NOVPUBThe tavern was chaotic.
Laughter from women in heavy makeup and thick perfume filled the air, drawing in men like bees to nectar.
Groups shouted drunkenly over their drinks, while others played instruments in the corners.
“Quite the raucous place.”
“This place is rather famous, you see. It’s a four-story tavern, so naturally it draws in a large crowd.”
As they entered the tavern, Ludger and Hans casually scanned their surroundings as if conducting a light sweep.
“The meeting location?”
“Fourth floor.”
“The very top, then.”
“The first and second floors are open to the public, but starting from the third, only those with permission can enter.”
The two climbed up to the second floor while making idle conversation.
The second floor wasn’t much different from the first. Every seat was filled, and the noise level was just as high.
The only difference was the presence of guards on the second floor—something not seen below.
As Hans had mentioned, two burly guards stood blocking the stairs to the third floor.
“Only authorized individuals may proceed beyond this point.”
“Here.”
Hans produced the invitation he had prepared in advance.
After checking it over, the guard silently stepped aside to let them pass.
“Let’s go, boss.”
“Right.”
Hans took the lead while Ludger followed behind.
He could feel the guards’ gazes behind him, but he ignored them.
When they finally reached the third floor, Ludger immediately understood why this place was considered a high-end establishment.
‘It’s dead silent up here—nothing like the noisy floors below.’
Despite the chaos downstairs, none of it carried up here. The space was clearly soundproofed.
The interior design was far more elegant, and the clientele seated at the tables were also noticeably different.
Everyone was well-dressed and composed, sipping their drinks in a quiet, refined atmosphere.
A dreamy, ambient glow spread through the room from red-tinted lamps.
But Ludger and Hans’s destination wasn’t this floor. It was one level higher.
The very top of the tavern. A space reserved only for the most important figures.
“Shall we?”
“Yes.”
The two ascended the wooden staircase and arrived on the fourth floor.
Unlike the wide hall of the third floor, the fourth was structured as a long corridor.
‘Private rooms, huh.’
A place well-suited for quiet conversations.
“Which room?”
“The one at the very end. The innermost room.”
“No one guarding the entrance?”
“Well, apparently this place is special.”
“Special?”
Hans explained the details he had picked up.
“This tavern has long been used as a meeting spot # Nоvеlight # for Rederbelk’s underworld groups. Over time, they came to establish an unspoken rule—no fighting is allowed inside.”
“No fighting, huh...”
“Well, even if they’re all backstabbing bastards scraping to survive, seems like there are still certain lines even they won’t cross.”
“That does make sense.”
Ludger nodded slightly.
“As you know, this world has its own rules—and this place enforces them more strictly than anywhere else.”
“Which means... inviting us here was a way to...”
“...see whether we’ll abide by those rules.”
“Interesting.”
Ludger let out a faint smile.
To have the gall to invite the man who had obliterated the Red Society with just one subordinate...
If Ludger had been even a little more short-tempered or cruel, the fourth floor of this tavern would be soaked in blood by now.
They couldn’t be ignorant of that.
So the fact that they had extended an invitation anyway... meant they were confident enough to take that risk.
“Well then, let’s see their faces.”
He found it brazen—but not offensive.
If they were the sort who lived in the muck yet still clung to a sense of honor, then he could afford to show them a minimum degree of courtesy in return.
“We’re going in.”
“Yeah.”
At last, the two reached the end of the corridor and opened the door.
Inside was a large round table made of solid wood, covered with a variety of dishes.
And seated around the table, spaced evenly, were several individuals.
‘Four key figures.’
Ludger’s eyes first moved to the man seated to the right.
He had a beard and some bulk to him, but the most striking feature was his extraordinarily small frame—far too small for an adult.
‘Dwarfism.’
Also known as restricted growth, it was technically a disability: normal bodily structure, but excessively short stature.
‘And this man is the leader of a faction?’
In a world where civil rights were barely a concept, such a disability must’ve made life unimaginably difficult.
Ludger realized immediately—this man was Finion, the head of the circus group known as Kirkus.
Next, his gaze turned to the two seated directly opposite.
‘An old man and a young girl?’
Quite a striking pair.
A grizzled old man with a fearsome face, and a golden-haired girl as delicate as a doll.
And yet, both were present here as leaders of their respective group.
The two represented the Old Kids organization: Mastella and Deon.
‘And if there’s a real power-holder between the two... surprisingly, it’s the child.’
Most would assume the older Deon held the reins, but Ludger thought otherwise.
The sharp, evaluating gaze wasn’t coming from Deon—it was from Mastella.
She could control her expression well. Young, but cunning.
‘And the last one... the Women of the Black Rose.’
To Ludger’s left sat a single individual.
A noblewoman in a black dress, her hair elegantly pinned up, face hidden behind a sheer black veil.
‘That woman must be Violetta, the leader of the Black Rose.’
Finion.
Mastella and Deon.
Violetta.
Every leader of Rederbelk’s underworld—aside from the Red Society—had gathered here.
Each accompanied by a small entourage for protection.
As Ludger took his designated seat, he opened his mouth.
“James Moriarty.”
The monocle over his eye caught the light and glinted.
“That’s what most people call me.”
“Hmmm. James Moriarty. You wouldn’t be telling an obvious lie in a place like this, I presume?”
The first to respond was Violetta.
Her alluring voice came through the veil.
“Are you truly the legendary man who once ruled the Kingdom of Delica from the shadows?”
“You seem to know quite a bit about me.”
“How could I not? The true ruler of Delica’s steel industry, the man who even dipped into military supplies to wage war with foreign nations—that James Moriarty.”
War.
The word sent a heavy silence falling over the room.
Hans, standing behind Ludger, didn’t bother hiding his discomfort.
Ludger gave a casual nod.
“A bothersome detective ruined it all in the end, though.”
“When you disappeared after that, most assumed you’d either died or been secretly imprisoned. No one imagined you’d resurface here, in Rederbelk. So, what brings you to us now? Do you intend to wage that war you never managed back then—this time on an imperial scale?”
There was a sharp edge in Violetta’s tone.
The other leaders stared at Ludger just as intently, clearly thinking the same.
Their gazes were not friendly.
“War? Don’t be ridiculous.”
But Ludger could only find her words amusing.
She spoke of war without even knowing the truth of what had occurred in Delica.
He could praise her for uncovering this much, but it only proved that the underworld had its limits. They were still lacking reach.
“I have no such intentions.”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
"That kind of man crushed the Red Society the moment he arrived?"
“There was filth in front of me. I merely cleaned it up.”
Ludger spoke of destroying the Red Society as if it were nothing.
There had been something dirty in the way, so he simply removed it.
And yet, how arrogant was the meaning behind those words?
But no one dared object. He had the skill to justify every word—he had actually done it, and overwhelmingly so.
“So then—what is it that you want?”
This time, it was Finion, the ringmaster of Kirkus, who spoke.
A coarse voice that didn’t suit his small frame. Ludger noticed he was a smoker.
“You came here and responded to our invitation. That suggests you’ve got a purpose.”
“I do.”
Ludger nodded without hesitation, with no intention of hiding anything.
“I intend to establish my own force here.”
“Your own force, huh.”
Finion tapped the armrest of his chair with a few fingers.
“That’s not a sufficient answer.”
“More explanation is needed?”
“If you wiped out the Red Society just to make room for yourself, fine. That much I can accept. Those bastards have always been itching to mess with us anyway. Their personalities were absolute trash. Maybe they rubbed you the wrong way. Maybe that’s why they got wrecked.”
“You’re well-informed.”
“The key issue is this—what assurance do we have that your new organization won’t become the second Red Society?”
The second Red Society.
That was their real concern.
The Red Society would do anything if it turned a profit—even by underworld standards, they had crossed lines that shouldn’t be crossed.
The people at this table had come together precisely to push back against that.
Their manpower was limited, and they had no idea what the Red Society might try, so the three organizations had barely maintained balance through unity.
And now, that balance had been destroyed—by a single outsider.
“I see. That’s what you’re worried about.”
Ludger’s indifferent tone caused the atmosphere around the table to harden.
While the others viewed it as a serious issue, Ludger spoke like it was barely worth mentioning.
Of course, he had the right.
He had single-handedly demolished the Red Society—even though they had combatants with knight-level strength.
But in a way, that made him more dangerous than the group he’d destroyed.
“In that case, I suppose it’s best I clear up some misunderstandings before we talk further.”
“Misunderstandings? What kind of misunderstanding are we talking about?” Deon raised an eyebrow.
Ludger shook his head once, then gestured with his chin toward Mastella.
“Don’t play games. You say it yourself.”
“...What?”
“Grandpa Deon, it’s fine.”
The girl with the doll-like features, Mastella, cut in with a sweet but confident voice.
Her bright, curious eyes stared directly at Ludger.
“You figured out it was me who ordered it? That’s impressive.”
“I’ve lived a life far too sharp to ever underestimate someone just because they look like a child.”
In this world, a precocious child with natural talent and social acumen was far more frightening than an old man who’d aged without learning a thing.
The fools were the ones who dismissed children out of hand, saying they lacked experience.
Ludger was not one of those fools.
“So what exactly are we misunderstanding?” Mastella asked.
“If I wanted to eliminate you all because you annoyed me, I would’ve done it already.”
It was a blunt statement, but no one got angry.
Because it was undeniably true.
“The reason I haven’t is simple—I have my own lines I won’t cross.”
“And what is it you’re trying to say?”
“At the very least, you three are far better than the Red Society scum I wiped out. There’s no need for us to be enemies. That’s why I agreed to this meeting.”
By making it clear that he held no hostility toward them, the wary looks around the table softened slightly.
But the room was still steeped in distrust.
They were still questioning whether even these words were part of some trick.
That was just how things worked in the underworld. No matter what’s said, suspicion comes first.
“So what happens now? All the infrastructure and business the Red Society had is technically yours now,” Finion said, twitching his mustache as he gnawed on a turkey leg in front of him.
At that crude display, Violetta clicked her tongue with irritation.
“Finion. Could you at least try to behave yourself at the table?”
“Sorry, ma’am. But unlike you, I’m not into playing fancy.”
“Ma’am? Tch. This is why uncultured men are unbearable.”
“Alright, both of you—enough,” Mastella cut in, unable to watch any longer.
Ludger was beginning to see how the dynamic between the three factions worked.
The relationships were strained, but there was at least one person who could play mediator.
They maintained a fragile balance—but one strong enough not to collapse on its own.
“So, are you planning to keep the Red Society’s legacy as it is?” Mastella asked boldly.
Ludger shook his head without hesitation.
“Doing such trash work doesn’t suit my dignity.”
“Your dignity, is it? Then I assume you’ve got something grander in mind?”
“I do.”
From the moment he decided to form an organization, Ludger had already laid out the plan.
And this city, Rederbelk, would become its foundation.
“I plan to start a new enterprise. One that—unlike the Red Society—can be conducted openly and with pride.”
“Business? That’s quite the interesting word choice,” Violetta said.
But while she sounded intrigued, her tone dripped with sarcasm.
After all, how “honest” could any underworld business truly be?
Even if you weren’t dealing in drugs or human trafficking like the Red Society, the businesses they ran were hardly anything to boast about.
At best, it’d be liquor sales or cargo transport—low-level work, hardly glamorous.
Perhaps reading their thoughts, Ludger smirked and said,
“If that’s how you see it... then that’s your limit.”
“...What did you say?”
“Since we’re all gathered here, I’ll make a proposal.”
It was time to cut to the heart of the matter.
“All of you—come under me. Do that, and I’ll lead you to success.”
