Prologue
"Well, look at that. What a celebrity visiting my humble hut. What leads you to me, except for some fun with my employees? By the way, it would be kind of you to turn them back. I have to pay them one way or the other and in their present form they can do their jobs only insufficient."
The cheeky smile never left her face while the heavy gate fell shut behind him with a reverberating growl. It seemed as if she had expected him, a glass of wine in her hand and another one on the small table next to the chair with the high backrest, which was as simple as the chair on which she was awaiting him. Despite this simplicity, the room seemed almost like a throne room, as if a queen were sitting in front of him, a mighty ruler who did not have to bow to anyone.
"Come on, come in," she waved with her free hand, "after all, there must be an important reason that you just visit me without making an appointment first."
Reluctantly, he followed her words and walked deeper into the room, but almost at the same moment some huge beefcake in a suit emerged from the shadows and stood in his way.
"Any weapons?" His voice sounded as blunt as he looked. Especially considering that the newcomer showed his sword openly, leaning it against his shoulder.
"Oh, Momo, do you really think the sword is the most dangerous thing about him? Let him have his toy; he's not here to kill me. Am I right?" She still showed her slight grin, which told him exactly that she was the only person in the room he had to be wary of. "You're here for business reasons, aren't you?"
With a dull impact, he threw the sack he was carrying in front of her feet.
"Yes."
Unimpressed, she threw her legs over each other, slightly pushing the sack to the side with her toe tips.
"Well, sit down. I'm curious what kind of contract you want to enter with me. Besides, I don't have time to spare, some of us have work to do." Almost instantly, her playful smile disappeared, and the calculating gaze of an experienced businesswoman stared him down.
"But boss, what about the appointment with...?"
"Cancel it, Momo," she interrupted the beefcake without even looking at him. "Our guest stirred my curiosity."
Suspiciously, he approached and finally sat down while she sipped on her wine.
"So, to get straight to the point..."
"Nahaha." She held her index finger up to silence him. "Before we come to your request, turn my employees back or I make sure you leave the island in this sack at my feet."
"You're threatening me?"
She laughed and took another sip.
"Oh, little one. You are the one who comes to me without an appointment, leaves guards and house staff in inhumane conditions and throws a musty smelling bag with questionable contents in front of my feet." Quietly clanking, she placed her glass on her armrest. "You're lucky that I'm curious and find you much more interesting than the other business partners waiting for me today, otherwise you wouldn't even have made it to the front door."
He wanted to believe that she was just playing big, but his neck hair told him otherwise.
With an annoyed huff, he once snapped his fingers loudly.
"There you go, all of them in humane condition again."
For a moment she looked at him, then she nodded to beefcake in the shade of some curtains and immediately he bowed and left the room.
"Well." She leaned forward and lifted the sack on the ground at a tip to take a glance inside, before sighing in disappointment. "Oh, as expected. I had hoped for something more exciting after you invaded my home like the villain of a bad novel."
Deeply inhaling, he clenched his fists. "Don't you even want to listen to my request before you just dismiss it?"
"Tze,"she laughed mockingly, rubbing her face as if he had said something really stupid. "Little one, first of all, I don't need to listen to your request, I know exactly why you are here, in the end you are all the same when you visit me so desperately. I mean this garbage bag here is a tiny, abnormally smelly clue, don't you think? Second, don't be so hasty when you're trying to negotiate, especially if you're the one who wants something."
"I'm not the most patient," he squeezed out between gritted teeth.
"Not?" She replied. "What I have heard about you says differently. Thirteen years is a long time to wait for revenge, and even longer to hold on to the past."
"I'm not here to listen to your worldly wisdom," he growled. "Can you help me or not?"
She clicked her tongue again and rolled her eyes.
"Of course I can," she said. "The real question is, are you willing to pay the price?"
He nodded seriously. "No matter how high it may be."
Shaking her head, she waved off.
"Not so dramatic, little one. It's simple; both goods must have the same value, either according to objective or subjective standards of the contracting parties, a modified equivalent exchange. The scale must always be balanced."
For a moment he thought it was just a saying, but suddenly a scale appeared out of nothing and floated between them in the air.
"My stakes here are pretty high, you're not going to get away cheaply," she continued, pointing to the scale that tilted slightly in his favor.
"I don't care," he murmured, "as long as it's possible."
"It's possible. But you don't want a performance upon counter-performance, do you? You want more time. That makes it harder, because it means either you give me a little more - but that's not possible, because you're already giving me everything you have - or I'll give you a little less."
"What does this mean?" He crossed his arms. "What does less mean?"
"Oh, quite simple." She shrugged. "I could take some lifetime or an organ - one eye maybe, I mean who needs two? - or what about...?"
"No! Definitely not."
As they spoke, the scale swayed back and forth between them, exonerating their side at each suggestion for a small moment until he rejected it.
"I can offer you money," he replied, "no matter how much." But to his surprise, the scale did not move a millimeter.
"Oh, my dear little one. Objectively, you can't offset life with money and subjectively - you've seen my estate - you can't offer me enough to make me care. There are only two things I really want and you're already giving me one of them."
"What then?" He didn't like that conversation. After years of hopelessness, she was the one who could free him, but apparently, he had nothing to offer her in return. So should he just give up merely a few seconds before reaching his goal? Giving up because of a lack of formality? "What do you want then? We both know that I can't give you any more objectively and subjectively..."
"Is there a devil power?" She interrupted him with ease while he was already getting loud. Surprised, he sank back into his chair and nodded.
"Well, we have our solution. Devil powers are always incredibly complicated, you know with all their rules, the influence of life and death and so on, but if I take that off, then... look at that." Smiling quietly, she pointed at the scale, which wavered in perfect balance between them. "Then I can even give you almost a whole year. Believe me, that's an unusual high amount. Most of the time, only a few days come around in a trade like this."
A shudder ran down his back when he realized what this scale meant, what this conversation meant, that after all this time...
"Now pull yourself together, little one. Is this your first negotiation? Oh, if I didn't have such a weakness for contracts that get me what I want, it would be far too tedious for me to negotiate with you. I don't have time to teach beginners like you the art of negotiation, so let's get to the end quickly."
He looked over to her as she stood up and approached him. Right in front of the scale, she stopped.
"We have found an agreement, little one. All that is missing now are a few small details and a handshake to seal our contract."
Hesitantly, he rose. This was what he wanted, had wanted for so long, so why did his heart beat so fast?
Smiling, she bowed her head.
"No one forces you to enter into this contract, little one. I see the uncertainty in your face, and I agree with you; your stakes are high. So if you want to back out, now would be the time..."
"No!" He walked towards her and offered his hand. "I have not traveled around the world, not disturbed the rest of the dead and given up everything just to back out now."
For a moment, he stared at the sack behind her back that he had brought here.
"This is what I want, I have to pay that debt."
"Well then, here's to success." She grabbed his hand, right under the scale. "And don't you regret it."