“Well? I don’t suppose you assholes are just here to see a naked girl.”
Try as she might to seem unfazed, the young girl’s cheeks were pink.
“Miss, you can’t just try to play it off,” her caretaker said.
“At least be somewhat embarrassed,” the mercenary added.
“Shut up! You’re both grown men, anyway. It’s like looking at your daughter’s naked body…”
Katia held her head in her hands, trying to act tough in front of the caretaker who had been with her from a very young age and the mercenary who had helped her out recently.
“How old are you supposed to be?”
Katia was thrown off by Zig’s question.
“What? I’m seventeen.”
He put his hand to his chin and nodded.
“Oh. I’m twenty-three, so I think I’m at the appropriate age to enjoy seeing your naked body,” Zig said, running his eyes over Katia’s crossed legs. Though small, her slender and well-trained physique was not lacking in womanly appeal. Zig appraised her body, appreciating her form without so much as batting an eye.
“Wait, twenty-three?” the caretaker asked. “You serious?”
“Huh? You’re twenty-three with that face?!” Katia cried. “No way!”
The caretaker looked at Zig in shock. He had taken him to be the same age as he was. Katia covered her chest, barely able to hide her shock, unable to believe the lechery in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Zig was internally hurt that the two had mistaken him for being far older than he was. And so, he cheered himself up by continuing to stare at Katia’s body.
“I see. Leda, is Schillaci still with us?”
“He just got started a minute ago, so he should be fine. Should I call him?”
“Yeah.”
Katia—who was wearing clothes now—ordered her caretaker to bring someone else in and combed her chestnut hair with her hands. She put the letter she just read on the nightstand. The gray camisole she wore made her look like a prostitute, but her intense stare and unfriendly manner made it clear that she was unfit for the profession.
“So, someone ordered a hit on you, and you found some drugs on the guy. You wanna know where those drugs came from, right?”
“Can you do it?”
“Not right away…at least, not usually.” Katia tapped her knee as she grinned. “But you’re in luck, Zig. We have a professional in the house.”
The young lady called Katia was gone now, replaced by a greedy mobster.
“So, what will you give us in exchange?”
The mafia obviously required payment for their services. Their whole business model was built around profiting from the downtrodden. Zig was a prime target, since he had little to no information on Halian.
“Money?”
“Not to be rude, but I’ve got no interest in a broke mercenary’s purse. Let’s see… You’ll owe us a favor. How about that?” She suggested as she lit up a cigarette. Exhaling a thin wisp of smoke, she crossed her legs and waited to see how Zig would react.
The word “favor” was not to be taken at face value. A favor with a public organization like the Adventurers’ Guild wouldn’t pose a problem. With their reputation under public scrutiny, there weren’t many drawbacks to backing out on a promise. But no one would care about a mercenary who made a deal with the mafia and got bumped off because he refused to do what they told him to.
Katia would deliver, but owing her a favor wasn’t to Zig’s benefit. There was a high likelihood that things might get messy later if he owed her now.
“Didn’t you read the letter? I’m taking care of things for you since you people can’t keep your territory under control. Why do I have to owe you anything?”
Zig had a point in that the mafia’s lack of drug regulation was the cause of his current problems. If they had done a better job, he wouldn’t even be here in the first place.
“But the drug was inside a magic item. Sure as hell wasn’t through one of our dealers. You can’t blame us because the guy who attacked you happened to have drugs in his magic item.”
Zig was dealing with someone who was a professional negotiator, and she deflected his accusation. He stayed quiet, not having a rebuttal for that. It was one thing if the mafia were trying to expand their routes, but trying to pin a magic item filled with drugs on the mafia would prove difficult.
Then, the caretaker returned.
“Miss, Schillaci’s ready.”
Behind him was a pale and skinny man who must’ve been Schillaci.
“Hang on, I’m in the middle of a negotiation right now. Well?”
Katia watched him as smoke plumed from her lips. She was waiting for Zig to concede. The big man so dedicated to his work would probably be willing to take a risk or two.
Having the mercenary owe them a favor would be highly beneficial. The Jinsu-Yah were powerful warriors, but they didn’t take on dirty work or anything that could be deemed an injustice.
They were far too honorable to be useful, unwilling to take on tasks that would be a detriment to themselves or the city. Still, having them somewhat in the mafia’s pocket allowed the mob to control them to a degree.
Meanwhile, this mercenary would do anything for the right price, the perfect disposition for less-than-legal work. He was strong, tight-lipped, and did pretty much everything.
He was the perfect pawn, both for the organization and herself.
Zig shook his head in mock disappointment. “Can’t be helped. I guess I’ll leave for the day.”
Katia was taken aback. That was the last thing she expected him to say. She initially wanted to intimidate him with the favor and then offer her cooperation when she had his promise to work for her in the future.