W-What was going on here?"That's enough. Stop!"Frank waved his hand, splitting up all four of them.Hana got up too, holding back her restless goons and smiling. "Apologies, Mr. Frankton. Like you, I'm just testing your ladies—I'm sure you'd understand."Frank snapped coolly, "I'm afraid I won't unless you explain why you're here!"Hana smiled and nodded. "Thank goodness you're reasonable. I'm sure I'd be dead if it's anyone else. It's rare for a person to be both humble and moral, and it's my fortune to meet you."Then, glancing at the deck of cards, she suggested, "But mere words are pointless. Why don't we gamble?""And what do you have to offer Mr. Frankton?" Jada snapped in annoyance."This!" Hana presented a ring.Everyone laughed—the ring was made from stainless steel! Even the metallic scrapings of the golden hand-grips overhead would be worth more!However, just as everyone thought Frank would refuse, he suddenly said, "I'll take your bet!"Unbeknownst to them, th
Frank actually did not want Jada to get involved so that he could beat Hana with no uncertainty. However, seeing how rude she was, she decided to let Jada discipline the haughty brat.Hana shrugged. "Can't argue since Mr. Frankton has spoken. Take a seat, Ms. Turin!"Jada sat and held out a palm, but Demi had no idea what that gesture meant. "What do I do?" she asked softly—she might sing in a nightclub, but she was also the typical demure girl next door who would not know stuff like that.Still, she quickly dealt the cards to Jada and Hana after Jada taught her.However, Hana was resting her chin on her hand without checking her cards, only smirking at Frank.Frank was staring at her in turn—only the two of them were aware what divine conspiracy transpired!He had no idea what Hana was doing, but she could alter the cards at will!And after she altered her hand, Frank would alter again, and so on, and so forth.Eventually, Frank lost patience first. Unable to tell what trick
On the other hand, Moxxi was not surprised as Jada was. "I didn't think that a big shot like you would show up here."Having worked on Wall Street albeit not owning anything, she still could say she had been there and done it.Colossus? That was just the bare minimum, and it was up to her to decide if Hana was the real deal!"Do you know about Jade Cauldron School?" Frank asked, more concerned about Hal.Hana nodded. "One of us used to work there, but it's just a front for con men. It's really a far cry from Zephyr Hall.""And who is that person?""Hal Prana. In fact, he's dead, and we're here to investigate why." Hana sighed. "I guess the helicopter breaking down was no accident either—someone doesn't want us to pry."Jada and Moxxi shared a smile, while Frank nodded. "Would you believe me if I told you that the people behind Hal's death didn't sabotage your ride?"Hana smiled and nodded without hesitation. "Of course! Shifting suspicion is one of the oldest tricks in the book
Frank naturally had the general gist.Hal was a part of the dissenters, and since he died out of the blue, the rest of his faction believed that Hana's faction was responsible.However, Hana was effectively the supreme commander and was able to keep them in line. If anything, she should be ignoring the issue entirely, but allowing the issue to fester would affect Zephyr Hall, which was why they came to find out who had the balls.Rubbing his chin, Frank then said, "I'm basically innocent of any of that. If anything, I'm obviously being used… Since you're determined to get to the bottom of this, I guess I should act too."Beckoning at Jada, he told her as Hana watched, "Find out who found that tomb first."Jada nodded. "Don't worry, I'll make the arrangements right away."Hana was left smiling in wry amusement. "I'm not doubting you, Mr. Frankton. And aren't you on a trip? You should be properly enjoying yourself, so why get involved?"Moxxi smirked. "Do you think he's as carefre
Before Frank could say a word, Hana spoke. "That's unnecessary, Ms. Turin. I trust Mystic Sky Guild and Mr. Frankton's character. You can handle the investigation on your end while I take this perfect opportunity to relax.""What's that supposed to mean?" Jada asked, confused since she did not hear the earlier discussion."What else could I mean?" Hana asked sarcastically. "I'm joining the trip?""You?!" Jada promptly turned toward Frank, only to see him nod in agreement!"Come on, Mr. Frankton!" She groaned. "We just met her—won't we get into trouble by bringing her along?"Frank smiled but said nothing, while Jada sighed in exasperation and strode up. "If you do anything remotely funny—""You'd kill me, right?" Hana asked, cutting her short. "Really, birds of a feathers flock together. Even your lines are the same!"Nearby, Moxxi pursed her lips but said nothing.-Soon, the bus stopped at the foot of Mount Statera. As it was peak season and peak hours, the mountain was cr
The dame was clearly not to be messed with. "Sure, let's go! What, are you scared?"Even as the atmosphere tensed, an Audi A6 stopped outside.A young man in a suit alighted, followed by a tall, slender pretty face with short hair and thick makeup."Hello, I believe we chatted online and agreed to my booking," the youth said. "Who's the landlady here?"The dame ran up to him. "That would be me! Hurry on inside! Apologies for the mess, but these people are trying to steal your reservation, but I managed to fend them off.""For real!?" the young man growled coolly."For real!" the dame quickly said. "But don't worry—it's just a freakout. People like us working in the service industry have plenty of experience with that. How else would we make a living, y'know?"The young man was clearly a fair person and was infuriated by the dame's goading.Wheeling on Frank's group, he snapped, "Why don't you try another place if you can't get a booking? Why do you have to take it out on her?"
Toto sighed in exasperation and gestured at the dame's cottage with his chin. "It's that bitch fault. Our cottage offers the best facilities and services in this street, but that bitch conspired with her thugs to flood our ads with poor reviews. The booking site noticed and blocked us, so we're appealing—and now we have to wait over a month!"While he was calm before, Toto was gritting his teeth in her spite as if he could skin the dame."No way!" Jada exclaimed nonetheless. "There are plenty of people around here—there must be someone who couldn't get lodgings and end up here!"Toto sighed. "Don't even get me started. Would anyone think that there's places available with so many people everywhere? Heck, even if I tried to shout out to them, that bitch would just slander me every time she saw that I'm getting someone. If they ignore her, she would just start a fight. At that point, who would even stay with us?"Jada's interest was piqued at that point.On one hand, they had no oth
Frank chuckled. "Just wait and see."Jada sighed in relief, while the dame soon returned.Jada swiped her card on the dame's card machine, and seeing a hundred grand on screen, the dame exclaimed in joy. "A moment please! I'll get that couple to leave right now!"After she left, Toto approached Jada, saying, "Ma'am, I'm not trying to badmouth that bitch, but she's really disgusting. You'd have to watch your back.""No, you misunderstand," Jada quickly said, "We're just messing with her—don't worry, we're staying with you!"While Toto was left utterly confused, they heard the young man in a suit yelling from the opposite cottage, "You greedy hag! Fifty grand?! Why don't you just rob a bank?!"'"Oh, just admit you can't afford it! Quit pretending like you're rich if you're not!" the dame retorted, not at all embarrassed by her own actions."I don't care about money! I care about principles!" the young man snapped. "We agreed to eight grand per day, and you're raising the price on