Chapter 513 (1/2)
”If you hadn't intervened...” Then Tatiana paused. She smiled shyly at Randidly. ”...well, mostly your actions were extremely effective at diffusing the danger of the situation. If things had escalated, and you two weren't there... I suspect some of my girls would have been injured. So again, I am in your debt.”
Sonya was snoozing quietly, leaning against the wall. Next to her, Gregory was slowly nodding off. Their lowered Vitalities were finally overwhelmed by the drink they had consumed. Sonya would be quite upset that she missed this seductive woman in her new dress, Randidly reflected.
'Ha, did you calculate the volume of water it would take to neutralize the plasma on the fly?” Griffith asked, turning to Randidly.
Awkwardly, Randidly could only shrug. Griffith began to howl with laughter. Tatiana raised her hand to cover up her own smile. In order to change the subject, Randidly said to Tatiana. ”Your girls?”
”Ah. Well, as you may or may not have guessed, Mr. Stain hired several high-end escorts to attend the party. Although I came to work, I am a part owner of the establishment that he shopped at. Tatiana Rhubarb, businesswoman, palm reader, Tier 1 Citizen, at your service.” She performed a little bow. To the side, Griffith was still chuckling.
”Ah, forgive me for being a bit shocked,” Randidly said, ”But I'm surprised businesses like that are still around, with the System's arrival and all. But I suppose-”
Randidly froze. He had been about to say that he was from a different Zone, with less population. Shrugging, he left the sentence unfinished.
Tatiana shrugged. ”You have a point, but it was just coincidence that it turned out this way. A lot of the apartments that the girls were staying in were included in the Zone. Basically all of the management too. These girls had been doing it before, and there was still demand for it after the initial chaos died down. So why not continue? Not everyone has the strength of will to risk their life fighting monsters. Others prefer... a softer approach.
”Plus,” she added. ”They were also weak to the draw of the Leveling. To see themselves Leveling their charm and... ah... service related Skills brings a certain amount of satisfaction. It's what they were good at before, and earned them PP quickly now. Why would they do anything else.”
Randidly couldn't think of anything to say. Luckily, Griffith had recovered enough to join the conversation.
”It is pretty hard to imagine things like that going on, when you are on the frontlines, fighting monsters. Or if you are in a place like this, that actually produces the products that those people rely on for safety. Easy to lose touch with how the other half lives. But the government takes a big slice of everything. Such is the way of things.”
”Well anyway,” Tatiana said. ”I suppose there's no reason to bog down the conversation with political complaints. I might pick up bad habits; I wouldn't want to call a general a spoiled moron the next time insults the chef that prepared his filet during our date. Here is my card. If you ever need anything-”
She placed two cards on the table, sliding them towards Griffith and Randidly, but as she did so her watch lit up and began to chirp.
”Ah, apologies. It's my business partner. Please excuse me.” Tatiana stood with an apologetic smile. ”Perhaps another time for the palm reading.”
”Actually, I should be going too,” Randidly said. He needed to get back to work in the Steel factory. He was pretty excited to try out some of the things he had learned at the party, talking to Sonya and Gregory. Nodding, Griffith stood too. He provided his number as well, and the three agreed to meet again. They left Sonya and Gregory there at the table, snoring away with the tab waiting.
As they all split up, Randidly wondered whether these numbers were useful to him. After all, he didn't have one of their weird watch phones. Were they hard to get? Who could he ask without seeming like an idiot...?
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