Chapter 77: Chapter 74: We Reject No One, So Take Nothing From Us
After convincing them that the restaurant would be ready soon, Sakujiro and Taka were about to leave after Raymond tossed Taka's pouch to him.
Still...
After getting his hand on his pouch, the kid furiously opened it and counted his coins immediately.
Sakujiro watched the scene in silence, his expression unreadable.
Raymond chuckled lightly, then turned to Sakujiro with a serious tone.
"Old man, have you ever been through a war?"
"..."
Raymond's question hung in the air, and Sakujiro's silence confirmed his suspicions.
Raymond could see the signs in Sakujiro's weathered hands in the way he carried himself with quiet strength.
It was clear that Sakujiro had seen his fair share of battles.
The lines etched on Sakujiro's face hinted at the weight of past regrets, fears, and frustrations.
Yet, amidst it all, there was a glimmer of something else—a longing.
"Phew... Looks like you're off the hook," Taka interjected before Sakujiro could respond.
Raymond chuckled at Taka's sudden change in tone, finding it amusing how quickly the kid spoke as if he had forgiven him despite his earlier anxiety.
Sakujiro shook his head in amusement at Taka's antics, then turned his back as the boy dashed off.
"Hurry up, Grandpa! I want to buy some bread from your stall..."
"I'm not that old yet, you little rascal," Sakujiro muttered to himself with a frown, shaking his head at Taka's impatience.
Luke chuckled at the kid as he shouted, "Don't forget that you're our employee now."
"Ha! Like you'll ever actually build a restaurant!"
Taka responded with a middle finger.
Luke laughed heartily, finding the boy's audacity amusing, "That kid sure has some spirit."
Meanwhile, Sakujiro quietly made his way off, drawing the attention of the others. They watched him leave in silence.
"...War, huh?"
Sakujiro mumbled to himself, his voice heavy with memories. He shook his head, his expression pained.
"I've never been through a war. Those were not wars at all..."
His words trailed off as he turned away, his footsteps echoing softly against the ground. The weight of his past seemed to hang heavily upon him.
With a clenched fist and a distant look in his eyes, Sakujiro muttered under his breath, "...Those were just senseless massacres..."
Meanwhile, deep within a thick forest bustling with greenery, a group of people huddled together.
"So, the traces led to this place, Shalnark?"
Asked the group's leader, a man in a black suit with a tattoo on his forehead and peculiar orb-shaped earrings.
Shalnark, distinguished by his blond hair and bright green eyes, wore a lavender outfit.
He looked at his handheld electronic devices before responding, "I can't say for certain. If we had her stuff here, I could confirm it."
On the sidelines, the burliest member of the group, sporting an impressive afro, abruptly rose to his feet, his fist clenched tightly.
"Then let's take these guys out!"
"Uvogin, chill out," A shorter man clad in dark, loose-fitting attire, a skull-crested bandana covering his mouth, urged Uvogin to calm himself.
"Hah! Feitan, itching for a brawl, huh!? How am I supposed to calm down!" Uvogin shot back, his own gaze burning with fury.
"I said, calm the fuck down, or they might slip away, damn it!"
Feitan countered, his eyes ablaze with intense bloodlust.
A young woman with disheveled pink hair and a petite build shook her head, paying little heed to the quarreling group.
She turned to the man in the black suit and inquired, "What to do now..."
"...Chrollo?"
Chrollo was deep in thought before he rose from his seat and addressed her, "Machi, could you fetch some of her belongings from the old man? He'll likely comply if it's you asking."
"Alright, but I can't promise since the old man is a stubborn one," Machi replied with a nod.
"Hold on, are we seriously heading back already? Seems like a waste after coming all this way," a man clad in a traditional Japanese robe and shorts piped up, scratching his head and gesturing toward Chrollo.
"I'm with Nobunaga on this one. Turning back now feels like a stretch," Another burly figure spoke up, his face marred by numerous scars and his mouth crudely sewn shut.
"...Dumbass," Machi muttered under her breath, causing Nobunaga to turn sharply towards her with his voice rising, "What did you just say?"
"..."
Machi ignored Nobunaga, which provoked Nobunaga further as he clenched his fists, ready to confront her.
"Hey, ease up, Nobunaga," Franklin intervened, trying to defuse the situation.
"Seriously? You're not backing me up, Franklin?"
Nobunaga shot back, ready to throw a hand at Franklin as well.
"Come on, Chrollo, let's just do it now. Since when do we need to care about whether they truly did it or not?"
Uvogin interrupted, voicing his impatience, a sentiment shared by the rest of the group.
"...It's--"
Before Chrollo could respond, the sound of approaching footsteps caught their attention. They turned to see two individuals approaching.
"Hmm? Outsiders!"
The eyes of the newcomers glowed scarlet, their sudden hostility evident.
Chrollo's gaze hardened at the sight.
"Hey, who the hell are you? Get out of this place!"
One of them spoke with hostility as they slowly approached the group.
"...Freaking dead meat!"
Feitan cursed and prepared himself to attack.
But before he could, someone else acted.
"...!"
The group watched in surprise as the sound of a sharp wind filled the air.
Two heads suddenly went flying, landing with a thud, revealing Chrollo standing behind them.
Though these two seemed intent on driving them out, Chrollo sensed intense bloodlust from them.
It made him suspect they might be involved in the incident.
He wore a cold expression as he held a knife, turning to the group. "...It's important for me to know if the Kurta clan was responsible."
"Why should we care?"
Uvogin grumbled once again.
Chrollo's response was firm, "Because I can't let them die a simple death like this if it was them who did it..."
Machi's eyes trembled slightly, understanding Chrollo's sentiment.
The rest of the group grasped the situation.
Considering her importance to Chrollo, it was only right that he would be the most enraged among them.
"Machi will go back on her own, as she always did," Chrollo continued.
He then turned to the direction where the two people had come from, "...We'll be waiting around here."
His eyes turned icy, and the atmosphere grew tense as he muttered to himself, "We reject no one, so take nothing from us..."
---
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