Chapter 232

What do you think we need?

"How would I know... but since your disheveled appearance doesn't seem like an act, it means you really have broken ties with that Boris guy, right... Of course, more information will require payment."

"It might not be what you're thinking... Actually, I just happened to see your shop on my way and thought I'd stop by to buy some toiletries and a change of clothes..."

Seeing that Nana didn't seem to be lying but was still flipping through the list of spoils, the Sarkaz boss tilted his head in confusion, then sighed and took out a hand-rolled cigarette.

She picked it up, lit it... In the instant the smoke swirled, an unusual breeze dispersed the smoke centered on Nana, and while casting the spell, Nana held Amiya protectively in her arms:

"Please do not smoke in front of children... Also, please give me twenty sets of the best daily necessities, for women only, thank you..."

"The best? Well, we'll see..."

As the boss hesitated, then waved goodbye and headed into the inner room, Jessica's tense voice and heavy footsteps reached my ears simultaneously:

"Senior... hey! Don't come any closer!"

Although Jessica drew her gun, the newcomer completely ignored her. The hooded Mercenaries simply crossed Jessica's perimeter, gave a cold snort to the somewhat timid Jessica, and then looked at Nana:

"Hey--! You just smelled terrible, you stinky cat..."

"Oh? I'm really sorry."

Ignoring the Mercenaries who was leaning closer to her, Nana continued to look through the supply ledger in her hand.

Amiya noticed that Nana relaxed naturally, then took a pencil and paper from the bar and started writing a shopping list on the paper.

The Mercenaries nearby also saw it; Nana's first line contained the words "Originium Prime"... He immediately scurried up to Nana with his eyes shining.

"So, how are you going to make it up to me? Or, you could just come and stay with me."

Leaning back slightly to dodge the Mercenaries's grab, Nana, still seated on the bar stool, then turned to look at the hooded Sarkaz who had been guarding the door since the beginning:

"Is this the type of store that allows this kind of trash to cause trouble?"

The Sarkaz guard didn't even look up when Nana looked at him.

"The Sarkaz's shop only protects the Sarkaz; you outsiders should handle your own affairs."

It's fair to say that this is a shop run by the Sarkaz; it has a certain dog-eat-dog atmosphere typical of Kazdel these days... And as Jessica, feeling ignored, panted and pulled back the safety on her Firearms Arts, she warned again:

"You'd better keep your dirty hands away from your senior! Otherwise, I can't guarantee your safety!"

In response to Jessica's final warning, the Mercenaries chuckled and took two steps towards Jessica with his arms outstretched. Watching the girl, Feline appeared to be a bodyguard, retreat further and further, the Mercenaries said dismissively:

"... Why are you yelling so loudly? Does yelling help? You don't even dare to fire a gun, so what guarantees are you talking about? Besides... you'd better look back before deciding whether to point that thing at me..."

Seeing that the honest and good Jessica did indeed turn around, Nana showed a slightly speechless expression. Of course, the two Mercenaries grinning and pointing their crossbows at this side of the cheap round table might have made Jessica a little worried, but unlike the person involved and the other Sarkaz onlookers, Jessica was worried about the safety of these provocateurs.

"Therefore, the Scar Market atmosphere varies from place to place, and in Ursus... that's roughly the feeling..."

Before the Mercenaries beside her could utter a confused "Huh?", Nana stood up from her stool, held a pencil upright on the table, grabbed the Perro Mercenaries next to her by the collar, and yanked his head off. The upright pencil went straight into his brain without any resistance, and Nana even had time to pull it out—and throw it!

Using the corpse as a shield, he turned around and blocked the screaming Mercenaries's shots. The other crossbowman didn't react much; after all, he had just as wildly imaginative audacity as his companion.

As the others skillfully huddled in the corner to watch, Nana, who had tricked the crossbow bolt out of the corpse, had already drawn her baton with her right hand, and the girl with the Feline dropped the corpse whose blood had just begun to flow.

With a crisp sound of the mechanical structure locking, the lightweight baton, unusually, remembered that its primary function was as a baton, and that discharging electricity to people was just an additional, incidental function.

'Pia--!'

That's the sound of a baton hitting someone's face.

With one foot planted on the other's chest, Nana picked up a Mercenaries's dagger from the table and wielded it with incredible speed and agility, while simultaneously summoning her 'siblings,' the nameless Artificial Angel, to help with the body search... After all, it wasn't appropriate to have Cole or Kate help her during interrogation.

Having grown accustomed to the peaceful life on Rhodes Island, the assassin now seemed to have returned to her daily routine from ten years ago:

"Tell me, why did you attack me?"

"Damn it, you didn't call first—ugh?!"

Nana, expressionless, struck the other person's fingertip with her baton while simultaneously using her foot to muffle their screams to avoid disturbing the neighbors.

"Incorrect answer. Please answer the second question with 'yes' or 'no'... Are you deliberately picking a fight with me?"

Although Jessica herself was trembling with fear at Nana's violent actions, Jessica still tried her best to cover Amiya's eyes. But this only made it more frightening, so Rabbit pried open Cat Sister's fingers to reveal a somewhat censored scene. The two watched Nana continue her actions with trepidation.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, we just thought you guys would be rich and wanted to extort money from you... Ahh, Qiling Dam Manager Lu Baqi Qijun ah--!"

"If your answer is incorrect, you can simply say yes or no..."

"Yes, yes... no, no no no no no, it's not... ahhhhhh!"

The sounds of batons whistling through the air, screams of bones shattering, and the girl's calm questioning mingled together... If before everyone thought the three people in Rhodes Island uniforms were just there to give out missions or were easy prey who had stumbled upon this place, now, after witnessing Nana's expressionless torture, no one thought Rhodes Island was any kind of 'outsider' anymore.

This is considered one of the worst among Mercenaries, okay? Luckily, it wasn't me who got carried away and thought I could get a piece of the action...

As everyone else returned to their seats, seeing that the situation was under control and no longer taking Nana seriously, Nana's problem approached its core:

"For the final question, you can use a few more words in your answer... Who gave the Mercenaries the commission against Rhodes Island?"

"... I mean, other issues are one thing, but isn't it a bit inappropriate to interrogate me about this kind of thing right here in my shop?"

Seeing the scene unfold—a far more gruesome than he had imagined—despite his brief absence, the boss disgustedly pulled out several large bags.

"The best quality supplies you requested, enough for twenty people..."

"I don't want any that have been opened, and I need to order more of these goods."

Taking the blood-stained note, the shopkeeper glanced at it and frowned when he noticed that Nana had no bloodstains or even a scratch on her.

"How about you add another tip? Otherwise, if everyone comes to me to interrogate Mercenaries, how am I supposed to do business?"

"He brought it on himself, and you... you brought it on yourself too."

Nana picked up Amiya again and gracefully sat back down at the bar, while the owner stopped the doorman whose eyes had become sharp.

"Indeed, I should have reminded you when you said you wanted the best... that way, these unlucky souls wouldn't have bothered you after my warning, and I wouldn't have had two extra corpses to clean up..."

"Many Scar Market have similar issues with poor management. You're not the worst middleman I've met... but you're not the best either... However, considering it's only been less than a year since the news of the impending war in Chernobog broke, the initial chaos is normal... Unless it's an organization like the Continental Hotel, which is essentially a violent group, it will take some time for the middlemen and Mercenaries to reach a consensus and achieve a balance... You should thank me for that."

"Thank you so much..."

Even Amiya could tell Nana was being sarcastic, but the shopkeeper still fell for it. Was it because of that new order?

While the Little Bunny was still puzzled, the shopkeeper took out three glasses... but then seemed to remember something and replaced them with unopened small bottles of soda water:

"In short, these aren't small orders. How will you like to pay?"

Watching Nana pull out several wallets from her pocket—clearly pre-divided—the shopkeeper frowned, looking at the Ursus Chervon coins, some in small change and some in large denominations... Even before the war began, the local currency was already depreciating rapidly.

"This won't do..."

"Lungmen Dollar?"

"Lungmen Dollar... are slightly better, but you're an industry insider, right? If you give me something that holds its value better, I'll give you information for free... more information, and even discounts on goods are worth considering."

By the way, I didn't say I wanted to buy it, did I? After all, there were tongues practically offered to me...

However, seeing that after the boss finished speaking, the security guard immediately carried away the last surviving member of the troublemaking team, Nana understood what the other party meant.

Although keeping prisoners alive is not Nana's habit, if it can gain the support of the local black market, and considering that the Doctor's recovery time will be delayed and her group may need the functions of the Scar Market later, it is a worthwhile trade.

After much thought, Nana reached out and touched the table... When she pulled her hand back, a gold coin appeared on the table— Continental Hotel Contract Coin.

Within the 'freelancer' community, Etch Rounds hold their value better than any particular country's currency, and they speak volumes about things that don't need further explanation within the industry.

As the boss suddenly perked up and then respectfully put it away, Nana had thus established a cooperative relationship with this middleman.

"Make a deal."

... Leaving the Scar Market, the three of them returned to their rented room with bags and packages instead of empty-handed, which at least shed their image as homeless people and made them look like staff members returning from the wilderness.

Inside the safe house, as Jessica eagerly began preparing bathwater, among everyone's bags, besides the various brand-new toiletries Nana had purchased, and the high-end hair conditioner that Jessica and Amiya had mentioned on the way... a hexagonal object sealed with tape immediately caught Amiya's attention:

"Medic... Sister... what is this thing?"

"... Well, it was an unexpected bonus."

Seeing that Nana confirmed her guess, Amiya's eyes lit up:

"Could this be!?"

"Hmm... an Originium Prime... although buying it with Continental Hotel Coin is a premium, they will definitely contact us as soon as they have something similar in the future... Speaking of which, Amiya, why are you suddenly being so polite?"

Seeing the Little Bunny's bewildered look after it realized what was happening, Nana sighed, recalling the grotesque way she used to perform her job with a pencil.

"Never mind, it's normal that you're not used to it... Go take a shower with Jessica first... Hmm, you can help each other out, after all, you haven't had a proper shower in two months."

After watching Nana choose the best toiletries for herself and then hand her hand to Jessica, Amiya realized that her hesitation might have hurt Nana's feelings. The Little Bunny quickly reached out her hand to Nana as she left the bathroom.

"Um... Nana- neechan, you can come too!"

"Huh? I just..."

Before Nana could formally refuse, Amiya grabbed Nana's arm.

"Together!" (Noon)

Just as Nana was about to refuse, her other hand was grabbed, forcing Nana to give Jessica, who was now down to her underwear, a look that seemed to say, "What's wrong with you?"

But Jessica didn't care about that; she just imitated Amiya and made the sound "together."

"One by one, together--!" Dad

"Jessica, clear your tongue before you speak..."

You mixed up the zero and the dash!

"Awoo..." (a sound of frustration)

Seeing the sparkle in their eyes, Nana sighed helplessly.

After all, the children were already overcoming their fear of their 'true' side, Nana felt that refusing them now would be letting them down.

Of course, you could also blame it on your increasingly volatile hormone levels.

I certainly don't mind taking a bath with pretty girls.

"Okay... let's do it together."

PS: Waaaaaaah!

PS2: At the end, Nana made a slightly cringeworthy comment about the fourth wall. I initially deleted it, but after thinking about it... it didn't seem so out of place literally, so I added it back.

PS3: As their relationship deepened, everyone gradually discovered Nana's 'true nature'... Amiya was so scared that she started calling Nana by her code name... Of course, after realizing what was happening, Amiya dragged Nana to take a bath together, taking the opportunity to cool off.

In terms of physical intimacy, Amiya even surpasses Rosemary in this volume... As for why Rosemary isn't as close to Amiya as she is...

It's probably because she actually has someone help her take a bath... Of course, Amiya's feelings for Nana haven't gone as far as Rosemary's.

As for Jessica, who followed Amiya's lead and went downhill... she simply ran away, and even used a child as a cover to do so.

Franka would give him a thumbs up and say, "Well done!"

As for bathroom stickers... would you like a more detailed or a brief version?

7th Chernobog's Blood Money: 258 Time to wash up and take a break.

For Killer Number Seventy-Seven, thinking about 'entertainment' was truly unprecedented.

Nana couldn't tell whether it was because she had been living underground in the Mobile City for so long that even taking a bath had become a form of entertainment, or whether she was really affected by hormones and her self-control was starting to decline.

However, the premise of thinking about sex after one is well-fed and clothed is still that one is well-fed and clothed. So, although she felt a little sorry for Jessica, who bravely pressed herself against her with only a towel in front of her, Nana really focused all her energy on Amiya in the bathroom.

Unlike other field operatives, this Little Bunny didn't have the experience of how not to get herself dirty. After staying underground with her for three months, Nana and Jessica used three bathtubs of water to wash her until she could soak in the tub without strange dirt floating on top of her.

All I can say is that Amiya's hair, which is longer than her hips, is truly excellent at hiding dirt and grime.

By the time Jessica was so exhausted she could only groan against the bathroom radiator, Nana started applying the second coat of conditioner to Amiya's hair, the Little Bunny was already lying in the bathtub, floating on the water and fast asleep.

"... Jessica, keep a close eye on Amiya so she doesn't drown."

"Ah... um..."

Nana glanced at Jessica, whose ears were drooping down along with Rabbit's, awkwardly supporting Amiya, and sighed. Then she picked up Jessica as well, placed her under Amiya, and put her in the bathtub.

"Eh... Eh?!"

"She's awake? Hold Amiya... I'll give her a bath."

The cat, its face flushed again, gave a soft "hmm." Jessica hugged Amiya like a doll, looking at Nana, whose body was covered in bath soap foam. She used her still-developing but already impressive breasts to cushion the back of the Little Bunny's head.

Nana then began rinsing Amiya's long hair, which was coiled outside the bathtub... After a thorough wash, the Little Bunny from Rhodes Island finally regained her original soft, moist appearance.

After making eye contact with Nana, Jessica deliberately shifted her gaze to what was in front of her... Touching Amiya's waist, the girl Feline, felt inexplicably awkward and stiffly said: