Chapter 2021: A Choice

Naysha remained crouched beside Ning for a few moments, studying him more carefully now that the soldiers were gone and there was no immediate danger around them.

Up close, the exhaustion he had deliberately built into his appearance was even more convincing, and between the worn clothes, the dirt on his face, and the way he leaned against the wall, there was little reason for her to suspect that he could have flattened every soldier in the district without standing up.

"What are you even doing here?" she asked. "You know people from the lower district aren’t allowed to sit around in this part of the city, especially this close to a military route."

Ning lowered his eyes and gave a tired shrug. "I was trying to get enough money to buy something to eat."

Naysha’s expression tightened, though this time the irritation did not seem to be directed at him. "That doesn’t change the rules. If another patrol finds you here, they might do the same thing those idiots did, and I can’t exactly stand around all day waiting to stop them."

"I know."

"Then you need to leave before that happens." She glanced toward the road and then back toward him. "I’ll help you get out of this district if you can’t find your own way back."

Ning shifted slightly and let his shoulders sag even further. "I don’t think I can walk that far."

Naysha frowned. "Then I’ll find some kind of transport, but you still can’t stay here begging. They’ll remove you eventually, and the next group might not stop at kicking you a few times."

"I wasn’t going to beg."

That made her pause.

"You just said you came here to get money for food."

Ning finally looked up at her. "I came here to sell something."

That answer only seemed to make her more suspicious.

"What could you possibly be selling?"

"A helmet."

Naysha’s expression changed immediately.

Ning reached into the folds of his ragged clothing and pulled out the helmet Crownus had created, along with the compact stand that had been designed to hold it when not in use. Neither object fit particularly well with the rest of his appearance, which was exactly why Naysha’s eyes narrowed the moment she saw them.

She did not reach for the helmet.

Instead, she looked from it to Ning and said, "Where did you get that?"

Ning smiled faintly. "I didn’t steal it, if that’s what you’re worried about."

"That’s exactly what I’m worried about."

Her voice had become much more guarded now. She straightened slightly without moving away from him.

"Do you understand what happens if that helmet was stolen?"

"Yes."

"Then you understand why I’m not going to touch it just because you say it’s yours."

Ning looked at the helmet in his hands, then back at her. "You don’t have to trust me."

"Good, because I don’t."

That made him almost laugh.

She had stepped into a fight for someone she did not know, but she was apparently not foolish enough to accept expensive equipment from a stranger without asking questions.

That was another point in her favor.

Ning lowered his voice slightly. "I heard what those soldiers said."

Naysha’s expression hardened.

"About your helmet." He looked up. "They destroyed it."

She did not answer immediately.

Ning continued, "And from what I understand, getting another one isn’t exactly easy."

"It isn’t impossible."

"No, but it sounds like it’s going to be a problem."

Naysha looked at the helmet again, and this time Ning saw the hesitation more clearly.

He had expected that.

For someone like her, being without a helmet was not the same as losing a normal piece of equipment. Depending on her current status, it could stop her from accessing military systems, proving her identity in certain places, communicating securely, or controlling the machines used by human forces throughout the war.

She needed one.

That did not mean she wanted to become involved in a crime to get it.

"If this thing is stolen," Naysha said, "then buying it from you makes me an accomplice. I already have enough problems without adding theft of military technology to the list."

"I told you, I didn’t steal it."

"And I told you that I have no reason to believe you."

"That’s fair."

Her eyes narrowed slightly at how easily he accepted that.

Ning held the helmet out a little farther without trying to force it into her hands.

"But you’re standing here without one, and I’m standing here with one. Whether you trust me or not, that’s still the situation."

Naysha said nothing.

"You can walk away if you want," Ning continued. "Maybe you’ll get another helmet tomorrow, or maybe command will make you wait weeks while they investigate what happened to the first one. Maybe those men will find a way to interfere again. I don’t know."

Her jaw tightened at that.

Ning saw enough in the reaction to know the problem was worse than simple paperwork.

"So," he said, "can you really afford to let the opportunity pass?"

Naysha looked annoyed. "You keep saying that like you’re trying to sell me something expensive."

"I am trying to sell you something."

"Then how much?"

Ning pretended to think about it.

"You’re a nice girl."

Naysha blinked.

Ning continued before she could respond. "You stopped four soldiers from beating someone you thought couldn’t defend himself, even though you already knew they were willing to cause trouble for you. That seems worth something."

She looked increasingly suspicious again. "What exactly are you asking for?"

"Your broken helmet."

Naysha stared at him.

"You want to trade a working helmet for one that’s already been destroyed?"

Ning nodded. That only made her more suspicious of him.

"Why?"

Ning glanced down at his ragged clothing as though the answer should have been obvious. "Maybe I’m very bad at business."

Naysha did not look amused.

"Or maybe," she said slowly, "this is some sort of scam."

"Could be."

She remained silent for a while, clearly weighing the situation.

"So?" Ning asked with a faint smile. "What is your choice?"