Chương 137: If You Have More Money

As Kichan came out of the participants' passage, the next two fighters brushed past his shoulder going in. Dirty weapons leaned against one wall, and on the other side a fighter with his arm wrapped came out leaning on a companion. As Kichan stepped into the sunlight at the end of the passage, the roar of the stands burst once more behind the stone wall. Argaon was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. When he saw Kichan, he cut across the crowd and came to him first.

Instead of gold, a heavy money pouch hung from his hand. Several more of the same pouches were tied at his waist. Metal clinked inside them with every step.

"How much is it?" Kichan asked.

"A lot."

"How much is a lot."

"Enough that you would tire counting it." Argaon set one money pouch on Kichan's hand. The weight pulled his wrist down. The coins inside slid all to one side at once. Two demonkin passing by turned at the sound and, seeing the pouches at Argaon's waist, slowed their steps.

"Wait. Why do you have this?" Argaon did not answer. Just then the management office door opened. A demonkin in a gray vest came out at a quick pace. He had no horns, and his ears stretched long to the sides. He carried a ledger in his hands, but his eyes were fixed on Kichan's wake-up rod.

"One moment." He blocked Kichan's way.

"Could you show me that weapon?" Kichan pulled the rod closer to himself.

"Why?"

"There is something I need to verify."

"If you break it, you have to pay for it."

"That is not my intention." Kichan held out the handle end. The manager received it in both hands. He gauged the weight first, then examined the ends and the middle in turn. He tapped the surface with a fingernail and brought his eyes close. Then he drew in a breath.

"Where in the world did you get this?"

"I made it." Kichan took the rod back from the manager's hands.

"Is something wrong with it?" The manager did not answer and looked at his own palm where the rod had been. He shook his fingers once and looked up toward the upper stands.

"Why is it that these days people with divine power keep coming in pairs to make a mess of the Arena..." At those words Paul pulled the hand holding the rosary toward his chest. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Kichan asked.

"Two?" The manager cleared his throat.

"I was talking to myself."

"Who else was there?"

"That is an old story." Argaon held another money pouch out to Kichan.

"Try prying it out of him." Kichan looked between the pouch and Argaon.

"I asked where this money came from."

"I'll explain later."

"When is later."

"We should finish the job quickly and get the five hundred kilograms of gold, should we not?" The manager's ears moved very slightly. Kichan lifted the money pouch. When he untied the string at the opening, coins of different sizes showed inside. They were the same kind as the ones on the eatery counter earlier. He looked at the manager. The manager pretended to open his ledger. Kichan took his elbow and led him into the shade beside the management office. Paul tried to follow and was stopped by Riphiel.

"Wait a moment, please." Riphiel said that while watching the two of them. Outside the shade, spectators went up and down the wide stairs. Someone ran with an empty cup, and someone took bets while shouting the names of the next match. With one stone pillar between them, the noise dropped a little. Kichan pushed the money pouch inside the manager's vest. The manager caught it quickly with his hand.

"Tell me more about what you said earlier."

"Which story do you mean?" Kichan lifted the wake-up rod slightly.

"The person with divine power." The manager checked his surroundings. The next match had started in the arena, and every spectator's gaze was turned inward. He pushed the pouch deep into his vest.

"At first it was nothing special."

"Who was it?"

"His name was Zadkiel." Kichan's hand stopped. The manager saw the reaction and lowered his voice.

"When he first came to the Arena, he got beaten every day. Everyone thought he must be something great because he came down with his wings spread, but he could not even hold his own in the lower tier."

"And then?"

"He came back even when he was hurt. The next day, and the day after that." A blood-covered fighter was carried out of the door across from the management office. The manager's eyes followed the stretcher briefly and came back to Kichan. The manager gestured toward the inside of the arena with his chin.

"He watched his opponent's feet, watched how they used their strength, and learned little by little while taking hits. Then one day he stopped showing up."

"Where did he go?"

"If I knew that, I would have opened an information guild." A metal plate rang in the distance. The manager glanced at the arena and leaned toward Kichan again.

"When he came back much later, he was a completely different person."

"How different?" The manager's gaze dropped to the wake-up rod.

"Just as that one avoided this rod earlier, everyone began avoiding him the moment they saw him. At first I thought it was because of his strength."

"It was not because of his strength?"

"The ones who fought him did not get better." Kichan's hand on the wake-up rod stopped.

"Even after enough time for bones to knit, they could not get up. Wounds that seemed to have healed opened again, and men who should have been back in a few days are still lying down."

"Zadkiel did that to them?"

"All I know is that it started after they fought him."

"Where is he these days?"

"He is not seen much."

"If we want to find him?" The manager pressed the money pouch inside his vest once with his palm.

"If you have more money, try the information guild."

"Do they take money there too?"

"It is an information guild. Of course they take it." Kichan looked at him for a while. The manager was already turning back toward the arena.

"Where is it?"

"Look for the black glass marker on the central main road." He took his ledger and went back into the management office. When Kichan came up to the stands, Riphiel asked.

"What did you learn?"

"It is the one we are looking for." Kichan slung the wake-up rod over his shoulder.

"He got beaten here and disappeared, and after he came back, the people he fought did not heal." Paul's hand stopped on the rosary.

"It could be because of divine power."

"We do not know yet." Kichan said. Argaon was sorting the money pouches at his waist. Kichan caught his wrist.

"And you."

"What."

"Now tell me where this money came from." When they came outside, the sun was going down beyond the city wall.