Chapter 25 - Different priorities

"Don´t you think that´s a tad bit low? I could at least double the price if I sold it to some foreigner."

"No Murug, it is not. We agreed to this sum beforehand and I have your signature right here to prove it in front of a court. So unless you want trouble you better accept our more than generous payment and get on with your day."

She glared at the sleazy landowner who had promised to sell them the small house near the eastern market.

"Alright, alright little Miss. I wasn´t serious hehe." he laughed unconvincingly.

"A pleasure doing business with you Mr. Murug. The two million Orth as we agreed."
(Note: Yes that is actually what money in MiA is called lmao)

Tanya dropped the bulging bag full of currency into the man´s hand, uncaring that he nearly collapsed under the weight. Even with gloves on she had no desire to touch such an unwashed individual.

"Now kindly leave this establishment. It is ours now and until renovations are completed we have a strict no visitors policy."

Murug stared incredulously at her for a second, but soon became distracted by the pile of money in his grubby hands and left without another word. Only after the door closed behind him did she allow herself to relax and breathe out a sigh of relief.

"You did good Tanya. Your father will be most pleased with you when we return." said Timeno.

"Yes, indeed. You have gone above and beyond of what was expected of you. Astounding." added Byolo.

"But that is all you can do here for now. Do you wish to explore the city for a while longer or shall we head back home?"

That was attempt at subterfuge if she ever saw one! They had acknowledged her usefulness and now wanted to bring the project to completion without her making them look bad! After all, who wanted to be known as the guy who brought in the exclusive, hot business deal with the help of a newbie! That would be an embarrassment! And now they wanted to get rid of her to reap the rewards of their shared work!

But she was only a trainee after all, barely above a janitor in the economic hierarchy. These guys were the ones in control, not her. No matter how much they treated her as an equal, at this point in time she was so far below those Black Whistles in power that she could be crushed by them with hardly any effort. Of course she had special connections as the adoptive daughter of the boss, but surely Bondrewd would trust the judgement of three long-time employees more than that of a kid (oww didn´t that sting?).

So she had to suck up her indignation about being denied to assist in the final (and most important) stages of completion. She was in no place do demand participation in an operation above her non-existent pay grade. If anything, protesting against the decision of her superiors would undo a lot of the good will she had gathered on this work study.

"If that is what you wish." she replied neutrally, a stark contrast to the storm of disappointment and frustration raging inside her.

"Are you unhappy with that?" asked Timeno concerned.

At least he tried to act that way, but Tanya knew better! They were just teasing her at this point! Dangling the reward in front of her, fully aware that she could claim the sweet prize of her hard work. Office politics could be so cruel at times.

"I'm fine." she bit out, a slight hint of irritation creeping into her voice.

"If you say so."

"Do you at least want to see the sea?"

(Of course she did NOT pout like a child. That would be unbecoming. No one could see her face behind the shawl so there was no evidence that she did!)
"No."

"And what about the friend you made? Riko was her name right? Won´t you say goodbye to her."

"I guess I should."

"Then go along. We will begin our work here and you can spend the last few hours until dawn with your friend."

"She is not my friend! She is a future investment!"

"Sure, sure. Here take this purse. I overheard a few merchants from overseas mention a delicious new treat in town. It´s called 'Ice Cream'. Perhaps you could buy Riko one? Would be a nice gift, y´know?"

Grumbling she snatched the small leather bag out of his giant paw and stomped out of the house towards the orphanage. If all her efforts were going down the drain then she would at least enjoy a nice, frozen treat. It was lousy compensation, but she would still enjoy it!

∞•۞˂Riko´s point of view˃۞•∞

"What you´re leaving already? Come oooon..." Riko whined. "You´ve been here for barely a week and you´re already delving again?"

"Yeah, I am hoping for a promotion soon, so I have to work extra hard to show my willingness to earn it. Besides, it´s not like I will leave forever! After how much time I spent with you in the last few days do you really think I will just abandon you whenever I come back to the surface?"

Rose´s words filled her chest with warmth. She was such a good friend!

"Of course! I knew I could trust you!"

Although Rose made an attempt to dodge her she could not escape Riko´s super-awesome special friend hug.

"Eh... yeah."

"Can you bring me cool stuff from the deeper layers if you get the chance? Like the house of a Yellow Cube Snail? They are so small you can carry one in your pocket no problem, but their shell is also so hard that it won´t break under anything less than an anvil! Isn´t that so cool? Please..."

"If I found one I´ll be sure to remember your wish." her friend said while patting her back.

"Yayy! You are the best Rose!"

"Anyways... Can you let go of me now?"

Sheepishly she took a step backwards and fumbled with her glasses.

"Oh sorry hehe..."

"As a celebration of our... relationship... do you want to come and eat sweets with me? My treat obviously."

"What kind of sweets?" she asked eagerly.

The best they got to eat were rice balls on holidays or when a kid went down in the Abyss for the first time. Leader said that if 'they were to die then at least with something yummy in their belly`. So naturally Riko was very exciting about the prospect of eating more delicious food.

"Ice cream. I am sure you will love it."

Indeed she did. So much in fact that she cried herself to sleep that night not only because her friend was leaving, but also because she would maybe never eat something as tasty as ice cream ever again. Hopefully the Abyss had heard her prayer and would deliver her friend safely back to her. Together they would talk about her discoveries, marvel at the beauty below them and eat ice cream the entire day long. Riko was sure of it!

∞•۞˂Jirou´s point of view˃۞•∞

There was something fishy about that girl. His senses were tingling in the familiar way that had saved his life many times under the tutelage of his mentor, so he decided to investigate her. Skulking through the shadows was not his expertise, but he had not earned his whistle for nothing. Any delver worth their salt could move undetected or else they tended not to live very long.

Following Rose had not been easy, but he had managed. Through bars and the market he trailed her and her behaviour so far had been odd to say the least. She was always watching, listening. Like she wanted to learn about how regular people acted. One time he even caught her emulating the body-language of a beggar in a side-alley. Why would anyone do that? Suspicious.

The strangest part though was when she met up with two masked individuals that looked to be built like wardrobes. Huge packets of muscle and unidentifiable equipment. Either they were mercenaries or experienced delver from the way they carried themselves.

"Hey buddy, what are you stalking her for?"

He spun around in an instant and put his hands up in a defensive position, but his assailant was faster. And way stronger. Seemingly without effort he was pinned to the wall by a claw-like hand on his throat which made struggling impossible if he didn´t want to cut himself on the razor-sharp fingernails that pressed themselves uncomfortably into his skin.

"No need to bother a fine young lass like that, no?" asked the stranger.

Now that he had a chance to analyze his face from up-close he could see that the man who threatened him was similarly dressed like those masked dudes. He too had obscured his features with bandages that revealed not a square centimetre of skin. Slits over his eyes gave the only indication that this was a human and not some golem.

"I was just observing." Jirou croaked out.

"Mh-mh. That´s fine. Then you won´t mind throwing you around a bit? It would be interesting to see how many times you can kiss the wall before you lose consciousness."

The grip on his throat tightened before he was suddenly released.

"Haha. Just messing with you. I´m guessing I´m a little overprotective over my niece here. Wouldn´t want to have something to happen to a child under my care. You can surely understand that Mr. Jirou. Now trot along will you?"

As soon as he was out of sight he began to sprint.