NOVEL NEXT Chapter 39: Captured
Nolan carried the unconscious debt agent to Lucas and frowned at the blood by his mouth:
"Mr. Lucas, you're unharmed, right? How are you feeling?"
"Cough cough... I'm fine, thank you so much for saving me." Lucas coughed lightly twice. From his complexion he seemed to be in no major danger, injuries not severe.
"Are you a Knight of Favonius?"
Lucas leaned against the wall to slowly stand up. Clearly from Nolan's self-proclaimed title, he thought he was a patrolling knight who discovered an anomaly here and came to save him by chance.
"No!" Nolan did not put down the person he was holding and directly admitted, "Your friend Old Man Sanborn commissioned me to investigate you. He found out you falsely reported goods prices to deceive him."
"I see... so it was like that."
An adventurer huh. Upon hearing this, Lucaa fell silent for a bit before sighing:
"I'm sorry to Sanborn. Didn't expect that I'd be saved tonight because of his commission too. The world is truly unpredictable."
"I really had no other choice, with Northland Bank urging me. That's why I got those crooked ideas..." As Lucas spoke, he only felt his face flush red, unable to lift his head either.
After all, deceiving a friend would truly bring deep shame no matter where.
"Forget it, you can explain these things to Sanborn."
"Also, I heard what you two said earlier. Old Man Sanborn even told me that if you really had difficulties, to help you out. But since the debt is owed to Northland Bank, please excuse me for being unable to do anything."
Nolan was helpless. Things were indeed like so. He took the commission for Mora. Who could've expected the commission's ultimate goal was to help Lucas repay loans? That would be a paradox.
Unless Sanborn was willing to pay this sum, but how was that possible? The loan amount for research and investment couldn't have been small. Sanborn was just a fishing tackle shop owner after all.
"No, you've already helped tremendously. Indeed the new fishing gear was only just researched successfully. Mass production would still require huge capital investment. I can only be left with nothing and go to jail."
Although still unwilling, Lucas could not change this fact.
Without the organization and Northland Bank behind Christie reconciling this, he would soon be sued by Northland Bank, and unsurprisingly sentenced to repaying debts with his assets, and still serve jail time.
"Alright, before you go to jail, you should still come with me to explain things clearly to Mr. Sanborn first. That way my commission can be considered complete."
Although Nolan saved him, he did not sympathize with Lucas. After all, deceiving a friend, Sanborn must have really trusted him.
"Um... I'm already going to jail, can I not go?" Lucas really had no face to show up.
Nolan placed his hand on the hilt of his sheathed dull blade at his waist, speaking in a threatening tone:
"What do you think?"
"I- I- I'll go, I'll go!"
Leaning against the wall, Lucas felt his legs go soft as he stammered while speaking.
Bringing Lucas to Sanborn's tackle shop,Nolan truly had no interest in watching the awkward scene between two old men.
He asked Sanborn for a length of coarse hemp rope, then found a secluded spot to tie up the debt agent like a zongzi rice dumpling, before slapping him awake.
Christie felt his head still muddled and groggy as he tried opening his eyes. A voice came from beside his ear.
"What's your name?"
"Christie."
Christie subconsciously stated his own name, then felt something off and immediately jolted awake.
He remembered he should have been in combat. Oh right, he got knocked out.
Christie strained to open his eyes, and sure enough, it was the bastard who knocked him out. Ah, sorry Your Majesty for shaming you.
He also discovered he was tightly bound in some corner outside a building. Could this guy want to interrogate Fatui's secrets out of me?
But I'm just a lowly nobody, how would I know anything?
"What do you want?" Christie regarded Nolan warily.
Nolan squatted down to meet his gaze and tried to show his friendliness, saying:
"Please relax, Mr. Christie. To be honest, kind folks like me are very against things like murder and silencing.
"Without the mask, you look quite young still. There's ample time ahead, as long as I don't speak and you don't speak, no one will know about tonight's events. You can just say Lucas refused to cooperate when you return, right?"
Without that condescending gaze from above, Christie's body loosened a bit. Hearing Nolan's words, he swallowed.
He seemed to have a point, so he asked:
"What is it you want?"
Seeing his scheme had succeeded, the corners of Nolan's mouth curled into a smile as he said:
"You see, no matter what I say, you'll probably have misgivings. How about this - when I'm in need, you provide me some assistance? We'd be friends then, so you needn't worry I'd sell you out. What do you think?"
"I apologize, but I will only ever be loyal to Her Majesty, Tsaritsa!"
Christie's expression was placid. He didn't expect this bastard to actually try and sway his loyalty to Her Majesty. Truly sinister intentions.
Luckily, he was professionally trained.
"I'm not asking you to betray your Tsaritsa. Just consider us friends. When I need it, provide me some intel from within your Fatui ranks. I guarantee it will never make you do anything against the Tsaritsa's will. How's that?"
Nolan smiled. These Fatui were quite loyal to the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya after all. Since it didn't work, he chose to compromise.
Sure enough, with Nolan's compromise, Christie also became uncertain. He was still young and wanted to serve the Tsaritsa.
As long as he wasn't made to do anything harmful to Her Majesty, just reluctantly agreeing verbally wouldn't be an issue.
Christie's internal struggle also showed on his face. This corner outside the building was very quiet. The inside was probably a warehouse with no one around.
Soon enough, Christie with light blond hair beneath his hood inhaled deeply and calmly said:
"Fine, I agree to your request."
He currently had no way to defy Nolan. Not agreeing was useless since even with his ritual blade, it wouldn't work.
"Very good, I'll untie you now."
Nolan smiled quite happily and began untying the hemp ropes around Christie. While doing so, he asked casually:
"Christie, how do you achieve that Stealth of yours?"
This was Nolan's true aim. Whether or not Christie the Fatui debt agent agreed to help him didn't matter. He just wanted this Stealth skill.
Asking directly would likely elicit rejection. But proposing a more difficult request first that was agreed to, then this one should be fine as well.
If he didn't agree, Nolan could compromise again and ask just for this skill.
By then, if Christie still didn't get it, that would just be rude. What surprised Nolan was how simply he had agreed.
Heh, looks like although the sunshine is obscured today, Nolan's luck isn't bad~
(End of Chapter)
To be continued...