OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 63  Dinner

"Well, first of all, we need to verify the information you've provided us," the manager said.

"We'll need to send a team to investigate these secret entrances and see if they lead to the ruins in question."

"I understand, but what about me? That's why I came here, you know. I'm willing to sell you the coordinates for the right price."

"So, tell me, what would you reward me with for this info?"

Nathan leaned back in his chair, his eyes flicking up at Emir's face.

"How much were you hoping to sell this for?"

Emir had thought about this beforehand.

"250 million UC."

Nathan scoffed and said, "That's a high price for coordinates that only one gang has access to, a gang that you have already taken care of."

"Are you sure it's worth that much?"

Emir didn't waver.

"Come on, Nathan, we both understand that the gang's insignificance pales in comparison to the importance of the secret entrances themselves. Let's not beat around the bush here, I know that the association will make good use of it."

The manager smiled.

"Of course, of course, my apologies, sometimes I like to test out hunters' brains, you know, it's a fun pastime of mine."

"Moving on, there is an official reward set by the association for info such as this, and considering the quality you've provided, I'm willing to raise your hunter rank to 20 and offer you 220 million UC in exchange for the coordinates of these secret entrances."

Emir felt a rush of excitement at the prospect of both a rank increase and a significant sum of money.

"That sounds more than fair." He said, trying to contain his excitement.

'This is really good, I won't need to do more of those boring patrols.'

"Excellent," Nathan said, reaching for a pen and paper.

"Now, could you please write them down?"

Emir quickly wrote down the coordinates and handed them over to the manager.

Nathan studied them for a moment before nodding.

"These look legitimate. I'll make sure they're investigated as soon as possible."

"Thank you," he said, feeling relieved that everything had gone smoothly.

"Just doing our job."

"And it seems you're doing yours quite well too. Keep up the good work, Emir."

Thanking him, Emir left the office, cart in tow, and headed back home.

And just as he was about to leave the association's district, his phone buzzed with a message from the relic dealer.

Emir gave him a call, and they discussed the price he was willing to pay for the relics.

After some negotiation, they settled on a price, and he informed Emir that he was willing to pay 10 million UC for the amulet.

Emir was satisfied with the price and agreed to sell it to him.

Soon after, the dealer moved on to mention the next item, which was the intricately detailed box that surprisingly turned out to be something great.

He, however, couldn't disclose any information about it without Emir signing an NDA contract and paying a large sum of money.

The dealer also mentioned that he wasn't making much of a profit from it because he was forced to pass it up to the UEF, so Emir hesitated from answering, wondering what could be in the box that would require such secrecy and large cost.

But ultimately, Emir declined the dealer's offer.

He didn't want to risk getting involved in anything shady, which would definitely get him in more trouble than it was worth.

The dealer made an offer for the box, he was willing to pay Emir 150 million UC for it, without disclosing any details about its contents of course.

The amount was too tempting to resist, and Emir agreed to sell it to him, knowing that he would be better off after getting rid of something that even the UEF was after.

Emir checked his credit balance, almost shocking himself to death in the process...

The sudden increase in funds was enormous.

He attempted to calm himself down as he went back home to celebrate his earnings with his family.

…

Sometime later, he reached the academy district and entered the family residences, and soon after reaching their flat, he walked through the front door.

Emir was greeted with the sight of his sister Lily on the couch, engrossed in a show and the aroma of his mother's cooking hit him, making his stomach rumble.

"Lily!" He said with a smile as he made his way over to her.

She looked up, and a grin spread across her face.

"Emir! You're back!"

He gave her a quick hug before turning to his mother, who was busy stirring a pot on the stove.

"Smells delicious, Mom."

"Welcome home, sweetie!" His mother exclaimed, rushing over to hug him.

"Hey mom, What are you making?" He asked, looking over her shoulder.

She looked up at him with a sly smile.

"Oh, just a little something I whipped up for my favorite son, so, how was your vacation?"

Emir rolled his eyes, barely suppressing a laugh.

"You know I didn't go there to have fun, right?"

She pulled back and looked him up and down.

"Yes, yes, I just hope you had a good time with your gang-busting trip, dear."

Emir grinned, knowing his mother well enough to understand her humor.

"Yeah, it was a great trip. Got to see some sights, meet some new people, shortly saying goodbye to most, though."

"I didn't expect you to joke around like this, but I like it."

"I know, I know," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

"But let me have my fun. Besides, it's not every day my son becomes a legend by taking out two whole gangs."

Emir couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, I guess I did have a pretty eventful week."

"Anyways, I took care of them all. So, they won't be bothering us anymore."

"Well, I'm glad you're back safe and sound, honey," she said, turning back to her cooking.

"Dinner will be ready soon, so go wash up and get settled in."

Lily, finally getting enough, separated herself from Emir and asked with a grin:

"Did you bring us any souvenirs from your trip?"

He chuckled and said, "I missed you too, Lily."

Instead of replying, she just looked up at him with puffed-up cheeks.

He replied, feeling defeated, ruffling her hair for revenge:

"No souvenirs, but I did bring home a lot of money, and when I say a lot, I mean it. Don't ask me now, though, I'll tell you after we're done eating."

Shortly after, Emir headed towards his room's sink, and as he washed up, he heard Laura talking loudly from the kitchen.

"That's great to hear, dear, and now that you're back, why don't you sit down and relax? Dinner is almost ready."

They soon sat down to have dinner, enjoying each other's company and catching up on what had happened while he was away.

Emir could sense the joy emanating from both of them upon seeing him, but he also couldn't ignore the concern present in Lily's gaze.

She was well aware of the nature of his work and the brutal killings that came with it, yet she never vocalized her worries.

Laura, on the other hand, was well-accustomed to the perils of a hunter's life, having been the wife of a revered hunter, or rather, hero.

'Quite unlike me, his son, since I'm no hero, not even an anti-hero.' n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

'Just an Extra, an extra of the old world.'

This was what Emir believed, at least.

Chatting with them, Emir asked about Lily's school life, and it seemed that she was starting to get pretty popular among the freshmen.

'It isn't surprising though, even if my opinion is biased, I know for a fact that Lily is one of the cutest girls around.'

She also shared some tension between the regular students and the hunter trainees in her classes.

Apparently, the trainees often acted superior, which was typical behavior for wealthy kids and well, kids in general.

She also mentioned her studies, but Emir could sense that her main focus was on the social dynamics of her school, which was quite typical of a social butterfly like her.

Following their dinner, his mother proposed that they watch a show together, and they took their place on the couch.

It was a welcome break from the incessant apprehension and peril that Emir had confronted in the slums.

Now that they were relaxing, he told them about the events of his short vacation.

Lily, who had been watching a show on TV, turned to him.

"So, did you bring back any cool relics from those gangs?" She asked excitedly.

Emir grinned and said, "Actually, I did. I sold one of them today for 10 million UC."

"Wow... That's a lot of money," Lily said, impressed.

Laura looked at him quizzically and asked:

"What kind of relic was it?"

"It was an amulet that I found in a vault of one of the gangs, they're connected to the liberation army, so that explains itself."

"And I also found this box that I sold to a dealer for 150 million UC."

Laura eye's widened in shock as she asked: "That's a lot for a box, like a lot a lot. What's so special about it?"

Emir hesitated for a moment before replying:

"I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. The dealer wouldn't tell me much about it, and he wanted me to sign an NDA contract if I wanted to know more."

Lily's face matched that of their mother.

"Whoa, that sounds mysterious."

He nodded.

"Yeah, it definitely piqued my curiosity. But I figured that it would put me on the UEF's radar, which is something I definitely don't want."

'Not now at least.'

"So, what's your credit balance right now?" Lily finally asked the question that had been bubbling in her mind for so long.