Levi looked at Roger.
Roger looked at Levi.
Levi certainly knew why Roger had come—purely for Levi's skills.
Plenty of outfits had tried to recruit Levi before, but none had ever promised "surface residency," so he was tempted. Still, it wasn't enough to shake him.
If I go with you, fine—but I won't abandon Farlan and the others.
In the messy, complex micro-society of the Underground, Levi had fought his way up on his own ability, but his companions had given him a lot too. Asking him to ditch Farlan and the rest and live it up on the surface—he couldn't do that.
"Boss! They came here for you. Why send me? I'm not going!"
Farlan's stance was firm. He didn't want to be the one who lived while the others stayed behind.
Seeing that resolve, Levi had no choice but to go all in.
"Hey. If you can get all of us surface residency, I'll go with you—and I'll do anything for you."
Levi laid his terms bare. If Roger so much as hesitated, Levi would walk.
Tours didn't like that one bit.
"Hey, brat, who are you to make demands?! Our boss inviting you is him doing you a favor. What, you plan to bring the whole family too? You even know how much a single surface permit costs?"
Levi shot Tours a sideways glance, flipped the knife in his hand, and gripped it.
"Your man's pretty cocky. Seems he forgot whose turf this is." He looked back to Roger. "Those are my only terms. If you can't meet them, we're done."
Tension snapped taut.
Roger's men drew pistols and racked them.
Levi's people tightened their grips on their blades, watching Levi's eyes while edging closer to the few by the stairs.
But just then, Roger chuckled.
"Heh. I thought it was something else." He set his hat back on and smiled. "I came to fold your little crew into our Scorpio Group. Not only will each of you get surface residency, you'll also draw a monthly salary. How about it?"
At that, Levi's men wavered. They'd followed Levi because he could pull off big bounty jobs—meat to eat, money to earn.
Now someone was offering salaries and surface residency for every single one of them. Why not?
"That's great! Boss, let's take it!"
Farlan looked at Levi, thrilled—only to find Levi impassive.
"Let us think it over. Please."
It was the first time Levi said "please," which made his stance clear enough. But he wasn't about to trust the man in front of him so easily. So—wait.
"No problem," Roger agreed at once. "But we need a deadline."
"Three days."
"Fine. Three days from now, we meet again."
Roger almost tipped his hat in thanks, then remembered that was a Marleyan greeting and simply lifted a hand in farewell.
Only, before Roger's group could turn away—
"Wait."
Levi spoke.
"What is it?"
Roger looked again at the short man not far away.
"Tell me your address."
"Reiner Braun, Stohess District, Scorpio." Roger met him evenly. "And you?"
"Levi."
"Full name?"
"…You don't need to know."
"Oh? All right." Roger shrugged, unbothered. "Then… see you in three days."
With that, Roger left with his men.
Once they were far enough away, Levi said to Farlan, "Look into this man—and his organization. Especially whether they've stirred up any big trouble lately."
"On it, Boss."
Farlan nodded.
Two days later, he'd gathered everything on the Stohess-based "Scorpio Group" and reported to Levi at once.
"This Scorpio Group doesn't have much lineage. It's a newly formed crew. The old boss had some nickname—'Red Eye,' I think. Then this guy named Reiner killed him, took over by force, did a major purge, and only afterward named the group. That's all fine. What's odd is one thing."
"What's odd?" Levi asked, eyeing Farlan's puzzled look.
"Well, even though Scorpio only rose recently, they've been continuously recruiting, and getting bigger and bigger. Seems they've had dealings with a crew called the 'Kamen gang,' and the two sides interact a lot."
"I know the Kamen gang. Infamous." Levi sat in his chair, wiping his knife with a clean silk cloth. "If that's the case, the Scorpio lot can't be any good either."
"No, Boss, that's the strange part." Farlan's eyes lit up. "From what I've heard, Scorpio's actually pretty weird. They're a gang, sure—but they act more like some kind of resistance."
"Hm? What's that supposed to mean? A gang is a gang. Drugs, human trafficking—there's nothing they won't do."
"As far as I know, they don't peddle drugs, and they don't traffic people. I don't know about robberies, but cases of major robberies against rich households across the districts have spiked since Scorpio formed. Odds are eight or nine out of ten it's them. As for enemies, they've made plenty—and all tough ones. If they're ever confirmed as the culprits, then…"
"Farlan, at this point, 'danger' isn't the main factor," Levi said, finishing the wipe and sheathing the blade.
Farlan felt that in his bones.
Yeah. In this cruel, inhuman society—in this filthy, chaotic Underground—if all it took was risk to put food on the table, that'd be a sweet deal.
They were still talking when someone knocked on the door.
Bang, bang, bang!
Whoever it was seemed in a rush, like they were being chased.
Levi and Farlan shot to their feet. They traded a look; Levi gave a nod.
Farlan eased to the side of the door, then yanked it open.
Levi tightened his grip on the knife, but before he could rush forward and pin an enemy—
A girl with short chestnut hair stumbled in, crashed to the floor, and clutched a small bird with an injured wing to her chest.
"A little brat," Farlan said.
"…" Levi looked down at her.
"...I'm not a brat!" she pushed herself up with effort, defiant. "Hey! I'm not a brat!"
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