Episode 41 - The Beast Fist 3

Had he ever seen anyone who so openly declared the entire world their enemy?
Maengseol had no idea how to take this bizarre creature.

He had already gone beyond anything Maengseol could handle on his own terms.
This was not the kind of thing a simple martial artist could weigh in on.
At this age — already declaring open war against the world itself.

"Do you have any idea how insane that is—?!"
"I know. That's how it ended up like this."

Maengseol released the collar. Kaftin dusted himself off and turned to leave.
Maengseol watched his back — and let out a long breath.

"...Fine. I'll follow you."
"......!"
"But! Not because I agree with your mad ideas. Not even slightly. I simply... want to watch from beside him. To see what end awaits the student of my friend Vesren."
"...It won't end there."
"......"
"Your hands will be dirtied. Absolutely. Coming along without that resolve would be a problem."
"...Ngh... are you trying to make me your pawn by any means necessary?!"

Kaftin shook his head.
He had never had any intention of controlling or suppressing the people he was pulling together as senior members. Not from the start.

He himself had turned against the world because he despised exactly that kind of thing — and now he was supposed to do it himself? Utterly out of the question.

"I have no intention of using you or anyone else. The others are the same — I simply want to form something that functions as a group."
"What...?"
"When a threat comes, we respond together. When there's no need for cooperation, everyone does as they like. That's my way."
"And you think you can build an organization on a spineless setup like that—!"

Kaftin started laughing.
Spineless... For someone he respected to say something like that — how thoroughly had this reality been swallowed by absurdity?

"Authority produces nothing but violence and is therefore garbage. Maengseol — I have no intention of leaning on it. If it came to that, I'd rather kill everyone myself and fight alone."
"......!"

No commands. No compulsion.
What he needed to run his organization amounted to nothing more than a handful of core principles to give shape to a shared conviction.

"Then you can simply watch from beside it, can't you? See how far my organization can actually go."
"That's... interesting. Which means — if you run out of control, I can step in and kill you?"
"...Of course. At that point you'd simply become the next leader."
"......"

The casual acceptance of his own death left Maengseol without words.
What did life and death even mean to this person?
Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't what Maengseol or anyone else would consider normal.

"Alright. If you say you're prepared for it — I won't say anything more. You're the boss."
"...Thank you."

*

"So — this person is a friend of my master's, and a martial arts master in his own right. Maengseol."

The imposing figure gave a single silent nod in greeting, and everyone stared up at him in speechless awe.

"I... I really didn't expect someone like this to exist..."

Now they understood why Kaftin had said he might not come back.
Even to Whispermere, who had no particular expertise in combat, the tiger demi-human in front of her radiated strength in a way she could feel in her skin.

"So — are we starting something now?"

Kaftin shook his head.
Not yet. He still needed one more person, at minimum.

More than that — Maengseol would not move unless he judged the cause worth moving for.
He was invaluable for protecting Whispermere and Conquere — but any work he deemed unjust, he had already made clear he would not assist with.

"One more — after I find the right person, we move."
"Who?"
"...I don't know yet. Which is why I'd like you to spread your rats and gather information."
"...Understood."

Platt played a short phrase on his pipe, and the rats that had been loitering around the inn scattered in every direction, flowing into drain openings and disappearing.

Through the city's sewer network — and further, across every corner of the Maritime Kingdom — the rat horde would find what needed finding.

"The situation doesn't allow for much leisure, but we don't have enough people yet."
"Hmm. Those two women are non-combatants, so that's the number we're working with. If I don't move either—"

Maengseol looked over the members assembled and nodded.
Even setting aside the goal of building an organization — right now, there simply weren't enough people who could operate in the field.

Whispermere and Conquere were non-combatants.
Platt had the formidable ability to command his rat horde, but virtually no direct combat capability of his own.

Which left Kaftin as the only one who could take the front line.
If Maengseol moved, the picture improved somewhat — but even so, that was only two people.
The limitations on what they could actually do were inevitable.

"How many do you need before you're ready to move?"
"At minimum, including Maengseol—"

Maengseol placed a hand on Kaftin's shoulder.

"...Leave me out of the count. You're the boss, aren't you?"
"...Ah. Is that alright? Really."
"Hm. If you don't carry yourself with authority in front of the others, that becomes a discipline problem for the organization. Do it properly."
"That's a fair point. Then I'll drop the formal speech from now on."
"...Fine."

With Maengseol closing his eyes in silent acknowledgment behind him, Kaftin continued.

"At least four people."
"Why four? Like a hero's party or something...?"

Platt tilted his head. Kaftin gave his signature unsettling smile.
The first battlefield for his new organization was already taking shape in his mind.

"The administrative building handling Pink Rose Street's governance... it was four floors, wasn't it?"
"Ah — yes. Three above ground, one below."
"Four people, one floor each. Everything living inside gets torn apart, and we take the building."
"......?!"

A plan that went beyond bold — it could only be called insane.
Maengseol's one remaining eye snapped open, and he immediately grabbed Kaftin by the collar and hauled him up.

"You fool! The only people in there are unarmed administrators—?!"
"Hahah, exactly. Which is why we hit it. We get a new base for the organization with minimal effort. And corrupt officials soaking up bribes — the interior facilities are almost certainly luxurious..."

Kaftin's gaze drifted toward Whispermere and Conquere.

"Interior matters to women, after all. A place with proper facilities is important..."
"Even so—!"
"I've said it before. I'm considerate toward women and children. And on top of that — it's an efficient way to get a respectable four-story building. Effective."

Whispermere shook her head.
At a glance, it might seem like a reasonable plan.
But —

"Kaftin. Didn't I say I wanted to avoid anything that would bring a punitive force down on us?"
"Ah. I'd like you to let that go."
"Pardon?"

Kaftin — who had been relatively responsive to her requests up until now — suddenly shook his head.

"What's the bounty on my head right now?"
"...It's gone up to four hundred gold."
"Ha. Close to a minor fiefdom's annual budget. Isn't it?"
"......"
"A punitive force coming is already just a matter of time. Isn't it?"
"...Yes."

She didn't want to admit it — but between the incident where he had surrounded the entire district in fire and moved to attack the temple, and the now extraordinary bounty of four hundred gold...

The probability that the central government would dispatch some kind of punitive force — if not a full army, then at least a special unit — was very high.

"And on top of that, sitting beside the Four Gang Lords is Count Carloz — a senior figure in the upper chamber of parliament..."
"...Wait, Kaftin! That count — he's a political figure?"
"Yes. And the leader of quite a significant faction."

Kaftin's answer made Maengseol's expression sour considerably.
He had barely agreed to involve himself in worldly affairs, and already he was tangled up in politics — the one thing he had always kept his distance from. If bad luck had a face, this was it.

"...An unpleasant affair."
"Hahah — knowing what they're actually scheming might make it considerably more unpleasant."
"......?"

Every pair of eyes in the room turned to Kaftin.
But Kaftin only smiled and shook his head, declining to answer.

"...That story can wait. It's not urgent."
"Hey! You brought it up and now you're cutting out the important part?!"
"We're all in the same boat. We have the right to know."

Kaftin kept smiling throughout.
Finally, as if resigned, he let out a small sigh.

"The ultimate goal of Count Carloz, the Four Gang Lords, and Carloz's faction is the problem."
"What are the lords of the underworld and a parliamentary faction scheming together?"
"...Hm. The overthrow of the Maritime Kingdom's current political structure."
"......?!"
"What—?!"

Lightning struck in Whispermere's mind.
Everything — from the reason the Gang Lords had disposed of Vesren, who had once been practically one of their own people, all the way to everything that had happened since — it connected.

"...The restoration of absolute monarchy—!"
"Exactly. You really are quick."
"What—?! You're joking, aren't you?!"
"...Ngh..."

The restoration of absolute monarchy.
That was the ultimate goal of the faction centered on Count Carloz — and the Four Gang Lords behind him.
And after the restoration — either removing the current royal family entirely, or at minimum having Count Carloz marry into it and establish a new dynasty.

High treason, in the most literal sense.
That was the objective of the Carloz faction.
Which was why they had tried to kill Vesren when he had stumbled onto that knowledge.
And now Kaftin — who had heard it from Vesren — would be a target for the same reason.

"Heheheh... none of that matters to me. What matters is that my master was treated the way he was just for stumbling across that trivial piece of information."
"Trivial?! This is enormously significant! No matter how you look at it, this has gotten far too big!"
"Um... honestly — can I quit? I really can't handle anything this heavy..."
"......"

Kaftin laughed and shook his head.

"You two seem to be under some kind of misunderstanding."
"......?!"
"What...?"

He held up his thumb.

"My goal is fundamentally the same as theirs. Only—"
"What—?!"
"......!"

Every face in the room froze.
That expression on Kaftin's face.
The most unsettling smile imaginable. The most threatening thing any of them had seen.

"...They want to bring the nation down for their own power. I simply—...Want to watch the ones thrown into chaos scream and wail!"

—To be continued—