The next day, Zich headed for the casino. Then, he stood in front of the casino’s large entrance with Lyla next to him. Even though it was pretty early in the day, the casino was already in full business.
“They sure are busy,” Lyla murmured as she saw people going inside.
Zich replied, “Time means nothing to gambling addicts. These kinds of guys would even bet their lives on gambling if they could. In a way, they are really pitiful.”
“Out of those people, will any of them actually earn money?”
“Never. Even if there’s a day when they earn a bit, they will use it all up on gambling and lose money again. Gambling inside the casino is always more advantageous to the casino.”
Zich and Lyla went inside. As soon as they entered, a feverish sense of desire and excitement rushed towards them.
“Then, should we play a bit?”
“While losing money, right?”
“I am going to earn something today for real.”
“I hope for that lie to become true.”
The two parted and moved in the direction of the games they each wanted to play. Of course, their main goal wasn’t to gamble but to investigate Condel Siede. In short, this play’s purpose was to gather information, and the two were pretending to gamble. Like before, Zich’s money disappeared bit by bit. He didn’t seem to be all that different from the people whose eyes were red from focusing on gambling as they shouted and spat out curses.
Still, Zich wasn’t getting influenced by the fever of gambling in the slightest. In comparison to the people around him swept up with excitement, his eyes remained cold. As the game continued, the sum that Zich had grown to quite a sum. Zich let out a big sigh as if he wanted other people to see him. Then, he backed away like he was planning to rest a bit. While he moved, he took one of the beverages that the casino provided and approached the wall.
“It’s been a while,” Zich said while leaning his back against the wall. Besides him, there were bodyguards overseeing the area like they were statues. One of them looked familiar; he was the guard who had guided them to Condel Siede last time. The man’s face scrunched up a bit. Anyone could see that he was unwilling to converse with Zich; yet, his expression also looked a bit taken aback.
Zich smirked. “You must think that it’s strange that I am speaking to you politely unlike before.”
“No, I mean…” The guard struggled to continue. Zich’s words were right on the mark. The guard was a bit stunned since Zich had spoken rudely to him before but was paying all his respects to the guard now.
“I acted like that before because of my job. There are times when I have to act aggressively for my work even when I don’t want to. I hope you can understand since you do a similar line of work.”
“Well, I can understand.” The guard had experience suppressing many enraged customers after they lost money in the casino, so he easily agreed to Zich’s words.
“Then, have you not come here to work today, sir?”
“If I came to work, I would’ve sought out Mr. Siede right away. I just came to cool my head. The case I was put in charge of was giving me a massive headache.” Zich made a small smile and said, “So, there’s no need for you to continue eyeing me so suspiciously.”
“Cough!” The guard had been keeping an eye on Zich as soon as he spotted him, and he let out a fake cough. However, since Zich’s expression didn’t seem all that displeased, he felt a bit relieved. Still, he had to apologize. Since Zich was gambling at the table, he was a customer at the casino. Furthermore, from what he heard, Zich had given up a considerable sum to the casino today too.
“I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable.”
“I didn’t talk to you to receive an apology, but if you feel some guilt, please be my talk buddy for a bit. I feel like I will lose money again if I return to the table right now. I need some time to recharge my luck.”
“It’s fine as long as I can continue to do my work. And please keep it short if possible, sir.”
Zich exchanged various words with the guard about various happenings, gambling, the customers who come to the casino, and so on. Soon afterward, Zich started, “But you know, your boss…”
The guard’s eyes changed. Although his attitude had looked a bit tired until now, he had always answered each of Zich’s questions diligently in consideration of his past spying behavior and Zich’s status as the investigator of his boss. However, the story changed once the topic came to his boss’s personal life.
“…Do you have something to say to the boss, sir?”
“Don’t get nervous. I told you before that I just came here to cool my head. I just had something personal to ask.”
“…What is it?”
“The boss here. What’s his reason for not dating anybody?”
“What?”
As someone who didn’t know the specifics of the incidents that were happening right now, Zich’s question seemed to have no connection with the incident; and it seemed like a very personal question. The guard hesitated, and Zich asked like a chatterbox who loved to find gossip and rumors wherever he went.
“I mean, honestly, isn’t the boss here a truly fine man? If he is operating a casino like this one in Janmalpi, doesn’t that mean he is someone of considerable wealth and skills?”
“Yes, that’s true, sir.”
“Wouldn’t that usually mean one or two lovers?”
The guard nodded at Zich’s question. It was a question that he, himself, had made before. If he was the owner of a casino like this, the guard was sure that he would have lived a very spectacular and fancy life. Yet, his boss, Condel Siede, seemed to almost live like an ascetic.
“Does he have a hidden lover or anything?”
“Not from what I know, sir.”
“He’s a truly amazing man. Does he pour everything he has into his business? Well, I suppose some people are like that. Or does he not have a lover because he is too focused on his family? I heard of some cases like that…” Zich murmured to himself and furtively asked, “Is your boss really close to his family?”
“The mayor doesn’t have any living family members.”
“I know that too. He used to have a sister, but she died not too long ago. I am asking about the time before she passed away.”
“Hmm.”
Did he dig in a little too deep? Zich was about to slightly change the topic when the guard spoke again.
“Now that I think about it, I think I’ve heard something like that.” The security guard continued, “He’s basically living in the casino right now, but back then, he used to live in a separate house and left to immediately go home when work was over. I heard that it was because he had to take care of his younger sister. I also heard that his younger sister was so sickly that she couldn’t even go outside often. My seniors told me that even though our boss was a rough guy from the back alley, he had a very good relationship with his sibling.”
“Is that so?” Zich got the answer he wanted; he secretly smiled in satisfaction. After exchanging more small talk, Zich leaned against the wall.
Zich said, “I’m sorry for bothering you even though you must be busy.”
“No, not at all.” However, contrary to his words, the security guard’s expression looked relieved to be free from Zich.
Zich didn’t say anything; instead, he smiled and went back to the gambling table. Zich repeated this pattern the whole day. After losing a lot of money, he spent time talking to the different employees throughout the casino. There were some people whom he couldn’t get much information out of, but some people gave him useful information.
When it was almost time for dinner, Zich left the casino with Lyla. Even when they were heading out, the casino was still bustling with people.
Zich asked, “Did you get any info?”
“Well, it seems true that Condel Siede really cherished his younger sister.”
“Oh, you also found that out? You’re pretty good at getting information out of people,” Zich said while recalling how he had to say a bunch of random things and speak in a roundabout manner to lower the employees’ guards. However, Lyla’s reply was different from his expectations.
“I just asked and they all gave me an answer right away.”
“…” Zich stared at Lyla. Her beauty was almost unearthly. Even when she was just walking, everyone’s gazes moved towards her. Since the security guards were all men, it seemed as if they were all defenseless against her.
‘Really, this damn world is so unfair.’
Zich felt that his hard work to lower the employee’s guards and eschew all kinds of information from them was almost pointless.
‘Anyways, I can be more certain of the information I got.’
Even after this day, Zich continued to persistently gather more information. He investigated around the casino and back alleys to find more information about Condel Siede. Combining all the information he collected, Zich and Lyla were able to find out that Condel Siede cared for his younger sister to an almost abnormal extent.
“Condel Siede really seems like the guy we’re looking for.” Lyla also thought there was a high possibility that Condel Siede was the culprit of the kidnapping cases. “Isn’t it time for us to slowly start a forced investigation against him?”
“It’s not time yet.”
“What else do you need to do? We’ve already prepared the portrait of the shadow human whom we think is Sia Rubrent.” The portrait of the shadow human they witnessed had already been drawn to catch Condel Siede.
“There’s something I need to do. Something really important about that.”
“What?” Lyla’s voice was tense, as it was something even Zich deemed important.
“Preparation to torture him.”
“…What?” For a moment, Lyla thought she had heard wrong. However, Zich’s shameless face did not change at all.
“I need to torture Siede. Did you really think I’d just leave an enemy alone?”
“…No.” Lyla was very aware of Zich’s awful hobby; in a way, he really was a consistent person. However, Lyla realized that there was something a bit different than usual on his face.
“Zich.”
“Why?”
“Perhaps, are you angry?” Lyla glanced at him. Zich’s expression didn’t look much different from usual; his face was confident and energetic. However, Lyla couldn’t stop thinking about how he looked slightly different from usual.
“…Is it noticeable?” Zich rubbed his face this way and that.
“No, it’s not noticeable. It’s just a feeling I had.”
“Really?” Zich moved his hand away from his face.
“So are you really angry? For what reason?”
“Joachim and Evelyn.”
Lyla caught onto what Zich was referencing as soon as he said their names out loud. “Ah, is it because the two of them were ambushed?”
“Yeah.”
“…But those two don’t really have a deep connection with you right now.”
“I know. Those two are not the subordinates of Demon Lord Zich Moore anymore. They’re not the Vampire and Succubus anymore, and they won’t become Demon People either. They’ll probably continue their lives as Count Joachim Dracul and Lady Rouge from the Marquess Rouge family. We probably also won’t have many chances to meet them either. No matter how nicely I describe our relationship, I’m probably just an acquaintance to whom they owe a huge favor towards.”
Zich laughed after saying this. Lyla swallowed her saliva. Zich’s laugh was not like his usual playful laugh. It was a laugh that was closer to the laugh of Demon Lord Zich Moore, whom Lyla was most afraid of. If Hans and Snoc were near them, they would have immediately raised their guard up to the highest level and glanced at Zich for further orders.
“I can’t help being angry, and there’s no reason for me to suppress this feeling, right?” Zich turned his back and looked at the casino from far away. Condel Siede was probably inside.
“That’s why I have to fuck him over until I’m completely satisfied!”
Lyla instinctively took a step away from Zich.