Rebirth of the 8th-Circle Mage

Chapter 56: My Comrade (3)

Arms of the Angel. It was an amusing name for a private loan business, but then, the name also possessed a terrifying implication: being in the arms of an angel meant dying.

The Arms of the Angel was notorious enough to be among the top three best-known businesses in Vivaldi. The office itself was inside a massive building. There were gangsters on the first floor who appeared to be the employees; they were likely in charge of collecting money. They were playing cards as if they were at a bar.

“Is Haisha here?”

When Ten called out the boss’s name, a gangster who looked quite decent approached Ten and lowered his head. “It’s been a while, what brings you here?”

“I am here to see your boss, of course. Haisha is upstairs, right?”

“Yes he is but… Are you here to borrow money?”

“Do I have to tell you that?”

“If you’re here for a loan, we can help you. The boss cannot meet people right now.”

“Why? Did something happen to Haisha?”

“No, it’s not that, but the boss ordered us to not let random people go up to his office.”

“What?”

Ten was known as one of the richest people in the town, even the gangster knew that. Furthermore, Ten and Haisha were old drinking buddies. It was natural that Ten would be irritated when a mere employee called him a nobody.

“What kind of nonsense is this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you really asking me that? Do you not know who I am?”

“I do know. You were once the richest man in town, but now you are completely broke. Am I wrong?”

“What…?” Ten was speechless.

The gangster continued, “I’ve already heard the news, sir. I heard that the championship defense match you held about a month ago was a complete failure and you are in huge debt right now… Isn’t that correct?”

“Haha, I guess even the Million Gold battle stadium can be doomed.”

“I heard that those who make a fortune through speculation also find their ruin through speculation, I guess it’s true.”

“What is that old man doing here? Is he here to borrow money for a cigarette?”

The air was filled with mockery.

They did say that rumors traveled fast, but Ten thought that he had quietly taken care of the situation, and he hadn’t expected that this would happen anyway.

“So?”

“Huh?”

“From the unprofessional way you talk to people, it’s no wonder you’re a gangster… No matter how much of a failure I am, do you think I can’t take care of lowly scum like you?”

“Haha, I think your jokes are crossing the line, sir.”

“You can see for yourself whether I’m joking or not. Now move, I don’t have time to waste chatting with you.”

“Hey, I told you that our boss doesn’t meet with random people.”

The man stood firmly, blocking Ten.

“Sir Henry,” said Ten.

“Yes.”

“Please go ahead.”

“Alright.”

Snap!

“Aargh!”

Henry snapped the man’s arm in an instant, bending it at an unnatural angle. He then twisted the man’s broken arm once more and stomped on it for good measure, breaking the bone all the way through.

“B-brother!”

“They hurt our brother!”

“Come on, get them!”

“That bastard!”

The reactions were immediate. As soon as they saw Henry break their companion’s arm, the rest of the gangsters grabbed the weapons at their waists and charged at the same time. In response, Henry unsheathed his sword and swung it around like a club.

Thud!

Bang!

Whack!

At first glance, it looked like Henry was fighting defensively, but it became clear that he was overpowering everyone else. Henry’s movements were like a flowing river. No matter how many gangsters attacked him, he dodged and slid in between them, confusing them.

“Kill him!”

“What are you waiting for? Get him!”

As soon as the fight began, Ten took a few steps back and disappeared. Henry would have protected him even if he didn’t leave, but this was Ten’s way of showing consideration so that Henry could play more freely.

A long while later, Henry crippled the last gangster by breaking his cervical vertebrae.

“Arrgh…!”

Most of the people on the ground could still move, but when they saw Henry knock down dozens, they realized that they couldn’t compare to him at all.

“Have you finished?”

“Pretty much.”

Only when the fight was over did Ten reappear with his hands behind his back. He pointed at the nearest gangster with his chin and said, “Hey, you.”

“Y-yes! Is there anything you need?”

“Bring your boss here.”

“Y-yes, of course!”

The gangster had a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder, but he still hurried to the second floor, his arm dangling powerlessly at his side.

“What in the world happened?” Not long after, a voice filled with irritation and surprise came from upstairs.

“H-hey, what the hell is going on?!” Haisha’s voice said.

One could only wonder what he had been up to since he was wearing a gown that revealed his saggy chest. As soon as he saw his employees knocked out on the floor, the cigarette in his mouth fell to the ground.

Ten looked Haisha straight in the eye. “Haisha, why don’t we have a word?”

* * *

“It’s my fault for not disciplining my employees properly…” Unlike the gangsters, Haisha was quick to grasp the situation, perhaps because he was a man who dealt with money himself.

As Ten requested, he led the two visitors to an underground prison where they kept vicious debtors.

Clank!

As the massive iron door opened, the stairs leading underground appeared. The basement was so dark that they could not see even one inch in front of them; however, when Haisha touched the wall, some sort of device activated and the room brightened. The vicious debtors hidden in the darkness appeared.

‘These are all debtors?’?They were men and women of all ages with haggard faces and wearing shabby clothing.

As Haisha appeared in the light, the imprisoned debtors began to reach out from between the bars like zombies.

“S-sir Haisha!”

“Sir Haisha! Please let us out!”

It was a terrible sight.

Henry and Ten looked at them silently, frowning. The prisoners’ faces were lifeless and their eyes were unfocused. Some were covered in wounds—not from abuse, but from self-harm because they couldn’t satisfy their desire to gamble.

Sweating, Haisha approached the iron bars and picked out the people that Henry had asked for.

“You, you, you, and you. Come out.”

The expressions of those who had been chosen contrasted greatly with the expressions of the ones who hadn’t been. The four men dragged their chains out of the prison cell. Henry pointed at the youngest-looking man. “He looks so young, what is he doing in here?”

“He was a genius accountant that all the chambers of commerce wanted.”

“And?”

“He was very gullible. He screwed over more than just a couple of businesses because he tried to do the job of a businessman when he was merely an accountant.”

“Really?”

The man couldn’t hold back his shame and lowered his head. Henry walked up to him. “What’s your name?”

“M-my name is Harris…”

“Alright, Harris, what do you think about working for me?”

“...What?”

“Work for me. If you decide to work for me, I will take you out of here. If not, that's fine with me too.”

“Y-yes! Please let me work for you, I beg you!”

“Good choice.”

Caterpillars lived on pine needles, and Henry decided to become a pine needle so that the caterpillars would no longer wander away.

Harris began to weep at the unexpected salvation. It was truly a miracle. He had thought that he would rot in the underground prison all his life or end up as a slave in a coal mine, but he had been rescued. This applied to the other three as well.

Henry offered a job to them, and just like Harris, everyone desperately nodded when they were presented with the chance to work for Henry. As Henry was about to wrap up his speech, he suddenly remembered one other problem. “Ah, by the way! Is there anyone that’s in here because they have been caught with gambling debt?”

One of the four people employed raised his hand.

“You’re fired.”

“W-what? W-what’s the reason?”

“I don't trust people who gamble or do drugs.”

Henry believed that most people would not repeat an irreversible mistake if they were given a chance to make up for it. ‘Because that’s how I’m living my life right now.’?However, drugs and gambling were completely different from ordinary life problems. Henry decided to exclude people who had these issues from the beginning to protect his assets. At any rate, Henry was done recruiting.

“How much are they?”

“J-just take them, consider it as proof of my sincerity.”

“Is that so? Then I won’t refuse.”

“T-thank you…!”

It was only then that Haisha realized that the rumors were completely wrong. The Million Gold battle stadium, rumored to be completely ruined, still had its reputation and Ten even had a champion swordsman as his escort. Thus, Haisha just wanted to get those men out of sight as soon as possible. However…

“Now, should we discuss the laundry bill?”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Don’t you see this? These bloodstains on my clothes are there because your men ganged up on me. This is expensive to clean, how are you going to compensate me for it?”

“O-of course! I will pay for the damages!”

“I don’t need it.”

“W-what…?”

“I don’t need money. Hand over all the debtors in that prison to me.”

“I-I can’t do that! If I let them all go, the balance of payments won’t add up…!”

“I almost lost my life because of your employees. Shall I get compensation for my clothes and?my life?”

Thanks to Henry’s compelling argument, he managed to get everyone out of the prison. Although they did not have the skills that Henry wanted, it did not mean that they did not deserve a second chance. Henry decided to give them that chance.

“Now, let's head to the next shop.”

“Alright.”

With their business complete, the two led the group of debtors out of the underground prison.