Chapter 41: Negotiation With Sam
"You"re just barging in here, entering the secret room of our group, and just saying "let"s negotiate"? Are you crazy?"
I didn"t feel any malicious intent from Sam, so I guess she"s just curious and surprised. Of course she did. After all, I bet even those lower ranked thugs never know about this room and the fact that she"s the real Sam. The man over there must have been playing as Sam for a long time. But there"s something odd about the man. Maybe I could use him in this negotiation.
"Based on my actions so far, from asking your henchman so I can meet you, until I kicked the secret door open, I think I am a madman. I"m indeed crazy, but by choice."
"Crazy by choice… then your business with me must be something crazy as well."
"You"re right. I"m gonna ask you for a partnership of 50:50, and also the clearance of the debt of everyone in Red Tail brothel, for something I will give you but I don"t have them yet."
"…"
"How about it?"
None of them spoke. They must be thinking I"m crazy. Well, they"re not wrong. Even I think I"m crazy sometime… most of the time… all the time…
"…and the things you"re gonna trade with us is…?"
"Don"t know yet. But I know where to get a lot of them."
"So basically, you"re here without having anything at all to trade with us, thinking that your proposal will be accepted?"
"Yes!"
"… Lina. Serve him some drink."
"Okay. Coffee or tea?"
Lina must be the maid"s name. Does her serving me drinks mean that the negotiation proceed smoothly?
"Coffee please."
"Just asking your preferences. I will only give you water whatever your preference is."
"d.a.m.n! So evil! Water is fine."
Why would she asked coffee or tea like that?
"Even our maid knows that the negotiation failed. If she thinks you"re worthy of listening, she will serve you the drink you asked. Since she"s just giving you water, that means you"re not worth listening to. You have nothing but asking for a 50:50 for that? You"re beyond crazy."
Looks like it failed. Oh well, it"s not like the negotiation will end smoothly as I imagined. Then there"s another thing left to give her.
"Okay, I"ll give you an important information. Then your maid can serve me a parfait."
"What information do you think will benefit me? That you can make money out of nowhere?"
"A mind-blowing one. Hey, you! The fake Sam! Come over here!"
I turned my head to the man who stayed still the whole conversation in the corner of the room.
"No. I"ll just stay here."
"Then I"ll come to you."
There"s one thing I"m curious about.
It"s about what the scarred palm guy had inside his mouth.
At first, I thought that it was some kind of candy. I never checked it because I used Blobby to destroy his head and what"s inside of it. But now, I see the same thing inside this man"s mouth.
It was that pinkish colored thingy located behind his molar. If he opened his mouth, no one would notice it because its color is the same as the tongue. Even if someone seen it, they would just think that it"s a candy like I did.
Back then, I was only concentrated fully in killing that man. But now, since killing is not the real goal here, I can see clearly that this fake Sam has that same thing inside his mouth. Does it means he"s part of the cult? That"s what I"m about to find out and also one information I"m about to tell Sam. The real Sam.
I"m gonna hit him real hard, and if I"m wrong, I"ll just apologize later. But my instinct tells me that I"m right and I trust my instinct.
"Hey. What"s your name?"
"…"
"You don"t wanna answer? Then I"ll call you Sammy since she is the real Sam."
"…"
Sammy just ignore me. Well, what I"m gonna do to him is not something he can ignore.
I walked closer to Sammy and when he"s within my reach, I kicked his gut.
"Guah!"
Sammy crouched while holding his stomach. I didn"t kick him that hard, right? Well, as an Aura user who has trained my body, even a light kick can damage untrained people that much.
Sam stood up from her seat and Lina also prepared to use her magic on me.
"What are you doing?!"
I didn"t answer her. I just use my left hand to grab Sammy"s jaw that opened wide because of my kick, and use my right hand to pick that little thing inside his mouth.
"Got it! Do you two know what this is?"
I asked Sam and Lina about my discovery. The thing in my hand has a round shape, and small enough to be covered behind Sammy"s teeth. The color is a bit pinkish like the color of tongue which makes it harder to find.
"What is that thing?! Why is that thing inside his mouth?"
"If I guess correctly, that thing is a small magic explosive. If you infuse a bit of magic to it, it will explode in an instant."
Sam doesn"t know about what"s in my hand, while Lina seems to know something. I"ve heard about magic device that can explode once infused with magic. But this is the first time I"ve seen it.
"It will explode, huh? Let"s see."
"Wait! If you infuse your magic, it will explode in an instant!"
I ignored Lina"s words about in an instant. With my quick reaction, I"m sure I can throw it away before it explode.
And just as I thought, after I infuse magic through that little thing, I threw it away before it explode. And then there"s an explosion 5 meter away from me with the strength that"s enough to destroy a head.
"What a way to suicide. Right, Sammy?"
He was slightly amused when I tried to infuse magic to that thing, but when he saw my speed to throw it away before it exploded, he makes a surprised face.
"Is that how your organization try to keep their secret? Giving their members an explosive so they can burst their own head when things goes south?"
"No we"re not! Although we"re a gang, we-"
"I"m not asking you, Sam. I"m asking Sammy here and the organization he belong to."
"…how much do you know."
Sammy seems to have a sudden change in his att.i.tude. He also prepared to fight back but I punched his nose before he reacted.
"I know that the governor of Melk is one of you."
"What?! Samuel! Who are you?!"
Sam seems surprised hearing that the governor is a part of the organization Sammy is in. But his real name is Samuel? Does she thinks that if the fake Sam is also a Sam, then it"s not a lie?
"…"
He kept quiet instead of answering his boss.
"Does anyone has a rope to bind him? What I"m about to give you is information of that organization."
Then Lina stepped forward and used her magic.
"Vine Wrap!"
Then from the vase on the coffee table, a plant suddenly grows big and using its vine to bind Sammy.
"Oh! You"re a summoning element mage? That"s the same as me! And your summon is a Plant type monster! That"s awesome!"
I saw Lina"s face blushed slightly because of my praise, but it then she shook her head and the color of her face returned back to normal. I thought I saw a slight smile from her expressionless face.
"For now, I"ll introduce you guys to the organization he belongs. Rather than organization, I"d like to call it a cult. Their goals is to revive the glory of the Evil G.o.d. So let"s call them Evil G.o.d Cult."
"How did you know about our cult?!"
"…Sammy, oh Sammy. You must be a low-ranked member of the cult if you can"t shut your mouth. You just told me that the name of the cult is Evil G.o.d Cult."
I thought it was called that because of the naming sense of the one who discovered their goals. But it"s actually their real name?
"Wait! Evil G.o.d? What Evil G.o.d?"
"I"ll tell you later. For now I will tell you about their plan. They are planning to destroy this city by using monsters stampede."
"How did you know our plan?!"
"And you"re admitting it. Again! He really is stupid. Why did you pick this guy as your subst.i.tute?"
Sammy just stupidly, admitted the plan of the cult again. It got me curious to how Sam picked him as her subst.i.tute.
"…his name is Samuel and can be called Sam like me. That"s all. But seriously, why would anyone tried to destroy this city?"
"For an example, I guess. To show the world what they capable of. So, since you"re interested in this talk, where"s my parfait?"
"… I haven"t agreed to your offer yet, but still… Lina! Get him a parfait!"
"…"
"Lina?"
The maid doesn"t move at all even though her mistress is ordering her. Then she turned her eyes toward me and said something weird.
"My summon"s vine can reach up to 20 meter."
"Huh?"
"…"
Oh! She must be waiting for a compliment! After my praise about how cool her plant monster is, she want to be praised more!
"That"s cool!"
Then she left the room with a happy expression on her face.
"Does she always like that?"
"No. It"s the first time I"ve seen her like that. Maybe because of our line or works, she barely ever get praises from others. That"s why after you compliment her, she wants more."
"Haha! That"s cute!"
For someone who worked in the underground world, as the maid of one gang leader, she"s way too cute. I will surely give her more praises.