[89]
January stood awkwardly, unable to hide his discomfort at receiving an unexpected visitor.
He didn’t know whether to offer a seat or shake hands first.
“It’s good to meet you.”
With these courteous words, the man strode in and sat down on an old chair.
Despite being an uninvited guest, he felt like the owner of this space.
Though Yuri hadn’t threatened him—merely greeted him—January felt an indescribable anxiety.
“How did you get in here?”
January regretted the question as soon as he asked it. Having already heard the man’s name, asking such a thing seemed foolish.
“Susanna and I have a history.”
Seeing that even Susanna was mentioned, it was certain.
“So you’re the…”
January licked his dry lips nervously.
“You’re Chris’s Guide.”
Yuri’s eyebrow rose.
It was quite a fresh title.
In the November Continent, people would call Chris Yuri’s dog or Esper, but nobody would refer to Yuri as Chris’s Guide.
However, outside the Winter Continent, this perception was common.
The notion that a Guide was a being subordinate to an Esper.
So it was problematic.
“…Yes. I am Chris’s Guide.”
As soon as he uttered those words, an emotion that tightened his chest welled up.
If he had to give it a name, it would be satisfaction.
This was truly strange, considering his past when the mere assumption of being someone else’s possession would have made him uncomfortable and at a loss.
Yuri, contemplating the sense of belonging he felt, crossed his legs and spoke:
“Let’s get straight to the point.”
His words seemed somewhat rushed.
“I want the information you have.”
“…Information?”
Confusion clouded January’s eyes.
He was just a lowly grunt. What he knew wasn’t much. He did use a special guiding drug, but… hadn’t that information already been conveyed to them?
“I’m sure you know something.”
“I… don’t know much. All I did was take drugs and serve customers.”
There was no particular strength in January’s voice.
It was essentially a confession that he was a person not worth helping.
Moreover, this person seemed even colder than Chris.
This wasn’t just based on circulating rumors.
“Well.”
Yuri slowly closed and opened his eyes.
“Espers casually drop all sorts of things in front of Guides. Not just Espers, but anyone tends to let their guard down in front of someone they perceive as weaker.”
“…Ah.”
January lowered his eyes.
Now that he heard it, he did recall some things.
Just in passing, though they mixed in jargon only they would understand, they often had peculiar conversations.
About trading something somewhere.
About bringing someone in, things like that.
But he didn’t know any specific details. These vague memories didn’t seem like they would be much help.
As January became a bit disheartened, Yuri, who had been watching him, spoke:
“I don’t intend to force you.”
His tone was remarkably straightforward.
Just as January was wondering if this was a facade to hide disappointment, Yuri calmly said:
“It must be a time you don’t want to recall.”
‘Could it be…?’
Such words were strange. It almost seemed as if… Yuri Sobolev had experienced a similar situation.
At this sudden thought, January gaped slightly before firmly closing his mouth again.
‘That can’t be right.’
The Yuri Sobolev January knew had made a name for himself as a ruthless mafia for years. It was impossible for such a person to have gone through something similar to him.
“Did you come all the way here… to ask that question?”
“Let’s say that’s the case.”
Yuri answered without any apparent hesitation.
“Shouldn’t you have your subordinates do that kind of thing while you go do something grand, something more important?”
Chris wasn’t present at the moment. It wasn’t difficult to guess that he might be performing some dangerous mission elsewhere.
“Important matters?”
Yuri countered.
“I’ve never confused the priorities of tasks.”
“So you’re saying… Mr. Sobolev…”
January felt his mouth go dry with tension.
“You think seeing me is the most important thing right now.”
He didn’t sound confident saying that.
“I’m not asking for anything grand.”
Yuri’s voice deepened.
“But you surely know something I don’t. That’s enough for now.”
In essence, what Yuri was looking for was a clue.
While Thorns Order was spreading across each continent causing havoc, they were being extremely cautious in the Spring Continent.
With Northern Lights help, he had gathered information while traveling between Babel City and Ishtar City, pretending to be a businessman.
However, he hadn’t obtained direct information about Thorns Order.
About their headquarters, or about the “leader.”
The mayor of Babel would know something, but this wasn’t the Winter Continent. Meddling with a famous politician outside their home territory carried significant risk.
“I don’t know much. We always received drugs through intermediaries.”
January tried hard to recall information valuable enough that Yuri wouldn’t regret coming personally.
“They said they brought the drugs from a place called the warehouse. I think I also heard the name factory.”
Yuri nodded slightly, not mentioning that he already knew about these places.
“The intermediaries change frequently. They sell us the drugs, take the money, and… Oh, the ledger! There’s a separate debt ledger.”
“So we could secure a list of those who received the drug.”
At those words, January suddenly clamped his mouth shut.
Yuri, scanning the other’s face, asked:
“Why? Do you think I’ll get my hands on them and plot a new ‘business’?”
He was direct, without even a hint of probing.
“…Rather, I think they all have their own circumstances. They wouldn’t want to be manipulated just because there’s a ledger.”
“I have no intention of manipulating them.”
Yuri stated firmly.
“But it would be good for them to get examined at least once. Whatever effect it has, it’s a drug-based substance.”
It was unknown what side effects it might have. However, it wasn’t difficult to guess that there would be some addicts.
And addicts can’t refuse the drug. Leaving them be would be like handing the enemy another knife to stab them with.
Yuri knew all too well what people under the influence of drugs could do.
Withdrawal symptoms are difficult to overcome by willpower alone.
“This probably isn’t much help, is it?”
At that question, Yuri slightly narrowed his brow.
“You seem to be diligently calculating the gains and losses I’ll get from this conversation.”
“That’s because you helped me. I don’t want to make you waste your time.”
To January’s words, Yuri replied curtly:
“There’s no need to worry about that.”
Yuri chose his words carefully for a moment.
“It’s true that I make decisions cautiously, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t made mistakes.”
In fact, how many trials and errors had he gone through?
He had tried all sorts of jobs to somehow make money on his own. Starting from bars to delivering dangerous items.
There were times when he broke glasses while carrying several, and times when he got into serious situations because of jobs he took for good pay.
He had even been kidnapped by a Guide trafficking ring while successfully avoiding Rosenhauser.
Some of these situations couldn’t have been resolved without Chris.
Yuri was walking a tightrope. That was still the case now.
“If I fail, I can make another plan. That’s all there is to it.”
If he were to fall off a cliff just from meeting the wrong person, that would be Yuri’s responsibility.
“It’s my domain.”
January kept his mouth shut.
He didn’t understand.
How could someone speak so calmly about mistakes and failures, and even affirm such choices?
Why did those few words lighten the sense of responsibility from his shoulders?
‘Isn’t he a mafia boss?’
Appearances should be as important as position, so how was this possible?
But Yuri, who had spoken of his weaknesses, seemed even stronger than the rumors January had vaguely heard about the master of Baekyah.
January, who had been struggling internally, suddenly spoke up:
“I’ve heard about… a fighting arena.”
It was truly something he’d squeezed from the corners of his memory.
“A fighting arena?”
Yuri showed a feigned interest.
January tried his best to choose his words, striving to eliminate any embellishment.
“It might sound a bit far-fetched, but… they say they gather illegal Espers in a hidden underground space and make them fight.”
Even as he said it, he thought it was truly ridiculous.
Why would Espers, who could live comfortably and well-fed at Northernlight, be putting on shows in an underground arena?
‘…Unless they’re in debt like me. Or because of drugs.’
Though he denied the plausibility of this rumor, he mentioned it because of Yuri’s statement.
January’s heart had lightened at Yuri’s words that he would judge the importance of the information himself and take responsibility.
“Customers occasionally brought up such stories in hushed tones.”
Though they used jargon or deliberately omitted subjects, he had heard mentions of watching an amazing fight somewhere.
Whether it was cockfighting, dogfighting, or human combat, he couldn’t tell.
“Also…”
January rolled his eyes around.
“What is it?”
“…I’ve heard that fake Guides who can’t repay their debts and ‘go bankrupt’ go ‘underground.'”
Now that he thought about it, that “underground” might have referred to the illegal Esper fighting arena.
“I thought it was spread like an urban legend to discipline employees, but… saying it now, it seems somewhat connected.”
Yuri nodded slightly and asked:
“What’s the name of that place?”
“From what I heard.”
January swallowed unconsciously before answering.
“They call it the Colosseum.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
