"You ask simple questions that don't have an easy answer."
The mobster sighed and leaned back in his chair. His finger started to slowly tap at the wood of the desk while his eyes locked on the coin in my hand.
"If you are going to bring only one or two coins like that and call it a day, then this isn't worth my attention," he spoke, the tapping of his finger growing slightly faster and heavier.
I held myself back from swallowing my saliva.
Even though I intentionally made the atmosphere tenser, it tragically backfired, putting me on the spot.
How I was supposed to react, exactly? Was he done speaking? Or was his silence a test of my determination?
"I know a few things about you," the man finally spoke right as he heaved another sigh. A spark of exhaustion flashed in his eyes.
'And what exactly is this supposed to mean? What did I do to attract their attention? I thought they were the ones who would leave me the hell alone! Before getting this portal, I could be of absolutely no use to them!
A myriad of thoughts raced through my mind as I tried to peer into the intent behind those worrying words.
The mobster raised his eyes and took a look at my tense expression.
"There's no need to freak out. We can't exactly allow someone with circumstances as ridiculous as yours to get a place in our sphere of influence, could we?" The man revealed a small smile before moving up on his chair and leaning forward on the table while cupping his hands together.
"Let me put it this way. You can either consider it a lucky day or leave this coin. In exchange, I will give you five big ones, which is more than ten times its worth," the mobster spoke with a perfectly calm expression while digging his eyes into my face.
'Is he looking for a reaction?' I thought, opting to slightly narrow my eyes to satisfy the mobster's craving.
With my endurance growing to levels beyond what an average human could ever achieve, this kind of pressure was nothing for me.
Sure, I did my very best to lower my guard and literally open my heart to the man to circumvent this unexpected obstacle on my path. It could spell trouble if a mob lieutenant took interest in me due to what he would consider perfectly cold blood, wouldn't it?
"Once again, consider this a bright moment in your otherwise bleak life," the mobster rolled his eyes before pulling his back straight and lowering his cupped hands. "In exchange, there might come a time when we will ask for you to return the favor. It won't be anything drastic or extremely risky. You can consider it as my investment into the future of someone who endured so much and didn't break."
The silence returned to the room. And even though the mobster appeared to relax… I could still feel his piercing gaze.
And to the best of my understanding and ability to read the air that I, as an introvert, perfected over the years of my pitiful life… The real question, the real test, was only about to drop about now.
"But if you can bring more of those coins, then I will offer you…" the mobster thought for a second, even acting it out as if to make it all seem like a happy-go-lucky decision rather than a serious business offer. "Two-thirds of their worth in weight."
A third of the price… Was a steep cost. But a cost far smaller than what could happen if I sold those coins off randomly and someone ended up making a mess because of them.
I could claim they were hand-made passion projects of someone who wanted to make his offline RPG sessions more authentic by going as far as minting his own coins to use in the gaming sessions…
But how far that kind of lie could take me?
"That sounds reasonable," I lightly nodded my head, as if restrained by the worry of walking into a trap.
"Oh, and since we are on that topic, if you want to the latter option, I will double my investment… But you will need to keep me informed."
The mobster lowered his eyelids but raised his eyes, giving me a long, piercing look. And to respond to his expectations… I gulped my saliva yet again.
'Well, doubling the investment means dropping ten grand on some random,' I quickly rephrased the man's words into a simpler form. 'It's given he won't be willing to just let me do whatever I want in this arrangement…'
For a moment, I hesitated.
But there was one more reason why the second option was far more alluring.
"If I were to pick the latter option, I would need you to potentially shield me from my step-family," I announced.
This was the one point I was the most worried about. Now that I was broke and had no protector in this world, I would be powerless to do anything against my aunt if her gold-greedy nose would smell the money on me.
And if she were to come storming, there would be practically nothing I could do save for a forceful, physical solution to this problem.
"Do you want us to… take care of them?" the mobster asked, his eyebrows moving up a bit as an amused smile crept up on his lips.
"No, that would make me lose all the fun of dealing with them myself," I replied coldly and without hesitation. "All I need is for you to keep them off my ass. Don't you think it would be better if they didn't try to cause trouble and disturb our profitable relationship?"
There was no way this man would ever offer to "take care" of someone for me. I was too small, too insignificant. The risk of me trying to set the man up was simply too high in this equation.
But keeping them off my back?
That was a plain and reasonable request, especially if this man really knew what he hinted to know about me and my past.
"That won't be a problem," the mobster replied while leaning back in his chair. "I assume you wish to take the second deal, then?"
"Yeah," I said as I stood up only to bring the coin back to the table and roll it toward the man.
The mobster caught the coin with a small smile before reaching out to one of the shelves on his side of the desk. He quickly straightened back before placing two thick stacks of cash on the same table while stashing the coin somewhere I couldn't see. Then, he stood up from his chair and reached out.
"For the mutually beneficial cooperation, then," he spoke as I reached out and shook his hand.
"Let's make each other filthy rich," I replied, finally allowing a smile to appear on my face.
This was a perfect deal for the man. He belonged to the group that balanced the grey area between legal and underground business. And for them, a source of income that didn't seem to bear much risk was always welcomed!
"Can I ask you to send one of the bouncers to my place in let's say… two days? Then have him nearly break the door before forcing me to pay a protection fee or something?" I requested as I nearly turned, ready to leave.
The mobster raised his eyebrows a little before hiding a small smile.
"Didn't I say we will keep your family off your ass?"
I returned the smile.
"But why deal with them if we can make them believe I'm just the same old victim of bullying?" I asked with all the honesty I could muster and spread out my arms, shaking them to show my indifference.
"I will send someone, then," the mobster replied before turning back to his chair, only to quickly turn his head and give me another penetrating smile. "And since we will be now working with each other, I will need you to come up with something really good, better than just some stolen gold, to meet with me again."
The announcement made me stop in my tracks, right as I was about to open the door and leave.
"Who should I contact for the periodical reports, then?" I asked, puzzled by the sudden introduction of a new rule.
Despite being a mobster, this man was strangely easy to talk to. Sure, he was setting up traps here and there in our negotiations… But that's just how the business worked. If I allowed him to take more from me, then he would be obliged to do so, otherwise, I couldn't even respect him as a partner!
But now he was telling me it wouldn't be him that I would be dealing with?
'I guess I will need to find something far more profitable if I want to seriously step up in life…'
Such was the implication of the announcement.
I could earn nice money by selling off the coins from another world… But how exactly was I supposed to get more of them? It's not like there are just heaps of loaded corpses in that forest, waiting for me to loot them…
I took a deep breath.
"I understand," I spoke before making sure the money I hid in my clothes wasn't visible or accented in any way or form. "Then, I will be sure to level up and bring you even more profits soon, then."
There was no need for me to worry. Gold was the easiest way to obtain on the go…
But how stupid would I have to be able to find anything interesting in a world that allowed celestial fucking foxes that could speak directly to one's mind and shapeshift into humans?
Just a strand of grass from that world would likely send the entire scientific community of Earth into a frenzy! I would have to be an idiot to be unable to find something that a half-legal mob organization would find extremely interesting!
I bowed down to the man and left the room. Before I knew it, I passed by the corridor, the red insides of the brothel's main hall, and then the building's entrance.
Now, I had more money than I ever had in the past. Ten whole grand!
'That should be enough to bring some good stuff for Fay to enjoy,' I thought, instantly switching back to my old mindset, centered on pleasing this impossible beauty.
On the other side of my portal, her massive parent was my lifeline. And in this world…
In this world, I was more than happy to splurge if it meant putting that adorable smile on Fay's beautiful face!