"Could you two please whisper when you're having a private conversation? If I hear you, I don't know whether to hit you or not; you're deliberately making things difficult for me, aren't you?"
Ember, standing nearby, dug at his ear. Balladeer and Childe's behavior perfectly exemplified "loud conspiring," making it hard for Ember not to overhear.
"Then don't hit us." Childe separated from Balladeer, pretending it had nothing to do with him as he looked up at the map behind Gui Long.
"This business of yours isn't just yours alone, is it?" Balladeer ignored Ember. He walked to the counter, staring intently at Gui Long as he spoke.
Feeling Balladeer's sharp gaze, Gui Long only met his eyes for a moment before looking away.
"Naturally. With so many trade routes and so many ships, it's not just my effort alone."
Gui Long put away the ledger on the counter and said slowly.
"I'm not asking you about that; I'm asking about the person behind you." Balladeer's gaze remained fixed on Gui Long, as if trying to see through him.
Seeing that Gui Long remained silent, Balladeer nodded and began to pace back and forth.
"Let me think, a pirate who can develop such a large force, and whose hands are still quite clean…"
"Are you perhaps someone's dog?"
Balladeer stopped, then suddenly turned his head and showed an exaggerated smile to Gui Long.
The corners of his mouth nearly reached his ears, startling both Childe and Ember nearby.
"Do you Fatui have a problem? Why do you need so many strange functions when creating a puppet?"
Ember, seeing Balladeer's "hideous" smile, turned to Childe, who was patting his chest, and asked.
Childe rolled his eyes at the question. "As far as I know, Balladeer wasn't created by us Fatui. The Doctor would be envious of his internal structure."
The whispers of Ember and Childe from behind caused the smile on Balladeer's face to vanish, instantly replaced by a poker face.
If he couldn't scare anyone, why bother with such exaggerated movements?
Gui Long's reaction was much better than Ember and Childe's; he was only startled for a moment, then quickly returned to normal.
To be able to start from scratch and develop a faction during wartime, Gui Long was certainly capable of basic emotional control.
"Say what you will, as long as I can get goods and protection, that's all that matters."
Gui Long didn't deny Balladeer's statement; he nodded openly.
For him, this was not something to be ashamed of. It was normal to be subordinate when one was weak.
"In that case, are you interested in changing partners?" Balladeer shrugged at the words, his tone full of temptation.
"Let me think, those big figures in Inazuma probably look down on you a lot, right?"
"Not only that, the bulk of your earnings must have been taken by them. Don't you feel a little bit unwilling inside?"
Seeing Gui Long remain unmoved, Balladeer continued to shake his head and speak.
Based on his understanding of Inazuma, those noble families would likely look down on a commoner like Gui Long.
Although those were old impressions from centuries ago, Balladeer was still so confident.
After all, the Raiden Shogun pursued eternity, so these noble families would most likely not change either.
A hint of resentment appeared in Gui Long's expression; Balladeer's words stirred some unpleasant memories.
The days of being forced into piracy were also the time when Gui Long prostrated himself the most.
"That's well said, but is your strength greater than the Kanjou Commission's?"
Gui Long unclenched his fist and said dejectedly.
The Kanjou Commission is one of the Tri-Commission.
"Oh? It seems some of the goods collected in Ritou have flowed into your hands." Balladeer stroked his chin, shaking his head as he spoke.
The Fatui also had dealings with Ritou; most of the crystal marrow there ended up in the Fatui's hands.
But now, those crystal marrow could be taken back by the Kanjou Commission to play with themselves.
"The money earned from consignment might not be as much as what you'd earn by cooperating with the Fatui, and besides, our strength is far greater than any Kanjou Commission!"
Balladeer crossed his arms, his confident demeanor evident.
"And what we're going to do is pure good deeds." With that, Balladeer extended his hand.
Gui Long hesitated for a moment, but ultimately shook hands with Balladeer.
As their hands separated, Gui Long seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He then reminded, "Since I'm cooperating with you, I must also make the risks clear."
"Firstly, although our stronghold is very hidden, the Shogunate Army hasn't wiped us out largely because the Kanjou Commission is protecting us."
"Don't worry about that. I will stay here and be your contact. Not only that, I will gather all the nearby Fatui to help."
"If the Shogunate Army is blind, then let them try!"
Seemingly imagining himself slaughtering the Shogunate Army, Balladeer's formerly expressionless face once again took on a hint of a wicked smile.
"Secondly, the resistance…"
"Don't worry about that. We've already negotiated with the resistance."
Gui Long's words were cut short by Balladeer.
Balladeer waved his hand and continued, "Give us the locations of all the villages you've accumulated, whether they're in Kannazuka or Yashiori Island!"
Gui Long was startled at first, then he came to his senses and nodded, "That's certainly no problem, but if I may be frank, why are you Fatui doing so much?"
Gui Long's words were like a piercing arrow, directly striking the high-spirited Balladeer and turning him into an immobile stone statue.
Yes, why would the Fatui do such a thankless task?
"The Fatui certainly aren't that kind-hearted! This is all because of me!"
Ember patted Balladeer's shoulder, freeing him from his petrified state. Then, he took out a yellowed and swollen finger and placed it into Gui Long's hand.
The Faded One's Hooked Finger—a waxy finger, curved like a hook, left behind by a predecessor intending to help those who came after.
"What the hell is this?!"
"Do you have a corpse-hoarding fetish?!"
"Dismemberment? We Fatui don't even do that!"
The three reacted differently, with Gui Long having the strongest reaction, even dropping the finger in his palm.
For no other reason than that this crooked severed finger was simply too horrifying. The ring-wearing finger was bent and stiff, and its shriveled skin was a yellowish-brown, like lacquer.
The color was very jarring; it wasn't the color a finger would naturally develop from weathering or other phenomena.
One look was enough to tell that this was an artifact someone had made from a severed finger.
"Why are you looking at me? I found it?!" Ember, seeing all three gazes converge on him, quickly disclaimed responsibility. He didn't want to be labeled a "perverted serial killer."
"What use is this thing…?" Balladeer bent down, picked up the severed finger from the ground, and examined it carefully.
The severed finger felt incredibly hard to the touch, without any fleshy sensation. Similarly, its cross-section was pitch black, like aged wood.
"It's incredibly useful, I tell you!" Ember snatched the finger back and began drawing on the ground.
Everyone gathered to look, and it was the two large characters "Ember."
Then the words on the ground emitted a golden light, and amidst the rising specks of light, a phantom formed by yellowish-brown light stood up.
This phantom was none other than Ember.
However, before the phantom could fully stand, Ember erased the words on the ground, and the phantom naturally vanished.
"See? If this guy gets too arrogant, just write my name on the ground with that finger."
"I guarantee I'll make him bow his head!"
Ember casually tossed the Faded One's Hooked Finger into Gui Long's arms.
Actually, he had originally intended to give this to Collei and Garura. But, one finger wasn't enough to share, and giving a finger to little girls felt a bit creepy no matter how he thought about it.
However, it was fine for a big man like Gui Long.
"O-okay, I'll keep it safe." Clasping the Faded One's Hooked Finger in his hand, Gui Long nodded stiffly.
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