Chapter 572: Bean City

572. Bean City (1)

“Aaaah!! Damn it!!”

Name: Lysander.

Age: 27.

Job: Smuggler of the Bean City.

He was running desperately while screaming and cursing.

The reason? A horde of monsters chasing him.

“Eeeeiiiinnng!”

“Me-meat…! It’s meat!”

“H-hello. N-nice to meet you…”

For the record, the word ‘monster’ wasn’t a metaphor.

The creatures behind him, with human faces on horse bodies, could only be described as monsters.

“Damn it!!”

Lysander checked behind him while running frantically.

The monsters were imitating human speech poorly but closing the distance at an unbelievable speed.

It seemed like they couldn’t be satisfied with just Lysander’s party.

He thought he’d survive if he could outrun the others, but it was a mistake.

“Damn it!!”

Disgusted and terrified by how fast the monsters were closing in, Lysander retrieved a potion from his coat.

It was a body-enhancing potion purchased in the Bean City, designed to hugely boost physical abilities, especially running speed and stamina.

It was tasteless, expensive, and had severe side effects like terrible muscle pain and fatigue, so he avoided using it unless necessary. But this was an exceptional situation.

After all, even rolling in filth on this side of life was better than dying.

As he ran, just as he was about to drink the potion, he heard a sound—much closer than before.

It was an unsettling noise that seemed to mix a human voice with a horse’s neighing.

“H-hello? C-could you please stop?”

In just a moment while Lysander was trying to drink the potion, one of the monsters with a human face was already right behind him.

Its speed surpassed that of both humans and horses.

Startled by the sudden situation, Lysander not only dropped the potion but also tripped and fell forward due to inertia.

It was a ridiculously comedic situation. At that moment, Lysander witnessed something even more surreal than the comedy in front of him.

In this forsaken place, where the only proper city was the Bean City, he saw a flashy, polished car approaching for the first time in his life.

That tough curve, the impenetrable armor, the roar of an engine like a hundred horses. Everything about it was beautiful, but the most striking feature was the Gatling gun sticking out of the bonnet.

Ten long black barrels were grouped together in a cylinder. The Gatling gun started rotating and then began spitting fire.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat━━━!!

It unleashed fierce heat and loud roars all around.

As soon as the noise hit, Lysander, who was briefly airborne, rolled onto the ground, and the monster that had been chasing him was torn to shreds by hundreds of bullets.

But it wasn’t over yet.

The beautiful yet terrifying vehicle performed a drift that bordered on acrobatics, barely avoiding Lysander.

Then, it showered the dozens of monsters that were following with a barrage of bullets, halting their charge, and then opened a mortar mounted on its rear to launch a bomb.

Boom!!

As the sound of the shot echoed, red flames burst forth, and the horses screamed in their disturbing voices, either falling down or retreating in flames.

It all happened in an instant, a situation that felt dreamlike or surreal.

However, Lysander, feeling pain throughout his body, realized that this was indeed reality. He quickly grabbed his scattered belongings.

Click.

As soon as he picked up his things, he heard a door open and instinctively looked up, intending to express his gratitude with a smile.

“Thank you for sav-”

But as soon as he saw the face of the person who opened the door, that feeling vanished.

“Not getting in?”

“Damn it, Ewan?”

“Nice to see you too.”

Even though he had just been in a near-death situation, Lysander showed clear hostility, while Ewan, seated at the back, reluctantly greeted him.

***

Vrooooom!

On a red field dotted with reddish-green grass,

a heavy, armored-like luxury car moved alone, raising a cloud of dust.

The car looked out of place in the abandoned countryside, but the contrast was less glaring when compared to its interior.

After all, inside the car were a debtor who didn’t intend to repay, the creditor whose life had just been saved, and Oliver.

“…”

“…”

“…”

All three of them were silent for different reasons at that moment.

Lysander was silent, wondering what kind of mess he was in.

Ewan was regretting saving him.

Oliver was silent because he had no particular thoughts.

Fortunately, the silence didn’t last long.

“Are you okay?”

Oliver, who was in the driver’s seat, spoke to Lysander through the rearview mirror.

He personally wanted to turn around and ask directly, but it was safer to just use the mirror while driving.

Despite the awkward, chaotic situation, Lysander politely responded to Oliver’s question.

“Oh… I’m sorry. You saved me, and I didn’t even thank you. Thank you for saving my life.”

“I’m glad you’re okay. My name is Dave.”

When Oliver introduced himself, Lysander did the same.

“My name is Lysander. I’m a traveling merchant from the Bean City. Thank you again for saving my life.”

Despite being dazed, Lysander calmed himself while expressing his thanks.

He then, with some curiosity, tried to observe Oliver’s face through the rearview mirror. However, Ewan interrupted the moment.

“Why didn’t you thank me? I kindly opened the door to help you, didn’t I?”

Lysander turned his head sharply, his face twisted in irritation at Ewan’s childish tone.

If his contorted face could be exaggerated just a little more, it would look even more terrifying than the monsters he saw earlier.

“You helped me?”

“Of course. Didn’t you notice I opened the door?”

Ewan, who had swindled 4 billion from Lysander with a worthless collateral and then bolted, shamelessly replied.

“Weren’t you forced to help because of Mr. Dave?”

“Why would I have such awful intentions?!”

“Because you could get rid of the debt you owe me!”

“Damn it! You’re sharp! Bingo!!”

With rising voices, Ewan screamed and admitted it.

Although he didn’t try to deny it until the end, he could be considered honest, but, for Lysander, that didn’t matter. Feeling anger, frustration, and stress, he covered his face with both hands.

“Ugh… I really want to punch you.”

“Would you care to have something to eat or drink?”

Oliver offered a bottle of water and a Calorie Bar (chocolate flavor) to Lysander, whose face was flushed with anger.

Although Oliver’s posture was awkward as he had to look forward while driving, Lysander immediately took the water and Calorie Bar.

“What’s this?”

“You must be thirsty and hungry. Please, have some.”

Overwhelmed by Oliver’s unexpected generosity, Lysander felt touched and expressed his gratitude again.

“…Thank you. It’s surprising someone like you travels with Ewan.”

“It’s no trouble, as I can afford to help. And Mr. Ewan followed me to help out. I should thank him instead.”

“Yeah. Ahem!”

“I really want to hit him.”

Ewan crossed his arms and snorted. After Lysander said his piece, he ate the water and Calorie Bar.

Feeling his hunger and thirst satisfied, and relaxing with the sweetness, Lysander’s emotions calmed down compared to earlier.

Oliver took the opportunity to ask a question.

“What were those things chasing you earlier? The horses with human faces?”

“Ah… They don’t have a specific name; we just call them Man-Faced Horses. They’re one of the monsters that appear around the Cursed Land.”

“Cursed Land?”

“I guess you’re not from around here. It’s a literal place near here called the Cursed Land. It’s between the Bean City and Ibernia. I’m not sure why it’s cursed, but monsters appear there, and if you stay too long, you get sick.”

Oliver’s answer sparked a new question in Oliver’s mind.

“Why did you go to such a dangerous place?”

“To make money.”

Lysander answered as if it was obvious, patting the sack clutched tightly to his chest.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a type of Greedy Bag. The blinking and closing eye confirmed it.

“There’s a food shortage in the Bean City right now.”

“Food shortage?”

“Yes. The city is in such a crappy state that it’s terrible at self-sufficiency.”

Lysander politely yet thoroughly explained everything to Oliver, who had saved his life, as if this was the most polite thing he could do.

“The area around the Bean City is too barren for proper farming. The city itself is teeming with pirates, black mages, and refugees.”

“Is the Bean City always short of food?”

“No, it’s not always like that. The pirates and smugglers usually supply enough food, so we’re not rich, but we don’t usually suffer from a shortage.”

“Then why is it happening now?”

Lysander scratched his chin as if uncertain how to reply.

“Well… There’s something about a sea monster appearing and sinking ships. So, most are docked at the moment except a few.”

“Did you go through that place to get food?”

“That’s close. I went mainly for sugar and alcohol.”

“What?”

“When there’s a food shortage, luxury items like sugar and alcohol also become scarce, and their prices can skyrocket several times over… As I said, I went to make money.”

As Ewan said, Lysander was obsessed with money, unapologetically so.

Ewan interrupted again.

“Pathetic. Dealing in just sugar and alcohol? I can’t believe you were once an ambitious young man.”

“I wouldn’t be doing this if you hadn’t swallowed my 4 billion yuan seed money and run away!!”

“Hearing this makes me so angry I can’t stand it! You gave me that money because you wanted my product as collateral, right? You lent me money I couldn’t repay just to get your hands on the collateral!”

“Damn it! How conveniently you forgot to mention that the collateral was a defective product?!”

And so it was. The reason Lysander had lent Ewan the seed money he had spent his youth building was because of Ewan’s black magic item. Ewan had scammed him by handing over his failed product as collateral and then fled.

“Thinking about it again makes me want to kill you…!”

Lysander, who lost the seed money he had dedicated his youth to build, and was now scraping by as a peddler, spoke with genuine murderous intent. But Ewan, unwilling to back down, snapped back.

“Go ahead and try. I’ll cry like a baby!”

It was a truly chaotic moment when Oliver asked Lysander another question.

He needed to understand the situation as best as possible to act accordingly.

“Besides the food shortage, is there anything else unusual happening in the Bean City?”

It was a particularly suspicious question to ask for someone who wasn’t even from the Bean City, let alone the surrounding area.

However, Lysander, who owed Oliver his life, revealed everything he knew.

“Monsters are appearing more frequently in the Cursed Land, and there’s something off about the cults in the area. That’s actually another reason for the food shortage.”

“You mean the Swan Sect?”

“Oh? Do you know about them? They’re pretty well-known here, but not so much elsewhere.”

“I happened to encounter them before… What’s unsettling about them?”

“I don’t know the details. Knowing too little is dangerous, but knowing too much is also risky… I just heard that there’s been a change among their top members. It feels dangerous.”

The leadership of the Swan Sect.

Oliver didn’t know much about them, but he instinctively felt they were connected to the prince candidates.

Just like Lysander said, it sounded dangerous.

The return of the sea monsters thought to have disappeared, the Swan Sect moving from Ibernia to Gallos, and countless black mages running rampant.

Ever since Oliver returned from the New Continent, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the world was becoming more chaotic.

“…Do you mind if I ask you something?”

Lysander spoke cautiously. He had been patient and answered Oliver’s questions faithfully for this very moment.

“Yes, of course.”

“It seems you have some important business in the Bean City, especially since you’re relying on someone like Ewan for help.”

“Harsh words.”

“Why are you going to the Bean City? Is it okay if I know? This might be a matter of my own survival.”

Lysander’s sincerity was evident, and Oliver understood.

He had heard that the Bean City was the only place people could live around here.

Being driven out from there would mean a struggle to survive. There was only so much cooperation Lysander could offer, even to someone who saved his life.

Oliver considered this point and answered honestly.

“I want to meet Captain Hook.”

“…I’m more shocked than I thought and don’t know how to react.”

“Do you know about Captain Hook?”

“Of course I do. He’s a famous black mage and pirate in the Bean City. Why do you want to meet him?”

Oliver hesitated briefly, wondering whether it would be better to tell the truth or keep it secret for a while.

I’m planning to meet Captain Hook to rescue my friend kidnapped by Fan, a Finger of the Black Hand… It seemed better to go with secrecy for now.

“If I explained, it would take a long time… Do you know how to meet him?”

Lysander shook his head.

“No… He’s not someone I could arrange a meeting with. He’s a big shot in the Bean City.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, he’s very influential in the black magic faction within the Bean City, and equally influential among the pirates… He’s quite self-centered, so it’s hard for ordinary people in the Bean City to meet him. Besides, he’s probably at sea right now.”

“So there’s no way to meet him at all?”

Lysander scratched his chin again, looking troubled.

“Well… There might be a way. Jack could possibly call him. He’s the mayor of the Bean City.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes… The problem is, Jack is also not someone I can arrange a meeting with. The best I could do is help you sneak into the Bean City through a hidden entrance.”

Despite his surprise, Lysander didn’t forget Oliver’s help and showed his intention to assist in any way he could.

It was a surprising reaction for someone involved in smuggling in a city of black magicians, but Oliver knew it was precisely because of the dangerous environment that Lysander was acting this way.

In these circles, it was even more dangerous if you didn’t make things clear. Naturally, Oliver didn’t mind Lysander’s attitude.

With that in mind, Oliver pondered ways that could satisfy everyone.

“Lysander. Mr. Ewan owes you 4 billion, correct?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve heard there’s a bounty on Mr. Ewan in the Bean City. Do you know how much it is?”

“20 billion for capture, 40 billion if captured alive.”

“I must be deeply disliked. What did I even do to deserve that?”

Ewan muttered, shocked by the enormous bounty.

Oliver was equally impressed.

“That’s impressive… So if we reported him, Mayor Jack might take an interest?”

Both Lysander and Ewan looked at Oliver with wide eyes.