Cooperation, my ass." The woman grunted as she dropped her head against the bar with a loud thud.
"Oi", grumbled the large man by her side.
"I need some calm and relaxation in order to fully enjoy this drink." He gestured his drink towards her, bonking her head with his shot glass.
"it might be the last one that'll work properly after that headache of a meeting we just went through. " He mumbled, gulping down his 5th drink for the night.
They were currently lounging at one of the bars located deep within the black market of the Clover kingdom, exhausted by the sheer chaos that had ensued after Nalé had proposed her plan.
It had all started with an innocuous enough question.
If all the bulls were meant to be working with officials of their own, who'd get to work with her?
Nalé thought she had already made it clear that she'd be working with her captain, but the higher ups had been adamant at assigning her a specific partner from their side.
They believed that the Black bulls might have too much power otherwise.
According to these officials
The wizard king would be too busy with his kingly duties, especially since he runs from them on a daily basis and the captain would have his hands full managing the the bulls.
So, they were naturally pushed to to the side in the conversation that ensued about her supposed partner.
This blatant disrespect had left her miffed, but she had kept her mouth shut for the sake of the project.
Until she'd heard the name of the man they chose
Damnatio Kira, one of the most insufferable men she'd had the opportunity of meeting on screen would be her partner .
——
Previously at the meeting
...
Silence permeated the room as they waited for the judge to respond to this pairing suggestion.
He was silent for a while, gazing around at all the faces who were eagerly waiting for his response until his eyes landed on her.
Nalé, he thinks, pondering over her.
She must have quite the head on top of her shoulders to come up with such an elaborate plan.
Why is she so philanthropic, none of these old fucks have given a shit for the longest. She looks exhausted just presenting.
What does she get out of this?
He narrowed his eyes at the woman standing across from him.
She, in the meantime, was failing terribly at hiding the sourness in her face. Her presentation material bunched up around her hands. And…was that a vein he saw bulging on the side of her jaw?
"Hm " he uttered out loud, face as neutral as ever but with a cheshire smile forming in his head.
"I accept. "
——-
Another thud echoed on the bar's counter at the remembrance of this fresh frustrating foul.
" I should've known these old bastards would pull something like this!" she said muffled, her face smushed against the counter.
"Welcome to the clover kingdom." Responded the man to her left sarcastically.
She grumbled turning her head to look at the captain. "Yea, I feel welcome alright."
All things considered, the meeting went better than she expected. Sure they questioned her being a foreigner but they weren't outright threatening her and the project got the go ahead.
That was more than enough.
She pushed her empty plate to the side and prepared to turn in for the night.
"I'll be going back first, captain. Enjoy your night." she yelled as she left the bar.
"Yea yea, sleep well kid." he responded offhandedly, intently focused on making bets with the bartender for more drinks.
Unfortunately sober, unlike her alcoholic of a captain, she walked out with the day's events still playing in her mind.
It's official now, she thought.
She sighed and looked up into the night sky. It brought no comfort.
A deep heaviness settled in her chest.
She smiled, anxious.
"I'll need to check out those energy potions that one guy told me about."