Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 5

A Sinful City (2)

* * *

If Kairus had been just another pampered young master, he might have frowned at the wretchedness of the people he saw in that scene. But Kairus did not do so.

‘It’s no different from Carlson Labor Correctional Facility.’

Of course, Kairus had indeed been raised as a pampered young master, but six years in Carlson Labor Correctional Facility had not allowed him to remain a naive young master ignorant of the terrors of the world.

He, too, knew all too well how far poverty and desperation could drive a person.

He had even eaten wriggling maggots from a cesspit toilet before, so what of it.

“At least they left him his underwear.”

The ones who froze or were beaten to death in Carlson Labor Correctional Facility were all abandoned truly naked.

At least the people who had robbed that man had not yet been desperate enough to strip him of his used undergarments and put them on themselves.

They must not have been that desperate. In any case, a bribe. Kairus briefly sank into thought.

‘There’s no reason I have to ask those fellows for permission.’

The person who had just paid a bribe to pass hadn’t received any kind of transit permit.

In other words, as long as he got past this checkpoint, it wouldn’t matter whether he sneaked by or went through a proper inspection.

No one else seemed to pay Kairus any attention.

“Does it end with just lowering the barrier?”

In fact, that alone was enough to prevent most people from slipping out. A problem? Naturally, there was one.

‘They don’t care if people die.’

If a fire were to break out inside, everyone waiting in the station who had no means to escape would burn to death.

They were so openly disdainful of human life that it was almost impressive.

Kairus looked around. The only lighting was the kerosene lamps illuminating the station interior.

“Let’s see.”

Rather than escaping alone, it seemed better to carve a huge hole in the barrier itself and break out entirely.

Kairus lightly stroked the barrier that blocked the way between Bennett City and the station.

Fortunately, it looked like he could break through this much. With conviction, Kairus slowly reached for the sword at his waist.

Had his battle gear been of slightly better quality, there would have been no need to check the barrier’s durability.

But complaining about lacking pepper would only let the food in front of him grow cold.

Kairus envisioned precisely where to strike, how to cut through, and how he would drive the blade in and pull it free.

With a small click, the sword slipped free of the scabbard and swept through the air.

How nice it would have been if the barrier had been sliced cleanly with a crisp slicing sound.

“Damn…”

But he couldn’t manage that. With a loud cracking sound, part of the barrier where Kairus’s sword had passed was literally ripped away.

Wouldn’t it look just like that if you tried to cut meat with a dull blade?

“Damn it, couldn’t be helped.”

Kairus muttered as though making excuses for the result he’d produced.

No matter how skilled you were, it meant nothing if your battle gear couldn’t generate power worthy of that skill.

That was why every fighter worth their salt risked everything to get good battle gear.

“Better get moving.”

The noise of Kairus tearing apart the barrier was enough to snap the dozing people wide awake.

“Huh? What? Why is that…?”

It looked as though some giant predator had bitten a chunk out of the barrier. It was Kairus’s handiwork.

“Now’s the time…”

But the moment of confusion did not last long. The murmuring crowd, without anyone needing to say it, all surged toward the torn-open barrier.

This place was crawling with people who no longer even considered petty crimes to be crimes.

Come morning, they would either have to pay a bribe or wait all day again, but now, that door had suddenly opened.

‘Right now, it’s free.’

The instant that conclusion settled in their minds, everyone acted on it, and in the blink of an eye, chaos erupted.

Naturally, among them was Kairus, the very person who had created the hole.

“Longwave Bistro at 47 Mahogany Park.”

Having safely exited the train station, Kairus murmured the name of the place he needed to find.

Once, he had been the scion of a noble house, then a prisoner of the labor correctional facility. And now, he would have to live as an employee of a restaurant in Bennett City this city called the city of the sinful to gather information on the whereabouts of Veil of Plumed Mist.

If anyone’s life could be called eventful, it had to be Kairus’s.

“Wow.”

The scenery that greeted him the moment he stepped out of the station was even more spectacular than he had imagined.

Didn’t they say that in cities steeped in crime, the nights were always busier than the days? Kairus, for a moment, lost himself in the view, standing blankly in awe.

Rows upon rows of gas lamps lined the roadside, casting their soft quince-colored light, each one glowing like a jewel.

“For a city that’s supposed to be the cradle of every kind of crime, it’s almost too beautiful.”

With that thought, Kairus stepped out onto the street, but it wasn’t long before he revised his assessment of the place’s beauty.

From a shadowy alley where the lamplight did not reach, thick, acrid smoke drifted out into the main road. He had no idea what was going on in there.

“Aren’t they cold?”

Men clad in nothing but tight, palm-sized black briefs flaunted their bodies, while women, no less shameless, showcased a shocking expanse of exposed skin and massive swaths of cloth artfully arranged, busily touting for customers to buy a night’s pleasure.

While drunkards and the tavern bouncer were entangled on the ground, fighting to the death, there were people placing bets on who would win.

“You don’t have any money? Are you telling me you don’t have any money, you bastard?! What kind of shithead do we have here?!”

The bouncer swung a liquor bottle that smashed against the drunkard’s skull. With a sharp crack, the bottle shattered, and shards of glass embedded themselves all over the drunkard’s head.

“Just my luck. A complete idiot had to crawl in here.”

Muttering that, the bouncer grabbed the blood-soaked drunkard and flung him onto the street, dusted off his hands, and went back into the tavern.

Almost as if they had been waiting, a bunch of filthy kids who had been watching the fight from the shadows in the alley ran up to the drunkard.

The children quickly rifled through the pockets of the man lying there bleeding, taking everything he had before sprinting away.

A few idlers caught up to the kids, punched them a few times, and took back the stolen goods.

One child who had dared to resist ended up with four or five teeth knocked out.

It was a scene that could never be called civilized by any stretch. Kairus, as though this suited him perfectly, approached the idlers who had just beaten the child and stolen the loot.

“Excuse me, I’d like to ask you something.”

“Piss off, you moron. You want your head split open and buried…?”

With a sharp crack, the idler’s head snapped to the side. Kairus had slapped him across the face.

To survive in Carlson Labor Correctional Facility, there were two rules you had to follow at all times.

Never stay silent if you were disrespected.

Always take compensation equivalent to anything you did for others.

Kairus had just been disrespected, and after six years of living by those rules, he didn’t stay silent.

“I said, I’d like to ask you something.”

Kairus, who had struck the unexpected slap, spoke again in the same calm tone as before.

In the end, these bastards were no different from any other criminals. The only difference was that the criminals in Carlson Labor Correctional Facility had at least been caught by the Security Corps and isolated from society.

“You son of a bitch…”

Once again, with a loud crack, Kairus’s palm struck the same cheek he’d slapped a moment before.

“I’m asking you a question. Did you weld your ears shut?”

There was no need for courtesy, polite speech, or persuasion.

You had to prove with brute force that you were on top or, failing that, at least show that even if you were weaker, you were not someone to be taken lightly.

Kairus seized the man’s arm and twisted the joint as he spoke.

“I want to know where Longwave Bistro at 47 Mahogany Park is.”

Even if it was just a cheap standard-issue battle gear rated at a single horsepower, battle gear was still battle gear. No ordinary person could withstand the strength of a horse.

“Kk…aaaaaagh!”

With a dull crunch, the man’s shoulder joint dislocated, followed by a raw, wet sound.

Unable to endure the agony spreading from his bones, the man let out a pathetic scream like a rooster being castrated.

“If you have time, would you be so kind as to show me the way, gentlemen?”

A polite request mixed with a touch of force was always more persuasive than polite words alone.

Whether crushing someone’s shoulder counted as a “touch of force,” Kairus couldn’t say.

But judging by the state of this city, he figured that level of violence was probably considered no more than a greeting.

“I’ll show you… just fix this…!”

Only then did Kairus finally let go of the arm he’d been gripping.

“It’s much nicer when everyone’s polite to each other, isn’t it? Lead the way.”

Kairus gave his sword at his waist a light tap and jerked his chin. It was a simple warning not even to think about any pointless resistance.

Having just watched their friend’s arm snap like a straw stalk, the idlers decided on the spot to neatly fold away any will to defy him.

“We’re here. Mahogany Park.”

Mahogany Park, despite its name, didn’t have a single mahogany tree in sight.

All he could see were a few withered trees, some filthy benches, and groups of beggars sprawled there, moaning and rambling nonsense, drunk on cheap liquor or narcotics.

“Is there anything here I should be careful about?”

One of the men quickly answered Kairus’s question.

“Not really. It’s basically no-man’s-land. Do whatever you want nobody will stop you.”

As if. Kairus clicked his tongue inwardly. No one whose arm he had just crushed would ever give him honest advice.

He understood those words as a clear sign that this place was under the tight control of some criminal group.

“You’ve worked hard. Have a good day.”

After offering his thanks, Kairus let them go. Then he began scanning the area around Mahogany Park.

The people moving about gave him stares that were anything but friendly.

Kairus had no intention of picking a fight first, so he ignored those looks and continued searching for his destination.

“Found it.”

It didn’t take long to locate Longwave Bistro.

Even at night, the place was lively inside. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about the place suddenly going out of business while he worked there.

“Excuse me.”

Kairus opened the door and stepped in, taking in the restaurant’s interior.

A dusty phonograph was laboring to spit out some old jazz. The crackling static layered over the strained music sounded like the phlegm-choked wheeze of a dying old man.

Kerosene lamps with metal shades cast a dim glow here and there, while dice clattered and curses flew back and forth.

Women in thin dresses drifted between the smoky tables, flirting with the men and urging them to come visit the places they worked later.

It looked less like a restaurant and more like a den of thieves.

“Sit anywhere. We close in thirty minutes, so pick something you can eat fast.”

A burly middle-aged man, who appeared to be the owner, spat the chewed end of his cigarette into a tin at his waist and spoke curtly.

“I came here on Tommy’s recommendation.”

At Kairus’s words, the owner let out a short grunt and looked over at him.

“What the hell are you talking about? That bastard won’t be out of the can for ages.”

“I was on the same block. He said if I had nowhere to go when I got out, I should come here. He said you’d have at least a server’s spot for me.”

When Kairus finished speaking, the owner snorted, slammed his fist down on the bar with a heavy thud, and then filled a huge mug to the brim with liquor before draining it in one long pull.

Hanging from his waist was a pair of brass knuckles that clinked as he moved battle gear. A restaurant owner with battle gear it was like watching a retired navy fisherman.

Considering that not a single drunk dared to pick a fight with the owner in this chaos, it was clear he was quite capable.