Extra's Perfect Ending

Chapter 116: Meeting with The snake

Reeva woke up in the hotel, which is the same one he has been living in for a month now. Next to him was Theia sleeping on the sofa like always and Hilda’s room was empty. Likely preparing his breakfast in the hotel kitchen.

Theia often slept on the sofa, she’s been this way since the start. Reeva wants to give her some extra bed, he could easily call for a hotel to add it in but she refuses saying that she doesn’t deserve it.

Reeva wasn’t going to argue that with her, she may be shy but she’s quite stubborn when she wants to be.

He shakes his head trying to get the last sensation he felt from the spirit realms out of his mind. The last thing he saw there was a pile of bones in the hallway. That wasn’t what shook him and vaporized him. It was a flood of visible mystic force. To get them to be visible to the naked eye one had to have so much mystic force that it filled over to the reality.

His mind calmed down after a bit of breathing exercise.

He gets out of bed, readying himself for another day. This day is quite special since they just got back from dealing with Gully, the eastern man. Holen was still helping him investigate but he now refused to go survey the cult with Reeva’s invitation.

Reeva would have to go by himself.

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After hours of work, the morning shift was over. Reeva, Theia, and Hilda decided to go their separate ways. With their daily burger-making done, Reeva felt there was no better time to act than now.

He’d been thinking about hiring more people to work with him, but that was a plan for the future.

At noon, Reeva decided to head over to the Landlong Hotel. This time, he wasn’t there to buy a knife or anything else.

As he walked in, he saw the same receptionist as before. The hotel was as glamorous as ever, shining brightly even in the sunlight. Upon seeing Reeva, the receptionist immediately recognized his face.

"Hello, sir, are you here for another stay at the hotel? We promise you a good time, just like before."

"No, I’m here to meet Mr. Landlong."

"Do you have a reservation, sir?" the receptionist asked, checking the booking log. As far as he knew, there was no one named "Penu" listed today.

"I’m sure Mr. Landlong would like to meet me today. I came here with his special invitation for a special group."

The receptionist hesitated. He hadn’t received any specific instructions about this, but he couldn’t disregard Reeva’s words either, especially since he was a previous customer. Mr. Landlong always valued relationships with his clients, so he decided to confirm.

"Would you like me to call Mr. Landlong?"

"Yes, just tell him that Penu is here for the special group," Reeva replied confidently.

The receptionist had no choice but to head to the staff room and access Landlong’s office. A short while later, he returned, followed by Mr. Landlong. The middle-aged man looked just like the Monopoly mascot, with a cane in one hand and a black hat perched on his head.

"I knew you’d be interested… in selling me that burger recipe," Landlong said with a grin.

"Not that," Reeva refused again. "I’m interested in your special group."

"Pff, worth a shot. Follow me, young Penu."

Reeva followed behind the man as he led him into a room that looked surprisingly clean for a cult member. It resembled Holen’s office, but with more of an oceanic vibe, full of decorations like seashells and nautical charts. The most striking feature was a large fish head mounted above Landlong’s chair. Noticing Reeva’s glance, the man spoke up.

"My fool of a father always told me I’d make a fine sailor once I came of age. One day, we were raided by pirates at sea. My father refused to comply with the pirates, so they hung him from the ship and tossed him into the ocean. To this day, neither I nor the Sun God have ever seen his corpse."

"You resent your father?" Reeva asked, sensing no respect in his tone.

"No, actually," Landlong replied. "I’m glad he died that day because I learned a great lesson. No fool should set sail. That’s what I learned, and I’ve never set sail since—because I was a fool who easily lost his way."

Landlong spoke casually, sitting down at his desk. A moment later, a servant entered with a tray of coffee cups, carefully setting them in front of Reeva, who was settling into a leather chair. She quickly left the room after serving them.

"So, what’s this special group about?" Reeva asked, maintaining the guise of a greedy merchant who had hit it big with a food recipe. "Are you really planning to overthrow the king? And how would I benefit from it?"

"Don’t be so hasty, young man," Landlong replied. "Speed isn’t the only quality of a great merchant; you need the right timing too."

"Like a snake?" Reeva suggested.

"Yes," the middle-aged man chuckled, twirling his mustache. "Like a snake waiting for its prey."

"Am I the prey?" Reeva asked playfully.

"No, young man. You’re going to be a fine little snake."

"So, what’s the deal?"

"You’ll receive the benefits in time, but you have to pass my test first." Landlong pulled a sheet of paper from a stack on his desk, grabbed an ink pen, dipped it in the ink bottle, and carefully wrote something down.

A minute later, he handed the paper to Reeva. The young man took it and looked it over—it was an address for a building in the central district.

"Go there at midnight. Make sure you’re alone; we don’t like unexpected visitors."

"Tonight?"

"Yes, tonight."

"Old man, is this some kind of courage test? I’m not a kid, you know," Reeva replied, a hint of mock annoyance in his voice.