Inside Margaret, a bar in the imperial capital's thirteenth district.
Perhaps the alcohol had kicked in. Sheele and Lin Feng both seemed a little more subdued than when they had been playing games.
Two trails of clear tears slipped from Sheele's eyes, glistening in the light.
"Lin Feng... my head's spinning..."
Lin Feng did not ask why Sheele was crying. Perhaps it was physical tension caused by the alcohol, or perhaps she was excited about being selected for the Imperial Guard;
perhaps she was reluctant to leave everyone at the restaurant, or perhaps she was uneasy about the future. But right now, Lin Feng only wanted to preserve this lovely atmosphere.
Immersing himself in it without a word was also the best answer he could give Sheele.
The intimate atmosphere was pierced by a boisterous female voice.
"Hello-! Sorry to interrupt~ I'm so sorry-"
Taking his eyes off Sheele, Lin Feng saw a blonde woman before him.
Two thin braids hung among her messy locks. Though she lacked a young girl's immaturity, she still looked to be in the prime of her youth.
Her sharply defined features were quite pretty, and her every word and gesture carried an outsider's carefree boldness.
What made it hardest to look away was the pair of outrageously large breasts on her chest. Even if you deliberately shifted your focus away from them,
the powerful feminine pheromones emanating from her chest would still draw your peripheral vision, leaving you lightheaded and unable to follow what she was saying.
Even someone as calm and composed as Lin Feng had to make a great effort to avoid the visual impact of those breasts.
"Can I help you?"
"Uh, uh, uh, my name's Leone. Um, here's the thing-I'm from out of town, you see, and on my very first day here, a bandit stole my wallet. Now I have nowhere to stay tonight, so I'm stuck out on the streets!"
The woman named Leone recounted how she had been robbed in an out-of-town accent, putting on a pitiful look as she tearfully complained.
"Boo-hoo~~~ Sir, miss, this bar is so luxurious. Anyone who can afford to drink here must be upper class! No, the very highest class!"
"And with this bar so close to the police station, before I came in, I was certain that the fine young people drinking here must all be champions of justice!"
By this point, Lin Feng already felt rather awkward and embarrassed.
"And sure enough! The moment I stepped into this bar, I saw you two, a match made in heaven~ Both your faces were brimming with righteous integrity!"
"A-a-a-a-a-a match made in heaven??!!!..."
Even drunk, Sheele could hardly miss the most important part of Leone's words.
In an instant, her alcohol-induced flush combined with her blush of embarrassment, turning her face redder than Lin Feng had ever seen it.
Sheele nearly fainted on the spot.
"Sheele, pull yourself together!"
"That's right, a match made in heaven! Sir, miss, could you let me write you an IOU? Once I get home and get my money, I'll repay you double!!"
After saying this, Leone made a money gesture with one hand and held the other open, remaining bent over.
Behind the arm she held in front of her in this extremely humble, earnest pose were her shrewd, cunning eyes.
Seeing Leone remain bowed without straightening up, Lin Feng felt rather embarrassed as well.
"All right. How much do you need?"
"Two gold coins. Just two gold coins will do!"
Two gold coins-that was almost half a month's revenue for a small shop.
Although it was not much money to Lin Feng, who had just obtained part of the Gathered Heroes Group's assets,
the amount this woman, Leone, asked for still made him pause.
"All right, I'll give it to you. There's no need for an IOU. I trust you."
"Really? Thank you so much!"
Beside him, Sheele was still dazed, unable even to open her eyes, mumbling phrases such as "a match made in heaven" and "a talented man and a beautiful woman."
Lin Feng simply wanted to send Leone on her way as quickly as possible.
Taking the two gleaming gold coins Lin Feng produced, Leone immediately beamed, unable to hide her delight.
"Sir, miss, make sure you live happily together~ Hehe~! See you~"
As she spoke, the seemingly irrepressible woman left the bar.
"Happily... she said happily~ Lin Feng, she said..."
Sheele was already somewhat delirious.
In truth, halfway through Leone's speech, Lin Feng had already felt that she was nothing more than a swindler.
But he would rather play along and let her swindle him out of his money than coldly refuse her outright.
The reason was simple. In this world where the strong preyed on the weak, life was far too hard for everyone.
Leone had not seized things by force like those bandits, nor had she amassed wealth with insatiable greed like those officials.
Instead, she used this most straightforward form of deception to take other people's money, and the people she swindled could afford to visit a bar, at that.
Some of Lin Feng's own money was also the Gathered Heroes Group's ill-gotten gains. Letting it circulate this way was a good thing for him as well.
"Sheele, Sheele, pull yourself together. Sheele?"
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have let you take that sip... Sheele?"
At that moment, perhaps Sheele was drunk, or perhaps she simply wanted to lose herself in the sound of Lin Feng calling her name and drift into a deep sleep just like that.
Outside the bar, the winter wind growled, a stark contrast to the glittering scene inside.
"I really did land myself a rich patron today... Not just anyone can afford that bar. Why would they build a bar beside the police station in a slum like this? Isn't it obvious?"
Leone stroked the two gold coins she had just received, inwardly overjoyed.
She bit them. They were indeed genuine gold coins. The metallic tang spread through her mouth, giving her an immense sense of security.
"A rich second generation? Could he be with the Imperial Guard? That would be even better, though. If he were just some rich second generation, things would actually be harder for me."
"Out swindling people again, Leone... Don't scam ordinary citizens next time. Your reputation among our patrons has been getting worse lately."
A cool female voice reached her. Hearing it, Leone merely stuck out her tongue without turning around.
"We've completed every one of their commissions exactly as requested anyway. So far, not a single person I've scammed has come to us to commission an assassination, have they?"
"Not yet, but sooner or later, someone will... In any case, be more careful."
"Boo-hoo... Akame, we're such good sisters, and this is how you talk to me!"
"Those are two separate matters..."
As they talked, the two disappeared into the night.