Chapter 67: Cheap Wine

"We are heading to a C-ranked gate," Sophia said to Leon. She was with Riker, Roger, Lucia, and Lily.

"The five of you are working as a party?" Leon asked, looking at them in his sitting room.

"Yeah, your sister just managed to absorb all that potion, and so she needs to get into a bit of action to make sure it doesn’t cause any issues," Sophia explained.

"Okay, that makes sense," Leon replied.

"You are not coming with us?" Lucia asked.

"No, I can’t. I have some work to do, and a visitor is coming over to see what I’m working on," Leon explained.

The moment he said that, Lily and Sophia shot him a look.

"Is it her?" Sophia asked.

"Come on, don’t be like that. I swear it’s work stuff," Leon said.

Sophia pouted and rolled her eyes. Leon stepped close and then whispered into her ears. "I’ll take you to eat whatever you want later."

"If you are bribing her, I hope you’ll give me my share as well," Lily said while folding her arms.

Leon had no choice but to agree to it.

"What C-ranked gate are you going to, by the way?" Leon asked.

"A Goblin Cove gate, filled with hobgoblins and more," Riker said. She had done the research on what was there.

"Alright then," Leon said. He folded his arms and grabbed his chin. "It should work easily if you guys fight together. I have no reason to be worried."

After a bit more, they left and headed for the gate while Leon waited for Kate to arrive.

[...]

Ding dong.

The doorbell rang, and Leon walked over to the door. He opened it and saw Kate and her assistant standing outside.

"Come in," he said and walked in. Both followed behind him.

"Seems you have fit into the luxury life," Kate said.

"Nope, all this still feels weird and unusual. It’s like I am acting a part that’s not really me," Leon said.

"That’s how it feels for everyone. Being able to purchase what you want when you want gives you a sense of power, but also makes you realize how unusual your life is." She walked over to a chair and sat down.

Leon looked at the assistant, who gave him a nod. She then walked behind Kate and stood there.

"Before we get into what you want to show me, I want to let you know that I managed to get my hands on information about the Sonic fellow who was trying to get you killed."

The moment Leon heard that, he froze. He looked at her. "How did you know that I was attacked?" he asked her.

"Just because you got rid of the assassins does not mean that I won’t know what is happening, Leon. You vastly underestimate my information network.

I could not sit by while someone who I am interested in and investing in was attacked by some low-grade assassin, so I sent her to gather information on Sonic and his location as well." She said while pointing at her assistant. Her assistant smiled at Leon.

"She got the information from them? How?"

"She is quite efficient," Kate said.

Leon got to his feet and then walked toward the kitchen.

"Do you want anything to drink or eat?" he asked.

"A glass of wine," she replied. "I’d say food, but I don’t want to have to put you through that right now." She gave him a cheeky smile.

"Well, I have the complimentary wine that the building sent to me. I don’t know if it will be up to your taste."

"No, it will not. It’s some tacky, cheap wine, but I know you don’t drink, and so I’ll take it for now. But the next time I visit, you better have something better. You are rich, so you better not be stingy."

Leon chuckled and grabbed a glass. He poured her a glass and brought it to her. She took it and had a sip. "Yup, that’s what I said. Cheap."

"Yeah, yeah. Tell me about Sonic and where he is."

"Oh yeah. Sonic runs an underground stream of businesses. He was an A-ranked hunter called Lucas Velma. He vanished years ago, and that’s where he started his assassin life," Kate explained.

"Yeah, yeah, that’s all good. Where is he?" Leon asked.

"You seem eager to know," Kate said.

"He has attacked me twice, and the second one put Sophia in danger. I want to watch him grovel."

"That’s good then, because I happen to know that he will be heading to one of his warehouses soon. A massive shipment of illegal monster cores from unregulated gates will be coming in.

I have set everything up already to ensure that we can intercept them and catch them all," Kate explained.

"That’s great then," Leon said. His eyes turned to slits, and a rage still boiled inside him. He could not forgive him at all for hurting Sophia. He wanted to make sure that they felt as much pain as possible.

"Good, that’s all for that. So, show me what you have been working on. Show me Oroboros."

Leon got to his feet after she asked. He turned around and walked towards the door.

"Come with me," he said and walked towards the door. They followed him. He opened the door to a room filled with computers that were all running the OS that he had created.

"This is it, the creation that I have been working on and doing my best to ensure it can take over everything."

She stared at the codes running, and for some reason, she could tell that there was a lot in this that was special. It somehow resonated with her deeply. She stepped forward and placed her hand on one computer.

"I have a feeling that whatever you are making right now might become great. What I don’t know is if it can take over and become the one on top of everything."