123. Piltover Ablaze (7)

"What do you mean Jayce Talis is missing?! You goddamn idiot! I pay you and that pack of bastards under you—who only know how to go crawling through the Lanes looking for women—more than thirty thousand gold coins a year, and this is what you do with my money?!"

A bald man sat in his office, roaring abuse at the guard in front of him.

He was ugly—even unusually ugly, ugly in a way that had developed its own distinctive charm. If someone held a human exhibition hall in Valoran one day, he would very likely be placed in the most prominent spot.

For no other reason than that he looked far too atavistic.

He had a broad forehead. Generally speaking, a broad forehead on a man would be considered a symbol of masculinity, enjoying the same status as a square jaw.

But his was different. If you looked at him from the side, you would find that his forehead jutted outward.

Farther down was a pair of eyes squeezed by fat until only narrow slits remained, now widened a rare fraction by anger.

Then came his nose—crooked and twisted, as if it had been beaten by some man surnamed Lu. As for that mouth that was currently spewing filth without pause...

A blobfish's face might have been more likable than his. At least you knew that was a fish, while with this man, you truly could not be certain whether he was human at all.

In sharp contrast to his hideous appearance was his lavishly decorated office.

Mahogany floors, two walls of bookshelves, two walls of display cabinets, all packed with precious treasures collected from all over the world. The desk had been custom-made in Ionia at great cost, and was said to calm the mind. Unfortunately, judging from