[92]
“A solution?”
“We should cut out the Thorns Order collaborators inside the Barrel Society while we have the chance. Don’t you agree?”
Peter pressed his lips tightly shut.
He didn’t want to discuss what felt like spitting in his own face.
After pondering, Peter blurted out, “It’s not the Doorkeeper or the Storekeeper.”
Yuri mentally counted through the key officials of the Barrel Society.
‘The Doorkeeper who manages the Barrel Society’s meeting places, the Storekeeper who manages the organization’s assets.’
He had met them before.
They were also the ones who had agreed to Yuri and Chris entering the Spring Continent.
“Then it must be the Shoemaker and the Baker.”
‘The Shoemaker who handles transportation. And the Baker who handles supplies.’
Either could reasonably have contacted the Thorns Order. The Shoemaker, who employs various means of transportation, might have opened a path to the Thorns Order.
And the Baker, who manages the Barrel Society’s logistics, would naturally think it’s best to settle somewhere and earn money steadily.
They wouldn’t have made bad choices for the Barrel Society to have risen to their positions.
It’s just that people have different perspectives.
“I think it’s the Baker,” Peter declared.
‘And lastly, the Locksmith who exists to eliminate threats to the Barrel Society.’
A declaration from his mouth carried significant weight.
“Why do you suspect the Baker?”
“The flea market is usually run under the Shoemaker’s direction. The Shoemaker brings in goods, and the Baker handles supplies.”
“So they need to work closely together.”
“For the past few years… the Baker has been harboring resentment toward the Shoemaker. Saying the Shoemaker just needs to open paths, while actually transporting goods is the Baker’s job.”
Interest flickered across Yuri’s face.
“I would have expected conflict with the Storekeeper instead.”
It seemed natural that the Storekeeper who manages the Barrel Society’s assets and the Baker who handles supplies would clash.
It was quite interesting that the Baker would be watching the Shoemaker instead.
“The Storekeeper can’t be persuaded, cajoled, threatened, or deceived.”
Peter shrugged.
“So it’s the Baker?”
“The Shoemaker couldn’t sell off all the goods they brought in, which will cause problems. And Joaquin too…”
He bit his lip firmly.
“Who is Joaquin?”
“I heard about him through Fortuna.”
The pale woman nodded.
“Ah, that’s right.”
Even knowing something intellectually doesn’t make it easy to truly grasp.
Thinking it was good to have fewer things to explain, Peter smiled bitterly and said, “Joaquin is also part of the Baker’s faction.”
Even in the Barrel Society, which was formed with ideals in mind, factions existed.
Honestly speaking, few people faced these conflicts as frequently as Peter did. After all, his regular job was to eliminate anything threatening the organization’s safety.
“When the Shoemaker falters due to this flea market incident, the Baker will try to snatch his position.”
It was disgusting.
The wealth accumulated by the Barrel Society, the labor flowing within it—doesn’t it all belong to those who decided to venture to a new continent for a better life?
So why fight over who holds it in their hands?
And now they had exposed this ugly side to a mafia boss.
No matter how friendly he was with Yuri, he didn’t want to show the underbelly of the organization he belonged to.
“What do you think?” Peter asked.
Yuri didn’t answer immediately.
“Do you need my opinion?”
“The Barrel Society has been stabbed. We don’t know who’s behind it, but our suspicions point to the Thorns Order.”
He looked at Yuri.
“That’s why I want to hear your thoughts. After all, you came all the way to this Spring Continent solely because of the Thorns Order.”
Yuri didn’t react immediately to Peter’s words.
He was silent. So much so that one might think he was exchanging opinions with Fortuna through mental communication.
“In my opinion,” Yuri finally spoke, “it’s probably both.”
The Thorns Order had struggled to survive even after Rosenhauser’s death.
They had even revealed their presence by carrying out terrorist attacks against both Northern Light and Baekyah.
The emergence of a third force possessing Espers was itself a major anomaly.
Yuri believed the Thorns Order would exploit this trend. They would draw in unregistered Espers who refused to join either Northern Light or Baekyah.
Such a current was actually visible. In particular, he had received intelligence that some Espers who had committed crimes and fled had been spotted at ports and docks on the Spring Continent.
There were slums on the Spring Continent too.
If the Thorns Order decided to grow, they could expand rapidly.
Yuri was considering all these aspects while observing the situation.
‘I missed that the opponent was only thinking about overturning the board.’
Though people making destructive choices aren’t common, they exist everywhere.
“Both the Baker and the Shoemaker, you mean?”
“Yes. They would have approached each person differently.”
“That’s… but, that can’t be.”
Peter shook his head.
“I don’t know about the Baker, but the Shoemaker is a closed-off person. He advocates for somewhat extreme protectionism, arguing that illegal immigrants should continue to be managed within the Barrel Society.”
‘Of course.’
Yuri was cynical.
How great would the loss be to him if the illegal immigrants, who were his transportation “means,” scattered across the continents and became independent?
He already knew through Peter that the ultimate purpose of this organization was to disband.
But would the person currently holding power want to let it go?
The more one has, the more one feels the weight of it, the less willing they are to give it up.
“The Thorns Order isn’t interested in controlling the Barrel Society.”
Yuri shook his head.
“They approach each person and tell them to protect their own interests. Even a closed-off person would at least listen. Better yet if they instill hostility toward the Baker.”
“…That’s.”
“And then they go to the Baker and say, why not take over the Shoemaker’s flea market during this incident? After all, it’s the Baker who currently holds the goods that can be distributed internally.”
Who would oppose the argument that the flea market, a space where illegal immigrants find solace, must not disappear?
Only the Shoemaker, who was about to lose his flea market.
If the conflict between them intensifies and the confrontation continues, the Barrel Society will inevitably be shaken.
Yuri felt sick inside even as he spoke.
‘Well, this is troublesome.’
Since the opponent’s will was focused on destruction and dissolution, there weren’t many measures he could take.
His determination to identify the leader of the Thorns Order only grew stronger.
“I’ll need to make a final confirmation,” Peter muttered.
“They’ll have their own excuses, after all.”
But when he raised his head, his eyes were filled with resolute determination.
Peter was the Locksmith.
Until now, anyone who threatened the Barrel Society had always disappeared by his hand.
“I want to borrow your Esper.”
Peter’s gaze turned toward Fortuna.
The pale, colorless woman looked at Yuri.
The boss of Baekyah nodded.
***
“Yuri.”
Chris, who had been waiting in the room, saw Yuri walking out as a “door” opened in mid-air.
He looked around wondering if Peter had returned with him, but there was no one else.
‘I heard he went to Susanna’s pub.’
Yuri casually reached out and wrapped his arm around Chris’s waist, pulling him close.
As if he had intended to do so all along, his lips met Chris’s, who stiffened slightly before opening his mouth.
A hot tongue pushed inside, making it difficult to breathe with its persistent, wet kiss. Chris’s eyes, which had been searching for the reason behind this sudden kiss, slowly grew hazy.
It took only an instant for desire to steal away reason.
Chris embraced Yuri’s back and entangled his tongue wetly with Yuri’s. His breathing gradually roughened, and his fingertips trembled.
Yuri dripped guiding energy slowly.
It felt like being a child lying under a melting icicle with mouth open.
Waiting eagerly, believing those droplets would eventually quench his thirst after wetting his lips completely.
But before Chris could be fully satisfied, Yuri slowly pulled away and murmured, “You’ve more or less returned.”
“What do you mean?”
The kiss had been satisfying but the guiding had left him wanting more, causing Chris to unconsciously wear a yearning expression.
“Your body.”
Yuri’s response was simple, but his hand slowly traced up Chris’s waist.
He had gained some weight.
It was a minute difference that others wouldn’t notice, but he was finally satisfied.
“Even though Northern Light took you in, you were walking around looking like an abandoned dog…”
“That’s—”
Chris blushed slightly.
“It’s not that I wasn’t eating. It’s just that without accepting guiding, nothing I ate helped me gain weight.”
Thinking about it now, he had probably been dying without a Guide. His body in that extreme situation must have been burning energy desperately.
Yuri’s eyes narrowed at Chris’s answer.
“Are you taking Northern Light’s side?”
“…No.”
In that moment, Chris seemed to understand why Yuri brought this up right after he had met with Anong.
As realization dawned on him, his expression softened and melted.
“I have no intention of returning to Northern Light.”
“Hmm.”
Yuri withdrew his hand from Chris’s waist and murmured, “You’ve become quite perceptive.”
It was unpleasant to have his intentions exposed, but he didn’t entirely dislike a dog that had learned to be a bit impudent.
“What did you talk about with Anong?”
“Yuri. Though it’s not yet been clearly established…”
Chris opened his mouth with a serious expression.
“…it seems Rosenhauser had someone he wanted to adopt.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
