Chapter 36: A bandit’s paradise.
Tristan sped across the nighttime countryside until he noticed the amber glow of a small village emerging from behind an upcoming hill. Butchy was right on his tail and as they continued to run the gap between them grew smaller and smaller.
Before long the hill gave way to a dimly lit town as the two super resonators crossed over it. Tristan descended down the slope while running as fast as he could resulting in a great wind being kicked up behind him. Within seconds they were both running down one of the town’s streets, their chase quickly gaining the attention of several police officers as well as a few ordinary people. Noticing a bar, Tristan quickly sped towards it jumping into a role through one of its windows shattering it.
He payed no mind to the startled customers and dove behind the main counter before kowtowing to the stunned workers. “Please I need your help.”
At the same time Butchy entered the bar in his transformed state terrifying many of the villagers. “Bastard don’t you dare do what I think you’re going to do.”
Tristan immediately looked at the stunned bartender beside him. “That super resonator wants to kill me. He chased me all the way here and I’m terrified.”
“What the hell is wrong with you!” Butchy growled causing several people to hastily move away from him.
A middle aged woman stepped forward and asked. “What’s going on between you two?”
Butchy rapidly approached the counter causing Tristan to cower behind the biggest of the bartenders.
“Hey get off of me.” The old bartender sneered pushing the pathetic man away.
Tristan quickly retrieved a job request from his black coat before ripping it in half. “I officially quite this job.”
While Tristan appeared to be cowering he was actually laughing internally. He now had Butchy right where he wanted him to be. According to the laws in Viriticily, super resonators had all of the same rights as an ordinary civilian provided that they were a registered citizen. This meant that if Butchy killed him, then he’d have to provide proof that he was a violent threat to authorities or else he’d be charged with first or second degree murder. All he had to do was appear as pathetic as possible to convey that he wasn’t a threat. Even if Butchy ratted him out as an assassin he could just tell the town’s people some bullshit story about how he had to do it to provide for his starving family or something. The person he was going to kill was also hated by everyone so it wasn’t as if a good number of people wouldn’t side with him. He could even further gather support by lying and saying that he had family members that died in Lenoon.
Butchy eyed his prey as he cowered behind the counter. One of the laws that super resonator’s followed dictated that if a person ripped a job request in half then they were officially surrendering and weren’t to be attacked any further. If he were to attack Tristan now then he’d be in a shit heap of legal troubles in the future. Even if he didn’t kill him he could still potentially get sued for assault which would render his payment for protecting Benjamin obsolete. He may not like to admit it but his enemy had him beat in this situation.
Butchy let out a defeated sigh before reverting back to his original appearance. He then turned and left the bar without speaking.
Tristan jumped for joy in his mind when he heard the main entrance to the bar open and close. Sure he may have needed to put on a pathetic display but he survived in the end. Pride, honour and dignity were nothing more than empty virtues that got emotionally weak people killed. In life it was often the worst and most disgusting people who made it out on top while people who championed honour were only ever used to benefit others. All denying this reality did was make a person a tool to be sent off to war and killed for the benefit of emperors, prime ministers and archetypal gods. He himself had even witnessed countless good people suffer unnecessarily because they had too much pride and concern for the perceptions of others. He would not let other peoples opinions limit him and hold him back. To do whatever it takes to survive was the oldest and most ancient of universal laws. He would remain in this town until his maple puppeteer revived and then continue on in his pursuit of Benjamin.
Back on the crimson duchess Okimodo walked in on Shipo stealing money from the corpses in one of the compartments. “What are you doing?”
Shipo quickly removed a jacket from one of the bodies and shook it over the compartment table to empty its pockets. “There dead anyway right? Plus they must all be rather wealthy if they’re travelling on a crimson duchess as opposed to a conventional intercity train. I’m sure they must have life insurance as well which should remove any harm stealing their money could do to their surviving loved ones.”
Okimodo wasn’t the least bit surprised by his brother’s actions. Shipo and Shitari had inherited their father’s love for money and all things material. In truth Shipo didn’t even really need to do this as the Azurai clan was second only to the Dianari clan in terms of material wealth. The clan treasury was also collectively owned by the clan elders with the clan head only being a glorified business manager at best. If Shipo needed money he could’ve just asked for it.
“What’s the point in this?” Okimodo shook his head in disapproval.
Shipo suddenly seemed to remember something important before he turned to face Okimodo and said. “We both damaged our father’s swords when we fought Ivan. Don’t you remember? You even told dad yourself that you’d pay him back.”
“No i said that he could take it from my… allowance…” Okimodo suddenly face palmed. “He stopped our allowances didn’t he.”
“It’s only until we get enough money to pay him back for the swords.” Shipo explained as he began to arrange and count the scattered money on the table. “What do we have here, let’s see…”
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Okimodo turned his attention towards the rest of the dead bodies. He might as well get himself some spoils to pay back their father as well. There were a total of four corpses in the compartments, a grown man and woman, a teenage girl and a boy of at most five years of age. They were dressed in upper class attire and the adult male who was presumably the father had a shimmering watch around his dried right wrist.
“That’s a royal diamond watch!” Okimodo quickly tore the watch from the man’s hand to examine if it was real.
Along the hour marker he saw a code with numbers that were not in numerical order. This code verified its authenticity and could be used to track its location as well as verify the identity of its owner. If Okimodo were to sell it and the true identity of the owner was discovered, he could get sued by the family of the diseased and charged with theft. He would have to verify that the gold it was made from was of a desirable quality and then have it melted down and turned into something else before selling it. By doing so the code would be destroyed and he wouldn’t put himself at risk.
Okimodo quickly stuffed the watch into his pouch before looking around at the other bodies. The two children didn’t seem to have anything valuable but the woman who was presumably the mother had a shiny wedding ring. The male body also had a similar ring which confirmed that they were likely a family.
Okimodo wasted no time and yanked both rings free from their owners. He observed that the rings were of the highest quality and manufactured by royal diamond as well. The royal diamond company was owned by one of his father’s closest business associates and their high ranking executives often received free jewellery. One or both of the dead parents was likely an employee which meant that the jewellery was likely owned by the corporation as well. This meant that the rings could be tracked so they also needed to be melted down along with the watch. As for the diamonds that were lodged into the rings, Okimodo would have to discard them as he had no methods to alter them and make them not trackable.
Okimodo pondered as he left the second to last compartment and returned to the guard cab. As he partially sat on the couch’s arm rest, he observed that Hiro was still unconscious as she lay somewhat splayed out on the couch. He precisely controlled the amount of force he used while knocking her out to ensure that she’d be out cold for at least forty eight hours. In doing so he assured that their journey would be well over by the time she awoke sparing her from the upcoming blood bath. People like her who had a genuine desire to fix the world should have their lives preserved. The world needed more of them after all.
Okimodo turned away from her before observing one of the rings he had acquired, plotting on how to best extract the diamonds and discard them. He then suddenly felt something incredibly strong wrap around his head blinding him before pulling him down on to the couch.
Before Okimodo knew it Hiro had restrained his head between her thighs as he was thoroughly subdued. “This is called the python death grip of the far east. All I have to do is apply a little bit of pressure and your head will burst open. Did you really think a chop like that would have me out of commission for long?”
“Not gonna lie, I did.” Okimodo groaned.
Hiro laughed softly with a hint of cruelty in her smile. “You better not have done anything to me while I was taking my little nap. Explain why you suddenly attacked me or else you’re dead.”
“Yes mommy!” Okimodo lifted his head to face her before winking.
Hiro sighed at the dirty minded boy before rolling him off the couch and onto the floor. She then recomposed herself before saying. “Don’t underestimate me, don’t treat me like I can’t handle myself in a dangerous situation and need to be knocked out for my own protection.”
Okimodo looked back at her as he lay sprawled out on his back. “I’ll stop doing that once you show me what kind of dues ex machina you’re going to pull out of your ass to get the better of a class nine general. Oh, and dozens of assassins.”
“As I said previously I’m just going to sneak behind his back.” Hiro answered in a snarky manner.
Okimodo stood up before sighing. “You know what! Fine. You just do whatever the hell you’re going to do. What do I know I’m just thirteen right.”
“You can know a lot of things at thirteen actually!” Hiro suddenly yelled.
Okimodo’s eyes widened in surprise. He never imagined that that was what would get her the most worked up. “Why did you say that so passionately?”
Hiro suddenly covered her mouth before turning bright red. “Forget about it!”
Okimodo leaned forward while stroking his chin and raising an eyebrow. That reaction just now didn’t seem like the reaction a mature woman would have. “How old are you?”
Okimodo didn’t actually know if Hiro was in her twenties. He had just made that assumption due to her enormous height. She was almost as tall as Okimodo himself who stood at over one hundred and eighty five centimetres tall. But as he looked at her flustered face more closely he observed that there was baby fat that still lingered in her tanned cheeks. She was also wearing a lot of make up to make her eyes look sharper and more angular than they actually were.
“I’m turning fourteen in three days.” She admitted shamefully. “But I’ve been living as an adult for the past two years because I don’t have a home to go to anymore…”
Okimodo quickly sat down next her and patted her back before saying. “I’m sorry to hear that… I shouldn’t have asked in such a mocking manner.”
“It’s okay.” Hiro smiled softly. “It’s not like you’re going to remember me anyway.”
Okimodo wanted to ask what she meant by that but decided not to pry into her personal life. After all they were still virtually strangers so asking her a bunch of personal questions could make her uncomfortable.
“It’s a bandits paradise downstairs in the carriage.” Okimodo smiled widely as he tried to lighten up the mood. “Why don’t you come down stairs and help yourself to the valuables of the dead passengers.”
Hiro’s mouth fell wide open as she stared at Okimodo in shock. “You’re seriously stealing the belongings of the dead passengers? That’s disgusting Okimodo!”
Okimodo stared at the white haired girl in complete puzzlement. “They’re dead, it’s not like they’re alive to call the police.”
She suddenly grabbed his robe and ran her hand through his pouch before pulling out the two rings and the watch. “Put these back.”
Okimodo snickered before replying. “Nah.”
“Okimodo these are wedding rings!” Hiro continued to stare daggers at him as she yelled. “Don’t you have a bloody heart!”
“Don’t you have a brain?” Okimodo shot back. “You could pillage enough money to live easily for the rest of your life and you won’t take the chance. I seriously doubt you’re that rich that you won’t even consider taking at least a little bit. What bad is a little extra pocket money going to do?”
“You are corrupt, being indifferent to Benjamin living or dying is one thing, but stealing from the dead is something else entirely.” Hiro suddenly stood up and stormed down the stairs.
Okimodo chased after her and held her hand to stop her. “Are you from a royal family or something? Why do you think you’re so above this?”
Hiro gently ran her thumb over his fingers before suddenly yanking her hand away. “You don’t have permission to touch me until all of the jewellery you and your brother stole is returned to their resting owners. And I don’t think I’m above it. I just don’t want to be another bastard in the world that only cares about themselves. Even if none of these people ever knew me I still want to respect them in death. At least take only the money and not the jewellery. Do you know what kind of sentimental value jewellery can have for some people?”
“Only take the money right?” Okimodo grinned. “I can work with that.”
End of chapter 36.