Chapter 255: Way Too Suspicious
Immediately, Lukas, Akira, and Melody stopped walking at the same moment.
All three of them were instantly on guard, their posture shifting subtly in readiness for any attack, hands loose at their sides.
The man looked up and took them in, then he laughed loudly, waving a hand in their direction like he was shooing away smoke.
"Relax," he said. "All three of you. You look like you’re about to start a fight in a parking lot."
"Who are you?" Lukas asked.
The man stepped away from the car, straightening up. He was tall, lean, and dressed well enough to suggest he wasn’t short on money.
"I was sent by Baldwin," he said. "You remember Morgana’s right hand, right? Your first mission is coming up and he wants someone to make sure you know exactly where to go and not get lost."
Lukas’s eyes didn’t move from the man. "We already have someone assigned to us. Karrakas. He’s supposed to be the one coming to find us."
The man’s expression didn’t change. "Karrakas got pulled away. A top secret assignment or so I’ve heard. It’s not exactly my business to know the details. He’ll link up with you after your mission wraps up."
"And we’re supposed to just take your word for that?"
The man sighed like he was running low on patience. Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out a card, and flicked it towards Lukas.
Lukas caught it in the air
It was a Le Fay employee ID. It looked exactly like Karrakas’ and bore the same seal of the Le Fay family.
While Lukas was sure there were black markets for these kinds of things, he wasn’t exactly a foremost expert on the subject.
And he hadn’t even studied Karrakas’ ID, so he couldn’t even tell if it was real or fake.
He glanced down at the name on the card. Nicholas Clarke. Below it, his position: Field Liaison, Le Fay Operations.
The man spread his hands. "Call me Nic. Everyone does."
Lukas looked at the card for another second, then tossed it back.
"This could be forged," he said.
Nic’s expression cleared, a frown appearing on his face. At this point, he looked genuinely irritated.
"Forged?" he repeated. "What the hell is wrong with you, kid?"
"It’s possible, isn’t it?"
"You—" Nic stopped, pressed two fingers to his temple, and exhaled. "You’re way too suspicious for someone at your level. Do you understand how much effort it would take to forge a Le Fay ID? And for what? To fool you?"
He gestured at Lukas with open hands. "You’re an E-rank Adept. Nobody is going through all of that trouble just to run some elaborate scheme on you. You overestimate yourself, kid. You’re not that important."
Lukas said nothing.
Nic reached into his jacket again and brought out a folded piece of paper, holding it out. Lukas stepped forward and took it.
"That’s the mustering point," Nic said. "Everyone involved in the mission will be there. You have two days to show up. Don’t be late, don’t cause problems, and try not to look at everyone like they’re about to rob you."
He turned without waiting for a response, lifting one hand in a lazy wave over his shoulder as he walked across the parking lot.
Parked a few spaces away was a red sports car, looking absolutely beautiful under the light of the sun.
If anyone watching it moved, the body would ripple along with their movements in a mesmerizing manner.
Melody gasped the moment she saw the car.
"That car," she said quietly.
Nic dropped into the driver’s seat, closing the door without another look at them.
"How much do you think that costs?" Akira asked.
Melody watched it pull out of the space. "Seventy million, at least. Definitely more than that."
The red car rolled out of the lot and disappeared into the street.
Once the car was out of sight, Lukas unfolded the paper and read it.
All that was written on it was an address in sector three. Thankfully, it was just the next sector over, so the journey wouldn’t be too long.
But that didn’t mean he had to trust it fully.
"It could still be a setup," he said.
"Think about it," Akira frowned. "All we have to do is go back to the apartment and wait. If Karrakas shows up, then Nic was lying. If he doesn’t, then the mission brief is real. Either way, we’re not risking anything by waiting."
Melody nodded. "Akira’s right. We’re not being asked to go anywhere dangerous right now. Just show up in two days."
Lukas looked at the address one more time, then folded the paper and slipped it into his spatial ring.
"Fair enough," he said.
He unlocked the car and they climbed in. Lukas pushed his mana through the wheel, and the car hummed to life beneath them.
Before long, they were moving through the streets, heading back home.
This time, the journey didn’t take long.
Lukas pulled into the apartment’s underground parking lot, thinking about how fast the trip was without having to wait for and ride the trams.
They took the lift up, stepping into the apartment.
As they walked to the living room, Akira turned to look at them. "I’m going to my room. I want to start experimenting with the components."
"Don’t blow anything up," Melody said.
"I’ll try." Akira didn’t slow down.
"That wasn’t reassuring," Melody called after her.
Lukas headed towards the kitchen. "I’ll get lunch started."
Melody lingered in the living room, turning in a slow circle with her arms crossed like she was searching for something to do.
Her expression brightened and she rushed to the kitchen door to talk to Lukas. "I can’t be the only one just standing around, so I’ll work on the business ideas and see what’s worth looking into."
Lukas looked up from the counter. "Actually, don’t just look at completely acquiring businesses."
"What do you mean?"
"Back in—" He stopped himself, choosing the words carefully. "I’ve heard of people buying partial ownership in businesses. You don’t have to own the whole thing. You buy a share, and when the business makes money, a portion of that profit goes into your pocket."
Melody straightened. "So we could own pieces of several businesses at once."
"And collect from all of them," Lukas said. "Look into whether that’s possible here and what’s available."
Melody nodded slowly, already thinking. "Alright. I’ll see what I can find."
