Chapter 403
Chapter 403
Realizing that nothing suspicious could be found on the surface, Valeera decided to move on to deeper questions: «Zosimos, what prompted you, a member of the wealthy class, to risk your life in order to join the shadow clan?»
Zosimos sadly arched his thick eyebrows and lowered his gaze: «It’s about my girls… From the very birth, they lived in prosperity: they ate the best food, wore luxurious clothes, lived in a beautiful mansion, went to elite institutions, and the servants fulfilled their every whim. However, after the death of my wife, luck was not on my side: fines, theft, confiscation of goods at customs, ubiquitous and endless taxes, and other troubles… To get out of debt, I had to sell my parents’ inheritance and even my own property. Now the three of us live in a hotel, but if I cannot get money in the next month, we will have to tighten our belts… Most of all I am afraid that I will disappoint the expectations of my daughters. They should only get the best! Go to a prestigious school, learn from a worthy master, learn powerful techniques, live the way their mother lived! If I can’t provide them with all this, then what kind of father and husband am I?!»
Even Bernard was impressed by the fiery words. He almost believed it himself!
Lovr took a deep breath and added calmly: «Bernard listened and understood me. And here I stand before you, Lady Arpha, ready to do any job for a decent pay.»
Valeera listened intently. The recruit’s story seemed plausible to her: any normal father would want to make his children happy. Zosimos, of course, is mistaken, believing that love can be bought, but it is not for her to judge him. The girl learned through her bitter experience how painful it is to lose something, including the standard of living.
The head of the clan liked three things: the man loves his daughters very much, which means that he has a weak point; he lost his parents and wife, therefore, nothing connects him with the outside world, that is, he is a good candidate for secret assignments; he has sufficient motivation to earn money, which makes him a business person.
However, all this did not negate her suspicions. Suddenly, a qualified specialist appeared, with a tragic life story, with an indescribably unique ability, invaluable for the activities of the shadow clan – in a word, an almost ideal candidate for joining the clan. Isn’t it too fortunate for someone the universe wants to destroy?
«Are you not afraid of what you will do?» – Valeera asked at last.
«Saints and soft-handers do not survive in the trade business. I often had to do not the most noble things: sell low-quality goods, deceive customers, cheat naive partners for money, destroy competitors, and much more. In general, if there is money at stake, then I will get used to everything. Maybe not right away. I disapprove of many bad things, but I don’t have to choose.»
After a long pause, the clan head nodded briefly: «You’re good for us. I will give you a trial period. Alexander will contact you in the next few days.»
Kyon broke into a grateful smile and bowed: «Thank you, Lady Arpha!»
Tymoshka’s face twisted: {Damn it!} – the worst expectations were confirmed. How to live if the old fart suddenly somehow becomes a part of the clan, and even begins to benefit more than he does?
«Bernard, escort Zosimos out of the headquarters.» – asked Valeera.
When the man took the recruit away, the girl coldly ordered: «Alexander, find out everything you can about him. Report any oddities or suspicious behavior.»
«Yes, Lady. Should I check on Bernard, too?»
«No need. I’ll talk to him in person.» – having finished, she disappeared.
…
Bernard blindfolded Zosimos and escorted him to the meeting place, and then, after a friendly farewell and congratulating him on his success – this is the instruction – he left.
Kyon was impressed by the meeting with Valeera. It is impossible to ignore the chilling atmosphere she creates and the ability to become invisible so much that even the mind tries to forget about her existence.
Lovr also noted that although the girl leads a clan engaged in dark affairs, she herself is not saturated with his vicious spirit. For her, all this is just a job – a tool to achieve her goals. She’s like a professional hitman. She kills people, but she’s not a maniac. It didn’t excuse her, but it gave him some hope.
As soon as Kyung returned to the hotel room, the girls ran out to meet the man. A sarcastic unctuous voice was heard immediately.
«Why so early? Did she kick you out?!» – Leila smiled maliciously.
«The little mischief was wrong. Your dad will have another meeting.» – reflected Lovr.
The grin vanished from the imp’s face.
«How old is Arpha?» – asked Eva.
«She is very young. She’s about twenty. She’s old enough to be your older sister.» – {Or rather, great-great… great-granddaughter.} – he chuckled to himself.
«And this little thing can become our mother?!» – Leila was indignant.
«Actually, your mom always looked twenty, even though she was a thousand years old.»
The girls’ mouths opened in amazement. A thousand years is a long time!
«Of course! Goddesses live long. The main thing for me is that she was wise. However, Arpha is also not stupid, which makes me glad.»
«So you like smart girls, don’t you? So why don’t you spend more time with Eva instead of your Arpha?! It’s better to be with her than with some dummy from the street!» – Leila exclaimed resentfully and, pouting, ran to her room.
«I don’t…» – Eva started to say, but changed her mind.
«Maybe she’ll come to her senses?» – Zosimos optimistically suggested.
«I doubt it very much.» – Eve muttered skeptically.
Kyon looked at the little fairy with warmth: «Let’s not talk about sad things. I have good news for my little flower: after lunch we will go outside the walls to fly on a big bird!»
«Really?!» – the girl was delighted, raising her graceful eyebrows.
«Are we going to fly?!» – Leila immediately stuck her head out of the door.
After lunch, Kyon and his girls saddled a horse and went outside the walls to rent a flying bird. It was not difficult for him to detect the chase: Alexander was running on his heels in invisibility. Did the fool think that without his glowing eyes, Zosimos would not notice him? I do not think so! The lousy invisibility of the “B” rank is riddled with vulnerabilities, including a bit of sound leakage.
Lovr was not at all surprised by the chase. On the contrary, it would be strange if he was not followed. Everything goes according to plan. He had just finished all the affairs in the department, and he had free time. However, he will not be able to go out of the city to train. In general, he will have to spend some time with his girls and simulate trading activities.
After getting out of the city, Kyon left his horse in the menagerie and headed to the take-off site. The servant showed the customers ten extensive pens, in which there were large flying animals.
«I want this one! This one!» – Eve squeaked in fascination, pointing to an inconspicuous bird in the corner pen.
Kyon was a little surprised by Eve’s choice. Among the ten birds of the most outlandish appearance and bright colors, the girl chose a bird that was inconspicuous in appearance, but at the same time the best in all other parameters – a hidden diamond.
«Good choice, my little flower!» – Zosimos smiled and told the servant. – «We rent a snowy owl for a few hours.»
The servant gladly accepted the money and put the coachman.
The next few hours turned into a real-life fairy tale for Eve and Leila. They flew through mountains, rivers, fields, forests and clouds, admiring the scenery from a bird’s eye view.
At the end of the session, Zosimos took his daughters, drunk with impressions, to a restaurant, then to a pastry shop. Then persistent Leila persuaded him to go to a toy store, and in the evening the guy read the unspoken desire of the modest Eve and took his companions to the theater, for which he was rewarded with a charming “thank you, daddy!” and a look full of gratitude.
All this time, Alexander was watching them, but this did not prevent Kyon from constantly inventing the technique of creating clones. An ordinary person (a master who creates techniques) would have to completely focus on the task, but the young man did not bother. He simply gave the Synergy a command, and it automatically did everything necessary: moved the channels and released energy.
If Lovr had not acquired an object that fakes the sounds of the elements, Alexander would have quickly recognized in the man the well-known messenger of the goddess. However, now he can only assume that Zosimos performed cycles of energy release and replenishment: a kind of low-effective training, a kind of physical training to maintain shape. By the way, many practitioners do this when there is no time for a full workout. For Kyon, this is a huge opportunity. If he hadn’t been doing this day and night, he would now be at least half the stage weaker.
On the same day, three thunderous news about the recent achievements of “Demon Huntress” spread through the city like a forest fire in windy weather. She destroyed the brutal gang “Northern wolf”, terrorizing several districts of Dantes; defeated the drug den “Fragrant flower”, which killed many people in its mind-numbing trap; and even eliminated an organization that struck terror into the hearts of all the parents of the city, as it was engaged in the abduction and enslavement of children.
“Demon Huntress'” glory took off like a rising star. People wanted to pray for her! Here she is – the savior of the capital and an angel in the flesh! Previously, the superheroine also helped ordinary people, but not on such a scale. In literally 5 days she has done more than in 2 years of her activity! The department even received complaints from citizens: how is it possible that the effectiveness of one girl in a mask is higher than that of hundreds of professional high-ranking investigators?!
Recently, Elsa completed the fourth case of the “A” rank. Late in the evening, returning to her house in the Order, the girl fell into bed and touched her forehead with the back of her hand: {Who is he?}
The blonde seemed to be in a trance the last few days. Previously “A” rank cases seemed to her an inaccessible refinement, the path to universal glory, which she dreamed of. However, in recent days, the girl easily copes with them – one a day. She hoped that Dick Baker’s notes would turn out to be wrong, but as a result, everything turned out perfectly and flawlessly!
{I can’t believe it… He got rid of me in one day?} – a bitter smile appeared on Elsa’s lips. So that’s what self-irony tastes like? I wanted to recruit Stone for six months, but agreed to 10 “A” rank cases, believing that their solution would take just the above-mentioned period, but this freak closed them all in one day! He’s probably sitting right now and making nasty grunts over her. Asshole.
When she came to her senses, the girl took a sound transmitter and called a good friend: «Elder Gilbert, hello. This is Elsa.» … «Yes, that’s the one. Since you are responsible for the internal security of the family, I can only entrust this matter to you. I need help.» … «Find out as much information as possible about Thomas Stone, a descendant of direct blood, date of birth… I don’t remember exactly, he is fifteen years old. And he also has another name: Dick Baker. Perhaps it tells you something.» … «Thank you so much. Any details about him and his past will be useful.» … «Goodbye.»
Sitting down, Elsa fiddled with the sound transmitter in her hand with a bleary look: {What is his secret? He can’t be such a good investigator, can he?} – these thoughts were accompanied by a tart feeling of inferiority. Previously, she tried to handle “A” rank cases on her own, but nothing worked, despite the fact that she had a huge advantage in abilities over any high-ranking investigator. However, the fat man surpassed her only with the help of logical and deductive analysis of cases! About a hundred times.
…
The next day, Kyon imitated a stormy trading activity, or rather, the bad state of his business. Several clients (his subordinates) were furiously swearing at the quality of the goods, one fake investigator, a ton of fake tears – and it’s in the bag.
The spectacular performance for one spectator lasted until dinner, until Lovr, through the eyes of Eve, noticed Romeo who brought dinner. The guy’s reaction attracted attention: he was overly excited, but diligently trying to hide it.
{Damn it! What a bad time!} – having abandoned all business, Zosimos quickly jumped on a horse and headed towards the hotel.