Chapter 25: Leila
"What do you call these again?" Manager Drex held up a bottle that contained an unknown, gluey liquid inside while observing it closely.
"We've already told you. That's a knockoff version of the famous Health Potion from the Sylvaris Kingdom?" Lawrence repeated what they just said.
"How about we just test it and let me see with his own eyes," Kael proposed.
"And I'm telling you, no!" Lawrence forbade Kael from repeating what he had just done to him last time. The potion might have cured the wound, but he's still feeling the pain in his shoulder. It's called a knockoff Health Potion for a reason.
"I'll volunteer this time," Jayem didn't mind volunteering. He already witnessed the potion's effect.
"Just sit on the corner and close your mouth like you always do, Jayem!" Lawrence forbade Jayem as well.
"Shouldn't I have something to say here?" Manager Drex was feeling the tension in the atmosphere.
"You can, but I'm telling you, this is legit!" Lawrence tried to appeal again.
"I know you three haven't sold me any fake goods ever since the day you first came here, but this," Manager Drex looked at the bottle for one last time before putting it down on the table. "Even if I say we will buy it, I'll still have to send this to the relevant department to test its effect first before I can give you a fair price."
"You can go ahead and do that, and we will just wait right here," Lawrence said, crossing his arms.
"Kael?" Manager Drex looks at Kael since he's aware that the latter is the leader of this group.
"I'm leaving him in charge of this product," Kael expressed his helplessness.
Before they came here, Lawrence specifically requested that he be allowed to handle this product from now on and in the future.
As much as he wants to, he thought to himself that if everything goes well today, then he won't have the time to take care of this kind of matter every time someone orders the product because he'd be busy taking care of the supply.
After all, the process of making the potion doesn't only involve the concocting part. It also involved securing a stable supply of the ingredients and containers while at the same time making sure no one would be able to find out its recipe, the tools and gears to enable mass production, and lastly, to oversee the entire process and ensure its consistency.
Until he can make sure that the production of the knockoff Health Potion is stable and he doesn't need to supervise it closely anymore, only then can he start doing other matters, like proceeding with the next step of his plan.
That's why, in the meantime, he needs somebody he trusts to handle every single transaction for him.
Lawrence fit that description quite well because he's fairly well-known for that kind of matter. While he is also quite infamous for screwing his partners, he believes that he won't do that to him. And there's a good enough reason why he betrayed his previous business partners. They were all trying to betray him as well, so he might as well do it to them first.
Supposed Lawrence did still betray him, there's no use in doing that because he doesn't have the formula, and even if he does know the ingredients and repeats the same process of how he made the knockoff Health Potion, there's actually a lot more complications involved in the process that only people who has knowledge of Alchemy could understand.
More importantly, even after all that, they still managed to successfully steal and produce his product. He honestly has plenty of potion formulas he could still use as a substitute for the knockoff Health Potion to still achieve the same goal. After all, he came from the future, and the majority of not yet discovered inventions are inside his brain, where nobody could steal.
Hearing Kael's response, Manager Drex no longer has any choice but to agree. "While the relevant department is checking the potion, I'll have your group wait outside because I still have another group that plans to sell materials from Avalon."
"Oh, it's actually starting to gain popularity?" Lawrence was slightly surprised.
"It's because of your group that they discovered Avalon."
"Don't tell me…" Jayem instantly realized. It was Johnny's gang, at least what's left of Johnny's gang.
"They go by the name Leila's gang now."
"Leila…" Jayem fell into deep thought as he felt the name was very familiar to him. Then it hit him. "That's the name of the fourth-in-command of Johnny's gang!"
"That's right! "
"I see," Jayem wasn't surprised. In fact, he somewhat expected that coming. Other than Johnny himself, there was only one other skilled member of his gang. It wasn't the second or third in command. It was the fourth-in-command, a skilled female fighter named Leila. When he got to their base for the first time, he witnessed her training all by herself. From what he had seen, it's probably only because she was a woman that's why she didn't get the title second-in-command. Johnny was a soldier, after all. And they're known to underestimate women almost all the time.
"Is she going to be trouble?" Kael asked. He hasn't heard about someone strong in the future having the name Leila, but he wasn't one to underestimate anyone, especially just because of their gender. In the future, there will be a lot of strong female players who could fairly compete against men.
"She's better than Johnny, but I don't know if she'd be thinking of us positively," Jayem only glanced at Leila briefly. So, he doesn't know.
"I'm afraid I can no longer assist you like before," Manager Drex expressed his sentiment. After all, Leila's gang is now considered customers of Nexus, which means he's now responsible for protecting them as well.
"Alright!" Kael was worried about the unknown variable that had just appeared. But he has bigger things to worry about right now. So, he decided to put that thought at the back of his head for the meantime.
While Kael's group was waiting on the sofa near the entrance of the Nexus outpost, Leila and a few members of her gang, carrying dozens of luggage, finally stepped inside and showed themselves.
Unlike the majority of women, Leila's body was fit and in great shape, evidently showing she takes good care of herself to maintain such a figure. She has a fair complexion and an attractive face that doesn't look like that of a fighter.
Upon entering the Nexus outpost and briefly surveying the surroundings, Leila instantly recognized Jayem at the corner of the building. "You!"
Jayem wanted to hide himself earlier, but he ultimately decided to might as well confirm his worries.
"So, it was you who brought Johnny to his death!" Leila instantly realized the truth and approached Jayem. She had witnessed this very same person with Johnny at the second and third in command before the day the three died.
"I'm guessing you are here to tell me to watch my back because you're coming for revenge?" Jayem shrugged his shoulder.
"Threaten you? No," Leila shook her head. "I'm here to thank you!"
"Thank me?" Jayem repeated as he doubted whether his ears had heard it correctly or not.
Kael and Lawrence also looked at each other in surprise.
"If it wasn't for you, our gang would have remained stagnant until today," Leila explained.
Behind Leila, her men also nodded to agree with her.
"Why?" Jayem was confused. He just caused the death of their leader, so why is Leila thanking him?
"Because we now have the opportunity to rebuild and make progress for a better future for my gang," Leila didn't bother explaining further than necessary. She simply winked at Jayem and walked away before beckoning her men to enter the room with Manager Drex.
"Yow! It seems like you just got yourself a potential girlfriend!" Lawrence teased with a giggle.
"I never thought," Kael couldn't help smiling. In the future, Jayem never really had any girlfriends, just like now. Everyone was just too afraid of the latter. So, whenever one of their teammates sends Jayem on a blind date, every woman would run away the moment they found out they're being matched with Jayem.
"Girlfriend?" Jayem thought deeply. Leila wasn't half-bad. In fact, she was better than the majority of women in Rustfall that he had met until today.
"And here goes our loverboy," Lawrence smacked Jayem's shoulder.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Jayem rolled his eyes and no longer entertained the thought.
Moments later, Leila's group got out of the room with Manager Drex with a few briefcases carried by her men.
Before finally leaving, Leila glanced at Jayem before motioning one of her men to bring a briefcase to his group.
"Are you sure?"
"A token of my appreciation," Leila smiled and walked away with her men.
At that exact moment, Jayem felt a strange interest in Leila. Not because he likes her or wants to be in a relationship with her. This was simply his first time ever receiving this kind of kindness from his enemies. Or was it even correct to keep on calling Leila one of his enemies?