Chapter 21: Chapter 21 : Deal

The question stopped Turner dead in his tracks. His face tensed up as he recognized who the voice belonged to. ‘Tsk, this pain in the ass.’ He did a half-turn and set his sights on his fellow Red Star member.

Catching Tuner’s gaze, Jeremy's eyes involuntarily twitched. To the senior Red Star member, Turner and his flock were an eyesore to behold.

‘This idiot, how many times have I told him not to make a scene. Ever since he reached Rank 5, he's been acting up more and more. Tsk, damn brat.'

“Jeremy, please do something about this," Sophia whispered from beside him.

The youth had called the middle-aged man at her request. She banked on him to settle things peacefully, as he had done several times before. While part of the Red Star, Jeremy was known to be far more cordial and subdued than other members. Most importantly, he held a very high rank within the gang. Because of this, he was the person the villagers looked to when such situations broke out.

*Step*

Not bothering to reply, Jeremy stepped into the Fawkes property. His steely eyes swept over the area. First, it visited Hana. ‘Urgh, her,’ he groaned internally as he spotted her.

In Lagner, Hana was considered an enchanting flower. She was charming in both appearance and manner, and even nearing forty, her beauty was unmistakably radiant. Her natural disposition and the enhancing potions she took, worked hand-in-hand to produce and maintain a youthful look that would leave any observer spellbound. Like moths to a flame, many sought out her attention.

However, while others were drawn to her, Jeremy was the exception. In fact, he’d go out of his way to not be on the same street she was walking on. The reason for this behaviour came down to him as a person. Jeremy was a very instinctual person. He’d always follow his gut whenever making a decision. He lived his life like this, and it paid off several times, allowing him to survive many sticky situations.

With all that being said, his instincts told him to veer clear from Hana. She was a rose, no doubt, but a thorny one. Danger lurked around her. Jeremy couldn’t pin the 'why' behind his feelings for her. If he had to guess, it was the surname she donned. Whether this was the reason, or something else, Jeremy’s stance would remain the same. He trusted his instincts. The sound of the alarm bells in his ears told him all he needed to know.

‘Wha- who is this?!’

The alarm bells which had been ringing lightly upon catching sight of Hana instantly rose to an ear-piercing rumble as he took in Rei. His core shook and his instincts raged wildly.

‘That kid’s dangerous. Damn, that brat really caused a mess. I’ll have Charlie put him through the wringer…for now, calm down. Let’s just resolve this situation and leave.’

While Jeremy was going through these thoughts, his exterior remained blank and steely, betraying none of his inner turmoil. Everyone else observed him quietly, waiting for the next words to leave his mouth. After five seconds of silence, he finally spoke.

“Turner, what happened here?”

Turner’s face twisted in displeasure but in the end, he answered; unlike others, dismissing Jeremy wasn’t an option. After running through his story one more time in his head, he then ‘explained’ the situation.

“I came here to collect this month’s protection fee from Miss Hana. Not only did she refuse, she even tried to attack me. That’s how we got to this point.”

Turner, shameless as he was, wasn’t about to admit to the real reason he came here.

At his words, Hana’s temper flared up.

“That’s nonsense! He came here t- ah…’

The sudden pressure on her shoulder jolted Hana. Turning back, her gaze met Rei’s. The look in his eyes and shake of his head perfectly conveyed his message.

Seeing her understand, he nodded then removed his hand and refocused on Jeremy.

There was no need to state the obvious, especially when it would only aggravate the situation.

‘This one, he seems more reasonable. As long as we play our hand right, we can walk out of this without any trouble.’

As Rei observed him, Jeremy observed Rei.

‘Ah, he’s trouble, I can feel it.’

Watching the interaction play out, Jeremy could hear the alarm bells gain a few decibels. Not wanting to stare at the abyss that was Rei's gaze any longer, his eyes began wandering elsewhere.

“Not paying the protection money, huh. That won’t do Miss Hana,“ he said while shaking his head lightly.

While Jeremy said this, he knew Turner's account was nonsense. Still, he couldn’t out him. They were still part of the same faction after all, and a gang rose and fell on their reputation. So, his goal was to clear up this situation while saving face.

“We have to correct this immediately.”

Rei’s eyes lit up. “So you want money then.”

This was what he was going to suggest earlier. In his experience, gangs' greed for money was endless.

Jeremy’s face twitched at Rei’s utterance. Instead of addressing him directly, he turned to Turner.

“This person, how does he factor into the equation?”

“I don’t know. He appeared on the roof, hopped down, and started attacking me. I hit him and he seemed to change his personality. I have no idea who he is. The bastard just popped up out of nowhere. I think he’s crazy. That broken pinky, he did it to himself.”

While Hana clenched her fists at the ‘bastard’ remark, Jeremy's eyes zeroed in on Rei’s hands where he quickly spotted the wonky pinky.

“He broke his finger?”

Instead of Turner, Jeremy glanced back at the crowd. Receiving an affirmative nod from Sophia, his heart shook and his instincts began clamouring even louder.

‘I was right, he’s an oddity. Better wrap this up quickly.’

Turning back, he cleared his throat with a cough before speaking, “Money will suffice. First, the outstanding payment must be paid. And for resisting and attacking, a second payment will be needed.”

“How much?”

Rei didn’t resist, this was what he wanted after all.

“Hmm,” Jeremy cupped his chin, making a show of calculating the amount.

Meanwhile, Turner’s anger was rising. Seeing Rei’s nonchalance irritated him. This prompted his next outburst.

“Five gold.”

The words he spoke caused everyone to flinch in surprise or shock. Hana, Turner, the crowd, and Rei. However, unlike others who were stunned by the high amount listed, Rei was shocked about the currency itself.

'I knew this place was backwards but they still use gold.'

He asked Ralf about it, who corrected him.

[[The currency in Zudrad is called Drads. The country's shift to paper is pretty recent. They still have coins circulating in the system. Bronze, silver, and gold have Drad equivalents. One bronze is 100 Drads, one silver is 1000 Drads and one gold is 10 000 Drads. So basically, he’s asking for 50 000 Drads.]]

[[Is that a lot?]]

[[It is.]]

[[I see.]]

This was all Rei had to say on the matter. To him, earning money wasn’t an issue. Even if they added a few zeroes, he was confident in his money-making prowess.

While Rei was conjuring up money-making schemes, Jeremy, a short distance away was fuming. At Turner’s words, his head snapped so fast, it nearly twisted off his body entirely.

‘This fucking brat! When we get back, I’ll definitely have Charlie and Stuart put him through the wringer.’

Jeremy wanted this flame to die out, and avoid getting burned by it. However, his fellow Red Star member seemed intent on fueling the fire. He prepared to adjust the payment but Rei's words arrived first.

"Five gold, fine. I’ll pay.”

“What?! There’s no way you have five gold on hand. You’re obviously lying.”

Baffled by his response, Turner accused while pointing his finger.

“It’s true, I don’t have five gold. But I can easily earn it.”

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“Another lie. You can’t earn that money in these parts, let alone easily. Speak another lie, and you’ll be eating dirt again.”

Rei took in Turner’s threat with a blank look. Noticing Turner inching closer, he shook his head.

“Hm, I doubt that.”

Rei raised his pointy finger. Willing it, a single spurt of Psi flickered in and out of existence.

The action caused Jeremy and Turner’s faces to tense up. In this world, sex, wealth, job…were all moot before whether one was a psionic or not.

One’s approach altered drastically depending on the answer.

Rei, fresh from his reading session, understood this fact well. His brief Psi release was done very purposefully. It allowed them to understand that he was a Rank 3 Telekinetic, but brief enough that they couldn’t register the chaotic aura that would give away his Consolidation Phase status. In short, it was a bluff.

“You think you can beat me with that, then le-”

“Turner.”

“Y-Yes, sir?”

Hearing the threatening intonation in Jeremy’s utterance, Turner’s voice turned shaky.

“I’ll do the talking,” Jeremy said with a dark expression.

Turner nodded then zipped up.

Jeremy turned back to Rei. “Five gold is a lot of money. And you say you can pay it, I find that hard to believe.”

“I can do it,” Rei responded, his voice leaking unshakable confidence. “I understand that it's a lot of money, so I’ll need a bit of time to do so.” Rei paused and turned to Hana. “Do we have five gold laying around?”

She shook her head and said, “Our total funds are just over two gold.”

‘Only two gold?’

Ralf was surprised by the figure. His mother was quite prolific and had an endless stream of clients. Honestly, he figured that they’d have about ten gold lying around.

What Ralf didn’t account for were the years of potion expenses. After Micheal’s supply ran out, Hana had been buying the potions herself. And she had not settled on low-quality stuff either, only the best. This had tanked her savings to what it was now.

“Okay, to prove to you I’m not lying. We’ll give you one gold upfront. Then, over the next month, I’ll work to pay the four gold. What do you think?”

Jeremy didn’t immediately react.

He had no thoughts of rejecting the offer, however, he still had to play his role as a gangster.

“What happens if you fail to secure the rest of the money?”

Rei’s eyes flickered in incredulity. To him, it was an impossibility. Gathering himself, he said, “If I fail, then I’ll do anything you say.”

“Anything?”

“Anything. Triple, quadruple, increase the debt by a hundredfold, torture, kill me, whatever. If I fail, I’ll do anything you say.”

The surroundings went quiet at these words. More than their shocking contents, it was Rei’s nonchalance as he said them that hit everyone the hardest. The crowd directed bewildered looks toward him, as though looking at a monster. Turner's previous agitation was robbed from him as well, leaving him and the crowd on the same page regarding the mysterious youth.

Meanwhile, Jeremy’s repulsion only increased. Barely maintaining his poker face, he did a fake cough and rushed to conclude.

“Very well, the Red Star accepts your proposal. When the five gold is paid, this will be nothing but water under the bridge.”

Relief visited Rei and Ralf at these words. Hana gave an appreciative nod towards Jeremy. A second later, the front door opened up and a single coin flew out. Hana floated it to Jeremy’s front, who then plucked it up.

He flipped it in his hand. “With this, the deal has been made. We won’t bother you any longer.” Catching it, he turned around and walked to the entrance. “Turner, follow me.”

Turner didn’t delay, and with a hung head followed along.

The crowd, seeing the situation settled, broke apart. Still, clenched fists and gritted teeth could be seen on them as they went their separate ways.

Sophia and a few others entered the property. “Miss Hana, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’ll manage. Thank you, Sophia.”

The senior shook her head. “We villagers have to look out for each other. Four gold is a lot of money but there's no need to worry, I'm sure we can raise that much in a month's time. There's plenty of villagers who'd gladly help you out, as you've helped them out."

“There’s no need for that,” Rei cut in.

“Hmm, not needed? Miss Hana, who is this young man?”

“He’s my son, Ralf.”

Oh, I see. There’s definitely a resemblance.”

Sensing a wild tangent afoot, Rei quickly continued his previous point.

“I appreciate the help, but I doubt we’ll need your or anyone’s money.”

“You have a method?”

“No, but I’ll find one.”

Sophia's brows crinkled up. ‘This is a strange one.’ He turned to Hana. “I pray that Raiken smiles on you, as he did on the day of your birth. Regardless, we have your back.”

“Thank you, Sophia, I won’t forget this,” Hana smiled sweetly as she said.

Sophia's old heart jolted in her chest at the sight. “Ah, yes. Then, I’ll take my leave.” As she turned, her eyes stopped on Rei’s pinky. “That finger, have him visit Sarah, she’ll fix it up good as new.”

“It's okay, I’ll do it myself. I’m pretty good at this stuff,” Hana said.

Sophia didn’t contend with Hana’s words; she and her posse then headed out, and soon everyone had vacated the area.

“We’ll need a new gate, I’ll prop that up so lo- ah?”

Rei's stride faltered as his wrist was suddenly gripped. Feeling the strength placed in it, his heart clenched up. Turning back, he confirmed his fears as an angry Hana stared back at him.

[[Switch!]]

No coin flip was needed for Rei to pick 'flight'.

“Ah?”

Ralf’s eyes widened as Rei suddenly appeared before him. He was incredulous.

‘You’re throwing me under the bus, you traitor!’

With feelings of betrayal stirring in him, Ralf grit his teeth and shifted to the outside world, just managing to catch the body at the last second.

Hana’s face worsened. She didn’t appreciate the ‘escape’ attempt. In Rei’s place, Ralf suffered a stern lecture about his self-harming act while Hana healed him up.

‘Rei…that bastard. I’ll never trust him again.’

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