"I need you to take care of something for me."
The night after watching the mayor's braindance press conference, Karl received a call from Kenichiro.
He really wanted to say, "Seriously, Mr. Kenichiro? After I sent you that joke and you didn't even reply, you open with asking me for a favor? That's just rude." But in the end, Karl held his tongue—Kenichiro probably wouldn't even get the joke.
So instead, after a moment of silence, he replied, "I've actually been pretty busy lately."
"That's not the answer I want to hear."
Kenichiro's tone was flat. By now, he understood Karl's personality well enough. "Whatever it is, I can take care of it for you. Right now."
"What if I said I'm hungry, and I want Mr. Kenichiro to send me some food?"
"Fresh ingredients are already en route. If you'd like, I can also send over a chef."
"Uh…"
Kenichiro had apparently figured out how to handle Karl: take everything he said seriously and respond with absolute formality. Whatever nonsense Karl tossed out, Kenichiro would just make it happen. And that, ironically, was what threw Karl off the most.
And it worked.
One offhanded joke, and suddenly food was on the way? Karl had to suppress the urge to keep throwing out nonsense. Instead, he got serious and asked,
"So… what's the job? Is it urgent?"
"I'll give you two months."
So… not urgent, then.
Karl wasn't too concerned. Two months was more than enough time for most jobs. Best to hear what it actually was.
"Are we supposed to go somewhere? You need us out of town?"
He thought of the NetWatch contract he'd accepted and added, "If it's far, I'm not going."
"It's not far. Still within Night City."
A job within Night City that takes two months?
"So what's the task?"
"You'll need to arrange a meeting with Weldon Holt. And then—"
"Wait—Weldon Holt?"
Karl cut him off, surprised. He'd just seen the deputy mayor in the braindance earlier, and now he was being asked to meet him?
"You're not asking us to assist with the City Council's Pacifica withdrawal plan, are you?"
"So you've already heard about that."
Kenichiro paused briefly, then added, "It's somewhat related."
"Do you want us to handle security? Act as bodyguards? That sounds like something NCPD or even MaxTac could take care of. I don't think you'd need mercs like us."
Karl instinctively assumed Kenichiro wanted them to enforce the Council's announcement—a move bound to upset the remaining residents of Pacifica. But on second thought, Kenichiro wouldn't need him for that.
Unless…
"Wait—you want us to sabotage the plan? Cause chaos and tank the whole thing?"
"None of that."
Kenichiro calmly denied all of Karl's assumptions. His tone was steady, but there was a subtle undercurrent—a probing tone, almost like a teacher testing a student.
"Try using your brain a bit more, Karl. Think about what I actually want you to do."
It was the same thing he used to say when training Chiyome—meant to foster independence and sharpen judgment. Now, unconsciously, he was speaking to Karl the same way—like a mentor guiding a junior.
Karl didn't notice the shift. Instead, he furrowed his brow and began thinking seriously.
If it's not about enforcement, and not about sabotage, then it probably isn't directly tied to the execution of the policy. So why meet with the deputy mayor?
Deputy mayor…
Suddenly, it clicked.
Wait—why the deputy?
Politically, Lucius Rhyne had always been Arasaka's golden boy. He owed his position to their backing and had championed policies like the rebuilding of Arasaka Tower and their return to Night City.
In comparison, Weldon Holt was merely his second-in-command.
As Arasaka's VP in Night City—and the highest-ranking official in all of North America besides the family itself—Kenichiro should be speaking to Rhyne, not Holt. Unless…
Unless Karl's theory after watching the braindance was right.
If even he had noticed how dismissive Rhyne had been toward Hanako Arasaka—and had sensed how the mayor's new policies seemed increasingly favorable to Militech and New America—then Arasaka had definitely picked up on it.
Karl remembered something from an old dog training video:
"If a dog you raised starts behaving differently one day… maybe it's because it's found a new master."
If Arasaka had realized Rhyne was drifting away, then Kenichiro's request made sense.
"To take out the mayor… yeah, that'd require a setup. Two months isn't that much time, but with the deputy mayor's cooperation, it'd go a lot smoother."
On the other end of the line, Kenichiro's lips curled into the faintest smile. He gave a slight, satisfied nod—Karl had picked up on it perfectly.
And then, just as quickly, he realized what he was doing.
He was feeling pleased. With this guy. No—this irritating, cocky bastard. No, that's not right either. This filthy punk who kept flirting with his Chiyome!
Damn it.
He was actually feeling proud of this idiot?
Unacceptable.
Regaining his composure, Kenichiro's face returned to its usual unreadable state. Alone in his office, no one could see the subtle shift in expression—but his voice returned to its usual cold, formal tone.
"Since you understand, figure out how to handle it. Contact Kenichi Kazuya. He'll arrange the meeting."
And with that, he ended the call.
Staring at the screen, Karl blinked.
"Wait… what about my payment?"
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