Chapter 164 Sugita Group ⑦
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Plaudix. No other country suffers a divide between the rich and the poor as staggering as this one. The nobility bleeds the citizens dry with heavy taxes just to fatten their own pockets; they don’t possess a single shred of Noblesse Oblige¹.
Leonis, the royal capital, is a cityscape that perfectly mirrors this exploitation. The residential districts are so wretched they could be mistaken for slums; it feels as if the entire town would go up in flames from a single spark. The gutters are perpetually clogged, and the stench is abysmal. In contrast, the noble district is lined with magnificent estates, laid out with surgical precision. Not a speck of dust is out of place. It is hauntingly beautiful – and the castle is so majestic its elegance feels almost suffocating.
It is a city that wears the nation’s rot on its sleeve.
I had returned to Leonis after nearly a year away. I never really had the chance to see the area around the castle back then, so I couldn’t tell if the city had always been this miserable or if Sugita and his crew had run it into the ground. Judging by the layout, however, it had likely been this way from the start.
For now, I was taking a crash course from Natsumi on where to gather intel. They say rumors always gravitate toward taverns, so I decided to do a bit of pub-crawling. Ideally, I would have headed to a tavern run by the Monster Hunter Guild², but Leonis doesn’t have a branch. Thanks to the screw-ups of a previous Hero, the Guild is on terrible terms with Plaudix – specifically with the Hero Church.
Honestly, how much trouble did that Hero cause back then?
Then again, the current Hero isn’t any different.
There aren’t many taverns open in the middle of the day, as they are mostly night spots, but I found one with the doors unbolted. That was where I ran into a certain someone.
* * *
I stepped into one of the few taverns open since noon. The moment I walked in, the choking stench of cheap booze hit me. A single man sat at the counter, completely wasted, while the shopkeep laid into him.
”Hic… Hey, old man! Another round!” the man barked.
”Look, pal… you’ve had way too much for a man who started at sunrise,” the shopkeep replied.
”Shut up! Just pour the damn drink!”
”I’ll pour it as long as you’ve got the coin,” the shopkeep muttered, “but maybe you should worry a bit more about your own liver.”
Muttering under his breath, the shopkeep poured a drink into a coarse glass. The man knocked it back in one gulp.
Drinking like this first thing in the morning… how broken do you have to be? I figured there wouldn’t be much intel to find with no other customers around. Honestly, I didn’t want any part of this mess. I was just about to turn and leave when the man slammed his glass down.
”Dammit… that bastard Sugita… he stole my wife and my daughter right out from under me,” the man wailed. ” ‘Hero’ my ass! Old man, another glass!”
Wait. Sugita stole his wife and daughter?
More than that – I knew that voice. I hesitantly approached the man and stole a look at his face.
”Ah? What do you want…?” he growled.
”…Instructor Carlos?” I asked.
It was him. Instructor Carlos, in the flesh.
”Huh? …You, that hair… are you one of the Heroes?” Carlos asked, his eyes bloodshot.
”Yes. You taught me so much back at -“
”Guaaaah! You damn Heroes!”
With a face twisted in pure rage, Instructor Carlos lunged at me. Caught completely off guard, I was slammed to the floor. He pinned me down, straddling my chest.
”Give them back! My wife and my daughter! Give them back to me!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. His fists began raining down on my face.
But it didn’t hurt. It didn’t hurt at all.
Instructor Carlos was sobbing as he hit me. The sharp, disciplined man I once knew was gone. He was gaunt, nothing but skin and bones, and his fists had absolutely no power behind them.
”Dammit! Dammit all to hell!” he cried.
I didn’t resist. I just lay there and let him keep hitting me.
”H-hey! Customer! No violence in here!” the shopkeep shouted.
”It’s okay,” I said, my voice calm. “I’m fine. Just let him keep going until he’s had his fill.”
”But, Customer…”
”Just leave us!” I snapped.
His fists didn’t hurt, but I could feel the sheer weight of his fury and his grief.
”Dammit… give them back… please, just give them back…”
Tears fell onto my face, one after another. Carlos slumped over me, his fists thudding weakly against my chest as he broke down into heaving sobs.
* * *
”Have you calmed down?” I asked a while later.
”A-Ah… yeah. Sorry. You had to see me in a pathetic state,” Carlos muttered.
After venting all that rage, Carlos had become quiet and hollow. He bowed his head. He looked terrible – thin, with a ragged beard. There wasn’t a trace of the formidable man he used to be. He had calmed down for now, but he would likely crawl back into a bottle the moment I left.
”It’s been a long time, Yuki,” Carlos said. “What are you doing here? Where are Kodama, Kijima, and the others?”
”We’re traveling separately for various reasons. More importantly, Instructor, what happened to you?”
”That…” Carlos trailed off. Clearly, it was painful to put into words.
”Instructor, talk to me,” I urged. “Maybe you’ll feel a little lighter if you get it all out.”
Just like I had when I confessed everything to Natsumi.
”…I suppose so. Will you listen?”
To put it simply, his wife, Elena, and his daughter, Farisa, had been taken by Sugita. From what he told me, one could argue Elena’s betrayal was inevitable – Carlos had neglected her, and they say a woman’s desire peaks in her mid-thirties. Not that it made the betrayal any less disgusting.
The real problem was Farisa. She had always been a daddy’s girl and used to despise the “Hero” – meaning Sugita – but one day, she suddenly became obsessed with him. Apparently, she had gone to confront Sugita and Elena about their affair, and from that day on, she started acting like Sugita’s lover. The girl who once adored her father began to shun him, even insulting him. Eventually, Elena and Farisa walked out on him to be with Sugita.
And the nightmare didn’t stop there.
”My Level dropped,” Carlos whispered.
”Your Level? Is that even possible?” I asked.
”No. Not normally. You might lose strength as you age, but your Level should never go down.”
It wasn’t just Carlos. It was happening to others, too. Some were losing their Skills entirely.
Level-downs and vanishing Skills. I wondered if that had something to do with Farisa’s sudden change of heart. The way Reese and the others changed was exactly the same. If the Level-drops and the brainwashing were Sugita’s doing, then his Unique Skill³ wasn’t something simple like “Allure.”
”Some ‘Hero’ he is,” Carlos said with a self-mocking chuckle. “He’s a walking curse. No matter how much I protested, the higher-ups just kept saying, ‘Whatever the Hero does is right.’ In the end, they even stripped me of my title as Knight Order Commander.”
I see. So that’s why he’s drinking himself to death. But meeting him here was perfect timing. Natsumi had asked me for a favor before we left.
”Instructor… why don’t you come with us?”
”Yuki? With you?”
”Yes. Don’t you want… Vengeance⁴ against Sugita?”
At the word Vengeance, Carlos’s eyes turned sharp. Of course he wanted payback, but his title and the Hero Church had stood in his way. I whispered to him, telling him we could settle the score in Greedia, where the Church couldn’t reach him.
I felt like Mephistopheles, tempting Faust.
”…Let me think about it,” Carlos said.
He paid his tab and left. But I knew he would take the bait. I saw it in his eyes – the same eyes Natsumi has, burning with the fire of Vengeance.
Sure enough, a few hours later, Carlos returned with a crowd of Sugita’s other victims in tow. There were a lot of them, but we could manage to squeeze them onto the Prydwen⁵.
”Yuki, we’re coming with you,” Carlos said. Standing before me was no longer a drunk, but a man reborn for the sake of Vengeance.
”I’ve lost my position as Commander anyway; there’s nothing left for me in this country.”
”Understood. Then let’s go.”
I took Carlos and the rest of Sugita’s victims and set a course for Greedia.
”…By the way, Yuki,” Carlos added, glancing at me. “You’ve become strangely… alluring. Your movements, your gestures… they’re quite feminine.”
…I wonder if I should just tell him I’m actually a girl?
—
Summary:
Yuki returns to Leonis and finds their former instructor, Carlos, in a drunken state. Carlos reveals that Sugita stole his wife and daughter, and strangely, his Level and Skills have decreased. Yuki recruits Carlos and other victims of Sugita for a mission of vengeance in Greedia.
—
Trivia:
- The Monster Hunter Guild and Hero Church are on bad terms due to a previous Hero.
- Carlos’s level didn’t just drop from age; it was a mechanical reduction.
- Farisa, Carlos’s daughter, hated Sugita before suddenly becoming his lover.
- Yuki compares themselves to Mephistopheles while recruiting Carlos.
- The group uses a ship or vehicle named ‘Prydwen’
—
Character Insight:
Yuki shows a manipulative side, intentionally targeting Carlos’s grief to recruit him for their own agenda. Meanwhile, Carlos has hit rock bottom, losing his family, rank, and literal power (Level), turning his despair into a singular focus on revenge.
—
Behind the Scenes:
The author uses the ‘Level drop’ mechanic to suggest Sugita has an ability that goes beyond simple charm, possibly energy or stat theft.
—
TL Notes:
Notes:
• Sugita – Sugita Kazu. The leader of the Sugita gang and the primary bully of Natsumi Sasaki. His grandfather is the Superintendent General and his father is a Police Superintendent, so the two of them covered up all his crimes. Because of this, he does whatever he wants wherever he goes. He has a lean build, sharp features, and a calculating gaze. Possesses the ‘Steal’ (窃盗) skill and uses it to brainwash women.
• Natsumi – The protagonist. Height 168 to 171 cm, weight 57 to 59 kg. He has a baby face, but he hides his eyes with his bangs. He was bullied by the Sugita gang just because his name sounded like a girl’s name.
• Carlos – The Knight Captain of the Plaudix Kingdom’s Royal Guard. He serves as an instructor and shows genuine concern for Sasaki. Currently a broken man, gaunt, skin and bones, with an unkempt beard. Husband of Elena and father of Farisa.
• Kodama – Kodama Satomi. A self-proclaimed fan of Chihiro. A bronzed girl with bleached hair. She uses Lightning Bolt sorcery. Her stats are noted to be higher than a Gargoyle’s, though she is not built for melee.
• Yuki – Yuki Chihiro. Height 178 cm, weight 70 kg (Male). Natsumi’s childhood friend. A handsome, athletic top student in the soccer club.
• Farisa – Daughter of Carlos and Elena, a young and curvaceous beauty. She is fourteen years old and has a similar appearance to her mother.
• Elena – A mature and alluring woman, wife of Carlos. She has sharp eyes, a beauty mark, and full lips. Her body is well-maintained, and she is addicted to Sugita.
• Reese – Jessica’s sister, currently asleep. Identified as a ‘beautiful blonde lady’ by Alice.
• Lil – One of the heroines. Height 166 cm, B-W-H: 90-56-90. She is a top-tier beauty with long indigo hair down to her waist, a large scar on her abdomen and sharp golden eyes. She has wolf ears and a tail.
• Mei – One of the Kijima twin sisters. She uses a longbow that creates arrows of light. She is part of Chihiro’s party in the Envyos Labyrinth.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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