“You… have a permanent employment contract with the svartalfars?”

Lukas was no expert, but opening conversations with that much skepticism was not good for morale. He could’ve seen a comment like that coming from Burger. He’d have been disappointed to see Banksi saying it. Tanya knew him well enough by now not to underestimate him. But coming from Elena?

That was a low blow.

“Yup!” he replied, popping the ‘p’. “They even gave me this weapon as a joining bonus.”

Elena harrumphed. “As if I know what a joining bonus means. For all I know, you just made it up, just like you made up this whole employment contract thing.”

“…”

Tanya coughed in the background.

Sighing, Lukas grabbed the mighty ax and laid it on top of the bed. Based on the creaking that followed, his earlier deduction about the weapon’s weight was spot on. He grabbed it again and rested it on the floor, the handle resting against his own legs. The fact that the floor showed tiny scratches from merely placing the weapon down did not go unseen.

“Yeah, that’s a svartalf weapon alright,” Bergott gruffly admitted. He tilted his head as he carefully eyed Lukas. “Though, that does raise the question of how you managed to convince them to do something like that.”

Lukas mysteriously smiled. “Trade secret.”

Zuken stepped forward. “And what do you intend to do with this contract?” Lukas hoped he had only imagined the bitterness in his tone. “Are you siding with the svartalfars instead of… offering your services to the Asukan Empire?”

It was a trick question, and he didn’t need a college degree to understand what the man was really asking. The Banksi knew he was an Outsider. Given their earlier conversation with the Tatun fellow, Banksi had sold out Tanya’s identity to the Secretary, even if it was with good intentions. The Shimizu of Cyffnar were dead, and the only remaining member of the family was a resident of the Llaisy Kingdom.

This wasn’t an enactment of justice or punishment for Tanya's misdeeds.

It was a rush-and-grab for properties and money left without a successor in Cyffnar. Tanya getting her inheritance back was merely a convenient avenue to accomplish it. Politics, it seemed, was a universal constant.

Lukas took a deep breath. If recent events were any indication, his future, for better or worse, was tied with Tanya’s own. His actions and decisions would go on to affect everything. But most importantly, Zuken could make things really bad for him in this town, and the only thing stopping him was his word. Something Lukas didn’t trust as far as he could throw.

Trust gets you killed, as Inanna once put it.

The funniest part about this whole thing was that a direct deal with Banksi would’ve made everything far simpler for him. Bergott was a nuisance, but Banksi could reign him in. Elena was an oddity, but utterly loyal to him. Tanya, for whatever reason, deferred to him as the leader of their little troupe back in the anomaly.

But instead, Lukas had decided to place all his eggs in Tanya’s basket. The enigmatic, mysterious Asukan-yokai hybrid who once tried to kill him.

Really, what was it about bad girls that enticed him so much? Or, was he subconsciously using Tanya to fill the vacuum left behind by Inanna ever since…

Ever since that happened.

Lukas shook his head. It was moments like this that made him want to return to the underground anomaly. At least there was no backstabbing and political games in the darkness of that underground cave.

“There are three things you should know,” he replied. “First, it’s not just me. The svartalfars registered Tanya as my teammate when they gave me the contract.”

“Her idea, no doubt,” Bergott growled.

“We didn’t know things would turn out like that,” Tanya frowned at him. “I was just showing Lukas around when things just… happened.”

“Right.” Elena’s tone had all the dryness of the Sahara in it.

Lukas suppressed a wince. He needed to win these people over, not isolate them. “Believe it or not, it was a series of coincidences that led to this contract. If you want, we can go over the relevant details, but after we’ve entertained the guests.”

That seemed to do the trick.

“Alright. What else?” Zuken asked, his voice calm and controlled.

“Second is that we— that is, you and I,” he met Zuken’s gaze, “had a deal. While this employment contract gives me nearly everything I asked for, I believe a deal is a deal. I don’t like going back on my word, so I won’t ditch you for the earthwalkers.”

Zuken gave him a slow, imperceptible nod.

“Lastly, Tanya here has helped me understand that a contract like this could immensely benefit your new guild. The same guild that Tanya is, last I checked, a part of. So long as things remain favorable, I would not be averse to adding this contract, and thus the svartalfars, as part of your clientele.”

Zuken regarded him with a businesslike air. “I see. And what do you want in return?”

“Hm?”

“You mentioned favorable situations. I imagine there are some changes you want for the both of you?”

Lukas smiled. Oh yeah. He’s good, I’ll give him that much.

He crossed his arms, weighing his options. There was blood in the water now, and the sharks would come sooner or later. Acting like a naive buffoon wouldn’t help matters, and neither would blatant strong-arming.

He needed to take the middle path.

“The svartalf contract exists through me. In an event where my teammate and I are ousted from the Guild, I walk away with my contract. No strings attached.”

“I see,” Zuken replied, his voice cold and measured. “So you intend to hold the contract like a sword over my head to get things done your way.”

Lukas winced. That hadn’t been what he’d intended at all.

Had it?

Maybe he had been hanging around Inanna a little too much.

And the way Zuken had said it… Lukas had heard that tone before, back when he’d blackmailed Tanya into getting him what he wanted. They had been sort of amicable until that point, which was when things had gotten complicated. And now, he’d just repeated history.

Only, Zuken was a lot smarter and had fewer skeletons in his closet than Tanya did. Well, as far he knew, in any case. Not to mention, from what he’d gleaned since waking up, the Banksi was politically powerful and resourceful enough to make his life difficult if need be.

“Look, you and I have a deal,” Lukas assuaged. “but the entirety of our interaction is because of her.” He pointed a thumb at Tanya. “Plus, she took care of me while I was injured. I’m sticking my lot with her.”

He could feel Tanya’s intense stare at his face, and did his best not to squirm or look at her.

“I believe you have made your point,” Zuken stiffly said. “The current balance of power does not favor me. But is it truly beneficial to keep me in such a position?”

“As I’ve told Tanya once before,” Lukas replied with chagrin, “you put your interests above hers. I’m just… ensuring that our collective interests are raised back up. Next to yours.”

Zuken’s poker face was perfect, as if crafted from marble. “I must say, Aguilar, the more I interact with you, the more I wonder whether you and Tanya really met in the anomaly for the first time.”

Lukas got the inkling that somewhere during the power play, he had somehow made things worse. He didn’t know how or why, but he just knew it.

Fucking politics.

He threw his hands up in frustration. “And what makes you think that?”

“A cursory review of your past interactions would prove my statement,” Zuken replied. “For someone who met Tanya in the anomaly for the first time, you seem to go well out of your way to ease things for her.”

“What can I say?” Lukas snorted. “I guess I’m a sucker for bad girls. Isn’t that why you hired her for the job?”

“This bad girl would like to point out to the both of you that she’s still in the room and doesn’t appreciate being talked about like she isn’t.”

Neither Lukas nor Zuken responded to her attempt at trying to dispel the situation. Privately, he wondered whether they’d actually come to blows. Sure, he had his powers back, albeit not the overwhelming amount of stamina and energy he was used to having at his fingertips. But this was Zuken, and Bergott, and who knew how many others that the Banksi had under his command.

And whose side would Tanya take?

Don’t fight them all, Inanna had once told him. Choose one of them. Take away their advantage of numbers.

“You’re right,” he told Zuken. “I play hardball. But I also play it clean. You and I have an agreement, but the one I have with her predates that. Sticking to you while leaving her out to dry would just be dickish, and I try to avoid being a dick when I can.”

His statement left the room silent.

“I believe you,” Elena replied out of nowhere. Of everyone, he certainly hadn’t expected her to come to his defense..

“Yes. Um, thank you.”

Zuken narrowed his eyes. “Either you are being sincere, or I just don’t understand you very well at all.”

Lukas grinned.

“I have no reason to antagonize Tanya or throw her to the wolves. This entire meeting has been under the protection of an eztli contract. Tanya was never in danger. If anything, you’ve shown yourself as volatile should things not proceed in your favor.”

Lukas wanted to deny it, to say that he was the least volatile individual there. And yet—

For almost no reason, he had gone ahead and antagonized the hell out of everyone.

He wondered what had made him cynical enough to immediately assume the worst out of every person he’d encountered recently. It was a far cry from the person who had immediately agreed to fulfill a favor to a voice in his head just because he wanted to escape a khorkhoi on his heels.

“That being said,” Zuken sighed, disappointment exuding from every inch of him, “I recognize this as ample evidence that both of you were in Haviskali for the entire period when this crime was committed. As per the authority vested by the Shogun, Secretary Kinosu can grant Tanya the title of Holder of Lands and Deeds to the Shimizu name.”

“I—” Tanya tried.

“No thanks are necessary. There are certain documents you, and I suppose, he—'' he sent a cold glare towards Lukas, “will need to sign. If all goes well, I’ll meet you at Iylaerion’s premises in two days. As partners of my organization, you will need an orientation. Elena will see to that.”

“Zuken—” she tried again.

The Banksi turned around and walked out of the building. “Good night.”