From head-on, Mother Loose was effectively invincible. She was a legendary Dealer who could weather any attack without batting an eye, be it a point-blank shotgun blast or a rampaging dump truck.
“Tee-hee-hee! Tee-hee-hee-hee ”
She was also obsessed with baths. She owned a large camper van, about the size of a tourist bus, that she had completely refitted, replacing everything save the driver’s seat with an indoor bath and changing room. Of course, it went without saying that Dealers were completely unprotected while bathing. Some were so scared of being caught with their pants down, so to speak, that they never bathed or showered in-game, no matter how sweaty they became. Not Mother Loose, however. Whether in-game or out, she could never resist a good bath, and she would pay any amount of money to get it.
The bathtub was filled with floating toys like little yellow ducks and miniature submarines. Not only was it wide enough to spread your legs in, but you could almost swim in it. The washing area alone was larger than a king-size bed, and even fitted with air conditioning and a mini-fridge. The mirrors were not only full-length but covered the entire wall, and there was a row of shower heads like you might find at a public bath. Each of them had a different head shape and was specialized for a different purpose, like golf clubs. Some of them were regular favorites, while others she used only when the fancy struck her.
She found it fun to design every detail herself. Once she got into it, the hours would fly by.
There was one incredibly convenient rule in Money (Game) Master: Cars could not be damaged or stolen while parked in an official parking spot. This was why Mother Loose had constructed her bathhouse in the form of a vehicle. That way, she could always enjoy a relaxing bath without fear of being attacked.
✦ ✦ ✦
And yet at the moment, she found one of her frosted glass windows suddenly opening inward.
“Hey, Mother Loose. I think we need to chat.”
✦ ✦ ✦
It took her a second to realize what was happening. When she did, she saw the wicked smile of Kaname Suou and the muzzle of his .45-caliber short-range sniper rifle pressed directly to her chest. She could feel her heartbeat racing against the gun’s cold steel.
For perhaps the first time, Mother Loose feared for her life.
“Wh-what?! H-hold on a second, child, erm!!”
“Checkmate. Don’t even try to talk your way out of this one, Mother Loose.”
The woman flailed around in the milky white water for anything she could lay her hands on, but unless one of those rubber duckies was actually a hand grenade in disguise, she had nothing to fight back with.
Kaname shook his head in disbelief and said:
“You draw your ultimate defense from skills like Bulletproof, Shockproof, and Bombproof that are attached to your clothes and accessories. Strip yourself down and all those precious skills are gone. A shot through the heart will make you Fall, same as anybody. In fact, that’s precisely why you put your bathroom in a place like this.”
“…I—I suppose I might as well ask how you got here. Isn’t there a rule that prevents people from breaking in???”
“If you’re parked in a parking space, sure. But if I buy up the whole lot and change it into something else, it’s a different story. Now you’re just trespassing. If you wanted to enjoy your bath in peace, you should have parked on your own land and not at a public shopping mall.”
“I can’t argue with that. I had made it a personal rule to open up the roof like a jewelry box only when at my private villa, but I suppose that wasn’t enough.”
“You were careless. Especially considering your own life is on the line.”
Mother Loose gave a sultry sigh. Perhaps she was attempting to slow the pace of conversation and retake the initiative.
“Well, child. Considering I’m not yet dead, I suppose there is something you wish to ask of me?”
“…”
“I am simply overjoyed you came to request my help once more. However, you do know what happens to Dealers who grow too reliant on me, don’t you?”
A showdown with Takamasa was inevitable. Right now, Kaname would lose that fight, and he knew it. That was why he needed to forge an alliance with one of the game’s top Dealers while he still could.
However.
“Sorry, but it’s not you I want to make a deal with.”
“Huh?”
Kaname ducked back down behind the window, leaving Mother Loose to blink a few times in confusion. She heard a grunt as he picked something up and lifted it in both hands.