My Second Life as a Mafia Tyrant

Chapter 12: Nightclub

The nightclub we had booked out was actually owned by Heinrich.

So, even if people used drugs inside, no one would report it.

The party started on its own, and the invited guests began drinking alcohol and taking drugs. Drug dealers, looking to make a quick buck, also tried to sell drugs to the guests. Since everyone invited had experience with drugs, they jumped at the chance.

“Just give me a non-alcoholic cocktail. I can’t drink because I’m driving.”

Alois told the waitress who came to take their order.

“What about Elke?”

“A cassis orange.”

Elke didn’t drink much. She occasionally enjoyed a glass of wine, but at a party full of young people like this, she didn’t know what to order.

“Are all these people Alois’s friends?”

“Not every single one. There are friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends. But as long as we’re having a good time, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Disco music blared from the speakers, and the students were dancing to the beat. Fuelled by alcohol and drugs, they were in a dreamlike state, soaking up the lively party atmosphere.

“Are you shy, Elke?”

“Yeah. A little. But parties are fun.”

“That’s good to hear.”

In the midst of this lively party, Elke had completely forgotten all her worries.

“Excuse me. Hey, you there.”

While Elke and Alois were talking, a dealer approached Elke.

“Wanna enjoy the party even more? I’ve got something good.”

Of course, he was talking about Snow White.

“I…”

“You’re standing out. Look around. Everyone else is doing it. You’re missing out by being the only one not to. It’s half price right now. I’ll give you a special deal.”

The dealer said that.

“Have some fun, Elke. You only live once, and college life is short.”

Alois said that as he tilted his glass of non-alcoholic cocktail.

“What about you, Alois?”

“I’m fine without that stuff. But you’re not, are you?”

Alois knows. He knows Elke is isolated in the pharmacy department. He knows she’s carrying a heavy burden. That’s why he’s testing her. Like a god.

“W-well, just one bag, then.”

“Let me know if you need more.”

The dealer took five ducats from Elke and handed her a bag of drugs.

“Want to borrow my lighter?”

“Please.”

Elke put the drug in her mouth and lit it with the lighter.

She inhaled the smoke slowly, as if savoring it, and her expression turned blissful.

“Do you like it?”

“It’s okay. It helps me forget the bad stuff.”

Alois thought to himself that she really was a mentally fragile person.

　People who turn to drugs already have some kind of problem, and since they can’t solve it, they turn to alcohol or drugs. The drug trade is a business designed to exploit the weak. Mentally tough people don’t touch drugs.

People who turn to drugs because they lack confidence in their work. People who turn to drugs because they’re worried about their future. People who turn to drugs because they lack confidence around the opposite sex.

　It’s a dog-eat-dog world. The weak get preyed upon, and the drug trade is no exception.

“Shall we dance a little?”

“Sure.”

Alois and Elke dance to the disco music.

Before she knew it, Elke had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol and drugs. With a hazy mind, she felt the scenery turn vividly colorful, and all her worries began to fade away. She felt happy. She was filled with euphoria.

The drug party went on until everyone passed out, ending at dawn.

A substantial amount of drugs had been sold, and the profits went into Alois’s pocket.

“Elke, Elke. Are you awake?”

“Alois… Yeah, I’m awake. I’m fine.”

“Should I walk you home?”

“Please.”

Elke’s legs were wobbly. It was because of the alcohol and drugs.

Seeing Elke like that, Alois felt both satisfaction and anger.

He felt a sense of satisfaction that the dazzling Elke—who was trying to achieve what he himself had failed to do—had ended up in this state because of drugs. But on the other hand, he felt anger, wondering why Elke hadn’t been able to resist the temptation of drugs.

　Alois likes Elke. Her full lips, the way she talks about her dreams, and her earnest attitude in class. She is the version of Alois that could have been. He both admires and envies her for it.

If it weren’t for Heinrich’s drug business, Alois might have been able to chase his dreams just like Elke.

That’s why he feels both affection and hatred for her.

　Alois took Elke to his car and headed for her home. He had already investigated her home. In fact, he even knew her family background. He knew how much allowance she received and how much disposable income—money to buy drugs—she had left over.

　Elke will likely never forget the pleasure of drugs.

She’ll keep buying them from now on. Unless she goes to a specialized rehab facility—or unless she possesses a will of steel—there’s no guarantee she can return to her old life after using drugs to this extent. And if she goes to rehab, the university will find out she’s been using drugs; and if she had a will of steel, she wouldn’t have gotten this deep into drugs in the first place.

Elke has fallen.

　All that remains is for her to continue down the path of depravity and ruin. The dreams she once cherished will never come true.

Thinking this, Alois felt both pleasure and pain.

This was the first time in ten years that he had explicitly led someone to ruin through drugs. Alois sells drugs to the general public. He doesn’t specifically target individuals, nor did he ever intend to deliberately destroy anyone with drugs.

　Over the past ten years, it had been quicker to simply put a bullet in someone’s head than to use such roundabout methods to destroy them. And if he didn’t want to get his own hands dirty, he could always have corrupt cops or soldiers take care of it.

So, for the first time, Alois felt both joy at Elke’s destruction by drugs and pain at the fact that he had been the one to destroy her with them.

“Elke. We’re here.”

“Thank you, Alois.”

I haven’t done anything to deserve a ‘thank you.’ If anything, I’ve done something that deserves to be cursed, despised, and spat upon. Alois thought that to himself.

“Well then, take care. Good night.”

“Yes. Good night, Alois.”

Elke went back to her home, and Alois drove off to return to his own.

　Maverick wasn’t home. Alois poured red wine into a glass and slowly drained it. Then he stepped out onto the balcony and lit a cigarette. Not drugs—just a cigarette. Back then, the health risks of smoking weren’t yet widely known.

Alois puffed on his cigarette, lost in thought.

　I wonder if the drugs I’ve sold have ruined many people, just like Elke. Alois had always thought that people who bought drugs were just as much scum as the dealers. But now he knew there were exceptions, like Elke.

Even so, Alois still thought people who bought drugs were scum.

Supply is born from demand. If there were no demand, Alois might have been able to stay completely uninvolved with drugs.

　Die, you junkies all over the world. Thinking that, Alois pulled the curtains to block the early morning sun streaming through the window and jumped into bed.