Ero Saint: I Created An Ero Massage Parlor In Another World
Chapter 12: Richie

Chapter 12: Richie

"It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later. But first, explain to me what you just said. You saw the "Rat" Peter snooping around my house? Isn’t he with the Sadis Gang?"

I frowned as soon as I heard the name "Rat" Peter coming out of Richie’s mouth.

While the original Aiden had only lived in the city for less than a year, thus leaving me with limited knowledge about the place. Some information stuck out clearly in my mind, such as the details of Five Rings, the Sadis Gang, and a man known as "Rat" Peter.

They were dangerous, and maybe that’s why Aiden paid extra attention to them.

For example, the Five Rings was the name of a criminal organization that had just come into existence several years ago. It was formed through an alliance between five already well-known and powerful gangs, one of them being the Sadis Gang.

Each of the five founding gangs had its own specialty.

In the case of the Sadis Gang, it was information. They were experts at digging up secrets.

In a way, they operated like private investigators or information brokers. You could practically hire them to dig up anything. But unlike professionals, they had no sense of ethics. They had no bottom line and weren’t scared to cross the boundary without hesitation.

If they needed to, they’d break into someone’s home, kill the occupants, and wait inside just to eavesdrop on a target living next door. As long as it helped them get what they wanted, they didn’t care who got caught in the crossfire.

Their infamous motto was:

"There’s no such thing as a forever secret—only cowards who don’t dare to uncover it."

Naturally, as the gang’s reputation grew, so did the notoriety of its top members.

Within the Sadis Gang, no name was more well-known than "Rat" Peter. It was rumored he served as the left hand of Alduin Sadis himself, the gang’s leader.

And now that very dangerous man had shown up at my house?

What could possibly be the meaning of this?

His involvement suggested the original Aiden’s death wasn’t simple at all!

At first, I thought the original Aiden had simply gotten on the wrong side of some small gang. That alone would’ve been bad enough.

But if one of the Five Rings was behind everything, this whole matter might run deeper and complicated than I ever imagined.

’What would they gain from killing the original Aiden? And what were they searching for in his house?’

"It was nighttime, so I couldn’t see clearly. But I saw "Rat" Peter standing outside your house with a few of his men. I could hear stuff breaking inside. Then someone came out and whispered something to Peter, and he went in himself. After that, I didn’t stick around. I was afraid they’d spot me." Richie said.

He suddenly grabbed my arms and continued. "Aiden, tell me what’s going on. Did you do something to piss them off? If so, you can’t stay here. You need to run. Leave the city. Get as far away as you can."

"Wait here, alright? I’m going back to my place. I’ve got some savings back at my house. With the way things are, you’ll need it more than I do."

I was caught off guard by Richie’s actions, but quickly touched by his good intentions.

I instinctively softened my tone and patted his shoulder. "Relax. The situation hasn’t reached the point where I need to flee the city."

Honestly, I was very impressed. For someone who grew up in the West Borough, a place where poverty and crime went hand in hand, Richie still managed to hold on to a kind heart.

That kind of attitude takes either a heart of gold... or just plain stupidi- I mean naivety.

"What do you mean it hasn’t? Your house just got ransacked by the Sadis Gang! The Sadis Gang, Aiden! Do you even understand what that means? That means you’re already on their target list! If they’ve got their eyes on you, your fate’s pretty much sealed."

"Even if you report it to the authorities, what can they actually do? It’s not like they’d put someone like you under protective custody. You know how they treat people like us."

"And even if by some miracle, they agreed to treat your case seriously, it’s not like they could protect you twenty-four-seven, right? My boss always says, ’You can guard against a thief for a day or two, but you can’t guard against a thief all the time.’"

I raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you get so good at talking? Quoting your boss now, too?"

Richie scratched the back of his head and gave an awkward laugh. "Ah, well... my boss signed me up for a tutoring class. Said I should learn how to read and write."

Then his expression shifted, and he cursed under his breath.

"Damn it, Aiden! Don’t change the subject like that. We’re talking about your life! You could get killed any minute. Why are you acting like it’s no big deal?"

’Well, too late, the original Aiden already did lose his life,’ I couldn’t help but think to myself.

"It’s fine. Really. I didn’t come here to argue with you. Anyway, you’ve lived in this city since you were a kid, right? What do you know about the Sadis Gang?"

Richie, easily distracted by my question once again, fell into a deep thought and said musingly, "Well... I know you can hire them at Carnivore Bar, over on Mowa Street."

I nodded silently.

That lined up with what I remembered. Though it didn’t guarantee that their leader, or anyone important was actually based there. It could just be a front where they accepted requests while their real headquarters was hidden somewhere else.

Still, the fact that the Sadis Gang openly used the bar as a contact point meant it had to hold some deeper significance. It wasn’t a stretch to think that targeting the place would lead me somewhere useful.

"Mowa Street? Got it," I said, pretending like I’d just learned something new. The place was about an hour’s walk from here, or fifteen minutes by carriage.

"Anything else?"

"There’s a rumor," Richie said hesitantly. "I don’t know if it’s true or not, but someone once said to me, ’Rat" Peter has some kind of strange ability. Supposedly, he can talk to animals."

"A beast tamer?"

In Pangea, rare abilities like that weren’t exactly unheard of.

Aside from Divine Power, this world had many sources of power. There were Mages who used Mana to cast magical spells, and Knights who manipulated their life force into a powerful technique known as Aura.

Beast taming was just one of the many rare but possible abilities in Pangea.

"I’m not really sure," Richie continued. "I heard it from my drinking buddy who was pretty drunk at the time. He claimed he ran into "Rat" Peter on his way home and saw him talking to an owl, a snake, and a rat, like, actually giving them commands. And then all three animals took off in different directions at once."

"Is your friend still around?"

Richie’s expression darkened. "No. He’s dead. We didn’t see him again after that night. Next thing we knew, we heard he’d been found floating in the Serayu River."

He paused before adding grimly, "His eyes were missing, looked like they’d been gouged out by talons. All the bones in his body were crushed, like he had been rolled over by a carriage or squeezed by something massive and heavy. His tongue was gone. There was a hole in his chest, like something had dug in and ripped out his organs. All of them were missing."

He let out a heavy sigh.

"How unfortunate. That guy had just gotten married... and was expecting his first child due next week. He went out drinking that night, thinking it would be his last bit of freedom before the baby came. None of us expected he’d be gone so soon."

I didn’t respond to Richie’s rambling. I just stayed quiet, but inside, something had shifted within me.

Up until now, I had been hesitant about moving forward with my plan. It would lead to many people dying, and I wasn’t sure I could carry that weight.

But after hearing Richie’s story, that hesitation vanished.

I was fully committed now.

’Hopefully, with me about to remove a big piece of filth, the city will be just a bit less rotten.’

"Anything else?" I asked.

"Well... I heard..."

Richie continued talking, and I listened in silence for another ten minutes.

I glanced over at him and saw how pale and drained he looked. He wore a troubled expression the entire time he was talking, as though having difficulty digging his own memories.

I let out a quiet chuckle and shook my head.

’This guy... He can carry two hundred-pound crates without breaking a sweat, but the moment I start asking questions, he’s sweating like crazy.’

"Thank you, it’s enough."

"Ah, you’re not going to ask anything else?" Richie blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. He looked like someone who had just been through mental torture, even though all I did was ask a few questions.

"Yeah, that’s enough," I said with a smile, then added to myself. ’Obviously, I can’t with a full conscience press you for further information when you looked ready to pass out at any moment.’

’Besides, it seems like you got nothing else of important information that I could squeeze out.’

"Why were you asking me all that, anyway?" Richie said while rubbing his forehead, his throbbing veins could be seen clearly.

"That’s a secret," I replied with a grin.

Before he could respond, I turned to leave. "When all this blows over, drinks are on me, alright?"

"Aiden!"

I waved without looking back and stepped out of the building.

...

After leaving the port, I thought about heading home. Richie’s story made me curious about what exactly Sadis Gang was looking for at my place.