Chapter 158

The Back-Alley Mage’s Return – Chapter 158

Chapter 158. Evil Must Be Punished

Intrigued by the escalating drama, I moved closer to the partially unlatched doorway.

I made sure to give a comforting gesture to the shop staff member nearby, who was trembling like a leaf.

‘Hush.’

Fortunately, he caught on. Keeping his fingers tightly intertwined, the worker gave a stiff nod, his complexion completely drained of color.

Meanwhile, the tense exchange between Ransi and that arrogant “Pai-something” fellow—no, the aristocratic bully—was reaching a fever pitch.

“Oh, so we’re talking about that lowborn brat named Chenbi? The one attempting to crash the young master’s natal day celebration?”

“That is information I am not permitted to disclose.”

Though Ransi refused to validate his probing, the brute simply snorted with self-satisfied amusement, confident he had deduced the truth anyway.

The sheer arrogance dripping from his tongue was remarkable.

“Lady Gamo truly possesses an overly merciful heart. To invite a filthy, common street-rat to the young master’s personal festival, of all things.”

“He is a valued companion of the young master. I must ask you to mind your language.”

“Oh, naturally, naturally. Forgive me. I merely find it tragic, really. This is the grand gala of Great House Brando’s heir—what place does a peasant have there? It drags the prestige of the entire event straight through the mud.”

Wow. So this was the quintessential highborn delinquent in the flesh.

I had listened to plenty of rumors, but I never expected to encounter such a textbook specimen.

It was almost impressive—as if every obnoxious, entitled trait of a noble house rascal had been compressed into a single individual.

Yet, the bully’s insolence showed no signs of stopping.

“Come now, Ransi—let me have a look at him. Who knows? If he amuses me, I might toss him a few coins. Word on the street is his entire household has crawled under the wing of Brando, correct?”

“…Young Lord Paijin.”

“Drag him out here. Oh, and doesn’t that peasant have a younger sister? I certainly hope she is pleasing to look at…”

“You are crossing a line.”

A profound frost coated Ransi’s already frigid tone.

The atmosphere in the room plummeted instantly, turning so oppressive that even I, observing from the other side of the threshold, could feel the sudden weight in the air.

But in response to that chilling warning, a sudden burst of laughter erupted.

“Haha—ha, hahaha!”

Had he completely lost his mind?

The brute bellowed with laughter so forcefully it seemed to rattle the very walls of the establishment, only to cut the sound off instantly, plunging the room into a suffocating silence.

An instant later, a sharp voice shattered the quiet.

“What did you just claim? That I crossed a line?”

“……”

“Haha, Ransi. Truly, it has been ages since I enjoyed such a laugh. So, my words were excessive? And you believe you have the authority to instruct me?”

“If my conduct has caused offense, you have my regrets.”

“Indeed, you ought to regret it. Naturally. However… let us be entirely clear.”

The violent outburst exploded a second later.

Smash!

“Aaaah!”

The sound of shattering glass was immediately followed by a terrified shriek. Simultaneously, the bully’s roar thundered through the boutique.

“To hell with all of this! Dammit—fine! You all think I am some kind of joke, don’t you? Some nobody tries to obstruct me and now this? Ha! Excellent, I have gone too far, you say? Is that it?”

“…Young Lord Paijin.”

“What is it, Lady Ransi? Am I overstepping again? Well, since I am already misbehaving, I might as well smash this entire miserable shop to pieces!”

The moment the words left his mouth, he began destroying every piece of merchandise within arm’s reach.

How long did his childish rampage persist?

Slowly, the sounds of destruction began to taper off, until the only remaining noise in the devastated room was the heavy, ragged panting of the aristocratic brute.

“Lady Ransi. No—just Ransi. You are suffering from a massive delusion. Do you mind if I enlighten you?”

“…Speak.”

“Occasionally, when one keeps domesticated beasts, they begin to misunderstand their station. They foolishly believe that their master’s authority belongs to them. Am I wrong?”

“Dimensions…”

“Attending to greatness does not transform a mongrel into a human being. Yet, I see a stray standing right before me that genuinely believes it is a person. So, what is the proper recourse?”

“……”

“You are clueless, aren’t you? I am equally uncertain. After all, if you strike the hound, the owner becomes displeased. But one cannot simply tolerate its insolence forever…”

Perfect. I had heard enough to make my choice.

Without waiting another second, I threw my weight against the unlatched door and strode into the room.

Thud!

“Eeeek!”

Propelled by a heavy kick, the wooden partition slammed violently against the wall, creating a deafening crack.

While the boutique staff shrieked in sheer terror—

“Well, well. What do we have here?”

“…Aster-nim.”

“Aster? Ha—don’t tell me this is that lowlife drifter from the Black and White Zone?”

I locked my gaze onto the elite bully, who was snickering as though the situation were utterly preposterous.

I had no idea who this guy was. Considering Ransi’s inability to firmly put him in his place and her clear distress, he undoubtedly possessed considerable political backing.

But at this precise moment, his pedigree meant absolutely nothing to me.

There was only a single rule to follow.

‘Evil must be punished.’

“Ah—so this is the creature. I had heard the young master favored you, which piqued my curiosity, but I never anticipated crossing paths with you under these circumstances. A pleasure. I am Paijin von Tulk. Heir to House Tulk, a loyal vassal family subordinate to Brando—”

I offered a perfectly polite, dismissive apology to the noble who had marched right up to my face.

“My apologies.”

“…?”

“I tripped.”

I swept my leg across the floorboards and drove a swift kick forward—

A sharp, solid impact cracked through the room.

“…Gah!”

The force of the blow lifted the noble completely off his feet before gravity took over, sending him crashing heavily to the ground.

As he lay sprawled on his spine, gasping desperately for oxygen—“kh-hk, ugh”—I wore a bright smile and surveyed the surrounding audience.

Surely everyone was marveling at the swift administration of righteousness.

“Eeeek!”

“Ah!”

In reality, the onlookers were so utterly paralyzed with shock they couldn’t even form words.

[……Aster-nim!]

Ransi projected my name directly to me—sounding incredibly relieved, in a way.

Granted, not every single person present was thrilled by this development.

“You absolute lunatic…!”

Ah. It seemed an objection had arrived.

The voice belonged to the bully’s personal guardian knight.

This particular enabler of wickedness had failed to protect his charge during that split-second movement, and he was now bellowing in belated panic as he lunged toward me. But who did he think he was dealing with?

I am a righteous Troubleshooter.

“Are you unaware of my identity?”

“…What?”

When the minion of malice hesitated at my highly authoritative declaration, I beamed and clarified my status.

“Ah, I happen to be a dear companion of Demian, the young heir of the Great House Brando.”

“……”

“Furthermore, Demian and I share a bond so profound that we have pledged to divide all our worldly possessions. And yet, you dare bare your blade against me?”

Can you handle it…

“Can you withstand this righteous judgment?”

Having completely frozen the minion with a few words, Aster immediately pivoted and directed his focus back onto Paijin.

“Are you doing alright? My deepest regrets about that. I simply lost my footing.”

“You miserable cur…! Do you possess any inkling of who I am—!”

Bellowing in sheer fury at the sudden physical assault, Paijin writhed on the floor, attempting to push himself up. Unfortunately for him, that was a terrible tactical decision.

“Whenever I get startled, my lower limbs tend to spasm.”

“What are you talking ab—…Gah!”

Aster dropped squarely onto Paijin’s spine, driving his elbow downward with pinpoint accuracy!

The entire momentum of the descent slammed into the middle of the noble’s back, instantly expelling all the air from his lungs and rendering him utterly incapable of speech.

‘Th-this… this madman…!’

What kind of absurd nightmare had he stumbled into?!

He was the prominent heir of House Tulk.

One of the prestigious seven vassal lineages serving the glory of Brando!

The sole legitimate successor destined to command that lineage, a proud aristocrat who viewed no one as his superior save for those sharing Brando’s direct blood—

“Oh, are you holding up alright? Forgive me. It seems my foot slipped a second time.”

Faced with such an incredibly shameless inquiry, Paijin ground his teeth together in silent rage.

‘How dare he… a mere guttersnipe from the Black and White Zone.’

Even so, he apparently possessed just enough survival instinct to avoid voicing that particular sentiment aloud.

He focused entirely on stabilizing his erratic breathing, forcing down his immense hatred for this insect of a drifter for the time being.

However, Aster, in his capacity as a dedicated Troubleshooter, was an expert at detecting the subtle stench of malice.

“Ahem. My mistake. Allow me to assist you to your feet.”

“Do not touch me—”

“Come now, don’t be like that. How could I possibly leave you there?”

Paijin felt the icy grip of terror as Aster grabbed him firmly by the collar and hoisted him upright by force.

Without having had a proper chance to recover his breath, the abrupt movement caused his vision to swim violently, as though he were on the verge of fainting.

But the ordeal was far from over.

“Oops, my fingers lost their grip.”

“Oof!”

Aster released him without warning, causing Paijin to smash face-first into the hard flooring.

Through sheer willpower, Paijin somehow managed to push himself back up into a standing position.

Yet, the humiliation continued to mount.

“It was completely accidental, so surely someone as noble as you can look past it, right?”

“What kind of dog—”

“A dog? Did you say dog? Perhaps I am the one operating under a massive misunderstanding. Allow me to offer you a piece of advice in return.”

Staring at that smug, upturned face, Paijin’s eyes twitched with unbridled fury.

This was a reality he absolutely refused to tolerate.

He, the distinguished young master of Great House Tulk, was being physically brutalized by a wretched vagabond from the Black and White Zone, reduced to groveling on the floorboards while a crowd of peasants watched?

An intense, murderous craving welled up within him.

Seeing his master’s plight, the guardian knight who had been frozen in indecision finally took a step forward.

“…Did you claim your name is Aster-nim? Regardless of your connection to Young Lord Demian, I cannot permit this disrespect to continue.”

As a sworn protector of House Tulk, he could no longer stand idly by while his young lord was degraded in such a fashion.

In response, Aster let out a sharp burst of laughter—“Ha!”

“You cannot permit it? Truly? And what exactly do you intend to do about it?”

“…I will strike you down.”

“‘Strike me down,’ my foot—you absolute clown! Stop standin’ there and seize this bastard, force him to his knees right n—…Ack!”

“Good grief, you talk too much.”

Aster’s knuckles buried themselves deep into Paijin’s midsection.

This time, he didn’t even bother fabricating a clumsy excuse.

As the guardian knight instinctively reached for the hilt of his weapon at the sight, Aster’s calm voice cut through the tension.

“Look here, pal, entering and exiting this shop is entirely free, sure. But your precious master is currently within my grasp, understand? Do you honestly believe your blade is quicker than my fingers?”

“Ugh… you absolute piece of filth, I will sl—…Gah!”

“Seriously, I explicitly instructed you to remain silent. Understand? Hey, protector-guy, are you truly that fast?”

The warrior representing House Tulk found himself utterly paralyzed.

Before he could even register the movement, his adversary had clamped a vice-like grip around Paijin’s throat.

If he attempted a strike, he might be able to sever the hand before it crushed the noble’s windpipe—but the risk was far too catastrophic to test.

What if his draw was a fraction of a second too slow?

What if Paijin’s life was extinguished as a direct consequence of his gamble?

Very few martial artists in the world were willing to wager their lord’s survival on a whim, and the vanguard of House Tulk was no exception.

With the knight effectively neutralized and silenced, Aster calmly adjusted his gaze downward toward the wheezing, suffocating form of Paijin.

It didn’t take long for Aster to speak.

“Hey. What was that nonsense you were spouting about a ‘commoner,’ exactly?”

“Gah… khh.”

“What about Chenbi’s household? What about his younger sister? And what was that about a ‘miserable hound’ and whatever else? Listen, you piece of garbage. No matter how vile you are, bringing someone’s family into your filth is crossing a line. Am I right?”

“Y-you… mark my words, you will never survive the consequences of—”

“Never survive? Why? Are you going to personally execute me?”

“Even the young lord… will be powerless… to shield you… from this blasphemy…”

As Paijin struggled to wheeze out his threats, Aster simply released a mocking scoff.

“Wow, genuinely hilarious. Tell me—do you honestly believe I am behaving this way because I am relying on my friend’s influence? Sure, I suppose that plays a small role in it. It does, but…”

Paijin was fundamentally miscalculating the situation.

Aster was not an individual who initiated a conflict because he possessed a safety net.

When preparation was required, he was ruthlessly meticulous, arranging every piece on the board beforehand—but the moment he initiated physical action, he relied entirely on his own strength.

“Very well. From this exact moment, I am going to grant you an opportunity.”

“Don’t give me… that garbage—ugh.”

Paijin, who had been attempting to sneer, instantly lost his voice.

He found himself pinned beneath a pair of transparent, piercing eyes. Deep within those pupils, he caught a terrifying glimpse of absolute vacancy.

It wasn’t an expression of lethal intent, nor was it malice—it was a void completely devoid of human warmth.

Those eyes resembled cold, inanimate glass.

While Paijin remained paralyzed by the unsettling sight—

Aster broke into a wide grin and hollered at the top of his lungs, summoning everyone nearby.

“Attention, everyone! Our esteemed guest from House Tulk has a public statement to make! Everyone, gather around the main lobby right now!”

As his booming shout resonated into every corner of the tailoring establishment, the workers who had been hiding in fear began to slowly creep out into the main foyer, hesitating with every step.

Even Ransi, entirely dumbfounded by the chaotic progression of events, could do nothing but watch the unfolding spectacle with wide eyes.

Once a sizable audience had assembled within the open space—

Aster leaned down and murmured softly against Paijin’s ear.

“It is time for your grand exhibition.”

An exhibition?

“Acknowledge every single one of your transgressions before this crowd and seek redemption. This is the solitary lifeline I intend to throw you.”

“What… do you mean—Gah!”

The moment Paijin attempted to argue—

Aster drove a sharp kick into his lower leg once more.

“I didn’t authorize any inquiries.”

“…Young Lord!”

The protector from House Tulk made a desperate motion to intervene, but he froze instantly when Aster’s voice rang out like an absolute command.

“Do not. Advance another step.”

“……”

“From this second onward, until our young master concludes his public exhibition, absolutely no one alters their position. Is that clear?”

Predictably, no one dared to offer a vocal response.

Only Ransi, her gaze filled with deep apprehension, communicated her distress.

[Aster-nim, what on earth are you planning…]

[I am simply executing justice.]

And with that, the mandatory “exhibition” of Paijin, the young heir of House Tulk, commenced.