Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Deal (1)

A heavy silence settled over the city.

People blinked their eyes.

For those who had witnessed the Bander Peddler Band's power and cruelty in the past, the scene before them was simply impossible to believe.

That savage Bander Peddler Band, brought down this easily?

So they checked again and again. But nothing changed.

Every member of the Bander Peddler Band had fallen. At the hands of a single outsider.

Ote, the most violent of them, lay with a gash across his neck, gurgling bloody foam. Teros, who had terrorized with his massive axe, was dead with daggers buried in both eyes.

And above all, Bander—the one who could be called the root of all of this…

He had been sent flying by the outsider's fist and sprawled on the ground. His face caved in.

All of it had happened in an exceedingly brief span of time—a blink would have been generous.

The people were less astonished than dumbfounded. They hadn't the faintest idea how to process this unreal situation.

"L-Long live the hero! The hero who saved the city! A hero!!"

A quick-witted fellow shouted in a stammering voice. It was the Merchant.

He praised the outsider named Anagin for saving them.

Whether he truly believed it or was simply posturing to survive, the shout spread like wildfire and soon turned into a roar of cheers.

Only a very few—the Old Man, the Market of Disis Polis named Rio, and Anagin himself—remained untouched by that atmosphere.

In particular, Anagin, the very subject of the cheers, seemed utterly unmoved by the crowd chanting his name. He dug at his ear with his pinky as he walked over to the fallen Bander.

Bander's face was so horribly mangled he was unrecognizable, but being a Giant and all, he hadn't died. He was slowly moving his arm, trying to reach for the sword he'd dropped.

Tap.

Just as Bander's hand was about to touch the blade, Anagin picked it up first and examined it.

"Hmm…"

Anagin let out a thoughtful hum as he looked the sword over.

It was well-made, but nothing particularly special. At the very least, it wasn't the kind of thing that could slice through other swords like carrots.

"Ugh…"

"Hm?"

Anagin looked at the mumbling Bander.

His mouth was so crushed he couldn't even pronounce properly, yet he said something.

"I'll teach you… the technique…"

"Ahh, you'll teach me? The technique you showed me earlier?"

Bander nodded with great effort.

Teach him the technique in exchange for his life. The offer itself wasn't bad.

To an Ascetic, the only thing more precious than life was knowledge and technique.

Trading such technique and knowledge to spare one's life was a fairly common occurrence. The problem was that there were also cases where it wasn't.

Unfortunately, Anagin was one of those cases.

"It's fine. I'll figure it out myself."

Anagin shrugged and lifted one leg. In that position, he added a word.

"Oh, by the way—you seem to be out of luck."

Just as Bander tried to say something, Anagin's foot smashed into his face.

Crunch!

Crunch!

Crunch!

As wet bursting sounds echoed through the center of the city, the cheers of "Waaah—!" gradually quieted.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Amid the fading cheers, Anagin walked over to Ote and stomped on his twitching temple.

Crunch!

Crunch!

Crunch!

Before long, the cheers had vanished completely.

Paying it no mind, Anagin went to Teros and crushed his head underfoot.

Crunch!

Crunch!

Crunch!

Anagin's feet, stained red, and three corpses with caved-in heads.

At the sight, the air turned chilly despite it being spring, and a silence deeper than night settled despite the sun being up.

Against that chill and silence as his backdrop, Anagin spoke quietly.

"Don't stick your petty tricks into my fight. It puts me in a bad mood."

Harsh, cold words—nothing less. No one could muster a reply.

Thud. Thud.

Except for one person—Rio, the Market of Disis Polis. He stepped forward and bowed his head to Anagin.

"Congratulations."

At the abrupt congratulation, Anagin furrowed his brow and asked.

"Congratulations for what?"

"Have you not obtained the vast fortune of the Bander Peddler Band as spoils? You have come into great wealth."

Rio pointed to the Minotaur standing fearfully in one corner.

"Do you happen to know what that creature is?"

"No. What is it?"

"It is called a Minotaur—a Monster race that rules Crete Island. It has great strength and stamina, but it's so violent that it's nearly impossible to tame."

"Whoa, fascinating. But do I need to know?"

"No. What matters is the wooden box that Minotaur carries. It is a magic tool of the Bander Peddler Band, similar to a subspace bag. All of Bander's accumulated wealth is inside that box. And now it is yours."

Since it was Anagin who had defeated the Bander Peddler Band, there was no fault in the logic. The only issue was that it was a hassle.

"…It looks too big to carry around, though?"

"Then I shall dispose of it for you so it won't be a hassle. It seems like it will take considerable time—shall we start with a meal first?"

Anagin looked at Rio and cracked his neck with a pop.

Rio spoke with his eyes wide open.

"It is tradition to treat a great customer to a meal…"

"Is the food good?"

"It will be delicious."

Rio lifted his head, brimming with confidence.

---

"I'll admit it. It's good…"

The window was dyed red by the setting sun.

Anagin, having devoured an early dinner, wiped his hands with a towel as he spoke.

On the dining table before him, bowls with nothing left but sauce and crumbs were stacked like towers, and from this one could tell just how much food Anagin had consumed.

It was almost enough for a small village feast.

"I'm glad it suited your taste. It was worth bringing the chef from my homeland."

"Homeland?"

"Hellas. The land of civilization and order."

"I know where Hellas is. Anyway, the food was good. I ate so much I'm worried you'll be cursing me behind my back."

Rio laughed.

"Haha, you concern yourself with such things?"

"I may not look it, but I was raised properly, so I know a thing or two about manners."

"For someone who does, your words are rather short, though?"

"Exemptions apply to you scheming bastards. Got a problem with that?"

Rio shook his head, showing both palms as if to say he had no intention of picking a fight.

"No, no. Of course not. We're simply grateful that you saved us from Bander's cruelty."

"I told you I didn't save you."

When Anagin denied it flatly, Rio conceded.

"I know. You couldn't care less about the likes of us. But it's also true that we received help. That's why feeding you well isn't a waste at all."

"There's that scheming talk again. Whirr. Whirr."

Anagin tapped his temple as a warning, but Rio didn't back down. He looked Anagin straight in the eyes.

"Since I'm already scheming, may I scheme a little more? With my head."

"……"

"If it displeases you, feel free to slap me anytime."

The atmosphere around Rio shifted, as though he had resolved himself to something. Anagin glared at him for a moment, then leaned back in his chair.

"Go on."

"There's actually another reason feeding you isn't a waste."

"Because you get to pocket a hefty commission?"

Anagin guessed immediately. Inside the giant wooden box carried by the Bander Peddler Band's Minotaur was, as Rio had said, an enormous quantity of goods.

Flour, olives, apples, grapes, textiles, oil, dried meat—and coins, jewels, precious metals, and so on. Even from the interim reports alone, the amount was staggering.

Of course, all of it belonged to Anagin, who had defeated the Bander Peddler Band, but since he'd agreed to let them dispose of it, the city stood to gain considerably through commission fees as well.

"That is also correct."

"That is also correct" meant there was another reason besides the commission.

Anagin furrowed his brow.

"I don't really like riddles."

"Then I'll get straight to the point. The reason feeding you isn't a waste is you yourself, Anagin."

Whirr. Whirr. The sound of scheming echoed. Just as Anagin raised his arm, Rio spoke up abruptly.

"Truth be told, I didn't want to come to this land."

"…?"

"As I mentioned earlier, our caravan did quite well for itself, even by Hellas standards."

Hellas. The blessed land directly watched over by the Gods, and the center of civilization.

"In that place where order and civilization have taken root, not even a Giant can run wild. Powerful kingdoms and heroes cooperate under the Gods to maintain order."

"If it's such a great place, why not just live there? Why go through all this hardship coming out here?"

"Funny. Those are the exact words I said to my father. Perhaps it was old age, but he suddenly gathered me and the caravan and came here to settle."

"Business wasn't going well?"

"Not at all. It was smooth. The problem was that it was too smooth."

"You don't like smooth?"

"It's a matter of perspective. My father was a fairly successful merchant, but he couldn't become more than that. A fairly successful merchant and nothing beyond it. In other words, he couldn't become a big name."

Anagin understood what he meant. Apparently, Rio's father wasn't the kind of man who'd be satisfied with being a fairly successful merchant.

A successful merchant was merely mid-tier. He had his sights set on something beyond that, but it was impossible in Hellas, so he'd come here. The problem was…

"Why couldn't he break past that?"

"The answer to that lies in what I said before as well. Hellas is the land of order and civilization. In other words, every domain has its owner. Land, rivers, mountains—even commercial rights and the seats of heroes… Small positions may change hands, but the great seats always have owners. Ones appointed by the Gods themselves… My father found that hard to bear. Having to settle for scraps."

"Good grief, he's a greedy man."

"He had the ability to match his greed. He saw the value of this Anapic earlier than anyone."

Anapic. The new land won into Hellas's sphere of influence through a long struggle against barbarian tribes and fanatics.

It was said that mainly impoverished folk tired of life in Hellas, tenant farmers, and runaway slaves came here.

"My father believed that Anapic was land whose owner hadn't been clearly decided yet—that depending on how things went, anything was possible. A resident of a great caravan, a king of a nation… He dreamed such dreams, liquidated his entire fortune, came here, and built a city. Gathering people who had nowhere else to go."

"I'm increasingly failing to see why you're telling me all this."

"The point is: please don't hate us too much. Honestly, most of us are pitiful people. Impoverished folk drowning in debt, tenant farmers who don't own a single patch of land, runaway slaves. Not all, but most are pitiful, wretched people. Please don't be too cold to them."

Anagin scowled and shook his head.

"Why should I care about any of that?"

"You don't have to. I'm just saying this on the off chance—it's not a ploy to tug at your sympathy."

"I know. If it were, I'd have slapped you."

Rio smiled outwardly, but inwardly he was alarmed. He could only imagine his body and head separating if he took one of Anagin's slaps.

"But is this really enough to keep you safe? It's not my business, but chasing off one beast that threatens a village doesn't solve the problem."

Anagin sharply hit the core of the matter.

Bander's peddler band was gone, but there was no guarantee a new Bander Peddler Band wouldn't appear. Perhaps even worse ones.

Rio smiled with composure.

"That's all right. I plan to call on Ascetics who have connections to my father and request protection."

"Whoa… then why didn't you do that from the start?"

"There's a saying: one step removed, hearts are a thousand ri apart. Just because someone was close to my father doesn't mean they'll be close to me. Much less a man who couldn't even deal with stray dogs after his father passed."

"Is it any different now?"

"The situation has changed. Bander, who was here, is gone, so there's no immediate fight to worry about—and his vast wealth is now in hand."

"…Hm?"

Something felt off, so Anagin looked at Rio. Rio smiled and rose from his seat. Then he knelt and made his proposal.

"I would like to propose a deal to you."