The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

301 – I Am the Plunder King. (2)

Claude stared at the ceiling with his eyes closed. Who would have thought he’d end up pretending to be a corrupt official while mingling with a crime organization?

“When did my evaluation sink to this level?”

Was it when he gambled with the lord? Or when Alfoy made the same mistake and became a slave? Was it when he secretly siphoned off gold coins while dealing with the merchant group? Or was it when he cleverly tricked his companions and juniors to join him?

Whatever it was, it felt like a grave injustice. Either way, it was frustrating. Claude couldn’t help but shout out his grievances.

“I’m not a corrupt official! What’s with the nickname ‘Lord of Bribes’? It’s all because the lord made me do it!”

“Are you sure?”

“I barely took anything! I was just short on living expenses!”

“… Did you really receive it? Did Wendy turn a blind eye to that?”

Wendy indeed had looked the other way when Claude skimmed off some gold coins from the merchant group. Flustered, Claude quickly switched the topic.

“No! What do you want me to do about meeting with the crime organization!”

“Let’s talk about the money later. Anyway, those guys keep hiding, so it’s getting tricky to root them out. Just gather them all and figure out what’s going on.”

“So how do I do that?!”

“That’s up to you. Just try to get friendly with them.”

“I can’t act! Even if I tried to get close, they’d catch on immediately!”

“No, you can do it. Just put your heart into it.”

“Ugh! How do you put your heart into something like that? My heart loathes corruption!”

Claude was flailing in frustration while Ghislaine remained unyielding. No matter how he thought about it, Claude was the only suitable one for this job.

Although he seemed to deny it, criminals would surely recognize Claude’s true worth.

With Ghislaine’s stubborn decision, Claude had no choice but to start his task.

“Ugh, maybe I should at least come up with a decent operation name.”

After some contemplation, Claude slapped on the half-hearted name “Bug Extermination” and called Lowell.

“Hey, find a suitable location and connect with the crime organizations. I’ll say I’m coming in person.”

“It’ll be hard to meet those guys since they’re trying to stay low right now. You should be very careful.”

“Come on, can’t you just do what I say without questioning? If I say I want to meet, they’ll meet! It’s me, you know, Claude.”

Lowell grumbled internally at Claude’s irritation.

“He complains the most.”

“What?”

“Oh, nothing. Now that I think about it, if it’s the Chief Officer, they’d all want to meet. I’ll be back soon.”

Lowell hurried off to find the crime organizations.

After the Plunder King swept through, the underworld went quiet and was holding its breath. Even the worthless gangster groups were keeping their heads down.

It was good for the territory residents, but it wasn’t great for Ghislaine, who wanted to completely root out the criminals.

Using the previously documented information, Lowell pondered for a while before marking a group that hadn’t yet faced the Plunder King.

“The Blue Skull Clan. They should be just right. Their leader is a bit clueless and dumb.”

The Blue Skull Clan wasn’t that large of an organization, but they manufactured and distributed hallucinogens. It was understood that they were still selling drugs discreetly to the wealthy elite.

They’d managed to survive this long thanks to a high-ranking noble, Desmond, who provided them with drugs in exchange for protection.

Since they were already involved with drug production, they originally operated an herb shop. But after the Plunder King swept through, they had moved to start a new business.
He had moved to the back and was starting a new trade.

Lowell gathered information floating around and found out the address of the store run by the Blue Skull Clan.

When he arrived at the discovered address, a large building had a sign with beautiful lettering.

[Taste of Illusion]

“…….”

It was a restaurant rumored to be the best eatery in the fortress. Apparently, since they couldn’t commit bad deeds, they switched to a legitimate business.

Lowell decided to go inside. The building was still quite clean, as if it had just been built.

It seemed the rumors about the restaurant weren’t false, as it was bustling with people. Judging by their clothes, everyone seemed to be relatively well-off.

“Welcome!”

A waitress dressed a bit provocatively greeted him. Lowell scratched his chin and thought.

‘Is this why it’s so popular?’

As he sat down, the waitress showed him the menu and began her explanation.

“Our shop uses a secret specially-made sauce that offers flavors hard to find anywhere else! The price is a bit high, but you’ll be satisfied!”

“Hmm…”

After some contemplation, Lowell ordered the most expensive item. He figured this was the time to use public funds.

“One Taste of Illusion Special Set Course.”

“How would you like the sauce? Thick? Thin? Regular?”

“Um… Thick?”

Since he was already going for an expensive meal, he thought it would be better to enjoy the rich flavor.

“Got it! It’s our best menu, so look forward to it!”

Soon, dishes started coming out in a steady stream. The presentation and aroma were as splendid as any noble banquet.

Lowell gulped down his saliva and picked up a piece of meat.

The juicy meat was generously coated in fragrant sauce. Having rarely tasted such high-class food, Lowell chewed the meat with a blissful expression.

Then his eyes widened.

‘Wow, this is delicious! Like, really!’

It was unbelievably tasty. So tasty that he started seeing hallucinations right in front of him.

As tears streamed down his face, Lowell thought.

‘What the hell did they put in this food… those crazy bastards…’

It was dangerous to eat any more. He might get addicted. Now he understood why the special sauce was a secret.

Indeed, criminals shouldn’t be left alone. They were running such a business while trying to keep a low profile.

Other people probably didn’t know what was in the sauce. But Lowell had previously managed crime organizations under Count Digald.

There was a gang that dealt with strange drugs back then. So, he was well aware of what this insane flavor that made his head spin was.

As he sat there crying, the waitress approached, startled.

“Oh my! What’s wrong? Is the food not to your liking?”

“No… it just tastes nostalgic…”

“Like your mother’s cooking? Our food is amazing, right? Hohoho.”

‘That’s not it… you crazy people.’

Stopping his meal, Lowell stood up and said to the waitress.

“Can I see the manager here?”

“What… is the matter?”

The waitress asked with a slightly suspicious expression, but Lowell answered without flinching.

“The food is so delicious that I’d like to introduce it to a noble I serve. Bring him out.”

The waitress hesitated briefly but nodded. After all, this wasn’t something she could solve on her own.

Soon, a well-groomed man came and bowed his head.

“I got the gist of it. What do you need?”

Lowell scanned the manager from head to toe before speaking. There was no need to explain much to someone in such a position.
There was no need to do it.

“Don’t you want to keep trading?”

“What… do you mean by that?”

“I’m from the Chief Officer. We already have everything figured out about you.”

“……!”

The manager’s eyes were shaking. He looked completely at a loss. Lowell ignored the manager’s reaction and continued speaking.

“I know you can’t operate properly because of the Plunder King. The Chief Officer wants to meet your leader, so we’ll be coming two nights from now. Be ready to welcome us.”

“I… don’t understand what you mean.”

“It’s in two nights. If you keep hiding, I’ll wipe this place out and make sure you’re dead, so keep that in mind.”

Without waiting for a reply, Lowell turned on his heel. Just before he left, as if something came to his mind, he turned back and said,

“Stop playing around with the food before I catch everyone and throw them in jail. What? Your mother’s cooking? Does your mother cook with medicated hands?”

“……Yes.”

After Lowell left, Morbin, the leader of the Blue Skull Clan, fell into deep thought upon receiving his words.

With the change of ownership in the territory, it was wise to lay low for a while. The noble who used to have their back had already lost his head to Ghislaine.

On top of that, with the Plunder King causing chaos, they couldn’t even expand their territory.

So they had switched businesses and were living quietly. But now that the new Chief Officer wanted to meet, his intentions seemed suspicious.

“Damn… how did they find out about our existence? Did the guy who used to cover for us leave something behind?”

If not, there was no way to explain how they could find them so quickly.

Anyway, there were two options: either meet them in person to find out what’s going on or leave this territory entirely.

“Ha, establishing ourselves again won’t be easy.”

Other territories would likely already have their own underworld organizations. Those organizations would surely have nobles backing them, making it difficult for a new one to establish itself.

But still, meeting with the Chief Officer of a territory was a scary thought. It could very well be a trap to catch them.

While he was stuck in his thoughts, one of Morbin’s subordinates carefully spoke up.

“Haven’t you heard the rumors about the Chief Officer?”

“Rumors? What about them?”

“They say he’s nicknamed the Lord of Bribes of the North.”

“The Lord of Bribes of the North?”

“Yes, he’s quite famous. Almost all the territory residents know about him.”

“Really? That famous?”

Because of his job, Morbin had to live in secrecy, so news didn’t reach him quickly. The Plunder King causing chaos had also contributed to that.

When he sent other subordinates to gather more information, they all echoed the same words.

“He’s said to be a truly wicked person.”

“No merchant group that’s done business with him has escaped without being extorted.”

“There are rumors that he’ll take full advantage of the current chaos in the territory to make a fortune.”

Everyone was saying the same thing—a picture of utterly corrupt management had formed. Only then did Morbin snicker insidiously.

“Pfft, he’s newly arrived and seems to be looking for a backer. He wants to have us under him and collect tributes.”

As long as humans gathered, the underworld would never disappear. Most nobles and stewards turned a blind eye as long as the crime organizations didn’t cross too many lines.

In fact, they often used those organizations to handle dirty work for them and collected tributes in return. It was a mutual benefit.

Even Count Desmond would simply overlook things as long as it didn’t become a hinderance in managing the territory. This perception was widespread across the continent.
As long as it didn’t interfere with operations, they were willing to turn a blind eye. This perception was widespread across the continent.

After hearing rumors about Claude, Morbin made a resolution after much contemplation.

“I’ll meet with the Chief Officer. Prepare everything to ensure he is treated well.”

On the appointed day, the ‘Taste of Illusion’ restaurant closed for business earlier than usual. They set a grand feast and waited.

Morbin meticulously confirmed everything. How could they be careless when someone who would look after them was coming?

As night fell, one of the subordinates rushed over to Morbin and said, “The Chief Officer has arrived.”

“Let’s go greet him quickly.”

Morbin straightened his clothes and ran to the door with a smile plastered on his face.

However, his expression froze in place.

Claude appeared, accompanied only by an attendant in a robe, and immediately started to fuss.

“Ugh, why is my body so heavy?”

Morbin’s eyes twitched upon seeing Claude.

Something felt off. The Chief Officer of a territory showed up looking utterly bizarre.

His hat was adorned with dozens of bird feathers, and he wore a thick gold necklace that clinked with every move. Luxurious trinkets hung from various parts of his clothing.

Stumbling in as if he truly was heavy, Claude gasped, “Is that you? Are you the leader here?”

“……”

Morbin’s eyes narrowed. No matter how he looked at it, something was amiss.

He’d heard of corrupt officials, but this was a whole new level of corruption. No matter how much money one had, no one would flaunt it like that.

Morbin subtly gestured to his subordinates to confirm if this was indeed the Chief Officer. Unfortunately, they shook their heads slightly, clueless. Sadly, none of them had seen Claude’s face before.

While Claude had been busy scurrying around Desmond territory, he was always surrounded by numerous attendants, making it hard to notice him.

Moreover, he hadn’t been there for long. With all his focus on managing key facilities and paperwork, the lowlifes simply never got a chance to recognize him.

Morbin spoke with a sharp gaze, “Are you the Chief Officer of the territory?”

“What? Don’t you recognize my face? Wendy, they say they don’t know who I am,” Claude replied incredulously to his attendant. How could they not recognize the Chief Officer after a short time?

Like a superficial creature backed by Ghislaine, Claude’s ego inflated as the territory grew stronger.

Morbin shook his head slightly.

“It’s hard to believe that the Chief Officer of a territory shows up with just one attendant…”

At his words, his subordinates began to sense danger. It was nonsensical for someone of the Chief Officer’s stature to come to such a place alone.

On top of that, the one in the robe looked like just a maid. If he were truly the Chief Officer, wouldn’t he have at least a knight with him?

‘Looks like a fraud trying to scam us… if he came here without proper protection, then it must be a secret plan… we could kill him here and bury him without anyone knowing…’

Thoughts worthy of criminals.

As Morbin nodded slightly, his subordinates stealthily moved in to encircle him.

But before they could close in properly, Wendy’s robe fluttered slightly.

Whack! Whack!

“Guh…”

Boom!

Two of the organization members who had approached from either side fell, daggers embedded in their foreheads.

Morbin’s face turned pale upon witnessing the scene.

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