◈ Episode 72 Back Alley Talk (1)
The pub was cluttered.
The laughter of women wearing heavy makeup and perfume and men approaching like bees, attracted by the smell of honey.
There was a group of people drinking and making loud noises, and some people playing instruments.
“It’s pretty noisy.”
“It’s because this place is quite famous. Since it is a bar with a total of 4 floors, there are bound to be many customers.”
Entering the entrance, Rudger and Hans lightly searched the surroundings.
“Where is the meeting place?”
“4th floor.”
“Is it the top one?”
“Up to the second floor, it is a place that ordinary people can use, but from the third floor, only those with permission can enter.”
The two went upstairs while having a light conversation.
The second floor was no different from the first floor. The seats were full, and it was as noisy as the first floor.
The only difference is that there are guards on the 2nd floor that were not there on the 1st floor.
Just as Hans said, the stairs to the third floor were blocked by two guards with sturdy builds.
“Only those with permission can go up here.”
“here.”
Hans held out the invitation he had prepared in advance.
The guard confirmed it, and silently moved left and right to open the way.
“Let’s go, brother.”
“okay.”
Hans led the way, followed by Ludger.
The gaze of the guard flew behind his back, but he lightly ignored it.
When he finally reached the third floor, Rudger immediately understood why this was a high-end bar.
‘It’s quiet enough to be incomparable to the noisy 1st and 2nd floors.’
It’s so noisy downstairs, but it doesn’t transmit well here.
The space itself is soundproof.
Even the interior is more luxurious, and the faces of the guests sitting at each table are clearly comparable to those below.
They were all dressed in neat and tidy clothes, enjoying the moody atmosphere and lightly sipping alcohol.
The light flowing from the vermilion lamp dreamily wrapped around the atmosphere inside.
However, Ludger and Hans’ goal is a place higher than this.
It was the highest place in this bar, where only the most important people could gather.
“egg plant.”
“yes.”
Climbing the wooden stairs, the two reached the fourth floor.
Unlike the 3rd floor, which was made up of a wide hall, the 4th floor was made up of a long corridor.
‘Is it in the form of a room?’
It was a very suitable place for a quiet conversation.
“What room is it?”
“It’s the very end. It is the innermost place.”
“Is there no one guarding this place?”
“ah. It must be because this is a special place.”
“A special place?”
Hans explained the information he had picked up.
“It is said that this pub has been used as a meeting place by Ledervelk’s underworld organizations since before. As a result, an unwritten rule was established among themselves, and it was that they would never fight within this.”
“I’m not going to fight… … .”
“Well, even if they betray each other, kill each other, and live like blood, there must be an iron rule or belief that they must abide by.”
“That’s right.”
Rudgar shook his head.
“As you know, this side of the world also has its own rules. And this is also where the rules apply most strongly.”
“The fact that they invited us to a place like that… … .”
“It’s to make sure we’re really following the rules.”
“It’s interesting.”
Rudger gave a small smile.
Such courage for a target who destroyed an enemy society alone.
If Rudgar had been a bit more eccentric or cruel, the fourth floor of this bar would have been bloody today.
I wouldn’t be able to recall that.
However, the fact that they invited him would mean that they were confident as well.
“I’ll have to see your face sometime.”
I thought it was arrogant, but I wasn’t angry.
Even if they roll in the mud, if they claim to be people who know the right thing, they can show the least amount of morality toward those people.
“I’m going in.”
“okay.”
Eventually, the two of them reached the end of the hallway and opened the door and went inside.
Inside, there was a large round table made of hardwood and various foods were placed on it.
And even those who sat at a certain distance from the table.
‘The total number of important figures is four.’
Rudger’s gaze first started at himself and then turned to the person sitting on the right side of the table.
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He had a beard on his face and some flesh of his own, but what drew the most attention was his absurdly small stature, unbelievable for an adult.
‘You’re dwarf.’
Also called short stature, it is close to a kind of disorder in which the body structure is the same as that of a normal person, but the height is too small.
‘Is this kind of person the leader of a group?’
In a world where human rights are not sufficiently developed, his disability must have made his life difficult to imagine.
Ludger realized that this dwarfed man was Pinion, the leader of the circus troupe Circus.
The next thing I looked at was the two people sitting in the center, directly across from me.
‘The old man and the girl.’
This was also a very striking combination.
A grim old man with gray hair and a cute blonde girl like a doll.
However, just as they are gathered here, they are also the heads of one organization.
They are Mastella and Deon, the leaders of the group Old Kids.
‘Among them, the one with the initiative is, surprisingly, the child.’
Normally, the older Deon would be seen as the leader, but Ludger didn’t think so.
The gaze to analyze this side was strongly felt by Mastella, not by Deon.
He knows how to manage facial expressions, and although he is young, he is clever.
‘And the last is the women of the black rose.’
Starting with Rudger, there was one person sitting on the left side of the table.
She was a lady in a black dress, with her hair tied up in a twist, and her face covered with a black cotton thread.
‘Is that woman Violetta, the leader of the women of the black rose?’
pinion.
Mastella and d’Eon.
Violetta.
Except for the enemy society, all the leaders of Ladervelk’s underworld gathered together.
And even a small number of subordinates to escort their chief.
Rudger sat down in the seat reserved for him and opened his mouth.
“James Moriarty.”
His monocle on one eye glistened in the light.
“Everybody calls me that.”
“Hmm. James Moriarty. I’m not going to tell you an outright lie here.”
The first to react was Violetta.
A seductive voice came from beyond the black veil.
“Are you really the legendary man who ruled the Delica Kingdom?”
“You seem to know me well.”
“I can’t help but know. James Moriarty, who is the de facto ruler of Delica Kingdom, which was famous for its steel industry, and even involved in military supplies to start a war with other countries.”
War.
As the words came out of her mouth, the atmosphere in the room became even heavier.
In particular, Hans, standing behind Ludger, did not hide his uncomfortable feelings and showed them with his expression.
Rudger nodded happily.
“Even though one annoying detective ruined it all.”
“Since there was no news from him, I thought he would either die or be secretly arrested and put in prison. I never thought I would show up like this in Ledervelk. So, for what purpose did you come here? Are you planning to start a war that could not be started then, on a larger scale called the Empire?”
Violetta’s voice was strangely sharp.
The other leaders also stared at Rudger, as if they were of the same opinion.
The gaze was not favorable.
“War. Unreasonable talk.”
But to Ludgar, Violetta’s words were just ridiculous.
How could he talk about war when he didn’t even know what happened in Delica Kingdom?
It is commendable to have figured out this far, but this is still the limit of the underworld, so it is not enough.
“I don’t think so.”
“Did such a person destroy the enemy society as soon as he came here?”
“There was something dirty in front of me, so I just cleaned it up.”
Rudger said lightly that he had eliminated the enemy society.
There was just something dirty, and I just cleaned it up.
How arrogant is the inner meaning of those words.
But no one threw up on Rudger. Because he actually did it with overwhelming skill.
“So what do you want?”
The one who spoke this time was Pinion, the leader of Circus.
A hoarse voice that doesn’t suit his small stature. Rudger noticed he was smoking.
“Seeing that you came here and responded to our invitation, it seems that you have a purpose.”
“okay.”
Rudger nodded his head obediently as he had nothing to hide.
“I want to build my own forces here.”
“It’s a force.”
Pinion tapped the armrest of the chair with his finger.
“That alone is not enough of an answer.”
“Do you need more explanation?”
“It’s fine if you just eliminate enemy societies to create a force. that would be worth it The enemies of the Red Society have been frantic to touch us since before, and they should have had dirty personalities. I may have offended you. That’s why it exploded.”
“I know you well.”
“The important point is this. Is there any guarantee that a new organization created by a celebrity named James Moriarty will not become a second enemy society?”
Second Enemy Society.
That was what they were worried about.
The Red Society did anything to make money, but it crossed the line even in the underworld.
They banded together to oppose such an enemy society.
They had a lot of heads, and they didn’t know what they were going to do, so until now, the three organizations were working together to keep the balance.
The balance was broken by an individual who appeared out of nowhere.
“indeed. Were you worried about that?”
Rudger’s plaintive tone made the people gathered at the table harden their complexions.
It was a serious matter to them, but Rudgar said it as if it were no big deal.
Of course there are qualifications.
Rudger destroyed the enemy society single-handedly. Even though there was knight-level power given to the enemy society.
But in a way
He is more dangerous than the enemy society.
“Then, it would be better to clear up the misunderstanding and talk about it here.”
“misunderstanding? What misunderstanding do you mean?”
Deon raised his eyebrows and asked.
Rudger shook his head once, then pointed at Mastella with his chin.
“Don’t use unnecessary tricks, just tell me.”
“What is that… … .”
“Grandpa Deon. That’s Okay.”
I stopped Deon, who has a cute voice unique to children.
Mastella, a cute girl who looked like a doll, stared at Ludger with curious eyes.
“You managed to realize what I did.”
“I didn’t live a life that was easy enough to make fun of me as a child.”
In the world, a child with innate talent and way of life is much more frightening than an old man who has grown old without doing anything.
Those who don’t know that will ignore the experience, saying, “What would a child know?”
It wasn’t Rudger.
“So what do you mean we are misunderstanding?”
“If I tried to get rid of you because I thought you were annoying, I did that long ago.”
It was a blatant remark, but no one got angry.
Because it was an obvious fact.
“But the reason I didn’t do that is because, of course, I also have lines to follow.”
“So what are you trying to say?”
“At least you guys are much better than the enemy society that died at my hands. There is no need to pretend to be with you, so I accepted this meeting.”
At least this side hinted that there was no hostility, and the wary gaze faded a little.
But I still don’t feel the trust.
They suspect that even this statement is a deception and may be false.
Such is the order of this floor. Whatever you say, you should be suspicious.
“So what are we going to do now? The various infrastructures and businesses owned by the enemy society belong to you nominally.”
Pinion twitched his mustache and ate the leg of the old turkey in front of him.
Violetta scolded her for selling her courtesy.
“Pinion. Can’t you please stay still for a while, at least here?”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I can’t even wake up from pretending to be noble like you.”
“Auntie? Tsk. This is why the uncultured ones.”
“Both of you in moderation.”
Mastella, who was worse than that, stepped forward and stopped it.
Rudger seemed to know roughly how these three organizations were going.
The relationship is bad, but there are people who can mediate in moderation.
They maintain their own balance, so it doesn’t seem like they’ll collapse too much.
“So, are you going to keep the genealogy of the enemy society intact?”
Marstella’s bold question.
Rudger naturally shook his head.
“It’s not in my face to do such sloppy things.”
“It’s face-to-face. Then you must be thinking of something great, right?”
“okay.”
At the point of creating an organization, Rudger had already made a plan.
And here, Ledervelk, will be the cornerstone for that.
“I am thinking of starting a new business. Unlike what the enemy society did, a business that can be more proud.”
“Business, that sounds very interesting.”
said Violetta.
However, unlike saying it admiringly, it was closer to being slightly sarcastic.
How proud they would be if they were proud of the business they were doing in the back world.
Even if they don’t do dirty things like drugs and human trafficking like the people of the Red Society, they can’t boast about the business they are making.
At best, it must be all the chores of selling alcohol and transporting luggage.
Rudger smiled and said, as if he had read their thoughts.
“If you think so, that must be your limit.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“So, while we are all together, let me make a suggestion.”
Now it was my turn to get to the point.
“Everyone come under me. Doing so will bring you success.”
