Chapter 21 - Convincing nobody

She couldn´t find sleep that night. The bed was soft and the room comparatively warm, but all this comfort did was remind her of what she was about to lose if she failed in her assignment. Of course Bondrewd would not throw her out immediately, but she was under no illusions that he would try to get the most out of his investment by sending her on more training missions. It was only logical that an employee who was unsuited for their task needed additional upskilling.

What her failure really meant were months, possibly years of sleeping in damp, dangerous caverns far away from home. Nasty rations, wet socks, the curse of the Abyss... all of that would plague her for longer than was acceptable if her father became dissatisfied with her current skill level. If worst came to worst she could end up like poor Nanachi... ugh. Even the thought of that kind of uncivilized hell sent a new shiver down her spine.

No!

She would not so easily be defeated by that arrogant woman!

A negative attitude bred negative results. Tanya would try tomorrow again and see if she could change Ozen´s attitude, although she didn´t set her hopes to high considering that her opponent was called "The Unmovable" not without reason. In case that she should not emerge successful she would rely on Plan B.

She only needed to wait a few hours after breakfast before Simred escorted her again to Ozen´s office. Due to her making it pretty obvious that associates of Bondrewd were not wanted in this place she needed to get the hook in quickly.

The dark room was every bit as foreboding as yesterday and the woman in the middle of it had lost none of her physical impressiveness even if Tanya´s opinion of her character had soured.

"So what do you want now?" she said gruffly.

"I would like to ask a few short questions, if that is alright with you? I promise it won´t take long."

"And why should I even humour you to begin with?"

Tanya had had a hunch that she would be asking something like that. So she did what any successful business woman did and appealed to the basest human desire: Greed.

"Well, you see, on our way through the third layer we came upon a Crimson Splitjaw and promptly defeated it. When we were carving up the beast we discovered a great amount of different rare ores and artefacts inside. I believe we would be unable to transport most of them... But you could help us in taking care of them, no? I am sure it would be quite the catch. Among the piles there is going to be much that will interest you..."

It was a risky strategy to barter with items that did not rightfully belong to her, but she believed it would work out. Bondrewd would understand the importance of monetary encouragement. The PR they would get out of deal were more than worth it in her opinion.

Not to mention that she could literally peddle Ozen the most useless junk of the bunch. She had been careful to neither reveal the location nor the exact number of valuables that were still hidden in the depths below. Some of the ores would maybe bring a hefty sum of money, but to sell them Ozen would need to haul them to the surface, get them smelted, refined and cast into ingots. Overall the effort robbed them of much of their worth in Tanya´s eyes.

"Am I understanding this correctly..." the giant woman said slowly as she drummed her fingers on the table. "You are offering me part of your loot as payment so that I give you an interview for your little advertisement project, correct?"

"You could call it that, but the publicity serves not only us but also every other White Whistle. So you are profiting too if you present yourself and your company advantageously."

Calling this collection of mercenaries living in tree huts a "company" physically hurt Tanya, but she didn´t want to upset Ozen. Those in power often tended to pride themselves on their status.

"And your ´father´ is going to use this stupid museum or whatever to cover up his murders?"

"No. He is going to use it to show the people that he in fact doesn´t murder anybody."

Ozen just fixed her with a menacing stare. Her hollow eyes almost seemed to suck in all the light in the room.

The tension was thick in the air. A cold sweat broke out on Tanya´s skin.

"...Ah, fuck it. I don´t care. Do what your gonna do, - pester my men if you must - but leave me alone."

She involuntarily let out a breath she didn´t know she had been holding. Sadly, she wouldn´t be getting an interview from Ozen directly, but her underlings were fair game now. Her father would be at least moderately pleased.

∞•۞˂Ozen´s point of view˃۞•∞

The creepy little girl was as fascinating as she was annoying. Bondrewd the bastard must have trained her well. She could tell that Tanya meant every word she said, yet it all appeared so studied in and calculated. Had it not been for her small size and childish voice one could have mistaken her as one of those irritating paper pushers from the surface. Those who waltzed into the artefact auctions with an aura of calm superiority and boredom as if they owned the place. It was pissing Ozen off!

But she had to hand it to the girl; making a trip from the bottom of the fifth layer all the way up here unscathed was no small feat considering her age. She was clearly more capable than those damned bureaucrats would ever be. A shame that she was fiercely loyal to such a piece of shit.

Perhaps what she had been told about him had not been the entire truth? Had she misinterpreted the signs all along and he wasn´t using those kids in some sick experiment? But what else would he do with the masses of children he brought down there that her men had reported?

Tanya´s existence proved that at least some of them could come back and she had allegedly no clue what the rumours could be referring to. Maybe she should have questioned the little negotiator more, but she did not feel like running after her and asking. For now she would entertain the idea that there was more to the story than she knew and that not all the facts might be correct. Didn´t mean she suddenly liked the weird mask guy. ´

Lyza could potentially have some info on the issue after how long she spent in the lower levels. Too long as some might say, but Ozen told herself that she didn´t care. They weren´t friends or anything. Nope. She had only carried that stupid box with her dead daughter in it, because she had been pressured into it. What even happened to the child?

Eh, most likely she had ended up in some rotten orphanage after her idiot of a father had gracelessly got himself killed in the most moronic way possible. How could someone fall down the same cliff he had been shitting off prior? Pathetic.

Ozen hoped that the loot from the Splitjaw would be worth the onsetting migraine.