Chain Reaction (2)
Two hundred citizens were protesting in front of Delta Headquarters where the Sacred Ceremony was being held.
"Impeach the King of Jaive!"
It was the backlash from the exposé about the Sacred Ceremony's corruption that a reporter named Michael had run in the daily paper.
"A king who has lost his morals has no right to rule. The citizens must unite and rebuild the nation." It was a spectacle you wouldn't see in other kingdoms—after all, Jaive's king was chosen by popular vote.
That electoral system had made Jaive wealthy, but from the king's point of view it was infuriating.
Mairun, Gis's aide, stepped out of Delta Headquarters and scanned the protesters.
'Worse than I thought.'
Two hundred people gathered in a few hours—that was how strong the public backlash was.
'Of course there are opposition elements in there.' You need money to mobilize people; without a big sponsor, it's hard.
The streets were bustling.
"The world is ending! Repent, everyone! Lord Cria will save us!"
The huge pyramid that had suddenly risen in Jaive's territory could be seen even from here.
The sight stunned citizens, and doomsayers poured into the streets.
"The glory of Terrapos is upon us! All humankind will face God's judgment!"
The pyramid drew attention away from Gis, which was to Mairun's advantage.
He watched as young looters who'd been ransacking shops were promptly arrested by the security squads sent out.
"Pathetic."
Systems don't break easily.
'Unless you have absolute certainty the world will end tomorrow... people won't let go of today.'
"Ugh. First, I'll change."
His face, bruised from being struck by Gis, was blackening, and his clothes were stained with blood.
When he entered the guarded mansion, his wife and daughter were in the hall.
"I'm home."
"Oh my—what happened to your face?" his wife asked, and Mairun made a quick excuse.
"You must've seen it in the news. I shoved through the protesters and took a tumble. It's nothing serious. Give me some clean clothes."
A sigh came from his daughter.
"Haa."
His brows tightened at the sight of his twelve-year-old daughter, who didn't even greet him and kept reading a magazine.
"You've been away for days and you don't even pretend to care that your father's back?"
"What are you talking about? You're such a pain."
She snapped the magazine shut and headed for her room, and Mairun's voice rose.
"Hey, kid! Watch your mouth—!"
"Darling, let her be."
His wife brought him fresh clothes and said, "She's in puberty. It's rough. Besides, it's dangerous outside right now. She's about to enter a prestigious school."
"Ah, puberty—what a commotion."
"Still, she ranked first today in the multinational language assessment. The teacher says she has talent."
Mairun raised an eyebrow as he changed.
"Oh? That's why I live."
A smile touched his lips as if he'd never been beaten at all.
"She's my blood. If she's mine, she deserves that. What else did the teacher say?"
"Her judgment is good and her social skills are excellent. They said she'll be among the top when she starts school."
For the child of a politician, school was a special-purpose institution; private tutoring could cover the rest.
"Back her up. Don't provoke her. That age is the most unstable."
"You should come home more often and actually talk to her—"
"Another lecture."
As always, after being beaten by Gis and coming home like this, he felt a lump in his throat.
"Me? Spend time at home? Do you know how busy I am? On days like today, don't go overboard."
His wife didn't want to deal with someone hurt either.
"Fine. Are you going to the Sacred Ceremony?"
"Field work. I won't be home for a while. Stay indoors, and put an unconditional guard on the child."
He couldn't ignore orders from Gis.
"Yes. But they still need to eat."
"No time. I'm busy. Bring Toby. I'll at least see his face before I go."
Their youngest, Toby, was four.
"He'll be napping."
"…Tell him to wait. What's the worst that happens if he misses one nap?" His wife's voice sharpened.
"When would you know I'd be coming home? And you know how important naps are during growth—"
"Fine. Okay."
Arguments always ended the same, so Mairun hurried toward the front door like an escape.
"I'll be back. Take care of the house." His wife's voice softened—perhaps she was worried he wouldn't even see their son's face.
"It'll be fine. I'm Mairun. I won't break, so look after the kids."
He didn't really know if that was true.
'If this blows up, His Excellency's prestige will suffer. I heard the pyramid angels' power has weakened, too.
'One problem at a time.'
First priority: make sure Michael couldn't write any more articles.
"Haa."
He left the mansion and stared at the pyramid's peak rising above the skyline.
'What can I even do?'
He could barely take care of his own life.
In a VIP-only tavern downtown, a man waited.
"You even come to a place like this."
The tavern, frequented only by the powerful, was dark even in daytime—but that didn't matter.
He knocked and the door opened.
"Who is it?"
"They call me Baekgu."
He called himself Baekgu because he shaved his head, but his real name was Travis, a mob enforcer.
"Come in."
The cool interior held dozens of rooms, though they hadn't even started preparing to open.
'Must be a big shot.'
You couldn't get into this place without clout, and someone had rented the whole tavern in broad daylight.
The manager led him to the most secluded, spacious room.
On a table that could seat dozens sat a bottle of fine liquor, and in the place of honor a man was lost in thought.
"Sir, I've brought him."
"Show him out."
Mairun, who'd come early and waited, adjusted his glasses and appraised Travis.
The man was solid and plain-spoken.
"Sit. Not bad-looking."
Travis bowed and went to the end of the long table to sit.
"Good day. I'm Travis. I'm with Number 43. Big Brother told me a lot about you."
In truth, he knew nothing.
The man who showed up after three years as "Big Brother" had only promised they'd make money.
Mairun poured a drink and said, "I'm starting a big operation and I'm short on men. I hear you can be useful."
"I'll work hard."
"So what are you doing now?"
"I run a brothel in Eddia, District 2. I have five men."
"Hmm—five."
Travis hurriedly added, "They're all decent guys."
It was the defensiveness of a small gang leader, but Mairun thought differently.
'Five scraps are fine.'
Would an aide to the king hire thugs if they weren't useful?
'It's Sacred Ceremony season. If political meddling is exposed, other countries will tear us apart. But a brothel gang? Even if it's exposed, covering it up is trivial.'
Mairun had come personally for the rule: the longer the chain of command, the more chance of being traced.
"First, take this."
Mairun slid a heavy briefcase across the table.
"Is this for the job?"
"Open it."
As Mairun crossed his legs and sipped his drink, Travis tilted the briefcase up.
"This—?"
It was packed with large gold coins.
"One million gold."
"One million!"
No matter what Travis had done, he'd never handled such a sum.
"You need money to get a job done. Spend it first." Thoughts raced through his head.
'It's surely dangerous. But what does that matter? With this money, what can't I do?'
"Don't just stare. Count them. They're big coins—you can count them."
"I trust you, sir. But…"
He'd never been afraid of money before.
"Whatever it is, I'll do it. But this much isn't needed for this kind of work."
Mairun snorted.
"What do you mean 'this kind of work'? This is the contract fee."
"Huh?"
"I don't know what you mean by 'this kind of work,' but my business runs on a different scale. Think of this as a good-faith advance. Handle it well and I'll give you ten times this."
'Ten million gold?'
Travis shook his head.
'No. That's impossible. Even many nobles don't have sums like this.'
He realized the source of his unease.
'Even if I sold my skill—or my life—I'm not worth this much.'
Mairun had the same thought.
'This is bigger than I expected.'
Slow, careful planning would be ideal, but there wasn't an hour to waste.
'Even if we can't stop tomorrow morning's paper, we must stop the evening edition. Move fast.'
Click—the briefcase closed.
"…All right. I'll do it."
Of course.
'Who would turn down a one-shot chance to change his life? People aren't that complicated.'
The only complicated thing was money.
"Then I trust you."
"Um…shouldn't we draw up a contract?"
The amount made Travis uneasy, but for Mairun it was out of the question.
'Why bring it in cash?'
He tapped the briefcase.
"Isn't that the contract? Think of it simply. You'll be seeing more of this from now on."
In that instant Travis understood.
'He's a politician. I'm finally going to make it.'
He didn't know the man's face or purpose yet, but he felt like he could give his soul.
"Who will I be serving…?"
"Haa."
Mairun took off his glasses and let irritation show.
"What kind of thug asks so many questions?"
For a terrifying heartbeat Travis saw the million gold vanish.
Instinct perhaps.
He sprang up, bowed ninety degrees, and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know my place. It won't happen again."
Mairun filled a cup with strong liquor and pushed it forward.
"Drink. I'll send you the details later."
"Yes, sir."
Travis downed it, took the briefcase, and bowed.
"Call on me anytime."
When he stepped back into the sunlight, his head spun from the liquor.
But he wasn't drunk.
'Am I drunk?'
Even carrying a briefcase full of coins, his arms and hands felt numb.
He drew a deep breath and, poker-faced, stepped into the street.
His heart felt like it would burst.
'I'm going crazy.'
What if someone stole the bag? What if a crime happened? What if lightning struck?
'Please, please, let me make it home.'
He usually walked the streets with his chin up, but at this moment he was the weakest man alive.
"Extra! Extra!"
Reports about the giant pyramid in Jaive were being printed and spread.
"Repent! The end of the world is coming!"
Every religion spilled into the streets to preach.
"King of Jaive, explain the truth behind this incident! We don't want a corrupt king!"
Citizen groups marched through the city, spreading their demands.
But for Travis—
'Darling, wait! Son! Daddy did it!'
The only real thing to him was the moment he could slap one million gold down in front of his family.