Episode 41: Hookclaw
I shake off the thugs and head to see “Hookclaw.”
“Hookclaw” is the overall boss of this slum, and a man I’ve been indebted to in the past.
Even if that weren’t the case, he’s one of the few doctors who treats the residents of the slums, so I’m connected to him in various ways.
So… the reason I’m going to see him is basically for Hookclaw’s medical examination and check-up, and to pay the kids’ wages.
Of course, conversation is also important.
Small talk is a valuable exchange of information… and deepening our relationship like this means I can rely on the slums if something happens to me.
I say this every time… I can freely use magic, but that doesn’t mean I’m the strongest and invincible.
Certainly, I can casually use missile-like magic to obliterate an entire city with a long-range attack! But if someone gets within striking distance, I could easily be cut down and killed.
I’m well aware of my strength, but if I were surrounded by a few warriors of Katrina’s level, the leader of the Blue Comet, I’d be killed without a doubt. Well, I have magic to counter, but there’s a chance I could still be taken down.
Katrina was originally an elite noble and a Knight of the Guard… conversely, that means my combat ability is only at the level where I’d be in serious trouble if multiple Knights of the Guard-class got within striking distance!
Knights of the Guard-class, well, they’re the cream of the crop, but there are quite a few of them, you know?
“Hookclaw,” who I’m about to meet, is one of them. He has that much skill.
So, if I fully utilize my magic, I can become an RPG-style Demon Lord, but I’m just a guy who could be killed by a group of skilled assassins, like a heroic figure.
I’m definitely not an invincible being that humans can never defeat no matter what!!!
That’s why I live modestly and build relationships with the people around me to make allies.
I may have an arrogant side, but it’s only as much as my abilities allow. I’m not doing anything criminal.
…Well, while I was thinking about that, I’ve arrived at the depths of the slums.
This is an old fort.
It was used when the northern part of this city was still the frontier of development.
Of course, it hasn’t been repaired, so it’s dilapidated from the rain and wind, and covered in moss and ivy.
Still, it’s clean inside.
“Oh, hello.” “A-u…”
Inside, quietly drinking hot water… or so it seems, are Hookclaw’s guards.
“Stone-Eye” and “Burn-Skin” were there.
As their names suggest, one is a man with stone prosthetic eyes, and the other is a mummy-like man who hides his burned and festering skin with bandages. Also, “Burn-Skin” has lost his tongue, so he can’t speak. “Stone-Eye” does the talking.
“Yo. Where’s Hookclaw?”
“The boss is in the back.”
“Got it. Oh, here, a souvenir.”
I hand over some bacon.
“Oh, thank you. This is… the smell of bacon. It looks like it’ll go well with sake.”
“Do you even drink sake?”
I’ve never seen you drink it.
“We have a little drink in the evening too. We can’t drink during the day, though.”
“Ah, you’re guards, right.”
Like One-Leg… these guys are obviously serving Hookclaw.
Probably, Hookclaw was a noble, or someone close to it.
Even after falling into the slums like this and not being able to pay decent wages, he still has several subordinates following him.
I suspect he’s related to the church, but I’m a little afraid to delve too deeply into the past. Hookclaw is incredibly strong.
“…Sensei, please don’t pry too much into that.”
“Sorry, you don’t want it known, right? But I think a lot of people have noticed.”
“It’s fine as long as it’s not widely known.”
“Well, I guess so. Then, I’ll go see Hookclaw.”
The door in the back.
Probably the office where the fort’s officer would have been.
Hookclaw is there…
“Welcome, Andrews-kun.”
Hookclaw…
A middle-aged man with long red hair.
However, he doesn’t have a beard and has a neatly groomed appearance. His cleanliness makes him look much younger than his age.
He’s been in the slums for forty years, but he still looks “middle-aged.” He’s definitely human, but is he a mixed-blood with a Long-Lived Race? Or does he have a lot of Magical Power and doesn’t age easily…?
I don’t know, but he certainly looks young.
His cool face is handsome, but his empty eyes, which don’t seem to be looking at anything, have an inhuman eeriness.
And, of course, his left arm is missing from the shoulder, replaced by a tin prosthetic arm with a “Hookclaw” attached.
“I’ve come, Hookclaw. I brought the money to give to the children.”
“Thank you for your donation. I swear to use it for the people of this slum.”
That’s right, it’s a donation in name only. On the surface.
In reality, it’s a contribution to the slums, and the amount I’m giving is far too much for the wages of the children working in the slums.
This is, of course, used as the children’s wages, but more than that, it’s like a protection fee for the slum organization.
Since I started paying this money, for some reason, semi-delinquent thugs don’t appear around my store, the area in front of my store is always clean, and for some reason, my store isn’t targeted by theft or robbery. I wonder why…?
Anyway, I’m paying the slums to create that mysterious convenient phenomenon.
I’m building a relationship with Hookclaw for that reason.
There’s also the matter of personal obligation, but more than that, it’s a business relationship… or so it seems.
Also, unlike Yakuza who fight with other organizations, Hookclaw is basically the administrator of the slums and doesn’t fight with anyone outside. In that sense, he’s like a reliable investment destination?
Also, Hookclaw’s own combat ability is attractive. He’s probably much stronger than Katrina, who I can’t beat without magic. Probably at the level of a “Free Knight” in this country, or a “General” in the East. No joke, he’s a one-man army. I definitely want someone like that on my side.
“You also give food to the children, you have a compassionate heart.”
Hookclaw smiles.
This guy, these parts of him are still priest-like. You’re not even trying to hide it, are you?
…Don’t tell me he was a former Holy Knight?
If that’s the case, I’m confident I’d be killed the moment he got within striking distance.
The Holy Knight I saw before was ridiculously strong…
“I don’t have any compassion. The meat was leftover, so I just gave it away. It’s more profitable to use it to earn points than to let it rot, right?”
I thought about various things, but for now, I replied that way.
“That’s right. Helping people also benefits oneself. There’s that aspect too.”
“Ah, let’s save the Bible lecture for another time.”
“Oh, you knew it was the Bible?”
“Universal goodness and benevolence are things that religious people would think of, right? It’s the same everywhere, really.”
“Is that so? Even the teachings of the gods of the barbarian lands?”
“The religions in those places refer to benevolence as showing compassion to subordinates against the strong. There’s no religion that teaches ‘become evil,’ the root of everything is the same.”
“You don’t have hope in the teachings of God. Yet, you believe in God. You’re an atheist, but a person who’s faithful to the teachings.”
Well… I’m Japanese, after all.
Being kind to people, not wasting food, and respecting superiors are not because “God told me to,” but purely because of “manners.”
That part of me seems to make me look like a “mysterious person who doesn’t believe in God but follows the teachings.”
“I’m a sophisticated and urban womanizer, so even if I’m not forced to follow ‘God’s teachings,’ I can maintain humility and kindness according to my own conscience.”
“That’s wonderful. But I want ordinary people to know that it’s difficult.”
“I know, I’ve seen enough of the shittiness of humans. Ah, so, today’s report and the public health of the slums…”
“Ah, I understand. The report is fine, as always, so there’s no problem, and the public health of the slums is showing signs of gradual improvement…”
Well, there are some things I don’t agree with the devout Hookclaw about, but I don’t dislike him as a person.
I want to be friends with him for a long time.