"Hey, Marie."

The monstrous woman was fixing the doors to her hotel when she noticed us.

"Hey."

She seemed uninterested, only moving aside to let us pass through.

"She's not here?"

I went back down after checking the room May rented.

"Apparently not."

"I see... Oh! I forgot to thank you for saving me last time."

"I didn't save you, I kicked out a nuisance."

"Same thing."

"Non, it's not."

"Marie, just take the thanks, it's not a big deal."

"I just don't want him to misunderstand. I won't help you again, so don't put yourself in that kind of situation."

"I can't promise that, but I'll keep trouble away from your hotel."

"HA! Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Cmon, have some faith."

"Keep dreaming, kid."

She went back to fixing the door.

"Marie's not trying to be mean, she's just..."

He started talking apologetically after we sat in front of the bar top.

"Too kind." I interrupted.

"She is." He smiled.

She helped me without asking for anything in return. It may have been fairly risk-free considering how strong she is, but that's no reason to reduce my love.

"I won't allow any problems to reach this hotel."

"I think Marie can take care of that herself, but I appreciate the sentiment."

Leon reached behind the bar top, only to come back empty-handed.

"You're fresh out." Mary explained.

"Isn't this supposed to be half bar? What if a customer walks in?"

"But you're not a customer, are you?"

"I'll pay you back?"

"Convince yourself first if you want to convince me, Imbécile."

Leon opened his mouth before swiftly closing it.

"I'll buy you a bottle after we steal that blood."

"Thanks."

"Do you even have any money?"

"Not really, but that can change."

"I just told you not to make promises you can't keep."

"I wouldn't be me if I didn't."

"Farfelu."

We stayed like that for another half hour before May came back, carrying a large bag.

"You're back awfully late." Is that a good greeting?

"Apologies for the wait. I could not procure everything in a timely manner."

"No prob, I hung out with Leon, found a cool guy and ate some good shit."

"Understood, what about the job?"

"I got it, but there were only two spots."

"So only one of us can go with you, that's acceptable."

"What's in that bag?"

"Let us go up first."

"Sure"

Was she still cautious of Mary?

"Please do, all your yammering is disrupting my focus."

Leon stayed down for a few minutes while the two of us went up. May used the chance to whisper in my ear.

"You got close with Leon."

Was she spying on us? It doesn't matter.

"I can kill him if you changed your mind."

"That's not what I mean. I think he's trustworthy enough for our purposes, but his circumstances are unpredictable."

"It's not every day you see a man protecting his to be killer."

"Is there any chance he's lying? I didn't see them fight?"

"It's not zero, but I highly doubt it."

"Understood."

"What are you two doing here? Are we going to talk in the hallway?"

May continued walking without offering a response. I followed along and closed the door after Leon came in.

"What's that?"

May took out two large blueprints and spread them on the table.

"This is a map of the Arthur estate."

"How much did you have to spend on that?!" Leon seemed impressed.

"Too much."

It's almost as big as that old mansion.

"You're really serious about this?"

"Absolutely."

"Yeah, why not?"

"Why not?! Because only two crews robbed an Artur since their first generation, and both were slaughtered."

"That information cannot be corroborated; it is only a rumor."

"Why risk it? It's Arthur."

"What's so dangerous about this dude?"

"W-What? What's dangerous about Arthur?!"

"Cmon, man, I told you I'm from the boonies, I barely heard about the dude."

"Well, where do I start? He can tell what's 20 meters around him at all times, he can tell when a person is lying, he can take two steps mid-air, he can hit a moving target perfectly from 50 meters with a Gods damned pistol, his two hours of sleep is equivalent to everyone else's 12, his normal breathing has the same effect as several deep breaths, every meal he cooks, no matter the ingredients, always turns out better than anything a lifelong cook could make! Oh, and he could fold all three of us like sheets of paper in a matter of seconds, if not for the Gods, he would be the strongest creature in the world."

I feel like half of that wasn't necessary.

"How do you know all of this?"

"I worked with him once, a long time ago. I promised myself on that day that I would never make an enemy out of him, and I intend to keep that promise."

"Calm yourself, Arthur will not be in the estate, you said so yourself."

"But he could still visit, he gets curious or wants to bid his old house goodbye and we're done for."

"He makes a convincing case. Why the hell are we robbing this guy again?"

"We need to... I need that contract."

"Alright."

"HOW ARE YOU SO EASILY CONVINCED!"

"If we gotta do it, we just gotta, nothing complicated about it."

"I know that I'm asking a lot of you, but please just go and work normally."

"Yeah, we'll take care of the criminal matters, you just stand around and look dejected."

He sat down on the carpet with a defeated sigh.

"I figured you wouldn't back down, but it was worth a shot."

I lightly smacked him across the head before sitting next to him.

"Now that we've got that settled, break it down for us captain. What's this estate like?

"The Arthurian estate is composed of two floors and a basement, all connected through this central staircase."

"Where's the blood?"

"I suspect it's either in the basement or in Arthur's office."

"So we'll work on that?"

"No." Leon chimed in."Anyone working on the second floor needs to sign a contract."

"I see, so where will we be working?"

"The kitchen." May answered

"Why the kitchen?"

"It has two exits, one facing the main corridor, leading from the entrance to the central staircase, the other leads to the staircase directly."

"So if we work on the kitchen, I could slip out and go to either the basement or second floor."

"That's the plan, now for deciding who will go."

"I took the job, so I need to go."

"And you can't go, right?"

I didn't know May's full situation, but it's clear she wants to stay on the down low.

"I guess there are some Marfan workers there."

Leon looked at her apologetically.

"So you two will infiltrate inside."

"What about you, captain?"

"I will be outside, providing information."

"How?"

This world seemed to be in the early industrial age technologically, or at least, Rahma seemed that way.

"That will be explained later."

"Alright, so what should I expect?"

I have some experience in this kind of job, but a mansion is completely different from a military base.

"There should be approximately 25 people in the mansion."

"15 workers, us included." Leon added.

"And 10 maids and butlers."

"No guards?"

"There are guards, 10 of them."

I turned to Leon with a perplexed expression.

"Are they outside the mansion?"

"No, inside it. The title might have been deceiving, said maids and butlers are friends of the Arthurian family, a basic level of combat training is required to join their ranks."

"Damn, so I gotta watch out for butlers and maids now?"

"That is the mission."

"So Me and Leon are gonna go there and... Do what exactly in the kitchen?"

"Leon and I." She corrected.

"Potato potato."

"Our job is moving everything out of the kitchen and carrying it up front. Once it thins out enough, you can slip out of the back door, then you can go to the basement or the office."

He pointed at a large room on the second floor.

"Which one has the blood bank? Basement or office?"

"We..."

"Don't know for sure, got it. Are there any other places it could be in?"

"Those are the only places that nobody save the head butler is allowed near."

"So how am I gonna get in?"

"I will create a distraction, which should enable you to sneak in. Do you have any contracts that could help?"

"One, but it makes too much noise."

I need to smash the metal part of my feet into the ground if I want to use it, that's bound to attract attention.

"But I'll be fine, it's not like I'm entirely clueless when it comes to stealth operations."

Though the settings couldn't be any more distinct.

After that, May went through the plan step by step. We'll scout the place on the first day, then execute on the second since the workers are switched out every three days. Then we'll slip out after May's creates a distraction, I'll leave the blood in the designated position, and move back to the hotel.

"Apologies, I cannot think of a more reliable plan in a situation with this many variables."

"Seems reliable enough, any rigid plan would just cause more confusion when shit goes wrong."

As if on cue, the room's door got flung open.

"I told you to wait for me on the first floor."

"I got tired of waiting, so I asked the manager."

The woman leaned close to me, her dark brown eyes burrowing into me.

"Who the fuck's this pipsqueak C?"

C? May did refer to herself as A.C.28.D.

"Hi, I'm Jack."

"He's working with me for the time being."

"Wow! You finally spoke to someone new, he looks like he would die in Petos but hey, baby steps."

"And that's Leon." She continued. "They'll be infiltrating the manor."

"HAHAHAHAHA! You might as well have put your fate in the hands of the rompty twins!"

What the hell is she talking about? Must be a cultural difference.

"Did you bring what I told you to?"

"Who do you think I am?"

She put down a small bag that was slung over her shoulder with a clank. May reached inside and brought out a walkie-talkie.

"So this is how we'll communicate?"

"W-What is that!?"

Leon was a bit too shocked at seeing a walkie-talkie. I mean, it's a bit old, but I had to make do with it a few times before.

"A handheld transceiver."

"I know what it is. Why did you bring it here? You know what will happen if anybody saw that?"

"We will be captured, interrogated, and most likely killed for illegally possessing Marfan technology."

"Please don't say that so calmly."

"What's wrong, pale-skin? First time with military theft, murder's more your speed?"

"Hey!" I interrupted. "Stop bullying Leon so well, you're putting me to shame."

"My bad, I'll try to do worse, protecting your fragile ego's my priority after all."

"Thanks! What's your name?"

"And a dumbass to boot, you really outdid yourself A. Call me Ross red rag."

"Argh!"

That one caused some psychic damage.

"Can we just get back on track, please?"

Leon hung his head, defeated.

"Yes, that would be best." May put the walkie-talkie back in the bag before pulling a small cup-looking thing out of it and handing it to me.

"What's this?"

"An Autodialer, it opens most wheel combination safe locks."

I've never had to deal with those types of old safes, mostly just biometric locks.

"You relying on him for that?"

"He might be overly reckless and fundamentally opposed to reevaluating the situations he finds himself in, but I trust his short-term decision-making. In a situation with this many unknown variables, I believe he can be of great use."

"Your funeral... so how much?"

"How much for what?"

"He's spreading his imbecility. Money, girl, how much you paying me to work with you?"

"I will not."

"Huh? Just you and these morons, that's your plan."

"Essentially."

"You can pay me later if you don't got the money, but it'll cost you a lot more."

"I won't."

"Hey! Get it through your thick skull, you're gonna die if it's just the three of you."

"Adding you in will draw more attention."

"Yeah, away from Rag."

I would prefer if she didn't call me that, but I didn't interject.

"It's too risky."

"Bohoho! Like I've never done something like this before."

"NO."

I started to understand the type of relationship these two share, so I understood why May didn't want to bring her on such a dangerous mission, but I couldn't make a judgment call yet.

"You..."

It didn't take a genius to figure out where this was heading. May's calm expression and nonchalant way of speaking were great at fueling anybody's anger. So I got up, waiting for her to attack May.

"I got it."

But surprisingly enough, she calmed down instantly.

"I was stupid to try to convince your stubborn ass. I'll come piss on your grave."

"Thank you for understanding."

She pushed me out of the way before turning to May.

"Suicidal bitch."

May didn't offer a response.

"Do you understand the plan?"

She spoke up after a few minutes of complete silence.

"Y-Yes!"

Leon shot up. He looked like a kid whose parents were fighting.

"What about you, Jack?"

Why? If she has a strong enough reason to risk her life, why couldn't she bring herself to risk Ross's life as well? Did she owe her that much? It didn't seem like it, so why was that?

"Jack?"

"Yeah, I got it."

I got up, then dragged Leon up as well.

"We got it, so don't worry captain."

She threw a set of keys my way.

"The room next door."

"Aye aye."

'I took Leon there and went to sleep.' Is what I'd like to do, but I couldn't go to sleep yet. I waited until Leon was pretending to sleep before going back to May's room, knocking four times.

"It's me."

"You should get some rest."

"This is more important."

I wanted to discuss this after the plan, but she didn't seem ready for a conversation. I hope she settled her thoughts in these couple hours.

"Come in. It's unlocked."

May sat in the middle of the neatly organized room, folding the suit she was wearing. Instead, she wore dark red drawstring pants and a black long-sleeved shirt.

"Where did you get those clothes?"

She lifted up the large bag as a response.

"I doubt that's what you wanted to talk about."

"No." I sat in front of my stoic savior. "Why do you want to steal the blood? Why are you in Rahma to begin with?"

"Didn't you say you'll do it?"

"I will, you can tell me to fuck off right now and I won't ask about it again."

"...."

"So?"

"It's about time I tell you. About what I am, and the tragedies of Maarfa, you deserve at least that much."