IV
IV
Machine guns at the front gate, machine guns at the back gate. God, you've been tormenting me too much lately," Abel moaned.
"Abel, you're supposed to be my bullet shield! Do something about these guys quickly!" shouted Antonio.
The huge shadow in the black coat stood behind the priest and the Divinity student as they wailed at each other. It was the same man who'd attacked in the boat station a little while earlier. Except for the fact that he didn't have a cigar, his face was exactly like that of the man on the carriage.
"You caused us a lot of trouble, but we've finally caught you, Antonio," said the man from the boat station, turning up his lips happily. He slid his gun muzzle, closely following the prince's face as the prince tried to hide behind Abel. "That thing you swiped—our boss really likes it. That's why we have strict orders not to let you die easily under any circumstances. Prepare yourself."
"P-please wait!" said Abel, barely managing to move his tongue as he watched the fingers on the triggers in front and back of them. It seemed as if the two Neue Vatican adherents intended to finish Antonio here. "We don't have that list yet! Never mind me—wouldn't it be awful to kill a prince?" "List? What are you talking about?" asked the man in the menacing black coat. "We only came to beat that shitty brat to death on Papa Zeppu's orders."
"Who's Papa Zeppu? I don't know any such person," Abel replied as he turned to face Antonio, who clapped his hands as if he'd suddenly remembered something. The expression on Antonio's face suggested that he had a bad premonition. "Urn, do you have some idea, prince?"
The prince raised one finger and answered cheerfully: "Yeah, Papa Zeppu—he's the boss of a famous gang. He's called the emperor of the Cologne underworld."
"G-gang boss?" exclaimed Abel. What in the world is he talking about? That means the two people in front of us aren't from Neue Vatican after all? "P-please wait a moment. Why is that unusual type of hired man following us—I mean you— prince?"
"Hmm, I really can't think of a reason," Antonio replied, folding both arms as if completely stumped. "I only stopped in at his casino once or twice to visit Eva. I didn't win much those times, either."
"Eva? Who's Eva?" asked Abel.
The black coats' faces appeared more and more threatening. While pretending not to notice, Abel spluttered. He felt cold— terribly cold.
"Eva's my girlfriend . . . and Papa Zeppu's lover. She said before that she wanted to move out of Cologne, so I wrote her a letter inviting her to my father's place and got her out of the city," Antonio explained.
The black coats' machine guns raised in unison before the priests eyes, causing him to stiffen like a fossil.
"And that's not all. You were the one who convinced that bitch to take the bordello's customer list with her, right, Antonio?" asked a man.
"Well, yeah, because I thought Papa Zeppu couldn't touch her if she had that in hand. But in the end, she didn't take the list with her, so you shouldn't be so angry," Antonio said.
"That's not the problem!" shouted the men, their two angry roars overlapping.
"With his lover stolen away, the boss' honor is in complete ruins. I don't know if you're a noble kid or not, but he won't be satisfied until you're turned into a honeycomb, so prepare yourself," said one of the men.
A fainthearted person might have died inside when confronted with a voice so dark that it sounded as if it were spouting up from the bottom of hell. However, the high nobleman from Hispania didn't so much as quiver with the force of a gentle breeze.
"It's going to be a problem if you make fun of us. Come on, Father Abel!" Antonio called out. As soon as he ran his fingers through his hair with the confidence of a true noble, he snapped them forcefully. "It's your turn—don't hold back. Take care of these people who don't know their place! I've got your back, and I'll cheer you on with everything I have!"
"H-how can I?" asked Abel.
The black coat with the cigar thrust his chin at Abel, inciting a dramatic scream. "Yeah, Father, you get out of the way. They say you go to hell if you kill a priest. If you don't interfere, we'll let you go," said the man.
"Eh? R-really? Ugh!" Abel replied.
"It'll be a problem if you make fun of him," warned Antonio, calmly blurring as Abel, whose face had shone with hope in light of the man's tempting offer, suddenly felt a blow to the pit of his stomach. "Father Abel is a friend bound to me by ties of the soul. Do you think he'll abandon me?"
"Didn't you call me your bullet shield a little while ago?" asked Abel.
Antonio shook his head resolutely at his sole companion. "Don't worry about trifles, friend. C'mon, never mind that—if you're going to kill me, you should do it after killing him! He's already prepared!"
The gang members nodded affirmatively at the priest, who shook his head as if unwilling. "I see. Well, now that you've said that much, it can't be helped," said the man.
"No, I didn't say anything! Wah! Don't point those things at me!" screamed Abel.
Continuing to overlook that the wailing priest was being used as a shield, the two black coats tightened their grip on the triggers. "Die!" they shouted.
Gunfire reverberated, overpowering the black coats' angry roars, but it wasn't the rhythmical firing noise of their machine guns. Still trying to pull the triggers, they dropped their guns and groaned, clutching their shoulders where fresh blood was gushing out.
All of a sudden, a group of shadows appeared in the dim arc lights. "Somehow, we seem to have made it in time," said a voice.
Smoke trailed from a small pocket pistol gripped in the hand of the human shadow leading a group of about ten policemen. With a fixed stern expression, the human shadow addressed the two young men in a grim, raspy voice. "Are you all right? Are you hurt?"
"A-are we s-saved? Am I still alive?" asked Abel, heaving his shoulders dramatically before he collapsed. He remembered the face of the man in the plain suit who had led the policemen—it was Cologne City Police Inspector Lentz.
"I saw these men following you and came for you at once. That was close," said Lentz.
"Th-thanks to you, we're safe, inspector," said Abel, watching the men writhing on the ground. How will Caterina react when I report that instead of protecting the list from Neue Vatican's partners, I got mixed up in a lovers' quarrel between a gang and a young idiot?
"So, Father Nightroad, who in the world are these people?" asked the inspector.
"Ehh ... the truth is, this is a lovers' quarrel," replied Abel, who was about to faint in relief.
"They were trying to kill me," said Antonio as he simulated a karate-chop to Abel's throat before Abel could answer. "There's a lot of trouble over in my country. They were dispatched in connection with that ... ah, I forgot to tell you: I'm Antonio Borgia. I'm the Prince of Valencia in Hispania."
"The Borgia family heir? Now that you mention it, I'd heard you were studying abroad in this city. That's you?" asked the inspector. The name recognition of the house of Prince Borgia was indeed great. Lentz nodded, outwardly unaffected, but with surprise in his eyes as he regarded the young man. "Understood. If this is a family matter, I won't investigate. But this place is still dangerous. For now, you both need to accompany me to headquarters. We won't harm you."
Lentz turned around and was about to take the reins of the street carriage.
"Um, inspector, may I say something?" requested Abel with desperate eyes.
"What's the matter, Father?" asked Lentz.
"I'm terribly sorry, but ... please raise both hands and kneel there," Abel ordered while pressing his gun into the policeman's forehead.