[15 minutes before Lars encountered the "changed" Sand Crab Byrus]Seline was sitting in an office building that was not too badly damaged from the devil invasion the night before. She sat before an ordinary looking wooden desk, one that had 4 drawers on the right side and was roughly 3 metres wide. It was straight and flat and just the right height for someone of Seline"s 1.7 metre height to work at.
And work she was doing - she was busily checking through various accounts doc.u.ments, job reports and information files as she carefully examined the records before her.
She was a.s.signed by Duke Silvan for her first job: to be his eyes and ears and oversee the Underworld powers here in Gorun City and audit their operations, for he had invested a hefty sum of money into the businesses here in partners.h.i.+p with the Laughing Man.
Moreover, a major aspect of the Underworld business here relied on the a.s.surance of the crown that no major repercussions would face the mob bosses for their criminal activities - and he had to ensure they were giving him his fair share of the profits!
So Seline was rubbing her forehead as she had spent the last few days going over mountains of doc.u.ments and trying to sort out just what was real and what had been fabricated by the shady businesses including extortion, protection money collection, outright murder, prost.i.tution rings, kidnapping, slavery and much more!
Of course, the Underworld itself was not the only shareholder in all these. For example, the slavery flesh trade was a joint venture with House Trenel, executed based on the clout and protection of the Trenel family"s name!
Whereas the smuggling business was majority held by House Jamal but carried out mostly by the local branch of the Underworld"s black market fences and traders.
At this time, Seline"s head was nearly buried in the piles and piles of papers and files before her as she pored over the information non-stop. This was certainly not her specialisation, but nonetheless, the red-headed beauty was diligent and meticulous in her work.
She also knew that without a proper understanding of the facts, figures, resources and backgrounds of every party in this city, she would be hard pressed to suss out their motives and manipulate the people to her own designs.
This was Seline"s true strength - a mind that dug beneath the surface of just appearances and words, and understood the desires, benefits and fears of every individual before she targeted them to be drawn to her side!
And it was in the midst of this that Sharon returned to Seline"s side, taking her place demurely in a corner of a room behind her left shoulder, a faithful and loyal personal maid ready to take orders at any time.
Without raising her head or showing a single change of expression, Seline asked, "Is it done...?"
To which Sharon cleared "her" throat and answered, "Yes, mistress. The two sweet mens" "re-education" has been completed... You have my a.s.surance that from now on, those honey-bunnies will be die-hard supporters and heed every single word that comes from your hottie Lars" mouth!"
It was a good thing that Seline did not look back at that moment lest she be given a chill and s.h.i.+vers up her spine, for Sharon licked her lips in delight when she spoke of the "two honey-bunnies".
And if you looked carefully...
You could see that Sharon"s normally immaculate lipstick was... Smudged! Fainter at the spots of her lips where the mouth would contact someone else when kissing...
"Mmm..." Seline just nodded at Sharon"s report and said, "Good job."
Then she paused for a moment and looked up at the ceiling to think for a moment, hesitating as she considered what would be likely to happen next. She absent-mindedly laid one hand across her bountiful chest, resting her arm casually upon the mounds that would drive nearly any man and most women crazy with l.u.s.t.
She held a quill pen lightly in her long and sensual fingers, fingers that could hit all the right nerves and senses on a person"s body - but right now fingers that were weary and sore from making note after note and checking line after line.
Then she settled her thoughts and decided with a sigh.
She made it a point not to look at Sharon as she gave her next instructions.
"Make a deal with House Trenel. Purchase Charley Charlemagne"s safety, but do it discreetly. Then bring him to me and inform... Him... That his friend is with me, safe and sound. I... Believe that I"ll be able to help Lars put Charley to good use..."
Sharon nodded, then curtsied daintily - or as daintily as she could, given her t.i.tanic frame and power muscles. It was also fortunate that no one was watching her at that moment, for her skirt had been growing shorter and shorter, more and more racy... And... When she curtsied and bent her knees slightly, the hem of the black skirt rose up and... The description shall not continue for the sake of our sanity!
After the Demon Maid"s departure, Seline leaned her head back onto the headrest of her roller chair and sighed deeply once more.
She closed her eyes and allowed her eyes and mind to rest for but a moment before they flitted open and she pursed her lips, not ready to return to work but without a choice. Duke Silvan would want to know the entire situation in the city when he arrived in 4 days time - the journey from Danedaar being greatly lengthened due to the instability and unusability of the teleportion channels at this time.
"Lars..." Seline thought as she continued her audit of the local branch of the Underworld"s doc.u.ments.
"I"ll help you put Charley to good use..."
"To make plenty of money!"
* * * * *
[That afternoon at the City Guard Prison]
"...Come on man, when can I get some food and water? And when can I see my lawyer? I can at least do that, right...?"
"SHUT UP!!! Do you want me to come down there and mess you up???"
"!!! Okay okay! I was just saying alright..."
A disgruntled and dishevelled Charley was sitting in his 5 square metre cell, cramped and uncomfortable as he had flung in roughly.
He had not been given any explanation nor a chance to explain himself, but he didn"t need any. He knew - no, everybody in the entirety of Gorun City knew that the City Guard was bankrolled by House Trenel and that they collected young men and women to be sold in slavery!
It was just that, there was nothing else he could do than ask and just try his luck, right? Better than just sitting here rotting and ready to die!
Well, right now he could only hope for Lars to come and rescue him quickly - before he was sold off to the slave wagons. At least there WAS one piece of good news; with the devil invasion messing up the internal workings of the city, the cogs of the flesh trade"s operations had slowed down significantly. He hoped that this would mean that the next batch of slaves being picked up would be delayed enough for his rescuers to arrive!
True enough, he soon heard some footsteps coming and his eyes perked up, waiting to see whether it was a new prison-mate, someone who had come to buy him or a saviour!
He really hoped it would be the latter of the three!
As the footsteps drew nearer, he saw a straight-backed man who practically smelled of ex-military background - Captain Eniev - leading the way for a tall and powerful looking visitor who was more than double the Captain"s size! And to his surprise and pleasure, this was a figure he recognised, but at the same time, he felt uncontrollable tremors run through his body as he s.h.i.+vered in fear and revulsion!
Demon-Maid Sharon.
But he remembered not to look the gift horse in the mouth; despite the fact that Sharon made him very veeeeery uncomfortable, she WAS Lars" friend - at least, Charley thought she was. And that meant she would be bringing him out of jail in but a moment"s time!
Captain Eniev led Sharon to where Charley was and asked, "Is this the person your mistress is looking for...?"
Sharon nodded and smiled, a grin that looked like a scene from a nightmare! But strangely, Eniev was unfazed; in this branch of the City Guard, he had seen many similar people with their similar hobbies among the customers who frequented this place to purchase slaves.
But today was going to be Eniev"s "lucky" day.
Seeing the maid"s indication that Charley was the one she was looking for, the stern and disciplined Captain of the City Guard made a quick mental calculation and quoted the price.
"530 platinums. There"s quite a lot of demand for teenage boys, especially these kinds of spirited pretty boys! I won"t accept less; if I do, the big boss will have my scalp for it!" He gave a firm answer, looking like he would not budge no matter what.
Sharon pursed her lips and folded her arms, then held her chin in one hand while she tapped her mouth with her index finger - she was thinking.
Then she began to smile, a crafty look appearing in her eyes. She glanced around and, seeing there was n.o.body else around apart from herself, the Captain and the inmates of the cells, she cleared her throat daintily and struck a "s.e.xy" pose - one rippling with muscles and a powerful physique!
Needless to say, Captain Eniev began trembling - not in antic.i.p.ation, but in shock and horror! What was this monstrosity planning to do, try to seduce him??!
He hurriedly tried to back off, but to his shock, the World-cla.s.s level Demon-Maid somehow managed to move closer and closer to him even while maintaining her "sultry" pose - then blew a kiss at him!
With his back to the cold stone walls, Eniev anxiously dodged aside, making sure to avoid that flying kiss! Then he yelled out his objections loudly, "Customer! I"m warning you, no hanky panky here in the City Guard"s premises! Or else you"ll be in big, big trouble!"
But to his dismay, Sharon only giggled, a sound that scarred his mind and made him tremble violently in fear!
Then she whispered out a sentence that shattered apart whatever was left of his mental state.
"Don"t worry..."
"n.o.body will know... Hihihihi!"
Eniev"s eyes bulged as he tried to scream for help, but to no avail. Sharon was far, far faster than him and managed to m.u.f.fle his mouth.
With her own.
Once more, needless to say, the Captain fainted on the spot, turning stiff and involuntarily jerking in convulsions. Sharon made sure to cradle his thras.h.i.+ng, unconscious body and prevent the noises from leaking out until the fainted man calmed down.
She made a *tut tut tut* sound of disappointment with her mouth as she carefully laid him down onto the floor, and then said, "Sigh... When will I find a man who is... "Man" enough to handle me...?"
Then she slipped a payment slip worth of 500 platinum coins into his breast pocket and patted it, before looking at him with the gentle eyes of a ma.s.s-murderer.
"I enjoyed that... But it"ll cost you 30 platinums for payment... Good girls don"t come cheap, you know! Tee hee~~!"
Then Sharon took the ring of keys from Eniev"s waist and walked over to the prison cell where Charley was violently shaking in fear that he would be the next victim, before she tried the keys one by one.
She eventually found the right key, opened the door and beckoned for him to come on out, which he refused vehemently. At which point, Sharon did not threaten him to make him move - instead, she began to smile; a scene far more horrifying that immediately got him scampering out!
Then she looked around and made a reverse cat-call to the rest of the prisoners in the cages, saying, "Do any of you honeys want to have a taste of this magnificent, fine woman too...? I"ll let you out for free!"
She was met by the sounds of wretching men and women who could not bear the thought of being ravaged by the enthusiastic transvest.i.te.
"Oh well. Guess not." Sharon shrugged and left with Charley in tow.