Story of The Ancient Demon King!-Chapter 99.2: Bernardo Arch [Part-2]

Chapter 99 – Bernardo Arch [Part-2]

“Ah! Hey, wait!“

Ignoring Lana’s cries, the child who stole Bernardo’s wallet plotted his escape.

“–”

“Ah!“

Oswald stopped the child by sewing his feet to the ground with his magic eye.

“You can’t do that…. you know?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry….”

Bernardo put his hand on Oswald’s head and reproached him for using his magic eye in the public.

“Be careful….. Oh no!”

Bernardo then rushed over to the child who had fallen down.

“Are you all right? Oh, your knee doesn’t seem to be too badly scraped.“

Without taking his wallet back, he picked up the child and examined his wound.

“……”

“The wound is only on the elbow and it looks shallow… thank goodness. But you shouldn’t steal, okay? Right?”

The child, who was afraid that Bernardo was going to hit him, was taken aback.

He had no idea why Bernardo was looking at him with a big smile on his face.

“Ah, I know! Starting tomorrow, will you come to my dojo and learn my techniques? I won’t charge you anything.“

He invited the child to the dojo.

It was always the same.

Oswald laughed at Bernardo’s good-naturedness.

He really couldn’t hate him one bit. How could anyone hate him?

He was not trying to get money, and only wanted to take care of the kids in the entertainment district using the dojo.

“It’ll be good exercise, and I can teach you self-defense. Will you come? I’ll even make you food.”

“I’ll come…..”

The kid who began wondering about the meal nodded his head in hunger, and Bernardo accepted his wallet…. with satisfaction.

“Here. The hostess wrapped up what I left. It’s a little gift for you till you come back tomorrow.“

He handed the child what he bought for Gerald.

Gerald smiled at the child, who often looked back at him wondering if it was really okay, and waves his hand lightly, saying, “Go ahead.“

This was a common sight in the entertainment district.

Until a church was built nearby, Bernardo’s dojo was the place where the children of the entertainment district gathered to practice and play during the daytime.

“Well, we have more students now, don’t we? We are blessed to keep gaining inheritors to our style.“

“No one can compete with you, Beru-sama…“

“Hey! Take this with you!”

Gifts were offered unintentionally from all over the place.

The knights patrolling the area also laughed at how friendly they were.

Bernardo was loved by the entertainment district.

Even in the red light district filled with ruffians and outlaws, humanity and compassion existed.

Oswald looked up at his grandfather with a twinkle in his eye, as all the people around them smiled at him.

The young Oswald had no doubt that this happy life would continue forever.

But that was not the case for those who have been beaten to a pulp by Gerald.

The underworld organizations had been waiting for a way to attain revenge, and they found out that Oswald had a magic eye.

Magic eye wielders could be sold at a high price to anyone who wanted them, especially if the wielder was a child.

Even more so if it was a child.

So the criminals of the underworld were spying on Oswald, waiting for an opportunity to take him hostage….

“…hey.”

“Oh…”

He was a worthy enough merchandise, even if it meant they had to take on Gerald.

“….Huh? Lana?“

Oswald doesn’t see Lana, who was supposed to be following behind him.

The childhood friend who was supposed to be there just a moment ago…

It was just a misunderstanding.

To the kidnappers, it looked as if Lana was the one who used a magic eye, because she was the first to notice the pickpocket kid and shouted at him to stop.

“Oh, Hey, Beru-sama! Your girl was taken away by a couple of guys!“

A man with a rather shabby appearance came running out from a back alley onto the side of the street, looking rather impatient.

“What?!“

“Lana!?”

According to the man, a few new recruit of an organization that had been retaliated against by Gerald before had kidnapped Lana.

“–!“

“Oswald!”

Oswald felt like he had no choice at that time.

His beloved childhood friend had been taken away.

He would have to go and help. That was all he could think of.

“Wait! Wait! I’m sorry. I need you to do something for me urgently.”

“Anything! I’m always grateful to you, Beru-sama.“

“Hey, what’s up, Beru-sama? Do you need any help?“

“…Bernardo-sama, what happened?”

Bernardo’s unusual behavior had prompted a succession of questions from the food stall workers, the casino members, and even the whorehouse staff.

They all came forward to show their appreciation for his generosity.

“That’s reassuring…. Now, please pass this on to my son. To my best and most dependable son.”

………

……

…

Oswald used his small frame to enter the hideout of the organization into which Lana had been taken.

It appeared to be just a brothel, but the top floor of the four-story building was used as their headquarters.

Oswald, who had reached the fourth floor while evading the watchful eyes of the employees and members of the organization, put his ear to the door that seemed to be one of the most magnificent ones, and….

“You idiot!“

“What?!” Oswald gasped.

He had almost screamed because of the sudden yell.

Inside the room of the door on which Oswald put his ear, the boss of the underground organization was yelling at the youngsters.

“You! Can’t you even weigh the risks and benefits!?“

“I’m sorry!”

“Damn…. no one saw you, right?“

“Yes, sir! There was only a shabby old man lying in the street, but no one else!”

“What!? He must have seen you!“

The boss yelled in frustration.

“……”

“I told you to leave him alone! I told you to not involve the organization with him!!“

Two young members had been ripped to shreds by Gerald in a fight the other day…

Having been beaten back by Gerald before, the organization’s policy was not to get involved with Gerald at all.

“But you can take her as a hostage, or if you want, you can sell a magic eye wielder….”

“There’s no way you can handle Gerald with a hostage! If his dad’s attacked or hurt, the son of a b*tch will go on a rampage! And besides… if there were witnesses, Gerald would be here any minute now! Where will you get the time to sell the hostage?!“

“I’m so sorry!”

“Ha, ha, ha, ha…. So… where’s the kid with the magic eye?”

The boss, who was so angry that he was out of breath, asked where Lana was.

“Yes, yes, in the next room for the time being….”

“……”

The decision to take out the two useless recruits was already made.

The real question was what to do with the kidnapped Lana.

“…Hey.”

“Yes?”

He told the men who were with him for the longest and were currently surrounding the new useless recruits,

“Kill the kid and them. Then dump them in the river where no one will see them.“

“What the-”

“Boss?”

If they give Lana back now, Gerald will make an example of them and crush their organization once and for all.

So, they would just pretend that the newcomers they had excommunicated kidnapped her on their own to gain credit and rejoin the organization, but were killed in the process by another organization, and they didn’t know anything about it.

It was a rather strained argument, but the boss decided that it was for the best.

………

……