TGW Chapter 18 Part 3

 

Levan entered the indoor training hall. At either end of the long rectangular structure were Martin and Russ, each engrossed in their own personal training. Levan called out to them.

"Kali! Sir Kali!"

The two turned their heads and ambled over to Levan, who was gesturing at them. They stopped some distance away from Levan. Seeing the brothers standing far apart, Levan clicked his tongue.

"What’s this? You guys aren’t kids. Haven’t you made up yet?"

"Kuhn told us not to come within ten paces of each other today," Russ replied. Levan let out a dry chuckle.

"They sure listen well. I don’t understand why Kuhn doesn’t just order you two to stop fighting. If Kuhn said, ‘Get along,’ you would. Isn’t that right?"

Russ glared at Levan, who was grinning mockingly.

"Why did you call us?"

"Get ready to go home. But Kuhn has a place to stop by before going home, so one of you should go with him while the other heads back. Kali. Sir Kali. Which one of you will go with Kuhn?"

Russ and Martin exchanged glances briefly.

"I’ll go," Russ volunteered. Martin remained silent.

Levan watched Russ’s back as he exited the training hall, looking puzzled.

"No reaction today."

"Stop teasing him already. Why do you keep messing with that guy?" Martin reprimanded Levan. It was intentional on Levan's part to call them both Kali and Sir Kali. He found it amusing to see Russ get so riled up, proving his nasty personality.

"It's funny to see that sensitive guy get so worked up. It doesn't suit him."

"As far as I can see, you two are the same. Get along."

One of the twin brothers was a close friend to Levan, while the other was an adversary.

"That guy needs to learn how to control himself. He shows his annoyance whenever he's upset and displays his feelings to people he dislikes. If he doesn't change that attitude, it will cause problems for Kuhn later on. Kuhn is too lenient with him."

"He won't act up about the name anymore."

"Why?"

"Because soon enough, they'll both be called Sir Kali."

"What? Did Russ say that himself?"

Martin just shrugged.

"Interesting. He should’ve done that long ago."

Martin had tried to talk to Russ earlier. As Levan said, it wasn't good to overreact about the name.

“Russ, having the title ‘Sir’ isn’t that significant.”

“It’s nice to differentiate. Soon enough, when someone calls ‘Sir Kali,’ both of us will have to turn around.”

“Oh… That’s true.”

Martin believed that the words of the Silver King had influenced Russ.

‘He’s a simpleton.’

Though they clashed seriously at times, his brother was someone he could never hate.

Kuhn exited through the back door of the shop with Russ. Publicly, it would appear as though he had boarded the carriage returning to the mansion with Martin.

The two walked through the dim streets and entered the slums. During the day, one might wander into the slums by mistake and leave without incident, but loitering around this area at night was akin to suicide.

As night fell, the streets that had been dead during the day came alive. People who had been hiding who-knows-where began to emerge.

The people living in the slums had instincts as developed as wild animals, especially the ability to sense danger. No one dared to provoke Kuhn and Russ.

A lean man approached them.

"This way, please."

A flicker of interest passed through Kuhn’s eyes. They hadn’t gone deep into the slums, yet a guide had already made contact. This meant that as soon as they entered the slums, the information had quickly been relayed to Olga. Previously, they would meet at a predetermined location and signal each other.

'Olga’s control has increased.'

Surveying the slums required a large number of people. The economy here was not much different from the outside world. If you wanted people to work, you had to pay them.

The size of an organization was its strength. Having many members was proof that you had the ability to feed them.

The location had also changed. The room where Evita received guests was much larger and more refined than the one he had seen before. It was clearly a safe house with several hidden escape routes dug in case of emergency. Olga’s circumstances had evidently improved.

Kuhn sat in front of the table. Russ stood behind him as if guarding him.

“What’s this about?”

“There’s some information that might interest you, sir.”

Evita placed an envelope on the table. Kuhn opened it and skimmed the contents. He then put the document back into the envelope and asked,

“What’s the price?”

“Information.”

Evita showed Kuhn a piece of rough gemstone she held in her hand. It was the leader’s token given to her by her late stepfather, Blue Beard.

“You said this originally belonged to your father?”

Kuhn stared silently at the stone before nodding.

“My father once received help from Blue Beard. Blue Beard extended his kindness without knowing who my father was. My father said that since he had accepted the help, he must repay it. He gave this stone and said he would come back for it later.”

Evita’s eyes grew wide. She clasped the stone in both hands, holding it carefully.

“That doesn’t fully explain why this stone became the leader’s token.”

“That stone was a blank check issued by my father. I doubt Blue Beard had anything more valuable. It wouldn’t make sense for an heir not to inherit it. Either it’s fake, or it wasn’t recognized by Blue Beard. Either way, I don’t deal with half-baked things.”

“……”

His words made sense, but they stung. Of course, she wasn’t foolish enough to show it.

“So there’s a debt we can claim?”

She ground her teeth at the thought of her late stepfather. How could he not mention something so important? If they’d had sufficient funds from the start, they could have avoided so much hardship!

Kuhn crossed his arms.

“It’s my father’s debt, not mine. And our family doesn’t pass down debts.”

“That’s absurd!”

“Later, my father contacted Blue Beard, saying he would repay the debt, but Blue Beard refused. He said he wanted to keep the stone as a memento.”

Evita’s expression filled with frustration as she hurriedly asked,

“Or is this gemstone incredibly rare?”

“A collector with a penchant for oddities might buy it for a single gold coin.”

“Then why did your father give such a cheap thing as a token?”

An irate Evita threw decorum out the window.

“To my father, it was worth more than a thousand gold coins. It was a gift from my mother to him.”

Evita’s expression changed again.

“Then as his son, shouldn’t you recover it?”

“Not really.”

Kuhn gathered the envelope and stood up. Evita glared at him with burning eyes, cursing him inwardly with all sorts of profanities.

"One life."

Evita clenched her fist and shook it at Kuhn’s back as he turned away, but quickly lowered it.

Kuhn turned his head. Evita feigned innocence as if nothing had happened.

"If you ever find yourself in a situation where you should die, I’ll spare you once. Is that not enough?"

Evita shook her head vigorously. The Kaligo’s revenge was relentless. No one on their kill list had ever survived being tracked down. Even if you committed a crime that would put you on that list, being spared once was more than enough.

"That stone is an extra life. Keep it safe."

Evita smiled broadly and carefully tucked the gemstone into her chest.

“And if you pull a stunt like this again, I’ll count it as a deadly crime.”

Kuhn briefly stared at the wall behind Evita, then looked back at her. Evita swallowed hard. Her neck tingled with unease. After the two men left, Evita exhaled deeply.

“Phew. They’re like ghosts. How did they know? Everyone, come in.”

The wall behind Evita opened, and six people emerged. They were the decision-makers of the organization. There was a special device behind the wall that allowed them to eavesdrop on the conversation as if they were in the room.

The organization had stabilized to some extent. Now it was time to look to the future. However opinions differed on the organization’s direction. Today’s dealings with Kuhn played a crucial role in determining the organization’s future path.

“You all heard?”

“Yes, Master.”

The six were of varying genders and ages.

“Olga’s tradition is not to deal with nobles. Sure, tradition is important. But times have changed. We can’t even sustain the organization by only dealing with lowlifes.”

Olga had sold the information Kuhn had given them at staggered intervals to various buyers at high prices, breaking the rule that a piece of information should only be sold to one person and that the buyer should not be a noble.

Olga had made a fortune and gained a reputation as a high-end information group, fully regaining their former prestige.

After that, many nobles from the Empire contacted Olga to buy information. Evita advocated for accepting them as clients and called for changes in the organization. However, some members who adhered to tradition were against it.

“Kuhn, the leader of Kaligo, has been our major client. Now that he’s become a Marquis of the Empire, the tradition of not dealing with nobles has already been broken.”

Evita patted the gemstone she had stashed away.

“And now we have a mountain to lean on in case things go south. You’ve all heard enough to know how formidable the Rad family is. Even if we have to leave the Empire in the worst-case scenario, with the Rad family’s help, we could settle anywhere.”

“So, Master, are you saying we should offer ourselves as their loyal dogs?”

“Oh no, what are you talking about? We are Olga. No one can stand above us. But we should balance the scales according to the times. I want to live lean and long.”

One of the executives chuckled.

“Lean and long. I like that.”

Laughter erupted in the room.

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