CHAPTER 161

Amidst the thick tobacco smoke, the creaking sound of wooden planks could be heard.

It seemed to be the sound produced by the boats swaying along the river waves.

On the riverbank of Shoara, within a building entwined with an eerie atmosphere as if sewn with threads.

The two people were facing each other, but they didn't say anything for a long time, and the only sounds that could be heard were the sound of cigarettes being lit and the gulping of bottles of alcohol being passed down their throats.

"Time sure flies when someone like you is in front of me."

After finishing a bottle of liquor, the old man finally spoke, chuckling as he discarded the smoked cigarette into the ashtray.

His yellowed, menacing teeth and sinister grin appeared threatening, but Vlad, sitting across from him, remained unfazed.

"Actually, it's something you don't need to know, but I also wanted to bring you along. Even though Jorge took you away."

"······."

The old man's eyes seemed distant as he reminisced about the past.

Though Vlad had been waiting and the current conversation wasn't exactly to the point, he decided to remain patient.

As someone born and raised in the back alleys, he wanted to show some respect to Captain Hoover, the boss.

"I heard Marcella is retiring too?"

"It's not a perfect retirement. She is not as old as the boss."

"Haha! Indeed. Marcella's still got a lot of years left in her, really."

If he were an ordinary boy from the back alleys, his sharp retort would have earned him a swift punishment. 

However, the one he was assessing the situation with was none other than Boss Hoover, and even though Vlad was the guest, he still held dominion over the space.

"I'm grateful to you, boss. For taking care of crippled Harven."

"Well, he was clever, that one."

"Though he was sidelined, as you say."

"······."

Unable to discern Vlad's true feelings, Hoover, taking note, refilled his liquor bottle with the hook on his left hand.

Indeed, the greatest talent born from Shoara's back alleys.

Vlad had already become too heavy and tough to be carried by someone like him.

"No excuses, but I had no other place to use him other than that."

"I understand."

Once, there were five bosses in the back alleys.

And the knight sitting in front had lost one boss and killed two.

Vlad of Shoara was a knight who couldn't be stopped by glittering gold coins or God-given indulgence, and Hoover decided not to forget that fact.

"I want to retire. Peacefully, safely."

And that's why he decided to retire.

Before being eaten, or before dying at his hands.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because if it's not you, there's no one else whom I can tell."

The history of the back alleys was as complex and relentless as the people who lived there.

But seen from afar, they were ultimately governed by one law, which would likely be the law of the jungle.

"The young mayor of Shoara is eyeing me. He wants to control everything in this city."

There are things you can see because you are old.

An old captain had sailed the sea for a long time, and he knew well that during a raging storm, one had to quietly lower the sails and hold one's breath.

"Please tell him. This old man wants to retire."

"······You will have to let go of a lot. You will be compensated as Lord Josef has prepared."

It wasn't an appealing proposal, but Vlad decided to show as much respect as possible, thinking of the face of the person who had introduced him here.

In any case, he was able to endure the difficult times thanks to this person, so it was a kind of repayment.

"······of course. I will prepare so that you won't be disappointed."

After hearing Vlad's response, Hoover didn't show any expression but heaving a deep sigh.

Indeed, Josef was targeting him.

If he had been just a bit late, he would have ended up with a noose around his neck on the gallows.

"I'm asking you. I'll make sure you don't regret it."

"I'll consider your words."

He didn't give a definite answer, but that alone would be sufficient.

The man standing up now was of noble lineage, Josef's loyal follower and a symbol of Shoara.

"Just a moment."

"....?"

Vlad, who was about to go outside, grabbed a suddenly flying bottle.

It was a brownish liquor emitting an unpleasant light.

"What's this?"

"It's my masterpiece."

As Captain Hoover took out a fresh cigarette, he squinted one eye and looked at Vlad.

"It even has a name. Captain Q. Actually, I was thinking of starting a distillery as a side business after retirement."

Listening to Hoover's words, Vlad finally remembered where he had seen the liquor he was holding now.

In the days when he had nothing to his name, that liquor almost killed him.

"....Don't even dream of starting a distillery."

Vlad still couldn't quite remember what happened that night.

※※※※

"Hey, what's up? How did it go?"

"Take this."

Being escorted by the organization members, Vlad stepped out onto the waterfront and quickly threw the bottle of liquor at Harven, who was waiting for him there.

It was as if he had been tired of carrying around that poisoned drink for so long, with a disgusted expression on his face.

"What's this?"

"It's just that crappy liquor."

"No, the old man was still making this?"

Harven couldn't hide his surprise as he accepted the bottle.

He seemed somehow restless, as if he wanted to get rid of the bottle immediately.

"Hire Hoover. Let him take care of the rest."

"Huh? What?"

"If you want to save that guy, you have to do it."

Vlad spoke as if it were nothing, and Harven seemed to respond as if he didn't understand, but they understood each other.

While not as close as Vlad and Jorge, Harven and Hoover were from the same circle, and the men of the back alleys were sensitive to such things.

After all, Harven had introduced Vlad to Hoover.

"He's someone who's been out to sea when he was younger, learned all sorts of navigation skills and smuggling routes. Besides, Bayezid seems quite interested in the sea these days."

"Should I just tell him straight up? That's the foundation of his business."

"If he doesn't want to die, you'll tell him."

Whether to save him or to kill him and take over, everything about Hoover would ultimately be decided by Josef.

However, even as a boss of the back alleys, if he showed that he had some use left, Josef wouldn't necessarily take his life.

".....And for now, stay away from anything that might get you caught."

"Got it."

Harven sensed the sudden change in Vlad's demeanor and quickly wiped away any traces of amusement, nodding in understanding.

"It's time to make a move. Right now."

"Yeah. Take care of the kids."

Like an old captain seeing an approaching storm in the distance, Harven could feel the significance in Vlad's words as they flowed past him.

Just as there had been changes when Shoara's market changed, with the emergence of the Northern Alliance and the Orthodox Church, it was obvious that a greater upheaval than before was about to begin.

"Harven."

"Yeah?"

At the crossroads of the alley.

Vlad headed toward the city hall, while Harven turned toward the Rose's smiles, so they must part ways.

"This is our chance. It's here, now."

"..."

Though Vlad didn't say much, Harven understood what he was getting at.

It's the same for everyone, but for the kids in the back alley, the opportunity was like a dream, and they worked tirelessly to grab it.

And now, facing the changing Shoara, they stood at a crossroads.

"Let's try our best."

"Yeah."

You take the main road, I'll take the back alley.

Though they took different paths, their aims were one.

Perhaps it was a story from those days when they wrapped each other up with a single blanket, a story they promised to share someday.

※※※※

Hee-hee-hee!

Purr-rrr-

The stable inside Shoara's city hall.

While the place was filled with the sounds of horses neighing, the area where the black horse and the green-haired girl were was exceptionally quiet.

"You also avoid others, huh?"

Purr-rrr-

Though Noir sounded as if he were responding to Charles' remark, the reality was quite different.

Noir, with his damn personality, was just warning the surrounding horses not to come near him.

"Yeah, yeah. I know exactly how you feel."

But young Charles didn't yet understand Noir's temperament, and seeing the black horse alone without anyone around, he felt a sense of camaraderie.

Although Noir was famous for rejecting stable keepers, he was particularly lenient towards Charles, and his behavior was similar to the behavior he showed to Zemina.

Perhaps Charles' hair color, though not his favorite shade of red, reminded him of the grasslands of his homeland?

"It's all because of that one eye."

As Charles held Noir's neck, his eyes began to narrow as he thought of someone.

A knight whose appearance matched his personality.

He was also the person who hit Vlad on the head and twisted his ankles as soon as he saw Vlad teaching Charles.

"If it weren't for him, I might have learned something by now."

Whether it was because he hadn't learned swordsmanship or because he hadn't been with Vlad, Charles' anger was solely directed at Zayar.

A knight who scoffed at the notion of teaching a novice while being one himself.

If it weren't for that person, Charles might have been swinging his sword alongside Vlad by now.

"What bad luck, seriously."

Though he couldn't say anything as a stranger in an unfamiliar place, if this were the Rabnoma Manor, he would have raised a fuss.

Charles was that angry and felt unjustly treated.

"Hey, you!"

"Huh?"

Someone's shout interrupted Charles' thoughts.

It was so sudden and bewildering that he couldn't help but be startled.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you! You little punk over there!"

Charles hesitantly pointed to himself, but the man's expression only grew more hostile upon seeing him.

"You brat. Do you know how valuable those horses are? Get out here right now!"

"Huh? What?"

Back when he disguised himself as a slave, he could endure this treatment, but this was Shoara, and Charles was the noble Rabnoma.

As a guest, Charles had no reason to receive such treatment.

"What kind of nonsense is 'huh'? 'What'? Get out here, man!"

However, the man shouting at him had his reasons.

"Where do you get off trying to take someone else's place when you're barely out of diapers?"

"...Is this your place?"

"Yeah. This brat's talking back to adults. Looks just like that damn weed, doesn't he?"

If anyone's hard-earned position is threatened, they would act like that.

It has always been his job to take care of Vlad's horse, Noir.

"Hmph. Still, acting like a squire and wielding a wooden sword. Who do you think you are?"

"Yes, I am a squire! Learning to wield a sword from a knight makes me a squire!"

But Charles, already filled with venom, started to bristle at the long-jawed man barking orders at him, regardless of the circumstances.

As the man had just said, Charles Rabnoma had already become a seasoned yellow weed, having killed people in the past.

"I am the squire of Knight Vlad! I learn the sword from him every day!"

"What did you say?"

Though he wasn't truly Vlad's squire and had never properly learned to wield a sword, fueled by anger, Charles began spewing whatever words came to mind.

But as if those words were a potent spell, the man's face started to pale.

"Why are you Vlad's squire?"

A man with shabby clothes who must have been through a lot of hardships.

The hand he was holding against his chest was trembling slightly, as if he was feeling aggrieved.

"I am Vlad's squire, man!"

A guide, a stableman, Vlad's squire, and a swindler - Gott had returned.

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