Chapter 39: Nothing beats politely making the other man happy

Chapter 39: Nothing beats politely making the other man happy

'Just what the hell was that...'

I walked through the relatively empty streets with my mind as busy as never before.

Did I do the right thing? Or was there a hint of regret and disappointment in the face Fay showed when I left? Was her hesitation due to her feeling forced to pay me back like that, or was it due to her natural shyness?

Hundreds upon hundreds of questions like that continued to fire up in my brain, only to burn bright enough to cause me a headache before vanishing without a trace, replaced by a set of fresh questions on the same topic.

'Was it the right thing to do, what I did?'

This was the main question... that I had little to no hope of finding an answer to.

And so, unable to fill this query... I decided to move on.

Sadly, my emotional state couldn't be changed with just a decision to get over it. Just like my mom telling me to hurry up while I was waiting for the bus wouldn't make the bus arrive sooner. Some things simply needed time to work.

And walking by the desolate streets of the government-abandoned part of the town, I at least found some winds to help me clear all those desperate thoughts from my head.

'We are about to go back to the other world. There, I will be able to finally learn what were the intentions of that damned bus-like fox!'

Unable to stop thinking about Fay, I gave up on trying to put her to the back of my head. And rather than moving on from the topic of that too beautiful-to-be-real girl, I finally noticed a glaring inconsistency.

On one end, that damned parent-fox entrusted her to me. But on the other... Didn't it mention how Fay's form was created according to my deepest wishes, likes, and desires?

Was this some sort of test? Or maybe a cruel joke?

"I guess there's no point thinking about it that hard," I muttered to myself as I moved through the familiar roads with a single direction in mind. The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.

The Makary's pub was one of the places where the forces of the local gang liked to gather. And the place the thugs I met just a few hours before directed me to. And soon enough...

"Are you lost, mate?" A voice reached my ears the very moment I stepped out of the corner. As soon as my eyes caught up, I spotted at least twenty different thugs sitting all over the alley located at the back of the pub that was my destination.

"According to your men, I'm Makary's new pet," I replied with a shrug of my shoulders. "And as ordered, I brought some gold to sell," I added before reaching into my pocket, grabbing the very edge of the cloth of the coin pouch, and then pulling it out with just two fingers.

'It's better not to make him think I'm trying to flash a gun on him,' I thought as I carefully held the pouch up before, just as carefully, bringing it down on the table, pulling its cord, and allowing the coins to fall out of their passage.

"Woah," Mark gave out a small moan of surprise when he saw seven gold coins roll down his desk.

"It's a simple trade. Take whatever is a fair tax for the group and just give me the rest," I requested with a shrug of my shoulders.

Mark raised his eyes from the coins and to my face, taking his time watching my expression for a while.

"I didn't believe the news when I heard them, but it looks like you are going to go through with your promises..." he then sighed before opening one of the shelves stacked all over the back of the room and pulling out a thick wad of cash. He then took a moment to weigh the coins before counting out roughly twenty-five hundred-dollars bills.

"Here, your fair pay," he spoke, throwing the money on the table in a leisurely move. Then, he followed up with a sigh. "I believe I know what you think about our group, but we do not do our own people dirty," he added when noticing my reluctant look.

A reluctant look I had on my face only because the entire thing appeared to be... too easy. And I couldn't help but hesitate about grabbing the cash he threw on the desk, wary of a potential trap.

"If that's the case..." I muttered, only for my eyes to be drawn to one piece of equipment that I severely lacked with the perspective of my expedition just ahead. "Could I maybe get a gun too?"

If Mark hardly paid me any mind before, his expression changed the instant I uttered my question.

"A gun, huh?" he muttered, the look in his eyes sharpening. "And what would you need one for?" he asked while leaning over the table and drilling holes with his eyes in my face.

"Walking around this area with gold stuffed all over my pockets..." I muttered in response, only to turn my eyes away and whisper, "What I'm going to do without a gun if the next group of robbers that jumps me on the street won't belong to the group?"

With my eyes turned away, I couldn't really gauge the reaction on Mark's face. But judging by the silence that followed, I at least gave him some food for thought... Even though his face was as innocent of bearing an intelligent thought as the faces of the thugs outside.

"That's a good point," Mark finally admitted after taking some time to consider my words. "But I still don't know why should I just give you one," he spoke. "Those things do not come cheap," he added while spreading his arms out.

With a sigh, I placed the wad of cash back on the table before moving my hand over to the small tower of gold coins that Mark built while playing around with them.

"It's only up to me how many coins I bring to sell to the group," I muttered, picking two of them off the top of the small tower and placing them aside... only to then push them towards the man with only silence for the explanation.

But judging by the smile that appeared on Mark's face, he understood my intentions. Without a word, he grabbed the wad of cash I returned, and pulled out roughly a third of the bills inside before placing it back on the table. Then, he leaned back and pulled open one of the drawers of his desk before placing a brand-new-looking pistol and two full spare magazines.

"Nothing beats politely making each other a happy man," I couldn't hold back the small comment... Only for a grimace to appear on my face when I what words I used. "Ugh... You can ignore the other meaning, okay?"