Wolves of Hader Nove Chapter 111

The chef half-opened his eyes with a drowsy expression.

As if to say, 'What kind of nonsense is this?'

"What do you an by 'going to fail'?"

"Exactly what I said. If this place goes under, you're welco to bring all your colleagues with you."

The chef let out a hollow laugh.

"I've heard all sorts of things in my life. Fine. I'll let you in this ti. Money is money, but you'd better keep that promise. I'll rember your face."

"All right. How much is your wage?"

"Three gold coins and ten silver."

I wordlessly pulled out seven gold coins and handed them over.

The chef took the gold coins and slipped them into his sleeve.

"Follow ."

Whether I would keep my promise would depend on what happened and how this chef reacted.

Not just anyone can work on this island, so he must be a top-class chef.

The chef led us through the kitchen and down to the basent.

Judging by the way the other staff smiled and greeted him, he didn't seem to be ill-natured.

There was a staff-only room downstairs.

"Change into the hospitality staff uniform here."

Kudo and I both picked out hospitality staff uniforms and got changed.

We took our original clothes with us to change back later.

Then, we followed the chef again.

A long corridor stretched out in the basent.

It was a staff-only passage. Carts loaded with alcohol and food supplies were coming and going.

"You can get right into the castle's interior through this passage. If you give a guard a gold coin, they won't ask questions."

"And you get paid seven gold coins for sothing this small?"

"If you don't like it, don't do it. My kitchen boys have seen your faces. I need to share the money if I want to keep their mouths shut, right?"

"Whatever. Just move."

"Take these with you."

The chef handed us two large bundles.

"It's laundry the castle sent out."

The chef imdiately turned around and left.

Kudo and I carried the laundry down the corridor.

There were so many staff mbers that no one looked at us suspiciously.

When we reached the end of the passage, there was a door.

The door was wide open, but two guards stood watching.

They imdiately recognized we were unfamiliar faces.

"Where are you from?"

"The Golden Flower Inn."

"First ti I've seen you."

"I'm new, and this one here is working as an assistant because of gambling debts. He was actually a rchant."

Kudo just stared at , then scratched his head.

"Well, that's how things turned out."

The guard clicked his tongue.

"You're thinking of gambling your wages to pay off your debt, aren't you? Good luck. I've seen more than enough hopeless people."

"I really will pay back my debt."

"Sure you will. You probably lost your whole rchant guild anyway. You'd better just learn inn work here. Or are you too old for that? Hahaha!"

The two guards snickered.

While that was going on, we went inside through the door.

Kudo looked at

incredulously.

"Where did you learn sothing like that?"

"Learn what?"

"How did you know there are so many people ruined on this island? No, more importantly, how can you act so nonchalant?"

I just smiled and moved on.

There's no difference in a gambling city. Everyone ruined by gambling debts is much the sa.

We went right up to the first floor and changed our clothes first. While doing that, I asked Kudo about the internal layout of the castle.

The inside of the castle was like a whole other world.

In the center was a lavish and luxurious fountain, with the areas built around it in a circular pattern.

First, second, third floors: the casino.

Fourth, fifth, sixth: the inn.

Eighth, ninth, tenth: the restaurant and VIP suites.

To the north was a large do-shaped building, with two five-story buildings beside it.

That do was the place Kudo had ntioned, and the buildings on either side were probably the headquarters.

Since the castle was at the northern tip of the island, if you jumped from the HQ buildings, you'd end up in the sea.

Either way, since I had to go to the HQ, escaping directly from there made sense.

The main gate was at the south.

That's the only place where they check identities, and after you're in, there are no further inspections.

Wouldn't want to annoy the high-status custors.

"This place seems pretty normal."

"That's what I thought too. During the day, the nobles and tycoons put on their dignified act. But at night—they turn into beasts."

"Still, it's hard to believe."

"You'll see for yourself how things get. Anyway, we've got so ti. Let's check out the casino first."

Following Kudo, we headed to the second-floor casino.

The casino was one big, interconnected space. Despite the number of tables, there were few empty seats.

Kudo sat down at a vacant spot.

"I think I'll play a round."

As soon as Kudo sat, a new ga began.

It was similar to blackjack. The cards were small slips of paper with numbers, and the players faced off against the dealer.

Whoever made the highest number total won. It looked like you could get up to three cards.

I wasn't sure what the maximum number was.

"This is the last card. Please place your bets."

The participants each put up a gold coin.

So tossed in unusual coins—they seed to serve as chips.

The dealer handed out the last card.

The result was decided.

"You've won, congratulations!"

"Haha! Maybe things will go my way today!"

Kudo giggled as he pocketed two gold coins.

His voice was loud, so I glanced around.

No one paid much attention.

The staff bustled about, and the guards stood unmoving in the corners.

There were also older won, each with a pretty boy at her side.

Several people puffed on long pipes, billowing smoke.

It didn't sll like tobacco—it must be so hallucinogen.

Under so tables, naked won were doing sothing.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary casino.

But a detailed look revealed it was anything but.

What would have seed shocking in a back-alley brothel was happening here in elegance.

Behaviors that would be unthinkable elsewhere happened openly here, because no one said a word, no matter what you did.

And this was just during the day.

They supposedly wore masks at night, when the place supposedly sank into utter debauchery and pleasure.

"Let's get up."

"Why? My luck's just coming in."

"No use drawing attention."

"All right."

We headed to the restaurant on the eighth floor.

The restaurant was built the sa way, but had fewer guests than the casino. Those eating seed relatively normal.

"You can't just have a al here."

"Why not?"

"The restaurant and the inn have different paynt systems. Even at the casino, we were supposed to use exchanged gold coins."

"What's different?"

"You hand over all your money at the ID check and settle up at the end. They give you a na tag, and that tag tracks your spending."

"Then let's not eat."

"Aw, but we've co all this way! After one bite, you'll be amazed."

"So what are you planning?"

Kudo showed

a na tag.

"You stole it?"

"I was a famous pickpocket as a kid. Even now, I doubt many could beat my skills."

"Why do sothing that'll get us caught right away?"

"When it cos to unlawful, illegal, expedient, and extralegal things, I'm a few steps ahead of you, young lord. Just trust ."

Kudo handed

a half-mask and told

to wear it, then led the way to the inn floor.

Wearing the mask, we took a very large room and ordered food.

"All we have to do is eat and leave. Hah!"

"Whose na tag is that?"

"The guy who was sitting next to —a young guy wobbling drunk. Judging by his clothes, he was from Robe."

A little while later, the food arrived.

It felt a bit uncomfortable, but I was hungry. Besides, I didn't plan to stay in the room long.

"The taste really is good."

"Of course. Where you get this much money, there are bound to be chefs from the royal family."

"There must be slaves here too."

"You'll see the male slaves in a certain place. As for the waitresses here, hardly any ca of their own free will. People like Goro bring the won in."

"Is there a rchant guild in charge of managing this place?"

"I hear a rcenary group runs it. They act as guards for both the cult and this place."

One of the two buildings next to the do is the rcenary headquarters.

I needed to get there for answers.

But judging by the current situation, sneaking in wouldn't be easy.

"Let's head out."

"I haven't even eaten half yet!"

"Then eat alone and co out."

I left the room first.

As I walked through the hallway, a manager stared at . Sothing must have seed off.

"Excuse , sir."

"Yes?"

"There's a discrepancy between your companion's na tag and the guest record. Did you use soone else's na tag?"

"Yes."

"I see."

The manager still looked suspicious and tilted his head.

Kudo, that guy, should have stolen a tag from soone his own age.

Hearing the commotion, Kudo ca out as well.

"Would you gentlen wait for a mont?"

"What's the matter?"

"There's just sothing to check."

The manager knocked on a door and said,

"Excuse , sir. Your friend is here, may I have a mont?"

"Ugh, what is it now? I'm in the middle of sothing!"

"It won't take long, please."

"Damn it! I was just getting going."

Clunk.

The door opened, and a fat man appeared—naked.

The manager spoke cautiously.

"Are you Andor Julah?"

"Yeah, why?"

I hadn't expected this at all.

Maybe we were out of luck.

Or maybe, actually, we were lucky.

"Your friend, Zenz, is here. But he's much bigger than the Zenz I saw yesterday. Is he really Zenz?"

The fat man gazed at , half asleep.

I was at a loss for words.

My fake identity was Andor Julah.

"Zenz is supposed to be short, isn't he?"

"That's how I rember it."

"Hey, just who are you people?"

Andor ca out of the room.

The manager walked toward us.

"I need you both to remove your masks."

Kudo looked at , stunned.

Things like this happen in the world?

No need for long consideration.

Thwack—

I struck the approaching manager's throat and dashed down the hall.

The fat Andor let out a grunt just as he, too, fell face first.

Before Andor hit the floor, I grabbed him and dragged him into our room.

Kudo dragged the unconscious manager in after us.

"Move them both into the bathroom, gag their mouths, tie them together. Wedge sothing against the bathroom door so they can't get out."

"Got it."

Kudo hauled Andor into the bathroom.

Looking out the window, I saw dusk was falling.

It was only for today, anyway.

"When it's over, you get out first."

"What are you going to do alone?"

"Get a fishing boat and wait under the rcenary building. Co at midnight if you can. If our boat arrives, signal us."

"All right."

I went straight to Andor's room.

The scene inside was a spectacle.

The air was thick with hallucinogenic smoke.

Four naked won swayed around, completely out of it, unaware of what was happening.

If I'd entered through the main gate, my false identity would have been exposed.

Running into Andor turned out to be lucky. With his na tag, my cover was solid.

I pocketed Andor's na tag from the table. Then I mixed up Andor's clothes with my own.

Even if he had companions, since I didn't match his build, they wouldn't recognize .

/ / /

I entered the arena.

After sunset, the crowds sward into the arena. Thanks to Andor's na tag, I got in without a hitch.

The do-shaped building to the north was the arena.

In this circular stadium, gladiators fought for their lives.

The guests bet huge sums of money.

It could hold up to a thousand people. There was only one main entrance, and three doors for guards and officials.

There were two iron doors in the stadium for the gladiators to co out of.

The spectator section was outrageously lavish.

Most people lounged on soft couches, with a few openly having sex.

"Karlos! Kill him now!"

"Yeah! Play with him for a bit, then finish him!"

"Kill him! Karlos!"

In the arena, two muscular n fought, blood spraying, as the audience scread at the top of their lungs.

There was a wild banquet and even a hallucinogenic party going on.

The arena was already drenched in blood.

The very stench of blood seed enough to awaken the dormant wickedness in people.

Just now, one gladiator collapsed.

"Karlos! Kill him!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The whole crowd chanted as one.

at in one hand, wine in the other.

Greasy lips and eyes shining with madness.

Black tongues stained with wine.

Shk.

The downed man's head was cut off.

"Wahhh! Karlos!"

"Karlos, you're the best!"

The arena rang with cheers and frenzy.

Applause and laughter never stopped. These people bet, drank, watched blood, and reveled in death.

"The third match will begin soon! This ti, our rising star, milo! Will Milo survive and go on to face Karlos? Place your bets now, everyone!"

"Waaaah!"

A cauldron of pleasure and ecstasy.

When humans pursue pleasure to the utmost, the final step is murder.

In this arena, all forms of human pleasure were present.

And then...

As I watched the arena, I blinked, doubting my eyes.

Those clearing away the decapitated heads and bodies—

At first, I thought it was just a lookalike.

But no, it wasn't.

Roman the priest?

Why was he there?

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Ti to get Roman out of Epstein's Island.

【????????(??????)】