Arc 1 Side Story 1 : Karl Johnson The Ex-Gangster

[Four Days Ago...]

In the Imperial Capital, specifically within the entertainment district, a newly opened nightclub had already begun attracting a considerable crowd.

Although the club had only been open for a few days, it had already become extremely popular among the city's more lecherous men.

The reason was simple.

The club's style and atmosphere were unlike those of any other establishment in the entertainment district. Its waitresses were beautiful, youthful, and impeccably groomed. Their outfits were also rather unique, decorated with various accessories such as Beastman ears and tails.

Naturally, this gave rise to a whole new collection of fetishes among the club's patrons.

"Rihanna, you're even more beautiful than usual tonight, darling," said a drunken man as he attempted to flirt with one of the waitresses.

"Ahahaha... You flatter me, Sir Dudley," Rihanna replied with an awkward laugh, clearly uncomfortable as the man continued moving closer to her.

"Rihanna... You're so beautiful... I... I..."

Dudley grabbed Rihanna by the chin.

The woman immediately turned her face away as he leaned closer, clearly intending to kiss her.

"Aghhhhh!"

The man suddenly screamed in pain.

A large, broad-shouldered man with closely cropped hair had grabbed the hand Dudley was using to hold Rihanna's chin.

"Choose one," the man said coldly. "Do you want the bones in your hand crushed, or every bone in your body broken tonight?"

His name was Karl Johnson, though he was more commonly known by his nickname—KJ.

"Huh? Don't mess with me! Do you have any idea who my fa—Aghhh!"

Before Dudley could finish his sentence, KJ tightened his grip around the man's wrist.

Dudley screamed in agony and immediately released Rihanna.

"Are you all right?" KJ asked Rihanna.

"Y-Yes. Thank you, Sir," she replied, still looking nervous.

"Just KJ is fine," he said. "I'm not used to being addressed so formally. Go back to work. I'll take care of things here."

Rihanna nodded before returning to her duties and serving the other customers.

"H-How dare you do this to me!? Dudley the Handsome of House Vetucini!" the man shouted while clutching his injured hand. "Bodyguards! Attack that bald bastard!"

Four men immediately stood up from their seats and approached KJ.

The closely cropped-haired man, however, remained completely calm. He wasn't intimidated in the slightest.

"Oraaa!"

One of the men threw a right hook.

KJ caught his fist before squeezing it just as he had done to Dudley.

"Aghhh! L-Let go! You guys, get him!"

Another man rushed forward and attempted to stab KJ with a knife.

KJ swiftly kicked the man's wrist, sending the weapon flying from his hand.

He then grabbed the man whose hand he had crushed and hurled him toward the one holding the knife.

The two collided.

"Damn you!"

The remaining two men charged forward and threw their punches.

KJ lowered his stance before suddenly rushing toward them.

"Double Lariat!"

Both of KJ's arms slammed into the men's necks with tremendous force.

Their bodies were sent flying backward, crashing hard against the wall of the club.

After taking down all four of Dudley's bodyguards, KJ calmly approached him.

"W-Wait! My father can pay you more if you become my new bodyguard!" Dudley pleaded as he stumbled backward.

*Bruk!*

Dudley suddenly fell to the floor.

One of the customers had deliberately tripped him as he attempted to retreat.

Bam!

KJ planted his foot between Dudley's thighs, narrowly avoiding crushing the future heirs of House Vetucini.

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A dark stain slowly spread across Dudley's trousers.

He was so terrified of KJ that he had wet himself.

"Hey, darling Dudley, aren't you supposed to be such a brave man? I heard you've even defeated monsters before. So why are you wetting yourself just because KJ is looking at you?" one of the waitresses teased.

The entire club erupted into laughter.

Dudley's pride was utterly destroyed.

"Hahahaha! How embarrassing!"

"He's already a grown man and still wets himself!"

Dudley quickly scrambled to his feet and rushed toward the exit.

"Just you wait! I'll tell my father about this!"

After Dudley left, the atmosphere in the club quickly returned to normal.

The customers resumed their conversations, laughter, drinks, and enjoyment of the music.

"Hey, KJ, why did you let him go? He's bound to cause trouble here again someday," one of his subordinates asked.

"We don't want this matter to become bigger than it needs to be, Zed," KJ replied in a flat tone. "Besides, his family can't possibly compare to our Boss."

KJ's words were indeed true.

With Raul's status as the heir of a Duke, very few people would dare interfere with his business within the Aragonian Empire.

"Speaking of the Boss, we received a letter from him regarding a mission."

A sexy woman wearing glasses suddenly approached KJ and his subordinates.

"Madam Khalissa, did the Boss leave us any orders?" KJ asked curiously.

"Well... It concerns Count Juan de Murcia..."

---

[Two Days Ago...]

That night, KJ and his three subordinates—Big, Black, and Fork—were already in the city of Murcia, investigating Count Juan's connections to the various candidates for the next Emperor.

"The Boss ordered us to investigate Count Juan's activities over the past four days," KJ explained to his subordinates. "Previously, inspectors from the Minister of Trade came here to investigate the smuggling of Bagermith Stones carried out by Count Juan."

Before departing for the first-stage examination, Raul and Elena had negotiated with Count Juan regarding the smuggling case.

Raul intended to destroy Count Juan if it was proven that he had ties to another candidate's faction.

"According to the information we gathered yesterday, Bishop Guiter possesses information about an envoy from one of the factions who came here to assist Count Juan in dealing with the inspectors in his city," Black said.

Black had arrived here a day earlier than the others.

"So it's been confirmed that Count Juan isn't someone the Boss can use during the upcoming succession?" KJ asked.

"Exactly. However, we still don't know which faction the Count is connected to," Big replied. "I suggest we obtain more information from Bishop Guiter, identify the faction behind him, and then intercept their envoy before they can accomplish whatever they came here to do."

The four of them nodded in agreement.

"Huh? Why are all of you looking at me like that?" Fork asked, confused by the meaningful looks his three companions were giving him.

"Well... Fork," KJ said, staring at him seriously. "There's a rumor that Bishop Guiter has a particular interest in fair-skinned young men like you."

Fork immediately broke into a cold sweat.

"Yeah... His preferences apparently lean in that direction," Black added, confirming KJ's statement.

"No, no, no! That's not in my job description!" Fork protested.

KJ slowly approached him with a serious expression.

"You have two choices."

Fork gulped.

"Get the information from him..."

KJ paused.

"...or prepare to become an Eunuch for the rest of your life according to your contract, Fork."

Fork's expression stiffened.

When KJ brought up the contract Fork had signed to work within Raul's organization, he realized that he had no choice.

Fork had agreed to work for Raul because Raul could provide treatment for his younger sibling, who was suffering from a serious illness.

After his sibling had recovered, Raul added another condition to the contracts of the intelligence unit:

Anyone who disobeyed or betrayed him would have their balls cut off.

"Fine... I'll do it."

After reaching an agreement, KJ and the others escorted Fork to a brothel that Bishop Guiter secretly frequented.

"I've already spoken to and bribed the madam there," KJ explained. "Your job is simple. Serve him drinks and get him talking about the envoy from one of the candidates who came to meet Count Juan."

Fork listened carefully.

"Rumor has it that the Bishop becomes quite the blabbermouth once he's drunk."

Following KJ's instructions, Fork nodded.

He looked extremely nervous about carrying out the mission.

Fork entered the brothel and met a woman in her forties who still looked surprisingly beautiful for her age.

"Oh, are you the young man that the burly fellow mentioned earlier?" the madam asked.

The burly man she was referring to was KJ.

"Y-Yes. KJ sent me here to attend to Mr. G," Fork replied, using Bishop Guiter's alias.

"Very well. Follow me. Mr. G is already waiting in his room."

Fork followed the madam down to the lower floor of the brothel.

It was a secret area reserved for guests who wanted to keep their visits completely discreet.

"We're here. Go inside. Mr. G arrived only ten minutes ago," the madam said before leaving Fork alone.

Fork stood before the door.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

This is for your little sibling, Fork... Don't back down.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Fork knocked on the door.

There was no response.

He knocked again.

Still nothing.

Fork pressed down on the handle and cautiously peeked inside.

A loud snore immediately reached his ears.

The Bishop was asleep.

"What happened here?" Fork muttered as he opened the door fully.

Inside, a fat man who looked almost like a pig was sleeping in a chair while clutching a drink in his hand.

Fork entered the room and closed the door behind him.

He then approached the pig-like man.

"How am I supposed to complete my mission if the target is already unconscious!?" Fork complained.

Bam!

"Wake up, you stupid pig!"

Fork kicked the Bishop in the stomach.

Yet despite being kicked several times, the Bishop didn't wake up.

Instead, his snoring simply became louder.

"Hah..."

Fork sighed.

"The good news is that my purity won't be taken by some Ugly Bastard. The bad news is that my balls might be taken if I fail this mission!"

Fork began searching through the Bishop's clothes and belongings.

He found a pair of handcuffs.

A whip.

And a dildo.

Holy shit!

What kind of disgusting hobbies does this bastard have? I need to find the information and get out of here immediately.

I have a really bad feeling about what would happen if I actually had to entertain a pervert like him.

Fork continued searching.

Eventually, he found a piece of paper containing information about the envoy KJ had mentioned.

"Hmm... Tomorrow night, a boat?"

Fork examined the paper carefully.

"They even created a code so they won't be easily identified."

Spies often used codes or specific gestures to communicate with one another in secret.

Now Fork had obtained the envoy's identification code.

All that remained was to wait until KJ and the others could capture and interrogate him.

After obtaining what he needed, Fork immediately left the room and hurried out of the brothel.

KJ and the others were waiting for him at a café not far from the establishment.

"Oh, you're back already? That was fast," Black said, casually smoking.

Fork hurried over to them and immediately reported what he had discovered.

"Tomorrow night, the envoy will arrive by ship," Fork informed them. "Curly hair, brown eyes, and around 165 centimeters tall."

He paused before giving them the most important detail.

"The code is: 'The Pig eats its bait.'"

"All right."

KJ nodded.

"Tomorrow night, we'll capture the envoy, imprison him, and wait for the Boss to return from the first-stage examination island."