The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations Chapter 301

Episode 301 I am the Plunder King (2)

Claude stared at the ceiling with his eyes closed. After living a long life, he was told to act as a corrupt official and make contact with a criminal organization.

‘Since when did my evaluation become like this?’

Was it when you gambled with the lord? Or when you enslaved Alpoy as well? Or when you secretly stole gold while dealing with the merchants? Or when you slyly tricked your colleagues and juniors into bringing them?

Whatever it is, it’s unfair. Whatever it is, it’s unfair. Claude shouted, filled with his resentment.

“I am not a corrupt official! What’s with the nickname ‘Bribe King’? ‘Bribe King’! It was all done at the Lord’s order!”

“Are you sure?”

“You didn’t get paid much! You said you didn’t have enough money to live on!”

“… … Did you really get it? Wendy turned a blind eye to it?”

In fact, Wendy had a history of turning a blind eye to Claude taking a few gold coins from the top. Claude, embarrassed, quickly changed the subject.

“No! What do you want me to do when I meet a criminal organization?”

“Let’s talk about the money later. Anyway, those guys keep sneaking in, so it’s hard to root them out. Find them somehow and figure them out.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

“You’ll have to figure that out yourself. First, try becoming friendly with those guys.”

“I’m not good at acting, so even if we become close, we’ll get caught right away, right?”

“No, you can do it. Just try your best.”

“Ah! How can I put my heart into something like that! My heart hates corruption!”

Claude went on a rampage, but Giselle remained steadfast. No matter how much I thought about it, Claude was the only person fit for this job.

Although he may be denying it, the criminals will definitely recognize Claude’s true worth.

Claude had no choice but to start working due to Giselle’s stubborn determination.

“Hey, but I guess we should at least give the operation a plausible name.”

Claude, who was worried, called Lowell and gave him the insincere name of ‘Bug Sweeper’.

“Hey, find a suitable place and try to connect with some criminal organizations. Tell them I’ll go there myself.”

“It’ll be hard to meet those guys these days because they’re busy taking care of themselves. You’ll have to be very careful, right?”

“Oh, if I tell you to do something, why don’t you just do it right away without complaining? If I tell you to meet, you’ll meet. It’s me, it’s me, Claude.”

Lowell grumbled inwardly at Claude’s annoyance.

“I’m the one who thinks the best.”

“what?”

“Oh, no. Now that I think about it, the General would probably want to meet everyone. I’ll be back soon.”

Lowell moved quickly to find the criminal organizations.

After the plunder king swept away, the underworld was quietly hiding. Even the lowly gangsters were hiding.

It was a good thing for the people of the territory, but it wasn’t so good for Jiselle, who was trying to completely root out criminals from the territory.

After much thought based on the existing records, Lowell chose an organization that had not yet been attacked by the Plunder King.

“Blue Skull Gang. These guys are a good fit. I heard their leader is a bit clueless and stupid.”

The Blue Skull Group is not a very large organization, but it was a place that manufactured and distributed hallucinogenic drugs. It was found that they are still selling drugs to the wealthy class.

The only reason this place has survived this long is because it was supplied with medicine and received protection from one of Desmond’s higher-ups.

They originally ran a herbal medicine shop, but after the plunder king swept through, they moved and started a new business.

Lowell gathered information floating around and found the address of the store run by the Blue Skull Group.

When we arrived at the address we had found, there was a very large building with a sign in fancy letters.

[Taste of Fantasy]

“…….”

It was a restaurant that was famous for its delicious food these days. It seemed that since they couldn’t do bad things, they changed to a healthy business.

Lowell went in. The building was very clean, as if it had been built not long ago.

It seemed as if the rumors about the restaurant being delicious were true, as the place was bustling with people. Judging from the clothes they were wearing, they all seemed to be relatively well-off.

“Welcome!”

A waitress dressed in slightly suggestive clothing greeted him. Lowell scratched his chin in thought.

‘Is this why it’s popular?’

As soon as we sat down, the waitress showed us the menu and began to explain.

“Our restaurant uses a secret special sauce to create a taste that you won’t find anywhere else! The price is a bit high, but you’ll be satisfied!”

“hmm…….”

After thinking about it for a moment, Lowell ordered the most expensive menu item. This is when public money should be used.

“A special set meal with a fantastic taste.”

“How would you like your sauce? Strong? Light? Regular?”

“Uh… … seriously?”

Since I was going to eat something expensive, I thought it would be better to eat something with a strong flavor.

“Okay! This is the best menu in our store, so please look forward to it!”

Soon the food began to arrive. The presentation and aroma were as splendid as any banquet held in a noble household.

Lowell swallowed hard and took a bite of the meat.

The moist meat was covered in a fragrant sauce. Lowell, who had rarely eaten such a luxurious meal, chewed the meat with a happy expression.

Then he opened his eyes wide.

‘Oh, it’s delicious! And it’s amazing!’

It was so delicious that I couldn’t even speak. It was so delicious that I was hallucinating right before my eyes.

Lowell thought with tears streaming down his face.

‘What the hell are you putting in people’s food… … You crazy kids… … .’

It’s dangerous to eat any more. You’ll get addicted. I think I know why the special sauce is a secret.

As expected, we can’t leave these criminal bastards alone. They were doing business like this while protecting themselves.

Perhaps others are unaware of what went into the sauce, but Lowell had previously managed criminal organizations under Count Digald.

There was also an organization there that dealt in strange drugs. So I knew very well what this crazy, dizzying taste was.

As Lowell was shedding tears, the waitress approached him in surprise.

“Oh my! What’s wrong? Are you having trouble with the food?”

“No… … I just miss the taste… … .”

“Is it like the taste of your mother’s cooking? Our restaurant’s food is amazing, isn’t it? Hahaha.”

‘That’s not it… … you crazy things.’

Lowell stopped eating, got up and spoke to the waitress.

“Can I see the manager here?”

“What… is happening?”

The waitress asked with a slightly suspicious look, but Lowell answered without even blinking.

“The food is so delicious that I would like to introduce it to the nobleman I serve. Please call him over first.”

The waitress looked around for a moment and then nodded. After all, she couldn’t solve this problem on her own anyway.

Soon a neat-looking man came and bowed his head.

“I’ve heard the brief explanation. What do I need?”

Lowell looked the manager up and down a few times before speaking. There was no need to speak at length to those who were already seated like this.

“Do you want to continue doing business?”

“That… what do you mean?”

“The General sent me. We already know everything about you.”

“……!”

The manager’s eyes trembled. He seemed unsure of what to do. Lowell ignored the manager’s reaction and continued speaking.

“I know you haven’t been able to do much because of the Plunder King. The General said he’ll take care of it, so let’s meet your leader. He’ll come by two nights later, so get ready to welcome him.”

“… … I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“It’s two days later. If you continue to hide, I’ll push you out from here and catch you and kill you, so know that.”

Lowell turned away without even listening to the answer. Before leaving, he turned his head again as if something had occurred to him and said.

“Stop playing with your food. Before I catch you all and throw you in jail. What? Your mother’s cooking? Does your mother put medicine on her hands when she cooks?”

“……yes.”

After Lowell left, Morvin, the leader of the Blue Skull Group, was troubled after hearing his words.

Since the owner of the territory has changed, it would be right to take care of yourself for the time being. The noble who used to look after you has already lost his head to Jiselle.

There was a guy called the Plunder King there, so we couldn’t expand our territory taking advantage of the chaos.

So I changed jobs and was living a really quiet life. But when the new director asked to meet me, his intentions were suspicious.

“Damn… … How did you know about our existence? Did the guy who was watching over us leave something behind?”

Otherwise, I couldn’t explain how I found it so quickly.

Anyway, there are two ways. You can meet him in person and find out what’s going on, or you can just leave this territory.

“Ha, it’s not easy to get back on track.”

There will be other dark organizations already established in other territories. Those organizations will certainly have nobles supporting them, so it won’t be easy for a new organization to settle in.

But even so, meeting the commander of a territory is a scary thing. It could be that he is trying to lure you out of hiding.

While he was worrying like that, Morvin’s subordinate spoke cautiously from the side.

“Have you not heard the rumor about the general yet?”

“Rumors? What is it?”

“His nickname is the Bribery King of the North. The Bribery King.”

“The bribery king of the north?”

“Yes, it’s very famous. Haven’t you heard of it yet? Most of the people in Yeongji know about it.”

“Really? Is it that famous?”

Morvin is very secretive due to the nature of his work, so he hears rumors late. The fact that everyone is distracted by the Plunder King also plays a part.

I sent it to my other subordinates to find out more, and they all said the same thing.

“They say he’s a really bad guy.”

“They say that among the merchants who did business with Yeongji, there was no one who didn’t get ripped off.”

“There is a rumor that the territory is in chaos right now, so they will take advantage of this opportunity to make a big profit.”

Everyone says the same thing. He is a corrupt official, no more, no less. Only then did Morvin let out a mean laugh.

“Hehe, since you’re new here, it looks like you’re looking for a waterman. You want to look after us and collect a bribe.”

As long as humans live together, the underworld will never disappear. That’s why most nobles and officials tend to turn a blind eye to criminal organizations as long as they don’t go too far.

Instead, they used them to do dirty work for them and received bribes. It was like they were helping each other out.

Even Earl Desmond would tolerate it as long as it did not interfere with the management of the estate. This perception was widespread throughout the continent.

After hearing rumors about Claude, Morvin thought about it and made a decision.

“I will meet the general. Be prepared to treat him with the utmost respect.”

On the promised day, the ‘Taste of Fantasy’ restaurant closed earlier than usual. They prepared a grand banquet and waited.

Morvin checked everything carefully. How could he be negligent in preparing for the manager who would come to look after them in the future?

As night fell, one of his subordinates came running and spoke to Morvin.

“The general has arrived.”

“Let’s go and greet him.”

Morvin straightened his clothes and ran to the door with a big smile on his face.

And then his expression hardened as he smiled.

Claude, who appeared with only one robed attendant, made a fuss as soon as he arrived.

“Ugh, why is my body so heavy?”

Morvin’s eyes trembled when he saw Claude.

It’s strange. The author, who is the general of a territory, appears in a very strange way.

Dozens of bird feathers were sewn into his hat, and a thick gold necklace dangled from his neck. Countless extravagant ornaments were also hanging from his clothes.

Claude, who appeared staggering as if he was really heavy, spoke out of breath.

“Is that you? Are you the boss here?”

“…….”

Morvin’s eyes narrowed. No matter how I looked at it, it was suspicious.

I’ve heard he’s a corrupt official, but his outward appearance is just as corrupt. No matter how much money you have, you wouldn’t act like this.

Morvin nodded to his subordinates to see if they were the general. However, the subordinates shook their heads slightly as if they did not know. Unfortunately, they had never seen Claude’s face in person.

Although Claude was busy moving around the Desmond area, he was rarely seen as he had a large retinue with him.

Besides, he had only been here for a short time. He had been busy with major facility management and paperwork, so the mere criminals had not had a chance to get to know him.

Morvin opened his mouth with a sharp look in his eyes.

“Are you the commander-in-chief of the territory?”

“What, you don’t know what I look like? Wendy, they don’t know what I look like.”

Claude spoke to the attendant next to him in amazement. No matter how recently he arrived, he dares not recognize the governor of the territory! Are there such impudent people?

As expected from a vulgar person like Giselle, as the territory grew stronger, Claude’s self-consciousness also grew.

Morvin shook his head slightly.

“The head of a territory came with only one attendant… … It’s a bit hard to believe.”

At those words, his subordinates’ spirits began to rise little by little. It was absurd for the author, who was the commander of the Great Territory, to come to a place like this alone.

The one wearing the robe there was just a woman who looked like a maid. If he was a real general, shouldn’t he have someone who looked like a knight accompany him?

‘It seems like some punk is impersonating us to rip us off… … If he came without proper escort, it seems like he kept it a secret from everyone around him… … Then, can we just kill him here and bury him in secret?’

It was something criminals would think of.

As Morvin nodded, his men slowly approached and began to surround him.

But before they could be properly surrounded, Wendy’s robes fluttered slightly.

Thud! Thud!

“Ugh… … .”

Kuung!

The two members of the organization who approached from either side fell down with daggers stuck in their foreheads.

Morvin’s face turned pale at the sight.