"Hanging around in this kind of place, you shouldn't be completely ignorant of my identity, right?"
"Mm, this tastes really good. Where did you buy it?"
Picking up the coffee Haramura Makoto had brewed and taking a satisfying sip, Flanda's eyes narrowed into slits with the corners curved upward.
"Mm, I have some guesses."
"You should be from the dark side."
Directly ignoring Flanda's question about the coffee, Haramura Makoto's voice also became somewhat more serious.
Powerless gangs were, after all, originally a manifestation of Academy City's dark side.
As the leader of a gang, Haramura Makoto naturally had more or less understanding of this city's "reality."
After all, what kind of places were within the powerless gangs' spheres of influence?
Ruins, factories, alleys, small roads.
These places were all optimal locations when wanting to do certain things.
"If you're already clear about the results, then what I'm about to say becomes much simpler."
"Because our organization currently needs some peripheral personnel."
"So we need to develop you into our organization's peripheral group."
"Simply put, the result is that you become our errand runners, responsible for handling miscellaneous tasks."
Flanda's body straightened suddenly, and her originally somewhat casual gaze became sharp.
What kind of feeling was it? How to describe it?
Right, it was like being directly locked onto by a sniper aiming at his heart.
"So this is a notification?"
Haramura Makoto's face completely turned cold.
"No choice. Because of our positions, this is indeed a notification."
Flanda gently shook her head, spread her hands, and put on a helpless appearance.
Clink, clink—
The coffee spoon stirred gently in the coffee cup, making collision sounds.
"Then why the sudden change? What circumstances have changed?"
No direct verbal refusal, no direct explosive anger.
The room still echoed with crisp collision sounds, but Haramura Makoto's questioning voice was louder and clearer.
"Well, Freyja is with you after all."
"Because of my work, I can't keep Freyja by my side, since there's a high possibility they would use Freyja to retaliate against me."
"So I normally deliberately maintain distance from you."
"When peripheral organizations were needed for cover before, I also removed you from the list."
Flanda yawned, and her hands also left the table surface, naturally falling to her sides at waist level.
"So even though you were quite suitable, you weren't approached."
"And there aren't many dark side groups qualified to seek peripheral organization assistance—probably just us who needed to look, so you've been relatively peaceful all along."
"But this time is different."
"Because of the unsuccessful mission last time, Mugino is very angry, so our organization needs to supplement peripheral organizations again. Originally we had our eyes on 'Deadlock,' since I heard there were quite a few espers inside, and they should be useful after some training."
"But who knew that the 'Deadlock' gang would suddenly disappear."
"The rest really aren't suitable, so we could only come to you."
She looked at Haramura Makoto, and her originally stern face suddenly pulled into an inexplicable smile.
"Oh right, oh right!"
"The Mugino I mentioned is our leader, Mugino Shizuri."
"Her title in this city is 'Meltdowner'—you—should—have—heard—of—her—right?"
First explaining that the actual situation wasn't her wish, then using the fact that they had helped them before to make him relax his resistance.
Finally bringing out the Level 5 'Meltdowner's' reputation, using such an insurmountable mountain to give him sufficient pressure.
Just a few short sentences, and this girl named Flanda before him had displayed extremely sophisticated negotiation skills.
"Of course I've heard of her—the famous Level 5."
Haramura Makoto's eyelids drooped, his hand movements stopped, and his voice became cold.
"Going against such a figure, we'd probably be wiped out the next day."
Actually, with Haramura Makoto's 'Leo' having developed for so long and only completely occupying one district, this speed was actually slow.
If slightly more aggressive, with Leo's cohesion and combat power, controlling all the powerless gangs in Academy City was actually possible.
But Haramura Makoto had never done this.
He always stayed within his own territory, quietly making a fortune.
The reason was that he was always vigilant—vigilant about Academy City's upper echelons.
He feared that Academy City's upper echelons wouldn't want to see someone who could integrate all powerless gangs appear.
After all, such a person appearing would mean their interests would be divided.
But he hadn't expected that after hiding for so long, the current coercion wasn't for the reason he had anticipated, but for another reason.
"Just agree to it."
"Those previously pulled into the organization all had the leader do the interfacing with us."
"Therefore, in missions, the death rate is quite high, which is why our peripheral organizations change frequently."
"However, because of your relationship with me."
"So we've made adjustments in this regard. You just need to assign your lower-level personnel for our use, normally provide us with reliable intelligence, and handle surveillance work."
Flanda appeared confident, seemingly having great confidence in persuading Haramura Makoto.
"Oh right, becoming our peripheral organization isn't completely without benefits."
"At least in terms of military supplies, you can have more reasonable channels to buy better weapons."
"They're just delinquent boys who can be replaced and supplemented at any time anyway. Even if they die, it won't have any impact on you."
Finally using the method of offering small benefits to destroy the last line of defense in his heart?
Haramura Makoto directly laughed mockingly, his hands naturally falling to his sides like Flanda's.
If it were an ordinary powerless gang leader, he would probably immediately surrender and yield, wagging his tail for mercy and offering his loyalty.
But his two years of accumulation weren't for nothing.
"Sorry, I refuse."
"Are you sure you're refusing?"
It was clear that because of Haramura Makoto's reply, Flanda was indeed stunned for a moment, but at the same time her hands had completely grasped the hem of her skirt on both sides.
"I'm certainly sure. So you've already set things up here?"
"Otherwise you might not be able to leave today. When two sides are at war, the rule of not killing envoys is something I don't understand."
"Ha—"
The atmosphere in the space suddenly changed, and a flash of anger appeared in Flanda's eyes.
"Of course, I'll also be taking Freyja with me."