The Duke’s Madness

“There are two main types of people in the underworld.”

With these words, Willett takes out a glass.

It was a cup made of gold, but it was a cup that looked expensive even at a glance.

Willett poured vodka into the glass and continued his explanation.

“One is a lunatic idiot. Another one is the human end.”

Arthur replied with a smile.

“Aren’t you both insane?”

“Could any sane person ever set foot in such a world?”

Arthur nodded.

“I guess so. Anyone with a normal mind will earn money by doing legitimate labor.”

Willett laughed too.

“that’s right… . then here’s the problem A madman and a human being. Which do you think is more dangerous?”

“oh… . Is it difficult?”

“Think carefully. The answer will come soon.”

Arthur stroked his chin and snapped his fingers.

“Isn’t it human malformation?”

“The reason is?”

“If both are crap, the calculated crap is usually worse.”

Willett nodded.

“that’s right. As you said, usually the latter is dangerous. And the person you’re trying to kill is the one doing that calculated scum.”

With these words, Willett holds out a piece of paper.

Arthur, who received the document, slowly read the contents inside.

[Hamburg Erison: ＜Lalalal＞ Slave Auction Organizer.]

… .

Willett opened his mouth and asked.

“Can you get a feel for it?”

“What?”

“The reason why I said that if you go there, you will die.”

Arthur pondered and answered.

“The connections this man has in Hamburg… . Or is it because of connections?”

Willett nodded.

“that’s right. Usually this crap… has one thing in common. It is that I regard my life as a terrible thing.”

“…”

“It’s really funny when you neglect other people’s lives. anyway… Hamburg is of this kind, too, and he is more thorough.”

Willett tilted his glass.

“slaver… . Furthermore, running a slave auction house, he’s built connections not only with the titans of the underworld, but also with the city’s VIPs.”

“… .”

“It is not a network to attract customers. In case things go wrong, Hamburg’s unique… . It is a trump card.”

Arthur burst into laughter.

“hmm… . So killing Hamburg is not the problem, the problem is after killing Hamburg. Are you saying this?”

“yes. Even if you kill Hamburg… .”

Willett, who was speechless, erased the smile from his lips.

“You will die. To the powerful people in this city whose wealth is being held by Hamburg.”

“… .”

“In that case, I can’t help either. Do you understand what I mean?”

Arthur stroked his chin.

‘It means that no matter how old Willett is, he can’t protect me from such people.’

He nodded his head in thought.

‘what… . It’s not too strange. Rather, it’s natural for Willett the Elder.’

To Willett, he is just one of many mercenaries registered with the office.

One of those mercenaries wouldn’t have to bother with the titans of the underworld.

After thinking this far, Arthur licked his lips.

“It is difficult.”

“There will always be moments like this in life.”

“You have to go beyond that moment to move forward, right?”

Arthur’s question made the corners of Willett’s eyes quiver slightly.

“Are you thinking of killing him?”

“yes.”

“Because of a simple grudge?”

“Yes.”

Willett didn’t ask anymore.

Instead, he took out a thick document and handed it to Arthur.

It was information about Hamburg Ericsson, and it was a huge amount even at a glance.

“This is information about him. I’m sure all the advice you’ll give is in there.”

Arthur nodded.

This was the best help Willet could provide.

Because of that, I got up from my seat without regret and bowed my back.

“Thank you, Mr. Willett.”

“… .”

“I always get a lot thanks to Mr. Willett.”

Willett’s expression shook at the calm goodbye.

However, not noticing the change, Arthur turned around and tried to leave the room.

That was when Arthur grabbed the doorknob.

“Open in one month.”

“… ?”

“Don’t forget to come. A hard-earned ticket. Don’t throw it away.”

Arthur turned around.

Willett, arms crossed, was drinking from his glass with an indifferent expression.

‘ticket… . ah. It’s the black market ticket I was talking about then.’

A ticket presented to him by Willett who remained in his seat until the end against the Black Cross.

Recalling that memory, Arthur raises the corner of his mouth.

“sure. I won’t forget and come back.”

Willett waved his hand without answering.

Arthur didn’t open his mouth anymore and turned around.

bang-!

The door closes and Willett, left alone, shakes off the remaining vodka.

And after staring at the door Arthur had left for a while, he suddenly muttered:

“… I have no idea.”

With these words, Willett takes out a cigar and lights it.

“The heir to the Duke of Bavaria… . Why are you trying to kill the slave trader?’

* * *

After leaving Willett’s office, Arthur thought.

‘It’s connections and connections… . but. To do business on this floor, such a sponsor is essential.’

So it wasn’t anything unusual.

The current situation and this absurdity.

‘Because it was like this every time in my last life.’

Khan Madrid, the supreme power of the empire.

As he fought against him, the humans he faced every time were great nobles such as counts and marquis of the empire.

Every time that happened, he was advised by those around him to give up, saying that it would be a waste of his life, but Arthur did not give up.

‘If I was just going to give up because I was scared of a back stomach like that, I wouldn’t even start.’

Of course, I had no intention of going there without preparation.

Thinking this far, Arthur headed to his next destination, the gunsmith.

“Come on… . huh? Wasn’t that the mercenary back then?”

The owner opened his mouth wide and yawned.

“hello.”

“You still have a vague impression.”

“Is the owner still asleep too?”

At Arthur’s reply, the owner burst into a wild laugh.

“Your weird tone is still the same. okay… . What did our rich mercenary come to visit today?”

Arthur took out the pistol he was carrying in his chest.

The owner, who was watching, raised his eyes and murmured.

“what? Why did this good thing go bad?”

“… ? Is it broken?”

“It’s not broken, but it’s about to break?”

The owner, who picked up the handgun Arthur had given him, clicked his tongue.

“How much did you roll? Although this guy has weak durability, he’s not one that will break in less than half a year.”

Arthur scratched his head.

“hmm… . I just shot whenever I wanted to… .”

“Did you go to war or something?”

The owner handed over the gun with the answer.

“… Whatever it is, it looks like it came to fix it, but I can’t fix it.”

“Why?”

“I told you before. It’s not for practical use, it’s more for ornamental use. It’s a prototype that’s more like a military officer’s supply, so I’d rather just buy a new one than repair it.”

Arthur licked his lips.

“Then you have to throw it away when it breaks after use… .”

“Is it money or is it a waste of pistols?”

“The pistol is worthless. this thing… . It was pretty good.”

At Arthur’s words, the host let out a slight exclamation.

“I must have had some taste.”

“yes. The recoil was appropriate, and most of all, it was comfortable because most people died with this pistol.”

The owner narrowed his eyes.

“Is it comfortable that everyone died?”

“yes.”

“Are you kidding?”

“no? Are you serious?”

The owner shuts his mouth.

In the meantime, Arthur, who took the pistol handed to him, turned around.

“Then I’ll visit you next time.”

The moment I was about to leave the store with these words, the owner, who came to his senses, shouted.

“Do you want to go see something else?”

“… ?”

“A pretty good guy came in, but isn’t it like going back barehanded even after visiting?”

Arthur asked, turning his head.

“Are you any better than this pistol?”

“well… . Should I call this good or dangerous?”

“… ?”

“Once you see it, you know. Follow me and see.”

Following the proprietor’s gesture, Arthur headed towards the space at the back of the store.

Just like the last time, there were a lot of guns that looked different in many ways from the front.

The owner of the gun shop searched inside and brought out a box.

“Open it.”

Arthur shook his head and obediently followed his words.

And involuntarily, he exclaimed.

“This… .”

“Beast”

The owner muttered, erasing the smile from his lips.

“A cursed artifact and magic bullet. It’s a rare thing.”

Arthur’s gaze returns to the pistol in the box.

“… .”

Long barrel heat.

I don’t know if it’s because of that, but it gave me the feeling that it was more like a rifle than a pistol.

However, it wasn’t the unusual appearance that Arthur paid attention to.

‘Magic… . Shouldn’t this be called magical power?’

There was something special about this pistol.

Arthur, who was stroking his chin, carefully picked up the pistol.

At that moment, the handle of a pistol with the unusual name of Beast wrapped around Arthur’s hand as if it were alive.

When Arthur bursts into exclamation at the feeling similar to when holding a meteorite sword, the owner warns.

“hey. You said I was cursed. Aren’t you being too insensitive?”

Arthur turned his head.

“Curse? What kind of curse is it?”

“die.”

“yes?”

“Everybody who dealt with it is dead. That’s why his name is Beast.”

A little fear flickers on the host’s face.

“It was named because it is a beast that eats its master. That’s why it flowed this way even though it had ridiculous performance.”

Arthur, who was examining the emotion closely, tilted his head.

“By the way, why does the owner have this?”

The fear on the owner’s face disappears at the question.

“It’s wonderful.”

“… ?”

“Like the name Beast, and that grotesque appearance. Above all, considering the ridiculous performance that guy has, there can be enough ghost stories like that.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes and burst into exclamations.

“He’s such a good guy that even that curse doesn’t matter, you mean?”

“yes! I hear [magazine strengthening] [power increase] [accurate aiming] Well, these basic magics are of course applied… .”

The muffled owner’s eyes shine.

“Surprisingly, it has attribute enhancement attached. It is also in the [Darkness] category.”

“The dark side?”

“I’m afraid of the curse, so I’ve never shot it, but from what I’ve heard, yes.”

“Is it an unusual series?”

“It is somehow different from ordinary attributes such as [Fire Speed] or [Procedure Speed]. The [Dark] series that are called real… .”

The owner takes out a piece of paper from somewhere and crushes it.

“It’s not about bursting, it’s about crushing… . In terms of performance alone, it’s no exaggeration to say it’s the best. There he is… .”

The owner’s neck vibrates.

“I heard that he turned 100 people into chunks of meat with a single shot.”

“oh… . Like the shotgun last time?”

“no. It’s different. It didn’t explode… . They were lumped together and crushed.”

Arthur’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

‘Hmm… . I don’t think it’s an exaggeration, but even so, is that possible?’

If true, the killing power was superior to any artifact Arthur himself had ever seen.

Because of that, Arthur, who was looking at Beast with interest in his eyes, murmured.

“… So are you selling?”

“I don’t sell them.”

“Is that a good pistol?”

“The owner must appear. Aren’t people on the bottom really superstitious?”

At the question, Arthur burst out laughing.

“It has to be. But I don’t believe it. Being swayed by superstition like that… .”

Arthur, speechless, gently pulls the Beast’s trigger.

“Are you saying you don’t have that much confidence in yourself?”

The owner was genuinely impressed.

“As expected, it was worth showing. A unique object like this should be handled by a unique human being like you.”

“So you’re selling this pistol?”

The owner’s eyes lit up.

“Sell it. That too at a very cheap price. Can you promise me just one thing?”

“What promise?”

“After using it, tell me what kind of thing this guy is.”

Arthur tilted his head.

In the meantime, the host explains while raising an eyebrow.

“Guys who are crazy about guns like us go crazy when they see luxury items like this. But I haven’t seen with my own eyes what kind of guy he is yet.”

Arthur blinked, belatedly understanding the owner’s explanation and burst into exclamations.

“So you’re asking me to explain how Beasts turn people into chunks of meat?”

The owner is taken aback by Arthur’s words.

“uh… . Not necessarily.”

“It’s good.”

Arthur curls up the corners of his mouth.

“There are people who can turn you into a piece of meat, but I’ll check to see if you can really do that and tell you the story.”

The owner kept his mouth shut at the explanation.

‘It must be a joke again, right?’

But I didn’t have the courage to ask.

It was because the expression on his face seemed like he was seriously going to turn someone into a piece of meat.

In the meantime, Arthur, who was tearing apart the Beast, nodded and smiled.

“I will do this. How much is it, boss?”