Chapter 731: Two Hundred.

"So, let me get this straight." Saying as much, Dante held a hand to his mouth, thinking for a moment before turning his gaze to the female cyborg. "You had this powerful artifact that got stolen a couple of years ago, and you decided to attack me because you thought I had something to do with it?"

"That is... a rather crude simplification..." Victoria said. "I believe I have mentioned that the attack had been ordered by a single rogue High Bishop."

"And?"

"His actions do not represent the church as a whole."

"Yeah, right."

Throwing one of their own under the bus wasn’t going to work. This isn’t a problem that can go away so easily.

"This was a waste of time," Dante said. "Though I now know the why, it doesn’t change the fact that you attacked us. You’re going to have to pay us some reparations, unless you want us to consider you an enemy."

"That has been our intention," Victoria replied. "If it is possible, we would like for our relationship to be a positive one."

"Great." Picking up his knife and fork, Dante went about cutting a piece of his steak. It was starting to get cold, but he wasn’t about to let it go to waste, just like he wasn’t about to waste the opportunity at hand. "I’m a reasonable guy, so I won’t ask you to hand over the head of whoever ordered the attack."

He had already murdered all the attackers, so there was no point to it.

"That would be very much appreciated," Victoria said.

As he chewed, Dante considered his options. He obviously had given the matter some thought and already had a list of things he wanted to get from them, but he had yet to decide what to pick from it.

"For starters, we would like your support in our joining this little alliance you have with the Catalysts."

"The Catalysts?" Victoria blinked.

"The faction producing the miracle drug." Dante clicked his tongue. "It’s a pain that they refuse to come up with a proper name."

"I believe both of us are far too low on status to know," Victoria replied with a faint smile. "

"Don’t know why they’re being so secretive." Heaving a sigh, Dante moved on to the next item on the list. "Next, I would like to have some of those androids of yours. Two hundred would do."

"Two-"

For a moment there, Victoria looked as if she was about to completely lose her composure.

"Two... hundred... isn’t that a bit..."

" They’re mass-produced models, right?" Dante said. "Surely you can spare a couple hundred."

"I... can I check first?"

"Go ahead."

The female cyborg left the room, and Dante used that chance to finish his food. As he was about to pour himself another glass of wine, Victoria returned with a difficult expression on her face.

"It will be difficult, but we should be able to produce the requested number in a couple of months."

"Hm? Don’t you already have some in stock?"

"Fortunately, the available units had already been assigned to an upcoming operation. We might be able to reassign them to you if they end up not being put to work, but until then..."

"That won’t do," Dante said. "We got something big coming up by the end of the month. I’m gonna need all the firepower I could get."

Opening her mouth and closing it again, Victoria went silent for a couple of minutes before looking up again.

"Understood. The requested number will be delivered to you within the week."

"Good." Looking down at the wine in his glass, Dante swirled it around a bit. "My last request is very simple." Taking a sip, he then looked at the female cyborg. "Never try that stunt again. Next time, there won’t be any peace talks."

The Gear Cult wasn’t a faction that could be underestimated. They survived the rise of Genomes and continue to give them a good fight despite the apparent difference in firepower. If they were still standing with Eidolon having a monopoly on Level 6 EIs, that just goes to show the cult’s resourcefulness, and since they have yet to give up the fight, it was clear that they still believed in their chances of winning.

That said, Dante wasn’t discouraged. He was already picking a fight with Eidolon, and with Volcan in his possession, no cyborg could ever hope to match him. If they continued to be a pain in his ass, he would simply crush them and take everything they have for himself.

’Well, there might be a different route...’

"Understood."

With her solemn agreement, Dante assumed that their meeting had reached its end. Victoria made no move to leave, however. Still in her seat, she continued to stare at him in silence, as if waiting for something.

"What?"

From the looks of it, she had been waiting for his permission before speaking again.

"Mr. Sokolov. I have already informed you of the circumstances that had led to the attack."

"So?"

"While it might have been a grave breach of trust, the fact remains that you and the organization you belong to are currently the main suspects in our search for the lord’s relic. If possible, we request that you confirm whether you have been involved in its theft."

"Yeah, I get it already." Dante waved a dismissive hand. "We had nothing to do with you or your relic until today. We wouldn’t be having this conversation otherwise."

"Are you certain?" Victoria asked.

"Yup. If it had been the other way, I’m sure I would have been given a heads-up about you coming after us. The fact that we never expected to clash with you in this manner is enough proof."

Dante didn’t even know the cult was still a thing until a few months ago. It took him by surprise to learn that they were still waging a war against their mortal enemies, but even after he encountered them for the first time, he never could have predicted that they were going to be a significant player in the coming events. Unfortunately for him, everything pointed toward them being more involved with each other, and what he learned today could be said to be a clear confirmation.