NOVEL NEXT Chapter 40: Fake
"Forgive me my lack of manners, please, come inside."
After taking his time to look at me with his starkly blue eyes, the man smiled before bowing slightly and turning to the side, with his head pointing at the doors of the mansion. While he was acting pretty cultured, the fact that he was the very first person that I couldn't see through most likely meant that this man was someone I had to be wary of.
But his appearance didn't change anything at all. When dealing with the underworld, one had to be careful as heck. It didn't matter whether the powerhouse that backed the illegal organisations made an official appearance or not.
"I do apologise for imposing on your kindness."
Nodding my head in response to the man's invite, I moved past the bodyguard while leaving the backpack and its content directly on the road. In reality, the item that I hoped to use to buy the rights to my own damned house was safely kept in the pocket of my suit. The stuff that I left on the road consisted of some simple herbs that I plucked on a random basis while walking through the other worlds. The thing that I wanted to offer to the organisation, on the other hand, was something that even I had to put a lot of effort to obtain.
"Please, do not mind it at all. Follow me."
For some reason, it seemed that those illegal organisations had their members more polite than the official government. After all, it wasn't a newly made mafia that invited my home, but the military of the damned ruling party!
But this didn't matter at all. I wasn't stupid enough to believe that this kind of appearances that the man was putting right now was the only way in which he interacted with others. After all, if he wanted to just be nice, he would do a far better job working in one of the remaining service jobs rather than as the bouncer for one of the most important underworld organisations in the city!
Following tightly after the man to the insides of the mansion, I had to give my absolute best not to gawk at the riches that its walls contained. Even though most of those valuable arts and monuments that decorated its corridors no longer had their initial value, given how limited the art from before the apocalypse was right now, one could argue whether this kind of art wasn't the best way to safekeep one's wealth.
"Please, come inside. I will notify someone… suitable for the request that you put. In the meantime, please, feel free to feast on the snacks and drinks inside."
After a long walk that seemed like an attempt to overwhelm me with how rich the insides of this mansion were, this strange man finally pointed me to the doors of the waiting room. With the image that I wanted to create of myself in my mind, I simply nodded my head to signify my gratitude before pushing the doors open and entering the room.
Just like the man announced, the insides consisted not only of what looked like the most comfortable lounge set that I ever saw in my life before. But before I could even have the chance to try the snacks that the man offered to me, I heard a knocking sound.
"Please, come in!"
Taking my time to sit my tired ass on the most fluffy chair I have ever sat in, I shouted towards the doors. While it was strange for me to invite someone to the room where I was nothing more but a random guest, this was the only response that I could come up on the spot. But to be perfectly honest, given the appearance that I was attempting to fake, this kind of silly arrogance was something I had to get used to.
"I hope you didn't wait for long, sir. Now, if you may enlighten me as to what your purpose in visiting our family is…?"
It was strange. Maybe my idea of how the underground organisations worked was faulty from the very beginning, but shouldn't that person already know what was my reason for being here in the first place?
"..."
Instead of answering the question, I simply cast a short glance at the man, before completely ignoring him. Turning my attention towards the snacks, I poured myself a cup of what looked to be a simple, fruit juice. With how important this mission was, I didn't dare to even try a single sip of any kind of alcohol, even though my young adult's soul craved to try the drinks that I would never be able to afford otherwise.
"I'm sorry…"
This time, the doors opened up without anyone knocking on them to announce their arrival. With a young man most likely just one or two years older than me getting inside the room, the atmosphere instantly turned cold.
"Grizwald, the heck are you doing here?"
In one instant, the young man looked angrily at the man who attempted to question me previously. With the glass now filled with the juice I picked, I simply moved it towards my lips while watching the events with curiosity clearly written on my face.
"Young master…"
The reaction of the fake was hilarious. To this point, I always thought that the inner schemes within sects and families were a thing of the novels alone. Unless this situation was just a play aimed at getting some sort of reaction from me, then I couldn't really find any other reason for it to be happening right now.
"Scram."
Not even bothering to pay even a bit more attention to the fake, the young man ignored that person and moved to the inner part of the room before sitting on a small sofa beside my chair.
"Now, I do apologise for this incontinence. Grizwald… He never got over the fact that he is no longer in charge. Now, how can the Baskar family be of use for you, sir?"