Roppongi was more alive at night than during the day.
Sure, the dayti had its energy too—thanks to the concentration of big corporations—but traditionally, the true liveliness of this area began after dark, especially with its abundance of entertainnt venues.
Su-ho strolled the streets at a leisurely pace, taking in the sights of Roppongi.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve been in Japan.’
He didn’t particularly like Japan.
Was it because of nationalistic sentint?
No.
It was for a purely personal reason.
That reason was Suzuki Endo.
Su-ho pulled up the Player Board and checked the Grand Chart rankings in Japan.
‘Third place, huh.’
Suzuki Endo was currently ranked third.
And before long, she’d take the number one spot.
Not that Su-ho was in a rush to counter her.
No. He didn’t even intend to.
He already had everything prepared to deal with the witch.
‘And honestly, even if I hadn’t prepared anything... compared to how I am now...’
Preparation or not—he could just cut her down. That was it.
So there was no rush.
In fact, Su-ho was hoping she’d climb higher.
The higher she went, the more satisfying it would be to knock her down.
Su-ho began walking through the nightlife district.
That’s when hosts from various businesses—cabarets, karaoke bars, adult venues—started trying to pull him in.
“Hey bro, co to our place!”
“We’ll treat you right, man!”
“No cover charge if you co in now!”
More hosts than usual latched onto Su-ho.
It was no wonder.
The face Su-ho had changed into had the perfect "easy mark" vibe.
After browsing for a bit, Su-ho ended up following the most thuggish-looking host into a place.
The establishnt was called Kuyokuyo.
It was a bar where custors booked private rooms to drink. As soon as Su-ho sat down, a seasoned madam ca over and began explaining the services.
Su-ho pretended not to understand Japanese very well.
But still, he made sure to say things like, “I’ll leave it to you,” and “Go with whatever you recomnd.”
Maybe that’s why the madam’s smile stretched all the way to her ears.
Soon, the drinks ca out, and Su-ho spent an hour or two casually chatting with the hostess.
It was all aningless small talk.
Su-ho told one-off lies, and the hostess kept up her sales smile while secretly dumping her drinks.
As the bottles began to empty, Su-ho pretended to be drunk and slumped forward onto the table.
Seeing this, the hostess checked on his condition, then quietly called over a male staff mber.
“What’s up?”
“This guy’s totally out. He’s not even flinching when I shake him. He’s done.”
“Yeah? How much did he drink?”
“Four beers, two bottles of whiskey, one side dish.”
“That’s a lot for such a short ti.”
“I dumped a lot of it. Probably got rid of a whole bottle of whiskey, actually.”
“Nice job.”
“I even did a little performance. He said he was a tourist from Korea. Total moron.”
“Got it. He’s not an Awakened, right?”
“Nope. Judging by our talk, just a normal guy.”
“Okay, I’ll start the process.”
“You know I get 20% of this table’s total, right?”
“Heh, of course.”
I can hear everything, you bastards.
Su-ho kept pretending to be passed out until they finished setting up the scam, then slowly lifted his head as if regaining consciousness.
The hostess greeted him with a smile.
“Oh, you’re awake?”
“Mm... I must’ve dozed off. I should get going. Can I get the check?”
“Yes, of course.”
As if waiting for it, she handed him the bill.
And of course, the mont he saw it—it was ridiculous.
Su-ho narrowed his eyes.
“There must be a mistake here. Seven bottles of whiskey?”
“Oh dear, sir. You drank all of that.”
“You’re saying I had eighteen beers, seven bottles of whiskey, four dishes, and hired a band?”
“Yes.”
She said it with a straight face, without even blinking.
Unbelievable.
That places like this still existed, making money with these kinds of scams.
Even if the world flipped upside down, thugs would still be thugs.
Su-ho smiled sweetly and asked her,
“What was your na again?”
“Asako.”
“Right, Asako. Well, I’m not paying this bill, so bring a proper one.”
“Then I’ll call the manager.”
Asako left with a polite smile and soon returned with the manager.
Of course, the manager didn’t co alone.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
He arrived with a group of unmistakably yakuza-looking thugs.
Seeing them, Su-ho chuckled.
Yeah.
Took you long enough.
Do you know how long I waited just to see you?
The manager, flanked by yakuza, asked Su-ho,
“I hear there was a problem with the bill, sir?”
“Yes, a big one. I didn’t drink nearly that much, so bring a real receipt.”
“A real receipt?”
At Su-ho’s polite response, one of the yakuza suddenly cut in.
He scrunched his face into a classic thug’s scowl and growled at Su-ho.
“Hey! If you drank, you pay. What’s with the attitude, huh? Who the hell are you?”
But Su-ho didn’t back down.
“I’m saying I’ll pay what I actually drank. I didn’t even hear any live music. You don’t think charging for a band is a little much?”
“What did you say? This son of a—!”
One of the yakuza couldn’t take it anymore and stord toward Su-ho.
At that mont, Su-ho kicked the table, slamming it into the thug’s thigh.
“Gah!”
“What the fuck?!”
“What the hell are you trying to pull?!”
The one who took the hit collapsed backward, clearly hurt.
The ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) others imdiately flared up, and Su-ho slowly stood up as he asked,
“Any of you Awakened?”
“Kill him!”
“Ha... what a bunch of brainless idiots.”
And that’s why I appreciate it.
You lot have no sense of reason.
Su-ho imdiately activated Magic Detection to assess their condition.
As expected, every one of them was an Awakened.
But their levels were pathetic—not even close to a real threat.
Still, they were tougher than regular civilians. Which explained why they’d chosen to be yakuza in the first place.
Su-ho grabbed an empty bottle and smashed it over one thug’s head as they charged at him, then swung at the next.
Bottles shattered, but Su-ho didn’t care in the slightest.
A normal person would have suffered serious injuries—but these punks were Awakened.
Which ant it was totally fine to bash their heads with real liquor bottles, not sugar-made movie props.
After exchanging a few blows, Su-ho successfully took down every yakuza in the room.
At that point, the manager’s face turned pale.
Su-ho looked at him and said,
“Co here.”
“Hiiik!”
The manager flinched and tried to run.
But before he could grab the doorknob, Su-ho threw one of the almonds from the appetizer plate—it struck and embedded itself right into the doorknob.
Seeing the almond stuck in the tal, the manager froze in place.
“I’m not saying it three tis. Co here.”
“Y-Yes, sir...”
Finally, the manager timidly approached.
Su-ho made him kneel and began questioning him slowly.
“Your na.”
“G-Gendo.”
“Don’t stutter. It’s already a foreign language—I’m having a hard enough ti keeping up.”
“Ah, understood.”
“I said don’t stutter.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Alright, Gendo. What yakuza group are you with?”
“We’re under Ishinawa.”
“Ishinawa?”
Where the hell is that?
Never heard of it.
Su-ho furrowed his brow.
“A sub-organization?”
“Yes. We’re under Inagawa.”
Inagawa.
Hearing that na, Su-ho smiled.
‘Looks like I ca to the right place.’
Su-ho nodded.
“So, now what? You guys tried to rip off and beat up. If I didn’t have any strength, you’d have robbed blind and kicked my ass too. So I think I deserve a proper compensation, don’t you?”
“T-That’s...”
“You can’t pay?”
“That’s not sothing I can decide at my level...”
“If you can’t handle it, why are you wearing a manager badge?”
“Th-that’s...”
“Hey.”
“Y-Yes?”
“I told you not to stutter.”
“S-sorry!”
“Too late.”
CRACK!!
“Gaaahhhh!!”
Su-ho stomped on his thigh and practically shattered it.
The man rolled on the ground, screaming in pain. Su-ho casually picked up a bottle and poured liquor over him.
“If the manager can’t compensate , then soone higher up needs to co out. Tell them to send soone above you.”
With that, Su-ho sat back down.
He snacked on what was left of the appetizers as he waited.
Before long, mbers of the Ishinawa group flooded into the room.
At the front was Tsukuryo, Ishinawa’s enforcer, scowling deeply.
“And who the hell are you?”
“A scam victim.”
“What?”
“And who are you?”
“I’m Tsukuryo of Ishinawa. I heard you’re a Joseon-jin, but you sure seem confident in your strength, huh?”
“Haa...”
Su-ho closed his eyes and sighed.
Then slowly opened them and said,
“Tsukuryo, or whatever—don’t care about your na. What’s your rank?”
“You little shit, how dare you—Kill him!”
“Yeah!”
They really were incapable of conversation.
Su-ho crushed every thug Tsukuryo had brought with him.
This ti, he decided to add a little flair—each ti he took one down, he struck their pressure points.
The mont their pressure points were hit, they let out blood-curdling screams, until eventually only Tsukuryo was left.
Su-ho picked up a leftover bottle and asked him again,
“I’ll ask one more ti. What’s your rank?”
“I’m Ishinawa’s enforcer.”
“See? Wasn’t that easy to say from the start? Now then, I’ll give you one last chance—how about compensating for the trouble now?”
“Chikshou! You think I’d do that?”
Good. Thanks.
It would’ve been awkward if you suddenly pulled out your wallet and tried to make things right.
Su-ho swiftly subdued the charging thug and struck his paralysis point.
To be fair, Tsukuryo was the strongest among the bunch—he didn’t get that title playing cards.
‘Still, sa trash, different pile.’
Su-ho sat the paralyzed Tsukuryo down and pulled the phone out of his jacket.
He placed it in his limp hand and said,
“You said you’re under Inagawa, right? There’s an old saying: if the child sses up, the adult takes responsibility. So call them. If the punk ssed up, the boss has to handle it.”
“Chikshou...”
“Yeah, yeah. Enough with the cursing. I said call them.”
“Screw you!!”
“Still refusing?”
“GAAAAHHHH!!”
Su-ho began breaking his fingers, one by one.
After seven were broken, Tsukuryo finally caved and connected the call to the highest-ranking Inagawa contact in his phone.
At last, a voice ca through the receiver.
– Who is this?
“Are you an executive from Inagawa?”
– ...Who are you? Why do you have Tsukuryo’s phone?
“This is Kuyokuyo, a bar in Roppongi. Your guys tried to scam , and when that didn’t work, they tried to rough up. And now they’re refusing to pay compensation. So you’re going to co down here and sort this out. If you don’t, I’ll level both Ishinawa and Inagawa.”
– What? Hahahaha! Alright. I’ll be right over.
“Make sure it’s soone who can take responsibility. I don’t want to keep calling people.”
With that, the call ended.
Su-ho slipped the phone back into Tsukuryo’s jacket...
Then broke the remaining three fingers.
“GAAAHHHHH!!”
“Next ti, don’t use the word ‘Joseon-jin.’ Not unless you plan on living without fingers.”
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