Chapter 244. City of Anarchy (1) (1/2)

The Royal Council referred to the eight organizations that had control over Eva. It was funny to attach the word ‘royal’ when no royalty was present in the council, but it was hard to laugh knowing the truth.

Because the decisions made by this council had actually affected the state administration on numerous occasions.

Today, inside a secret room in Eva, the Royal Council was hard at work. With one missing, there were only seven people present, but that didn’t pose much of a problem as this missing person rarely showed up unless it was for an important matter.

The topic of today’s meeting was naturally Carpe Diem’s move.

Of course, as the Royal Council reigned as a king in Eva, it wouldn’t be strange for them to ignore Carpe Diem as a mere small-scale team. After all, no matter how high their standard was, they should be helpless against the eight organizations’ numbers.

The problem was the Triads.

Since it was impossible for the two to be moving at the same time through pure coincidence, it could be surmised that they were working together.

With the two tied together, the matter of the move was an entirely different story.

“They will come.”

Someone spoke with a calm voice.

“The Triads already completed their move.”

Someone else tacked on, tapping on the table.

“Carpe Diem is currently making their way here… Damn it, why couldn’t they just set up camp in Haramark? What’s there to eat here that they’re making such a long journey?”

A frustrated voice rang out, and the six, no, five other people sympathized deeply. Only Park Dongchun pretended to nod while continuously reading the atmosphere.

As the head of Dongchun Merchants, Park Dongchun was a member of the Royal Council as well. In terms of position and authority, he was one of the three ‘Middles’.

Just like how an organization had an internal hierarchy, the Royal Council had a hierarchy as well.

1 Strong, 3 Middles, 4 Weaks.

In reality, there was a funny story behind how this hierarchy was established.

The original composition was of four Middles and four Weaks. While two Middles and four Weaks were forming alliances and vying for supremacy, one of the Middles that was spectating quietly, stealthily reached out to the royal palace to advance to the sole Strong.

By enthroning the Queen, the Strong started to exercise powerful mandates, causing the two Middles and 4 Weaks to feel threatened, reconciling and joining forces.

After a long time of keeping each other in check, they had come to a middle ground and had chosen to divide Eva among themselves.

Among the organizations, Dongchun Merchants’ position was ambiguous. It was one of the two Middles that was spectating the others’ conflict, but when they showed signs of joining hands and going against the Strong, Dongchun Merchants had maneuvered to the alliance’s side.

As a result, they were neither in a favorable nor an antagonistic relationship with any other organization.

The point being, the eight organizations, which once quarreled like cats and dogs, perfectly divvied up Eva’s interests and no longer interfered in each other’s territory.

And whenever an external influence threatened their interests, they would unite to resist it.

‘We’ve managed to make do until now, but now…’

Although the eight organizations had small misgivings with each other, they were doing well until now when uninvited guests were approaching.

The Triads and Carpe Diem.

“Well… Can’t we be a little optimistic? Carpe Diem’s Seol Jihu is an Earthling of incredible achievements. There’s no guarantee that Tigol Fortress wouldn’t fall again, so someone like Seol Jihu coming here shouldn’t be our biggest concern…”

“And what if the Triads are coming here? This is not Earth, but Paradise. They’re just dogs who are running away after losing to Sicilia…”

Two people offered their hopeful thoughts.

“This isn’t such a simple matter.”

But an old man refuted in a depressed tone. This was the man who had spoken up first.

“Carpe Diem’s fighting prowess is one thing, but this Seol Jihu also has very complicated connections. Starting from the Daughter of Luxuria to Elder Jang, and even if that Kim wench…”

As a grave voice flowed out, Park Dongchun glanced at the man who was talking.

‘Omar Garcia.’

He was the leader of the Ochoa Cartel, one of the Middle organizations. His nationality was Mexican, coming from Area 4.

“Of course, the Daughter of Luxuria is now only a symbolic figure with no combat strength, Master Jang has retired once, and that fox bitch was kicked out of her own den… But we cannot deny that they are not to be trifled with!”

He acted like a gentle businessman on the outside but was a true devil on the inside.

His main source of income was a slave market disguised as a business. He was the key figure in ordering the capture of Federation members, sparing no means necessary to achieve his goal.

Of course, his targets included Earthlings and Paradisians as well.

“The Triads aren’t to be underestimated either. Yes, they lost to Sicilia. But don’t you all know how batshit insane that organization is?”

Park Dongchun’s eyes rolled to the other side, landing on a short, stumpy man with crew-cut hair.

‘Sombat La-ongmanee’

He was the leader of Royal Pattaya, another Middle-level organization. His nationality was Thai, coming from Area 5.

La-ongmanee was an evil bastard who didn’t lose out to Garcia. In his early days, he expanded his influence by loan-sharking against the already poor Paradisians. And whey they would fail to pay off their debts, he would sell them as slaves or drag them into the sex trade.

He was rumored to enjoy same-sex relations while having the cruel hobby of sexually torturing young boys. However, the truth had yet to be ascertained.

But at the end of the day, both Garcia and La-ongmanee were indisputable sons of bitches. It was so much that Park Dongchun considered himself a saint in comparison.

“Can’t we stop them from registering as organizations?”

“We already tried, but that damned Sorg Kühne took the matter into his own hands…”

As the discussion continued, Park Dongchun noticed everyone’s gazes gather on him. La-ongmanee was glaring at him from the opposite side of the table.

“Why did you sell them that land!?”

When their eyes met, he burst out in anger.

‘This bastard…’

It was obvious what La-ongmanee was trying to do. He was trying to pin the blame on someone in a fit of frustration.

Of course, since they hadn’t been affected directly, they wouldn’t do anything to Park Dongchun. But in case something did happen, La-ongmanee was setting up the council’s opinions to turn him into a sacrificial lamb.

“What did you want me to do? Seol Jihu barges into my office with that fox, demanding me to sell them a plot of land. Do you honestly think I can say no in that situation?”

Park Dongchun put on a wronged expression and protested. Dongchun Merchants was one of the three Middle-level organizations. He had the right to speak out.

“What you could have done? Make excuses, of course! Isn’t that your specialty!?”

“Hah, you make it sound so easy. Fine, let’s say I somehow did refuse them. You think you guys can do the same?”

“You idiot! What’s forcing us to sell our land!?”

La-ongmanee burst out in rage. Park Dongchun coughed before speaking.

“That fox already knew I had land available to sell before coming.”

“Jesus Christ. I bet you were blinded by money and sold it off. What are we gonna do now?”

Park Dongchun smacked his lips.

“Well, since things turned out like this… why not just wait and see what they do? We don’t have any intel on their plans, after all.”

“What?”

La-ongmanee, who was about to go off on another fit of anger, suddenly put on a flustered look. The other five members, excluding himself and Park Dongchun, were all nodding their heads.

A faint smile hung on Park Dongchun’s mouth.

The fuming La-ongmanee suddenly tilted his head. The Triads could maybe be set aside since they already had a branch in Eva. But why wasn’t everyone riled up about pressuring the person who cooperated with Carpe Diem?

At that moment, the sole woman in the council snickered.

“Gee, the more I think about it, you are really evil, Mister Dongchun.”

“Eii, it was a fair trade. Isn’t it fine if everyone is happy?”

“But still! How can you think to sell that land? I almost feel bad for them.”

“Come to think of it, how did you manage to sell it off? Against the infamous Miss Foxy, no less.”

Garcia also joined in on the conversation, expressing his interest. Hearing this, the dazedly staring La-ongmanee quickly opened his mouth.

“Wait, wait, what’s going on? I feel like I’m the only one who’s not following this.”

“You haven’t heard the rumors about that land?”

When the woman asked in a cheerful voice, La-ongmanee raised a question.

“It’s that cursed plot of land. You know, the one where everyone who enters, dies.”

“What? A cursed plot of land…? Oh, that place! That wasn’t a rumor?”

“Not at all. Over ten incidents happened there, and dozens of people have died so far. None of them managed to pass four months.”

When the woman spoke in a firm voice, La-ongmanee blinked repeatedly. It might be a coincidence the first couple of times, but starting from the third time, it couldn’t be a coincidence.

“But… they might be different…”

“I doubt it. Even a High Ranker Priest from the temple of Invidia was found with his stomach cut open after one month.”

“Oh reaaaally?”

“It was so bad that Mister Money Demon over there tried to hand it over to me! He offered me that plot of land for a cheap price. I got curious and did some research, and lo and behold, it was a no-good land.”

When the woman sent a sideways glance, Park Dongchun sneakily averted her gaze. La-ongmanee gave him a renewed look.

“You sold it? Really?”

“Of course, I sold it. What, you think I’d say I sold it without selling it?”

Park Dongchun replied curtly before taking out a piece of paper and tossing it. When La-ongmanee saw the contract for the sale of the property, his eyes widened.

“Iya~ You didn’t even take a big loss.”

“I didn’t take a big loss? Do you see how many gold coins I lost out on?”

“If the rumors are true, there shouldn’t have been anyone else trying to buy it, right?”

La-ongmanee chuckled and tossed the paper back.

“So, how did you sell it? Against the fox bitch.”

“Ah, well~ It wasn’t much~”

Park Dongchun put on airs and spoke.

“It hasn’t been long since she left Sinyoung. How much authority could she have in Carpe Diem? It looked like she was simply seeking protection, so I focused on winning over Seol Jihu.”

“Winning over?”

“That’s right. I just scratched his back a little, and he held his chest out. Man, you guys should have seen Miss Foxy’s face~”

Park Dongchun wagged this index finger up and down, making La-ongmanee burst into laughter. Similar laughs rang out beside them.

“Fuck, you scummy scoundrel! You’re the scariest one out of all of us!”

La-ongmanee giggled and looked around the room. His complexion was a lot brighter than before.

“Ah, you should have told me earlier! Everyone looked so depressed that I thought we were in deep shit!”

“It’s true that they’re coming here.”

That was just how human psychology worked. After hogging a jar of honey for a long time, they wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing it with someone else.

“Anyway, since there isn’t anything we can immediately do, just watching them doesn’t seem like a bad idea… Three or four months should do.”

Park Dongchun mentioned in a suggestive tone, stealthily glancing around the room. Then, the corner of his mouth curled up. It was a sinister smirk.

“…What do you guys think?”

“If it’s just four months…”

La-ongmanee replied without reserve and then got up. He put on his jacket and walked out of the conference room.

“Then let’s go with that. We’re not justified in hindering them, so we’ll keep an eye on them for the moment.”

Garcia also got up. As the meeting began to adjourn, Park Dongchun inwardly smiled with satisfaction.

*

Same time.

“Let’s see. We’re almost done here… Hmm?”

A part-time worker, who was straightening his back and wiping his sweat, suddenly widened his eyes.

Swish, swish! The broom was moving by itself, cleaning the garden.