Chapter 169
Chapter 169
Red Ticket (3)
At Kairus’s words, Lukas nodded with a smile.
“Good. Then start by dealing with that ominously howling sky.”
Kairus responded by raising his middle finger.
“Am I insane? Based on what trust?”
If he were to erase the hurricane simply on the promise of negotiation, the aftermath would be obvious.
Kairus wasn’t foolish enough to cut his own lifeline.
Only now had the bare minimum foundation for negotiation been laid. What Kairus needed to do wasn’t to quell the hurricane raging in the sky, but to talk with the Operations Committee members.
“Didn’t Tapas die anyway, leaving a vacancy?”
At Kairus’s words, Cecilia pressed her forehead as if it gave her a headache.
“That busty drug addict was a hell of a swordswoman. A real shame.”
As far as commemorations went, it was practically slander. After glancing briefly at Kairus, Cecilia spoke in a gently coaxing tone.
“Listen, Kairus. To become one of the Operations Committee, having power is important—but it’s not enough.”
Tapas had been a businesswoman distributing an enormous amount of drugs. Naturally, the number of underlings working under her was no joke.
“She distributed over 1,500 tons of drugs each year.”
And now, the head of such a massive drug organization had been severed.
Everyone wants a piece of a profitable business. Tapas’s subordinates were still alive.
It wasn’t hard to predict what would happen next. And Kairus could already guess what Cecilia was about to say.
“The personnel, the cultivation sites, the refining facilities, the distribution channels… all the entangled interests tied to that business. Are you going to take over and manage all of it?”
An abandoned treasure always needed a new owner. If Kairus wanted to cut off Tapas’s head and join the Operations Committee, it meant he had to inherit all the business Tapas had built.
“You guys can just split it amongst yourselves.”
There was no rule that the new owner had to be Kairus. Everyone present here was a criminal. These were people who had done this kind of work before, so it should be possible for them to neatly divide the now leaderless drug empire.
“Expanding a business isn’t easy. And Tapas’s operation was absolutely massive.”
Donovan Bonaparte responded coldly, transforming his dual-sword-shaped suitcase back into its original form.
It was a signal that he no longer intended to fight. Likewise, Cecilia put away her Night Thorn, the glowing tattoos all over Lukas’s body dimmed, and the bubbling silvery-white swamp on the ground was withdrawn by Barenza Onui.
“What I mean is, there are serious side effects during the process of consumption.”
At Lukas’s words, Kairus let out a sigh and stretched his hand to the side.
A chair, barely retaining its shape amidst the debris, slid over on a breeze.
“I understand what you mean.”
Kairus sat down heavily in the chair before he spoke. Even when companies merge, restructuring causes pushback.
With a criminal organization, that pushback was bound to erupt in more violent forms. It wouldn’t end with mere protest signs.
“Some of the business sites in the Aylan Republic will be shut down. It’s inevitable.”
He had no intention of shutting them all down. They were probably quite large in scale, and if they all disappeared, the cash flow into Bennett City would sharply decrease.
He only needed to clean up enough to make a show during the presidential election.
“Seems you’ve made some sort of deal with the Republic.”
When Cecilia came to meet Kairus, Younia had also been standing by. It wasn’t hard to guess that Kairus had negotiated with the Republic.
“The noise from the division of assets—don’t you think I can handle that on my own?”
Kairus was in a somewhat different position from the other Operations Committee members.
“I don’t need business sites. Including myself, there are only three mouths to feed.”
He didn’t have a massive organization.
“And that’s a strength?”
At Lukas’s question, Kairus replied.
“It has its pros and cons. I’m someone with nothing to lose or worry about.”
His only possession was his own body. No subordinates, no business sites, no branches—nothing to lose.
Which meant he was completely free.
That was the overwhelming advantage Kairus had over the other Operations Committee members.
“You’re planning to stand shoulder to shoulder with us, moving around with just a handful? Ridiculous.”
This time, the one who objected was Lumis Barenza. Of course, Kairus had quite a bit to say to that.
“Look at the state of things. The five of you ganged up on me, and it still ended in a draw.”
“You wouldn’t succeed a second time.”
At Cecilia’s words, Kairus nodded in agreement. He’d been caught off guard once. If he had to face four of them again, they would be prepared for his tricks.
They might move the battlefield somewhere other than Bennett City.
“Next time, if I face four of you at once, I’ll probably die. But what if it’s just one Operations Committee member?”
One, he could handle. More than just handle.
“If it’s just one, even with their entire organization behind them, I’m confident I can match them.”
If he could face off against an entire organization alone, then there was no reason Kairus as an individual couldn’t stand shoulder to shoulder with the rest.
“There’s truth in that.”
Cecilia agreed without resistance.
“You agree? Are you out of your mind, you insurance salesman?”
When Lukas protested, Cecilia looked at him with a pitying expression.
“He cut off Tapas’s head and immediately went up against us. It wasn’t a long time, but he held his ground. I'd say that’s solid evidence. Are you really not seeing the proof that’s right in front of your face?”
As Donovan, who had been seated on his suitcase collecting his thoughts, opened his mouth.
“I agree. Either way, Tapas’s empty seat needs to be filled.”
There was an excellent replacement right in front of them—no need to search far.
“That’s two votes in favor. You incestuous bastards, you both know two of you count as one vote, right?”
At Cecilia’s remark, Barenza Onui glared at her briefly, then said,
“Fine.”
To ensure the thriving success of human trafficking, drugs were essential. Kairus had no intention of taking over Tapas’s operations.
If the four Operations Committee members split Tapas’s business among themselves, Barenza Onui would be able to produce the drugs needed for her operation directly.
“You fucking bastards.”
Lukas scratched his head roughly and stared at Kairus. To be blunt, Kairus’s inclusion wasn’t something Lukas could be happy about.
Until now, Lukas had been the strongest person in the city. But from the way things were going, that title was likely going to end up with Kairus.
“Orphan bastard. I know what you're thinking. When we divvy up the business, we’ll give you a bigger cut—so lighten up.”
Donovan, reading Lukas’s thoughts, offered a compromise. When Tapas’s business was split, Lukas’s faction—Lukas’s Children—would be given a larger share.
“…What’s the point in opposing when the rest have already agreed.”
In the end, after some consideration, Lukas agreed to the proposal of bringing Kairus into the committee.
Kairus felt a sudden, overwhelming sense of release.
‘It’s done.’
Bennett City would now be a place where Kairus could stay.
“You’re the one who’s going to deal with any friction that arises from us taking over Tapas’s operations.”
That was the condition for the Operations Committee members agreeing to bring Kairus in. If Tapas’s goons rebelled, or tried to regroup into a new organization, it would all be Kairus’s job to handle.
He’d dumped a huge mess in this city—now he had to clean it up.
“Still, we’re handling the city restoration, so don’t complain.”
Roughly ten percent of the city’s real estate had been wrecked due to the fight. And that included Upside, one of the most valuable districts.
It would be impossible for Kairus to restore it using his personal wealth.
“When did we declare redevelopment again? All we’ve done is destroy it.”
Cecilia spoke in a teasing tone. Of course, Kairus, who had no money for repairs, had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.
“Use the office you’ve been staying in as your residence. And remove whatever tricks you’ve done to the telephone lines at the Rose Garden.”
At Kairus’s words, Cecilia raised both hands slightly and replied,
“Fine by me.”
She had no complaints. Of the five people gathered here, Cecilia was the one with the closest connection to Kairus.
‘Having even one person I can reason with is a win.’
She wasn’t expecting some blood brotherhood where they split a single bean and die on the same day.
A fence, an insurance peddler, an incestuous freak, and an orphan.
Just the names they used to call each other showed how deep their divisions ran.
“The Red Ticket will be retrieved immediately. As for the process of formally appointing Kairus to the Operations Committee, we’ll take it up during the next irregular meeting. Any objections?”
There were none. The approval just now was practically the same as the formal process.
“When you say ‘next’…”
At Kairus’s question, Donovan answered,
“We’ll proceed as soon as possible. We can’t leave the seat vacant for long.”
But first, they needed to clean up the aftermath and inform their organizations about the changes.
“Let’s meet sometime next week. Well then, sis and I are off.”
After Wesson Barenza said his piece, he walked off with Lumis, hand in hand.
“If I remember right, I was supposed to chair this irregular meeting?”
Lukas muttered, then kicked the ground hard with his shoe before walking off.
Cecilia and Donovan exchanged a brief farewell with Kairus and also left.
Sitting amid the wrecked streets, Kairus watched them fade into the distance and let out a long breath toward the sky.
“It’s finally over.”
From Tapas’s hideout to Bennett City—there had been countless moments when Kairus could have died.
But he’d overcome them all and survived.
He had done something more impressive than any one person could possibly achieve in this city.
“My whole body hurts.”
His body felt like a shattered glass bottle clumsily taped back together. Craving medical attention, Kairus headed for Tanya’s ER.
“Lucky bitch.”
But what he found was a sign that read: [Closed Today Due to Offsite Visit.]
Tanya hadn’t even been in the city today, let alone at her clinic. Naturally, she hadn’t gotten caught up in the massive fight.
“…”
Where should he go now? A loud blaring sound echoed through the city, announcing that the Red Ticket issued to Kairus had been retrieved.
Staring blankly at the sign, Kairus turned and walked away.
His destination was the Longwave Bistro. The moment Kairus appeared, Jonathan looked as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Holy shit. Shiiit. Fuck!”
“Why is the first thing out of your mouth a curse when you see me?”
It felt like he hadn’t been here in ages. But thinking back, only one season had passed since Kairus arrived in the city—from winter to spring.
Jonathan was still the restaurant’s owner, but Kairus, who came to visit, was no longer a restaurant employee.
He had become something several thousand times more terrifying and had come to see Jonathan.
“Boss, I’d like some food.”
“Don’t call me boss! Please don’t call me that! I’m begging you, don’t make things harder for me!”
Jonathan shouted in horror toward Kairus. That he had once worked as a server? That Jonathan was older than Kairus?
None of that mattered. Kairus had survived after being issued a Red Ticket, and rumor had it he’d killed a Pathfinder.
On top of that, he was the last surviving Featherwing.
“Everyone out, you bastards!”
If Kairus asked for food, then everyone in the restaurant had to be thrown out. And none of those thrown out voiced a single complaint.