Chapter 19 - Episode 3. Silver Restraint (3)
Chapter 19: Episode 3. Silver Restraint (3)
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Slaughtering dozens of guards in an instant? Any high-ranking Adapter in 《Chaos》 could do that.
The problem came after the guards were dead.
Standing against a single fortress.
It meant something entirely different from fighting an individual or a clan. In Chaos, fortresses served as a kind of middle management, governing the Tree’s Adapters in place of the System.
A fortress was, in other words, a world of its own.
Even the Hall Masters of the Ten Halls of Chaos, who could wipe out dozens of high-ranking Adapters with ease, did not stand against fortresses. There was nothing to gain from doing so.
Yet Mino suddenly wondered if this man might be someone who did not care about such common sense at all.
“Wait, James! He really is my Ally! He is an extremely important guest of our Black Forest Hall!”
“You did not say that earlier.”
“I cannot exactly announce our Hall’s business to everyone.”
In the end, she had even invoked the Black Forest Hall. Even an assistant to a fortress checkpoint chief would not keep pushing after that. What worried her was something else.
[Please do not say anything stupid, all right?]
Jaehwan still wore an unreadable expression. James seemed particularly displeased by it.
Judging by his clothes, he had clearly not been in 《Chaos》 long, yet Mino of the Black Forest Hall was defending him this desperately...
James’s lips twisted strangely.
“What if I do not want to?”
“If you let it go just this once, I will buy you a drink later. How about it?”
“Still no.”
Mino clenched her teeth.
“What is wrong with you today? If you need more payment, I will give you more. Will a Two-Horned Beast’s horn do?”
Mino’s excessive eagerness only made James narrow his eyes.
“The more you insist, the more suspicious I become. I should take him to the chief.”
Mino’s expression grew complicated at the word chief.
Every checkpoint in every fortress had one checkpoint chief assigned to each of its eastern, western, southern, and northern entrances.
A checkpoint chief was usually appointed from among those strong enough to easily subdue first or second-stage Adapters. The checkpoint chief assigned to the northern gate was especially well-known.
All the residents of Gorgon Fortress called him this.
‘Karlton the Stubborn.’
Mino had been caught by Karlton a few times herself and suffered through troublesome ordeals. In this case, troublesome meant exactly what it sounded like. It was not that Karlton had a terrible personality, resorted to violence, or charged excessive tolls.
It was the exact opposite.
No checkpoint chief in 《Chaos》 was as incorruptible and upright as Karlton.
As befitted a member of a collateral branch of the Celestials, whose bloodline was mixed with angel blood, Karlton was a more honest and principled man than any checkpoint chief in the fortress. He seemed as if he had been born to become one.
That was the problem.
A checkpoint chief could not be loved if they were too stubborn. They needed some flexibility, needed to accept a few bribes, and needed to overlook the occasional thug.
That was good for the checkpoint chief, and it kept the underground economy inside the fortress thriving. The larger that underground economy grew, the more the fortress’s high officials profited.
Karlton, however, never compromised with any injustice.
Because of this, the number of wanted criminals caught at the northern checkpoint was three or four times higher than at the others, and smugglers in Chaos chose to open routes through other fortresses instead. Even innocent people were dragged away one after another over minor mistakes and made to write statements, so Adapters passed around a saying whenever they entered Gorgon Fortress.
‘Avoid the north gate at all costs.’
Things had improved somewhat after James became the chief’s assistant, but...
Mino glanced at Jaehwan.
If that man met Karlton, they were all doomed.
One was a human who lived by his own will without regard for rules. The other was a Celestial who could never tolerate people like him. What would happen if they met was painfully obvious. Cold sweat ran down her back. If things went wrong, the northern checkpoint might explode today.
“James, I think there is some misunderstanding. He is not a bad person at all. No, he might be a bad person, but anyway!”
The more desperate she became, the more she babbled. Mino no longer knew what she was saying herself.
“He saved my life. You know the Red Fox Clan, right? He wiped out the Red Fox Clan all by himself!”
“The Red Fox Clan? Alone?”
“Yes. He is not suspicious at all!”
He had wiped out an entire clan alone?
James looked Jaehwan over again from head to toe.
The sword at his side looked decent enough, but otherwise he looked like a beggar.
“That makes him extremely suspicious.”
“No, I mean...”
[Say something too! Just do not say anything strange!]
Jaehwan’s eyes narrowed. His lips seemed to move as though he were muttering something.
‘A moment ago, she told me not to say anything.’
[You have at least some social skills, do you not?]
After thinking for a while at Mino’s desperate plea, Jaehwan answered halfheartedly.
“What that woman said is true.”
Mino’s pretty face twisted.
[Put more effort into it! Make it convincing!]
Jaehwan did not answer.
James snorted as if he had expected as much.
Mino, flustered, pressed him again.
[Is this really the time to be stubborn? Right now...]
Then Mino realized Jaehwan was staring intently at someone approaching from afar.
A powerful Spiritual Pressure was drawing closer.
It belonged to someone who would overturn all her desperate efforts.
A handsome man with a tall frame and smooth skin.
A Celestial who looked almost human, aside from the silver aura flickering like wings around his shoulders.
The most stubborn man in Gorgon Fortress.
As Mino’s expression stiffened, James’s face brightened.
“...What is going on here?”
A well-known figure in Gorgon Fortress.
Karlton the Stubborn, chief of the northern checkpoint, had arrived.
* * *
A little later, after hearing the rough outline of events, Karlton stroked his smooth chin. It was a habit he often displayed when deep in thought.
Karlton the Stubborn was famous not only for his stubbornness, but also for his beautiful appearance. That was only natural for a Celestial hybrid.
He looked so elegant as he stroked his chin with his disheveled golden hair tied back that sculptors in the fortress made statues of him in that pose and sold them.
The most popular piece was 『Karlton in Contemplation』.
But whether Karlton contemplated or did anything else, Mino saw him as nothing more than a tiresome, foppish checkpoint chief.
“So, Chief. This man wiped out the Red Fox Clan...”
“That is enough about the Red Fox Clan.”
Mino closed her mouth.
Karlton asked Jaehwan, “So, you wish to enter our fortress.”
“Yes.”
“But you do not have identification papers.”
“Yes.”
“Then you cannot enter.”
“Why not?”
Karlton fell silent for a moment.
Why was he asking about something so obvious?
It was incomprehensible.
In the fifty-five years Karlton had worked at Gorgon’s northern checkpoint, no one had ever questioned something so self-evident.
If the law barred someone from entry, then entry was simply impossible.
No other reason was necessary.
Yet this man was asking why.
‘...He is happy about this!’
Mino pressed a hand to her forehead when she saw Karlton’s expression. She knew what was coming now.
Karlton opened his mouth.
“If you cannot prove your identity through identification papers, the checkpoint chief has the authority to restrict a traveler’s entry. This is clearly stated in Article 27, Clause 4 of the Gorgon Entry Law. Furthermore, according to Article 34, Clause 2 of the Gorgon Entry Law, which is included as a referenced provision of this law...”
The guards trembled.
“It is here! The chief’s 『Stubborn Legal Dictionary』!”
“It has been a while since we last saw it.”
“It is amazing every time.”
“Sometimes I wonder if he is making all of it up.”
Even in this situation, the northern checkpoint guards seemed excited. It made sense. They trusted their chief that much.
The Adapters said this.
Of the four checkpoint chiefs of Gorgon Fortress, Karlton was unquestionably the strongest.
His rank was only checkpoint chief, but in the fifty-five years he had worked here, the northern checkpoint had never been breached even once. No one knew the true extent of Karlton’s strength.
“...And according to Article 2, Clause 7 of the Gorgon Detention Law, based on similar cases, anyone without identification papers may be forcibly detained at the checkpoint chief’s discretion...”
Jaehwan cut him off.
“Enough. So you are saying you will detain me?”
Sighs escaped from all around.
No one had spoken to Karlton like that in nearly ten years. Karlton’s expression did not change in the slightest, but the guards knew.
Karlton was angry.
“Of course. If you do not possess identification papers, I can take such measures immediately.”
“Why do I need something like that to prove that I am myself?”
“You need it. Everyone here proves who they are with identification papers.”
“What is written on those papers?”
“Your legal name, affiliated organization, public occupation and major skill information, some of your status information, criminal record, soul contamination level, and...”
“Then I have even less need for those ‘identification papers.’”
Karlton’s eyebrows twitched sharply.
Everyone in 《Chaos》 carried identification papers and used them to prove who they were.
Identification papers were one of the few ways an Adapter could establish their identity in Chaos. Yet the man before him was denying the need for them.
“I do not understand what you mean. Then how will you prove yourself?”
“I will not prove myself.”
The sheer certainty in his voice left Karlton flustered. An Adapter who acted this way was rare enough that he could find no precedent in his fifty-five years of service.
Most Adapters could not resist the binding force of the 「Edict」 Karlton recited.
Karlton had not been reciting the laws for no reason.
The word-command skill, 「Edict」.
「Edict」 was an advanced word-command skill that only a few fortress officials could use.
Though he was only a checkpoint chief, Karlton’s ability had been recognized, and he was the only chief in the fortress to receive the Edict. Even experienced third-stage Adapters often could not resist the 「Edict」 Karlton recited, falling to their knees.
Yet how was this man...
What was even stranger was that Karlton, who had cast the skill, had suffered Mental damage instead.
A soul so solid that even the Edict could find no opening to penetrate.
In a sense, Karlton felt pure admiration.
It felt as though this man proved himself precisely by refusing to prove himself.
Could such a thing be possible?
Karlton pondered for a moment before speaking.
“Then I, Checkpoint Chief Karlton, will detain you from this moment under Article 2, Clause 7 of the Gorgon Detention Law.”
A silver aura rippled from Karlton’s grasp.
Before anyone could react, the net of aura wrapped around Jaehwan’s entire body. The guards erupted into cheers. It was not a sight they saw often.
“Oh, that is!”
If 『Karlton in Contemplation』 was the bestselling piece favored by female collectors, there was another Karlton collection owned only by the wealthy of Chaos. A hidden collection depicting Karlton covered in dazzling silver aura.
Its name was 『Karlton of Silver Restraint』.
The inspiration for that sculpture stood before them.
Silver Restraint was, in fact, one of Karlton’s other nicknames.
The Celestials’ innate skill, 「Silver Restraint」.
It was one of Karlton’s strongest skills.
Silver chains with an absolute binding force that no one could escape.
Yet a moment later, Karlton had to be surprised once again.
The silver aura extending from his fingertips scattered like smoke the instant it touched Jaehwan, then vanished.
“...How?”
Karlton had encountered Adapters with spiritual power strong enough to shake off the force of 「Edict」. Even those strong Adapters, however, had never been able to escape his innate skill, 「Silver Restraint」.
Anyone who defied Gorgon’s laws was an evildoer who could not escape the influence of restraint.
Yet his 「Silver Restraint」 was telling him that the man before him was not an evildoer.
How could this be?
Mino seized the opening and stepped in.
“Chief! He has identification papers, he just forgot to bring them. Please let it slide this once. I will make sure he carries them properly from now on. Please?”
Her small shoulders trembled. Her small hands were clenched white.
Jaehwan silently watched Mino bite down on her lip.
Seeing her go this far, it seemed the dignity of a fortress meant quite a lot in this world.
The Edict. The law itself.
Something seemed to occur to Jaehwan. He suddenly changed his stance and lowered his presence.
Mino’s expression brightened at once.
Ah, this human was finally listening to her.
This never needed to become such a big issue. It was bothersome, but all he had to do was follow the checkpoint chief, call up his interface, provide his personal information, write a statement, and have new identification papers issued.
“Fine. I will follow your ‘laws.’”
Jaehwan agreed so readily that Mino felt an ominous chill instead.
Karlton nodded.
“Good. Then I will detain you from this moment...”
Jaehwan made a strange face.
“No, I do not need to be detained.”
“What do you mean...”
“I just have to do what that woman did, right?”
Mino froze, her face slowly turning pale.
“W-wait!”
But Jaehwan had already rummaged through his Dimensional Bag and thrown ‘something’ at Karlton.
With a soft thud, Karlton caught the ‘something’ in his hand.
“Take that and let me go. That is how it works, right? It looked like that was how everyone did it earlier.”
Everyone stood with their mouths hanging open.
James’s face was especially worth seeing when his eyes met Jaehwan’s.
“Th-that bastard...”
Karlton stared blankly at the ‘something’ Jaehwan had thrown.
“What is wrong? According to your precious laws, is that not how everyone does things? That is what they were all doing a moment ago.”
Laws.
Something everyone knew, yet almost no one followed.
“Is it not enough? Then I will give you this too.”
A second ‘something’ flew toward Karlton.
Mino finally lost her patience and screamed.
[W-what is wrong with you, seriously?!]
The air around them began to turn icy.
James and the guards who had stood by while he accepted bribes were especially pale.
‘We have to kill him now!’
The guards knew perfectly well that if Karlton, the cleanest checkpoint chief in Chaos, discovered their crimes, he would never let the matter slide.
Thinking this was their only chance, James stepped forward with his weapon clutched in his hand.
“You dare try to buy off the chief with a bribe? What an absurd bastard!”
“Chief! Men like him should be executed on the spot!”
There was one thing no one, especially Karlton the Stubborn, should ever be subjected to.
A total of 154 unfortunate Adapters had tried to bend Karlton’s conscience that way. They had either been imprisoned in Gorgon Fortress or executed on the spot.
And now, before their very eyes, a 155th offender was about to join their number.
James looked forward to seeing the filth Gorgon Fortress had created punished by the cleanest being in Gorgon Fortress.
But Karlton’s expression was strange.
“You said your name was Mr. Jaehwan?”
Karlton stared and stared at the radiant blue jewel in his hand. Then he suddenly assumed an extremely respectful posture.
Something no one expected happened.
“Your joke is quite cruel. I have been waiting for you, envoy of the Nokmyeong Great Family.”
Footnotes:
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