Chapter 68

"Looks like the moon has come around again."

Rango grinned and took a swig from the bottle of cheap wine. Drinking this not-so-tasty cheap wine would probably be the last thing he did today. Thinking about it made him feel a bit nostalgic... but not really. His heart raced at the thought of the wine that nobles drank, filled with excitement and anticipation.

Rango was a scoundrel.

He had run away from his poor home, but ended up living a hand-to-mouth existence, a scoundrel with no connection to money.

Nothing he did went well, and money just kept slipping through his fingers. It seemed that the gods truly disliked unfortunate people. Living with a chip on his shoulder, Rango had recently taken a liking to human trafficking. All he had to do was snatch a child wandering in the forest and hand them over to a "customer" to get paid. It was a rather easy job, but the recent issue was that the payments were getting worse because the "quality" was poor.

What quality, Rango thought, and he was considering getting out of this business.

Touching the children of nobles or the wealthy would cause trouble. Besides, he didn't want to make a big scene in the middle of town. By necessity, he had to target children who went into the forest to gather mushrooms or wild vegetables, which led to the "poor quality" complaints from customers. It was a frustrating situation. Rango was taking risks to do his job, but the customers didn't consider his circumstances at all. That's why he found rich people so annoying. Thinking of the fat, ugly body of a customer who said whatever he wanted, Rango snorted.

But, bowing to such a fatso would soon be over.

On this day, Rango was walking through the forest with his usual gang, eyes wide open.

Why? Because he couldn't find any children.

Even though the fatso was already a poor payer, there were fewer and fewer children walking in the forest recently. It seemed that rumors were spreading about children not returning from the forest. The amount of money he could give to his gang was decreasing, and the gang members were getting irritated.

Maybe it was time to leave town, Rango thought.

"Boss!"

One of his gang members called out to Rango.

There was a child picking herbs, about ten years old. The child seemed to be cautious, looking around while putting herbs into a basket.

It seemed that the gods had some mercy for diligent people like Rango. This would bring in some travel money, Rango thought, a smirk on his face.

"Hey"

"Right"

One of the gang members, grinning similarly, ran forward and picked up the child.

"Ah!"

The child immediately started crying and screaming, thrashing around. One of the gang members brandished a knife.

"Hey, little girl, didn't you learn that there are scary monsters in the forest?"

The gang member swiped the knife across the child's round cheek, making a small cry escape.

"See, if you struggle, your face will be all scratched up."

The gang member, excited by the rare catch, laughed and swiped the knife across the child's cheek again.

"Weren't you told not to go into the forest alone?"

"W-well, m-mom is sick, so..."

The gang member laughed at the crying child.

"Well, then, this is your punishment for breaking your promise with your mother. Got it? You shouldn't make a sound or struggle. It's your fault for breaking the promise."

The gang members laughed, and the child bit her lip and shed tears.

Seeing the child calm down, Rango told the gang member to put away the knife.

He didn't want to damage the valuable merchandise.

This sunburned, freckled child wouldn't fetch much, but Rango didn't want to lower its value. The gang member, understanding Rango's intention, put the knife back in its holder.

"Tie her up"

"Right"

Rango sighed, thinking about how to avoid being underpaid.

"What are you doing!"

A slightly hoarse, adolescent voice rang out.

The girl being carried by the gang member was younger, probably around twelve or thirteen.

Eh, an angel?

No, that can't be. A boy? A boy would be fine, Rango thought, confused.

A boy with lustrous black hair, porcelain-white skin, and striking, gem-like purple eyes. Once you saw that face, you couldn't look away. It was a beauty that seemed otherworldly. Rango couldn't help but think it was a girl, but the body attached to that face was large.

Tall, with long limbs. A big doll... Rango almost said it aloud but bit his lip.

"Master Rick, you shouldn't."

A weak voice pulled at the boy's arm, lowering his eyebrows. The beautiful face matched a weak boy.

Rango glanced at his gang member.

The gang member was staring at the boy with his mouth open.

No time for that! Rango hit the gang member on the head and ordered, "Capture him." Compared to the usual merchandise, this one was older, but with that beauty, it was more than just high quality. Rango wanted to cheer but held back.

"What are you doing!"

Two gang members hurriedly grabbed the boy's arms from both sides.

The boy struggled, but as his frail appearance suggested, he was weak. He couldn't shake them off. Rango looked at the frowning boy and the gang members on both sides... ignoring the pang of sympathy for the gang members, he looked down at the boy.

"You should have stayed hidden."

"..."

The boy, surprisingly, glared up at Rango. Most children of this age would cower, cry, and try to escape, but this one seemed to have a strong will or high self-esteem.

Could this be a good catch? Rango thought, lifting the boy's long, navy blue bangs. Wow, they're so smooth.

"Don't touch Master Rick!"

"Whoa, don't move, kid. I might slip."

"..."

The gang member swiped the knife across the boy's white cheek, and the boy bit his lip in frustration. What a sexy boy, Rango thought, a bit surprised. No, no, that's not my type, he reminded himself, focusing on the boy.

Rango was surprised again.

What, a fairy?

Translucent light blue eyes, long lashes, a straight nose, and small, lightly colored lips. An incredibly beautiful boy.

A boy? Is he really a boy? Rango tilted his head, but then thought it didn't matter, and let go of the bangs.

The hair felt like silk, and Rango felt like he could touch it forever, but he reminded himself, "This is merchandise, this is merchandise," and lifted the small body onto his shoulder.

"Let go!"

"Master Rick!"

"Hey, if you care about each other, don't struggle."

"..."

Perhaps a noble and his servant. Rango couldn't stop smiling as the two stopped moving in frustration.

"Tie them up"

"Hehe, right!"

The gang members, who had been staring, hurriedly tied up the boy and the man. They tied the ropes around the three of them, and the large gang member grabbed them all. The boy went to the crying girl and whispered something to her, showing concern.

It wasn't unusual for an older child to show concern for a younger one.

Even when they didn't know what would happen to themselves, they worried about others. Rango, who had lived at the bottom, didn't understand this. Maybe it was because they were children, they had baseless confidence that "everything would be okay."

Rango hated the pure, innocent hearts that believed in a bright future, to the point of feeling sick.

"That will sell for a high price, no doubt."

Rango grinned and drank more wine.

The boy and the man were incredibly beautiful, more so than he had ever seen. Plus, they seemed to come from good families. Their high self-esteem was annoying, but it meant they had a certain status and education. The customers would be delighted with this merchandise.

The gang members were so captivated that a few of them almost lost their way. "I... I'm getting excited..." Rango watched them hit each other, feeling distant.

Whatever, just don't hurt the merchandise, he reminded them.

"Maybe I'll give you a small discount."

Rango laughed, and so it was.

If someone who knew this merchandise was there, they might have shaken their head and said, "Run!" or "Don't touch them!"

Or, if there was someone skilled, they might have noticed that the man saying "Let go!" had no intention of running and was hiding incredible strength.

Or, if there was someone quick-witted, they might have noticed that the boy was too calm and thought, "Something's wrong."

But, unfortunately, there was no such person in Rango's gang.

Of course not.

If someone knew this merchandise, they wouldn't be working in a shabby shack doing petty crimes. If someone was skilled, they wouldn't be following Rango for a few coins.

Rango, who didn't realize it, was a foolish man who had dug himself deeper and deeper into the underground.

So, it was inevitable that Rango's criminal life was coming to an end.

Unaware of this, Rango drank his wine and daydreamed about a luxurious life. In his mind, he was adorned with jewels, surrounded by beautiful women, and throwing gold coins around. It was a cheap, tasteless fantasy, fitting for a scoundrel.

Now, to start the worst day of Rango's life, we must first look back at the day of the merchandise.

Let's start the flashback.

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This week looks like it's going to be busy, and I want to refuse to go to work, but I can't, so...

The next update might be on hold or shorter...

I'll do my best to survive, so please look forward to the next update!