## Chapter 695 – Paladin Kim Kat

“Hey, you, come here. You just called me a son of a bitch, didn’t you?”
“W-well, that’s…”

I was wondering what this bastard was so confident about, cursing right off the bat, but I was currently wearing the shabby clothes I’d prepared for undercover work before coming out.

And barbarians, regardless of age or gender, often end up wandering around in the slums. Maybe he was feeling confident because of the ongoing battle.

Anyway, it seems like I can get this bastard to guide me to the organization. If he’s the boss, he’ll know something. If he doesn’t, I’ll just tell him to find out.

Originally, low-level criminals are nothing more than useful wallets and resources that can be used however you want. You can just grab them, kill them, and steal their money without any repercussions.

“Come here, you son of a bitch.”

As soon as I reached out to grab his neck, the thugs on either side of him reflexively swung hand axes and clubs at me.

“This bastard!”
“Die!”
“Oh, my god!!!!!!!!”

I was shocked as if struck by lightning!

These bastards were showering me with murderous intent the moment they saw me! The hand axe was clearly aimed at my forehead, and the club was flying towards my cheek!

Were they not just simple criminals, but professional serial killers?!

—Whoosh!

I immediately opened my palm and slapped the face of the guy swinging the hand axe, and —whirr!— his head rotated three times like a bamboo helicopter.

—Thud.

His body, with its rotated head, lost its balance and collapsed.

“H-he, hee! His, his head!!!”
“It, it turned?!?!?!”

No, shit!!

I just tapped him lightly, and his head spun like that!!

“Hey, hey! You son of a bitch, what do I do if his head turned!!!!”

Panicked, I grabbed the collar of the hand axe murderer, who had already lost his life and was sprawled out on the ground, and shook him. But he didn’t budge. There was no way he could be alive after his head had rotated three times.

People aren’t rubber bands on a rubber-powered plane, so once a head is turned, it never returns to its original state!

His neck bones were all shattered!!!

—Thud.

The other two guys who were watching the scene slumped down in their seats. One of them was the guy who had cursed at me.

“Ah, shit. That son of a bitch dies from just one hit.”

I ended up committing murder as soon as I arrived in a new city.

But since there are already many corpses lying around, it won’t be that noticeable. It was a shocking event, but let’s just move on.

“Anyway, you just called me a son of a bitch, right?”
“Y-yes? What did I say?”
“Playing dumb?”
“I-I’m sorry!!!! I got excited and lost it!!! I didn’t recognize the noble one!!!!”

—Whoosh!

The guy bowed to me like a frog, crying and begging for forgiveness.

The guy next to him was the same, and the other guys who were fighting over there stopped fighting and started to scatter, watching me carefully.

I don’t need those bastards anyway.

“Is it okay if you insult someone and then just apologize?”
“I’m sorry!!! Here, this is everything I have!!”

The guy tried to take something out of his pocket while still bowing.

This bastard… I was going to kill him, but seeing him trying to apologize properly made me feel a little better.

So, how much will it be?

“It’s 8 coppers, all my fortune! Please accept it!!!”

This crazy bastard.

First, I put it in my pocket and said.

“Do you think I’d let it slide with 8 coppers if some crazy bastard suddenly pointed a knife at me and cursed at me? Especially when the guys next to him were swinging weapons?”
“W-well, I would let it slide…”
“This crazy bastard is talking back.”

I tried to have a conversation, but I can’t forgive him for talking back.

—Crack!

“Aaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!”

As soon as I stomped on his elbow, his flesh burst and his arm fell off. Just stomping on it with force was enough to crush the bones and sever the arm.

I was going to kill him, but since he gave me 8 coppers, I’ll let him off with just an arm.

That son of a bitch, I treat him a little kindly, and he acts like a crazy bastard.

“Kieeeeeeeeeeeut!!”
“Be a little quiet, you bastard.”

Let’s abandon this bastard and drag the guy next to him.

“H-huh, ugh. Uuuuuugh…!”

I grabbed the neck of the guy who was even pissing himself and lifted him up.

“I-I, I-I-I’m sorry…!!!”
“If you’re sorry, guide me to your boss.”
“Y-your, y-y-your boss, you mean?”
“Yeah. Your organization has a boss, right? I need to talk to him about this.”
“Aaaaaaaa, aaa. A, alright!!”
“What is this son of a bitch, a Death Knight?”

Completely terrified, he straightened his clothes and led the way, telling me to follow him. The rest of the thugs who were fighting had already run away a long time ago. Those wise bastards.

All that remained at the scene were a few corpses bleeding profusely.

Killing criminals is a good thing. So, they were doing a good thing. That’s why I let them run away. Killing guys who are doing good things will give you bad dreams.

“Hilde, just follow me from behind.”
“Yes, yes. I will, ohoho. But you really are manly! Overflowing with violence! I can see why Cloudi-nim is so obsessed with this aspect!”

Hilde hugged my neck, squealing.

“Hehehe, is that so?”
“Kill all the lowly humans!”
“Hilde?”
“Except for Katt-nim and the other wives!”

As expected of a succubus.

After walking for about 20 minutes…

“S-should I, sh-should I call the boss…? Or should we go in together…?”

When we arrived, the terrified thug bowed to me at a 90-degree angle and asked.

This bastard knows his manners, so I don’t need to hit him.

“Are you sure he’s inside?”
“I, I think so.”
“Open the door.”
“Yes.”

—Creak.

He immediately opened the door, and I had Hilde wait outside before going inside. As expected, a man who looked like a crime boss was sitting arrogantly with his legs on the desk.

“T-that, that person is the boss.”
“Is that so? Then get lost now.”
“Yes!!!!”

He answered energetically and closed the door as he left.

—Stare.

“…”

The boss was staring at me with a bored expression. He even had a pipe in his mouth.

Is he someone with some clout?

Anyway, I came all the way here, so it wouldn’t be polite not to greet him. I immediately approached him and said.

“Are you the boss of the crime organization here? I came to ask you something.”
“…”

When I spoke, the boss, who had been silent for a moment, tilted his head while maintaining his arrogant posture and slowly opened his mouth.

“Do I. Have a reason to answer that question?”

A very arrogant and charismatic voice. Looking at him, his jawline is sharp and his body is pretty good. He’s the type who is confident in fighting.

But this bastard.

“Why are you acting so tough when you’re just a criminal?”
“Huh?”
“Hey, you, come here.”

—Grab!

I immediately grabbed his collar and lifted him high, then shook him around like I was playing with fire, spinning him around and slamming him into the floor and the wall, giving him an inhuman tour of Seoul.

—Thump!

“Aaaaaaaaaaaack!!”
“B to the A to the BANG BANG!!!!”

—Whirr whirr!
—Whoosh!!

This bastard is too arrogant for a criminal…!

“Aaaack!! Stop!! Stooooooop!!!”
“Stop?”
“I’m sorry! Please stop! I was wrong!”

Only then did I throw the tattered boss on the floor. With a bloody face, he sobbed and caught his breath before bowing his head to me.

“You son of a bitch, if you’re a criminal, you should know to crawl. Why are you acting up? Do you earn money by working legally?”
“N-no, I don’t!!”
“Why are you so confident when you earn money in such a shitty way? You criminals just do what you’re told, got it!!!!!!!!!!!”
“I understand!! I was wrong! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!!!!”

I poked the back of his head and spoke, and he answered politely, having a fit.

“You son of a bitch, if it looks like you can’t win, kneel down first. Don’t you know how to be strong to the weak and weak to the strong? Huh?”
“I know it well! I was wrong!”
“First, where’s your vault?”

First, the vault.

“T-the vault, you mean?”
“No, one of your gang members suddenly pointed a knife at me and cursed at me. Let’s talk after I get some compensation for that. How much do you have?”
“W-well, there’s only about 4 silver in the vault right now…”
“Only 4 silver? That sounds like a lie, so I’ll pull out your arm first.”
“I have 11 silver! Please spare me!!!”
“Take it out.”

—Whoosh!

The boss quickly got up, cleared the desk, and removed the small rug underneath. Then, a small secret door was revealed, and when he opened it, a box appeared.

I checked the inside of the box and said.

“Hehehe, our boss? What’s your name?”
“M-Mardon…”
“Okay, Mardon. Is your crime organization the only one in the city?”
“N-no, there are several… They break up and then come back together, or they’re newly created or disappear… So it’s fluid. I, I’m the head of a relatively large organization, but I’m not a super strong force…”

It’s the same everywhere.

“But why are you so confident?”
“It’s a world where you get eaten if you look weak… No matter who comes, you have to come on strong first. Bluffing is a little important…”
“I see, that’s how it is.”

This is the same everywhere too.

Still, if I had been wearing armor, he wouldn’t have acted up.

“But what I’m really curious about isn’t that.”
“Just tell me.”
“Are there any strange guys around here or anywhere?”
“Strange guys, you mean?”
“Anything that comes to mind. If you don’t have anything, I’ll take it out on your body.”
“Th-that!!!”
“Th-that, why. People gathering in large numbers, or guys obsessed with strange religions. Something special like that. You guys know that kind of thing, right?”
“Rather than knowing it well, there are a lot of those guys around here.”

So there is.

“Come to think of it, I heard a rumor that a paladin was searching around here… I looked into it, and it seems to be true…”

That must have been my predecessor.
Anyway, the rumor that a paladin came has already spread.

“What? Why is a paladin here?”

I asked, pretending not to know, and he said he didn’t know either.

“Well, I don’t know either, that’s it.”
“Then find that out too. Anyway, you don’t know about any real gatherings or people meeting up?”
“There might be some, but I don’t know the exact location… I need to find out.”
“Find that out.”
“Now?”
“By tomorrow. How many gang members do you have?”
“A l-little over thirty.”

One of them died there, and another one became disabled.

“Have those kids spread out and report any places where people are gathering or holding meetings nearby.”
“A-alright. But those kids aren’t very obedient… I don’t know if it will work out.”
“This son of a bitch, you’ll do it if I tell you to. You’ll die if it doesn’t work out.”
“I’ll do it no matter what! No matter what!”

The boss trembled and answered loudly.

Seeing him so full of enthusiasm makes me feel satisfied.

Then, I just need to ask Hilde to hypnotize him to confirm whether he’s going to run away or not.

“Hehehe, yeah, yeah. That’s all the wisdom of life. Listening well. Here, if you do well, I won’t take the vault and I’ll give you my money too.”
“…”

Let’s take the box for now and return it if he does well.

“You can run away if you want, but if you do, I’ll find you for sure and torture you to death, so try it if you’re confident. I’m a professional at that. You’re on a different level from slum thugs like you.”
“H-huh…!”
“Don’t wonder who I am and why I’m making you do this… I just need to know where people are gathering. Got it?”
“I didn’t see anything!!!!!!!!!”

If I use these guys, I can roughly find out where people are gathering. If I spread out thirty gang members, I’ll catch a few. I can’t use Hilde’s hypnosis magic to order this, so I did it myself.

Would any paladins use this method?
As expected, criminals are important resources.

“Then wait here for a moment.”

I left the building like that.

“Ah, Katt-nim, you’re out? What did he say?”
“He didn’t hear anything, but I ordered him to find a place for gatherings. They’re good at that.”

They have an amazing sense of smell for places where people gather.

“Wow, so you’re using those humans? As expected of Katt-nim! You’re so cool and smart!”
“Hehehe, that’s right. Anyway, Hilde, come in with me and do a simple interrogation.”
“Um, yes. I understand. I’m a professional at that.”

As soon as Hilde and I went back in, the boss immediately stood at attention.

“W-what brings you back?”
“Turn around.”
“Yes!”

Hilde immediately performed hypnosis magic.

Of course, this is not a panacea. Simple questions and answers. Literally just simple questions and answers are possible. Hilde asked if he was going to run away, if he knew of any gathering places, if he had an upper organization, and if he believed in any religion, and as a result, there was no useful information.

I left the slums, ending with making the memory of meeting Hilde vague.

* * *

I visited the boss’s building again before noon the next day.

“Oh, you’ve come!! I’ve tried my best to find out what you asked me to do! People are gathering in about six places!”

He shouted, handing me a map.
As expected, with organizational power, they found six places in just one day.

“Oh, this bastard is good?”
“W-well, I just had the kids find the locations… It wasn’t a difficult task. The kids are good at finding places where people gather. But they didn’t find everything, and it’s not perfect… I just did my best within what I could do.”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s good to do your best within your abilities, right?”

I patted his shoulder as he spoke without confidence.

“I’ll look around these places, and if they’re useful, I’ll give you back your money.”
“You don’t have to give it back!”

Manners have been instilled.