My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 29

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I was grateful I hadn’t brought the disciples with me. I couldn’t let them see me like this. In the midst of it all, a security guard grabbed my arm.
“What kind of troublemaker are you?”
“You struck first.”
I twisted his arm backward without hesitation. Before he could even cry out, I slammed him hard against the wall, and he went limp. The other guards’ expressions shifted.
“This insane bastard!”
The guards rushed at me in a mass. I had no intention of causing more than necessary commotion, and I couldn’t afford to injure Diar’s people too severely.
“Beat him and throw him out! Hey, rookie!”
A guard who looked fresh on the job came at me. I snapped his jaw upward and he collapsed.
“Damn it, how is the training supposed to work? As his mentor, you clean up this mess!”
I ducked to block an ambush from behind, then drove the edge of my hand down against the mentor’s neck. He crumpled without a sound.
“You can’t bring down just one man, so I have to step in myself?”
One by one, I put the senior guard, the security captain, and the security commander out cold. Before long, the floor around me was littered with bodies. Then a voice cut through.
“That’s enough. You’re looking for Diar?”
I turned to see a woman standing there. She looked to be in her mid-thirties now. In my memory, she’d been a naive twenty-year-old, but everything about her had changed.
Jewels adorned her body, thick eye makeup framing her gaze. Gone was any trace of naivety. A form-fitting purple dress clung to her frame, exuding an almost hypnotic allure.
Fifteen years had passed, and she had become a woman. I turned to face her slowly.
“Yes. I’ve come looking for you, Diar.”
Diar glanced briefly at her fallen employees, then beckoned me with a curl of her finger and walked into an inner chamber.
I followed her through labyrinthine corridors until we reached what appeared to be her office.
It still had the same antiquated feel, though the absence of windows left it dim and shadowed—that much hadn’t changed.
Diar took her seat behind her desk and offered a fox-like smile as she spoke.
“The security code may have changed, but you certainly know plenty about me. Causing a scene like that just to draw me out—clever.”
“I apologize for the disturbance.”
“Don’t worry about it. No one died, just knocked out. The guards simply lacked skill.”
She smiled graciously, but her eyes were studying me with meticulous precision.
I was about to introduce myself when Diar spoke first.
“So, why has the son of Dein come looking for me? I already know you’re trying to rebuild Balanus.”
She had my measure. As an Information Broker, she clearly kept tabs on everything that happened in Aspen Hell.
There was no need for lengthy explanations then. I got straight to the point.
“I want to find Balanus’s missing disciples.”
“Good. With money, anything’s possible.”
At my words, Diar extended her palm. Five slender fingers were laden with rings. She smiled brightly as she spoke.
“Five hundred million baht. That’s five hundred million per person to find them.”
Five hundred million. More than I’d anticipated. It was far beyond what we currently had.
“Too expensive?”
“Not at all. Given your reputation, I expected nothing less.”
I would do anything to find the disciples. Negotiation, certainly, but coercion as well if necessary.
“However, you don’t seem to live up to your reputation. That gives me pause.”
“What makes you say that?”
“A single person—me—managed to defeat every guard in this building. I’d have expected an Information Broker to possess at least some martial capability.”
She smirked slightly.
“I’m an Information Broker. Not a fighter.”
“Does information come so easily? Is a lock opened only with a key? A hammer works just as well.”
Even at my challenge, Diar remained composed.
“So I don’t meet your standards? Then leave. Who else are you planning to ask to find Balanus’s disciples?”
“There’s always Sailo.”
At that name, Diar hesitated. For the first time, her expression shifted slightly.
“He’s capable enough, so it wouldn’t be a bad choice.”
Of course, I didn’t know where he was now. But the mere fact that I knew Sailo’s name was enough to make Diar wary.
“How do you know about Sailo?”
“The fact that you’re asking me questions shows your credibility as an Information Broker has dropped.”
Behind Diar’s poker face, I sensed a faint killing intent. I rose slowly from my seat.
“I’ll take my leave—”
“Sit.”
Her voice was quiet, but the atmosphere had completely changed from before.
“I know your capabilities well enough. There’s no need to prove yourself further. You lack money, but you have skill—how about you pay with that instead?”
The balance had shifted. I remained standing and studied her.
“Pay with my skill, you say?”
“A rather difficult request came in recently. Handle that for me, and I’ll find one person at half price.”
It wasn’t a bad offer. But Diar wouldn’t agree to a deal that left her worse off.
“What exactly is the job?”
“An investigation into the underworld Cartels. Recently, one Cartel’s liquor has monopolized the market.”
A Cartel refers to criminal organizations that monopolize particular illegal enterprises. She continued.
“People are all seeking out this liquor, so I need you to find out why. What do you say? Will you take it?”
“If I’m not careful, I’ll end up making a Cartel my enemy. Considering that, a few hundred million seems like a bargain price to me.”
I’d been wondering why she was cutting the price so much. Dealing with a Cartel isn’t a major problem for me, but there’s no reason to work below market rate.
“How about you find one person for free, and I’ll handle this job cleanly for you. You won’t lose anything in that arrangement, will you?”
I smiled, and Diar smiled back at me. Though her eyes remained cool beneath the surface.
Her gaze, like eyes calculating on an abacus, fixed on me before flickering. She’d finished her mental math.
“Fine. Contract made.”
We smiled at each other. It was a fair deal—neither of us was really taking a loss.
“By the way, Dein, you’re quite interesting. I didn’t know you had a son. Who’s the mother?”
“If you’re curious enough, would you find another person for free?”
She laughed softly. There was a hint of warmth in her voice.
“Cheeky just like your father. You’re definitely Dein’s son.”
* * *
Late into the night. Though darkness had fallen, the streets blazed with light, forming a vibrant Night City. For such a sizable metropolis, the sight was truly magnificent.
Amid the lively voices, Jenia wandered from stall to stall.
“Wow, Master. What’s that? A little train spinning around and around. Won’t you buy it for me?”
“Once the job is done, I’ll get it for you. We came here to investigate, remember.”
We had arrived in the city where the Night Blue Cartel was located. The city was quite substantial in size and bustling despite it not being festival season.
If not for the job, it would’ve been a pleasant place to travel. While Jenia gazed longingly at a wind-up doll, I spoke to Cesare.
“Cesare, are you all right? You don’t look well.”
Cesare was in agony. He groaned and spoke with visible pain.
“What is this place, some kind of drinker’s paradise? The smell of alcohol is everywhere. It’s driving me mad. This is torture for someone abstaining.”
Sure enough, the moment we entered the city, the reek of liquor hit us. There were plenty of taverns, and people drank openly in the streets with barrels and jugs.
Just then, someone passed by Cesare clutching a bottle of rum. He quickly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand—was he drooling?
“Still, since this job involves alcohol, shouldn’t you have to drink some?”
“You absolutely won’t need to. Don’t get any funny ideas.”
The job was to investigate the liquor made by Night Blue. The reason a small-time organization suddenly grew so much larger.
The liquor was called Blue Moon. Its sales had skyrocketed, fueling the organization’s expansion. I’d heard the taste was exceptional.
“I had no desire to drink it, truly. I just thought I might be forced to for the sake of the investigation.”
Cesare’s eyes drooped with longing. His face made it clear he wanted nothing more than a taste.
“All right, I understand. Let’s start by seeing the real thing. We should visit a liquor merchant.”
I asked a local for directions and we arrived at the shop. The moment we entered, oak barrels lined an entire wall.
Every label read “Blue Moon.” I’d heard it sold well, but it seemed even more popular than I’d imagined.
“Welcome. What liquor can I help you find?”
“I’d like to purchase Blue Moon. Just one bottle, if you please.”
The shopkeeper opened a valve on an oak barrel and positioned a glass bottle beneath the spout. A deep blue liquid filled it to the brim.
So that’s why it’s called Blue Moon. Jenia, peering curiously from beside me, asked the shopkeeper.
“Does it sell well? Do people like it? What makes it so good?”
“Well, the taste is exceptional, for one. It gives you a pleasant intoxication, and there’s no hangover or stomach trouble either. And…”
He glanced at Cesare and me, then gave a thumbs up. A slightly sly smile crossed his face.
“It’s got quite the special effect, if you catch my meaning. Commands a high price for that very reason.”
It sounded like he meant it was good for men. Did the liquor have some kind of tonic effect? Jenia stared at me intently.
“What does ‘special effect’ mean?”
“It means it increases your vigor.”
“I see.”
I paid and purchased the Blue Moon, then dragged Cesare—who couldn’t tear his eyes away from the other bottles—back to our lodgings.
We needed to examine it closely. Once in our room, I unpacked the liquor and found Cesare had pressed his head against the wall.
“Cesare, what are you doing?”
“If I can’t drink it, I shouldn’t even look at it. Ah, I wonder what it tastes like…”
This job was proving quite difficult for Cesare. While he muttered to himself, I examined the bottle.
To the naked eye, there was nothing unusual about it. It looked like a blue distilled spirit. Jenia stared intently at it from beside me.
“Given how much people love it, isn’t it possible they put some addictive drug in it?”
“According to Diar, that’s not the case.”
The report stated that no addictive substances were detected. Well then, I’ll taste it.
I poured a glass and took a sip. Pleasant aroma, smooth on the throat, a clean finish. It was better liquor than I’d expected. A faint fruity note lingered at the end.
“Master, do you feel the effect?”
Beyond the bottle, I caught sight of Jenia’s large eyes. The liquor store owner’s expression had grown a touch resentful.
Just then Cesare sniffed at the air, drifting closer to me. His gaze fixed hard upon the Blue Moon.
“Master, may I see that for a moment?”
Had he sensed something? He was an alcoholic, but it seemed he wouldn’t drink. He’d held firm until now.
The instant I handed over the bottle, Cesare seized it and drank deeply without a word of warning.
After all this time of restraint, he’d surrender to temptation like this? So even Cesare would crumble in the end.
I stood watching, half in shock. Then Cesare pulled the bottle from his lips and made a face.
“Something’s off about the smell. Master, this isn’t alcohol.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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