Selvo nodded. "Everything has been arranged." He then paused for a bit before speaking again. "I have been wondering," he said. "What exactly is your goal in doing all this?"
Anom laughed, almost guffawing, before he finally replied. "It looks like young Master Selvo has begun to think for himself." Looking at Selvo's not-so-amused expression, he waved his hand. "Don't take it the wrong way; it was a compliment."
Pausing for a bit, he then explained, "According to the current momentum, your family is surely going to take over this city. Then, aside from the city lord, no one else will be able to match you in power. And while you won't have any justification to attack the other forces, you'll at least be able to suppress them."
"However, what about us?" he asked. "As the low-life thugs that survive on the conflict between the factions, we'd become completely irrelevant once the city is united under a single banner."
"Rest assured," Selvo quickly assured him. "My father has no intention of abandoning you after using you." Selvo was not the sort to console someone, but Anom, or more accurately, Nedar, was one person he couldn't afford to offend at the moment, especially given the key to his safety lay in his hands.
"If you say so." Anom declined to comment further. Turning his head behind him, he then asked Selvo, "Shall we get started, then?"
"Hm?" As Anom was blocking his view, only now did Selvo see Kristin, who was sleeping on the bed.
"It's her!" Selvo exclaimed, walking forward in a hurry until he reached the bed.
As Selvo looked at the sleeping beauty, his gaze turned vulgar, and he couldn't help but gulp. Anom arrived behind him, remaining silent and waiting.
Selvo stared at her for a while longer before sighing and turning around.
"Seeing her from a distance and seeing her like this can be so different; how wonderful," he remarked.
"If you're done admiring this dangerous wonder, shall we get started then?" Anom asked.
Selvo nodded and reached into his pockets, retrieving a piece of paper. "This is the address I've arranged for the plan." He handed it to Anom and inquired, "Are we going together or...?"
Anom briefly glanced at the paper before looking at Selvo and shaking his head. "I will move her there myself, while you go and meet her friend and bring her to the location you've prepared." He smirked. "After all, you'll need an awake audience for your act, right?"
Selvo pondered for a moment before nodding. "Fine. Tell me where to find her, then."
Anom provided him with the details of where Nia was arranged to stay.
"I'll be following right behind you, so you don't need to bother to come here anymore."
After giving him additional instructions and cautioning him about his father, Anom let him go.
"How disgusting!" Kristin, who had been pretending to be unconscious, finally sat up, displaying a disgusted expression on her face. "I could feel his vulgar gaze roaming my body even with my eyes closed." She then gave Anom a resentful look. "Shouldn't you have stopped him from getting closer?" she asked. "What if he had tried to touch me?"
Observing her expression, which was more pouty than angry, Anom chuckled. "Don't worry, I wouldn't have let him do anything like that." He paused for a moment before smirking. "Besides, isn't it nice to motivate the player with the prize he could win?"
"Hmph!" Kristin snorted in disdain, clearly looking down on Selvo. But soon, a slightly worried expression surfaced on her face. "Can we rely on him, though?" she asked. "I mean, what if he messes up and lets his family know?"
"Hmm." Anom nodded. "You're correct to worry about this, but for this plan, we have to trust in his ability to hide his deeds from his father."
"Besides," he continued, "I have already given both them and us the easy way out with this plan; forcing me to use another method will only be more detrimental for them."
"You have a backup plan?" Kristin looked curious.
"It can't be called that." Anom smiled. "If this plan fails somehow, I will have to go to the Handler family estate and deal with them directly." Shrugging, he said, "It's best if it doesn't come to that; we'll attract the attention of the Sorneos otherwise."
Clearing her doubts, Anom didn't waste any more time and simply left the place with her in tow.
It didn't take long for them to reach the address, as the place was in the same region as the gang's lair.
Anom stopped in an alleyway, his gaze directed at a warehouse-style wooden building in front of him. Kristin was already being carried in his arms with a black cloth covering her.
"Halt!"
Just as he stepped inside, two men dressed in black blocked his path.
"Who are you?" One of them asked while looking at him warily, while the other one had already grabbed a dagger in his hand.
Anom was speechless at their exaggerated reaction. But he didn't show any reaction through his mask.
"Nedar," he simply said, using the gang leader's gruff voice.
The two underlings were immediately stunned before a fearful expression appeared on their faces.
Bowing their heads hastily, the two quickly welcomed him inside.
The building was quite spacious, and Anom was led to a big room meant to stage the play.
"It looks similar." Anom muttered. He was examining the room that Selvo had prepared. It seemed to have been made in the exact image of the gang leader's room. Well, it was the only place Selvo seemed to have drawn inspiration from for making an ideal-looking kidnapper's den.
There was also a bed in the middle.
"Oh, not bad." Kristin pressed upon the mattress as she commented, "Although not fully to my liking, it's better than the previous one at least."
Anom laughed. "How can you even compare a poor gang leader with the young master of a merchant family?"
"Well, both are the same for me." Kristin had a carefree expression on her face as she lazily rested herself on the bed.
They then began to wait for the participants in this act to appear.
Anom positioned himself discreetly in a small adjacent room, ensuring that he appeared uninvolved in the unfolding events. It was a deliberate move on his part to demonstrate to Selvo that he would not directly participate in the performance.
Soon, the distant sounds of commotion reached their ears, the echoes of chaos seeping into the secluded room. They knew that in this part of the city, such disturbances would easily blend into the backdrop of a violent underworld.
Thud! Crash!
Without warning, the door swung open with a forceful crash. In the doorway stood a fierce-looking female, her expression dripping with anger and determination.
"Kristin, my dearest friend!" Nia's voice rang out, filled with exaggerated joy, as she rushed towards the bed.
Selvo followed behind, a faint trace of fear still etched upon his face as he glanced over his shoulder in pity.
Nia, sitting on the bed, played her part, mimicking the act of making Kristin drink something, while Kristin herself pretended to stir from a deep slumber.
"Cough, Cough!"
"N-Nia?" Kristin's eyes widened in astonishment before tears streamed down her face, and she threw herself into her friend's waiting arms. "Nia! I can't believe you're here!"
Caught up in the moment, Nia embraced her friend tightly, offering solace and relief.
Selvo, finally shedding his unease, stepped forward to join them. "Ladies, you needn't worry any longer," he proclaimed, a flicker of confidence dancing in his eyes. "I have taken care of everything-"
BAM!
"AH!"
Selvo nodded. "Everything has been arranged." He then paused for a bit before speaking again. "I have been wondering," he said. "What exactly is your goal in doing all this?"
Anom laughed, almost guffawing, before he finally replied. "It looks like young Master Selvo has begun to think for himself." Looking at Selvo's not-so-amused expression, he waved his hand. "Don't take it the wrong way; it was a compliment."
Pausing for a bit, he then explained, "According to the current momentum, your family is surely going to take over this city. Then, aside from the city lord, no one else will be able to match you in power. And while you won't have any justification to attack the other forces, you'll at least be able to suppress them."
"However, what about us?" he asked. "As the low-life thugs that survive on the conflict between the factions, we'd become completely irrelevant once the city is united under a single banner."
"Rest assured," Selvo quickly assured him. "My father has no intention of abandoning you after using you." Selvo was not the sort to console someone, but Anom, or more accurately, Nedar, was one person he couldn't afford to offend at the moment, especially given the key to his safety lay in his hands.
"If you say so." Anom declined to comment further. Turning his head behind him, he then asked Selvo, "Shall we get started, then?"
"Hm?" As Anom was blocking his view, only now did Selvo see Kristin, who was sleeping on the bed.
"It's her!" Selvo exclaimed, walking forward in a hurry until he reached the bed.
As Selvo looked at the sleeping beauty, his gaze turned vulgar, and he couldn't help but gulp. Anom arrived behind him, remaining silent and waiting.
Selvo stared at her for a while longer before sighing and turning around.
"Seeing her from a distance and seeing her like this can be so different; how wonderful," he remarked.
"If you're done admiring this dangerous wonder, shall we get started then?" Anom asked.
Selvo nodded and reached into his pockets, retrieving a piece of paper. "This is the address I've arranged for the plan." He handed it to Anom and inquired, "Are we going together or...?"
Anom briefly glanced at the paper before looking at Selvo and shaking his head. "I will move her there myself, while you go and meet her friend and bring her to the location you've prepared." He smirked. "After all, you'll need an awake audience for your act, right?"
Selvo pondered for a moment before nodding. "Fine. Tell me where to find her, then."
Anom provided him with the details of where Nia was arranged to stay.
"I'll be following right behind you, so you don't need to bother to come here anymore."
After giving him additional instructions and cautioning him about his father, Anom let him go.
"How disgusting!" Kristin, who had been pretending to be unconscious, finally sat up, displaying a disgusted expression on her face. "I could feel his vulgar gaze roaming my body even with my eyes closed." She then gave Anom a resentful look. "Shouldn't you have stopped him from getting closer?" she asked. "What if he had tried to touch me?"
Observing her expression, which was more pouty than angry, Anom chuckled. "Don't worry, I wouldn't have let him do anything like that." He paused for a moment before smirking. "Besides, isn't it nice to motivate the player with the prize he could win?"
"Hmph!" Kristin snorted in disdain, clearly looking down on Selvo. But soon, a slightly worried expression surfaced on her face. "Can we rely on him, though?" she asked. "I mean, what if he messes up and lets his family know?"
"Hmm." Anom nodded. "You're correct to worry about this, but for this plan, we have to trust in his ability to hide his deeds from his father."
"Besides," he continued, "I have already given both them and us the easy way out with this plan; forcing me to use another method will only be more detrimental for them."
"You have a backup plan?" Kristin looked curious.
"It can't be called that." Anom smiled. "If this plan fails somehow, I will have to go to the Handler family estate and deal with them directly." Shrugging, he said, "It's best if it doesn't come to that; we'll attract the attention of the Sorneos otherwise."
Clearing her doubts, Anom didn't waste any more time and simply left the place with her in tow.
It didn't take long for them to reach the address, as the place was in the same region as the gang's lair.
Anom stopped in an alleyway, his gaze directed at a warehouse-style wooden building in front of him. Kristin was already being carried in his arms with a black cloth covering her.
"Halt!"
Just as he stepped inside, two men dressed in black blocked his path.
"Who are you?" One of them asked while looking at him warily, while the other one had already grabbed a dagger in his hand.
Anom was speechless at their exaggerated reaction. But he didn't show any reaction through his mask.
"Nedar," he simply said, using the gang leader's gruff voice.
The two underlings were immediately stunned before a fearful expression appeared on their faces.
Bowing their heads hastily, the two quickly welcomed him inside.
The building was quite spacious, and Anom was led to a big room meant to stage the play.
"It looks similar." Anom muttered. He was examining the room that Selvo had prepared. It seemed to have been made in the exact image of the gang leader's room. Well, it was the only place Selvo seemed to have drawn inspiration from for making an ideal-looking kidnapper's den.
There was also a bed in the middle.
"Oh, not bad." Kristin pressed upon the mattress as she commented, "Although not fully to my liking, it's better than the previous one at least."
Anom laughed. "How can you even compare a poor gang leader with the young master of a merchant family?"
"Well, both are the same for me." Kristin had a carefree expression on her face as she lazily rested herself on the bed.
They then began to wait for the participants in this act to appear.
Anom positioned himself discreetly in a small adjacent room, ensuring that he appeared uninvolved in the unfolding events. It was a deliberate move on his part to demonstrate to Selvo that he would not directly participate in the performance.
Soon, the distant sounds of commotion reached their ears, the echoes of chaos seeping into the secluded room. They knew that in this part of the city, such disturbances would easily blend into the backdrop of a violent underworld.
Thud! Crash!
Without warning, the door swung open with a forceful crash. In the doorway stood a fierce-looking female, her expression dripping with anger and determination.
"Kristin, my dearest friend!" Nia's voice rang out, filled with exaggerated joy, as she rushed towards the bed.
Selvo followed behind, a faint trace of fear still etched upon his face as he glanced over his shoulder in pity.
Nia, sitting on the bed, played her part, mimicking the act of making Kristin drink something, while Kristin herself pretended to stir from a deep slumber.
"Cough, Cough!"
"N-Nia?" Kristin's eyes widened in astonishment before tears streamed down her face, and she threw herself into her friend's waiting arms. "Nia! I can't believe you're here!"
Caught up in the moment, Nia embraced her friend tightly, offering solace and relief.
Selvo, finally shedding his unease, stepped forward to join them. "Ladies, you needn't worry any longer," he proclaimed, a flicker of confidence dancing in his eyes. "I have taken care of everything-"
BAM!
"AH!"
