"Boss, what are we going to do with that music box? We don't even know how to operate it. Do you think we would be able to sell it?"
A gang member asked the huge boss and the boss hit the member in the back of his head.
"Don't ask such silly questions. If I, Boss Big Bang, want to sell something, who would say no to me? People don't pay money because they want something, but because they fear my name."
The huge man boasted and everyone around him let out a sound of understanding.
Even if the others did not agree with the boss, who was strong or foolish enough to speak otherwise?
"Boss, we are ready to head out. We have everything packed and the police are not going to chase us anymore for some time because of the distractions we provided. We are ready to head out now."
Another gang member told the huge boss and he quickly headed toward the door.
"Tsk, let's leave now. No curse is going to stop me from making a profit."
Boss Big Bang spoke but the second he left the door, the whole building collapsed.
There was no reason for it to collapse and the place had recently been renovated. So the sudden collapse of the building made them all pause.
"W-What happened? Why did the building—? Do you think it's the curse—"
Someone asked but Boss Big Bang just scoffed at those words.
"Tsk, don't be stupid. The repairman must have overlooked something when he was repairing the place. There is no curse. There is nothing like a curse in the world."
The huge man spoke and his subordinates sighed in relief at his confidence. But uncertainty was beginning to take root in all of them.
A wagon stopped in front of them and everyone quickly got on. But as soon as Boss Big Bang stepped on the wagon, it broke and he fell down.
"I-I am sorry boss-! I did not realize that the wagon was so fragile—"
The man who brought the wagon apologized as he looked at his fallen boss. The huge mass Boss Big Bang had cushioned his fall so he did not take much damage.
But the damage to his reputation was immeasurable.
"Don't—so you want to die? Ugh, if I was not in such a hurry, I would have taken care of you now and here. You got lucky that we need to leave now. Go bring another wagon—"
"Boss, I have bad news. The police are patrolling the parts where our wagons are being kept. I don't think we can get another one now."
Another underling ran toward them and told this to the gang while huffing.
The more Boss Big Bang heard what was happening, the more he felt like ripping his hair out. He had never had an experience like this before.
"B-Boss, do you think the curse is real—"
"Don't be stupid. This is all just a coincidence. There is nothing like the curse—"
"B-But boss, look at the music box-! I think the text has changed on the bottom."
Most of the grunts in the gang could not read or write. But they had sharp eyes and sharp minds which helped them remember whatever they had seen before.
So they had also memorized the letters on the music box when they last saw it. But now those letters had surely changed.
"Don't be an idiot-! You are mistaken if you think like that. Let me see-!"
The big boss grabbed the music box before he read the letters again.
[There is still time to repent. Send the box back or suffer the curse]
Indeed, those words had changed. And this time, there was no excuse other than supernatural causes that could be attributed to this.
Still, Boss Big Bang was not ready to give up.
"Well, if the curse is on the music box, then we just need to make sure to sell the music box and we will be free of this curse. Let's move now. We will walk on our feet to our next destination."
The boss had given orders and many members of the gang wondered if it was too late to back out now.
It also made them wonder just who the heck was that shopkeeper to keep something this dangerous out in the open?
"B-Boss, do you think that the shopkeeper was a non-human? Maybe he was some kind of creature and we just made a mistake—"
"Don't be ridiculous. What kind of powerful being would allow himself to be treated like that? Now, just follow my lead and come with me."
The big boss told his subordinates as they headed toward the harbor. But accidents kept happening and the huge gang of 20 members was reduced to only 7 by the time they reached the harbor.
They all headed toward the boat that was to take them out, but as soon as they boarded the boat, something collided with it and broke the bottom.
"Hurry up and get down or we will all drown-! Take all our bags as well. We cannot lose our stuff—"
Big Boss ordered but the grunts were busy saving their own lives. The Big Boss was busy saving his stuff, so he was not able to get off in time.
And due to his huge body mass, he was not able to swim properly.
"B-Boss, let go of your stuff, or you will drown. W-We will save you—"
The grunts hurried up as they tried to reach him, but the huge man refused to give up on his treasure. Slowly, the waves of water overtook his body until he could be seen no more.
Everyone gathered around the water, wondering if they would see their boss again.
Slowly, they saw a shadow rising in the water and they had hope that their boss would make it. But instead of their boss, what floated to the surface was the music box.
"W-What the-! Is that supposed to float? What should we do now? Should we fetch it out?"
They all asked but no one moved. Just as they were trying to make their decision, a ferryman moved, almost as if he was in a trance and brought the music box back to the shore.
Soft melody could be heard playing from the box and that made everyone flinch.
"Here, this wants to come back to you. Maybe you should do as it asks."
The ferryman told them before he left. His eyes made the onlookers feel as if the man was drunk on something.
With their boss gone, the grunts turned toward their second in command—Malcolm Bang, a relative of their previous boss.
And unlike Boss Big Bang, he was a much more avid believer of the supernatural.
"We need to give this back to the higher being we stole it from. After that, we need to repent and promise to spread the word of his excellence."
He told everyone and the grunts were taken aback.
Never had they thought they would ever return something they stole. But the question was—how to return this?
Thankfully, they had one option available to them—the police. They could pawn it off to them and be freed from their curse.