When he returned to his room, he saw Sean coming out of the bedroom. Sean patted Sulu on the shoulder. "Look on the bright side, buddy... I know it's hard when your unrequited love turns out to be a serial killer, but if you look at it another way, isn't that kind of cool?"
"Cool?"
Sulu almost couldn't keep his poker face. You just don't know that I practically made this serial killer myself. I still can't believe she's that fierce.
After all, back then he'd only given her one order: to stay away. It seemed the Corpse Princess had gone a long way away, all right—but she'd also done plenty of other things.
"Okay, let's not talk about that. Let's talk business! There's a temp job. Are you in?"
Sean rarely got down to business.
"What kind of job?"
In the White Eagle Federation, college students worked part-time all the time. Sulu especially needed to think about his recent expenses and figured it was high time he topped up his wallet.
But Sean didn't have much credibility when it came to jobs. Especially after the last time, when he'd almost tricked Sulu into working as a male escort at a bar. Now Sulu always made sure to get the details first.
"Cleaning out the sewers in the university district..." Sean grimaced. "It's filthy, smelly, and exhausting, but there's not much competition, and the employer's offering a high wage of fifty Toner a day!"
"You're not trying to drag me along just to make up the numbers again, are you?"
Sulu eyed Sean suspiciously. "Or are you hiding something? Don't lie to me. I have ways of finding things out, you know!"
As soon as he heard that, Sean immediately wilted. "I've already signed a contract with the employer. If I don't finish the job, I'll face a huge penalty... Sulu, you can't just leave me hanging!"
"I knew it..." It was dirty, hard work, but the pay was good. Sulu was puzzled. "At fifty Toner a day, wouldn't you be able to find plenty of people?"
Sean's expression turned awkward. "Well... Sulu, there've been all kinds of strange stories going around about the sewers in our university district lately!"
"Strange stories?!" Sulu perked up, suddenly interested. "Like what?"
"Like... people hearing Wraiths crying in the sewers. And there's a rumor that... there's a monster in the depths! A sanitation worker they hired before got injured because of it and was sent to the hospital..."
Sean grimaced. "The employer refuses to raise the pay, so the job's been sitting there ever since... I saw him at the St. George Student Mutual Aid Association yesterday and chatted with him. I swear, it was just one conversation... and somehow I ended up signing the contract. Now nobody's willing to help me. You're all I've got!"
"Are you sure you didn't jump at the chance to sign the contract because you were tempted by the generous pay, then discover it was a trap only after you looked into it?"
Sulu seriously doubted Sean's character.
"Waaah... I'm sorry!"
Sean dropped to his knees at once. "The guy subcontracted the job to me and gave me ten Silver Dollars. I have to get it done within ten days, or I'll owe him ten times that amount in damages... Sulu, you have to help me!"
"Heh..."
Sulu folded his arms and sneered. "And you were trying to trick me at first?"
"I contacted as many people as I could, but nobody would give me the time of day!" Sean gave an awkward laugh. "Luckily, I thought of you right away... Sewer monsters and all that are just a scary story. You've studied martial arts, haven't you, Sulu?"
"This job... isn't out of the question!"
Sulu thought it over, then nodded. "But... I want six Silver Dollars for it!"
"Ah! You might as well kill me!" Sean immediately sprang up as if someone had just stabbed him.
"Then seven Silver Dollars!"
"Damn it, why do you raise the price when you're bargaining?"
"Pay half up front, or there's no deal!"
After some joking around, Sulu agreed to take the job. They settled on six Silver Dollars, with half paid in advance.
That was already a generous amount. If there really weren't monsters in the sewers that had injured someone, plenty of people would have been fighting over the job.
Sulu figured he was bound to be a little tougher than the sanitation worker who'd been hurt. As long as he was careful, he'd probably be fine.
Besides, the six Silver Dollars would give his wallet a nice boost.
He looked at the Silver Dollar bills in his hand. They were from the White Eagle Federation's latest, third edition. The notes were a pale silver color, thick and crisp, with a satisfying feel to the touch that was hard to put into words.
On the front was a portrait of the founding father, Stephen Slay. On the back was the Federation's iconic steel structure: the Goddess of Light Memorial Tower in Posi Port.
Every bill issued at the time had a unique serial number and a watermark to prevent counterfeiting. They could be exchanged for one Silver Eagle coin at any bank, making them as good as gold.
But Sulu knew that if history continued along its current course, the future Federation government would surely pass a law ending this exchange guarantee, turning paper money into genuine "national credit bonds."
If I take this opportunity to stockpile a lot of Gold Dragons and Silver Eagles, I might make a fortune!
"Three Silver Dollars... That's more than half my savings!"
Sean gazed longingly at the three one-Silver-Dollar bills in Sulu's hand, as if someone had stolen his girlfriend. At last, he turned away with a sharp jerk. "It's a deal. Remember your promise. We start at eight tomorrow morning!"
"No problem!"
Hard times had forced Sulu to do plenty of dirty, exhausting work before, so he answered without a care.
He returned to his bedroom, thought for a moment, then pulled out a sheet of writing paper and began his letter:
[Dear Rhode Potterley,
Sorry for the late reply. You're very welcome to come to Nia City and meet me. To be honest, I've run into a lot of problems lately, such as... a shadow that kills! It looks like a mass of flowing darkness... Sorry, I can't think of a better way to describe it. My limited knowledge as a Witch Hunter isn't enough to identify it. I hope you can help!
Sulu Portley]
As for more advanced subjects like Dawn of Gods and Transcendental Awakening, Sulu planned to wait until Rhode arrived and had helped him deal with his current problems. Then the two of them could sit down and discuss everything properly.
"Hmm... The tone's about right, and the expressions sound natural..."
After finishing, Sulu read it over and felt fairly satisfied.
Ever since he'd fully inherited the original owner's memories, pretending to be Sulu Portley hadn't felt difficult at all. He wasn't afraid of meeting his family anymore.
Besides, given the situation, he might already be in danger. He had to find a way to turn things around.
Whether that meant improving his own abilities or finding outside help!
"I'll mail the letter tomorrow!"
After sealing the envelope, Sulu made up his mind to send it out before starting work the next morning.
At the Federal Post Office's speed, it would probably reach Gusta State in five days. Rhode would need the same amount of time to make the return trip, so he'd be back in ten days at the earliest, or half a month at the latest.
"So that means that even in the worst case, I'll have reinforcements in half a month?"
Before you continue