Lyon POV:

Marina and I sat alone in the guest room as Lissandra headed back upstairs since her break was over.

“Marina, what’s wrong?”

I placed my hand on Marina's shoulder, trying to break the ice between us. She smacked it away and stared at me.

“The other me may be head over heels for you, but I’m not so easy.”

“...That wasn’t my intention, and I don’t think Marina is an easy girl anyway.”

“Tch. What would you know? You spend most of your time here now. You barely even visit us.”

She clicked her tongue and got up from her seat. Marina usually wore dresses, but this side of her wore skin-tight clothing. Her already curvy body was further accentuated beyond imagination, and her bust clearly stood out.

I looked away slightly embarrassed, as Nia's figure flashed through my mind.

‘Why does she have to dress like that...?’

I sighed inwardly as I noticed Marina was chewing gum.

“So... Marina what did you want to talk about?”

“Hmm, I wonder? All of a sudden I don’t feel like talking to you anymore.”

She spat the chewing gum out into the bin and headed towards the door. I could never get used to the drastic shift in her personality; it honestly always left me somewhat speechless. Still, I had to try.

“I'm sorry for not going to Comfort as much as I should, but now things are stable here; I’ll have more time to spend with you all.”

Her feet stopped, and she put her hands inside her tight hoodie.

“...You mean it?”

“I promise.”

I had dealt with this side of Marina quite a few times. Whenever I said those words to her, she'd always double back on herself—almost like she felt relieved or satisfied about something.

“Tch. Fine.”

She sat down beside me again, and silence descended in the room. I suddenly felt a little nervous as I thought about what I should say next.

“...I’ve seen the effect you’ve had on District 4. It’s incredible. The people smile more, go out more and the crime rate has dropped significantly. You did this.”

I smiled at her words. I was happy, very happy that things had worked out this way. The community was coming together more and more, day by day, and the results were amazing. But there was one thing I had to correct.

“No... We did this.”

“Still as humble as the first day I met you.”

It's not like I was trying to be humble—I was just telling her what I really thought. We both went silent, and I twiddled my thumbs while waiting for Marina to speak again.

“You’re not dating Jasmine, right?”

“Oh... Ah... No...”

“I don’t like the way you answered that. It’s a simple question. You’re either with her or not, right?”

I could hear the anger creeping into her voice. She had asked me this question multiple times, and I always told her the same answer, but she never seemed satisfied with it. I let out a sigh and stood up.

“Marina, I’m not dating Jasmine. You know why I’m here.”

She glared at me before clicking her tongue and looking away. Sometimes these mood swings of hers were just a little, a little unreasonable.

“Uh... Marina is this what you wanted to talk about?”

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“Is it a crime to want to spend time alone with you?”

She seemed to have a witty response for most of the things I said, but I could see it in her eyes that she was sad. Marina got up and avoided eye contact with me.

Not knowing what else to do, I pulled her into a deep hug. She didn’t push me away, instead, she wrapped her arms around me. I heard her sniffling a few times as she buried her head into my shoulder.

“I’m sorry...”

“...Whatever.”

We stayed like this for a while as I gently stroked her back. Marina let go, and we looked into each other’s eyes. Her long eyelashes highlighted her baby-blue eyes. She had lips that were slightly plump and a small nose.

My heartbeat quickened, and I quickly stepped back. I looked away as I felt the blood rush to my cheeks slightly.

“What’s wrong? I thought we were having a moment.”

She cocked her head to the side and looked at me with inquisitive eyes. I couldn’t deal with this right now. It was at that moment that I realized there were far too many beautiful women around me.

‘...I should be fine...’

It would be alright as long as I didn’t dwell on it.

“Marina, let’s talk again later. Next time, I’ll visit you. You won’t have to wait long.”

“Tch. Fine. I’m going now.”

She spun around and left me alone in the room. I let out a deep sigh while I sat against the wall on the floor.

“Hmm. That’s pretty rough, Leader.”

I turned my head to see Lissandra crouched down next to me. I sighed inwardly again and figured that she had heard everything that was said.

“Do I have a chance too?”

She giggled to herself as I rolled my eyes.

***

I leaned forward in the chair as Brunaulf approached me.

“How are things going?”

He furrowed his eyebrows slightly and took out a few sheets of paper. I had given him an office on the 5th floor, and he had personally picked out the necessary helpers to aid him.

It wasn’t a surprise to me that Brunaulf was capable with administration and management as well as other things—he was Copycat's disciple after all.

“By the end of this month, the drug distribution will only be pushing out 5% of its total capacity. Though I know you despise the idea, we need to get rid of the ridiculous stock we have, so I’ve contacted Inner Astril.”

I raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Ridiculous stock?”

“Yes. I took inventory of everything within the Organization’s possession and found a huge backlog of undistributed drugs.”

“...”

I interlocked my fingers as I listened carefully. A huge backlog that the Ex-District Leader had failed to mention meant it was most likely Copycats doing.

He had actually been pushing out less of the required amount monthly, yet revenue from this area didn’t decrease. I wasn’t sure whether I should consider this a good or bad thing.

Secondly, Brunaulf had made contact with people in Inner Astril in order to get rid of our stock. There was always the option of dumping it somewhere, but that would be unwise. Though I really disliked the idea, Brunaulf's decision was probably for the best in this case.

“The prostitutes in District 4 have all found other areas of work. Many have been supporting our base and helping to expand the building complex while simultaneously raising the living standards.”

“Then there are more skilled workers among them like Frida...”

“That is correct. A lot of them were forced into the prostitution ring against their will through a plethora of different methods.”

I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. I couldn’t just blame it all on Copycat when there was someone else running the show from above.

“How do we keep the economy afloat once all of our stock is gone?”

“Inner Astril gives each District an allowance, through a middleman, that is sifted all the way down to the regular civilian. Since you run this District, you’re essentially the government here.

Buying, trading, and selling—these are all done between the Districts and, by extension, other regions of Outer Astril. As I’m sure you’re aware, it is not uncommon to sell directly to Inner Astril, especially with goods like Ki Artifacts or precious metals like Silin.”

‘...Right.’

I didn’t really understand everything he was talking about, but in short, money would still be coming in and be circulated throughout the district. That was the most important thing.

I gazed at Brunaulf, who had really got his act together. He no longer wore a mask, revealing his youthful face that was riddled with guilt. He wore glasses only when carrying out administrative work, which he did so tirelessly—he was like a different person.

It was more accurate to say that this was what Brunaulf would have been like if he wasn’t swept away on the wrong path for so many years.

“Any word from the Ex-District Leader?”

“Skorr is currently working on a plan. He hasn’t made a move yet, but he did deliver some interesting news.”

“Really?”

“Yes. The Ruler of the South has been actively making moves in District 3.”

‘!’

This was indeed interesting news. I pondered over what could have caused this change. I was glad that the Ruler hadn’t set his sights on District 2 instead.

I listened to Brunaulf continue his detailed report about the state of District 4, and once he had finished updating me on everything that was going on, I decided to ask him how the search was going.

“Your sister... Have you found her yet?”

His eyebrows quivered, and he looked disappointed.

“No... It might be too late. Most of the buyers in Inner Astril are violent and unforgiving. I hate myself for selling my own family to them. How low did I fall?...”

I watched his hands tremble as he held the pieces of paper tightly. For every decision made, there was an outcome, and Brunaulf was paying his dues for his evil choice.

‘Still... Where there is life, there is hope.’

“Keep looking. Our position will become stronger soon, so we’ll be able to be more bold when dealing with Inner Astril.”

“Yes... Thank you...”

He bowed his head and excused himself from the room. I gathered he’d need some time alone. I knew what it was like to lose family, but Brunaulf's situation was different.