Anom and Kristin arrived back at the place where they had parted ways with the other two. But Nia and Crystal were not back yet. So they could only continue to wait.
Kristin tried to relieve her boredom as they waited by reading the book that Anom had bought. But she soon got bored of it too.
"What are those two taking so long for?" Kristin furrowed her brows. "Don't tell me they encountered some trouble." Her expression turned grim as she looked at Anom and suggested, "Should we go look for them?"
"No need." Anom replied simply. "The list I gave them was not short; it's only natural for them to take some time." He paused before saying, "As for their safety, although not the best, your friend is still sharp enough to detect most of the dangers. That said, Crystal's not weak either. The two of them will not face much trouble, at least within the city."
Kristin calmed down after hearing his words, but continued grumbling in complaint.
After they had waited for almost an hour, the two girls finally appeared.
Both of them had a smile on their pretty faces. Surprisingly, they seemed to be getting along well as they walked closely and were still chatting happily.
Kristin looked at the scene in surprise, but she still didn't forget to register her grievance: "Why did you two take so long in coming back? Do you have any idea how worried we were?" Her tone was filled with anger as she tried to cover the fact that most of it stemmed from feeling bored.
"Oh." Nia spoke calmly before looking at Anom. "He looks pretty calm to me, though."
"That's not the point." Arms akimbo, Kristin looked at her friend in rebuke and asked, "Tell me, what took you so long?"
"Well…" An awkward expression overcame Nia's face as she saw that her friend seemed angry.
"The shopping took a bit more time than we estimated." Crystal answered in Nia's stead before adding with a smile, "There were also some snack stalls on the way, so we also stayed there for a bit." Looking at her embarrassed smile, it was clear what the main reason for them being late was.
"What?" Kristin had a look of disbelief on her face as she turned back to Nia. "Here I was, worried sick about you, and you were busy munching on tasty snacks? Is this how you treat your best friend?" Her tone was filled with indignation, as if she were accusing a traitor.
Nia was speechless. Her friend was excellent on all fronts, but sometimes she could really be a handful. Especially when she feels insecure about something.
"Alright, alright." Nia walked forward to console her friend. "Let me explain... Here, look at this. How can I ever forget about you?" Nia pulled out a paper parcel from her bag like magic and presented it to her friend.
"Hmph!" Kristin snorted, but her hands quickly grabbed the parcel. As she opened the wrapping, the tempting aroma of fried food spread. The box contained bite sized golden balls that were probably filled with meat. A dipping sauce was also placed inside.
"Alright, I'll forgive you this time," said Kristin as she quickly grabbed one ball and dipped it in the sauce before chomping it down. "Mm… So good~"
Anom ignored the two friends and asked Crystal with a smile, "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah." Crystal also smiled. "I don't remember the last time I was able to relax like this." Pausing a bit, she looked at Nia before continuing, "She's also not that bad." Clearly, the short trip had allowed Crystal to have a new understanding of the girls from the capital.
"That's good." Anom nodded. "Did you find everything I listed?" he asked.
Crystal nodded before taking out a bunch of items from her storage bag. "None of the things were too difficult to find. Just that your description was quite vague. Thankfully, Nia helped in understanding your requirements."
"That I did." Nia, who had finished persuading her friend, came over. Looking at Anom, she asked, "All this stuff is for you to create a disguise, right? I have seen something similar before."
Anom nodded as he explained, "It's nothing too complicated."
"Just a bit of natural cosmetic to alter the facial features; it might not seem professional, but it works wonders with the right technique."
Suddenly, Crystal widened her eyes before she turned to look at the products she had bought.
"All this stuff is just for you to create a disguise?" she asked. "Isn't this all just some common stuff?"
"What do you know?" Nia rolled her eyes. "Does it really have to be so complicated just because it's about creating a disguise? Expert impersonators and spies don't need much complicated stuff; a few of their techniques are enough to fool even the sharpest of eyes."
"Is that so?" Crystal looked curious, as it was her first time coming into contact with the topic.
"It's not that complicated." Anom smiled. "She's right, though." Anom looked at Nia and said, "Real experts can change faces just as easily as changing clothes. It's a rare art, but not a lost one."
"That said," Nia curled her lips, "I think you should pay extra attention to the people from the capital; they're not so easy to dupe." A disdainful smile hung on her lips as she added, "It'll be all over if you get caught by those guys Sorneo House sent here."
"Don't worry." Anom chuckled. "I'll be careful."
As everyone was done with their tasks, and Kristin with the snacks, Anom and Nia led the other two back to the Safaira estate.
"Alright." As they arrived back outside the place the two girls were staying, Anom spoke, "I'll be leaving now." Anom turned around to leave, as he had other aspects of their plan to work on.
"Wait."
Anom looked back at Crystal, who was walking towards him.
"I knew you'd be in a hurry." She said before taking something out of her bag. "Eat this when you're hungry." It was another food parcel, but it was bigger than the one Nia had bought for Kristin.
"It's a sandwich." Before Anom could open it up, Crystal stopped him and clarified. "Eat it when you're hungry."
Anom nodded as he smilingly placed it inside his storage bag.
Before Crystal could say anything else, Anom placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss.
"Mmu-mm…" A token struggle by Crystal was ended before it started, as Anom had initiated a wet battle with their tongues.
Anom pulled back and smiled as he looked at the flushed Crystal, who was panting lightly. He then turned to look and found two extra red faces behind her.
"Sweet." He commented before turning back. Waving at them once, he disappeared from the premises.
There was a brief silence before Kristin finally said, "How did that taste?"
"…"
…
Anom passed through the familiar alleyways, spending around half an hour before he finally reached the Giro Gang's lair.
Even in the morning, the area was crowded. Fortunately, he could enter the leader's room directly through the window without altering anyone.
After getting inside, the first thing he did was change into the Gang Leader's ensemble.
"Ahem." While adjusting his throat to let out the suitable vocal sound, Anom walked towards the small trinket infused with a communication array.
As the signal passed through, it took a few seconds before the circular plate lit up and a voice was transmitted.
"Hello, Boss?" The voice spoke, "Did you need something?"
"Yeah." Anom replied in a rough voice. "Get someone to inform Young Master Selvo that I want to meet him today, around noon if possible." He paused, then added, "And tell him to come alone if possible. Inform me as quickly as possible."
"Alright." The voice immediately agreed. "Anything else, boss?"
"That'll be all." Anom replied succinctly before cutting the signal. He then walked towards a table and a chair.
Resting his back against the chair, he placed his feet on the table before taking out a book from his storage bag. It was the one he had bought in the morning.
Now we wait. Anom thought before he flipped through the book and began to read.
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