Chapter 4 - Whores' Knight (1)

Accidents come without warning.

Ruin comes without notice.

The dark things that take root in life always hide in shadow and creep up behind us without a sound.

Just like now.

"Hey, brat. Where's your boss?"

A strangely shaped shadow had fallen before Vlad as he sold candles.

It was huge, but its left arm was grotesquely bent.

It was the figure of a man with a foreign-looking hook attached where something else ought to have been.

Vlad recognized who had spoken to him and swallowed hard, flustered.

"... I sell candles, so I wouldn't know that much."

But with his particular boldness, he grasped the situation and gave the answer he had to give.

BANG!

The instant he said it, one of One-Armed Jack's men slammed hard on the desk where Vlad had been sitting.

"You little shit, still wet behind the ears, talking like that when a boss is speaking!"

"..."

Rose candles of every color scattered along with the man's shout.

At the sudden, threatening atmosphere, every eye in Rose's Smiles turned toward them.

The air froze.

A silence crept in.

The red-haired girl, both hands clamped over her mouth, saw the sight and hurriedly ran up to the fourth floor.

"Oh, damn..."

But even in this situation, where everyone had frozen, there was one person moving as if nothing were wrong.

Even under the pressure of men a head taller than him.

"The candles all fell. These are expensive."

"This crazy little shit..."

Seeing Vlad calmly pick up the candles from the floor as if his warning had gone in one ear and out the other, One-Armed Jack's subordinate went red in the face.

But Vlad did not stop there.

TAP TAP.

Vlad tapped at the foot of the man who was trembling as he barely held back his anger and said,

"Mister, move your fucking foot."

"... You son of a bitch!"

At Vlad's slyly provocative words, the man, as if he could no longer endure it, moved to kick the boy at his feet.

"...!"

A fight is a miniature version of war.

An intended battlefield, a planned situation, and a bold decision were the only things that promised victory.

And Vlad knew that well.

It was a threatening situation no matter who looked at it, but Vlad, as if he had been waiting for that very sight, whipped out his club like lightning and mercilessly struck the man's supporting ankle.

He had intended it from the start.

CRACK!

"Gah!"

The man screamed along with the crisp sound of the blow.

The instant he lost his balance from the unexpected attack and swayed for a moment,

"...!"

The force in the blue eyes that had seized the opportunity turned fierce.

Vlad rose with animal-like movement, without the slightest waste.

WHACK!

Vlad quickly straightened his upper body and swiftly struck his jaw with the club in his hand, and white teeth scattered as they flew out.

It was an action he had planned in his head.

"Hup!"

At the same time, Vlad struck the man's chest with a nimble spinning back kick, dealing him a blow while safely putting distance between them.

It was a movement that brought two gains with a single motion.

"You think this is your fucking house?"

Having clearly gained the upper hand, Vlad shouted the words that had risen from deep in his chest and hurled the club in his hand with precision.

CRACK!

It lodged in the forehead of the man who was already flailing as he toppled backward.

It was a bold action.

"Graaah!"

BANG!

Under the chain of blows Vlad unleashed in the blink of an eye, the large man collapsed helplessly like rotten wood.

"... What the hell."

Though their comrade had fallen, One-Armed Jack's subordinates merely stood with their mouths hanging open, and none of them could move easily.

A blow that struck at a blind spot.

That was how unexpected the violence the boy had swung was.

"Huff... huff..."

"Guuuh..."

And so, of the two, the only one standing was the blond boy, controlling his breath with a fierce look in his eyes.

The victor above, the loser below.

Reenacting one of the unchanging laws of the back alley.

"..."

"..."

One-Armed Jack's men stood dazed at the sudden situation.

If measured only in time, with some exaggeration, it had all happened in the span of a single breath.

"You little shit!"

"How dare you, in front of who!"

Only then did the big men grasp the situation, flaring up in rage as they tried to rush Vlad.

"Enough."

But at the deep voice, they stopped like obedient dogs.

"... I really like this guy."

Though his subordinate had been knocked down without managing to swing a single proper punch, One-Armed Jack instead clapped in delight.

Though it was only the small sound of his palm meeting a cold hook.

"Understand if it doesn't make much sound, since I've only got one arm."

"... I don't discriminate against the disabled."

"Kahaha! You crazy little shit!"

Looking at the young gang member who dared to hold his chin high even before him, One-Armed Jack laughed loudly.

"Let's meet separately sometime later."

"..."

Vlad realized that this was the final line permitted to him.

The moment he crossed this line that One-Armed Jack had generously allowed, he would be ignoring the man's authority, and he also understood what would happen if he did.

"Money Bug! What brings you here!"

Fortunately, at that moment, a large man came down the stairs.

A half-gray-haired man descending with his subordinates behind him, wearing a gleaming breastplate like a knight.

Jorge, the Whores' Knight.

Unlike usual, an overwhelming presence could be felt in Jorge's steps.

"If you'd sent word ahead, I would have had meat grilled for you too!"

Boss and boss.

Organization and organization, facing each other in a situation ready to explode at any moment.

The knight who guarded Rose's Smiles greeted the sudden uninvited guest with a fierce smile.

"Well, you know... it is not as if we were on such intimate terms."

One-Armed Jack answered, scratching his head with his hook.

The two bosses smiled with their mouths, but inside, they were gripping their respective swords as they spoke.

The customers visiting Rose's Smiles watched with bated breath, as though the sight before them mattered more than the half-naked women beside them.

"There are guests here, so why not come upstairs for now?"

"Is there meat?"

"Marcella is not the sort of woman to treat a guest poorly."

"Well, in that case."

Even as he headed to the fourth floor, which could be called the center of Jorge's organization, One-Armed Jack's behavior was nothing if not bold.

That was the nerve of one who ruled the back alleys of the city of Soara.

"I kind of like that runt."

At One-Armed Jack's nod, Jorge looked at Vlad, who was still steadying his breath.

At the boy's feet, Jack's subordinate still lay sprawled out, unable to come to his senses.

"He's a promising prospect in our organization."

"Who did I take instead of him last year? Seeing as I don't even remember, he must have died early."

As Jorge led One-Armed Jack upstairs, he winked one eye at Vlad.

It was a sign that the boy's duty as a candle peddler and the gatekeeper of the castle called Rose's Smiles had been excellently accomplished.

"... I almost died."

Only after seeing Jorge's signal did Vlad finally relax.

Once the heads of the two organizations slowly climbing the stairs disappeared from view, Vlad kicked the big man lying on the floor.

"Mister. Second-floor candles are twenty silver, and third-floor candles are thirty silver. Pay for the ones you broke before you go."

"Guuuuuh..."

"Don't pretend to be asleep. Not before I throw the club one more time."

Hearing that, One-Armed Jack's fallen subordinate could only answer with a thin groan.

* * *

"Oh my, Vlad. Look at this wound here."

"You have to treat things like this ahead of time."

"That's right. If it festers, it'll be a big problem. As it happens, I have medicine that's good for wounds..."

Though the battle had been short, Vlad was checking himself for any injuries just in case.

"... Why are you all suddenly acting like this?"

Women began to cling to his side.

"Oh my. Listen to this boy. Do you know how worried we were about you?"

"After all the food and care we've given you, it hurts to hear you say that, Vlad."

"..."

The whores gathered around Vlad, putting on utterly unconvincing acts.

For women who sold their bodies for a living, having a man with some strength nearby made business much easier.

On top of that, that man was young, no, even boyish, and promising.

SLIP.

"Eek! Look at his muscles!"

"When did you grow up like this? You've become a real man!"

"Everyone, piss off, please."

And all the more so if he was a handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes, which anyone would prefer.

Having clearly proved his value through the fight just now, Vlad was nothing less than prey hard for the whores to let slip away.

Vlad spat curses as he drove them away, but even that rebellious way of his was merely another attractive element to the whores.

Because everyone already knew, thanks to someone, that Vlad was kind to women no matter how roughly he spoke.

"Move! I said move!"

"You little bitch! What do you take your seniors for?"

"Seniors, my ass! You're all just vixens trying to steal what belongs to someone else!"

There was a girl pushing through those whores as she approached.

"Are you insane! Are you insane!"

Unlike the women casting seductive glances, the moment Zemina saw Vlad, she started smacking him on the back.

"What the hell is wrong with you now!"

"You started it, you crazy bastard! Who do you think you are, going up against a guy that big!"

"I did it because I could handle it!"

"Handle it, my ass! Do you know how big the weight difference was? Are you an idiot? Are your eyes crooked?"

Zemina hit him and scolded him, but Vlad merely frowned and did not take any particularly threatening action.

Because he knew full well that everything she did came from worry for him.

"You should be washing dishes. Why did you come here?"

"... Dumbass."

Still, having grown up in a rough place, there was nothing to be done about rough words spilling out.

"Jorge says to come. You dumbass."

"Don't swear."

"Jorge says to come. You dumbass."

"..."

Vlad knew that, thanks to his wrong response, Zemina had become thoroughly twisted up, but for now he decided to stand.

Because Jorge's summons mattered more than Zemina's sulking.

A single staircase ran through Rose's Smiles.

As Vlad was about to go up it, he saw One-Armed Jack and his subordinates coming down the stairs.

"Hey, prospect!"

"... Yes."

Though he was not the boss Vlad served, Vlad showed him respect.

"I like you. If you lose your job later, come work under me."

One-Armed Jack tapped Vlad's head with his hook as he spoke.

"The benefits are good here, though. They give me food and money. They let me sleep here too."

"Hehehe! We can do that much as well."

Seeing off One-Armed Jack as he passed by laughing, Vlad lowered his head.

"Oh, right!"

As if suddenly remembering, One-Armed Jack turned and flicked something from inside his clothes.

PING.

It was something that shone.

"This is..."

"My man broke your candles, didn't he? That's payment."

Vlad stared blankly down at his palm.

It was a gold coin.

"... This is too much."

"If you come to me, I'll give you as much as that any time. I'm the Money Bug."

The moment his brief conversation with Vlad ended, One-Armed Jack waved without looking back and shouted,

"Thanks for the meal, Jorge!"

With those words, Jack's subordinates left Rose's Smiles, cackling.

They had stormed in like a tempest and ebbed away like the tide.

They vanished after leaving a great mark on Rose's Smiles.

"..."

After confirming that One-Armed Jack had left the shop, Vlad carefully tucked the gold coin into his clothes and hurried up the stairs.

The fourth floor, where Jorge had taken his place.

When he went up there, not only Jorge but Burray and the other subordinates were standing in line.

The fourth floor always held a generous laugh and the smell of greasy food, but now there was only a suffocating silence lingering in the air.

"Jorge. I'm here."

"Yeah. Sit."

Perhaps because One-Armed Jack had not eaten much, the meat Marcella had grilled lay piled high before Jorge.

"What did Jack say?"

"..."

Instead of answering Vlad's question, Jorge handed over the knife he had been using to cut the meat.

"What's this? Are you giving me a knife now?"

"Yeah. You keep it. I just tried cutting with it, and it wasn't bad."

Vlad did not have a knife yet.

Because Vlad, the youngest of the Jorge Family, had not yet earned the right to hold a knife.

"Whoa..."

Though it was not as splendid as the sword hanging in the smithy, the knife Jorge handed him was longer than any blade Vlad had held until now.

"I was planning to give it to you anyway, but given the situation, I'm handing it over a little early."

"Thank you!"

The dagger Jorge handed him was not given simply for practical use.

A knife handed over personally by the boss.

It was proof not only that he had proved his own worth, but that he had also gained the boss's trust.

"Make sure you keep wearing it from now on. Ask Burray for a dagger sheath."

"All right."

Seeing Vlad enjoy himself with his eyes sparkling, Jorge gave a bitter smile.

"Vlad."

"Yes."

"You have to wear it at all times."

"... Yes."

Jorge's gaze had grown heavy, unlike usual.

Only then did Vlad, who had been delighted to receive the dagger, begin to look around.

"... I understand."

The gang members' expressions were subtly stiff.

"I'll make sure to wear it."

A boss had handed a knife even to the youngest in the organization.

Through the air flowing around him, Vlad could sense it.

The conversation between Jorge and One-Armed Jack had ended in catastrophe.