Chapter 11: Is This the Power of Public Authority?
Bang!
The moment Kael kicked the door open without warning, Tommy and Jack's jaws dropped.
Seriously, why on earth would anyone kick open a perfectly fine door?
The commotion drew the attention of everyone inside the restaurant toward Kael and his group.
With his hands shoved into his pockets and a delinquent smirk on his face, Kael sauntered inside.
‘Looks exactly like a thug.’
Luke observed Kael and thought to himself.
Kael's every movement right now—his behavior, attitude, speech, expression, the way he walked—everything about him was delinquent.
Like a textbook example of what a street punk should look like.
‘And to think someone like that is the Guard Commander.’
Luke had dealt with all sorts of lowlifes in the city of Nox firsthand, but this particular type was something else entirely.
At first, he had assumed the man was simply another idiot who threw his weight around because of his position.
But—
‘……That sword was not something a common street thug could wield.’
Even now, when he closed his eyes, the image still lingered. Like something out of a dream.
Setting the bet aside, it had been a flawless single strike—the kind that would captivate anyone who walked the path of the sword.
And yet, the man who had unleashed that perfect sword—
‘……Was strutting around like that.’
It was beyond disheartening. It was downright depressing.
"What is this, a place with customers walking in and nobody comes out to greet them?"
Luke knew he was in no position to say something like that himself, but…… Well, honestly, it was a little embarrassing.
And he wasn't the only one who felt that way.
[……Could you please just stop?]
‘What should I stop? Did I say anything wrong?’
A guest had arrived, and not a single soul had come out to greet them?
First impressions: fail. What happened next would be the real test.
Right at that moment—
"Who the hell are you people!"
With a booming voice, a group of heavyset, bulky men began thundering down the stairs.
The hulking figures charged over, glaring at Kael and the others.
"You little bastards……what do you think you're doing, causing a scene here?"
"Here? It's a restaurant. We came to eat. Is there a problem with that?"
Kael tilted his head to one side. His completely unfazed attitude was what actually caught the brutes off guard.
‘……What's wrong with this guy? Is he out of his mind?’
This place was disguised as a restaurant, but it was actually a trading post—one that dealt in stolen goods and illegal contraband smuggled in from other countries. There probably wasn't a soul in Nox who didn't know that.
And yet this guy had the nerve to say he was here to eat?
"How about you show us to a table? And step back a bit, you smell."
"……Well, I'll be damned. Never met a lunatic quite like this before."
The brute let out a hollow laugh and reached toward Kael. His intention was just to intimidate him enough to throw him out.
The size difference was obvious—just grabbing him by the shoulder should be more than enough to subdue him.
But that was a grave miscalculation.
The instant the brute reached out toward Kael—
Whoosh!
Kael snatched the brute's wrist in an instant, yanked him forward hard, and swept his leg out at the same time.
A hip throw.
Commonly known as an osotogari.
The brute went crashing down in an ungainly heap before he could even react.
Thud!
"Oh dear, the floor must be pretty slippery, huh? Should've kept the place cleaner."
A brief silence followed.
Then the brutes charged at Kael all at once.
Without flinching, Kael took a single step back and said—
"Luke."
"……Haah."
Luke let out a deep sigh, as though he had seen this coming, and stepped forward.
"Keep it moderate, will you."
"……That was already my intention."
Luke shot back bluntly, drew his sword, and began swinging it—sheath and all.
Thwack thwack thwack!
His expression said he couldn't be more annoyed, but the results were undeniable. With nothing but efficient, minimal movements, Luke's sword struck every vital point with precision.
With each swing, the brutes crumpled like autumn leaves in the wind.
The situation was resolved in an instant.
‘……Seriously strong.’
Kael thought, watching from behind.
On the outside he looked like your average alcoholic, but Luke's skills were the real deal.
A swell of pride rose in him. To have gotten such a capable Lackey right from day 1.
And on top of that—
‘Is this the power of public authority?’
He was causing a scene on someone else's premises, and there was no one coming to stop him.
Because—
‘I'm the Guard Commander.’
The taste of power, felt for the very first time, was remarkably sweet.
With a satisfied smile, Kael strolled through the chaos and settled himself at the largest table.
"Mind bringing a menu? I'm starving."
He felt like his stomach was practically touching his spine.
* * *
"……What? Someone's here?"
Dining, the manager of The Course and a Bipolar executive, furrowed his brow.
He had just been informed by one of his subordinates. A troublesome customer had shown up and was causing a scene.
It was the kind of thing that happened occasionally, given the nature of the establishment. Of course, each time it did, appropriate measures were taken, so it never escalated into anything serious.
But today, the situation was a little different.
"……They're all wiped out?"
Apparently, that customer had taken down every single one of his men.
Every last staff member stationed in the restaurant.
How was that even possible?
Dining's frown deepened. In all his time managing The Course, this had never happened once.
‘By the book, the right move would be to request backup from the organization……’
But doing that would clearly deal a serious blow to his reputation.
He'd be marked as someone who couldn't handle a single troublesome customer—and people would start doubting his competence.
In a criminal organization, results were everything.
Below him, wolves were always waiting, biding their time for a chance to take his seat.
"……Should I send a request for backup?"
"No, wait. Let me go see them myself first."
Dining rose from his seat and straightened his clothes.
Handling unexpected situations like this was part of a manager's job, after all.
Having steeled himself, Dining stepped out of the manager's office.
But when he actually saw the scene, he was so dumbfounded he couldn't find words.
‘……What are these people?’
A young man with sharp, menacing eyes was lounging in a chair with his feet propped up on the table, whistling to himself.
His vibe, his posture, his expression—every single element was delinquent and defiant.
Dining was momentarily taken aback, but quickly composed himself.
"Ahem! Pleased to meet you. I am Dining, the manager of The Course."
He greeted them with what he considered reasonable courtesy, but Kael just blinked and stared at Dining without any reaction whatsoever.
"……Excuse me, sir?"
"Did you come to take my order?"
"……I apologize, but our restaurant operates by reservation only. We ask that you visit again another time."
"Reservation only?"
Kael smirked.
"Bring the list."
"……Pardon?"
"I said bring the list. Since you're reservation only, bring it over."
Kael knew exactly what kind of place this was.
A trading post for prohibited goods, disguised as a restaurant.
The list of reserved guests was also a list of people purchasing prohibited items.
"……I'm sorry, but that would be against our establishment's policy."
"Oh? If that's your policy, then so be it. Either way, I'm not leaving until my food comes out, so deal with it."
"If you continue being this unreasonable, we will have no choice but to call the Guard."
"Oh, I'm the Guard Commander."
Kael reached into his pocket and pulled something out.
It bore a crest of an intertwined silver sword and golden wings—the symbol of the Empire, and proof of a commanding officer's rank.
"……"
Dining's pupils trembled.
Because of the delinquent attitude and threatening eyes, he hadn't noticed—but looking again now, the man was wearing Guard attire.
‘This thing……is the Guard Commander……?’
The words surged all the way up his throat, but he couldn't bring himself to let them out.
"Now that you've got the picture, how about you hurry up and bring the food? I hear the meals here are something special."
"……"
Only then did Dining understand.
That Kael had come here knowing everything.
"……I will have it prepared immediately."
Forcing down the emotion threatening to spill out, Dining bowed at the waist.
Shortly after, food began arriving at the table, one dish at a time.
Even at a glance, they were clearly upscale dishes.
Herb and wine-marinated venison, steak, meat pie, and more—a proper feast unlike anything they had seen before.
Steam rose from the freshly served dishes, filling the air with an irresistible aroma.
Tommy and Jack, staring at the food that completely covered the table, were half out of their minds.
"Go ahead and eat."
"U-us, sir……?"
"Yeah, you must be pretty hungry. Go on, don't be shy."
Kael encouraged them with a warm smile, but neither of them could bring themselves to move.
Hungry—yes, they were. But……
‘……How are we supposed to know what they put in this?’
This wasn't an ordinary restaurant. At the end of the day, it was a ‘prohibited goods trading post’ dressed up as one.
They had just caused a scene here—would the food they served actually be safe?
……There was no way to be sure.
A sudden wave of anxiety hit them. Just as Tommy and Jack were awkwardly trying to decline—
"I said eat. Now."
The smile vanished from Kael's face. The 2 of them realized that what Kael had said wasn't an invitation but an order, and with tears held back, they began forcing the food down.
Chew chew chew!
It had gone in with reluctance and tears, but—
"……Mmph!"
It was a taste so sublime it made their eyes fly wide open.
They had only ever eaten things that could barely be called food—so tasting something properly prepared like this, tears came on their own.
Luke and Kael, who had been watching the 2 of them with pitying looks, picked up their spoons as well.
And the verdict after tasting the food—
‘Not bad.’
It was no comparison to the modern cuisine from Earth, but within this world, it was without question the best thing he had eaten.
"……Does it suit your palate?"
"Well, more or less? Not bad."
"Ha……that's a relief."
Dining's eyelid twitched.
For a moment, he nearly lost control of his expression.
As the manager of The Course, he was quite the demanding food connoisseur. His palate was refined, and his cooking skills were equally impressive.
Every dish now on the table had come from his own hands.
It hadn't been in preparation for a situation like this, but Dining always kept fresh ingredients and cooking tools on standby.
That was precisely why he had been able to produce these dishes even in such an abrupt situation.
Chew chew chew!
After wolfing down Dining's cooking and wiping everything out, Kael and his group patted their full bellies with satisfied expressions.
"Phew, that's more like it. What's the bill?"
"……You're free to leave as is today, sir. Consider it a small token of my goodwill."
"Oh, really? Well, if you're already showing goodwill, how about being a bit more generous while you're at it?"
"……Excuse me?"
"As you can imagine, Guard life is a little tight on funds."
‘You daylight robber……!’
"O-of course. N-naturally I sh-should take c-care of you. Ha, haha……"
The corners of Dining's mouth, barely held in place, trembled violently.