Two figures sat opposite each other in the secluded back room of a fancy looking restaurant.
THE fancy restaurant, to be precise, Dille's Garden.
A boy with straight black hair aligned chaotically atop his head lounged calmly on the right.
Even his lack of expression did his features no disservice; their 'waitress' had already 'checked' on the two of them eight times before either had finished even half their drinks.
It got to the point where they had to ask not to be disturbed.
The black haired boy sipped from a small mug containing a clear brown, unknown liquid.
The other figure was a blue haired man who appeared to be in his early 20s.
His face was drawn into a perpetual frown, making his whole visage look strict and stern.
This man was the first to speak, voice somewhat stiff, posture tense,
"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."
Otto took a sip of his drink.
It reminded him of unsweetened fruit tea, but without the bitter aftertaste.
…It was also the most expensive fresh drink on the menu. One full mug cost an astounding 53 Smekkers.
Ten full mugs apparently had the potential to grant him a random attribute point.
Otto intended to test this theory on the Federation's dime…
Since, despite being the 'government,' to remain in power in Area 1, money was the most important requirement.
The Federation was certainly not short of money.
"Is this official Federation business, or do you have a private matter to discuss?"
The blue-haired man's frown deepened ever so slightly.
Otto couldn't tell if he was unhappy, or merely worried.
He abruptly raised his eyes to meet Otto's gaze. Though his face was firm, Otto could detect a hint of wariness hidden in his eyes.
The man stirred his drink.
"Both."
Otto raised an eyebrow as the man continued,
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Nelson Accamello. I am the head officer of intelligence for the Federation."
Otto was taken aback, though he didn't show it.
The head officer?
This meant that Nelson was only a couple rungs below the chief of the entire department.
It was an unimaginably high position to the common Area 1 resident.
His salary was likely paid in high-value Brocks each month.
Otto's brain spun as he wondered what such a person wanted with him.
Suddenly, he made a connection. He raised his eyes.
"Does this have something to do with Drennel, perhaps?"
Nelson nodded, then shook his head.
"Officially, no. I've come to discuss an attempt on the life of one of our workers."
He pulled out a picture from a grey colored ring on his right hand.
"This is her."
Otto nodded.
"I remember. I saved her life after an attempt at Petrification."
Otto paused before continuing,
"In the middle of a safe zone."
He briefly locked eyes with Nelson, who nodded sternly.
"Indeed. It was a serious breach."
"May I ask you a few questions?"
Otto spread his hands and nodded, face calm, almost apathetic.
"Please go ahead."
"Did you, um, see the entity who cast the spell?"
Otto thought back. He was almost certain whoever cast the spell came from the Golden Club, or maybe even the Syndicate of the Eternal behind.
"I did not."
"How did you know she was being petrified?"
Otto was unamused. He barely stopped himself from replying sarcastically.
Eventually he settled on a simple,
"Her body was turning to stone."
"Please describe the incident in more detail. What else happened that was…odd there?"
"What are you offering in return?"
Nelson was bewildered.
"What?"
Otto repeated himself,
"What are you offering in return for me to answer these questions?"
He paused for a second before pressing,
"Area 1 is naturally a free society, no?"
"Answering this would involve some of my secrets. Is it wrong to expect to be properly compensated?"
Nelson's stern expression didn't change, but Otto somehow thought he looked a little helpless, even as his voice remained curt,
"I suppose this drink isn't enough, then?"
Otto smirked,
"Far from it."
Nelson narrowed his eyes.
"I see. Then…what are you after?"
Otto scrutinized Nelson for a second, before replying leisurely,
"I would like…to work more closely with the Federation."
"You want information?"
"Sort of. I believe I can point you in the right direction on a few cases."
Nelson's eyes widened by a tiny fraction.
He quickly schooled his features,
"Our intelligence suggests the same, Mr. Toto."
"And, IF I point you in the right direction," Otto looked up from his mug, his expression indolently amused,
"I expect you to hold firmly to that direction even if you believe you are barking up the wrong tree."
Nelson stared at Otto for a few seconds. Then, he sighed. His face lost a hint of its stern demeanor.
He spread his hands out and looked Otto in the eye.
"You…are exactly like they told me you would be."
"Oh? Who is they?"
Nelson rolled his eyes.
"You already know, so why do you ask?"
Otto scoffed,
"Of course to test if you're telling the truth."
Nelson donned a straight face.
"It was Drennel."
"I'm glad I tested you."
Nelson snorted.
"Fine. Clatenis."
"Indeed."
They exchanged grins and paused for a few moments to take sips of their drink.
Nelson donned a small green mustache as he spoke,
"Drennel leaked your information to the public."
Otto sighed lightly,
"I figured it was her. The goal would be to…let me guess…appeal to my greed, for other teams to try to recruit me, separating me from the others on the team?"
He nodded,
"It was a reasonably good play. The recruiters would want me despite my 'mediocre performance' in hopes that they can nab even one of the other three."
Nelson added,
"She also reported you to us for involvement in a conspiracy to take down the entire planet of Satslik."
Otto raised a brow, his eyes slightly narrowed.
Nelson seemed to hear his unspoken question, and nudged him,
"In the attack on our worker. You saved that woman from petrification, correct?"
"Well, she somehow found out about the incident."
"Although she wasn't physically present, she did her utmost to distort the truth."
"And she would have us believe that the whole attack was a sham."
"She claimed that the culprit was you the whole time. That you only saved our worker to 'make us believe' that there was a mysterious force who could petrify people even within a safe zone."
"That in fact, the 'mysterious force' was actually yourself."
"She claims that since you can use the Earth Element, it was likely that you had cast the spell in the first place, then healed that woman after to make you look like the savior."
Otto narrowed his eyes further.
How did Drennel know that he could use the Earth Element?
How did she know about this incident? She hadn't been there.
So where did she get the information?
It wasn't from him.
There was only one other party besides himself involved.
...The Golden Club.
The evidence against Drennel continued to mount.
Did she have ties with the Golden Club?
But the ties obviously weren't very close, or else she would have known that he wasn't the mediocre manager he pretended to be…
Otto thought for a few moments before he remembered to reply to Nelson.
"Ah! Apologies," he shook his head,
"Her story was clumsy. There are too many holes in that story for me to bother denying."
But if she truly had ties with the golden club, she might have figured out where the rented house was, meaning…
"This meeting is an attempt to distract my attention from an attack on our house."
Drennel wouldn't actually do anything, either to him or the kids. Her goal was to separate the two parties, not to kill them.
She wouldn't harm him overtly either, since that would risk angering the three of them.
Right now, she wanted something from them. Angering them was an absolute no-go.
Plus, if she really wanted Otto dead, she'd have to take out a supremely expensive tool to kill him inside a safe zone AND find a way to make it appear to be an anonymous attack.
Which was quite the large barrier to entry, all said.
Still, if there was an 'unexplained attack' on the house, the kids might doubt Otto's ability to keep them safe and run off to live in her faction's training compound…
'What an elaborate scheme!' Otto inwardly shook his head.
Nelson nodded,
"Yes. That was also my belief."
Otto wasn't worried in the least.
He'd already put up the [Domain Builder] around the rented house, specifically, a 'Protective Domain.'
It would last for an entire month.
Any attacks towards the house within that month would automatically dissipate as long as Otto had enough mana to spare.
Which he certainly did.
Otto took another sip of his drink.
As if on cue, his mana began to deplete.
Otto rolled his eyes. He leaned in towards Nelson.
His next words were spoken in a low voice,
"Now, let's talk about going after Drennel. You might even get another lead on the 'mysterious force' who *actually* tried to petrify your worker."
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