Chapter 15: Wow, Kal, You Terrifying Bastard
The Free City of Beneta was a unique place where various non-human races could be seen thanks to the protection of the dwarf lord, Dornef.
Among those races, one in particular stole the hearts and minds of n, igniting flas of desire throughout the night—the elves, the embodint of beauty.
The Blue Rose was a bar renowned for fulfilling these fantasies, staffed entirely by these enchanting elves.
“Welco to the Blue Rose.”
As soon as we parked the carriage and stepped inside, a slender woman in a white dress approached us.
‘Wow.’
Her golden hair, cascading down to her waist, shimred with every subtle movent. Through the strands, her delicate neck and collarbone peeked out, causing the rcenaries around to swallow their dry throats audibly.
She had bright blue eyes and pointed ears that stood out prominently.
‘An elf!’
My first thought was that she was the real deal—not one of those actresses or cosplay models pretending to be an elf, but a real elf.
It was surreal.
I’d never t a celebrity in person before, but I imagined eting one would feel exactly like this—a sense of awe and beauty radiating from her presence.
She was stunning.
With a graceful wave, the elf summoned a man who looked like a butler to bring us the nu. The man’s long, narrow eyes and lupine features hinted that he might be a beastman—perhaps a werewolf.
I felt a flicker of curiosity, but my attention quickly shifted the mont I opened the nu.
It was like a punch to the gut.
The sa feeling I had when I took my friends to a fancy restaurant to celebrate my first job, only to choke on the bill.
‘Damn, this place is insanely expensive.’
The Blue Rose offered different courses from the first to the fifth floor, with the fifth floor charging a minimum of 300 gold per person.
Since we were a group of six, the total ca to 1,800 gold.
Now I understood why the rcenaries had suddenly beco docile as soon as I ntioned the fifth floor.
It wasn’t a place that ordinary people could even dream of visiting.
“Which floor would you like?”
When the elf asked, Gavis puffed out his chest and proudly declared,
“The fifth floor!”
I glared at Gavis with the urge to kill him on the spot.
Should I just do it?
The audacity of this bastard, really.
But with a sigh, I nodded. I had promised, after all—and there was sothing I needed to check at the Blue Rose anyway.
A luxury establishnt filled with elves?
There had to be more to this place than ets the eye.
The elf, Nella, gave us a quick once-over. Her gaze lingered on , and she smiled knowingly.
She must have realized that I was the one paying for everything.
She was breathtakingly beautiful, but—
Why did her smile remind of a gold digger who just caught a big fish? Was I just imagining it?
All eyes were now on . I pulled out the pouch of gems and casually tossed it to Nella.
According to Gavis, entry to the Blue Rose required paynt upfront. Nella inspected the contents of the pouch, her expression briefly flickering in surprise. Did she have so skill in appraising gems?
“Do you know the value of these gems, my lord?” she asked.
“I have a rough idea.”
“Then you must realize that even after paying for the fifth floor, you’ll have a lot of change left.”
The cost for the fifth floor was 1,800 gold, which ant 2,000 gold would have been more than enough. But I had just handed over 20,000 gold in gems. No wonder she looked surprised.
Of course, I didn’t plan to spend it all here—I had other uses for it.
“Consider it a deposit. I might need to cover so extra expenses later.”
“What sort of expenses?”
“I’ll decide that as I go.”
Nella’s delicate brow furrowed slightly, as if she were sizing up. Was she trying to figure out what kind of sucker she was dealing with?
‘Well, I need insurance too.’
Sothing had been bothering throughout the journey to Beneta—a vague sense of unease.
Just then, I heard laughter from the second-floor staircase.
A group of elven won descended the stairs, their lodious giggles filling the air. Like Nella, they were dazzlingly beautiful, wearing seductive dresses that revealed enticing glimpses of their cleavage.
The rcenaries grinned like fools, enchanted by the elves’ flirtatious gestures.
‘Unbelievable.’
The mont the elves appeared, the rcenaries forgot I even existed.
Even Ben, who had been glued to my side until now, was halfway up the stairs, with two elves clinging to his arms. The dazed expression on his face suggested he wouldn’t notice if I disappeared until morning.
The rcenaries were no better.
These were my guards?
‘This has to be a joke.’
They were supposed to be watching , but their surveillance was full of holes. And yet, it didn’t seem like an act—just incompetence.
Ben, the knight, was more of a brute than a strategist. Physically, he outclassed , but in terms of psychology, he didn’t stand a chance. That must have been why Kal had assigned rcenaries to assist him—but even they were lost in the elves’ charm.
‘It’s almost like they’re giving a chance to escape.’
Kal Blazer.
He might not have been a powerhouse in terms of strength, but when it ca to strategy and manipulation, he was a masterful villain.
A man who toyed with people’s minds.
If this was so kind of test Kal had set for —
‘I need to confirm it.’
When dealing with soone like Kal, you had to doubt everything. That was why I had entrusted the gems to the beautiful elf—it was my insurance policy.
‘The Blue Rose wouldn’t steal my money.’
Even if I had to run, I could co back for it later.
I turned to Nella.
“What’s your na?”
“Nella,” she replied.
“Are you the owner of this place?”
She hesitated for a mont when I used the word ‘elf,’ then smiled brightly.
“If you an the Blue Rose, yes, I’m the owner.”
Elves were said to be born under the blessing of Yggdrasil, the world tree, which made them particularly sensitive to words and oaths. In other words, they couldn’t lie.
That’s exactly why I had used the word ‘elf.’
It forced her to answer truthfully.
When I asked if she was the owner, she confird it—but she had specifically referred to the Blue Rose.
It was a subtle, evasive answer, typical of elves.
In other words, while this place was indeed the Blue Rose, there was also more to it.
“It seems everyone else has already gone to their rooms. Aren’t you going to join them?” Nella asked.
“Looks like they really did leave behind.”
Everyone was gone, just as I had suspected.
Now I was certain—those rcenaries weren’t the real watchers.
So where was the real guard?
‘If they exist, they must be sowhere close.’
“Is there a bathroom outside?” I asked.
“A bathroom? No, just a storage room,” Nella replied, looking puzzled.
“I’ll be right back.”
I excused myself and stepped outside.
The evening breeze was chilly, a sharp contrast to the warmth inside the bar.
Since the Blue Rose was the largest bar in Beneta, the area around it was packed with storage sheds. I slipped into one of the open sheds and shut the door behind .
Once inside, I quickly relieved myself, feeling a strange sense of tension release with it. But as I struggled to pull my pants back up, I muttered under my breath,
‘Damn it.’
What the hell am I even doing?
I stood there in silence, straining my ears to catch any sound beyond the door.
The storage shed was pitch dark, and the silence was suffocating.
Then, I heard it—
Thud… Thud…
The sound of footsteps, slowly approaching the shed.
I silently prayed they would pass by. But the footsteps stopped right in front of the door.
Swallowing a curse, I flung the door open.
“……!”
A massive man stood there like a stone statue, towering over .
His expression was blank, and he didn’t seem surprised in the slightest. He calmly looked over, then glanced around the shed before asking,
“What are you doing in here?”
“Wh-Who are you? Why are you here?”
“Neighborhood Watch. I saw soone sneak in, so I followed. What’s your reason for being here?”
His tone was cold and authoritative, leaving no room for argunt.
And yet, he didn’t show any identification.
Sothing about him told that asking for proof would be a terrible idea.
A strange tension crawled over my skin.
This guy… felt stronger than Ben.
“I… I just needed to use the restroom.”
The man glanced at the wet ground where I had relieved myself, clicked his tongue, and pointed outside.
“Get lost. Unless you want to be reported as a thief.”
“……”
I hurriedly left the shed, glancing back over my shoulder—only to find that the man had vanished without a trace.
Panting, I stumbled back into the lobby of the Blue Rose and collapsed onto a nearby bench.
“Damn… Kal, you terrifying bastard.”
I had hoped I was wrong, but no—my suspicion had been correct.
I recognized it the mont I saw him.
That man was the real watcher Kal had assigned to .
What would have happened if I had tried to escape under Ben’s nose?
Kal would have suspected that I was ‘his’ pawn.
A puppet trying to break free before the alliance was sealed?
“He would have started doubting everything.”
And once that seed of doubt was planted, it wouldn’t take long for Kal to figure out that I might be the one he feared. If that happened, I wouldn’t even make it out of the city—I’d be buried without a trace.
Kal hadn’t just set Ben and the rcenaries as my watchers. He had planted another layer of surveillance to eliminate even the slightest suspicion.
Using a three-star knight as a decoy? The sheer cunning of it left speechless.
‘If a guy like him could betray his own family, who the hell could he ever trust?’
I unclenched my fists and stared at the sweat dripping from my palms.
Damn, that was terrifying.
Steadying my shaky legs, I stood up. Staying in one place for too long would only arouse more suspicion.
I slowly made my way to the center of the lobby.
There, Nella stood waiting for , wearing a curious expression.
“Did everything go smoothly?” she asked.
“Yeah. Nearly pissed myself, though.”
Nella giggled softly. “You’re quite amusing.”
“……”
“May I ask your na?”
“It’s Al.”
“Al, is it?”
She whispered my na softly, as if savoring the sound, then smiled.
“That’s a na I don’t recognize. This must be our first eting, yes?”
“You rember all your custors’ nas?”
“Of course.”
I nodded, accepting her answer without question. It seed n naturally beca more forgiving in the presence of beauty.
Nella took a step closer.
The scent she carried—was it perfu? Or her natural fragrance?
It was so alluring that it made montarily forget my earlier panic. I could now understand why the others had followed the elves so eagerly.
She gently shook the pouch of gems and spoke.
“I’ve been thinking…”
“About what?”
“Are you entrusting this pouch to for safekeeping?”
“……”
Damn. Had she picked up on my intentions? Well, it wasn’t surprising—running off suddenly like that would have looked suspicious.
“It’s about 20,000 gold. Not many people would leave such a large sum in soone else’s care out of convenience.”
“Can’t you just hold onto it? I am, after all, a fifth-floor guest.”
“I’m afraid that would be difficult.”
Her sharp intuition was starting to feel like a snake tightening around . I gave a wry smile.
“What do you want?”
“I’ll charge a storage fee—20 gold per day.”
Suddenly, the beautiful elf in front of looked more like a venomous viper.
With a calm but firm tone, Nella continued, “Every request in the Blue Rose is settled with money. Safekeeping is no exception. But in return, we guarantee full responsibility for it.”
“I see.”
“So, will you entrust it to us?”
“For now, I’ll hold off. I’m not sure how much I’ll have left.”
“What do you an by that…?”
I smiled faintly and whispered the words,
“Black Rose.”
The mont I spoke, Nella’s smile vanished.
It was ti to et the real owner of this place.
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