On the cloudy morning of the next day after the invitation letter from Mei Mei reached Kars's hand, Kars, in his infamous human-powered carriage, arrived in front of a gothic-style three-story mansion that was surrounded by a metal fence decorated with vines and blue flowers within the inner district of Jinkai City, where Mei Mei Silverveil's private residence was located, as the emblem of a silver bird head with a coin in its beak could be seen on the gate of the mansion, indicating that Kars had come to the right place.
Under the cautious gaze of the guards dressed in white uniforms with swords strapped to their belts around the mansion's perimeter, Kars, in his signature outfit, opens the door and steps out of his carriage as he glances around with mild curiosity, taking in the sights of his surroundings that are totally different from the city's outer district and the slum he used to see, as everything around here just looks so clean and extravagant, making him want to turn his miserable slum into something like this as well.
After looking around briefly, Kars then walks to the front of the mansion gate while the ten men, who are pulling his carriage, take off their harnesses and walk off to find a place to rest not far from the carriage behind him.
Seeing Kars approach, the two gatekeepers of the mansion immediately open the gate for him without any question since they have already been instructed to do so by their employer to avoid an unpleasant situation.
As Kars walked past the open gate and the gatekeepers, something caught his eye as he glanced at the courtyard on the side of the mansion and saw a single tall tree with white bark, red leaves, and a dozen birdhouses for a dozen black birds that are currently perching on the tree's expansive branches.
"Weird birds..." Kars murmurs, feeling like the birds are watching him too intensely for some reason, but he decides to just ignore them and continue walking.
"Good morning, Sir Kars. I'm young Lady Mei Mei's loyal servant Noburo." When Kars reached the entrance of the mansion, there was an aged butler with neatly combed short grey hair and a groomed mustache in a neat black suit who gave him a respectful bow as he introduced himself. The old man gives off an impression that he might have been a butler for half a century, making Kars wonder if he should get one for his mansion as well.
"Ah, I was invited by her, so she must be expecting me." Kars replies with a nod at the butler as he steps to the entrance of the mansion while the butler reaches for the doorknob of the double door behind him and opens the door for Kars in a practiced manner.
"Indeed, the young lady is currently waiting for you in her study. Please follow me, sir, as I will guide you to her." The butler said while he led Kars inside the mansion.
÷×÷×÷×÷×÷
When Kars enters the quite spacious study room with many expensive-looking decorations hanging on the wall, he can see that there is a woman already waiting for him inside on a couch in the middle of the room with a teacup on top of a small table in front of her.
"Welcome to my humble abode, Mr. Kars." A beautiful young woman in her late teens with long silvery white hair in a ponytail and calm dark purple eyes in a black dress with a white tie turns her head to greet him with a smile on her cherry-red lips. "I'm quite glad that you decided to accept my invitation and pay me a visit."
"Well, you definitely got my attention with the mention of helping me get more people and rare items." Kars smirks slightly as he walks inside the room while the butler closes the door behind him, leaving both of them alone in the room.
"And you also mentioned a business cooperation of some sort?" He inquires as he sits down on another couch in front of a young woman who definitely is Mei Mei Silverveil without even waiting for her permission or invitation like a slum boss that he is.
"Yes, the business cooperation that I propose to you..." Mei Mei doesn't mind Kars's brazen behavior as she watches the infamous boss of the slum getting comfortable on her luxurious couch without any emotion showing on her face. "I assume that you are willing to consider it since you are here?"
"That depends on what you want from me exactly, though." Kars hummed and pulled out the letter from his jacket pocket before he placed it on the small table between them. The content of the letter is basically a polite greeting to Sophia and a request for a meeting with Kars with the mention of possibly helping extend his business reach to the other city, and it didn't mention what exactly she needed from him in return.
"I like to know what you really want to do by involving me in your business since you must know that my way of doing things is not very... conventionally profitable." Kars said as he looked at Mei Mei's purple eyes with a serious expression, since what she wants shouldn't be such a simple thing, like a business partner.
"Conventional profit is great, and gold is simply supreme, yes," Mei Mei hummed with a sagely nod as she spoke, and then the calm in her dark purple eyes suddenly changed into a raw, biblical level of greed, and she didn't even try to hide her desire as she locked her gaze with Kars intensely. "But what I do want from you is exactly that, an unconventional profit... and you, Mr. Kars, are the perfect business partner for that."
"Right..." Kars feels a bit disturbed by the raw greed in Mei Mei's eyes that seem to be molesting him at this moment, but his lips still curl into a smirk regardless. "So... what do you really mean by that?"
"Oh, my apologies; it looks like I've gotten ahead of myself. What I meant is that you can give me many things that I want, Mr. Kars..." Mei Mei then suddenly changed back to her calm self as she laughed softly like a prim and proper lady despite just expressing her true nature to Kars in full display as she leaned back on the couch, her calm, dark purple eyes now concealing her biblical level of greed behind them once again.
"First, I want this entire city economy to be in my hand, in my control, mine, alone." Mei Mei then revealed her ambition with a wishful expression, her fingers tracing the rim of a teacup that had gone cold, as she hadn't touched it once since Kars entered.
"I can do such a thing alone, eventually after a long time, yes, but that is too slow and too risky for my health, so I need an ally, a reliable partner, especially one whose interest doesn't overlap with mine, and he must also be very capable when blood has to be spilled..." She said as she gave Kars a look that clearly told him he is the one she is talking about.
"I see..." Kars hummed as he leaned back against the couch, his right arm placed on top of the backrest as he studied Mei Mei's beautiful face, which looked like a baby with her first taste of ice cream when she spoke of economic domination. Kars now realized that he is currently speaking with a fellow maniac that is capable of committing unethical things for her goal, just like he is.
"Capable when blood has to be spilled, huh?" Kars repeated Mei Mei's words, appreciating how straightforward she was with him, which is likely the result of an investigation of his personality she conducted on him beforehand. "You've done your research well, but you must know that alliances aren't built on just flattery or sincere words alone. What exactly can you bring to my table, Mei Mei Silverveil?"
"Anything, Mr. Kars, anything you want, as long as gold continues to flow in my vault, I can give you anything you desire." Mei Mei's reply was instant, with no hesitation as her dark purple eyes narrowed, her fingers clasping together on her thighs. "I have connections in every major city, every major black market. Need exotic slaves? Rare alchemical components? Forgotten magic tome? All accessible... for the right price, of course."
"Heh, then quite a small offer compared to what I can provide, don't you think?" Kars' smirk deepened as he shook his head in disappointment. "What you're offering is just playing middleman with other people's goods; many others also can provide me such service, and you don't strike me as the type to stick around all the way. So why should I trust you won't vanish when things get messy, huh?"
"Because... how could I abandon what I want when you, Mr. Kars, are the person I desire the most?" Mei Mei's voice suddenly turns seductive, just like her demeanor, as she crosses her legs over each other and turns her body sideways with her skirt hiking up, revealing a flash of her glossy pantyhose-clad leg, soft-looking thigh, and her shapely curves to the man in front of her.
"You want me...?" After hearing Mei Mei's unexpected confession, Kars arched an eyebrow in doubt, but his lewd amber eyes didn't miss the chance to trace her curves and her exposed thigh. "Now that's quite a bold claim from someone I just met..."
"Hehe..." Mei Mei can't help but giggle as she hides the smile on her lips with the back of her hand while her gaze narrows with amusement as she watches Kars process her words in bewilderment but still leers at her body with his eyes regardless.
"..." And as the silence stretched between them just long enough to be uncomfortable, Mei Mei's lips curled into a mischievous smirk, ready to clarify what she meant earlier.
"What I meant is not romantically, of course. Though I won't say no if that's where your mind wanders..." She said with a little teasing smile and uncrossed her legs deliberately and slowly, the whisper of fabric and the small glimpse of what was under her skirt drawing Kars's attention before she continued in a whisper. "I'm quite certain that Sophia wouldn't mind if I asked her nicely to be with her fated one as well..."
"You're playing with fire..." Kars chuckled, his gaze lingering on the smooth curve of Mei Mei's thigh before he finally moved his gaze back up to her smiling face.
"And Sophia definitely would mind since she is more possessive than she lets on because I'm probably the only one who gives a damn about her in this world, but let's not pretend this is about romance..." Kars smirked before he pointed out what Mei Mei really wanted from him. "You just want me as a weapon, aren't you?"
"Indeed," Mei Mei simply admitted with a nod, like it was not a bad thing to admit out loud while her fingers adjusted her skirt, covering up her leg much to Kars's disappointment.
"A weapon, a shield, a powerful card that can break obstacles that even gold cannot. But more than that..." She tilted her head slightly, her dark purple eyes looking at him knowingly. She knew that he was the same, a kindred spirit of "passion" just like her. "You're a man who enjoys breaking obstacles and looting all that's left afterward, aren't you?"
"Haha, you're not exactly wrong," he admitted easily with a laugh. "But my enjoyment doesn't always bring me power and influence as much as I want, just corpses and infamy that seem to be piling up very fast..."
"And that, Mr. Kars, is where we complement each other perfectly since my path of economic domination will have many obstacles for you to destroy and loot to your heart's content..." Mei Mei leaned forward, her expression serene, but her eyes were shining with ambition.
"And in return?" Kars leaned forward now too, his elbows resting on his knees as he mirrored Mei Mei's enthusiasm. The air between them is filled with the unspoken understanding of two predators trying to coexist.
"In return, you will get unlimited access to my ever-expanding networks of information and influence; I'll also help you take care of anything you require..." Mei Mei said while she locks eyes with Kars as she talks about the benefits to convince him to team up with her. "Administration, logistics, and intelligence. All of them streamlined for you. No more doing every little thing yourself when a land or a building could be yours with just a single signature and information delivery to your desk with only a word..."
"So you'll handle the tedious shit while I crack the skulls of your enemies and take what I want from them. Sounds like a marriage of convenience, does it?" Kars hummed in amusement as he still stared into Mei Mei's eyes. To Kars, Mei Mei's proposal is very bold and reckless since it requires full trust and commitment from both strangers for it to actually work.
"I suppose you could call it that," Mei Mei murmured with a small smirk as she studied Kars' reaction. "Though I'd prefer 'strategic partnership' instead since it sounds less... temporary."
"Strategic partnership..." Kars snorts at that, as Mei Mei is really a merchant at heart, just like Sophia said.
"Well, tell me, Mei Mei, how 'strategic' are we talking about here?" He couldn't help but tease as his gaze roamed around her body, but Mei Mei didn't even flinch at the lewd implication. Instead, she seemed to enjoy the teasing and flirting they did with each other.
"Would you like to be strategic enough to ensure mutual satisfaction, Mr. Kars?" she purred, teasing him back with her dark purple eyes narrowing like a fox as she traced her cherry-red lips in a provocative manner at Kars.
"But... let's not get ahead of ourselves when nothing is signed yet." Then Mei Mei said with a giggle, trying to steer the conversation back to the partnership.
"Heh, sure..." Kars chuckled before he leaned in even closer to her over the table, his smirk widening even more as he saw that Mei Mei didn't retreat. Her dark purple eyes remained locked onto his, and her lips smiled with amusement.
"Alright, Mei Mei Silverveil, I accept your proposal." Kars declared as he took a whiff of her perfume, something soft and floral with a milky edge underneath, before he leaned back on the couch.
"Excellent choice. I know you would see the benefit of our cooperation." Mei Mei smiles wide as she claps her hands together once. "Then I suppose you wouldn't mind sealing this partnership immediately?"
"Heh, how eager are you?" Kars can't help but shake his head as he sees Mei Mei magically pull out a stack of paper from somewhere for him to sign...