Chapter 16
“Wow, you actually came. You’re smarter than I thought. I assumed all pretty boys were brainless, but I guess I was wrong?”
Marco smirked, revealing her sharp teeth. She patted the seat next to her, gesturing for me to sit there.
“……”
I silently sat beside her.
A thick scent of smoke filled my nose.
I was worried it’d reek of stale cigarettes, but to my surprise, it was rather fragrant.
“Hmm~ Ah! See? I told you, my eyes never lie. Out of all the guys I’ve seen lately, your face is the finest.”
Marco casually glanced at my face and let out a sigh of admiration.
Even though I’d seen it countless times in the game, I knew how intense her possessiveness was.
She’s the type who has to get what she wants, no matter what.
“Boss, are you planning to replace your guy again?”
“Shut up. You know a superior female is supposed to have multiple males under her control, right?”
“Wow. As expected of the Boss!”
With those words, he gulped down the yellowish liquid in his glass in one go.
The atmosphere in the Yan Family didn’t change regardless of gender roles being reversed.
‘These people do whatever the hell they want.’
The law of the strong.
The strongest one becomes the boss, wielding power as they please.
At first glance, it looks like a half-assed operation that would either fall apart or become a third-rate criminal syndicate.
But on the contrary, it’s precisely because of this that the Yan Family is the top and most dangerous underground organization.
“Boss, what happened to that bitch who tried to mess with you last time?”
“That bitch? Oh, you mean the ones from the Central Family? They kept babbling on about judgment and redemption, so I half-killed them.”
To inherit the surname ‘Yan’ in this organization…
It’s not enough to be strong—you have to be crazy strong.
“They weren’t even good for a warm-up.”
A person who, by themselves, is comparable to an entire army.
A supreme being who shatters the ground with their fists and bursts people apart.
That’s the current Marco.
Squeeze, squeeze.
‘Damn it…….’
I shudder every time Marco massages my shoulder.
It’s not because I feel humiliated; it’s because I know if she grips any harder, my body will be crushed.
“Pretty boy, your glass is empty.”
“……”
I tried to hide my nervousness as I poured more alcohol into my glass.
I thought she’d gulp it down again, but she gently pushed the glass towards me.
“You drink it.”
“…Sorry?”
“Your pretty face is all stiff. It’s ruining my drinking mood. Drink this and loosen up a bit.”
The liquid swirled in the glass in front of me.
Even at a glance, it looked insanely strong.
“I… I’m fine.”
If I drank that, I’d wreck my insides.
As soon as I refused, Marco’s previously smiling face instantly hardened.
“…Pretty boy. Do you know what it means to refuse a drink I offer?”
She merely straightened her face, but the atmosphere around us turned heavy.
‘Is this person even human?’
It felt like I was sitting in front of a tiger or a lion.
If I didn’t know Marco, I might’ve foamed at the mouth and fainted right there.
But I know her.
And I also know that if I just said, ‘Oh wow, such a precious drink!’ and downed it, she’d lose interest in me.
“I’m sorry, but… I can’t handle alcohol.”
“……”
“I won’t drink this.”
I pushed the glass away and furrowed my brows at the same time.
As if I was genuinely displeased.
“Uh, uh…?”
“W-wait… don’t upset the Boss and just drink it…!”
Worried voices echoed around me.
A few people turned pale as they observed the tension between us.
The room filled with an uneasy silence.
“…Pfft!”
The one who broke the tension was none other than Marco herself.
“Puhahahah! That’s right, I like it when they put up a little resistance. See? That’s the fun part about beautiful people.”
At the same time, sighs of relief erupted all around us.
“Phew….”
“I thought she was about to destroy a few buildings again.”
Marco is fundamentally violent and rotten to the core.
But even more than that, she’s overwhelmingly greedy.
She gets what she wants.
No matter what.
Her shitty personality will momentarily calm down when she wants something.
Which means I have to be someone who is worth possessing, but not easy to obtain.
‘Phew.’
I let out a breath of relief as I felt like I’d passed a dangerous moment.
Squish!
A rough hand gripped my cheek and turned my head.
Next, something soft overlapped with my lips.
“Urgh?!”
Marco’s lips pressed against mine.
‘What the hell is…?!’
Before I could process what was happening, lukewarm liquid started pouring into my mouth.
A sensation of warmth spreading as it made my insides feel hot.
‘It’s alcohol!’
This crazy woman had poured alcohol into her own mouth and was now transferring it to me.
“Pwah!”
“Puh…! Cough! Cough!”
“If you wanted me to feed you like this, you should’ve just said so.”
The alcohol’s kick hit me hard, and I couldn’t stop coughing.
The alcohol content must’ve been extremely high since I could feel the bitter sensation burning through me already.
“Urk…!”
“Isn’t the alcohol sweet? Right?”
Sweet, my ass…!
Maybe it’s because of the reverse world effect, but she feels even more savage than I remember.
“Hmph.”
Marco licked her lips and looked at me with a peculiar gaze.
I glared back at her with the most defiant expression I could muster, and her eyes curved into a smile.
“But anyway, Boss. What are we supposed to do tomorrow?”
“…Huh?”
“I just thought there must be a reason for the Boss personally coming to a place like this….”
Talking about business in the middle of such a good moment. What a way to kill the mood.
Marco bit her lip slightly and looked away.
“Haaa… well, yeah. I haven’t told you guys yet, have I?”
Is it because she’s still the boss after all?
Even though she looked displeased, she didn’t mix unnecessary emotions into business discussions.
“Cough….”
I pretended to still be out of it from the alcohol while keeping my ears open.
The reason why the Yan Family came all the way to this remote corner of the continent.
And for Marco herself to make an appearance, it must be something big.
“It’s simple. We just need to find someone and kill them.”
“Huh? Why would the Boss need to be here for something like that…?”
Marco put her feet up on the table.
“Because the target… is quite significant.”
She took out a cigar from her inner pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag before exhaling.
The white smoke slowly spread, almost like a drifting soul.
“It’s the Princess.”
“…?!”
“We have a job to kill the Princess.”
Her bombshell statement froze everyone in the room.
“P-princess? Don’t tell me you’re talking about Fernia?!”
“Puhah! Kill that crazy bitch? Dream on. We’re targeting the second one.”
“If you mean the second one… are you talking about Angela? She’s here?”
“It’s only speculation that she’s here. We don’t have anything concrete.”
For a moment, my mind went blank.
‘What kind of development is this…?’
Throughout the Princess Rescue Event, the Yan Family never once targeted Angela.
‘Was this commissioned by Fernia?’
That couldn’t be it.
There’s no way Marco and Fernia would have any connection, and even if they did, Marco wouldn’t take a job from someone like Fernia.
The only conclusion left is this:
‘There’s another person within the Imperial Family who wants Angela dead.’
I tried to think of potential suspects, but the alcohol made my head spin.
‘Damn it.’
I thought I’d quietly hide and hand Angela over once the Imperial soldiers came, and that would be the end of it.
Now I couldn’t even trust the Imperial Family anymore.
“Even though the client told us to kill her on sight… it’d be a waste to kill such a high-value hostage like the Princess.”
Marco lifted her head and stared at the ceiling.
Her bronzed skin gleamed under the dim lighting.
“This request is a setup. They plan to exterminate our Family under the guise of regicide as soon as we kill the Princess.”
“That’s…!”
“That’s why I accepted it. If we protect the Princess instead, we gain a legitimate reason to step into the Central Power.”
Tap, tap.
Her fingers drummed on the sofa, creating a dull sound.
“…We can’t keep breathing in the dusty air of the back alleys forever.”
Her voice was filled with ambition.
The cry of a beast seeking to crawl out into the daylight.
“Well, that’s that. The night’s still young, isn’t it?”
Marco turned her gaze back to me.
Just moments ago, her voice had been filled with ambition, but now her eyes were brimming with desire.
“I’m starting to want to lie down….”
The way she looked at me was like a wolf drooling at its prey.
A fear that instinctively gripped me.
As much as she was crafted as a heroine, her face was stunningly beautiful.
‘But her personality is… like that.’
On the other hand, there were guys who liked her precisely for that personality.
“Come on, pretty boy. Come over here.”
She signaled me to sit on her lap.
“……”
I staggered toward her, pretending to be even more out of it from the alcohol.
“Finally, you’re behaving yourself. I should give you a reward.”
Maybe she was excited at the thought of having me completely in her grasp.
Smiling in utmost satisfaction, I—
Ssshhk!
—drew a dagger from my inner pocket.
“…What?!”
A true expert recovers quickly from shock.
As fast and precisely as possible.
I pushed my body’s abilities to their utmost limit.
Sssshhhhhhh!
The blade of the dagger emitted a red aura and took on the shape of a greatsword.
‘And with this—’
Whooong!
I accompanied it with a swift and agile sword technique!
‘I’ve been steadily training in the 「Wind Wave Style」 lately and have increased my proficiency.’
Originally, it was a technique meant to be used after opening the Middle Danjun, but…
With this body’s talent, it should be possible even now.
‘Above all…’
To captivate Marco at this stage, I had to succeed no matter what.
“Hrgh!”
A green wind enveloped the red greatsword.
Bzzt, bzzt, bzzt—!
A crimson whirlwind whipped through the surroundings, tearing everything apart!
[You are operating more than two Sword Styles simultaneously.]
[Sword Style Combination is now unlocked!]
[From now on, whenever you combine Sword Styles, special Skills will activate.]
Yes, I did it.
[You are now operating 「Wind Wave Style」 and 「Savage Claw Style」 simultaneously.]
[Skill: ‘Rake Storm’ has been activated!]
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