NOVEL NEXT chapter 15
15. Hmph, you want some excitement, huh? Then let’s give you a taste of it.
In the original work, the Fury Gang was a gang composed of many dangerous elements.
Ordinary thugs didn’t even qualify to join; only those with intense personalities and considerable strength were welcome. As a result, many adventurers with character flaws either left the team or were expelled and subsequently joined the Fury Gang.
As long as the protagonist Valentina was manipulated into teaching a lesson to the wandering thugs, there was a chance to trigger this side plot, gaining prestige and experience upon victory, while defeat would naturally lead to various loss scenarios.
Ordinary people, even regular nobles, wouldn’t know where the Fury Gang’s main base was located. Even if they did, they wouldn’t dare provoke it, as the so-called Fury Gang had the covert support of a certain royal family, serving as a dark hand in the struggle for the throne.
However, Noah, who had perfectly cleared the game, knew exactly where the base was and wasn’t worried about provoking the royal family. Thus, he decisively followed the route from his memory and easily found the hideout concealed beneath the old city district.
Moreover, he arrived at just the right time; the organization’s second-in-command, a man nicknamed “Marlowe the Mad Dog,” was “working” inside the base.
Curious to see if this Marlowe was the same as the one he knew, Noah maintained a low profile and began to observe from the side.
“Oh, so you noble lord intend to wipe us out, do you?”
Marlowe was a middle-aged man, around 40, with a fierce appearance, possessing a pair of menacing eyes and a robust physique—clearly a man capable of becoming a bandit king.
In contrast, sitting opposite Marlowe was a well-dressed middle-aged noble, slightly older than Marlowe. This noble, who usually bossed around servants and commoners, now appeared restless in front of Marlowe.
Under Marlowe’s seemingly mild words, his face turned pale.
“Wait! I didn’t intend to do that; it’s you who want to wipe me out! My wife must never find out about that!”
The noble, whose secrets were in the other’s hands, was so agitated he nearly slammed the table. He wasn’t afraid of the thugs; they were just a rabble. But the fact that they somehow knew his secret put him in a difficult position.
“Oh, so you’re accepting our terms then?”
Unlike the anxious noble, Marlowe, who looked fierce, spoke slowly and clearly like a civil servant handling official business, even a smile flickering on his face.
Yet there was no warmth in Marlowe’s eyes.
He resembled a mad dog on the verge of insanity, exuding a strong sense of danger.
“Uh… I, I understand…”
Though the terms were harsh, the noble ultimately had no choice but to yield, collapsing onto the sofa as if all strength had been drained from his body, his face shifting from pale to ashen.
—
Look at how ‘understanding’ this nobleman is. Marlow didn’t rush to see him off; instead, he personally poured a cup of bitter black coffee for the nobleman, even thoughtfully suggesting he rest a bit before leaving.
However, just as the nobleman finished the coffee, which was not particularly bitter compared to life itself, and prepared to take his leave, Marlow’s calm voice, which belied his appearance, rang out once more behind him.
“Ah, by the way, noble sir, you do understand that today’s meeting with me must remain confidential, right? Otherwise, what might happen to your daughter, you should know, shouldn’t you~?”
A chill ran through the nobleman, who suddenly felt a wave of dread, and he desperately nodded, fully aware of what this scum of society might do to a young and beautiful girl.
After all, he had done something quite similar himself, though the target was not a noble’s daughter, but rather a common girl whose life he had ruined, reducing her to a state of slavery.
As the nobleman departed, the dim little room returned to silence. Marlow, now alone, leisurely tidied up the cup the nobleman had used, as if the man who had just threatened him was not himself at all.
Though he was called a ‘mad dog,’ Marlow’s calmness beyond the madness was what earned him the most respect; otherwise, he wouldn’t have risen to the position of second-in-command of the organization.
Threatening nobles had become a daily routine for him. He even held leverage over members of the knightly order, and in this royal capital, apart from the royal family, he feared no one or any force.
It must be said that Marlow found it somewhat boring; the feeling of always winning was too dull. Occasionally, he wanted to experience a bit of crisis.
— Hmph, why not just bite back at that prince?
Feeling bored from always winning, Marlow entertained the dangerous thought of turning against his master. A fierce expression finally appeared on his menacing face, filled with the kind of danger akin to a mad dog lurking in the night.
Yet even a feared mad dog can be startled.
“I didn’t expect you to be a violent criminal, yet you have quite good taste, old man. I should be able to take this bag of coffee beans, right? After all, you wouldn’t want me to leave empty-handed, would you? Just sit down for now, old man.”
!?
That was the sudden voice of a young man echoing from the depths of his room. Although the other seemed to bear no hostility and even appeared somewhat relaxed, the fact that he had infiltrated without Marlow’s notice made him tense up instantly, turning around with a terrifying expression completely different from the one he had shown the nobleman.
He knew how fearsome he looked when exuding killing intent; even the most vicious members of the Rage Gang wouldn’t dare meet his gaze when he was serious about killing.
However, the young man, around twenty years old with black hair, seemed completely oblivious to his hostility, casually sitting in Marlow’s rightful seat and fiddling with the expensive coffee beans he had bought from abroad.
“Kid, when exactly did you…!?”
Marlow had intended to question how the intruder had gotten in.
But something suddenly flew past his ear at an incredible speed, creating a sonic boom, and then exploded against the wall behind him.
The unexpected sight made every hair on Marlow’s body stand on end in an instant. Because he could see a bit more clearly, he felt fear before confusion.
It was a coffee bean.
The intruder had flicked the coffee bean with his thumb, and the result was that the high-speed flying bean struck the wall behind him, creating a small dent before bursting apart.
If a coffee bean traveling at that speed hit a person, it would undoubtedly pierce right through.
What a precise form of magic, to turn a coffee bean into a deadly weapon.
No… is this really magic? If it is, then why didn’t I feel any magical fluctuations?
Unable to comprehend, the unimaginable unfolded before his eyes. Even Marlow realized that there existed something far more terrifying than his own mad dog persona.
“Oh dear, my apologies, old man. I thought you hadn’t heard, so I wanted to remind you. What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Aren’t you going to sit down?”
The young man, embodying the very essence of darkness, sat in Marlow’s rightful place, smiling as he invited him to sit. Yet those eyes, as unfathomable as an abyss, held no trace of mirth, only a chaotic disorder.
Is this guy really human?!
—
—
As the saying goes, those who understand the times are the true heroes. Even though he knew that the other party had slapped him hard in the face, Marlowe no longer spoke out of turn. He obediently sat in the seat previously occupied by the noble guest.
Fearing that if he hesitated for even a moment, the young man before him would pierce his body.
“Tsk, what’s this? I was thinking that if you didn’t sit down, I’d just force you to. So, old man, you really are an old man—completely lacking in wit. Why not resist a bit more?”
Seeing the once formidable villain Marlowe, who had defeated the human princess Valentina without relying on any means, sit down so obediently, Noah felt as if he had lost his fighting spirit, flopping down like a salted fish. He complained casually while sinking into Marlowe’s comfortable, high-end sofa, allowing it to envelop his body.
Indeed, his strength was so overwhelming that it was difficult to put on a show, and he felt no thrill whatsoever.
Only watching the fallen heroine personally deal with the yellow-haired villain could bring him any satisfaction.
Defeating the villain himself held no meaning at all.
—