101 Corruption (1/2)
”Of course.” Mr. Long smiled as he clapped his hands. The room instantly went quiet as all of the diners filtered out of it. Then a short esper pushed a cart into the room. It was filled with manullium ingots and several dozen purple mana-cores. ”This should take care of all of my members' fees for the month as well as my next month's supply of mana potions.”
”What about him?” The tall guard asked while glancing at Ed, noting his lack of a dragon tattoo.
”He's a freeman, so you'll have to collect the fee from him yourself.” Tai responded as he went back to eating his meal.
”Here.” Ed said as he pulled out the purple mana-core.
The tall man took the mana-core and nodded. ”We'll be collecting again this time next month. As long as you meet your quota then I won't cause any problems for you.”
”Captain.” A high-pitched voice said as a woman stepped out from the crowd of guards. It was the ponytail pilot! ”Can you let me handle this boy's quota? We have a bit of a prior history.”
”Hmm?” The tall man frowned as he glanced back-and-forth between the two. He tossed the core towards her. ”Sure, Samantha. But if you get caught by the Warden then you better not drag me through the mud.”
”No worries.” She laughed. ”The Warden lets me get away with unimportant things like this.” She pocketed the mana-core and looked towards Ed. ”Oh my, it looks like you don't have a quota to turn in? Well, we'll be back tomorrow to round up those that didn't pay and distribute punishment. I'm sure we can work something out then.”
Mr. Long rose his eyebrows in surprise. He watched the show quietly, wondering how his new brother would handle the situation.
Ed calmly drank the last of his wine and stood up. ”I'm going to go get another plate of food. I'm starving.” He turned to leave.
A fat guard laughed, ”Look, he's too scared to even argue! How pathetic is this newbie?”
Ed grinned as he turned back towards them. ”You know, I'm relatively new here, so I'm guessing you guys haven't gotten my records yet. You should look into that and prepare yourselves accordingly. Otherwise, you might just step on a landmine.” He left the room, leaving only those words behind for the guards.
...
'Well, that was a bit anticlimactic.' Tai sighed while enjoying his wine. He looked towards the guards. ”I'm actually quite surprised you guys were willing to make an enemy out of that man. Didn't ponytail over there tell you that it was the President himself that arrested him and brought him here?”
”What?!” The Captain's eyes widened as he glanced at Samantha, who meekly nodded in return. He turned back towards Tai. ”Where did you get that information?”
”I naturally have my sources.” He smiled and pulled out his fan, waving it towards his face. ”Honestly, there's not much of a reason to fear him in here. Any of the four gang bosses could take him down easily, and there are plenty of other espers on par with him. But on the outside? Well, I certainly wouldn't want to become his enemy unless I had no other choice. His plotting is on par with my own, and his powers are perfectly geared towards such things. I really had to go out of my way to befriend him as soon as I learned he was here.”
”On par with your own?” The fat guard questioned nervously, his mouth growing dry as he trembled. ”You're exaggerating right? After what you pulled off to get in here?”
”I wonder...” Mr. Long hid his smile behind his fan and stood up from his chair. ”If you'll excuse me, I do have a party to host. Ah, when you're looking up information on Ed, you'll want to search by the name Forge instead. Good luck.” He waved as he left.
The Captain glared at Samantha. ”Let's go. If you just made a big mess, then we need to clean it up before he gets to his trial date.”
”Right. Sorry Captain.” Samantha apologized while biting her lip. However, there was rage hidden beneath the apologetic facade. She had been humiliated by a mere prisoner, and she wasn't going to let such a thing go easily.
...
Ed returned to the buffet room and stacked up another plate with various delicacies. The room was rather crowded due to everyone having left the other room when the guards came. He managed to place his plate on the edge of the buffet table and began eating.
”It must be difficult doing things with one arm.” Tai laughed as he appeared behind Ed.
”Mm.” He nodded while biting into a chicken drumstick. ”Looks like it'll grow back soon though.”
”That's good.” Tai patted him on the back. ”Tell me, what do you plan to do about the guards? They're likely to try killing you during tomorrows castration.”
”Oh?” Ed rose an eyebrow. ”Why would they try that?”
”Because of your past.” He replied. ”Your actions are enough to scare most espers out of their minds. If we could use our powers down here, then I imagine that only the gang bosses would be willing to make an enemy of you, and even then, they would only do so begrudgingly.”
”Ah, so you've looked into my past already.” Ed nodded. ”That would explain why you were so cordial to a new prisoner.”
”I do like to be prepared for such things.” He smiled. ”Should I help you with the guards? I know the right hands to grease, but it might cost you something.”
”Forget it.” Ed shook his head. ”Just have the escape plan ready within six months from now. I'll take care of the rest.”
”If you say so...” Mr. Long hesitantly agreed, some worry visible on his face. He had planned on taking advantage of the situation again, but he'd help for free if he really needed to. After all, he had invested in Ed and really wished to acquire the chimera powers.