Episode 2 of the Overly Competent Villain

King of the South

“For your well-being.”

The bosses who are getting tired of pure white. They pondered over the word ‘goodbye’ spoken by Jacques Pietro.

hi? It won’t be a greeting. It was never like that.

‘You’re trying to kill us?!’

Does it mean their eternal well-being?

– Hiccup! Hiccup! off!

David held his breath and covered his mouth in an unstoppable hiccup.

“Mr. David. Grab a glass.”

“No, turn it off! It’s okay…! Hiccup!”

“listen.”

David instinctively raised his glass, not even thinking about it. When Jacques drank, he tilted the glass sharply, not knowing what he was doing.

Red wine spilled on his expensive suit, but he didn’t have time to care. I just gulped down with a sense of duty to empty the wine.

“Oops. Your suit is dirty. Are you okay?”

“It’s okay! It’s okay!”

“It should.”

Will you? What do you mean? David’s pupils shook like crazy.

“Pi, Pietro!”

In the end, a boss who could not stand it took the lead. However, what came back was not Zach’s answer, but an index finger placed at the corner of his mouth.

“Raise your voice. Don’t raise your voice. A gentleman can convince his opponent with a quiet voice. A hound is enough to make it loud.”

Zach, who quietly overpowered him without raising his voice the slightest bit, ignored the muffled voice and started talking about himself.

“Three hours ago, Tyler this guy called me. The gentlemen here are having a fun party.”

“Oh, you misunderstood!”

When Zach’s gaze shifted to David, who inadvertently responded loudly, he spoke again in a dying voice.

“You misunderstood…”

“I see. I want to believe that too.”

The bosses stared at the executives of the Luciano and Forgore families who stood behind Jacques’ back like bodyguards.

‘Damn you bastards! You tricked us!’

‘I was attached to Jacques Pietro from the beginning!’

They must have leaked the location and content of the meeting. He was captured by Jacques Pietro.

But when? Where in the world did he enlist the officials of the Triad Circle?

“I understand why you all gathered here. It must have been an annoyance. The presence of an outsider. And you must have thought it an opportunity. A chance to make a lot of money.”

Zach’s gaze turned to Angelo, the executive of the Nicola Family. And the bosses who were trying to make a lot of money in concert with Angelo also felt their hearts sink.

“When the Nicola family disappears, there’s a vacancy in the drug rights. I understand the ambition to fill that vacancy.”

Could it be that Jacques Pietro intends to monopolize drug distribution rights on behalf of the Nicolas family? But that was then.

A woman wearing a mask outside… A knight-class mercenary who annihilated Kachitori with Zach. Luisa Heiney brought a large orb.

“What is this?”

David casually asked a question, but Luisa did not answer, placing the crystal in the middle of the table.

“Shall we begin?”

“Please.”

Then Louisa manipulated the crystal. Inside the crystal ball for long-distance communication, a skinny and bear-like body is reflected. And there–

“I-over there!”

Angelo jumped up. However, his reflexes are soon overpowered by gang members behind him pressing down on his shoulders.

Angelo couldn’t hide his displeasure when the Circle’s gang members, who were his subordinates, touched him, but he flinched when Zach’s gaze reached him.

“Um, where is that?”

When the bosses guessed the place inside the crystal ball, Zach responded kindly.

“It’s a storehouse of the Nicola family’s opium. Enough opium to turn the entire South into a junkie’s world.”

also.

Items to be smuggled out of the port and a large amount of opium stockpiled in the warehouse by the Nicola family who lost their farm.

Jacques Pietro had already taken control of the opium storehouse.

That much opium fell into Zach’s hands. The bosses sighed, lamenting the wealth that opium would bring.

“It’s nice to make money. I don’t mind committing crimes to earn big money.”

Zach snapped his fingers. Then, beyond the crystal ball, Skinny and Gehrig move and begin pouring gasoline into the storehouse of opium.

“What, what are you doing…!”

Angelo rose to his feet once again, but a gun pointed at the back of his head forced him to sit down. Soon, the storehouse of opium catches fire and begins to burn.

“ah······.”

The sight of wealth and honor scattered in futility. It was the moment when opium, worth tens of millions of guliks at a cigar, disintegrated into the air.

“There was a criminal I admired. He was an honorable and loyal criminal. He was also respected by the locals.”

Zach spoke calmly.

“But as we all know, criminals are not worthy of respect. Everyone has their own dark side.”

“He hated drugs. He told me not to touch the drug business.”

“I thought it was crocodile tears. I thought it was hypocrisy. We kill people easily and use violence. But what’s so different about medicine? So there’s no need to cover the means.”

It was one winter that changed my mind.

“It was a cold, harsh winter to the bone. There, naked zombies… Yes, I saw a woman walking around like a ghoul. Well, she was naked in that cold winter?”

“Ah~ It wasn’t that there wasn’t a single thread. A baby wrapped in a cloth was tied in a place where the backbone was clearly visible. A baby who didn’t make a sound of breathing.”

“······It would have been better if there wasn’t even a single thread.”

Why are you talking about that? To convince the bosses? Or to suppress your own desires?

You never know. But one thing was certain.

It would be rare to see the notorious criminal who built an underworld empire so blatantly hate crime.

He said, pointing to the burning opium in the visual sphere.

“That plunges you into abyss and makes you ugly. It takes away even the last dignity you have as a human being. It’s really… a wicked poison.”

Zach looked at the crowd watching him in a still state, as if he had stopped breathing. I read the fear flowing from them.

“There hasn’t been any trust built between you and me yet. So I understand that you are suspicious and want to fight back. But you guys should know too.”

What if I cross the line I set?

Before he could finish his words, Angelo and the boss of the Carlo family who had captured him were arrested and dragged away.

“Now, wait a minute! Wait a minute, Pietro!”

“Save me! Please! Just once!!”

The two screamed in agony, but Zach didn’t even look at them.

“Your organizations will be watched and tested by my men. And even if the ‘A’ of Opium comes out, they’ll experience what they’re going through today. There won’t be a second time.”

No one had the courage to dispute the unilateral declaration.

* * * *

After it was revealed that the triad circle had a secret ledger to blackmail the southern high-ranking officials and landlords, Salvatore Salviati, the mayor of Lombardy, who had been behind them, declared a break with the circle.

The Circle, which had a ledger to stab them in the back, was disgusted because it was Jacques Pietro who was trying to hit them.

‘Jacques Pietro. The 10 Most Wanted Criminals of the Empire.’

It’s kind of a legend.

One of the strongest military groups in the Empire. One by one, those who survived the terror of the Imperial Knights, teeming with high-ranking knights close to sword masters.

After the promising imperial officer turned terrorist, nothing about his actions came as a surprise.

He is a legend, a myth, and a man with untouchable notoriety.

Since the beginning of the empire’s history, it’s almost as if such a great villain has existed across all continents.

“Good coffee.”

Mayor Salvatore couldn’t believe that such a legendary criminal was right in front of him.

“Is it from Zaitu or the New Kingdom? A trade embargo must have been imposed on them too, so you did a good job finding it.”

“I know you well.”

“Tea time is a gentleman’s virtue.”

Jacques Pietro grinned as he elegantly drank the coffee served by Mayor Salvatore.

“Are the remnants of Kachitori doing well?”

“The search is having difficulties because they are knights and semi-knights. However, thanks to the cooperation of the Investigation Bureau, many procedures were skipped.”

“If you need anything more, ask Deputy Director Rickert Bergman. He will help you.”

As soon as he came to the South, he roasted and boiled the deputy director of the Central Bureau of Investigation who was chasing him. This alone proves the skill of Jacques Pietro.

Mayor Salvatore thought he was good at refusing to cooperate when Kachitori’s deputy commander, Carl Hauser, asked for help.

In the end, the winner was Jacques Pietro.

Even if they come back now, Pietro’s power, which has been strengthened, will not tolerate invasion.

The problem was the secret ledger that Zach had…

‘On the one hand, I’m sorry. It would have been optimal if Kachitori had won and dealt with Pietro.’

If so, Mayor Salvatore would have mobilized the Public Security Agency to subdue Kachitori and attempt to recover the ledger.

However, as long as Kachitori is completely defeated, Pietro’s expansion of power cannot be prevented.

“Good idea.”

“Hmm? What…”

Mayor Salvatore paused at Jacques’ words without context.

“For not giving my information to Karl Hauser.”

Creepy, I got goosebumps. Could it be that people have already been planted around me?

“Don’t get me wrong. There’s no way the guy who came to hunt me didn’t approach the mayor. hahahahaha.”

It was evasive, but no one knew if it was true. Mayor Salvatore felt it was more likely to be false given Jacques’ meticulousness.

However, if it is not the person himself, it is a bad idea to question him without evidence.

“Belief is always a problem, Mr. Salviati. Insufficient or excessive.”

“… It seems there is a misunderstanding. The reason why I didn’t inform you of the visit of Lieutenant Commander Kachitori is—”

“I’m not trying to blame you. I would have done the same. You shouldn’t bet carelessly until the winner is decided.”

Whoa, Mayor Salvatore let out a sigh of relief.

Even though he knew it was his responsibility to show it to his opponent, he couldn’t stop being relieved that he “survived” because he knew who he was.

“Several gangs tried to distribute drugs without my permission. I didn’t intervene, but there were others who tried to raise weight classes against me. The former paid a decent penalty, the latter paid a slightly higher fee.”

then.

What kind of penalty will be imposed on him who did not help even though he knew about the return of Kachitori.

Mayor Salvatore had no choice but to wait for Jacques’ verdict with a trembling heart.

“What do you want?”

“I know that Salviati has a big cruise ship? The Santa Lucia.”

“It’s owned by the city government… It’s a cruise ship that circumnavigates southern cities.”

“But can we hold a party on the boat to travel the beautiful southern seas?”

“Okay.”

Mayor Salvatore cautiously inquired about Jacques’ intention to hold a party on board the ferry.

“What are you trying to do?”

“We should declare victory and hold a party to celebrate. Of course, it would be great if the Southerners who had been trading with the Triad Circle would participate.”

Whoa, Mayor Salvatore resigned himself after grasping Zach’s intentions.

The winner of the war had to publicize his victory by passing through the Arc de Triomphe.

And it will be an opportunity to build a solid wall before the true mastermind of the Triad Circle, the provincial governor Pasha, returns.

“Okay. The ship is yours for now.”

A new king has been born in the South.

* * * *

Conquest of the South is over.

The triad circle was dismantled as the bosses were captured one after another, and the judges and kachitori sent by the society behind them were either killed or arrested.

A few small gangs tried to form new circles of their own, but well, that’s cute enough.

‘Now it’s time to step out of the South.’

[already? Isn’t there still a lot to do?]

‘That’s why I prefer point organizations. Even if you don’t pay attention, let it roll on its own. Most of all, I’ve been in one place too long.’

I don’t stay in places like Bondi for more than a week. To avoid being noticed by enemies pursuing me.

That’s my rule as a survivor. However, there are several reasons why I have stayed with so much effort.

First, to obtain information from Elysia von Wittenberg and Janssen von Wittenberg.

Second, to secure a maritime route for smuggling in the Southern Red Sea.

The last third is–

──────

The eyes flicker. A flickering yellow light shimmered softly.

Villain’s welcome. A warning from soul magic that activates when at least one person is watching me. The direction the light warns is behind my back.

“hmm······.”

someone is behind my back

‘Osman.’

[No. There’s no one behind your back but······.]

Soul magic does not lie. There is no doubt that something is watching me from stealth.

“Don’t hide, why don’t you come out?”

Calling intruders in a low voice. They are the only ones who will come looking for me at this point.

“Surprised. When did you notice?”

At that moment, the black butterfly shimmered and eventually transformed into the shape of a woman.

A tight-fitting office lady. Her black hair with a purple tint and her purple eyes twinkled.

[oh my god······.]

purple witch.

The highest-ranking judge of the ‘Death’ that drove the stars to catastrophe.

“Professor Charha.”

She is the messenger of the evil spirit that drove the stars to catastrophe.