These Demons Do it for Free

Bongshik looked visibly troubled by my request. Even though he was under my control with the brand, he couldn’t hide his discomfort, as if he genuinely found the situation immensely difficult.

"Um… I’m not sure how much you know, but he’s not someone I can just…deal with."

"I know."

"No, I mean, really. You don’t understand."

Even though he knew I could dispose of him in an instant and add him to the Abyss’s growing list of bodies, Bongshik argued back.

‘Bongshik, arguing back?’@@novelbin@@

But the difficulty he was expressing also confirmed his sincerity.

“The Shadow Puppeteer’s organization might not be one of the largest, but they’ve carved out a stable niche, even among the larger factions. The leader, Balhen, isn’t known because he’s weak. It’s a show of confidence.”

In Les Rimen’s underworld, the environment is often compared to a forest. The visible part is just a tiny fraction, hiding a dense ecosystem and a deep, impenetrable darkness. Within this forest, the various underworld factions are like trees.

Competition among trees in nature is fierce. Mature trees cast broad shadows, blocking sunlight and stunting the growth of younger trees below them. The struggle for survival among seedlings in such a forest is a pitiful fight.

If trees compete so fiercely, imagine the human underworld. In Les Rimen, a place teeming with mystics and eccentrics, the competition is nothing short of warfare. So, an emerging organization that established itself as an information dealer despite the relentless pressures from older factions must possess an edge over them.

Still, from what I recalled during the last training incident with the undiscovered ruins, Balhen seemed cooperative with the Si Army. Didn’t he explicitly deny being against them?

Bongshik, looking a bit puzzled, replied.

"Of course he’s cooperative with the Si Army… No organization can compete with them in Les Rimen."