I untied her restraints, for now.
After all, Cattleya wasn’t particularly strong when it came to physical combat.
She was probably about as strong as I was…. or maybe a little stronger.
Cattleya’s strength didn’t lie in brute force, but in her ruthless pragmatism and boldness.
Just look at her now.
She was in a situation where she could die at any moment, yet she calmly tried to strike a deal with me.
“Still, I’m surprised. I didn’t expect money to be what you wanted.”
“It’s not exactly a burden for you, is it?”
“Well, true. I was just surprised that what you wanted was only money.”
“I want many things. It’s just that they’re things you can’t give.”
“Hmm?”
Calling it a deal with Cattleya sounded nice, but in reality, it was practically the same as revealing my own weaknesses.
What I want is what I need. And it was Cattleya’s tactic to dig into that and uncover my vulnerabilities one by one.
So rather than asking for information, connections, or people, it was better to keep it simple and ask for money.
The less I reveal that allows her to profile me, the better.
“In that case, I’m curious how you’ll use that large sum.”
“Money’s nice to have, but not essential.”
“If you have it, it’s definitely good.”
“Let’s call that a matter of perspective.”
“Fair enough. Still, I think we could make pretty good partners. What do you think?”
“Not at all.”
“Well, I suppose you might have some resentment toward me.”
Cattleya chuckled lightly.
“My methods may come off a bit forceful, but I genuinely want to be on good terms with you. The more connections, the better…. don’t you agree?”
Where in the world did she get that kind of composure?
Right now, she was in a situation where Yuna could kill her with a single swing of her blade.
Even though she had been unshackled, the danger of the situation hadn’t changed.
Was it because she wasn’t afraid of death?
Or was it because she was confident?
Whichever it was, one thing was clear. Her mental strength was anything but ordinary.
“How about this then? I could recall our merchant guild members stationed in your territory. That way, you wouldn’t have to go through unnecessary trouble, right?”
“You can just leave them be.”
Whatever the case, Andvaranaut was the top merchant guild in the empire.
If one understood the risks, it was better to accept some danger than to go without them entirely.
Especially considering the engagement issue, Andvaranaut’s support would be better for the revival of the territory.
“Hmm, that’s a good attitude. If you ever became a merchant, I think you’d do pretty well.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Then how about a handshake?”
“……”
With a friendly smile, Cattleya extended her hand. The palm that was bloodied and stained showed where her fingernails had been torn out.
Her attitude showed that getting blood on her hands didn’t bother her in the slightest.
This was her true nature.
A madwoman who had stained her hands with blood countless times in the name of revenge.
Whether it was someone else’s blood or her own, it made no difference to her.
“Sure. A handshake is nothing.”
I took her hand.
It wasn’t unexpected, but still…
“The money you promised for your life. Please have it ready by the end of this week.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
It wasn’t exactly a pleasant exchange.
“When I make deals, I might overcharge, but I never cheat.”
Cattleya smiled like a snake eyeing its prey.
***
Right after leaving the underground prison ahead of Cattleya, Yuna who had been silent the whole time finally spoke up.
“By the way, Johan, what do you think that woman actually wanted from you?”
“Probably nothing. That was just an excuse too, in the end.”
“Huh…?”
“If I had to put it into words, it was probably me as a person that she was interested in.”
Cattleya didn’t want anything from me. At least, not yet.
What she valued was the fact that I knew the future.
She found the idea of knowing the future intriguing, and even if she didn’t need it herself, she assessed it as a commodity.
Even now, it was the same.
She had first approached me with a deal, but aside from paying for her own life, she hadn’t offered anything else.
Her real goal was to establish a connection.
And whether I liked it or not, to force me into doing business with her.
In reality, I had accepted money in exchange for her life.
Now that we had traded once, the second time would be easier and she would start bringing me increasingly tempting things that stirred my desires.
If I ever got addicted to that, it would only be a matter of time before I ended up as little more than her puppet.
“There’s no need to worry about it right now.”
“Hmm… feels like I got played, though.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have kidnapped her?”
“No, if anything, it’s a good thing we figured it out early. We’ve even found a way to deal with the situation in our territory.”
If she’d approached me later when I had no room to intervene, she probably would’ve presented a deal I couldn’t refuse, using House Damus’s territory as leverage.
It was a good thing we found out early.
Once I got back, I’d need to contact Father immediately and warn him to stay alert.
“Besides, we got something out of it too. Thanks to that, things should go more smoothly.”
“You mean the money? Come to think of it, what are you planning to do with all that money?”
“I’m going to buy something that exists only once in the entire world.”
“Huh?”
“Since things turned out this way, let’s go right now. Better to move before that troublesome guy comes back.”
“Hmm?”
I was lucky.
I’d been struggling to figure out how to deal with Kult, but thanks to Yuna, things looked like they’d go a lot more smoothly.
“I’ll buy you some ice cream on the way.”
“Ice cream sounds great!”
Just a moment ago, Yuna tilted her head, as if trying to figure out what I meant, but then she quickly nodded in understanding.
With that, I took Yuna along as my escort and headed toward today’s destination.
It wasn’t far.
“Isn’t this the Robinhood family’s mansion?”
“That’s right.”
Today’s destination was the home of the original owner of the underground prison where Cattleya had been held.
“Ah, so the ‘troublesome guy’ you mentioned must be Stan Robinhood, who hasn’t returned from field training yet?”
“Right on. If that guy’s around, things will get annoying.”
“Yeah, people can be annoying.”
The underground prison’s owner. The one with the keenest sight and a sharpshooter—
This was the house of Stan Robinhood.
“So the person we’re meeting today is…?”
“Emily Robinhood. Stan Robinhood’s younger sister.”
“Oh! So the one-of-a-kind item you mentioned must be one of Ex Machina’s inventions?!”
“As expected, you got it without needing an explanation.”
“Of course! You know I’m the one who understands you best~.”
Grinning like a fool, Yuna followed me as we walked up to the front gate of the Robinhood mansion, where the gatekeepers promptly approached us.
“May I ask what brings you here?”
“Hello. We’re here to see Emily Robinhood.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No, something urgent came up, so we decided to drop by.”
“In that case, may I ask for your identification?”
“I’m a student from the Cradle. I met her before for research purposes, and I’ve come to ask a follow-up question related to that. Here’s my student ID.”
“…Please wait a moment.”
After that exchange of formalities, the guards stepped back and began whispering among themselves.
“Looking at the student ID, it seems legit… but weren’t all the Cradle students sent out for field training? I thought the young master hadn’t returned yet either…”
“Who knows, maybe something happened again. It is the Cradle, after all.”
“Fair point. At this point, it feels weird not to have some kind of incident.”
That rather depressing bit of whispering ended when the guard who had checked my ID returned and said,
“I’ll go notify them inside. Please wait a moment.”
“Yes, thank you.”
A short while later, we were allowed into the Robinhood mansion as guests.
***
“Hello, big brother Johan.”
“Oh, hey…”
Emily looked like she had just woken up. Her hair was messy, and she was still wearing rumpled pajamas.
“It’s not that urgent, so do you want to change first?”
“No, too much effort.”
“Uh…”
So I’m supposed to have a serious conversation with a girl in pajamas now?
Next to me, Yuna was silently fiddling with her teacup. That silence was unusually unsettling. Normally, she would’ve already greeted Emily with her usual bright energy.
We should try to wrap this up quickly and get out of here.
“You came to see me, didn’t you?”
“Technically true, but maybe let’s phrase that a little more gently.”
“You came to see me because you missed me, right, big brother Johan?”
“…Can I just get straight to the point?”
Trying to correct her any further would probably make things worse.
“Sure.”
Emily nodded with tired, hollow eyes. She was an unpredictable person, which made her hard to deal with.
“I’ve got something I want to commission.”
“Okay.”
“First, could I ask for the same items as last time again? I was a bit rough with them, and they all broke.”
“Okay.”
She kept staring blankly into the distance and answering with one word. I wasn’t even sure if she was really listening.
Was she just tuning me out because she couldn’t be bothered?
This was a matter of life and death for me.
“And one more thing. I need something else made, no matter what.”
Then I told her the real reason I had come today.
“An artificial heart. Can you make one?”
“An artificial heart…?”
At those words, Emily’s eyes widened in surprise.
It felt like she had finally snapped back to her senses.
“Yes, I want something that can replicate the function of a heart.”
“Imitating the function itself is simple, but implanting it into a human body to replace the heart is…”
“Impossible?”
“…It’s difficult.”
“So it’s not impossible, then?”
“No. But…”
“If it’s a money issue, I can support you as much as you need. Just let me know if you need research funds.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“It’ll cost quite a lot…”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“……”
It wasn’t my money anyway.
I could just use Cattleya’s funds.
Besides, since it was Emily—or rather the Ex Machina Emily, to be exact—there was no way anyone could trace how she spent the money I gave her.
“Alright then. I understand. I’ll give it a try. And this is to save someone’s life, right?”
“Yes…”
Thank goodness.
Honestly, I had only asked on the off chance it might be possible, and to think that it was.
The sacred relic Kult sought was born from Helena’s heart.
To put it bluntly, Kult would end up extracting the heart of Helena, someone who was practically family to him, in order to achieve his goal.
I had no confidence in persuading Kult.
Nor did I have the ability to stop him beforehand. So I wanted to prepare for what came after. Do what I could.
Maybe, just maybe, I could salvage things later.
I didn’t know if the artificial heart I planned to prepare would be of any help…
But even the smallest possibility was worth investing in.
Money was nice to have, but not essential.
In the end, what mattered wasn’t the money itself, but where that money was needed.
“Thanks. Well then, we’ll be going now. Sorry for waking you.”
I stood up with a sense of relief. With Emily accepting the request, I could finally breathe a little easier.
Now I just needed to head back, get some proper rest, and organize the tasks for tomorrow.
“If you’re sorry, then how about staying a little longer?”
“…Huh?”
But that thought was short-lived.
Emily tugged at my sleeve with more sparkle in her eyes than when she heard about the artificial heart.
“It’s the first time a friend’s come over to my house.”
“R-Right. Then, just for a little while…”
Caught in a strangely hard-to-refuse atmosphere, I nodded without thinking.
Then Yuna, who was standing beside me, wrapped her arms around my neck and spoke.
“Wow, this is going to be so much fun. Right, Johan?”
“…….”
Her cheerful smile felt oddly dull and emotionless.
Strange. It didn’t seem like she was wearing a mask, yet it somehow felt like one.
I had a bad feeling… like a hellish time was waiting just ahead.
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