Urban Vagabond: Reload

The next day.

Waking up later than usual, I went out into the yard and loosened up.

“Hooo—.”

Even if the place and time changed, my routine didn’t.

I warmed up with light stretching, then ran Solitary Life-and-Death Sword from beginning to end once.

A cool spring breeze cooled the beads of sweat forming on my forehead. Feeling cleaner all around, I headed back to the pension.

HRRRNNG— FWWWOOO—

Shin Kangheon’s snoring was loud enough to carry past the room and into the living room.

PYAAK!

Unlike the three of us, who’d been going hard all night, Apricot—who’d fallen asleep early—lifted its head on the living-room table.

That look clearly meant it wanted something, so I opened the fridge.

“Hungry?”

Nod, nod!

I took out raw meat and fruit. Apricot still stayed wary of me, but it ate with gusto anyway.

After taking care of Apricot’s breakfast, I washed up, then went into the kitchen and started making a proper morning meal.

TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP!

I boiled water in a pot and sliced green onion and chilies on the bias. The boiled pork I’d bought at the supermarket yesterday, I warmed up and laid out neatly to eat as a side dish.

The moment I dropped the seasoning packet and noodles into the boiling water, an irresistible smell spread through the air.

Add bean sprouts and soft tofu, and my hangover ramen was complete.

SNNFF-SNNFF.

Drawn by the smell, Kim Bokja crawled out of the room with her eyes nearly closed. Seriously—when it came to food smells, her nose was ridiculous.

“Ramen... Did you put eggs in too?”

“I was going to in a bit. Soft? Hard?”

“Hard, obviously! If you do soft, I dieee....”

Still not fully awake, Kim Bokja staggered into the bathroom.

I tossed Apricot—who was bouncing around the living room—a small piece of boiled pork.

“Apricot. Go wake up that psycho.”

Apricot sprang straight up, snatched the meat with its beak, swallowed it in one gulp, and headed into Shin Kangheon’s room.

And a moment later—

“AAAAAGH! You psycho—are you insane?! Who sent you, an assassin—?!”

There was a BANG-CLATTER!, and then Shin Kangheon stumbled out, yawning wide, hair blown into a full bird’s nest.

“Hwaaam— It’s already time for breakfast?”

“Breakfast passed a long time ago. It’s lunch.”

Kim Bokja, who’d only barely scraped the eye gunk off in the bathroom, sat at the table too—then her eyes went round.

“You made all this?”

On the table was my hangover ramen, warmed boiled pork, and a rolled omelet I’d whipped up fast, laid out with kimchi.

Sitting down, I said to the two of them,

“Try it. It’s been a while, so I don’t know how it’ll taste.”

They tasted the broth first, then mumbled with faces full of awe.

“This is insanely good....”

“This is crazy. The rolled omelet is totally my style too.”

At their shocked reactions, I took a bite of ramen with a satisfied look.

This was the hangover ramen even my comrades from my wandering-martial-artist days had admitted was the real thing. And with better ingredients than back then, there was no way it could taste bad.

As the two of them kept slurping and drinking and gasping in admiration, I smiled meaningfully.

“Eat a lot. We might not get dinner tonight.”

At the half-joke, half-not-joke, the two of them stopped mid-chopsticks and glared at me.

“Of course. You make a feast like this—so this is the last supper, huh?”

“You fed us good so you could work us like dogs, didn’t you!”

In a few hours, the three of us were planning to walk into the den of a massive unorthodox organization with our own feet—Blood Tiger Gang.

That was why I’d said it. To make them stay tense.

The missing-swordsman case and Phantom Dream might be connected to Blood Tiger Gang.

So before bed, I’d laid out a rough plan and warned them about the danger.

We weren’t going there to pick a fight with Blood Tiger Gang. This meeting was something Hwang Suksu had arranged by mobilizing his connections, so the plan was to go, not cause trouble, and come back.

But we still had to prepare for the possibility of something going wrong.

In my memory, Blood Tiger Gang would eventually become one of the Five Great Unorthodox Sects—one of the five biggest factions in the unorthodox world.

After we finished eating, I left the dishes to the two of them and went into the room, opening my suitcase.

Then I checked something tucked into one corner and smiled faintly.

“Good thing I packed this, just in case.”

Today, I wasn’t going as a young rising star of the orthodox martial world.

Today, I was going as a member of Blue Wolves.

*****

Elysium Casino.

The biggest casino in Jeju, with separate entrances for foreigners, permit-holding locals, and martial artists.

It was a consideration—so ordinary people wouldn’t feel uneasy around martial artists carrying weapons—and also a measure to manage risk separately.

Because of that, most regular casino-goers didn’t pay attention to the martial-artist entrance...

But today was different.

“Is that some kind of cosplay?”

“Doesn’t look normal....”

“Shh. They’ll hear!”

People passing the entrance murmured and stole glances at a group dressed in a bizarre way.

A tall man with red goggles and a mask covering his face.

A woman wearing a white helmet with rabbit ears.

And a huge man with his face wrapped in bandages.

The three of us—wearing hoodies with a blue wolf logo on the back—were Kim Muhyuk, Kim Bokja, and Shin Kangheon.

No matter how people whispered, our steps toward the entrance were proud and imposing.

But in reality, we were talking in low voices only the three of us could hear.

Do we seriously have to go this far?

We don’t have a choice. We have to make contact while hiding who we are.

I like this. The identity-hidden Shin Kangheon the Dark Heroic Swordsman!

This is humiliating. I can’t believe I have to walk around with two lunatics....

You say that, but you stuck rabbit ears on your helmet just fine.

This is my identity!

Stop admitting it. There’s a reason the three of us run together.

People naturally slid aside, making a path without meaning to.

Some of them were martial artists with nasty faces, too, but it looked like they didn’t want to get tangled up with suspicious-looking weirdos even while out having fun at a casino.

When we reached the entrance, the rabbit-helmet stepped forward and spoke.

“Ahem! We are—”

A muscular martial artist who looked like security stepped aside and said,

“You may go in.”

“...You’re letting us in without even asking who we are?”

“The representative informed us in advance. He said if martial artists with an obviously distinctive appearance came, we were to let them inside.”

From that answer, I realized one thing.

This man is Blood Tiger Gang as well.

From the security guard, I felt not something cheap, but the rough, trained energy unique to hardened unorthodox martial artists.

He was saying, sure, go on in—but there was no way he hadn’t been checking us from far away with a meticulous gaze the whole time.

“Please follow me. I will guide you.”

The three of us followed the Blood Tiger Gang martial artist into the casino.

We took an elevator only personnel could use and went straight to the top floor.

DING.

When we stepped off the elevator, a face I knew was waiting for us by the window.

“I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again in a place this bright.”

The Fifth Tiger.

Blood Tiger Gang’s fifth tiger.

He looked exactly the same as when I’d met him at The Dark Den.

A thin man with an intellectual air, wearing a clean shirt and glasses.

With his pale skin and bloodless complexion, he looked like he belonged nowhere near violence—

But in truth, he was one of Blood Tiger Gang’s top five strongest.

Staring at him, I found myself thinking that if a vampire—an extinct kind of anomaly—still existed, it might look exactly like this.

I stepped forward.

“Do you remember me?”

“Of course. There haven’t been many people lately who left a memory as vivid as yours.”

Smiling pleasantly, the Fifth Tiger greeted the other two with a glance and offered us seats.

“Please, sit. Alcohol or tea—...ah. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to drink.”

It was a joke with a barb in it.

It could’ve been nothing more than a dry quip, but it also sounded like ridicule for the goggles, helmet, and bandages hiding our faces.

This bastard?

Still obnoxious.

Shin Kangheon and Kim Bokja flared up inside, but outwardly they showed nothing and sat down.

Because I’d already told them the other side might try provoking us.

Watching the two of them closely, the Fifth Tiger asked me,

“Last time, didn’t you say you were Blue Wolves’ youngest?”

“That was a lie. I’m Blue Wolves’ leader.”

Last summer.

After the Fifth Tiger saw me fight at The Dark Den, he tried to scout me into Blood Tiger Gang, and I refused.

Back then, I’d spoken loudly enough for everyone to hear—saying I was Blue Wolves’ youngest, and the weakest among the crew.

It looked like he remembered all of it.

I didn’t think we’d meet again like this.

In less than a year, Blood Tiger Gang had expanded fast enough to stretch its influence all the way to Jeju.

And the Fifth Tiger was one of the important figures inside that expansion.

According to what I’d heard from Hwang Suksu, the Fifth Tiger was involved in most of their major businesses.

Staring at me, he smiled.

“I had a feeling. You didn’t seem like someone who could stay under another person.”

Even through the goggles, his gaze felt like it was trying to pierce me. I answered with a snort.

“And you’re not exactly a great personality yourself.”

“You’re right. There are people who don’t know that and occasionally act rude.”

“Or you purposely make the other side become rude so you can eat them.”

“......”

“.......”

I stared straight at the Fifth Tiger, who only smiled without answering.

This was what I wanted to ask.

What’s happening right now. Is it connected to you?

In my previous life, I lost my parents to Phantom Dream’s bloodbath.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say my life had been destroyed from the roots because of that.

If Blood Tiger Gang was involved with Phantom Dream...

I intended to make them pay the price.

But now wasn’t the time to move carelessly against Blood Tiger Gang.

I opened my mouth again.

“We’re both busy, so I’ll get to the point. I want to use the underground arena under this casino.”

I didn’t try to hide my purpose clumsily.

If I did, the other side would see through it immediately anyway.

As if he’d already been expecting it to some degree, the Fifth Tiger nodded.

“Hwang Suksu contacted me and said some acquaintances of his wanted to meet. I had a feeling it would be something like this. I just didn’t expect those acquaintances to be Blue Wolves....”

It was a lie.

If he truly hadn’t expected it, there was no way a Blood Tiger Gang martial artist at the entrance would’ve let us through so easily.

He’s already guessed the relationship between Hwang Suksu and us. Maybe even my identity....

But I didn’t say anything. I waited for what came next.

“As advice, sparring-gambling isn’t a hobby I’d recommend. Nothing is more dangerous to a martial artist than becoming numb to blood.”

“Coming from an unorthodox organization executive with ‘blood’ in the name, your advice isn’t very convincing.”

“Ha-ha-ha-ha—!”

For the first time, the Fifth Tiger laughed out loud, then leaned in close, narrowing the distance between us.

All he’d see reflected in my goggles was the irritation rising on my face.

“Even last time, I thought this, but... your manner of speech is quite crude.”

“Or are you looking down on me?”

“Should a tiger fear a wolf? Usually it’s the other way around.”

“This wolf bites tigers too.”

“Ha-ha! Then I’d like to see what those teeth look like.”

FWOOSH!

In an instant, a burst of energy flared.

The Fifth Tiger’s eyes sharpened as he brought his face even closer to mine.

“......”

“.......”

So close I could feel his breath.

A taut tension wrapped between us, like we’d draw swords at any second.

Shin Kangheon loosened his body very slowly, and Kim Bokja prepared herself to use a spell at any moment.

But in the end, the one who relaxed first and retreated was the Fifth Tiger.

Leaning back, he asked with a smiling face—as if he’d never been angry at all,

“The more I see you, the more interesting you are. Still not interested in Blood Tiger Gang?”

“I’m starting to get a little interested... but I don’t know if your side would welcome it.”

If you’re connected to Phantom Dream, then the direction of that interest will change.

I swallowed the rest of the thought.

The Fifth Tiger smiled brightly, as if he were enjoying this conversation.

“I’ll take that as you’ll consider it positively. It’s been a fun talk for the first time in a while, but... back to business. If I let you use the underground arena, what will you give me in return?”

I’d never expected him to hand over access without a price.

That was why, from the start, I’d brought a card he couldn’t refuse.

“Register me as a fighter in the underground arena.”

“...What?”

For the first time, surprise flickered across the Fifth Tiger’s expression.

It was something he hadn’t anticipated at all.

He knew how martial artists with pride saw underground arenas. There was no way he could accept those words easily.

“Are you serious?”

I tapped my sword a couple times, as if to show him.

“Then I’ll make it the biggest draw in history.”

At that brazen confidence, the Fifth Tiger couldn’t hold it back.

He burst into roaring laughter.