In New Shoara (2)
The cries of livestock echo throughout the place.
Two men were walking, stepping on the sticky red mud and the bloody smell that could be felt everywhere.
“No matter when I come here, it’s hard to endure.”
“hmm.”
Otar briefly responded to Vlad’s grumbling.
Because he also agreed with what Vlad said.
The church did not like those who handled the blood of dead things.
However, most humans have no choice but to live by eating blood and meat.
It was here that the uncomfortable coexistence of the brilliant word of God and helpless instincts occurred.
An alley ruled by a pig butcher and a black bear. A street filled with red blood.
This was an alley older than the lust-filled Changgwan Street and the gambling den filled with desire.
“The smell is dizzying.”
“…….”
With the weather getting hotter, the smell of blood pooling on the floor was rising.
The smell of blood mixed with all sorts of miscellaneous smells in an old and complicated alley, and the looks in the eyes of people living with death.
Vlad passed through them and stood in front of the largest building on this street.
It was decorated with unidentifiable bones everywhere, so most people would have a hard time even looking at it, but the boy born in the back alley was already used to this atmosphere.
Thong-thong-thong!
A doorknob made from the bone of something.
Vlad announced his arrival by violently knocking on the doorknob, which seemed to have been made in bad taste.
“who is this?”
“You probably already heard it.”
“……”
Vlad and Otar noticed eyes watching them right after they entered Black Bear’s Alley.
The sight of a boy carrying his own flag with flashy blonde hair was certainly something that would attract attention anywhere other than a back alley.
“wait.”
A man who forcefully closed a small hole that only his eyes could see through the gap in the door.
“…….”
But 5 minutes passed, 10 minutes passed, and no matter how long I waited, the next message was not heard.
[They’re fighting.]
As the voice said, Vlad raised his head and looked at the sky, receiving the same traditional disregard that usually occurred in the back alleys.
A span of blue sky was visible between the chaotically rising buildings.
‘I don’t think I should be ignored like this.’
The boy was lost in thought as he looked at the small sky.
This kind of disregard would have been normal for Vlad in the back alleys, but what should Vlad in Shoara do?
The boy, who had only recently heard of honor, was troubled.
Clouds pass by.
When the color of the sky turns red little by little.
It was only then that
chin-!
“Come in.”
The Black Bear building opened its doors.
“…….”
The door opened after a long wait, but Vlad was still just looking at the sky.
The boy decided as he watched the sky becoming increasingly red.
I can’t get over this.
“Aren’t you going to come in?”
“……okay. “I’m not going in.”
“okay?”
The gatekeeper snorted as he looked at the boy stretching out on the street.
How dare you tell me where this is.
The street where the boy was standing was ruled by the black bear, the leader of the butchers.
“Then go away.”
But the gatekeeper should have noticed.
That the boy in front of me was not simply showing off his pride.
The boy was a person who brought not only himself but also someone else’s name to this place.
“If you close that door now.”
A boy’s voice came from behind the gatekeeper, who was about to close the door with a sneer.
It was a voice with a strong presence that was not appropriate for his age.
“You won’t be able to handle today’s work.”
“what?”
The gatekeeper looked at the boy, listening to the eerie-sounding words without knowing why.
Blue eyes.
It did not contain the emotions such as anger or fear that the gatekeeper was expecting.
There was only the appearance of a boy who was calm and willing to do his job.
“You guys started first.”
Instead of answering the gatekeeper’s question, Vlad slammed Otar’s flag on the ground.
The flag, which was empty in some places, had the Bayezid family emblem engraved on it, although it was small.
“…….”
The gatekeeper thought as he looked at the boy standing unwaveringly next to the flag.
Perhaps the rumor that he cut down the money makers with his own strength may be true.
That kind of presence was flowing from the boy’s blue eyes.
“……Go in. “I apologize.”
“no.”
The boy saw, learned, and grew more in the six months he was away from Shoara than in the 16 years he lived in the back alleys.
What is needed at this moment is a cause, not anger or violence.
“Tell him to come out in person.”
“……who?”
Justification and status. And the boy learned from seeing a young man who wielded fear as a weapon.
How to bring someone to their knees with force rather than violence.
That was the noble way.
“Tell the Black Bear to come out and meet Bayezid’s rightful representative.”
Bayezid’s legitimate representative.
An article about the last remaining prostitutes.
And the boy who destroyed an organization with his own power knew exactly where he was.
“This is the last chance given by Vlad of Shoara.”
The back alley bosses had no right to keep the boy waiting any longer.
The flag that the boy had planted in the mud was waving quietly.
It was a flag that only those who had proven their honor could carry.
※※※※
A procession of carriages leaving the city was lining up outside Shoara’s city hall.
If there are new people coming in, there are also people who have to leave.
The knights and soldiers who had previously been stationed in Shoara were returning to Sturmma, the city where their main army was located.
With the former mayor of Shoara, who was bowing his head in the carriage.
“I ended up feeling sorry unintentionally.”
“I am just carrying the karma of my own creation. Josef.”
Josef, who was watching the scene from the window, smiled faintly and shifted his gaze to look at the sky.
“What I’m sorry about is that I brought it a little earlier.”
The sky was spotlessly clear, without even a cloud, but the human city below was not.
Unlike the sky created by God, the city of Shoara was created by imperfect humans, so it could not shine brightly without a single spot.
“I didn’t have time either, so I had no choice.”
The former mayor of Shoara, who has been exposed for all kinds of flaws in the administration of the city, will eventually return to Sturmá and receive severe punishment.
However, all these mistakes might have been something that could normally be overlooked.
In order to manage the back alleys smoothly, authority was delegated to one boss, and security forces were concentrated on ordinary citizens rather than insignificant people. Donations from influential people coming from all over may have only helped the former mayor in running the city administration.
If it weren’t for Josef’s sharp checks and Peter’s tacit consent.
“What did the boss called Black Bear say?”
“They say they will do their best to cooperate.”
Josef smiled as he heard Vlad’s report coming from behind him.
“Still, he must have been stubborn and stubborn, but things progressed quite easily.”
“…It seems like being from the same back alley worked out well.”
Is that possible?
Josef knew that there must have been difficulties of their own.
However, even though it may have been an unfamiliar task, the boy successfully completed the mission given to him.
Josef’s intention to raise Vlad into a more perfect knight rather than just a swordsman was succeeding.
“okay. Good work.”
Josef looked back with his back to him.
There were men there waiting for Josef’s next words.
“As you all know, I have not yet completely taken control of Shoara, and I will have a very busy time resolving it.”
The men standing behind Josef.
Men of various ages were standing in Josef’s office.
5 knights, 1 wizard, 10 administrative personnel and 30 elite soldiers.
And even one squire.
All of them were Shoara’s vassals that Josef had newly formed in Sturma.
And from now on, Josef had to use them to take control of Shoara’s political, administrative, security, and military power.
For the moment that may be the last opportunity given to you.
“In anything, getting used to it for the first time is the most important and difficult.”
Josef’s vassals were from the same boat.
If Josef becomes the next head of the family, the Bayezid family will be successful, and if they are eliminated from the head of the family competition, they will also be in the same situation as the crew of a sinking ship.
For everyone here, the city of Shoara was like a final stepping stone.
“From now on, I will begin work to rule Shoara smoothly. “I will do my best to proceed, but for the time being, I have no time to worry about anything other than this.”
Darkness was spreading throughout Shoara, but Josef was not yet prepared to fight against it.
However, it is impossible to be fully prepared for everything.
If what I had done up to this point had been a struggle, from now on it had to be a struggle.
“So, I will leave this matter to Sir Gregory. “Select members of the investigation team here and now.”
As Josef spoke, a short but sturdy-looking knight stepped forward and bowed his head.
“Thank you for entrusting me with this position. Josef.”
“I trust you will do your best in your mission.”
Even though he was not his, Josef chose Gregory as the person responsible for this matter.
This is because Gregory, a knight who always stood neutral within the family, was not the kind of person who would be blinded by the fight between brothers and go astray.
“……First, I would like to take Knight Sir Cade. I believe that in this case, there will be many situations where you will have to chase after someone. So, I want to work with someone who is good at tracking.”
Although Cade was seriously injured while dealing with the cursed woman in the last subjugation battle, he was given another chance.
Feeling joy that he couldn’t hide, Knight Cade clasped his hands tightly.
“Permission.”
“And…”
Gregory stroked his strong beard and lost himself in thought for a moment.
There was a standard combination that he had already thought of through Zayar’s advice, but he decided to try something a little different.
Actually, I’ve been curious about it for a while.
“I would like to take Vlad, Lord Xayar’s squire. “I was the first person to discover this in the first place.”
“…Hmm.”
Josef looked surprised at Gregory’s choice, but nodded.
Because his choice wasn’t completely incomprehensible.
“…….”
Gregory’s nomination and Joseph’s permission.
The boy standing at the very back of the vassal group looked at the knight who had pointed him out.
His chubby upper body and short legs, which looked like they could roll over, reminded Vlad of someone he knew well.
“I’m counting on you. “Promising player.”
Knight Gregory.
A man who had been paying attention to the boy from the Bayezid family.
The knight, who was also Ochon’s master at Portli Kannor and his guardian, was looking at the boy and smiling.
