[Please Kill Eugene Hall, he has betrayed us. Glory to the Dark Moon! I have been ordered by god to take the seat of the next leader.]
"What the fuck?"
Leaning back on a chair, Luka muttered as he flipped open a paper that had reached him through a bird.
The large room that he sat in had a few people around, all of them on their knees as they faced the direction Luka sat in.
Near him were the two princesses, more of the kneeling men doing their best to fan them in the heat.
"Hey, Mr. Keith, I got this weird letter."
Keith, dropping down a bag of money, walked over to the man and snatched the letter from his hands.
"Huh. I guess that glasses guy let his intrusive thoughts win."
"Should I keep this for that bastard? I can probably blackmail some data out from him."
"You should, it is your right."
Luka laughed at his words.
"Were you swiping some money? Go ahead, take it."
"You don't need to tell me, brat."
Keith said with a smile and swiped out the bag of cash that he was going to anyway.
Inside the room, all the men on their feet trembled.
"Still, to think all these fuckers had been raking in so much cash by being their stupid selves. How can you coerce people into borrowing money and then take from them so shamelessly?" Luka's words sent all the men in the room shaking.
"Hey, boss guy, come here."
At his call, the boss from the small town further south from the count's territory walked over. This here was their entire operation, all of them, now having been beaten to death and then beaten some more, had no choice but to submit to Luka.
He was about to bully the boss guy again when the door to their business opened and in came an otherworldly beauty, her purple hair swaying in the air.
"I got a letter from Albert. He says he wants us to collect as much money as we can and start sending it to the bank."
What would have been a notice of relief for the people that had their entire operation stolen from them under minutes felt no better than a death threat.
They couldn't help but think that the voice that had announced this was of the angel of hell.
Keith tossed the bag of coins back and Luka stood up, his face turned into a frown.
With a snap of his fingers, all the bastards in the room stood up and made themselves scarce, leaving only his group remaining the wide space.
"What do you think he's planning?" Asked Anatolia, her voice soft. Though no one that had traumatized her was here and she was the most relaxed she had been ever since she left the academy, she still remained quiet and amicable.
"Hm, making them bring in money, huh? It can't be something good." Said Hoya.
Luka alone shook his head.
"It's definitely not something good. Have you seen that man? He's a demon. A demon. I don't know what world he came from, but the people of that one would be celebrating the good riddance right now."
Little did Luka know that Albert was the kindest person that old world had ever seen.
Hoya and Anatolia tilted their head at Luka's words, but the other two weren't as blissfully unaware.
"Wait what!?" Dawn screamed.
"That nasty prince is like the young master too?!"
It was a topic that had shaken Keith and Dawn from their cores. But Luka only brushed it aside like it had been with him.
"He is, so what? Grow up."
They had to swallow that pill.
"Anyway, as much money as we can, huh?" Luka crossed his arms and hummed.
"Should we go ahead and kick up their business a bit?" Keith suggested. He didn't like having to go and attack innocents, but who cares?"
Luke frowned. That crazies' friends were just as crazy.
"Well, if we're going to do that," Dawn spoke up. "I bet those criminals we have outside know a fair deal or two about people we can extort cash from."
"Hmm…"
***
A casino operated in the backwaters of the city of the count. The single casino with largely skewed odds had cheated the people off their money over and over, making their business the biggest one around.
They had also never been coerced into taking a loan by the sharks moving around all thanks to their manipulations.
Satisfied and happy, the owner of the casino had built up a habit of counting his cash at the counter personally and greeting new guests.
Deep into the night when the yellow lights were ablaze inside and the sounds of wine clinking merged with the shuffle of cards, the owner once again sat outside and waded through his day's yield.
It was then, the door opened.
Stepping inside was a young man with ruffled red hair. A shawl on his neck and a coat on his shoulders, a look that veterans like Keith could never emit.
"Hey, Mister," the young boy leaned on the counter and spoke. "You the owner?"
"I am. We don't do refunds, young man. If you lost you lost, blame your game instead of 'the' game."
The boy waved his hands.
"Ah, no no. None of that," he said. "I am just here to collect protection fees."
The owner tilted his head.
Then, he scoffed.
"Protection fees?"
"Yeah. I am protecting you, so hand over protection fees."
The owner leaned and asked in a low voice.
"And what, could a brat like you, protect me from?"
"Good question," the boy, Luka, said. In the blink of an eye, he grabbed the owner by the collar and yanked him out of the counter. He tossed him over to the table of people playing poker, breaking both of them in a single go.
The owner coughed out blood and phlegm as Luka strode over to him, stretching his hands.
"I'll be protecting you… from myself."
The guards of the casino came reeling in and lunged at him, but they were useless. Luka folded their clothes while they still donned them without exerting any effort. The guards were beaten black and blue with single punches and kicks, his stride never stopping.
Some spells shot his way.
"Tsk. Childish."
With a wave of his hands, his intent Ki cut through them all.
"Y-y-you!!" The owner screamed. "The law! I'll call the law—"
Right then, the door of the casino opened again.
"K-knights!" The owner crawled on all four and moved ahead. "Sir! Sir save me, please! This man stepped inside and is breaking my business!"
The knight looked at the owner, and then at Luka.
"Is what he says true?" they asked Luka.
"Not at all," Luka answered.
"Alright. Have a great night."
"Sir!? Sir! H-hey! Aren't you knights?!"
The owner's words did not make them stop even for a fleeting moment.
Out went the drug-addicted boss and his two gang members that Luka had first beat up. Their uniform changed into those of the city knights.
"Now then… protection fee."
Luka's shadow loomed over the owner of the casino.
And just like that, in many more places all over the city, from bars to brothels.
The city found their new protectors.
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