Although she was definitely ecstatic, the woman didn’t dawdle long before she started heading toward the building where Emilia assumed her ‘boss’ must be located.
The few goons serving as the ‘security’ soon confirmed her thoughts when they intercepted her kidnapper. Aside from expressing their envy over her luck, they didn’t do much else.
Once she had permission to go ahead, the lady quickly dashed into the ‘office’ of the so-called boss, who appeared to be a rather skinny man with more than half his teeth replaced with gold.
The gang leader quickly abandoned his friends and the game of pool as the furious ‘debate’ over her supposed ‘valuation’ ensued in full force.
In fact, the first lowball offer from the gang leader was so low that the lady who brought her in almost couldn’t believe it. “No way, just five hundred? That’s only a little more than the usual!”
The man shrugged. “I’m giving you more than ever before, so what are you complaining about?”
“C’mon boss, be real with me here. How can this big pie from the sky compare to those potatoes? I know for sure she can fetch around ten million, so can’t you pass me two or three?”
The boss scoffed in disdain, making the kidnapper lady’s heart turn cold from disappointment.
Of course, although his disdain was genuine, the reason for it was not because the woman overestimated the kidnapped girl’s value.
Instead, the boss found it hilarious how she tried so hard to negotiate when she didn’t even have any idea just how valuable the thing she was selling really was.
If she did, she would never ask for just two million.
Of course, business was business, and the boss was the type to haggle even with vendors giving out deals at a loss. If he readily accepted the woman’s ‘deal’, wouldn’t it make her even more arrogant and suspicious in the future?
If someone spotted treasure in a broken stall while on their way home, the smart thing to do would be to just remain calm and buy it out as nonchalantly as possible.
The boss had long since learned that, in their field, there were two simple tricks to make their lives many times easier.
First, dazzle the eyes of the clients and make them believe that the deal they were being given was not only the first and only of its kind, but that they were blessed by luck to even have the chance to come across it at all. In fact, it could even be called fate!
So long as they gave up everything that they had, what they would be receiving in return would definitely be worth much more than whatever paltry amount they’d have to cough up.
And second, when talking with subordinates, never let them know what the clients want, who they are, and what they would be handing out as compensation.
Otherwise, maybe the people who finished the job would be far more tempted to directly approach the ’employers’ in the future!
Such a thing may not hurt them in the short term, but no one dared to underestimate its effects a few more months down the line!
Besides, the less commission he had to pay, the more money he made.
Pretending to be cold, the boss snorted. “If you don’t agree with me, you can always take her to someone else.”
The kidnapper lady hurriedly shook her head in denial. “Nonono, boss, you’ve got it wrong! Although I wanted to get a better rate, I didn’t mean anything else—!”
She repeatedly assured the so-called boss that she was fully committed to the gang, and the boss inwardly sneered. ‘Heh, this is why you don’t deserve a single cent more!’
“Did you even think about how much she was actually worth? With that flat chest and lack of training, she won’t even be able to serve as a good-looking and obedient maid!”
The boss sneered and continued to point out other ‘obvious flaws’ in the ‘new product’, and the woman who kidnapped her became less and less confident with every word.
“W-Well y-yeah, she doesn’t look well-behaved or talented, um, but even a monkey can be trained in a few years, right?”
Unfortunately, her negotiation skills were no match for the ‘boss’, and it didn’t take long for her kidnapper to start backing down again and again. In the end, she settled for just ten percent more than the initial offer.
Despite herself, Emilia couldn’t help but be offended.
The kidnapper lady hurriedly put her down on the sofa and bowed to the boss when he started unlocking the safe for money, and happily started counting the bills as soon as she got her hands on them. “One, two, three—!”
Once she had confirmed the amount, the woman seemed to have completely forgotten about her dreams of earning more, and jumped in delight at her ‘jackpot’. “With this, I can finally buy that house over at the capital that mom always wanted! Oh, maybe there will even be enough left over for me to go on a scenic trip to the east!”
She completely failed to notice the faint sneer on the face of the boss as she jumped around, though Emilia could see it clearly.
The man didn’t make any further moves, however, and only waited for her to calm down before nodding. “If that is all, you can—!”
A loud bang interrupted his words abruptly, and the two of them turned to the door in surprise, where one of the goons responsible for guarding the building had just barged in, panting.
“B-Boss! Bad news! Our whole area is being surrounded by people from the Nightingale clan!”
The man’s face turned pale. “W-What?!”
As if afraid that his boss wouldn’t believe it, the reporting goon nodded furiously. “T-There’s over twenty of them, a-and they all seem to be heading over here!”
Hearing his confirmation, the boss collapsed back on his chair with cold sweat covering his back. ‘N-No way, when did I provoke them?!’
Although the Nightingale clan recently had some dispute with the Gray Wolfe, a local rodent like him stood no chance to fight against this poisonous snake at all. The scale at which they operated was completely different!
‘I have to get out of here fast, and—!’
Just when he was thinking about escape, a swift chop to the neck made him black out before he even realized what had happened.
Emilia rushed to the door to drag the reporting goon in, then knocked him out and closed it swiftly in one smooth motion before turning to the completely dumbfounded kidnapper lady with a smile. “Now then, I heard you had some opinions about me?”
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