Chapter 94: 94: Government needs help? [pt1]
Amene did not know why, but she felt uneasy on her way back home. She did not have a drake to take her back so she had hitched a ride on one of the random beasts she had found.
But as soon as she had physically gotten outside of a 10 KM radius of Kiana's house, her instincts began to run rampant. They asked Amane to turn back and check up on Kiana.
She was about to turn back and do so when her phone rang. It was Sakura's emergency number and Amane was forced to pick up the phone.
"Yoko, you need to hurry and come back. A client is waiting for you in our living room and I cannot say how long I will be able to hold their attention before they snap."
Sakura sounded scared this time. Amane was surprised to see the always fearless person behave in such a timid manner.
But since it was Sakura who called her, Amane decided to out her instincts to rest and hurry back home. Even she wanted to see who this 'difficult' person Sakura was dealing with was.
Amane made it back home in record time and the wild beast she had flown back on decided to rest for a few minutes in the forest surrounding her property.
Since it had Amane's scent and her presence surrounding it, the beast was left alone by other beasts on the property.
Her flying beast had been spotted way before Amane had landed and it caused Sakura to come running out to greet her.
Sakura flung her body at Amane with a relieved sigh. Sakura's tense body melted in Amane's arms and she also relaxed herself.
"Finally, you are here. Now go and deal with the problem yourself."
Sakura might look affectionate from the outside, but most of what she was feeling was a relief. She was happy to see Amane back.
"Sakura, give me a minute to breathe. It had only been one minute since I stepped back home. Let me adjust first."
Amane patted Sakura's back and put up her act as a good elder in front of the servants. At the same time, her eyes looked around to find this 'difficult' person Sakura was talking about.
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Her eyes fell on a familiar-looking redhead standing tall in front of her.
At first, Amane thought that the figure in front of him was a guy. They had long red hair and hassle brown eyes. Their red hair reached their butt and there was a toughness in their expression.
But as soon as that expression softened, it made the redhead look like a female. There was just something about the couture of that face that screamed 'soft' to Amane.
"My lady, it is nice to meet you. My name is Stelle and I am a representative from the current government. I hope you will lend me some of your time."
Stelle was yet another familiar name for Amane. That red hair and hassle eyes could not be a coincidence.
Just like Charlie, this kid was also one Amane had taken care of. What a coincidence, right?
But somehow, it did not seem like such a coincidence to Amane.
Since the government representative had taken the initiative to come forward herself, Amane detached Sakura from her body and decided to meet Stelle halfway.
There was a wave of mana that passed through Amane's body but she had blocked all her familiar mana beforehand.
A flash of disappointment crossed Stelle's face when she was unable to find the familiar mana inside Amane's body. But that was quickly overshadowed by her calm expression once more.
"My lady, I have heard a lot about you and your achievements. That is why, the government would like to offer you a job. If you are interested, then please invite me in."
Stelle gave a low bow when she spoke those words. But since Stelle was already standing in the middle of the Tsurugi family's property, it would be awkward to deny her entry.
This was a contradiction that Stelle did not care about. She was trained to take advantage of any situation and twist it in her favor.
"A little late to be asking for this, right?"
Sakura whispered these words but everyone heard them. Especially Stelle and her eyes flashed when she looked at Sakura.
Sakura gulped but she refused to back down. She had judged Amane to be the more influential one in this situation. But Sakura also had a feeling that Stelle was aiming for Amane as well.
So, Sakura was going to make Amane biased against Stelle from the start. That way, Stelle would not be able to sway Amane in her favor.
"Charlie, go and prepare refreshments for our dear guest. I will talk with her and see what she needs."
Amane noticed this discord as well. And she decided to take the necessary steps to separate the two before something explosive could be born out of their interaction.
Stelle looked surprised at Amane's actions but she did not comment. She did not even ask Amane why she sent Charlie away.
All Stelle did was take a seat in front of Amane and look at her with calm eyes.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about? I hope it is something I can help you with."
Amane took a careful sip of her tea. The servant placed the tea down and quickly fled. They all knew about Stelle and no one wanted to get involved with the government.
"Hmm, the tea is good. Can you tell me more about it? I would like to order some tea leaves like these as well."
Stelle did not reply to Amane's questions. Instead, she chose to focus on the tea in front of her. Amane had a feeling that Stelle was stalling for time right now.
Now, Amane had no idea what Stelle might be doing, but she knew that it would not be allowed to continue.
Stalling had always been Stelle's bad habit. Especially when she was feeling frisky or awkward. As such, Amane needed to take the initiative and ask Stelle to speak up.
And the way to do this was to be firm with Stelle.
"Lady Stelle, you are wasting my time by refusing to speak up. So, if you do not have anything you wish to say to me, I would like to take my leave now."
Stelle panicked, as Amane had expected, and then quickly pushed her cup away from her hands.
"I am sorry. I did not mean to make it seem like I was stalling for time. This is one of the habits I have picked up during my childhood. But I promise I am paying attention to you and this conversation."
That was rather earnest of Stelle to tell Amane this. And it added one more thing to Amane's list of things to 'correct' for Stelle.
"I understand that you are feeling awkward sitting in front of me and all…"
"NO, that's not it. I am not feeling awkward. *cough*. I mean, I am alright. We should talk about the matter at hand now."
Stelle looked surprised that she had interrupted Amane as well. But her expression soon melted away into a calm one and she looked at Amane with her expression held tightly.
"Alright then. So, what is it that you want me to do for you?"
Amane asked and Stella gulped before she held a photograph out. The photo showed a hoard of small but deadly beasts.
They all looked wild and too close to human settlement.
"We want you to help us out with our beast problem. We have recently started an expansion project at one of our key sites but the local beast population is a problem for us. We would like it if this matter is resolved peacefully."
Amane was surprised at the request. But looking at the grand scheme of things, it was expected for the authorities to come to her for such a thing.
This was something Amane had done for money in her last life as well. It had been before she had gotten too strong and influential.
But still, clearing out the local beasts came with its problems and Amane would rather have the government abandon this project,
"Hmm, are you sure you want to engage with this plan? The only way to completely calm down the local beasts would be to tame them. But taming them would also make them more susceptible to human influence."
"In the end, it might end up becoming the very thing you are trying to avoid."
Amane put forth this possibility for Stelle to consider. This was just a 'can happen' situation but Amane knew how to navigate around it.
But Stelle and the government did not know about that. So, Amane wanted to know what Stelle's response would be.
Would she back down? Or would she demand Amane to do her bidding anyway? Which answer would it be?