Chapter 21: An Acquaintance Big Brother (4)
The Eddy Gang and the Travion Gang.
The fight between the organizations that divided the back alleys of Marzen had finally ended.
The winner was Bloody Eddy's side.
Of course, it wasn't an easy victory.
The Travion Gang had made thorough preparations for today's raid, whereas the Eddy Gang hadn't anticipated it at all.
Adding to that, they had suffered significant damage from an unexpected figure nad Harang, creating a gap so large that the boss, Eddy, alone could never have filled it.
But, who would have known?
No one could have predicted that the very cause that troubled the Eddy Gang would play a decisive role in their victory.
“It was really unbelievable. The regular mbers of that rough Travion Gang just dropped, then dropped again… I couldn’t even see how the fists were flying.”
“Hey, no matter how you put it, that’s a bit much…”
“Ah, it’s true! That man, he might look a certain way on the outside, but he’s incredibly tough. It felt like his fists weren’t made of bone, but lumps of iron!”
“Right. This person is absolutely right. I wouldn’t say anything if he only took down ordinary Travion Gang mbers, but I clearly saw Quentin’s neck twisted in that young man Harang’s hands!”
“Crazy, that young man finished off Quentin?”
“Yep, that’s right!”
A few beggars who witnessed Harang's exploits at the ti spread the facts around as if recounting their own heroic tales.
Of course, they hadn't seen it properly.
While they might have seen him handle ordinary Travion Gang mbers, the speed Harang displayed when dealing with Underboss Quentin was not sothing an ordinary person could grasp.
However, the sight of Harang looking down at the fallen Quentin and his corpse served as circumstantial evidence that he had defeated Travion's big shot, leading most thugs and beggars to accept it as the established truth.
“Ha, if I knew he was such an amazing person, I would have tried to get closer to him.”
“Tell about it. Who knows? Maybe he would have let join the Eddy Gang too.”
“What, was that person part of the Eddy Gang?”
“Wouldn’t that be obvious? He was probably so secret weapon Eddy had hidden away. Otherwise, why would he get involved in a brutal fight between thugs?”
“Indeed, it was a bit strange from the ti he beat up the beggar boss. No ordinary beggar would have such guts… If he’s a secret weapon of the Eddy Gang, then it makes sense.”
“Ralph just had bad luck. Good for us, though. Serves him right… Oh! Over there!”
“What? Why over there?”
“There, it’s Harang!”
“Did you say Harang?”
“Harang?”
“That Harang… Should we go over? Will he greet us if we act like we know him?”
“Wouldn’t he greet us? We still spent about a week together!”
Perhaps thanks to that.
Harang's image, which had been quite poor among the beggars, instantly soared sky-high.
It couldn't be helped.
It's human nature to want to pull down soone they thought was lower than them once they rise up, but it's also human nature to feel awe towards soone who was already high up in the heavens.
To the beggars, Harang was no longer on the sa level.
He had beco soone much higher, soone they had to sohow curry favor with.
Of course.
“Hmm!”
“Uh…”
“……”
‘What’s this?’
‘Strange. He definitely seed like an approachable type before, but why now…’
‘The atmosphere is sohow different!’
Harang didn’t like the atmosphere among those beggars.
If they were people who had genuinely cared for him from the start, he might have thought differently.
However, most of them had harbored ill intentions when he went to find the beggar boss.
Even though his purpose was to negotiate with Ralph, the one making their lives miserable.
Of course, he didn't harbor malice towards them.
Harang had experienced far too much to be emotionally wounded by re human cunning.
It was just that being recognized from afar every ti he walked down the street like this was botherso and cumberso, so he temporarily deactivated ‘Acting Lowly’.
Woowoowoong-
There wasn't an actual vibration sound.
But it was true that a completely different atmosphere flowed from Harang's body compared to before.
The usual, no, perhaps slightly thicker fighting spirit than usual.
That feeling, more intense and piercing than that of an average adult male, was similar to that of the ‘thugs’ roaming the streets of Marzen, and beggars were the most vulnerable group to this kind of aura.
Eventually, they abandoned their plans to change their fortunes through their connection with Harang and scattered in all directions.
“Hmph.”
Harang didn't pay them any mind.
At first, he controlled his aura a few tis, observing the beggars' reactions, and even considered how he could utilize this in combat.
However, seeing them all flee even when he raised his presence just slightly, his interest quickly faded.
More importantly, he was currently wandering the back alleys of Marzen with a different purpose.
After roaming the streets like that for two hours.
Having finally found the person he was looking for, Harang approached the side of the beggar who was begging with his money bowl placed neatly, and plopped down beside him.
The young beggar, Glen, spoke in a bewildered voice.
“Uh, uh uh?”
“What’s wrong? Why that reaction?”
“Uh… well…”
Glen stamred.
He couldn't help it.
The Harang from before and the Harang now were different people.
The one who had shown a terrifying side against the Travion Gang… was no longer soone who seed compatible with him.
But that was just Glen's thought.
Harang didn't think so.
No, he lacked any awareness in that regard to begin with.
As Glen remained silent, Harang, who had also been spacing out, watching the passersby, suddenly asked a question.
“What should I do now?”
“Pardon?”
“Begging didn’t suit my aptitude, so I quit, but after quitting, I found I don’t really have anything to do.”
“……”
“I want to do sothing different, but there’s nothing suitable. I considered becoming a rcenary, but it didn’t quite click, so it’s on hold. If I just spend ti like this, my money will run out. And I don’t know anything else to do other things.”
“……”
“So, what do you think I should do? Is there anything that seems like it would suit ?”
“Um… Why are you asking that?”
“Because there’s no one else to ask?”
“Even so, you ask a beggar?”
“What’s wrong with a beggar? Besides, you’re the only person I know in Marzen. I’m closest to you.”
“……”
“So. Do you have any ideas at all?”
Harang turned his head with an expressionless face.
Glen looked at him, then let out a chuckle.
That's right.
This was the kind of person he was.
Eccentric, yet serious about it.
Unprejudiced.
Unpredictable…
Because of that, he had felt wary for a mont, but now, conversely, his wariness eased because of it.
Harang had never tried to deceive him.
He just lived as he pleased and spoke his honest feelings.
If that's the case…
‘Shouldn’t I just be honest too, and say what I think?’
A thought that was bold for a beggar, sothing he wouldn't normally have.
But concluding that it would probably be okay, Glen spoke.
“Harang Big Brother… you suit just being the way you are now.”
“What way is that?”
“Unemployed and an idler.”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“Uh… Did I make a mistake?”
“Not really. Hmm…”
After replying, Harang lowered his head and frowned deeply.
His occasional mumbling made it seem like he was deeply contemplating his identity, which Glen found quite amusing.
He almost burst out laughing with a 'Puhaha', but fortunately, he managed not to.
Glen, desperately restraining his emotions, recalled sothing from a few days ago.
The ti Harang saved him?
No.
Recalling a conversation they had slightly before that, the boy opened his mouth again.
“You asked why I helped you, rember?”
“Hmm?”
“You asked why I help others without expecting anything in return.”
“Ah, I did.”
Harang nodded.
He clearly rembered doing so.
But he also rembered just letting it go, as it didn't feel like Glen would give him an answer.
But Glen was different now.
Perhaps having had a change of heart, the story of his life began to flow bit by bit from the young beggar's mouth.
“Originally, I wasn't like this either.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You’ve experienced it too, Big Brother, so you know, the beggar life. How tough it must be to look after others when you live hand-to-mouth, begging for one day to eat the next. Naturally, I was only focused on taking care of myself and never thought about looking after others, not even if I died.”
“But you’re not like that now.”
“Right. Now, I try to take care of others as much as possible.”
“Did sothing happen?”
“I did hear a story. About a virtuous cycle.”
The story that followed wasn't particularly special.
If you do good deeds for soone, that person, inspired by it, will in turn do good for soone else.
Thus, if the number of people doing good deeds continues to increase, the good deeds you perford will surely return to you one day in so form.
“I think it’s bullshit.”
“Bullshit?”
“Yes. I was lucky enough to have my life saved by you, Big Brother, but I think that was just luck. Virtuous cycle, positive influence, honestly, I don’t really believe in it. It feels more like a world where the vicious cycle is much worse…”
Harang wore a puzzled expression.
He used to only look out for himself, but then he heard a story from soone, and his life changed afterwards.
He expected a story like that, but Glen was saying sothing completely different.
Then why did this young beggar enjoy helping others?
Why did he live a pitiful life taking care of others like a fool, without even expecting any benefit in return for himself?
The answer to that was, unexpectedly, simple.
“Just because.”
“……”
“Just, doing that feels good. It makes my mind more at ease too.”
“……”
“Why? Is the answer very different from what you expected?”
“It’s an answer I didn’t expect.”
Harang nodded honestly.
He hadn't anticipated the answer 'just because'.
He didn't quite understand it either.
Helping others ‘just because’.
Gaining joy from it.
To Harang, whose brow furrowed as he pondered this the, Glen added another word.
“When you saved , Big Brother, did you think… that you had to demand sothing in return… Did you act with that thought?”
“Hmm… No.”
“So how is it, now?”
“I’m not thinking anything.”
“That’s what’s good about it.”
“……?”
“If you hadn’t saved … you probably would have felt uncomfortable. Not indifferent.”
“……”
Their conversation ended there.
Harang closed his eyes gently as if lost in deep thought, and Glen didn't disturb him.
Quietly collecting his money bowl, he moved away to another spot.
After that, it was no different from usual.
He continued begging a little longer.
Did so chores for another beggar with leg trouble.
Handed over half a piece of Black Bread for a beggar younger than himself.
Continued begging again.
In the midst of that, another beggar sat down next to Glen.
An old man with wrinkled skin and a warm impression, the very beggar Harang had been desperately searching for.
“Grandfather!”
“Kid, I told you not to call Grandfather. I’m still young.”
“Haha, you still joke around well.”
“Tsk… you’re getting more disrespectful by the day.”
Having t after a long ti, they talked for quite a while.
From catching up on each other's lives to the clothes of the passersby on the street, trivial disputes among beggars, and idle rumors floating around Marzen.
It was a collection of mundane stories that wouldn't matter even if soone overheard, but depending on who processed them, they could potentially beco useful information.
After chatting excitedly like that, the two parted ways.
Glen returned to his sleeping place, feeling happy about the evening without the beggar boss, while the old man remained a little longer, organizing his thoughts.
His eyes sank deep, in a way uncharacteristic of a beggar.
A mont later.
“To not talk about the hottest figure these days…”
aningful words flowed from the old beggar's mouth.
Did he forget while talking about other things?
Or did he deliberately avoid talking about soone he was acquainted with?
It seed the latter was more likely.
The old man nodded, recalling the black-haired young man's indifferent expression, and thought.
‘I don’t know what kind of guy he is, but it’ll be interesting to watch him.’
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