Gun of Ashes

Two days, three groups of people, the same task.

Lorenzo had vaguely sensed something amiss, as if a group of people were setting a trap for him.

He reached out directly and took down the Winchester hanging above his head, pulling the metal loop on the guard, and there was a clear ’click’ as the bullet was chambered.

”Wait a minute! Is this thing really capable of firing?”

Oscar said in surprise. He had always thought of it as a commemorative artifact, never knowing it was an actual weapon.

”What do you think!”

Lorenzo had a fierce look on his face.

This was something that Heracles had emphasized to him, just like how the Rat King was really just a large rat, and this Winchester was truly a shotgun, not a ridiculous piece of art.

”What’s going on?”

Bola at the door was a bit unclear about what was happening, but upon seeing Oscar, he vaguely sensed it. As Arthur’s most trusted subordinate, he also knew Oscar’s identity.

”You! You! And you! Don’t speak just yet!”

However, Lorenzo gave him no opportunity to inquire, asking everyone to quiet down, as he pondered over the origin of all this.

That woman.

That woman shrouded entirely in darkness.

Lorenzo couldn’t help recalling that unforgettable fragrance from then.

For a woman, it wasn’t a soft or pleasant scent, but rather, Lorenzo could feel only the biting cold winds of the Northern Territory, curling with sharp snowflakes, carving across his face.

”So it seems, Oscar, your competitors are them, aren’t they?”

Lorenzo cleared his thoughts, pointing his finger at Bola.

”Nordro and the Purification Mechanism are in mutual competition.”

Oscar didn’t answer verbally, but from his expression of having swallowed a fly, Lorenzo knew he guessed right, and the urgency Oscar had previously was probably due to knowing that the Purification Mechanism was also coming for him.

Unfortunately, he ended up like this after all his efforts.

”Lorenzo, you gave your word!”

Oscar said uneasily to Lorenzo, appearing quite afraid that the deal would be snatched away by the Purification Mechanism.

Selyu, on the other hand, was not very responsive. She had come along to cooperate with Oscar, but the current situation was certainly unlike what Oscar had told her before, and Selyu was a bit lost in her act.

Bola also snapped back to his senses. Even that idiot Red Falcon should have some understanding of what was happening here.

”Arthur agreed to your requirements, we will resume cooperation, and there’s a job here…” Bola tried to win back Lorenzo’s favor, but was sharply cut off by him.

”Hold on a second!”

Lorenzo said, then looked at Oscar with confidence written all over his face.

”Like you said, I owe you, Oscar, and I will help you.”

Oscar was stunned, not expecting Lorenzo to agree so straightforwardly, but as he was about to feel moved, he heard Lorenzo telling Bola.

”Our cooperation will continue as well.”

The scene fell silent once more.

”Lorenzo, what are you thinking?!”

Oscar asked, bewildered. Logically, Lorenzo’s cooperation with the Purification Mechanism should end here.

But Lorenzo seemed unfazed by this, wearing a pleased and smug expression.

”Don’t be so quick to react, let’s talk through this slowly; after all, won’t everything end up coming back to me in the end?”

Lorenzo said without any care.

”So, one job, double the pay, is there a problem with that?”

...

With Lorenzo aboard, the carriage became somewhat cramped, and the stifling air mixed with different undercurrents, as everyone harbored their own thoughts.

According to Selyu, she temporarily switched allegiances, and sat with Lorenzo, deciding to abandon the subsequent matters.

She wasn’t good at arguing with others, choosing to leave the trouble to Oscar, the slick talker since he was the instigator of all this.

Across from her and Lorenzo, Oscar and Bola, the two competitors, sat side by side. Bola seemed a bit unable to cope with Oscar, his cheeks twitching as if restraining something.

Well, Bola was always a meticulous and serious person, whereas Oscar was like an older version of Lorenzo, always spouting some irrelevant nonsense. As Selyu often described Oscar, he was probably a ”damned old bastard”.

”So you really intend to do this, Lorenzo?”

Bola asked, finding Lorenzo’s behavior increasingly laughable, as if he wanted to turn the competition between the two sides into a partnership.

”What else? In the end, wasn’t it your fault? Throwing the work at me all at once, I couldn’t refuse, and now with this mess, reaching this point, all I know is that it’s related to Gaulunaro, while the rest is a mystery.”

Lorenzo moved his gaze back from the window, looking at Oscar and Bola sitting together.

On one side was the enigmatic and unpredictable Nordro, and on the other, the somewhat understood Purification Mechanism. Yet, in terms of mystery, Lorenzo actually found the merchant conglomerate Nordro even more terrifying.

They had no influence in Ingwig, but outside the territory, no one knew how much power they truly held, and these massive fortunes and powers were essentially not even serving Nordro; Nordro was just a tool, a facade to obscure their true presence.