Knock! Knock! Knock!
Anom was roused from his focus as a series of knocks were heard on the door. Closing the book that was in his hands, Anom replied using the gang leader's voice, "Enter."
The door opened with a click as a stout man appeared in front of him. It was the same guy who had previously informed him about the invitation from Selvo Handler, the intermediary that the original gang leader had arranged to pass on important messages between the two forces.
"Leader." The man greeted Anom respectfully before speaking, "Young master Selvo has responded."
"Hm." Anom nodded. He then asked, "Where and when?"
The intermediary immediately replied, "He's coming here." He added, "Now."
Anom was a bit surprised before he muttered, "He seems to be in a hurry."
"Yes." The intermediary agreed. He then thought for a moment before adding, "I also felt the same when I went to meet him. He seemed to be in a terrible mood." An expression of fear appeared on his face as he re-counted, "The expression he presented was so awful that it made me worried for my life; as if he would vent out all his anger on me."
Anom nodded before instructing, "Good. Now go and wait to welcome him. Remember to be discreet though; we can't be as flamboyant as the Handler family when doing things."
The intermediary pursed his lips and declined to comment. He just respectfully accepted his orders and left the room.
"In a hurry…" Anom muttered before a smirk appeared under his mask.
He resumed his reading but was soon interrupted as the man from before had already returned. But he was not alone this time; another person was walking alongside him. A cloak covered the figure; not even their face could be made out.
"You can leave." Anom said this to the intermediary, who immediately assented and exited the room before closing the door.
"Please take a seat," Anom said to the cloaked person, "young master Selvo."
The person pulled down his hood, revealing the pale and arrogant visage of Selvo Handler. He looked at Anom with a cold expression. "State your business quickly. Otherwise, I also have important matters to discuss." With an impatient expression on his face, Selvo sat down on the chair opposite Anom.
"You can speak first then." Anom said calmly.
"Huh?" Selvo was stunned for a second before a furious expression appeared on his face. "Did you call me here to waste my time? You-"
"Please calm down, young master." Anom interrupted Selvo. "I meant to say that you look quite worried; it would be better for you to share your thoughts first. Who knows? Maybe I can be of some help."
Hearing his words made Selvo's expression turn a bit better, but he still snorted. "If you're just going to keep talking nonsense, then I'm going to begin my topic first."
"Please go ahead."
But instead of answering directly, Selvo first stood up before he said, "Take me to that girl." He seemed impatient as he said, "We need to take care of her right now."
Hearing his irrefutable tone, Anom turned silent for a moment before replying, "I apologize, but it's not possible at the moment."
"What?" Selvo growled, his expression turning increasingly nasty. He asked in an aggressive tone, "What do you mean by that, Nedar?"
"Young master Selvo, will you please sit down first before we can speak calmly?" Anom spoke with a grave voice.
Selvo was stunned before he also realized that his approach had been a bit too forceful. Not that he cared about that, but currently he was alone; his usual entourage of guards wasn't with him.
So he decided to calm down as he sat back in his seat.
"Alright. State your reason." His tone was still arrogant, but this was the most he could manage with his conceited personality.
Anom didn't comment on his behavior anymore. "It's quite simple, actually," he said. "The topic I wanted to discuss was also regarding that captive. So I was hoping if you could explain the reason for your agitation and haste before I can assent to your decision."
Seeing that Selvo was listening to his words, Anom continued softly, "Young master, your family might have enough power to hire another person to work as their henchmen, but my gang only has you to seek support. All I will do will be in the best interest of both parties. That's why I hope that you can be a bit more candid and clear my doubts."
The subtle praise and flattery that were thrown into his words seemed to work as Selvo's mood improved visibly. He thought for a brief moment before nodding. "Maybe you're right," he said.
Taking a deep breath to calm his anxiety, Selvo said, "I'm in a lot of trouble." He paused before adding, "Father has found out about the girl. The one I told you to capture." His expression turned gloomy as he seemed to be remembering something unpleasant.
But…
"... Oh," was the only reply Anom could muster.
"Oh?" Selvo was stunned. He furrowed his brows and tried to remain calm as he spoke in frustration, "Seriously? Just that? Don't you understand the severity of the matter?" His gloomy expression heralded the reappearance of his anger.
"No offence, young master Selvo," Anom said unhurriedly. "But it's not something surprising given that your father was the one who had arranged your guards, even that bodyguard, for you. It's completely normal for them to report back to their employer, isn't it?"
Hearing this, Selvo turned depressed as he muttered, "Then what's the point of training me if I can't even make my own decisions? I don't even have any true subordinates to command."
"You can't say that, young master." Anom responded. "You should know how much importance your father has assigned to this new venture. It's practically a gamble! It's only natural for him to act so cautious."
Selvo turned silent as what Anom said made sense. He then raised his head before speaking, "Then why aren't you letting me take care of the problem I have created? No! It's us who did this!" Selvo suddenly showed a relieved expression. "You were involved in this too."
Anom couldn't help but rub his forehead before speaking, "That's true, young master. But that's also the reason I can't let you go deal with her. We really can't afford to mess up anymore." His tone turned solemn as he added, "Our next step might as well be the deciding factor for the Handler family and my gang's future.
"You're exaggerating, right?" His severe tone scared Selvo as he retorted, "How can abducting a girl be that serious?" It wasn't that he couldn't understand the undertone in Anom's words; it was just that he wasn't willing to hear about any other trouble he might have caused.
"It is that serious," Anom emphasized.
Selvo's expression was ugly as he said in a vexed tone, "Now you're just making me pissed!"
"Just tell me already!" he demanded.
Anom turned silent before explaining, "This was the reason I told you to come alone, young master. I know that although your father would have covered up for you in another situation, the trouble we're facing now is not something even the whole of Nulis City combined can deal with."
As Selvo turned increasingly terrified, Anom finally told him the truth. "The girl we abducted, she's actually someone from the capital."
Selvo's eyes widened before he forcefully calmed himself. "Is that it? Ha-ha. You sure know how to exaggerate. There are so many people in the capital. It's not that rare for some to come here, no matter how remote this place is."
Anom looked at his forced smile with a look of pity visible in his eyes. "It's no use fooling yourself, young master." He sighed before adding, "You and I both know I wouldn't have called you here if the matter happened to be that simple."
Selvo's smile froze as he looked at him nervously. "Th-then?"
Anom continued to unveil the situation slowly as he dropped an explosive fact: "From one of the great families."
Great Family!
The two words rocked Selvo's mind. As his back fell lifelessly on the chair, he turned wooden.
But Anom wasn't done!
"If what she said is true," he took a pause before saying slowly, "then she's probably from the direct lineage."
'I'm done for!' Selvo screamed inwardly as he felt strength leaving his limbs. Drenched in cold sweat, Selvo sat there in silence before he abruptly stood up.
"No!" He shouted. "I can't sit around like this! I have to do something." As he tried to find something to save his life, Selvo suddenly remembered that the person in front of him was his accomplice in this mess.
"Nedar!" Selvo moved forward to grab Anom's shoulders before speaking desperately, "I can't let this mess reach my father or he'll skin me alive! You have to help me." He then looked a bit hesitant before he finally said, "Can you... you know..."
"Take the fall for you?" Anom asked plainly.
Selvo felt a bit awkward, but saving his life came first, so he decisively nodded. "That's it."
Anom pretended to think for a moment before replying, "Let me state this clearly for you, young master Selvo. If I wanted to, I could have simply abandoned this city with my men and left you here to deal with it yourself." His tone was no longer calm, but there was a faint anger in his voice.
He continued, "Or maybe I would have really taken the fall as I could simply leave while shifting the blame on my subordinates."
"You can still do it!" Selvo replied agitatedly. "You didn't leave directly, so you clearly want to continue our cooperation, right? I-I'll discuss it with my father. He'd not mind compensating you for this." Seeing a bit of hope in his precarious situation made Selvo try his best to convince Anom. He knew that threatening could have the opposite effect, so enticing Nedar with benefits was the only solution he could think of.
Anom pushed Selvo's hands, which were on his shoulders, aside before he stood up from his seat. Turning to walk in the direction of the window, he began speaking, "If only it were really that simple, young master."
"Now what?" Selvo suddenly realized that even his newly reached Materialization State was not helping him deal with the powerlessness he was currently feeling.
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