Bad Born Blood - Chapter 165



Only Noblemtl

165

Anguis Regina’s manager changed frequently. He was recently fired, leaving the current manager position vacant.

‘The reason for the dismissal is the whim of Anguise Regina.’

However, it seemed that he maintained a smooth relationship with the manager who fired him, without any ill feelings.

I went to see each of Anguis Regina’s managers.

“Anguise Regina? She didn’t come to me. If you ask what our relationship is… … She’s my former manager, lover, and friend? Sometimes she calls me to her mansion because she’s lonely. She’s a pitiful girl in many ways. Would you like some cigarettes?”

A woman, her face covered in luminous pigments, spoke as she smoked a cigarette. On her lap sat a cat whose fur sparkled in rainbow colours.

I blithely declined her offer of a cigarette. I was reminded of Ilay for no reason.

“I’m a non-smoker.”

“It’s funny how you say you don’t smoke when you have such a gloomy expression on your face like you drink, smoke, or do drugs.”

The woman giggled. She was a former psychologist. Perhaps that’s why she worked the longest among the managers. It was only a year, after all.

Angus Regina’s managers each had a unique background: a gangster, a therapist, a chef, a former soldier, and more.

I observed the woman’s words and actions. She is not lying.

“Does it often happen that you leave your workplace like this without telling the company?”

“They often break off contact and act like this. Most of the time, it’s the Equsians who come looking for them, and very occasionally, private investigators like you come looking for Anguise Regina.”

The private investigator must be referring to the Archie’s Victima user hired by Jafar. It seemed like they too had been searching for Anguish Regina, just like me.

“Because of stress from work? If I keep doing this, I’ll probably quit my job and run away someday.”

“That’s not it. Angus Regina isn’t that kind of reckless girl. She takes her work seriously. She’s a professional with a sense of duty. Her schedule will probably be free for a while. Even if you don’t look for her, she’ll come back at the right time.”

“You’re a former psychologist? You must have heard about Angus Regina’s worries often.”

The woman took a deep drag on her cigarette, her cheeks hollowing out as she smiled. Soon, smoke was pouring into my face.

“That kid only has superficial relationships and never talks about deep things in his heart. He doesn’t even open up to people he has a physical relationship with. The most he tells others is about what to eat for dinner.”

“You must have been close for a year. You don’t have any clues?”

“How can I see into the inner self of someone who doesn’t open up to me and who doesn’t have superpowers?”

The woman snapped back coldly. That’s right. I said something stupid too.

“If you happen to find Anguis Regina, contact me.”

I said that as I left her house. I didn’t say that with any particular expectations.

The other managers were also generally friendly to Anguise Regina. Some were even hostile to me and kept quiet.

Of course, there was no manager who was so close to the point of keeping quiet in the face of violence. It was literally a ‘superficial relationship’. There was no one who would take risks to protect Anguise Regina.

bang!

I kicked the bed while visiting the home of a former military manager. Underneath it were a woman’s underwear.

The underwear had a faint scent of Anguise Regina. It may sound a little strange. I’m talking about the scent of Anguise Regina’s perfume and cosmetics.

“If you don’t have a hobby of cross-dressing, this kind of thing wouldn’t exist.”

My manager, who was a former soldier, sighed after seeing my demonstration of force.

“He said he wanted to see the sea. There’s a port east of Border City, so go there. He left here half a day ago.”

“Nothing special? Like marriage or something like that.”

“marriage?”

“No, okay, it’s okay.”

“Oh, I said something like that. I heard that when you were young, your dream was to become an astronaut. I think you used to say that you were a doctor… … You change your words every time you meet.”

After hearing the story, I continued moving.

I got out on the road and caught a two-wheeled taxi. It wasn’t far to the eastern port, but the traffic was not good, so it took about thirty minutes. I thought several times that it would be faster if I ran.

The road network of Border City was a mess due to severe overdevelopment, and there were few roads that could accommodate large vehicles. As a result, small vehicles and two-wheeled vehicles were often used for logistics movement. It was a city where it was difficult to find even a speck of efficiency.

I wandered around the harbor and watched the waves crashing against the shore. There were logistics workers coming and going at the wharf located inside the cape.

The pungent air coming from across the sea feels unfamiliar.

‘ocean.’

I didn’t know that I could see the ocean like this. In the Accresia Empire, there weren’t many places to see even lakes. What’s more, the horizon was something I only saw in photos and videos.

‘It’s bigger than I thought.’

The eastern port of Border City was large in scale. It was a bustling area with a lot of logistics movement.

‘If we gather the testimonies, Anguise Regina is a complex woman.’

If Anguis Regina had just run off without a plan, I would have been at a loss. Border City is a big city. It’s hard to find people without satellite vision or surveillance systems.

But Angus Regina moved, scattering suitable clues.

‘Marriage, Astronaut.’

These are the words that Angus Regina spat out to each of the two managers she had slept with. When you put these two words together, a building emerges.

I arrived at a high-rise building built on a coastal cliff. It was a building that housed the offices of several travel agencies. One of them was called ‘Honeyspace’.

Honeyspace operates an orbital hotel outside the atmosphere, and is said to be a popular honeymoon destination for the wealthy.

As expected from a building exclusively for travel agencies, the view was excellent. This must be the reason why the building was built on a coastal cliff.

The view from the entrance of the building was clear and the sea was clearly visible. The view from the rooftop would be amazing.

I looked at the information board in the lobby and checked the structure of the building. The rooftop of the building was a garden. It seemed to be used as a separate banquet space on special days. I saw a sign saying that they also accept wedding reservations.

Rattle, rattle.

I went up to the rooftop garden via the emergency stairs.

‘It’s rusty and old.’

The entrance to the rooftop garden was different from what I had expected. It seemed like it had been years since it had been properly maintained. The door was wobbly, even the lock and hinges were damaged.

The flowers and trees that appeared on the signboard advertisement posters were nowhere to be found. Instead, messy clutter and shoes were often seen. It seemed to have been abandoned for a long time.

The roof of the building was not a garden, but a desolate ruin.

“Anguise Regina?”

I said as I looked at the woman sitting on the rooftop bench. She looked at the horizon and then looked back at me.

Even though his identity was hidden by his hat and mask, traces of Anguise Regina were visible. His eyes were excessively sparkly and glossy.

“… … You found me in two days. That’s the shortest record.”

Anguis Regina said, pulling down her mask. Her skin was abnormally white, as if she had undergone meticulous cosmetic procedures, and her lips were a pinkish color that looked like they had been painted.

“Because I’m somewhat competent.”

I said, leaning my shoulder against the doorframe.

As expected, Angus Regina left clues intentionally. And she also knew that Jafar had hired a ‘new detective’.

“Now that I know your abilities, go back. Tell Jafar that you will return when the time comes to be active.”

“Jafar told me to find you and bring you back. That’s my job.”

“I just want to have some time for myself, away from the interference of my evil employer. Just close your eyes once in a while, and good things will happen later.”

Anguise Regina smiled seductively. I know that kind of sales smile well. It reminds me of Martina Diva. Of course, there was no old woman inside Anguise Regina. She was a real young lady with a living body.

I didn’t move rashly.

‘Anguise Regina is taking off her shoes.’

She was sitting on a bench with her feet bare. And if she took two steps from there, she would fall down. There was a safety railing, but it was only about waist-high, so she could easily jump over it.

‘It looks like this place is a suicide spot.’

Abandoned clothes and shoes caught my eye earlier. Some of the railings were broken. Below, the sea cliffs were connected, so the waves would swallow the bodies.

“No matter how much I think about it, I have to take you here right now. I have a deal with Jafar.”

“Do you know what Jafar does to me? Jafar is a horrible monster. He abuses me… … .”

Anguish Regina said with a frown. Her hands and feet were shaking slightly.

But I just laughed it off. That reaction was all an act.

“You’re making me laugh. Don’t lie. You and I just met for the first time. You don’t open up to people who have been with you for a long time. If you were a woman who would easily tell others about the abuse, even the managers would have noticed. Even Jafar didn’t force you into restraints or plant a tracking device on you, even though you disappeared without a word several times. This is the real truth.”

I poured out my words and put my hands inside my coat as if crossing my arms.

Ssuk.

Anguise Regina stood up from the bench. She glanced down the building and then looked in my direction.

“… … It’s a little different from the people who have come so far. Listen, this is between Jafar and me. You don’t have to interfere. So if you don’t want to see my dead body, get out. I can really jump, I’m not joking.”

I laughed. She blurted out such venomous words with such a calmness that her bright smile paled.

“I know you’re a person who could commit suicide. You jumped from the 19th floor of an apartment building, trusting only one unreliable man. Do you think that it’s okay to die if the situation arises? I understand a hundred, a thousand times. I also often roll over with such thoughts. Life is a series of bad things, and the world is depressing.”

At my words, Angus Regina opened her eyes slightly wide. Her pupils sparkled excessively, as if they contained starlight.

“I can understand. If you understand… … .”

Anguish Regina’s words sounded long and drawn out.

I opened my eyes and accelerated my thinking. If I ran with all my might from here, would I be able to catch Anguish Regina? It seemed possible. But I wasn’t sure.

‘If Anguish Regina falls off a cliff, can you save her?’

I don’t know how rough the bottom of the cliff is. If I’m unlucky, I could die.

Here I recalled Kinuan’s advice.

‘If you keep adding impurities, your decision-making becomes slower. The more things you have to protect and situations you have to avoid, the more inefficient your thinking becomes. You have to go around and around, leaving the fastest answer. This doesn’t work, that doesn’t work either.’

There’s no need to go around in circles for the fastest answer.

… … Angus Regina is not my girlfriend or my family. She is a complete stranger. So there is no reason for me to risk my life for her.

Keying.

My retina display worked.

-Non-lethal mode, race human, walker incapacitated.

Setting up the auto-tracking pistol was easy. It found its aim automatically.

Creak.

I moved my finger inside my coat and pulled the trigger. There were two shots that pierced the coat.

Blood burst from both of Anguis Regina’s knees. Her knees, which had lost their grip, buckled and bent in bizarre directions.

dump.

Anguish Regina sat down right there.

“ah…….”

Angus Regina’s awareness was late. It seemed like this was the first time she had experienced this kind of violence. She probably wouldn’t even feel pain now.

She tried to stand up, but then she fell down like an idiot. Her expression slowly distorted as she saw her own wobbly knees. It was a sincere expression, not a pretense or an act, and tears began to well up in her eyes.

“You said earlier, right? That I look different from anyone you’ve ever met. That’s right. I’m different from anyone you’ve ever met. I’ll never do what you want.”

I approached, pulling out my automatic pistol from inside my coat. The hem of my coat swung and the cartridges fell out.

… … A beat later, Anguise Regina’s scream followed. As expected of a woman who sings and dances, her voice was very loud.