"...Huh?"
Wogan had been leaning so far forward that the moment he heard those words, he nearly toppled face-first onto the ground. His big eyes went wide, completely blank with confusion, as if several question marks were popping out of his skull.
But when he lifted his head and saw Morgan standing there with his hands tucked calmly into his sleeves, looking relaxed and unconcerned, Wogan slowly started baring his teeth again.
"You... you bastard. You definitely know something, don't you?!"
His expression twisted up in frustration. "You just don't want to tell us, right?!"
Morgan shrugged lightly. "If you want to put it that way, I suppose it isn't wrong."
"Besides, I don't remember ever agreeing that I had to tell you."
Wogan froze. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Yeah... unpleasantly enough, the logic actually made sense. But this was Meteor Street, a place where logic, fairness, and reason had no meaning at all.
His hands twitched instinctively. He almost raised them. Almost. But then he remembered the way Morgan had casually covered his entire face with one hand earlier. That alone was enough to warn him against doing anything reckless.
And there was something else too. Only moments ago, Morgan had been the one to welcome them in, offering them a warm, sweet batch of mochi. They'd eaten until their stomachs were full.
To turn around and assault someone right after they fed you... even in Meteor Street, Wogan felt that might be crossing some sort of invisible line. Maybe not a moral line, because Meteor Street had none. But a basic line of decency he hadn't completely abandoned yet.
After all, unlike the hardened thug he would someday become, this Wogan was still only thirteen: impulsive, simple, but also strangely pure.
"So what would make you willing to tell us?" Maggie finally spoke, her voice cool and steady.
Wogan paused mid-grimace. Maggie, only ten years old, looked far calmer and far more perceptive than he could ever pretend to be.
"You already explained the basics to us," she continued. "Which means this isn't some absolute secret that no one is allowed to know."
"If we remove the possibility that you are forbidden from telling outsiders, then the most reasonable conclusion is that you're choosing not to tell us for personal reasons."
"If you truly didn't want us to know anything, then from the moment you made the mochi, you would have done it behind our backs or hid the process entirely. But you didn't. Instead, you let us see the ability for ourselves."
"Yet when we ask you directly, you tell us nothing." Maggie lifted her head and met Morgan's eyes. "Which means the problem isn't the information. It's the conditions. So the price we've offered isn't enough, right?"
Morgan blinked, then chuckled softly.
"I see now why you've survived in Meteor Street for so long," he said, glancing briefly at Wogan. "Turns out it isn't just because of brute strength."
Wogan jerked upright. "What's that supposed to mean?!"
Somehow, he felt like Morgan was saying he'd only survived because Maggie was smart. Which was... insulting. Very insulting.
Morgan ignored him and looked back at Maggie.
"You're right," he said. "In this world, everything comes with a price. Even power."
Maggie didn't know the intricacies of Nen, not yet. But she understood Meteor Street well enough. There was no such thing as something for nothing here. To obtain anything, you had to fight for it, steal it, or pay for it.
Violence, struggle, bloodshed. These were their daily routines.
So Morgan demanding a price wasn't strange at all. In fact, Maggie had expected it.
Wogan, on the other hand...
"Didn't you already give us mochi earlier?" he muttered. "So you could just tell us the same way you gave us that..."
Morgan raised an eyebrow.
"You worked for that mochi, didn't you?"
Wogan froze again. He thought about it. Then sighed loudly.
"Fine, fine. Whatever. Just say it. What do you want us to do this time?"
Morgan smiled, a slow curve of the lips that seemed almost too gentle to be comforting.
"It's simple."
He looked directly at both of them.
"All you need to do is beg me."
"...What?"
Wogan tilted his head, completely lost. "Beg...? You mean actually beg? Like, beg you beg?"
Maggie stared at Morgan. He looked dead serious.
She began analyzing it immediately in her head.
"So he wants people to beg him? A strange quirk, maybe... or a desire for control, for dominance... using others' submission as a form of satisfaction." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "That's... pretty twisted. Then again, this is Meteor Street. Of course there are people like him."
While she continued mentally cataloging Morgan under the category of "dangerously eccentric," Wogan simply blinked twice, then glared at Morgan incredulously.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Expanded Narrative – Additional Context, Internal Thoughts, and Emotional Depth
Wogan jumped to his feet, fists clenched at his sides, looking as if the world had personally insulted him. In his mind, physical labor was one thing. Fighting was another. Danger was expected. But begging... begging was humiliating.
Meteor Street kids didn't beg. They stole. They fought. They clawed for survival with their own strength.
Begging was something only the dying did.
And Morgan stood there, perfectly calm, as if the request were completely reasonable.
"Why?" Wogan growled, though even he knew the answer. Morgan was strong. Maybe stronger than anyone they had met. You didn't provoke someone like that without thinking carefully.
Morgan took his time before answering. "Because the moment you ask me sincerely, it proves you acknowledge me. Not just my power, but the difference between us."
He stepped closer, his voice lowering, not threatening but undeniably firm.
"There are things in this world that can only be taught after you accept the price."
Maggie observed him carefully. His tone wasn't mocking. There was no cruelty in his expression. It wasn't about humiliation.
It was about principle.
A strange principle, but a principle nonetheless.
She inhaled slowly. "So you want a show of sincerity."
Morgan gave a small nod.
Maggie understood instantly.
Wogan didn't.
"Sincerity? What the hell does begging have to do with sincerity?! You just want to mess with us!"
Morgan didn't deny it. But he didn't confirm it either.
"Beg, and I'll teach you. Don't beg, and I won't."
Maggie thought it over with a seriousness that made her look far older than ten.
Wogan looked like he was about to explode.
"Hell no! Never! Not in a million years!"
Morgan didn't even blink.
"Then you can leave."
That simple, calm response hit harder than any threat.
Meteor Street had taught them both many lessons, one of which was this: opportunities were rare. Power was even rarer. If you wanted something, you had to pay the price, no matter how ugly.
Maggie clenched her tiny fists.
Wogan gritted his teeth so hard they creaked.
And Morgan waited, silently, patiently, knowing that hunger for power always won out in the end.
End of Chapter 009 Translation