Gang Investigator

Mel Carlo was quite pleasantly surprised by the information he had suddenly obtained.

There was a kind of being in this world called Apostles—Lucky Persons chosen by the gods, or perhaps unfortunate ones.

"Have you been investigating Apostles all these years?"

"Yes. I asked some scholars to help me look up relevant records, but there were no clear answers. Those accounts were basically like stories."

"Can Apostles die of old age?"

"I don't know."

Mel Carlo suddenly smiled. "Actually, I'm an Apostle."

Anke suddenly felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar. His entire body trembled, and the fear gripping him was so intense that he could not even draw the short sword in his hand.

But from Mel Carlo's perspective, this guy was completely scaring himself.

"Ha ha, just kidding. Once that person is dead, we can get along properly."

"Ha... ha..." Anke wiped away his sweat. He had thought he was going to die here, but he knew this kid had indeed changed a great deal.

Far too abnormally. This kind of scheming and sinister cunning was not something someone his age should possess.

"I won't interfere with whatever you want to do, but if you ever meet my friend in the future, can you help me tell him I'm sorry?"

"Huh? Didn't he kill a lot of people? Why do you need to apologize to him? You're really certain I'm an Apostle?"

"I'm an orphan too. That guy and I grew up in the same village. It's complicated, but simply put, we were falsely accused of stealing something. Yet I didn't have the courage to face it with him. When he was about to die, he became an Apostle." Anke scratched his head. The frightening scar on his face no longer seemed quite so terrifying at that moment.

"Fine. Look after me for now. I don't want to die. I want cleaner clothes, hot baths, good food, and a decent place to live." Mel Carlo laid out his demands. To him, they were perfectly normal.

One had to satisfy material needs first before learning anything else. As for the language of this world, he could understand it directly, but the original owner's mind had clearly not stored any knowledge of its writing.

"Give it a month. I can't agree to your demands yet. Even if I take over, my authority will only extend to this area. There are plenty of big shots above the gang, and I'm just an insignificant lackey."

"Then let's work hard together, Brother Anke." Mel Carlo turned around, then added, "That guy's dead for sure anyway."

He remained wary of everything behind him, and he also wanted to see whether the scarred man had any other intentions. But could fingers really carve such a horrifying scar?

From Anke's tone, his friend had still been a child when he became an Apostle. He had made an entire village disappear in an instant. That was rather terrifying.

After all, the game Kandewen Continent did not have a function for destroying villages. It was mostly about grinding monsters. Still, with a large-scale spell, destroying a village would be easy enough.

According to Anke, he would have to continue stealing as usual for a while. Only after Anke had completely taken control of this area would he be able to live more comfortably.

Even if the current boss died, the transfer of power would take time. The people above would definitely be watching Anke, since he was the direct beneficiary and the most likely person to have framed the gang boss.

If the former minor boss had just died and the beggar children under him were suddenly freed and stopped paying tribute, those above would definitely suspect that Anke had used someone else to kill him.

"What a troublesome affair." Mel Carlo spoke as he walked toward Akai and the others.

Chubby hurriedly asked Mel Carlo, "What did Master Anke call you over for just now?"

"Nothing much. Once he becomes the boss, we'll be able to live more comfortably. Though I estimate it'll only be the few of us." Mel Carlo told them what had happened, but he did not mention anything about Apostles.

"So we can become real gang members, and we won't have to go hungry anymore." Chubby jumped up with clenched fists. He had long wanted that, but they only had the right to be chosen.

Naturally, Mel Carlo could not completely trust Anke. They were not close enough for that, and he believed Anke was wary of him as well.

But without that wariness, his situation might have been even more difficult. He had originally planned to tear everything apart, but for the time being, the matter of the wallet had passed.

Still, someone would eventually suspect these beggar children. When he had stolen before, the female guard had nearly caught him. Fortunately, the gang did not seem to know about that.

If he were subjected to brutal torture, he did not think sheer willpower would be enough to endure it. He might very well confess.

In the blink of an eye, a week had passed. During that time, Mel did not steal again, because he needed to lessen his presence.

After such an incident, the atmosphere within the gang was far from relaxed. Everyone who possessed the [Stealing] skill seemed to have been investigated.

During this time, Mel also realized something: skills from the game could truly appear in this world. He just did not yet know how they were learned, or whether there were any restrictions.

[Stealing] was a thief-class skill that could be learned at level 1.

The gang boss had died, but someone had been sent from above, and Anke's position could not be decided anytime soon.

Mel Carlo breathed a sigh of relief. Someone's head had appeased the great noble's anger, and the matter of the wallet had passed as well.

"Piglets, get out there and beg. Keep your hands in check, and don't touch people you shouldn't. The possessions of those big shots aren't so easy to swallow!" A gang member berated the beggar children.

They had been sent down by the upper ranks of the gang to investigate this matter thoroughly. There was something strange about it. No matter how they looked, they could find no trace at all. They had even brought in specialized mages to search for clues, but the item seemed to have vanished into thin air.

At present, Anke was the prime suspect. He had enough seniority to become the area boss, and after the former boss died, he was the direct successor. But those above were uneasy about the matter and still needed to investigate.

"Hey, Anke, are you still looking for Apostles?" the gang investigator asked the scarred man with a smile.

Yet his smile held more mockery than amusement. How could things like Apostles truly exist? The village had probably been destroyed by some mage or demon.

"Yes." Anke did not argue. He merely pointed at the scar on his face.

"Did you do it? You should know my ability very well. I can reconstruct the truth from even the slightest trace." The gang investigator calmly watched the scarred man.

His combat ability was not particularly strong, but his ability was unusual, which was why he had managed to climb into the gang's middle ranks. With something like this happening, he was needed for the investigation. The people beside him were all professional assassins.

As long as they found even the slightest clue, Anke could die. It was somewhat regrettable to dispose of an old friend of so many years just like that.

If Anke had truly done it, he hoped Anke would have given him a heads-up beforehand.