Chapter 106

The Republic of Freedom (2)

As we walked down the stairs leading to the station exit, Irena spoke to Kairus.

“They say there's no class system in the Republic, so money's everything, right?”

If you wore expensive clothes, lived in a fancy house, and ate gourmet food, that was it.

“Well… there's a tendency to disregard things like tradition, refinement, or knowledge.”

[So how much do you make? Do you earn more than me?]

That one sentence could crush everything else in this country.

“Maybe that’s better than having your entire fortune seized for putting basil instead of parsley in the tomato soup you offered at your ancestor's grave.”

Irena was one of those who thought the Valorn Empire’s ancestral inheritance laws were idiotic, so she didn’t think the Republic’s way was all that bad.

“If income is the absolute standard that determines the value of a job, it means we live in a country where pimps can look down on schoolteachers and firefighters.”

After all, it was true that pimps made more money than teachers or firefighters.

“…That's a thought that makes my head hurt.”

Monetary absolutism.

It was one of the many problems the Aylan Republic had.

“In a survey on the most important values in life, the Daeyeon Kingdom ranked health as number one.”

“What about the Empire?”

“Family.”

As for the Aylan Republic, needless to say, the most important value was money.

“What a charming country.”

As we walked toward the exit from the train platform, Kairus took his first step into the Aylan Republic.

“Hold on a moment. ID check, please.”

At the checkpoint in front of the exit, the police were verifying the identities of people leaving the station.

“Please show your ID.”

“Of course. Thank you for your hard work.”

Kairus handed over his forged ID as if it were no big deal.

“You’re from Bennett City. Welcome.”

The officer shone a flashlight on the ID, confirmed it, and handed it back with a polite greeting.

We passed through the inspection without a hitch and successfully exited the station.

“This city’s a mess.”

The moment we stepped outside, a massive billboard came into view.

The billboard featured a close-up image of a woman’s large breasts, nearly all skin.

Below the image, in red letters, it read: “Open 24/7. Carlson Market.”

“That’s… quite the ad. Has nothing to do with the market though.”

It was an ad that made you want to laugh. But the purpose of advertising was to grab attention.

In that sense, it was effective. It certainly caught men’s eyes.

The intent and goal were clear.

“There’s no way they’d allow this kind of madness in the Empire.”

Kairus scoffed at Irena’s remark. In the Empire, not only newspapers and radio broadcasts but practically everything was subject to censorship.

The Pyint bills had the national flag printed on them, and if that part got dirtied, the owner could be sentenced to up to three years in prison for defiling the flag.

“If there really were a heaven on earth, how would the Ascension Cult make a living?”

Everyone had their own problems, just as they each had their own strengths.

“Anyway, if we want to find our prosecutor friend…”

Settern Volos, whom Kairus was looking for, would likely be working at the district prosecutor’s office.

“We can’t just walk in and see him.”

“Of course not.”

Kairus nodded at Irena’s words. There was no way Settern Volos would agree to a sudden meeting. Besides, meeting Settern wasn’t even that important.

“Gathering intel is more important.”

It was impossible to stop an investigation through persuasion. If that had been an option, the Rose Garden would have already taken care of it.

“If he’s married, then his wife or children. If he’s not, then a lover.”

They had to find someone who could be used as leverage.

“Or maybe some crime that could seriously damage his career.”

Anything would do. They just needed a card that could be used to control Settern Volos.

It would be unfortunate for Settern, but giving in to blackmail and dropping the case was the better option.

‘If not that, there’s nothing left but killing him.’

Kairus didn’t want to kill Settern either. If he murdered the grandson of a parliament member, the backlash against him would be catastrophic.

“Finding a weakness, huh? Does that mean we’ll have to tail him all day?”

Kairus nodded at Irena’s words.

“For now, I’m planning to watch him for about a day.”

If they didn’t get any meaningful results, the surveillance might need to be extended.

“I’m also concerned about the skill level of his bodyguards.”

They wouldn’t have assigned some random street thug to protect the grandson of a parliament member.

“His bodyguards’ skill, huh…”

Still, it wasn’t like they would be up against monsters at the level of a knight captain.

To have guards of that caliber, the guy would have to be the president’s grandson, not a parliament member’s.

In conclusion—

“We can handle it.”

The estimated average they had in mind was similar to the group of four they encountered during the Pontus expedition.

In the worst case, the combined strength of three might be around the level of that last encounter with the Lunaseeker.

The likelihood of someone stronger than that being assigned as a bodyguard was extremely low.

“We’ll naturally figure out how good the bodyguards are while keeping an eye on him anyway.”

After leaving the station, Kairus and Irena headed to a hotel.

Murdan City practically revolved around the Renikoff Steelworks.

So there were only a few reasonably priced business hotels available for people visiting on business.

“Well, as long as it’s clean, that’s enough.”

“Still, I didn’t think we’d be able to check in at this hour.”

Kairus and Irena arrived at the hotel around 10 a.m. Hotels in the Valorn Empire didn’t usually allow check-in at that time.

“We paid an extra fee.”

“Oh, so that’s possible if you pay up.”

As they stepped out of the elevator on the way to their room, Kairus handed one of the room keys to Irena.

“Unpack, wash up, and let’s meet at the lobby café.”

Their rooms were adjacent. After entering his room, Kairus washed up quickly, unpacked just enough, and went back down to the first floor.

“Took you long enough.”

He was sipping on a cup of coffee when Irena sat down across from him.

“This is me hurrying.”

As if to prove her point, Irena’s hair was still damp.

“Settern Volos is probably working at the district prosecutor’s office.”

Located in Murdan City, the district prosecutor’s office oversaw not only Murdan itself but also the surrounding regions under its jurisdiction.

“Erens is included in that jurisdiction too?”

“That’s probably why they were able to start the investigation.”

That’s where the Add-On technician they were looking for was located, and also the village where the Rose Garden’s business branch was operating.

It was just a rural backwater tucked into a corner of Murdan City’s district, but it kept coming up in the course of resolving their current assignment.

“What do you think about taking shifts?”

Kairus shook his head at Irena’s suggestion.

“I’d love to, but we need to move together.”

“Why? We could take turns resting.”

Kairus gave a brief answer.

“The guy we’re watching has bodyguards.”

Surveillance was fine, but if they got caught by the bodyguards, the situation could spiral out of control.

“Ah, right.”

If one of them were ambushed during surveillance, the other wouldn’t even know until the shift change.

“Let’s watch him together and take turns sleeping when we get the chance.”

At Kairus’s words, Irena let out an exasperated sigh.

“Might as well not have gotten a hotel room.”

“What are you talking about? Were you planning to lug your stuff around all day?”

While glancing over the café menu, Irena ordered an omelet and coffee, then looked at Kairus.

“Let’s at least eat before we start.”

“Yeah, that’d be best.”

After finishing a meal that was too late for breakfast and too light for lunch, Kairus and Irena got up from their seats.

“So, now that we’ve eaten, should we go start watching Settern Volos?”

In response to Irena’s question, Kairus pointed at her with his spoon and said:

“First, we need to talk to the local Rose Garden branch.”

They had to make use of every available resource. And of course, that included the Rose Garden branch located in Murdan City.

“We already know the address, after all.”

They had already been given the address, so Kairus and Irena left the hotel and headed straight to the location where the Rose Garden’s branch was situated.

“An art museum, huh. How refined.”

“Not many people come and go, and when it comes to artwork, it's perfect for laundering money.”

A private art museum was a business that any criminal organization would envy.

On top of that, even if large, well-secured crates were being moved in and out, people would just assume it was part of an exhibition.

And if it didn't make much noise, there would barely be any visitors.

Kairus and Irena pushed open the museum door and stepped inside.

“We’ve been expecting you. I’ll guide you, so please follow me.”

A man in a security uniform checked their faces and led them to a space resembling a reception room.

They sat on the couch and waited.

Then the door opened, and more than ten people began to enter the room.

“Look at these bastards.”

The moment Kairus saw them, he muttered that and stepped forward to block the doorway.

“Only one of you comes in. The rest wait outside.”

“The Representative told us to do our best to assist you. He didn’t say we had to obey.”

The one who spoke back to Kairus was the branch manager.

Kairus grinned brightly as he responded.

“If you talk back to me one more time, one of you is going to end up with a busted arm.”

“…Are you threatening us right now?”

A cracking sound came from Kairus’s fist as his joints aligned with a snap.

“Moron. Does this look like I’m flirting to you?”

Before he even finished speaking, one of the men drew his weapon with a click.

He probably meant it as a warning. And normally, a warning like that wouldn’t be a problem.

“Listen carefully. I came here on the Representative of the Rose Garden’s request to help you.”

A sharp sound sliced through the air.

Thud—the sound of a wrist falling to the floor.

Blood started to spread across the ground.

“…?!”

The one who had drawn his weapon had only slightly unsheathed his blade in warning and just like that, he lost his right hand.

“Do you get it now? I said I came to help.”

When Kairus swung his sword widely through the air, a furious howl, like a swarm of hornets, followed as the severed wrist floated into the air.

Blood still dripping from the dismembered wrist, it slowly drifted toward Kairus, as if being pulled by an invisible force.

“To treat someone who came to help like this… it’s a little hurtful.”

Kairus grabbed the severed wrist and tossed it back to its original owner, who was still gushing blood.

“I’ll say it again. This time, I hope I don’t have anything to be upset about.”

After a brief pause, Kairus continued in a low voice.

“Only the head stays. Everyone else, get lost.”

Unlike earlier, the subordinates the branch manager had brought in didn’t resist Kairus’s order.

No one needed to be told twice—they hurried out of the room in a panic.

In the end, only the branch manager remained in the reception room.

“Good. Now we’re finally in a situation where we can talk.”

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