Episode 167 Meanwhile, in the West (3)
When Diana, who was at the center of the incident, acknowledged someone, everyone's gaze naturally turned towards him.
Towards a tall man in a robe, slowly walking out from among the onlookers who were surrounding the area and murmuring.
And the men who had been ransacking the store also reacted.
The large man who noticed his approach first strode towards him, snorting.
"Who are you? It seems like you know the old man, but we're exercising our legal rights…"
The large man growled menacingly, his already fierce face twisting even further.
But Heinz didn't answer and just quietly pulled back the hood of his robe.
His silky black hair and pale skin were revealed…
And his blood-red eyes, shining like rubies, calmly stared at the man before him.
"…So… uh, well…"
The large man unconsciously swallowed, stammering, as an unknown pressure overwhelmed him.
Heinz was still concealing his presence with "Existence Denial", but the difference in level that subtly manifested was enough to overwhelm everyone present.
He wasn't kidding, he could now kill everyone here just with his will.
And the other men also started to approach, sensing the strange atmosphere.
"What? What's going on… Uh, don't tell me, a noble?"
"Uh— Huh? I-is that so?"
The large man awkwardly nodded, finally understanding why he had been intimidated.
Heinz's noble aura was clearly that of a high-ranking individual, and upon closer inspection, his seemingly plain robe was definitely a luxury item made from the finest materials.
It was only natural for him, a mere thug, to instinctively cower.
"Ahem, um… sir? Just so you don't misunderstand, we're working with a legal permit from the authorities."
"We lent them money, and they didn't pay us back on time. Yes, yes."
"You can ask the guards over there… Huh? What? Where did they all go?"
Their survival instincts immediately made them act submissively, even though they hadn't even confirmed his identity yet.
Murmur, murmur—
Not only them, but even among the onlookers, people started to leave.
After all, they could get caught in the crossfire of a powerful person's whim.
"Hmm."
Heinz, who had been looking at the thugs with cold eyes, slowly put his hand inside his robe.
And in his hand…
Clang—!
A heavy money bag fell to the ground, making a loud metallic sound.
Everyone's gaze turned to the bag that had fallen in front of the men.
"Put everything back where it belongs and get lost."
The man closest to the bag carefully picked it up and checked inside, and then…
His eyes widened in an instant, and he unconsciously swallowed.
The bag was filled with gold coins.
Several times the amount they had lent… no, even including the inflated interest.
To think he casually threw away a bag filled with this much money, greed flickered in the eyes of the men as they saw it from behind.
They exchanged glances, subtly looked at Heinz, and then…
"Oh my~ Thank you, sir. We actually prefer receiving cash, it's less troublesome! Right?"
"Y-yes! What are you waiting for? Let's put everything back!"
…They immediately backed down and started busily moving again.
His overwhelming presence, his handsome appearance, his expensive clothes, and the bag of gold coins he threw away as if it were nothing.
If they tried to pull anything on someone like him out of greed, they might end up with their legs broken.
Crash—! Bang!
As Diana's family looked at them with dumbfounded expressions, the men, who had quickly finished cleaning up, slowly backed away with awkward smiles.
"Then we'll be going, sir. We just came here because of the unpaid debt. Right?"
"O-of course~ We're not robbers! We're just receiving what we're owed."
"Ahem— Hey, old man? We'll lower the interest next time, so please use us again."
They hurriedly disappeared towards the back alleys, as if they had never caused a scene, taking the money bag with them.
Their faces were filled with joy at the unexpected gain.
But…
'Of course, I'm not just going to let them go.'
Heinz, who had been quietly watching their retreating figures, subtly raised his head and met the eyes of someone on the rooftop of a building, then lightly gestured with his chin in the direction the men had disappeared.
Swoosh—
And at the same time,
The black shadows that ruled the city started to move stealthily.
He wasn't the type to be generous and just let those guys go, no matter how much money he had.
____________________
"Th-thank… thank you. Sob!"
"Oh my, how can we ever repay this kindness…"
"Mister!"
"Waaaah—!"
What followed was obvious.
A flood of tears and a commotion ensued, and after some time, Heinz calmed them down and had them clean up the messy store, then he headed towards a quiet alley.
To receive a report on the instructions he had secretly given.
"Lord, the initial investigation results are out."
Thanks to the vampires in the city, who were tense because of the Lord's sudden visit and mobilized all their efforts, it wasn't difficult to grasp the whole story.
It was just a matter of following the trail from those thugs.
'As expected, something felt strange.'
And the results were as he expected.
'I didn't feel any signs of illness from Rafi… Unless it was poisoning.'
He could understand that a child might accidentally eat something poisonous, but it was unnatural for them to demand a large sum of money, claiming it was a 'serious illness'.
And the fact that they were running around trying to get the money immediately meant that there was someone guaranteeing the treatment's credibility.
'But it was all a trap? …And they even poisoned a child?'
And the mastermind who directly harmed Rafi, introduced a pre-bribed healer, and even connected them to loan sharks was—.
The instructor who had been teaching Diana accounting after meeting her at the tutoring center.
"Heh— To think they would do this in my territory."
Naturally, the vampires had already captured the healer, the instructor, and even the corrupt official and were interrogating them.
But thinking about it, it wasn't likely that this was the only case.
It was probably a common problem that was happening everywhere.
'It's the same on Earth. It's so complicated that even Hans can't easily solve it like he's hunting down violent criminals.'
Many praised Hahoe Mask, but he wasn't a god.
He could eliminate criminals who used violence, but the best way to overcome complex social problems was to use the laws and systems they had created themselves.
'But it's different here in the Talia Kingdom.'
Unlike Earth, where he was just a vigilante, he was the actual ruler here.
The king and nobles, who had already been stripped of all their decision-making power, were just puppets, and the final decision-maker and ruler was Heinz the Second, the leader of 'Hybrid'.
Because of that, he had been thinking a lot about how to rule while preparing for the vampires to come out into the open.
The most important thing was the supply of blood.
No matter how many vampires were under his command, bloodsucking was an unavoidable issue because of their racial limitations.
'To maintain their combat power and to maintain blood magic like Blood Gates, securing a large amount of blood is essential.'
And the best way was to use the criminals in each city as a blood source.
Of course, he had been doing that so far, but after this incident, he felt the need to implement it more systematically and on a larger scale.
'And I already know from my experience on Earth, criminals are an inexhaustible resource.'
It was truly a win-win situation, the best way for them to coexist.
Of course, it would be hell for the criminals, but he didn't care about their human rights, as always.
He organized his thoughts and headed back to the grocery store.
Now that he had decided to keep Diana by his side and observe her, he needed to talk to her more.
"Ah, you're here. Mister!"
"Diana. Can I talk to you for a moment?"
He called her aside from her busy family and subtly told her about the information he had gathered and how he had dealt with the culprits.
He wanted to see her reaction and understand her personality better, as she already knew that he was a vampire.
But Diana didn't seem to care about the culprits' punishment and just blamed herself.
"…It's all my fault. I should have noticed when he started to get close to us. And I let my guard down because he bought the kids a lot of delicious things… And I felt a strange smell when Rafi was sick, but I was stupid… Ugh…"
Actually, no matter how good her sense of smell was, there was no way a fourteen-year-old girl working at a grocery store would know what poison smelled like.
But she felt a strong sense of guilt because she was the reason why they met the instructor in the first place, because she didn't properly respond when he approached Rafi and schemed, and because she didn't properly grasp the situation afterward.
Diana had been feeling like a sinner, always carrying a heavy heart, thinking that her family was suffering because of her foolish greed for knowledge.
Heinz lightly patted her head as she started to sob and tilted his head.
'Hmm, I thought she would be angry or disgusted with them. Is she indifferent?'
She seemed to have completely forgotten about them as soon as she heard that Heinz had taken care of the culprits.
It was a reaction based on her trust that he would handle it properly.
"…Sniff. I'll pay back the money somehow. It's not a small amount. I'm sorry for being stupid and causing trouble again…"
"You're studying accounting and commercial law?"
Heinz ignored her words and changed the subject as she tried to hold back her tears.
"What? Yes… That was the reason for this incident."
"Then how about working under me and paying off your debt?"
He was planning to keep her by his side anyway, so it would be even better if she was a trustworthy and capable individual.
A useful worker was always welcome.
"Uh…"
Diana just gaped at his offer.
Of course, the answer was obvious.
Wasn't that the reason why she was studying in the first place?
"But there's one problem. If you work under me, you'll have to leave this place."
"That's only natural! I'm prepared."
"If you want, I can help your family settle there too."
"…I'll talk to them. They've been through a lot because of borrowing money this time, so they might actually want to go somewhere else…"
The conversation went smoothly because their interests aligned.
And then Diana asked curiously,
"But where are we going? Is it Talaria, the capital?"
Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
It was only natural for Diana, who was still young, to have a vague longing for the capital, which was the symbol of a country's prosperity and a place she had never been to.
But Heinz's answer was something she hadn't expected at all…
"We'll stop by the capital once, but that's not our final destination."
"What? Then where…"
He smiled faintly, looking at Diana's puzzled expression.
"Tarak City, Tulk Kingdom."
"What?!"
It wasn't just moving to another region, but immigrating to another country.
Of course, it wouldn't be easy to go to another country, but there was nothing to worry about.
His subordinates would take care of all the complicated procedures.
That's what power was for.