Chapter 205


    I slipped my hands into my trouser pockets as if it was natural, and hunched my back to pretend to be a


    gambling addict even as I looked around for Dicken. However, I was going up the second floor when I


    saw a crewmate from the Seeker. It was Luna—a Russian girl with whom I was quite close to, and she


    appeared to be in panic even as she tried to hide from someone, and was hurrying down the stairs.


    I realized immediately that this was the casino where David hade to make his deal, and a


    foreboding sensation grew in my head when I saw how flustered Luna was. I rushed up to her and


    grabbed her by her wrist, and sped my hand over her mouth before she could scream, all while


    dragging her to the dark corner behind the stairs.


    “Calm down, Luna—it’s me. What happened?“ I asked with a hushed voice.


    “T-The mafia…“ Luna’s shoulders were shaking and her breaths were ragged even as she cried, “They


    cut off one of David’s hands! “


    “What?! “ I was dumbfounded.


    Luna’s tears began to roll down her cheeks—she was clearly traumatized. “I don’t know the specific


    reason, but it seems that there are problems with the stuff we were trying to trade. Some of them were


    saying that the gem David brought was a fake, and the rules dictate that he will have one hand hacked


    off, but we’ll still have to trade in something else to make up for it!“


    “Calm down, Luna. Take me there to see what is actually going on.“ I took a deep breath to calm


    myself. After experiencing so much in thest few years of my life, I was much moreposed in


    managing crises.


    Moreover, David had saved my life, and his refuge was what afforded me a ce to call my own over


    thest year. Even if what Luna had said was something I did not want to see at all, I still had to try to


    I pped Luna’s shoulder then, and my words were as much a reassurance to her as myself. “The


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    mafia would probably have their own rules, and they’ve already had David pay with one hand—they


    wouldn’t kill him if we manage to make amends in time.“


    Luna calmed down following our exchange, too. She was an agile burr who had strong mental


    fortitude, and sheposed herself soon enough.


    She led me to the second floor but we did not enter any of the rooms, and headed into a washroom


    instead. There was a tform outside the window, and we carefully climbed over to reach the window


    of another room.


    I couldn’t help gasping once I peered through the curtains and into the room.


    Several gun-wielding mafia members were surrounding David beside the gambling table in the room,


    who was pressing a stump that used to be his hand. His palm was gone from the wrist-down, and I


    admired the strength of his will that he did not pass out. While blood seemed drained out of his face, he


    still clenched his teeth as he faced the burly man standing opposite him—a member of the Mora family,


    if my guess was right.


    David was very calm despite his injury, too. I shifted my body just then so that I could peer inside the


    room from another angle, and I found something sparkling on the table just as I had expected. It looked


    like a gem, but it had been sliced in half by a sharp dagger, and a luminous blue fluid was flowing out


    from within.


    My eyelid twitched in reflex, and my eyes soon widened at the object on the table, immediately


    understanding why Dicken had showed up here.


    I recognized the blue fluid that was leaking out, because it was the crystal that was detached from


    Dicken’s chest! It belonged to that merman, just like the one which was inserted into my own body!


    It seems that David had managed to scoop it out of the sea by chance, but was under the impression


    that it was a gem, and tried to give it to the mafia without having anyone appraise it!


    Oh my god!


    “Tell me, David—what the hell is this? There’s water flowing in there, or could it be your tears? Don’t tell


    me you don’t know that trust goes both ways in making deals, so how could you sell us a fake gem like


    that?“


    A voice could be heard from within the room, and I could see the burly man from the Mora family


    pressing his hand on the blue fluid over the table with a frightening glower . ”You swindled me off a


    huge chunk of cashst time, David, and you came back before I went looking for you? Either way,


    you’ve brought this upon yourself, so pay the price for your greed now. Either have your people bring


    the real gem, or I’ll keep your other hand.”