenn’s actions would only create more unnecessary ones.

“Evil must be treated as evil. That’s the only way to reduce it, even a little.”

It was a lesson Glenn had learned through every sort of chaos in his previous life.

Humans do not change easily. Especially evil ones—almost never.

If you show them goodwill, they only become more arrogant.

The true way to control evil is always with fear and strength.

“You may be criticized for lacking honor.”

“Honor, hmm… Is that your honor?”

“My honor?”

“Protecting the weak, loyalty to one’s lord, faith in the Church. Things like that.”

“You mean the way of knights? Yes, they’re virtues for all knights, so I suppose it’s my honor too.”

“Is that so? My honor is a bit different.”

Glenn, who’d been looking elsewhere, met Nedian’s eyes directly.

“To protect my family, my friends, my country. To safeguard my people—that’s my honor. For that, I’d gladly die and go to hell.”

To live without protecting what must be protected—that is hell.

He knew that in his bones, having experienced it himself in his previous life.

Others might not understand, but that’s who he was.

So this time, he would protect them, no matter what.

Even if he had to crawl through the mud, even if he had to bargain with devils.

For the sake of something more selfish, he could become all the more ruthless.

Nedian thought this over for a moment, then smiled faintly and replied.

“…You really have changed a lot. To hear such words from you, young master…”

“Are you teasing me?”

“I’m admiring you.”

“Enough with the nonsense, let’s get moving.”

***

At the dice game hall, guided by Brunel, there was no sign of the guard captain.

According to the staff, he had been there until just recently, but after getting a message, he hurriedly slipped out.

Given that it was night and all this commotion, it was probably inevitable.

Brunel guessed that the guard captain had gone to the Red Hood’s hideout.

Since he’d taken their bribes, it was only natural that he’d have dealings with those guys as well.

Now that he was a wanted man, that would be the most secure place for him.

The next day, Glenn immediately reported all this to his father.

“Is that true? Sailharun’s people brought drugs into my city?”

The Duke’s brows furrowed.

It was, by any standard, an act that crossed the line.

“Strictly speaking, they only provided funds to the Black Hand, and the Black Hand independently ran the drug trade. But that detail isn’t very important—their money ultimately paid for the drugs all the same.”

“…Hm, better to hold onto this and use it later?”

“Yes. We lack clear evidence at the moment.”

There was no proof that Black Hand had been in contact with Sailharun.

So they couldn’t press Sailharun with this incident alone.

But it was definitely a card they could play in the future.

Of course, they also seized the businesses where Sailharun’s money had been invested, and preempted any behind-the-scenes maneuvering—a significant gain in itself.

“In your report, you mentioned Red Hood was suspected as the drug supplier?”

“I can’t be certain it was them, but I’ve identified the location of their possible base.”

“You found that out through that Black Hand Informant you mentioned?”

“Yes. The Birune called Brunel.”

Glenn continued his report with further details.

Fortunately, the Knight Order managing the city guard hadn’t accepted bribes or hidden drugs.

It was just a matter of negligence, but the Duke wasn’t about to overlook it.

Two regular knights were demoted to trainee knights.

The Duke had wanted to dismiss them outright, but Glenn had mediated.

As for the former knight and guard captain, Lacollin, he was expelled from the Knight Order and formally placed on the wanted list, along with the guards who fled with him.

Conversely, the knights who had helped Glenn received special commendations.

Thanks to the duel last time, Glenn was already quietly becoming popular within the Knight Order.

With this incident, even more knights came to view him favorably.

“Oh, and we’ve finished discussing the scale story you suggested last time.”

“Already?”

“Yes. You’ll be going to the Kingdom of Arian.”

Glenn’s fist clenched slightly.

At last.

The gears of the plan he’d long considered had finally begun to turn.