Debuff Master

Chapter 237

“Hey… All right, I’m going to apologize, so can you please calm down…”

“I’m going to KILL YOU!”

Diplomacy was not an option. Spandex was simply too worked up to even listen to Siegfried’s excuses, and it did not seem like she was going to calm down no matter what he said.

Spandex rushed at him with the intent to pop his teeth out, and her punches were lightning quick and accurate, making Siegfried feel like he was fighting a pro boxer.

‘If I get hit by one of her punches…’?Siegfried thought.

Whoosh!

Spandex sent an uppercut toward his chin.

“…!”

Siegfried reflexively swung his fist and blocked the uppercut. She struck her abdomen with his knee and swept her feet with a low kick to bring her down. Spandex’s attacks were simply too fierce for him to go easy on her, and his instincts kicked in upon sensing danger.

Thud!

Spandex rolled on the ground.

‘Did I hit her too hard? I should tire her out first and try to talk to her,’?he thought.

Whiiiish!

A gray tail suddenly flew and wrapped itself around his ankle.

‘H-Huh…?’?Siegfried muttered when he felt his balance thrown off.

Thud!

He fell on top of her.

“…!”

They unexpectedly ended up clinging to each other, and their eyes shot wide open from shock.

Creak…

Carlo entered the office and asked, “Hello, Boss. Are you done paying the Thieves Gu—”

He abruptly stopped upon seeing Siegfried on top of Spandex.

“Ahem…?I apologize for disturbing you. I had no idea that you were doing the deed, Boss. All right, then. I hope you’ll enjoy your evening,” Carlo said before closing the door.

“H-Hey! It’s a misunderstanding!”

“HEY! You pervert! Let me go! I said let me go! What are you trying to do to me? Do you think you’ll be safe after doing this?!”

“What do you mean I’m trying to do something?!”

“You’re on top of me right now!”

“No!”

“What, no?! You fucking pervert!”

“ARGH!”

It took Siegfried quite a while to calm her down. They screamed at each other back and forth before they finally had a proper conversation.

***

It turned out that Spandex was a high-level thief of the Thieves Guild, and she was in charge of collecting fees from the City of Pleasure, Dondegiri.

[Miho]

[A high-ranking member of the Thieves Guild.]

[She is a member of the Cat Tribe. An extremely agile professional thief.]

[Type: NPC]

[Race: Cat Tribe]

[Level: 250]

[Affiliation: Thieves Guild]

[Position: Tax Collector]

[Class: Cat Fighter]

[Titles: Professional Thief, Cat Punch Expert]

It seemed that the secret behind her speed and lightning-quick reflexes was the fact that she was a member of the Cat Tribe.

“So you took over Dondegiri’s underworld because you wanted to come in contact with us?” Spandex—no, Miho asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, I already told you,” Siegfried shrugged and explained, “I wanted to request something from your guild, but I couldn’t contact you. What was I supposed to do? This was the only idea I could think of.”

“You’re crazy.”

“That’s harsh…” Siegfried shrugged once again and said, “I’m just working hard to get what I want.”

“You sound crazy to me…”

“Think what you want, but I really need your guild’s services.”

“Alright, I’ll tell the higher-ups that you want to make a deal with us.”

“All right.”

“What about the payment for Dondegiri? Are you going to pay?”

“Yeah, take this,” Siegfried replied and passed the fees to her.

“Give us two days. Someone from our guild will come and find you.”

“Oh? So I just have to wait here?”

“Hmm… You just have to wait anywhere you want. We are everywhere and nowhere at the same time.”

“What the hell are you talking about…?”

“Then, I’ll be going now,” Miho said before disappearing into thin air.

“Oh, you can use cloaking skills too?” Siegfried was quite impressed.

However, there was no way she could escape from his eyes.

***

Two days later, Siegfried was warmly welcomed by the vendors in the marketplace while he was making his rounds with his lackeys.

“Aigoo! Thank you for your hard work!”

“Have you eaten yet, Boss? Come here and have a bowl of rice stew on the house!”

“Have a nice day, Boss!”

The marketplace vendors loved him because the protection?fees that the vendors had to pay after he took over had been reduced to a third of the usual amount.

“Hey, I know it’s normal to collect this much from the entertainment district, but is it normal to collect so much from the vendors at the marketplace? Reduce it to a third starting from now. You should take more from people who can afford it, you know? This is why people call you thugs!”

Siegfried had no qualms about collecting tax from those involved in alcohol, gambling, or adult services, but he wasn’t comfortable with extorting money from the vendors at the marketplace, who were simply trying to make a living.

He could have just stopped collecting protection fees, but the City of Pleasure, Dondegiri, was infamous for being a lawless city.

This meant that all sorts of thugs were going to start causing a scene if there were no gangs protecting the vendors, which was why he decided to collect the bare minimum to pay for the upkeep and wages of the thugs.

It was something like a necessary evil per se…

It wasn’t the same in the other cities, but the gangsters were a necessary evil to maintain public security in Dondegiri.

“Hahaha!?

How is business, everyone? Please let me know if anything comes up. Oh, and make sure you let me know if our boys cause a scene here. I will make sure to teach them a good lesson!”

Of course, money wasn’t the only reason why Siegfried was beloved. Siegfried was treating the vendors quite well because they reminded him of his mother, who used to sell vegetables at the local market.

“What’s the point of lazing around doing nothing?”

His mother refused to retire and insisted on selling vegetables at the market, even though her son had become quite successful.

He even gave her a credit card with a twenty million won credit limit.

“Hoho!?That youngster is really nice.”

“I was expecting a tough-looking thug when I heard their gang name, but he’s really handsome and neat-looking!”

“Why would he be a gang leader when he’s so handsome and nice? I wonder if there’s a story behind it…”

“Let’s not lower our guards yet. Don’t forget that the young man conquered Dondegiri in just two weeks. He’s a very scary fella.”

The vendors at the marketplace pitied Siegfried for being forced into this world at such a young age, and this was all thanks to the effects of his passive skill—Great Honor.

“Alms for the poor…”

A beggar suddenly blocked Siegfried’s path and asked for coins.

“Hey! How dare you block the boss’ path, you filthy beggar!”

“Go somewhere else and beg!”

“Hey, beggar! I’ll give you some coins, so fuck off!”

Siegfried’s lackeys tried to shoo the beggar away.

“He’s just asking for some coins. What’s the big deal? Move,” Siegfried pushed aside his lackeys and took a silver coin from his pocket before saying, “I suggest that you look for work instead of begging on the streets. Should I help you find a job?”

“I already have a job—”

“C’mon, I know begging is a profession, but—”

“…Your Majesty, King Siegfried van Proa,” the beggar whispered into Siegfried’s ears.

‘Huh? How does he know me?’?Siegfried was surprised.

“May I have a moment of your time? I’m from the Thieves Guild.”

“Ah, sure. Let’s do that,” Siegfried replied. It seemed that the beggar was the messenger whom he had been waiting for. He sent his lackeys back to his office and went to a dark alley to talk with the beggar.

***

The beggar turned out to be an executive of the Thieves Guild.

[Django]

[A high-ranking executive of the Thieves Guild.]

[He is a veteran professional beggar that has been begging for the past forty years.]

[Type: NPC]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 260]

[Affiliation: Thieves Guild]

[Position: Executive]

[Class: Dirty Fighter]

[Titles: Expert Beggar, Hidden Beggar’s Strength, Fighting Beggar, Information Collection Expert.]

“My name is Django, and I am an executive of the Thieves Guild. I have heard of your accomplishments and exploits, King Siegfried van Proa.”

The high-level beggar, Django, seemed to be well aware of Siegfried’s identity.

“How did you know who I am?” Siegfried asked.

“Our guild possesses the most information on the continent, so how could we not be aware of Your Majesty’s exploits?” Django replied.

“But most people have no idea who I am and where my kingdom is…”

“That is only for those without ears and eyes. Do you not agree, Your Majesty?”

“I’m not sure…” Siegfried feigned ignorance.

“Hoho,” Django chuckled and said, “We are aware that your kingdom has already surpassed most kingdoms in terms of financial and military power.”

“S-So?”

“We are also aware that you are installing distortion magic around your territory to hide that fact from others.”

“…!”

“The information network of our guild is far greater than you think, Your Majesty.”

“Wow…” Siegfried muttered in amazement.

He was thoroughly impressed by the Thieves Guild.

“So, what kind of information are you looking for, King Siegfried van Proa?”

“That is… I need you to keep an eye on these Adventurers. Can you do it?” Siegfried took out the list of Adventurers from his Inventory and gave it to Django

“Hmm…” Django glanced over the file before he said, “It is not difficult at all… but it looks like these are the Adventurers who have suffered at the hands of the Genesis Guild.”

“…!”

“It seems that Your Majesty is preparing to fight the Genesis Guild.”

Django saw through Siegfried’s intentions after a mere glance at the document.

“You are probably worried that there are a few spies in the mix, and that is why Your Majesty is requesting us to keep an eye on them. Am I correct?”

“Exactly.”

“There are 1,791 Adventurers on the list, and Your Majesty is probably going to ask us to keep an eye on them around the clock, report within two hours if anything happens, and the request will be completed once the Genesis Guild is dissolved. Am I correct?”

“Yes.”

“The price will be…” Django gave a price quote.

Siegfried’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

‘Fuck! It’s so fucking expensive!’

The price quote was so expensive that calling it astronomical was an understatement, but Siegfried thought about it and realized that it wasn’t that?expensive at the same time.

‘Hold on… I can cover this without any problems if I use the collection money from Head Crusher and add a bit from my pocket, right?’?

The Head Crusher Gang was collecting an insane amount every month from Dondegiri, and Siegfried could simply top it up a little bit to pay off the Thieves Guild, which made it feel like the expense would be house money.

However, there was still another thing that would make it even less burdensome.

It was none other than a discount.

“Of course, that is only the original price,” Django gave the good news, and then he explained, “Our guild holds Your Majesty and your kingdom in high regard. In fact, we’re expecting to see the birth of a new powerful nation from Proatine.”

“So? What are you trying to say?”

“We are willing to give you a thirty percent discount to ensure that our guild and the Proatine Kingdom will have a good relationship from now on.”

“…!”

“In return, our guild would like Your Majesty to promise that you will be our ally and that you will assist us in danger.”

“Hmm…” Siegfried fell into a dilemma.

‘The discount is good, but is it really fine if I promise something that I’m not even sure I can keep…?’?Siegfried felt conflicted. He knew that he should only make a promise if he were confident about keeping it. Therefore, Siegfried couldn’t readily accept the offer.

“What about this?” Siegfried gave a counter offer. “I will do my best to help if anything happens to the Thieves Guild. In return, promise me that your guild will not sell my or my kingdom’s information to anyone else, or you can promise to inform me and get my approval first prior to selling our information.”

“We agree to Your Majesty’s terms.” Django nodded.

Seuk…! Seuk…! Seuk…!?

Siegfried signed the contract with the Thieves Guild in a dark alley of Dondegiri. The most powerful information broker on the continent was now on his side.

“Ah, this is a gift from our guild to Your Majesty,” Django said.

He extended a pair of spectacles over to Siegfried.

“What is this?”

“You will be able to see our guild members with these glasses. Please feel free to approach one of our members if you need any information. I will be instructing them to provide simple information at a discounted rate, especially for Your Majesty.”

“Wow, thanks a lot,” Siegfried replied with a smile.

***

Meanwhile, Chae Hyung-Seok was receiving letters to his hospital ward while Siegfried was amassing his own forces with the help of the Thieves Guild’s information network.

[For Recipient’s View Only] Income Tax Arrear Notice

[Registered Mail] Rent Arrear Notice

[Dongseok Capital] Failure to Pay Vehicle Lease

The financial pressure was starting to feel heavy on Chae Hyung-Seok’s shoulders. He had spent a lot of money to recover from his stroke and for the upkeep of his guild after losing the guild war.