CHAPTER 324: YOU IN?

[

Dante: Hey, guess what?

Finn: What?

Dante: I got you a teacher.

Finn: A what now?

Dante: Meet me at the Triple Jackpot.

]

After leaving Suzuka’s underground hideout, the first thing Dante did was send the boy a message. He then contacted another person, though he was a little reluctant about that one.

After closing the deal with the Suzuka, they decided to leave her first condition for another time. Dante made sure to hammer in the need for speed and managed to convince her to prioritize his commission, which is why she had started working on it right now.

Even then, it was still going to take a month at the earliest to finish just one part of the commission, and that’s if she was able to procure the necessary materials. Suzuka suggested that he get a certain implant in the meantime, since the benefits of creating one from scratch were nonexistent. Dante decided to check with Larry later on, but for the time being, he was going to focus on fulfilling a promise he made a while back.

"Where have you been?"

That was the first question Finn asked when Dante arrived. He seemed pretty upset, for some reason.

"I had a few things to take care of," Dante said. "Hop on."

The Raven was still growling, eager to get back on the streets.

"Hey, at least tell me who he is," Finn said. "Do I know him?"

"You know her, but we aren’t meeting her now."

"At least explain it properly." Sighing, Finn trod over and climbed onto the bike’s back seat. "So, where are we going?"

Handing him a helmet, Dante said with a grin.

"To a strategy meeting."

~[ ]~

Though it was barely ten in the morning, the Golden Hummingbird already had its doors open. Going inside, Dante found the old bartender at his usual spot behind the counter, polishing a glass as if that was the natural state of his existence.

"Welcome, Mr. Dante, Mr. Ward."

"Hey, Thomas. Been a while." Dante said. "How have you been?"

"I’m as well as I can be. Your guest has yet to arrive. Would you like something to drink as you wait?"

"I’ll take some water." Turning to the boy following him, Dante asked. "What about you?"

"You got any cola?" Finn asked the bartender.

"Of course we do," Thomas replied.

Just then, all three heard the sound of an engine outside.

"Ah..."

Dante turned to face the door, already aware of what was about to happen. He wished it were just his imagination, but then the door slammed open, and a purple-haired woman burst in. Her eyes darted around the bar before locking onto Dante, and the next instant, she kicked the ground and lunged at him.

"DANTEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Though his instincts told him to step aside and dodge, Dante just sighed and resigned himself to his fate. When she slammed against him, they ended up losing balance, and he fell on his back. What followed was some rather intense kissing, so intense that Thomas felt the need to cover Finn’s eyes.

"Ms. Rose, please refrain from such acts." He said. "You are technically still in public."

Of course, the purple-haired woman ignored those words, so it was up to Dante to stop her. Unfortunately for him, she was physically stronger, and she wasn’t about to let him push her away. What saved him was the knowledge that she had a very sensitive waist, so when he poked it from both sides, she suddenly jolted up.

"Nooooooo! Why did you do tha~~~~~t!!?"

"Just get off me already." Dante tried to push himself up, but a hand pressed him back to the floor.

"Not yet." Rose replied, licking her lips.

Sensing his entire body shudder, Dante almost asked for one of his armors, but he caught himself before that.

’Volcan, flash bang!’

An instant later, Rose squeezed her eyes shut, her eyes shooting up to her face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

As she screamed, Dante used that chance to free himself. He reached behind him while opening his Storage, taking out an item he once got on a whim. Approaching the writhing Rose, he grabbed her left arm and struck her wrist with the item. Hearing the click, her entire body froze.

"Um... Dante, what are you doing?" She said. "W-what’s going on here?"

"Just sit still for a moment." Before she could muster the strength for resistance, Dante grabbed her other arm and forced it behind her back.

Another click followed, and Dante finally backed away. Handcuffs were a convenient item to have around, but Dante didn’t imagine this would be how he would use them for the first time. After all, the ones he got were supposedly capable of restraining Level 2 Cyborgs.

"Wai- Dante! Why did... hey! Release me!" Just when they thought she had learned her lesson, Rose shocked them with another line. "I-I-I really don’t like BDSM! We can try other things but-"

Dante could only shake his head.

"D-D-Dante! W-w-what’s going on here!" Finn was trembling, his face having lost all color. "W-w-why is she h-here?"

"Ah." Halting her rambling, Rose turned her head in his direction, her eyes still closed. "Finn!!? Is that you!!? Are you here as well!!?"

The boy shuddered at the mention of his name, and Dante could only facepalm himself.

"Maybe I should have talked to her first."

As it turned out, sending a message that said there was something he wanted to discuss with her was far too vague. Not that adding more details would have helped.

Sighing, Dante crouched before the wriggling woman then reached out and flicked her forehead.

"Ouch!!!"

"Can you cut it out already?" He said. "We have something serious to discuss."

"Something serious?" She asked. "So it’s not a date?"

"Where the hell did you get the idea?"

Dante didn’t get a hangover despite all the drinking he did the previous night, but exchanging just a few words with the purple-haired woman was enough to give him a headache. Massaging his temples, he gritted his teeth as he thought. Giving up, he went ahead and brought up the topic of their meeting.

"We’re taking down the Daggers." He said. "You in?"