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Tajirun placed an ice pack on his head. It seemed that he was a cold-blooded animal like a snake, and had difficulty regulating his body temperature.
“I think there’s a misunderstanding, so let’s get this straight. My name is Jafar. It’s not my original name, but I changed it to something easier for you to pronounce.”
“Luka, this is Lucius Custoria.”
“First of all, let me say this: I have no intention of harming you. I was protecting you.”
“Hmm, I guess I’ll have to try to remember if I asked you to protect me. My memory isn’t perfect.”
Tajrun, Jafar exhaled, sticking out his forked tongue.
“… … You don’t believe me, Mr. Luca. Stop being so aggressive in trying to gain the upper hand in negotiations. I’m an expert in this area, and I’m starting to feel like I should be more hostile toward you.”
“okay?”
I folded my arms and tilted my head.
“I have three Equusian mercenaries guarding me. I know you are a good soldier, but you will not be able to do anything with your body. I have the upper hand in negotiations. Please keep in mind that any convenience you provide is purely out of favor.”
It’s not easy. It wasn’t just a rumor that Tajirun was a natural born merchant. He actually had the insight to read the flow.
“You’re right. I woke up after 12 years and I know nothing. I’ve lost the means to protect myself. That’s why I can’t trust anyone, not even you.”
“It sounds like you’re asking for understanding even if you act fiercely as a wounded animal.”
“I’m asking you to endure it even if it means getting hurt. If you really care about me.”
“Hoot… … .”
Jafar stuck his tongue out, lost in thought. Soon, he pointed to the door with his long fingernails.
“Equusians. The escort is fine, so please wait outside. I will call you once I finish talking to Mr. Luca.”
The Equusians didn’t even question me. They just brushed past me and walked out the door.
Knock, knock.
Jafar pushed a chair over and sat down in front of me. It was very close. If I took just one step forward, I could have grabbed the bastard by the neck.
Jafar, who was taller than me, bent his back and met my gaze. The vertical pupils in the center of his bright yellow eyes were dilated black. Looking at his snake-like eyes, I felt more and more that he was a different species than me.
“Mr. Luca, with your abilities, you could kill or capture me at any time from this distance. Now, you and I are on equal footing.”
How generous and surprising.
“I thought that a merchant would not put his life on the line for a deal.”
I straightened my back and adjusted my posture.
“Soldiers and warriors often fall into such arrogance. They think that a merchant will not give up his life. It is not your privilege to risk your life, Hoyot.”
I’m ready to talk.
We were on equal footing. I could kill Jafar at any time. Jafar could call the Equusians to kill me.
A position where they can kill each other.
Nothing is fairer than this.
I laughed, showing my teeth.
“I wish you could explain the circumstances under which I woke up in Lazarus.”
“I was planning on explaining it to you slowly without you having to ask me. I wanted to gain your trust.”
Jafar spoke, clicking his long claws. I thought he was smiling. I don’t know what kind of expression is a smile, since he has a reptilian face.
Jafar continued his explanation. The timing was not during the Akbaran storm, but rather quite recently.
“I discovered your existence three years ago. You were in Lazarus in a cryogenic sleep state due to non-payment of medical fees. When medical fees are not paid, you are usually disposed of as a test subject, but since your guardian has been consistently paying the high medical fees, they seem to have decided that you are a powerful or wealthy person and put you on hold. If you had stayed, you would have been locked in a cold storage until the Lazarus facility collapsed.”
I tried to keep my expression as cold as ice. The name of the guardian who had put me in Lazarus was unknown, but I was certain it was Giselle.
‘For some reason, something happened to Giselle.’
Three years after the end of the storm, Giselle admitted me to Lazarus. She probably got information that I could be cured here. Her judgment was correct, as I eventually recovered.
‘Giselle’s support was cut off two years after I came to Lazarus. Something must have happened at that time. After that, I was kept in a cryogenic sleep state for five years.’
Jafar found me three years ago and paid my medical bills. And then I returned to this world.
“Where did you get the information that I was here?”
“I paid a huge amount of money, just like your medical expenses. The information market in Tajirun is bigger than you think. There is information that even the leaders of the three kingdoms do not know. That is our weapon.”
I was a little curious.
No matter how secretive the Tajirun are, they are a wandering race without a country of their own. It seems unlikely that they would have information that even the leaders of the three kingdoms do not know.
Tajirun is not human. Naturally, his reactions and unconscious emotional expressions when lying are different from those of humans.
‘I don’t know about Tajirun yet.’
I lack experience and information about Tajirun. It is difficult to see through Tajirun’s intentions based on intuition alone.
Tajirun’s pupils dilated and shrank repeatedly. His tongue also flickered faster than before.
‘As I try to read him, he reads me.’
It felt like I was being observed by Archie’s Big Tima.
“Tajrun usually operates in clans. Each clan has its own specialty and principles. And trust is important in commerce. No merchant will trust anyone who breaks their own principles. We may deceive others, but we never lie.”
“Haha, it’s funny, but I agree. The most sophisticated way is to deceive without lying.”
“You may not be interested, but in Tajirun, there is a family of information brokers called the ‘Larasha’. They are a family that specializes in dealing with secret information. The Larasha family has one rule.
“Information that has been sold once will not be sold to another person twice. This is a promise of information exclusivity. And if it becomes known that the information has been spread to another person in any way, it will be immediately notified to the buyer. This is a kind of after-sales support for the product.”
They control and treat even information as if it were material. This was quite surprising.
‘And by adding this explanation… … it means that Jafar is reading my mind and emotions. I am being read by him right now. How?’
I’ve been controlling my emotional signals in my own way. It’s not perfect because there are gaps, but I’m not that sloppy.
“We, Tajirun, can predict other people’s emotions by the scents floating in the air. It would be more accurate to say that we can taste the emotions on our tongues.”
“You’ve been giving me information all this time.”
“It’s a sign of my goodwill. I’ve dealt with countless humans, but you’re the first Tajirun. I think you’ll trust me if I give you this much.”
Now I really have some confidence. If you court him this much, even a stone will glance at him.
“… … You said you were looking for Kinuan?”
I said it as if I was giving permission.
“Hoyooooo! That’s why I came looking for you. I heard that Kinuan uses a special ability called Archie’s Victory. It’s a cognitive expansion and multi-faceted reasoning method based on high-speed thinking. According to the information, you are the second-most advanced Archie’s Victory practitioner on the planet Novas after Kinuan.”
It seemed like he didn’t know that I was Kinuan’s disciple and watcher. Or maybe he knew and was just pretending not to know.
“Because I learned Akies Victima from Kinuan.”
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I threw it away.
“I expected that to happen. But it seems that you, my disciple, do not like Kinuan.”
“Why do you think so?”
“As I said before, I can read emotions. When the word Kinuan first came out, your emotions were surprisingly bitter and cold. It was a very rare emotion.”
“It’s not very pleasant to have my emotions read.”
I am feeling the hearts of the people standing in front of the Akes Victima users.
“I’ll be honest with you. If you had shown any positive emotions upon hearing Kinuan’s name… … I would have gone to extreme lengths to put a leash on you. And I would have used you as a hunting dog to find Kinuan, Hoyoot.”
When he said it like that, it made me feel more trustworthy. I don’t know if all Tajiruns are like this, but Jafar was quite the orator.
“You must have spent a lot of money to find me and treat me. Do you have a grudge against Kinuan? Should I find him and kill him?”
“What I want is your capture. I won’t tell you why. I am a successful businessman. I will give you all the support you need with my financial resources.
“It’s not a bad condition. Don’t you need strong support? It’s not a good reason for you, one of the main characters of the Storm, to be here without the support of the Empire. We know very well that the Empire’s darkness is deep.”
I didn’t hide my frown. The other person was already good at reading my emotions.
“… … If I move my hand now, you will die.”
“Oh my, it’s blood-curdlingly scary, but I’m risking my life right now. Oh no, I’m a cold-blooded animal. Human idioms are hard to come by.”
I stood up and looked at Jafar.
“I’ll write down what you need and send it to you separately. For now, just give me some time to rest.”
“I’ve already prepared everything. You will be able to feel safe only if you have the strength to protect yourself. Follow En.”
“n?”
“I am the Equusian mercenary who guided you here. I will be your partner. I am the best warrior under my command.”
“Not a partner, but an overseer.”
I grumbled.
“Wow, wow… … .”
Jafar saw me off, letting out a sound that was either a laugh or a gasp.
Squeak, thud.
I left Jafar behind and went outside alone. There were three Equsian mercenaries standing in the hallway. The only one I was familiar with was Equsian ‘En’, who gestured towards me.
-Follow me.
He was still being overbearing. I resisted the urge to complain and followed him.
‘It’s not a good idea to ask Japha, who can read emotions, for information. He’ll only be able to read my thoughts.’
That’s why I stopped talking even though I had more questions to ask. Especially, I didn’t want to reveal my feelings about Giselle. There was no need to reveal my weaknesses.
‘I’m still psychologically unstable. I’m naked, so I can’t help but be vulnerable. It’s hard just to keep my composure.’
If I continue to control myself like I used to, Jafar won’t be able to read my emotions easily.
I followed Yen downstairs and observed the surroundings.
The entire building seemed to belong to Jaffa. Equusian guards patrolled every floor. There were many people coming and going, both humans and aliens.
Towering.
I was walking down the hallway and stopped.
‘arsenal.’
That’s what it said on the sign. A familiar smell wafted in from beyond. The smell of oily iron, gunpowder, and the pungent smell of energy weapons. I missed it all so much.
I felt excited. No, I was excited. The smooth feel of Ruina and Crucis, which were not in my hands at the moment, came to mind.
Hormones that made me an aggressive psycho were flowing out of my head. It felt like my brain was slowly melting. If I could touch Ruina and Crucis again right now, I could kill three, no, four or five innocent people. No, well, this was just a temporary impulse. I really have no intention of actually doing it.
-It’s still too early to visit there. I guess you’re a warrior too.
Yen looked back and said, a laughter could be heard amidst the inorganic mechanical sound.
