Those Who Live Without the Law

Chapter 51

Same Goal (2)

Two glasses filled to the brim with amber liquor were set down on the side table. I gave one of them a casual push toward Simid Kellogg.

“You’re not so old yet that a drink would keep you from waking up in the morning, right?”

At my words, Simid raised his glass and spoke.

“I’d rather know your real name first.”

Matching his movement, I lifted my own glass and replied.

“Hey, old man. Do you really think you’re in any position to be asking questions? How about you take a moment to reassess your situation?”

I didn’t just leave it at words. I flicked the stained glass at my hip with the back of my hand.

If I wanted to, I could slit Simid Kellogg’s throat right here and now.

“I ask the questions, and you give the answers. Understood?”

A faint flash grazed Simid’s cheek. With a stinging sensation, a cut opened up, and red blood trickled down the wrinkles of his face.

“I understand.”

After a brief silence, Simid finally answered.

Hearing his reply, I dragged a chair over with a satisfied expression and sat down across from him.

“When exactly did you start planning the rebellion?”

“Isn’t it obvious? From the moment I began siphoning off the money.”

At his words, I clicked my tongue and immediately grabbed his hand, driving the stained glass into the back of it.

The blade pierced straight through his hand and the side table beneath, like skewering a piece of meat.

“That wasn’t a question made in jest. I only stabbed you this time, but if you try any more cheap tricks, I’ll cut your wrist off next.”

The wound in Simid’s hand had gone between the bones. If treated properly, it would heal soon enough.

....

It had been a strike without the slightest hesitation. Only then did Simid Kellogg realize that this boy sitting across from him…

This brat, so young he was practically green, had lost his mind completely.

The only reason he could remain composed despite having a clean hole driven through his hand was the years of experience he had built up.

“I thought you spared me because you were an ally.”

“I could be. But not yet.”

I perched myself on the side table and stared down at him.

“Now answer the question. How long have you been preparing?”

To be honest, it was closer to an interrogation than a question. But to Simid, there was nothing to do but answer sincerely, whether he could tell the difference or not.

“It must have been about five years.”

At that answer, I let out a small hum. There was no way to know right now whether he was telling the truth.

But more than that, something else weighed on my mind.

“The Rose Garden, and the committee of Bennett City.”

Would they really be pleased to know that a rebellion was being plotted within the Valorn Empire?

There was no reason for them to be pleased. What they wanted was the continued existence of Bennett City. They would welcome no event that might disrupt the balance of power between the Valorn Empire and the Aylan Republic.

“If they get in the way, I’ll deal with them…”

The organizations in Bennett City probably wouldn’t help Simid Kellogg’s rebellion. Most likely, they would leave it alone for the time being.

That was precisely why I also couldn’t actively involve myself in this matter.

“My heart is practically burning for it, though.”

After all, I was itching to slit the Emperor’s throat myself. And here was someone else who had been preparing a plan for the same purpose for the past five years.

In truth, there was no real reason not to join in.

I spent a while studying Simid Kellogg’s eyes before opening my mouth.

“The client who hired me was curious where all the tax money you siphoned off ended up.”

At my words, Simid Kellogg flinched for a moment.

“Is that so?”

“Surely you didn’t end up in this situation without preparing a single excuse you could pull out.”

At that, Simid’s darkened expression brightened a little. He wasn’t so much of a fool that he couldn’t understand what I meant.

“Are you saying you’ll let this go?”

“I told you already—I’m very interested in what you’re doing.”

It was a conclusion I’d reached after no small amount of deliberation. The Operations Committee of Bennett City was terrifying. With my current standing, I wouldn’t be able to handle it if I made enemies of them.

“So what, am I supposed to just stand around doing nothing, getting dragged around like some cowardly bastard?”

I had no intention of letting myself be led around by the nose by other bastards ever again. My time in the Carlson Labor Correctional Facility had been more than enough of that.

I hadn’t dragged myself all the way to Bennett City just to live safely doing nothing.

“I’m thinking of letting this go, but for that, I need something to tell my client. If I don’t have a decent excuse, I’ll have no choice but to tell the truth.”

Even if I desperately wanted to slit the Emperor’s throat, I had no plans to openly antagonize the Rose Garden over a half-baked conspiracy whose chances of success were uncertain.

“I prepared some documents just in case.”

At Simid Kellogg’s words, I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

“Turns out that saying about people getting wiser as they age isn’t complete nonsense.”

Simid rummaged through the drawers in his bedroom, then pulled out a stack of documents and handed them to me.

“This should be enough.”

That was what Simid thought, anyway. For now, I began leafing through the papers slowly.

“Incredible. No wonder not just anyone can be Treasury Chief.”

Just looking at the documents, it would be extremely hard to suspect they were forged fakes. The figures and supporting evidence were all laid out with meticulous clarity.

“Is it just the papers that are this convincing? Or…”

“Even if someone were to investigate what’s written here, there wouldn’t be any problems.”

What Simid was doing was preparing for a rebellion. If he got caught, his family would be destroyed on the spot. The Kellogg family would end up just like the Featherwings.

The only difference was that the Featherwings had been falsely accused, while the Kelloggs were actually plotting an uprising.

“Still, you’ve got some nerve. How many years has it been since those Featherwing idiots tried to stage a rebellion and got every single one of their heads lopped off?”

I spoke with an intentionally mocking tone about the Featherwings, partly to keep hiding my identity.

“Precisely because of that, now is the perfect time. It’s only been six years since the Featherwings disappeared. Up until then, anyone carrying their blood was killed to the last, but that doesn’t mean everyone who followed them was wiped out.”

Leaning against the wall, I let out a low whistle.

“So you’re thinking of rallying them together, is that it?”

Simid Kellogg cleared his throat. He didn’t seem keen to share the details of his plan with me.

I stared at him for a moment, then let out a brief laugh. I took out a fountain pen, scribbled something on a handkerchief, and handed it to him.

“What’s this?”

“You might want to get in touch with me at some point, right? I don’t really know how to entertain an old man, but… there are a few things I’m exceptionally good at.”

I didn’t bother listing what those things were. But even so, Simid Kellogg understood exactly what I meant.

“And one more thing.”

I tapped the table lightly with the back of my hand.

“Right now, the old fossil standing in front of me is the Treasury Chief of the Empire. And me? I’m just some guy who does people’s dirty work for a living.”

“…I’ll guarantee your safety.”

Understanding what I was getting at, Simid spoke up immediately. I burst into laughter and shook my head.

“I almost never believe the words that come out of people’s mouths.”

Guaranteeing safety wasn’t a matter of promises. It was about collateral.

“I’ll be taking Irena Kellogg as a hostage.”

At my words, Simid Kellogg squeezed his eyes shut, as if he had known I would suggest exactly that.

“Well, I already promised that young lady I’d help her out with something, didn’t I? You remember, don’t you, old man?”

In a way, things were working out beautifully.

“Irena Kellogg. She’s got remarkable talent.”

Even though she had learned how to use battle gear incorrectly and suffered a time lag of several seconds, she still had the skill to qualify as an apprentice knight.

If she were properly taught how to handle battle gear and trained in good swordsmanship, she’d flourish.

“Irena Kellogg could never turn her sword against me.”

If Irena Kellogg, who had learned the Featherwing family’s method of using battle gear, ever turned against me, she would lose the ability to wield battle gear from that moment on.

She would be both a useful subordinate I could keep under me and a hostage. Of course, Irena herself probably had no idea about any of this.

“I have a request. If Irena refuses—”

The moment Simid tried to continue speaking, I snorted like I didn’t even need to hear the rest.

“Why the hell should I care what a hostage wants? Old man, what do you take me for, some damn babysitter?”

Whether Irena wanted to come along or not was none of my concern. I wasn’t the hostage—Irena was.

“If she comes willingly, she won’t know anything about the deal we’ve just made and will simply follow me. If she refuses, well, I’ll tell her everything and drag her along by force.”

During that process, I would still teach her how to use battle gear properly. That was something I’d already promised to do.

“…Understood.”

“Don’t forget that I’ll be sleeping in the room next to Irena’s.”

While I was staying in this mansion, if anything strange happened, I would fling her door open and harvest her head right then and there.

“There’s one thing I can promise. If you succeed in your rebellion, Irena will be free. And if you fail, I’ll do my best to see that she survives.”

One way or another, Irena and I would become something like a teacher and student. Unless it came to a situation where her life was truly at stake, it was only natural for a teacher to look after their student.

“…All right. So be it.”

From Simid Kellogg’s perspective, my promise must have sounded like hollow words whose meaning he couldn’t grasp.

And naturally, I didn’t expect Simid to believe anything I said, either.

“All right. Let’s enjoy the rest of this party, then.”

I gave Simid’s shoulder a couple of pats, gathered up the forged documents, and stepped out the door.

“Well, damn.”

Once I had left, Simid let out a small sigh and looked over the papers left on the table.

“I still don’t know.”

Simid Kellogg was the Treasury Chief of the Empire. Though he couldn’t do anything to me right away, if he took the time to leverage his connections and capabilities, he would have no trouble crushing me whenever he pleased.

“The same goes for Irena.”

It was the same with her. Simid cherished his only daughter born so late in his life, but he wasn’t foolish enough to place his love for her above the survival of his family.

The problem was the contact information and the offer of cooperation I had left behind.

That was the reason Simid Kellogg found himself hesitating.

“It would be a waste to eliminate him.”

It had been me who spared Simid Kellogg tonight, when he was fully prepared to meet his death.

If it were only about teaching Irena, Simid would have welcomed me with open arms.

“Even so, I hadn’t planned to let him live.”

This was rebellion. If it were exposed, the entire family would vanish overnight.

Originally, the scales of his judgment would have tipped precariously toward killing me.

“But to make an offer like that…”

I had left behind a way to contact me, along with the promise that I’d work for him if he prepared adequate payment.

[A skilled man who could be used to great effect if the price was right.]

That was the very point that had succeeded in changing Simid’s mind.

The scales that had been tilted toward killing me had now, ever so slightly, shifted the other way.

Simid Kellogg decided to leave me alone for the time being.

If Irena could become a proper knight, that would be good in itself. And in the process of preparing the rebellion, there might be uses for me as well, so it felt wasteful to get rid of me right away.

“Later. I’ll think it over again.”

For now, he didn’t know whether it was better to kill me or let me live. There was no hurry—he could decide once things became clearer.

After draining his glass, Simid lay back on the bed, closed his eyes, and soon drifted into a deep sleep with a snore.

That he could fall asleep so easily just after narrowly escaping death proved that this old man was no ordinary person, either.