Chapter 134
Chapter 134
Bounty Hunter (2)
Anyway, Irena intended to catch Colby Devendish. Kairus, who had been staring at her briefly, spoke.
"He's a bastard, but he's damn good."
"I know. You can tell just by looking at the records."
I answered Kairus without hesitation.
He had almost been caught several times, but every time, he managed to escape alive. While pulling that kind of crap, he had caused 71 casualties among the Security Corps and 43 among the police.
"Still, we can’t just let him go."
"Sure, doing this counts as a good deed. But that doesn’t suddenly make us righteous judges."
It just so happened that all four of our goals aligned, so it only looked like we were doing something noble.
"We need to capture him alive. Doing the job and not getting paid for it would piss me off. You're saying you'll take him down because you're confident, right?"
Capturing was much harder than killing. If she charged at that lunatic Colby—or whatever his name was—with the intent to kill, Irena would almost certainly win.
But capturing him? If Kairus’s judgment was right, the chances of success weren’t high. Right now, she was overestimating her abilities due to her sense of righteous anger and confidence.
She might be getting cocky, but since Nora was already with her, things likely wouldn’t go too wrong.
"That aside."
By rule, you always had to get permission from the local boss before doing anything in their territory. If not, the bosses tended to get pissed off.
‘It doesn’t matter if I ignore the thugs who actually run the place on the ground.’
But for the higher-ups—the ones the local gangs paid tribute to—it was necessary to give them a heads-up in advance.
"Lumis & Wesson Transport Company."
That was the name of the organization Kairus had to visit. It was led by Barenza Onui.
Lumis & Wesson’s main business was human trafficking. Considering what usually happened to trafficked people, it was easy to imagine what kind of place their territory must be.
“Big bro playtime.”
That one phrase neatly summarized the red-light districts mostly controlled by Barenza Onui.
No matter what anyone said, the most important factor in running a successful red-light business was people. And Barenza Onui could supply high-quality workers to the districts in any quantity needed.
"Either way, I have to go say hello."
It would be laughable for Kairus to judge them based on what kind of dirty business they were in—scum was scum, after all.
"Are you busy right now?"
A woman spoke to Kairus as he walked.
"Ah, perfect timing."
Kairus didn’t know exactly where to find Barenza Onui. In times like this, the best way was to work your way up from the bottom.
Kairus looked at the woman who had spoken to him and spoke right away.
"Good timing. Where’s your pimp?"
"...Huh?"
She had just wanted to make some money, but when the man she had targeted suddenly asked for her pimp, anxiety began to stir within her.
"You’ve got someone who takes a cut, right? Don’t give me that crap about working alone with no middleman."
"No, I mean... I just..."
He was young and handsome, and since he was loitering around the red-light district, she had thought maybe she could hit it big on her first night and struck up a conversation.
She had simply picked the wrong target.
"I’d appreciate it if you just answered the question."
As he said that, Kairus pulled out his wallet and showed her a few Pyint bills.
"I get what you’re worried about. You think if you take a few coins from me and bring me to your pimp, and that bastard gets offended, your life might get screwed too."
The woman responded with silence.
"That won’t happen. I’m not planning to do anything to him. I just want to talk for a moment, and I’ll do everything I can to make sure nothing bad happens to you because of it."
To her, Kairus didn’t seem like the kind of man who’d just turn around and leave if she refused.
"...Fine, come with me."
After listening to Kairus, the woman nodded and led him to her pimp.
"You? You’re the bastard who said you wanted to see me?"
A cigarette in his mouth and booze in his hand, the man wore clothes with seams torn in several places.
"Nice to meet you. Name’s Kairus."
It didn’t matter what the other guy looked like. Kairus had no reason to care.
"Kairus... Kairus..."
After hearing his name, the man repeated it a few times under his breath, then quickly corrected his expression and straightened up.
"My apologies. May I ask what brings you here? If you’re looking for a girl, I’ll do my best... no, I can even introduce you to someone else. Someone much more than—"
Kairus shook his head. The moment he did, the pimp immediately shut his mouth. Just the name alone was enough for the pimp to know better than to mess with Kairus.
According to the rumors, he was a Rose Garden inspector-level fighter. Even if the pimp commanded hundreds of underlings, they wouldn’t be able to handle someone at that level.
"It’s not that. I want to have a little chat with the higher-ups you send money to."
"I’ll need to know what it’s about. I hope you’ll consider my position too."
If he just sent Kairus off without knowing the reason and Kairus went on a killing spree, that would be the end—for him and for the organization he paid tribute to. And that group definitely didn’t have enough manpower to be called a real army.
"People have been getting killed around the red-light district here. There’s a bounty on it too."
"Are you… trying to take care of that bastard?"
"Money’s involved, and I work for pay. I’ve been tired from constantly running around outside, so this works for me."
The pimp’s face brightened immediately upon hearing that. If that was the reason, he welcomed it wholeheartedly.
"That bastard’s made a mess of this neighborhood. It's gotten so bad no one even wants to work at night anymore."
When people kept ending up dead during night shifts, it drove the business owners insane.
"Good. So, are you going to make the introduction or not?"
The pimp stood up and said,
"I’ll contact them right away. Just a moment, seriously, just a minute."
About five minutes later, the pimp returned and spoke.
"The boss says he’d like to meet you in person to greet you. Is that alright?"
"I was planning to go see him anyway, but if he wants to come to me, that’s even better."
"Understood. He’ll be here shortly once I call."
Kairus could clearly feel that things were different from when he used to work at Longwave Bistro. Still, that didn’t make him feel excited.
‘If you’re respected among bastards, it just means you’re an exceptional bastard.’
It wasn’t recognition from great people. And in the first place, Kairus was never the type to crave others’ recognition anyway.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Kairus. I’m Donatello."
The man who came to see him was dressed much more decently than the pimp he had spoken with earlier.
"I assume you already know why I’m here."
"Yes, and honestly, we’ve been losing our minds because of that lunatic. We can’t thank you enough for helping out. But if I may ask—why?"
Kairus answered simply.
"This is Barenza Onui territory. I just wanted to ask for your understanding before stirring up trouble. But I had no idea how to reach them."
He didn’t even know where the two were, or what kind of schedule they had. So this roundabout route had been necessary.
"Understood. I’ll pass the message through our line and get it to the Onui siblings."
The term ‘Onui’ referred collectively to Wesson Barenza and Muris Barenza. Just like how people understood who you meant when you said ‘the Representative’ without saying Cecilia’s full name, the same went for calling them simply ‘Onui.’
"That’d be great. Send them to my office."
Kairus wrote down the address and stood up.
"Take care on your way."
"Take care my ass. It’s not like I’m your boss."
With that, Kairus stepped back out onto the street and returned to his office. About two hours later, he received a response to his request.
"They said they’d like to meet you in person."
As the man spoke, Kairus’s gaze drifted to the badge pinned to the left side of his chest—a pink train-shaped badge with the word "Love" written on it.
It was basically a signifier showing he belonged to Lumis & Wesson.
"The Onui? I didn’t expect them to want to meet me in person."
"I can’t pretend to understand their will."
Kairus nodded and stood up. After leaving the office and stepping outside, he saw a cherry pink car waiting for him.
They sure liked pink. For a group of criminals who made their money selling people, they had surprisingly cutesy taste.
"Get in."
Kairus got into the pink car without resistance. The interior was decked out in a mulberry hue—another shade of pink.
...
Sitting in a pink car, guided by people wearing pink train-shaped badges, Kairus eventually arrived at a building completely covered in pink tiles of all types.
"Ugh, my eyes hurt now."
The world had become so overwhelmingly pink that it was dizzying. Stepping into the building decorated with all kinds of pink tiles, Kairus crossed a magenta carpet and stood before an azalea-colored door.
"I’ve brought him."
The door opened, and Kairus stepped inside. The room felt stiflingly warm, probably climate-controlled. Amid the heavy perfume scent tickling his nose, the unmistakable body odors of men and women intermingled in the air—something no perfume could hide.
‘This is fucking insane.’
Greeting Kairus were the Barenza Onui, seated side by side on a large peach-colored sofa, kissing each other.
They finished the kiss. A long string of saliva stretched between their lips before snapping and vanishing.
Watching two people born from the same parents act like that made Kairus want to shoot a crossbow bolt through his own skull.
"You’re Kairus?"
The first to speak was Lumis. Kairus greeted them.
"I greet the Onui."
Whatever their tastes, these two were stronger than Kairus. They ran a massive organization and were likely not far behind even Cecilia in terms of ability.
In short, a single misstep could mean death.
"You seem weaker than I’d heard."
The one evaluating him now was Wesson Barenza.
"Of course I do, compared to oppa."
"Don’t say that, noona. You’re making me blush."
It was impossible to tell which of the two was older. They were calling each other oppa and noona interchangeably. From the way their eyes met, it looked like they were ready to strip down right in front of Kairus.
If that actually happened...
‘I’d have to just sit there and endure it.’
These Onui were completely unhinged. If we’re talking about sensory shock alone, they were even more intense than Cecilia.
While the two briefly immersed themselves in their own little moment, Lumis finally spoke.
"We just wanted to see your face."
"It was a bit surprising to hear that some Rose Garden errand boy suddenly wanted to operate in our territory."
They spoke in such perfect timing that it almost seemed like one person was talking.
"It’s true the jobs I’ve been getting happened to be concentrated around Rose Garden, but I don’t work under them."
"Anyone can say that."
Wesson Barenza looked Kairus over and spoke.
"How much do you know about the guy you're after?"
"I know he’s a guy roaming around trying to find his daughter."
The man Kairus was targeting was named Marlon, a middle-aged man in his 40s.
He used to be quite skilled, and had even received a few medals. Within the knight order he belonged to, he had been known as an upright and honest knight—skilled, principled, a role model.
If you were to categorize it, Marlon would fall into the "went insane later in life" type.
"He’s that lunatic cutting open people’s stomachs trying to find his daughter, right?"
Lumis was right. After being expelled from the knight order, the man completely lost it. Whenever he saw prostitutes in their 20s or 30s, he’d cut them open, checking their insides as he searched for his daughter—eventually making his way to Bennett City.
"What was his nickname again? Oh, right. Daughter-fool."
It was a name given by the people of the city as they watched him gut hardworking sex workers in his deluded search for his child.
Honestly, the people of this city were something else, giving a guy like that such a nickname.
"The Lovers have formed a team to handle this case too."
With a flick, a ticket landed at Kairus’s feet. It was an entry ticket to a cabaret.
"Join them. Don’t act alone and end up touching something you shouldn’t. Get the support you need to handle things right."
The Lovers, huh. He could guess who that referred to—probably what they called their subordinates.
Kairus thought it was quite the unfitting nickname for people working in a human trafficking ring, as he picked up the map.