Note: Hi, just a quick notice, the guy with The Dark Sonata (Blackjamin) was renamed as Claude; I just wanted to make that clear ;)
Happy reading!
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"Mr. Ron?"
"It's me."
"I'm Lawrence, one of the Twelve Red Cardinals of Begrossé. I want to discuss a cooperation with you."
"What kind of cooperation?"
"Help me eliminate the Murderous Spirits, and I can give you the Dark Sonata."
Ron's brow rose slightly. "I'll need information on the Spirits, and we should be clear about the exact terms in advance."
"Would you be able to come to the church now?"
"I can."
After giving Nina and the others a brief explanation, Ron followed a member of the clergy toward the church.
Before long, they arrived. A figure was waiting inside, as if he had been there for some time—it was Lawrence. The moment Ron stepped in, Lawrence immediately turned to look at him.
"Ron?"
"Senior Lawrence?" Ron addressed him politely after gauging his age.
"The situation is urgent, so I'll skip any unnecessary words and go straight to the point," Lawrence said. "For certain reasons, I cannot leave the church, and the number of Spirits is high. The clergy inside are somewhat lacking in numbers. I want you to help us eliminate several of them. Each Spirits is roughly equivalent to an A-rank Nen user, but they are much harder to kill, with strange forms of existence and one or two highly specialized abilities. As long as you can kill ten Spirits within ten days, I will give you the Dark Sonata."
Ron frowned. "Ten? That's a bit excessive. The Dark Sonata may be rare, but there are four copies in total, and Begrossé only possesses one of them."
Ten was too many. If they were just ordinary A-rank Nen users, it would be nothing more than a matter of spending more time. But these were Spirits made from a power he did not understand. Ron had never fought such entities before and had no idea what would happen once they clashed.
Without Sumas and Rosgell, he would not even consider engaging them. With them, he had some confidence, but ten was still far too many. If one of them had strength on par with Oster, taking the job would be a losing deal.
Even if Ron wanted the Dark Sonata, he would not be pressured into such an unbalanced agreement. "Senior Lawrence, there's no need for meaningless testing. You should already know the Zoldyck family's way of doing business—we don't take deals that aren't worth it. The terms you've given are clearly not worth it. I'll be direct: I can help you eliminate five Spirits. Any more, and I won't accept. That is my final condition."
"I saw some things when the Spirits were killing," Ron added.
Lawrence's eyes flickered. "You don't want the Dark Sonata?"
"I do want it, but business is business, and business rules cannot be broken."
"Even if that means missing the Dark Sonata entirely, you don't care?"
"It's fine," Ron said. "And besides, I might not miss it completely."
"What do you mean?" Lawrence frowned slightly.
"I actually know which Cardinal holds the Dark Sonata, and I know the city. I just wanted to obtain it through formal channels. That doesn't mean I can't use informal ones."
Lawrence's frown deepened, but he stayed silent, waiting for Ron to continue.
"The Spirits incident has spread across the entire country of Begrossé, hasn't it? The Archbishop mentioned the Dark Sonata to me before, but he refused. At that time, you probably didn't think these Murderous Spirits were that serious. Now you've come to me, which likely means things have gone differently than expected, and you need my strength. If I go to the city where that Cardinal lives and take advantage of the chaos caused by Begrossé itself, I could infiltrate his residence and obtain the Dark Sonata. That's also a way."
Lawrence's expression darkened. "You're not afraid of offending Begrossé? Even if you're a member of the Zoldyck family, you're still only an assassin family. You can't compare to a colossus like us. Aren't you afraid of our retaliation?"
"Of course that's a possibility," Ron said, "but I could avoid taking action myself. I could easily commission someone else, like the Phantom Troupe—professional thieves. Give them a massive reward, and they could steal the Dark Sonata for me. If Begrossé still retaliated against the Zoldycks after that, it would be unreasonable.
While Begrossé might not fear the Zoldyck family as a whole, individuals like you, Senior Lawrence—how much could you endure? How much are they willing to waste state resources on a lone individual? And how would the other members of the V5 see it when they understand the investment in keeping people like you alive would not be worth it?"
Since Lawrence had made an excessive demand, Ron did not mind countering with a threat. Tearing the relationship apart was the worst outcome, but if Lawrence could negotiate fairly, Ron would not push that far.
"Senior Lawrence, think it over carefully."
Lawrence stared at Ron for a long moment before agreeing. "Fine, I can accept. But I have one more condition."
"What condition?"
"I need you to kill two Spirits here in this city, and then go to another city to take out the remaining three."
"That's fine, as long as the number is correct."
"Good. I'll speak with Claude."
Lawrence left for the adjoining room and returned a short while later. "It's settled. Claude has agreed. When can you start?"
"I'll need information."
Lawrence gestured, and someone stepped forward carrying an open laptop. The screen displayed a list.
"These are the Spirits that have appeared in this city. There are no names, only codenames. Some ability information is included, but it may not be completely accurate."