Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Expert Backroom Fixer (2)
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1.
“Hey, go wait outside.”
Eiming took one look at the stockings and his face completely changed.
“Rowen, have you eaten?”
“Not yet.”
“Perfect timing for lunch. How about some drinks with me?”
“To share a meal with you, Pavilion Master? What an honor, an absolute honor.”
It was a good sign.
Sure, in any culture, but in this city especially, inviting someone to eat wasn’t just about filling your stomach.
Think about it.
For someone of Eiming’s stature to offer a meal without losing face.
Given how prices skyrocket the fancier it gets in this city, it meant at least 50,000 BIOS worth of food.
As one man to another, I could understand Eiming’s feelings.
Ceres’s stockings, fresh off her legs? You could buy a hell of a lunch with those.
I followed Eiming, who had suggested lunch, into a quiet private room.
“Sit comfortably, have another drink?”
“Yes, sir!”
“That’s the spirit! A true hero drinks like a champ!”
The private room was like something out of a high-end Chinese restaurant.
Seeing that lazy Susan table made me crave kung pao shrimp and black bean noodles.
“By the way… this is the real deal, right?”
“Of course. Feel free to inspect it here.”
Eiming looked half out of his mind.
He caressed the stockings I’d given him earlier, eyes gleaming like he was appraising artwork.
“The sheerness is… exquisite… There’s a slight run on the calf—suction… haah… Ceres’s lemon scent mixed just a bit with sweat. It’s perfection. No doubt about it—the genuine article. Top quality, too.”
“……”
This guy was giving me the creeps.
It must feel like this watching a fish fondle the worm on your hook while fishing.
I hadn’t expected him to like it this much.
Soon, the table was overflowing with dishes.
The usual suspects: dongpo pork, chilled xiaolong soup boiled with shaoxing wine, braised shark fin with matsutake mushrooms, and more.
Whoa! A feast after so long!
This spread exceeded my expectations by a mile.
No need for kung pao shrimp now!
“Little Brother Rowen, dig in.”
“Thank you! I’ll enjoy it!”
And now he was calling me Little Brother.
Eiming, you sly bastard. How much did you like it?
“Little Brother, I appreciate the gift. So, what’s this favor you want to ask?”
“Nothing grand. I just want to keep a good relationship with you ongoing.”
“Good relationship?”
Alright then.
Time to revisit why I’d come this far, pickling king crab in poison as Sunming.
And how that tied into stopping Project Z.
Shian Eiming wanted to turn Ceres’s corpse into a “toy.”
Director Gisella wanted to eliminate rivals and push Project Z forward.
They’d joined hands for that.
But they weren’t friends.
Just aligned interests.
‘Eiming probably still has the data I handed over.’
‘Huh, insurance, eh?’
‘Yeah, Gisella might get ideas once she has the data. If things go south, he’ll tip off Overnus.’
‘Gisella will play along until she gets it.’
‘But even if Gisella waves that data around claiming betrayal, does it prove Ceres leaked it?’
‘It does. There’s a watermark.’
‘Why risk something so dangerous…’
Anyway.
Gisella couldn’t touch Ceres without proof.
Eiming held back the evidence, biding his time.
Ceres was restricted, a pesky weakness exposed.
The first gear to break this stalemate was Eiming.
For example, if Eiming tipped off Overnus Pharma about Project Z?
Project Z would get shut down by Overnus.
At least postponed.
Ceres herself said so.
So, whether by leverage or whatever.
To make Eiming act “differently” from the previous round, I had to get close first.
And the most natural way to do that was…
“Could you take me on as your Little Bro?”
Little Bro.
The pronunciation’s a bit funny, but literally “left arm.”
A special employment form especially developed in Overnus’s three great clans, where face matters most.
It’s for utterly private matters too embarrassing to entrust to your right-hand man.
The fixer who handles all the dirty backroom jobs.
Sunming, his half-brother, had been Eiming’s Little Bro.
Eiming’s feelings for Ceres(?) were genuine.
And this guy was even more of a perv than I’d thought.
No need for just one Little Bro, so maybe I could fill the role originally held by Sunming, the “left arm.”
Eiming gargled some baijiu and snorted.
“Sunming. Did you off him?”
“Pardon?”
My heart dropped.
What the hell.
This idiot wasn’t an idiot? He sniffed it out that fast?
“No, he just went radio silent all of a sudden. And right on cue, you show up asking to be my left arm.”
Sunming had vanished just a day ago.
I thought it wouldn’t seem unnatural yet.
Even if he seemed sloppy, did a mid-level executive in Phantom Ghost Clan have to have this kind of instinct?
As I kept my poker face, Eiming waved it off.
“Eh, whatever. Half-brother or not, he was just a cleanup guy.”
“Sorry. I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Don’t worry about it. Not your business.”
Whoa, cool as ice.
Makes sense—if he cared, he wouldn’t have left him playing lackey at 7th grade.
“Little Brother, get back to it. If I make you my Little Bro, what do I get?”
“I can keep bringing ‘gifts’ like today.”
Eiming, mid-bite of braised shark fin, went wide-eyed.
His sharp gaze softened, cheeks flushing.
“Tell me more, more details. You’ll keep bringing stockings? The ones Ceres wore?”
“Of course.”
“Uhahahaha! How the hell do you get them? I’ve tried plenty, but it’s not easy.”
So he’d tried already…
Probably couldn’t get any because Julien sniped them all.
“And that’s not all. I can procure stuff way more… heh heh… tantalizing than today’s.”
“T-Tantalizing stuff?”
“You know… something a bit bolder.”
Eiming gulped.
His IQ dropping in real time.
“Then… high heels too? Worn ones.”
“……”
I’m not that complicated, but this guy was transparent as a hexagonal warrior.
I let the tension build, then grinned.
“…Preferred color?”
“Red! Red’s the best! You can do it? For real?! Uhahaha! Rowen, Little Brother, you’re my Little Bro starting today!”
“She she daguo! Then your left arm raises a glass.”
“Yeah! Fill it up!”
Contract sealed with a beaming Eiming.
Okay, phase one.
Goal achieved.
“Rowen, Little Brother, you know what? The prettiest part of a woman’s body is her feet. Slender ankles are key. Toe length, shape, proportions—all crucial.”
“Oh ho, is that so?”
“I’ll let you in on a secret, Little Brother. Stockings score 4 points. Thin enough to show the foot’s shape perfectly—high collector value.”
“I-I see.”
“Socks… sadly 3 points. They cover the feet, so the outline’s less defined.”
“Shoes hide the shape too.”
“Hey now! High heels are 5 points! 5 points! That hidden aspect is the charm. Lets you secretly imagine the line from toe to heel? And the concentrated scent rivals any matsutake. Plus…”
Got it.
Stop, damn it.
2.
Time flew by.
Let’s recap the past week briefly.
Right after getting hired as Eiming’s Little Bro, I headed to Ceres’s mansion.
“Stockings again? Ines took them yesterday.”
“Oh, right, yes. I saw you then. Your daughter’s quite the beauty.”
“……What?”
“No, I mean, I promised Eiming premium subscription service. The more the better, if you please.”
“…Tch, men.”
“And if it’s not too much, red high heels too. Worn ones—two pairs would be great.”
“That’s incredibly rude. Why not just say you’re using them?”
“Misunderstanding. I like bunny girls.”
Ceres eyed me with contempt bordering on distrust, but she handed them over anyway.
Packaged them up as gifts and tossed to Eiming.
“Oooo!!! Rowen, Little Brother!!! You actually brought them!!! You’re the real deal!!!”
“Ugh, Pavilion Master… it wasn’t easy.”
“Grrrh! Humble too! How’s a big bro like me supposed to show his face if his little bro’s this good! Hey! Call me Big Bro, not Pavilion Master!”
Laid the foundation for deeper brotherhood.
Day 7.
“…Sedric.”
Arbel, delivered fresh at dawn as usual.
“Ha, why are you always so damn cute?”
“……?”
I scooped up the question-mark-faced, collapsing Arbel and rushed her to Isis for treatment.
Truth is, both Ceres and Ines—the mother-daughter duo who fixed my eyes before—could use healing magic.
Death magic lines counter life magic lines, after all.
Arbel might even get treated for free.
But I didn’t fully trust the duo.
Just like my rash trust in Akit and Arong got me killed.
Seeing Arbel might stir something in the mother-daughter pair, leading to a whole different kind of “Eek! I’m dead!”
Call it…
Giving body, but not heart.
Like treating Ceres with that old tsundere heroine vibe.
That’s pro consciousness for you.
“Arbel!!! Mwah… smack!!!! Kiss!”
“Ugh… ughhh….”
“Jeez! I’m breaking my back saving your ass. Get out there and work! Don’t just lie around!”
“…….”
Anyway.
Planted Arbel in my new bachelor pad, showering her adorable cheeks with endless kisses every day before heading to work.
Parking her in a warm bed instead of a cold closet felt much better.
Meanwhile, my bond with Eiming built steadily.
Even scoring points with stockings and heels, it wasn’t easy.
I’m an introvert, after all.
“Aigoo!!! Big Bro! A thick-headed guy like me can’t beat you at mahjong!!!!”
“Uhahaha! Rowen, listen up. Mahjong ain’t just luck. It’s skill, mind games, reading the board!”
“You’re the master, Big Bro!”
Let him win some at gambling.
“Hey, you rootless punk! No manners? Grabbing the chopsticks before Big Bro?!”
“S-Sorry! I was worried about poison in the food….”
“What?”
“A lowly fixer like me dying is one thing, but if the Pavilion Master of Phantom Ghost Clan got hurt, Overnus Pharma would be done for!!!”
“You… you little….”
Played the loyal retainer.
“Ow! Why’s the drinking vibe off today? I’ll liven things up with a killer song!”
“Go for it!”
“Whoa I~ Beijing Tiananmen~ Tiananmen’s sun~”
“Spot on pitch! Nice!”
Pumped up the booze sessions.
“What’re you doing? Holding my shoes?”
“Weather’s getting chilly, right? Thought your feet might be cold, so I warmed them.”
“Hey, Rowen, I told you not to pull that obvious ass-kissing crap. Think I don’t see through it?”
“Don’t cry, Big Bro. A man’s tears aren’t for this.”
“You punk…. No, just… dust in my eye….”
Hit him with the classic Toyotomi-style bootlick.
And finally, day 10—today.
“Rowen… I may look tough on the outside… but inside, I’m a softie.”
“Big Bro, you’re wasted.”
“I never wanted to live like this… Just happened somehow….”
Eiming downed his glass, eyes reddening.
I placed a heavy hand on his shoulder and said gravely.
“A philosopher I respect, Nietzsche, once said: ‘He who wears the crown must bear its weight.’”
“…….”
“Seeing you struggle like this, Big Bro. Yet always overcoming it. That’s why I’m proud to be your Little Bro.”
A fat tear rolled down Eiming’s cheek.
“What’s wrong?”
“Wh-What do you mean… Just the usual.”
“Lying to your little bro?”
“No no! It’s not that….”
“Tell me. I know it’s not nothing. First time I’ve seen you this torn up.”
“…….”
“If I can help, I want to.”
After a pause, Eiming spoke.
“…There’s something I want to show you.”
Yeah, yeah.
Took fucking forever.
I could sense it.
Phase two begins.
Time until Project Z erupts.
5 days.