Chapter 75: Ninth Episode: Chapter 2 (2/2)

”I say… Have we already arrived?” The youngster gazed at the world outside the carriage window in bewilderment; the sight that met his eyes evidently startled him.

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”This is nothing to be suspicious about!” Ricky the Liar swung his legs up onto Thomas Aulet's desk.

”Of course this is suspicious! The Lair's growth speaks for itself, and at this juncture, Brother Balance suddenly informed me that he is quitting! What do I make of this?” The Baron was at his wits' end.

”I've told you, this is not suspicious at all, and the address of Brother Balance has already become something in the past. Now, people are used to calling him His Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil. This indicates that he can only carry out matters in keeping up with his status. Don't tell me you still expect to let him have dealings with all sorts of criminals? Putting it this way, I believe you understand now?” The Liar said this while picking up some tiny objects on the Baron's desk. Although all these decorations were very tiny, their values were not something to be joked about.

”Thomas, do you still want this little box to place tobacco leaves?” Ricky held up a glistening, tiny object and swayed it before the Baron's eyes.

”Tch! The entire opera house is mine, take anything as you please; but, I am not finished yet! His Imperial Highness The Prince has his own career. This, I understand! However, he can't just leave the Lair just like that! Moreover, not to mention you, Ricky! And also the King of Assassins, King of sins, that stinky hedgehog, Poison Doctor who is by His Imperial Highness' side; all of you are criminals!”

”Thomas!” Ricky interrupted the Baron, ”Look at me, I am now the manager of the family affairs of the prince; as for the King of Assassins, he is the personal bodyguard of His Imperial Highness, and he would bring him along when he comes and goes from the Imperial Palace. Also, the secretary of the prison warden is about to be conferred with the title of Baron, just like you! In other words, around His Imperial Highness Prince, we are playing fitting roles; this is for our own need and also His Imperial Highness The Prince's needs. Do not let him once again be the big shot of the underworld that stirs up trouble; his identity and status have already changed, and we should adapt to this change. Rather than hold on to these dangerous thoughts, it is better for you to ponder more about your role!”

”My role?”

”That's right!” Ricky nodded his head and picked up another small object. ”Manager of the Lair, the spokesperson of His Imperial Highness The Prince in the underworld. Am I not making myself clear, or is there something that you are dissatisfied with?”

”So in other words, His Imperial Highness has handed over all the affairs within the Lair to me?”

”Thank heavens!” Ricky assumed an exaggerated posture of praying to the gods, ”My dear Thomas, your train of thought has finally caught up with mine! However… What you have deduced is not everything!”

Thomas was momentarily distracted. He was immersed in an ineffable bliss; running the Lair and Titan's Underworld were great temptations to him. He already knew the significance the position represented. Not to mention, when the Prince was away from Dulin, the benefits that the position could bring would be his.

”Hey! Look at me!” Thomas turned the Baron's head, ”Do you know why it is I who is telling you these things?”

”Why?” Thomas also found it odd. He felt that His Imperial Highness The Prince should personally instruct him instead.

”Because there are some words which His Imperial Highness The Prince is unable to express. For example, one day when baron Thomas Aulet who is in charge of a portion of the skies of the underworld suddenly feels that he would like to get rid of his master, so what should we do at this moment?”

The Baron's blood had turned cold; he knew that Ricky enjoyed deceiving others, but did not enjoy joking.

”Then please pass on to His Imperial Highness The Prince, if such a day arrives, I shall strangle that Baron who betrays him with my own hands, then serve his blood and flesh onto a plate and offer it to our Imperial Highness.”

Ricky nodded; he should leave, as matters awaited him at the Kenshin Palace and Swan Hill.

”Hold on!” The Baron suddenly grabbed hold of the liar's sleeves, ”You should hone your art of stealing something on the sly another seven to eight years! Hurry, place that brooch down.”

The liar's expression changed, ”Thomas, you're a little too much! This opera house is yours, the Lair is all yours, all I did was merely just took this single brooch.”

”Are you kidding me? If you like, I will give the opera house to you, if you are interested in the liar, then you are welcome to manage it for a while; but this brooch absolutely won't do! This was given to me by Zoera!” The Baron said these while recklessly fishing through the liar's pockets.

”Oh god! Zoera again! The God of Light praises romance. Your distinguished Baron, you have to admit that you have fallen into it!”

”Whatever you say… But damn you! Where did you hide my brooch?”

Ricky gave it some thought, ”Ohh… If you didn't mention it, I would have forgotten to bring it up; our Imperial Highness The Prince should be visiting Zoera's club as a guest as we speak.”

”Really?” Thomas was instantly stumped for words, ”Oh god! Why didn't you mention it earlier? I should go and observe it. What if there are some troubles? That would be bad!”

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Some low doors, a narrow passageway, a fireplace that was heating Absinthe, a whitewashed wall where a charcoal painting hung; if it weren't for the few human-shaped creatures by his feet, Oscar would have absolutely believed that it was the home of a citizen.

The club had prepared a spacious rented room for the two guests who were paying a visit. In actuality, this club only had these two guests at that time. The Sea Creature was a regular guest and practically all the people and ”dogs” from the lodge to the floors above knew this man's identity. Oscar kept his head low for he knew that there were secret investigators of his family hidden here. However, the Sea Creature was being a hindrance to him; now was not the time to connect with them.

The club was exceptionally curious about this extremely young teen. Mirandez, who was in charge of greeting the guests, arranging pleasures and other matters had tried to probe quite a few times, yet the Finance Minister was not one of those useless people who only knew how to guzzle and booze; he did not reveal even a single hint. At this time, the people knew that the person who was amusing himself here was definitely an exceptionally respected little son of nobility. Looking at his pompous manner, perhaps he was a prince, they could not say for sure. Otherwise, the Finance Minister would not be that reverent and respectful.

The girls lifted their heart-shaped bottoms high up. The tiny brassiere made from black leather had ribbons sticking out from the edges of their breasts, connecting it to the underwear. These ribbons had numerous silver rings embedded into them and a metal chain was tied up within one of the silver rings. The girl's neck had a leather set that was inlaid with diamonds and the front of the leather set was a silver medal; written on it was actually her name and place of birth.

Oscar was truly enlightened; he never knew that a pretty girl could be made up into a dog! This child really loved the dog-girls' tails; that was a true dog's tail, it drooped down shaggily from behind their bottoms. When the teen took out a golden Ti or plucked a grape from the silver plate, the dog-girls would stick up their tails and wag at him non-stop. The teen studied them intently, and it turned out that the tail was stuck into one of the hidden caves on the girl's body.

Godzilla had on an extremely spirited look; all his worries about the south had momentarily been tossed into the back of his mind. At that moment, he was attentively handling that curly-haired Pekinese. That was how the Sea Creature addressed her, who was bent down at his crotch.

”Haha! Let us look at this little female dog!” The Sea Creature laughed reprovingly. This pig-like man already had his hand extended towards the dog's bottom. The beautiful girl was trembling violently from head to toe and, her throat let out a whine.

”Come on! Pee! You already cannot hold it in right?” The Sea Creature used a fat palm to slap one of the sides of the dog's bottom with all his might. Very quickly, the snowy, white flesh had a bloody, red handprint left on it. However, this monster was evidently not yet satisfied.

”Come on! Pee onto this plate here! Then share it with the Faran mongrel beside you; don't you all just love these the most?” The Sea Creature's eyes were gleaming and his palm continued to land heavily.

”Ohh… not here!” Oscar knew that he had to protest, he was an ordinary youngster and he was less than impressed by the Sea Creature's method of playing.

”Are you sure?” Clearly, Godzilla was baffled by the teen's request. ”We came here precisely for this! The little female dogs of the club also love this, their looks when they share in each other's bodily fluids and dungs are truly…”

”Please, Godzilla!” Oscar massaged his temples, ”My breakfast was a fried egg, a smoked fish patty, oh… And a tower of fruits and roasted intestines. Don't tell me that you intend to let me look at this during lunchtime?”

Godzilla laughed gleefully and kicked away a human-formed dog. The kick was soft, but the Sea Creature's weight was evident. The human-dog was kicked towards the corner of the wall, but it seemed to be all right as the female dog only seemed to have grazed her knees. She groaned pitifully, with her tail still wagging incessantly.

”Youngster! You have missed a marvelous item, I can only wish you luck!” The Sea Creature said this and stood up.

”Mirandez!”

”Oh! Are you calling me? Adorable little Godzilla! What is this? Could it be that the little dogs have angered you?” Mirandez lifted up her skirts and sprinted down the stairs.

”Oh… you need not worry about this!” The Sea Creature stuck his mouth that was reeking of bad breath onto Mirandez's face.

”Where is the girl that I just came across on the walkway? Oh god! She is the most beautiful little creature that I have ever laid eyes on! I want her! I want her right now!”

Mirandez furrowed her eyebrows, half of it was due to the man's request, and the other half was because of this brute's reeking breath.

”You see, my dear Sir Marquis, that little girl just arrived this morning, I don't even know her name yet! Madame Zoera is having a chat with her...”

”Hey! I do not wish to listen to all this. You guys actually need four months to train up a human-dog, and by that time, I would have already gone to hell! Damn it, or let me get the job done myself! I guarantee that I will return to Zoera a perfect little beast! Hurry on! Tell her to send that girl to my room!”

Mirandez agreed, trembling. She knew just what kind of human-dogs the monster trained out. It was indeed perfect, so perfect to the extent that they had forgotten how to be human.

***************

The Sea Creature opened another door of a room and ushered the human-dog to crawl into it. He then made a face at the little prince who was beaming while watching all of this and flung the door shut with a ”bang”. Soon, the sound of a dog barking and Godzilla's jackass laughter came from the room.

Oscar stood up and glanced at the beautiful ‘dog' at the corner of the wall.

”Are you all okay?”

The injured girl was evidently not used to the teen's question. ”Woof! Woof!”

Oscar shook his hand; if this was how she was going to answer, then it was better for him to forget about it. He decided to go for a stroll as he had already lost interest in Madam Zoera. The Dog Biting club was indeed the ideal place for the secret agents to hide, but… really, it was still better to forget about it!

Just when he was about to exit, Oscar again saw the girl that he had come across at the compartment of the stairs when he just arrived, a girl who was as pure and innocent as a crystal. The girl was wailing, giving out a shrill roar and she was kicking everything within sight. Oscar looked on at the tall burly man who was wedging the girl beneath his underarm. However, after a brief lock of eyes, the youngster stepped aside. As for the girl on whom a misfortune was about to befall, the youngster felt a twinge of sympathy, but he knew that this was the Dog Biting's business, Zoera's business, and the Sea Creature's business. There was no savior here for the gods would only take note of the backs of darkness, just like Damorga.

The Sea Creature's crisp cheering traveled out and the door was once again closed. The girl's screams had already become a bitter, piteous cry,

Oscar again drooped his head; he suddenly did not want to face everything here.

However, just when he was about to turn around to leave, a glimmering golden object caught his attention. Did the girl drop this? The teen became lost in thought, unsure of whether he should pick it up.

The injured human-dog had already crawled over. She barked and used her voluptuous bosoms to rub against the youngster's leg. She took up the shiny golden object with her mouth and the curly-haired Pekinese offered it to the youngster as if trying to gain his favor.

This was a gold coin; Oscar looked at the tiny object in his hand, but he suddenly stopped short! This gold coin was not exactly a golden Ti; it had the Narcissus Fierce Tiger distinctly carved onto it and behind it, around the figure of a god was a circle of words that read, 9.11.777, in commemoration of the first birthday of Andrew Family's fourth son.

Oh god! Oscar was utterly stunned! The commemorative gold coin of his first birthday appeared here, to his surprise! There were only twelve of these gold coins cast at that time, his father, mother and all the other relatives who possessed this gold coin valued it as if it was a treasure and the one he himself owned was given to… Given to… Duke Cara Siva! His greatly respected teacher back in Damorga! Then, this girl…

”Godzilla! Godzilla! Don't you lay your hands on her! Get out this instant!” Oscar banged on the door of the room like mad, but the door did not seem to budge even a little. The infuriated teen mustered up his strength and with a dull thump, the wooden door smashed heavily into the ground. Oscar did not understand why his rage surged up so violently. Perhaps it was because he was already irritated upon watching the girl being dragged into the room.

”Get up, you! Let me see what have you done to her? What have you done to her?” The Sea Creature, who was startled by Oscar, jerked up from the bed. The youngster spat in disgust, the odor in the room simply drove a person mad.

A dagger was already in the prince's hand and he pressed it up against the Sea Creature's throat. The pathetic Godzilla, who was initially on the top of the world, read the message of menace in the teen's eyes. Wasn't he playing around?

”Oh god! Oh god! Oh god…” The Finance Minister rambled on unceasingly.

Oscar had completely lost his patience; he saw that the girl's skirt was already torn to shreds and staggering stains of blood were even visible on the shredded pieces of her skirt! Although he was already infuriated beyond measure, the whole reminisce of the gold coin still flashed through his mind. He gave that to his teacher before he left Damorga. His teacher's health was failing and he said that if he truly received the favor of the gods, then his only granddaughter would bring that gold coin and come searching for his student.

Oscar recalled everything! This was the only request of his respected teacher, Cara Siva! But now? He actually just personally witnessed his teacher's only relative left in the world being pushed into a living hell and yet still being indifferent! The youngster detested the Sea Creature that was like a pulp, but he detested himself even more. He detested his cold-heartedness, his negligence!

”Damn you! Damn you! Damn you…” Rage and self-blame had plunged the teen into a state of hysteria and confusion. His dagger was already digging into the Sea Creature's throat.

The sudden noise that came from behind him made the teen subconsciously turned around to parry. As it turned out, a crowd had gathered outside the door, all of them with the similar appearance of a thug. All sorts of metal weapons were in their hands and they were eyeing the youngster with a vicious glare.

”Please leave; perhaps your status is high beyond reach, but you are harming the Titan's Finance Minister! This is not a responsibility that the club can handle, so… Please leave!” Mirandez was the manager of the club; she stood behind the thugs and said these words to the teen who was clueless about the situation.

The stinging pain on his shoulder made Oscar came to a realization and he shoved the Sea Creature who was frightened to a degree of unconsciousness and wetting his pants, away. The youngster strode towards the corner of the wall and carried the girl who had fainted.

”I apologize, sir. You cannot take her!” Mirandez did not want trouble; although this youngster definitely had a renowned status, he nevertheless could not break the rules of the Red Light Street. This rule applied to all the nobles; if they wished to take away anything belonging to the Red Light Street, then they offer out an equivalent price for it.

”Who did this?” Oscar peered at the streak of blood stains on his shoulder. Just in that second, he actually didn't dodge it and this made him feel extremely pissed.

Fat Dog took a step forward. That wound was his masterpiece, and it could deter the little lad from moving his arm for a while. He retained his blank expression; he was mute and his moves were as silent as himself. Before he was recruited by Zoera into the club, he had another name, ”Ghost Dog”, the master assassin who was securely seated second in the Westland's underworld!

Oscar sized up the fierce-looking thug coldly. He was aware that a thug who could inflict such precise injury on him was definitely no ordinary thug.

”If there is any noble dog here of pure bloodline, then please pass on to her on my behalf, O'Neil Andrew Morisette is a person of very short temper; not only does he want to take this girl away but he will also look into the liability of this bloody incident.”

”O'Neil Andrew Morisette? A noble dog of pure bloodline?”

Mirandez continued to repeat those words in her heart with dread. Oh, goodness gracious! She understood the meaning of these two phrases clearer than anyone else. Oh, god! Who could come and save her? Didn't she already suspect as much when she first saw this youngster? However, she still committed an unforgivable mistake!