My Second Life as a Mafia Tyrant

Chapter 9: The Second Encounter

　My relationship with Maverick just dragged on and on.

　Alois had told Maverick many times that we should break up, but Maverick didn’t care. As usual, he would visit Alois’s luxury apartment, where we’d drink together and talk about politics, literature, and sometimes drugs.

　Maverick’s stories were interesting, and Alois enjoyed spending time with him.

While this relationship dragged on, Alois found himself drawn to another woman.

She was a fellow pharmacy student who, like Alois, had skipped grades.

　She was the complete opposite of Maverick.

She belonged to the “Federation” race—a mix of North Elves and South Elves that made up the majority of the population—with thick, voluminous black hair flowing down her back and a well-developed figure for her height. She was what you might call a “transistor figure.” Her face was youthful, and she had distinctive, round blue eyes.

　While Maverick wore well-worn, tight jeans and a T-shirt that hugged his body, she was dressed in a long black skirt and a white blouse. Alois immediately noticed that they were designer brands.

Only the wealthy attend university in the “Federation.” She, too, was the daughter of a wealthy family.

Alois felt a slight spark of interest.

“Hey, are you skipping a grade too?”

Alois put on a serious face and spoke to her as one fellow high-achieving student.

“Yes. There’s something I want to research, so I’m solidifying my foundation before going to grad school. In the future, I want to work for a pharmaceutical company—to heal the illnesses of many people.”

“That’s impressive. I was thinking of becoming a pharmacist myself.”

That was a lie.

　Alois also wanted to join a pharmaceutical company and research drugs effective against various diseases. Alternatives to today’s anticancer drugs with severe side effects, effective treatments for diabetes, and safe medications to manage mental illnesses.

　But Alois’s dream was cut short. Thanks to the drug business.

“I’m Alois. What’s your name?”

“Elke. Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah. Nice to meet you too.”

While Alois liked Elke, he also envied her.

She was walking the path he couldn’t take. She was becoming what he couldn’t become. She would achieve great things and be highly regarded by society. She would be fairly recognized.

　That’s what Alois had wanted to be, too. But the drug trade had shattered his dreams. Alois couldn’t even become a pharmacist. He had no choice but to become a sleazy criminal dealing in blood-stained money from the drug trade.

I hate it. I don’t dislike her. In fact, I even have a favorable impression of her. But I hate it.

　After returning from college, Alois told Maverick, who had come over as usual, about it. He told her about the brilliant female student who was achieving what he himself had failed to do.

Maverick didn’t feel jealous even when Alois mentioned he was interested in another woman. She was confident she was number one. No matter how much the second or third-rate women tried to catch Alois’s attention, she was confident he would always come back to her in the end.

　In that respect, too, Maverick was a good person to talk to.

“That’s exactly it. It’s definitely jealousy. You couldn’t make your own dream come true. But that woman is trying to make a dream exactly like yours come true. It’s only natural to be jealous. So, what are you going to do?”

“What do you mean, what am I going to do?”

“You hate that woman, but you also like her, don’t you? I’m asking if you’re not going to invite her to bed. I wouldn’t mind a threesome, though.”

“I don’t think she’d go for something like that. She’s a model student through and through.”

“And you, a drug dealer, are a model student through and through, aren’t you?”

“I wonder.”

If Alois took off his mask, his ugly true self would be revealed. He sells drugs recklessly and refuses to take any responsibility for it. He blames others and feels no guilt whatsoever.

From now on, there will surely be people who get sucked deeper into addiction because of the gateway drugs Alois sold. Eventually, they’ll end up in the afterlife from an overdose of drugs that are far more mind-blowing than any gateway drug.

“Loving and hating can coexist.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“No, it’s no joke. How many couples do you think there are who love and hate each other at the same time? ‘I hate you, but I want to love you.’ Those feelings aren’t contradictory. In fact, I’d say that having hatred mixed in actually binds the two of them together more strongly than just love alone.”

Alois could only half-understand what Maverick was saying.

“Why don’t you just give them the drug for now? That’ll create a connection.”

“They’re pharmacy students, you know? They understand the dangers of Snow White.”

“True, they probably do. But just because everyone in the literature department studied literature about peace doesn’t mean they all love peace and forgive their enemies. Even in the pharmacy department, there are some who just know about it as knowledge but actually want to try it.”

That might be true.

　In the School of Pharmacy, they learn about the dangers of Snow White. No, all students learn about the dangers of Snow White. There are mandatory lectures where they learn about the dangers of Snow White, just like elementary school students learn traffic rules.

Even so, students continue to try Snow White one after another.

Maybe Elke might show an interest in drugs too. That’s what Alois thought.

“She’s a rich girl, right? She’d make a perfect mark. Connect through drugs, destroy her with drugs, and love her through drugs. None of it is contradictory.”

“I wonder.”

Alois felt it was contradictory.

But he also thought it was very Maverick-like. Putting destruction and love on the same level is just like her. She loves destruction. Most of the literature she reads involves some form of destruction. Murder, adultery, betrayal, corruption. Works that are like a mirror image of the current “Federation.”

“I won’t sell Snow White to her directly. I’ll have another dealer let her try it. If she shows interest and gives it a go, I’ll ask her what she thinks. If she hates the drug, that’s the end of it. No connection will form between her and me.”

“You just don’t want to be hated, do you? Even if you hate the other person.”

“I’m a selfish man.”

“Every human being has an instinctive desire for self-preservation.”

After that, Alois and Maverick drank until they were completely wasted, and the next morning, Alois pumped caffeine from coffee into his hungover head and headed to the university. Maverick said he didn’t have any morning classes and stayed in bed.

Then Alois met with one of the dealers at the university.

　Alois urged the dealer to try selling drugs to a female pharmacy student named Elke. The dealer said that even if she was a pharmacy student, she’d never touch Snow White, but Alois insisted he should at least try.

The dealer obeyed his boss and made contact with Elke.

Alois waited for the dealer’s report. Even if drug dealing on campus were to be exposed, the police would cover it up. The police have all been bribed by Heinrich and receive special bonuses from him.

“How did it go?”

Alois asks the dealer in the restroom during lunch break.

“She bought it. One bag.”

Elke has started using drugs.

……………………