Hikari: Rise Of The Weapons Master

"So you basically told him that a beautiful girl would also be present there beside me and talk to him?" Zack asked with a blank expression as he saw Eva nod.

"You might not know this but that guy has a harem. He keeps on adding more women there so saying a girl rivaling their beauty would be present with you was the only way I could get him to talk."

​ "Well…" Zack turned his head and glanced at Emma who was currently talking with Mia. "I will see if she agrees or not."

Eva nodded and cut the call as a sigh escaped Zack\'s lips. He then walked up to the pink-haired woman and told her everything.

"Well, that\'s easy. Let\'s just go and do it now."

"Huh?" Zack blinked in confusion as Emma dragged him towards Eva\'s house. Mia followed them while shrugging.

Though she had to admit that she too was curious who Puten was.

Ten minutes later, the trio was sitting in Eva\'s secret gaming room while messaging Eva that they were ready. The CEO did a bit of tinkering around with the room\'s settings and turned it completely black.

In this way, Puten wouldn\'t be able to see anything in the room no matter what he tried.

Mia moved back into the room so that she too would be covered in the darkness and would not be visible.

After that, the call finally came.

Upon accepting, Zack and Emma saw an old man sitting on his desk. The man had gray hair showing and eyes of the same color that were currently looking at Emma.

He held a cigarette in his hand but didn\'t bring it closer to his lips.

"So she wasn\'t lying hum," A wicked smile appeared on the man\'s face as he looked at Emma. "You are indeed a beautiful woman, or rather, a beautiful girl."

It was clear as day that the man\'s eyes were eyeing every inch of Emma\'s body yet the girl didn\'t lose her composure. Emma wanted to refute back and shut up the man but she knew that doing so would achieve her nothing.

"I am honored to be praised by a person like you," Instead, she indirectly insulted him. "What is your age mister? Forty? Fifty?"

"Now that\'s a very right estimate. How did you figure it out?"

"Your gray hair and eyes gave it away."

Zack praised Emma inside his heart for finding a way to shut Puten up without saying anything bad about him.

"Well, where are my manners. My name is Puten Solanski, the ruler of the Solanski empire which handles the arms and dealings in our very own continent." A grin appeared on Puten\'s face as he finished introducing himself.

"My name is Zack and this here is my partner Emma. Nice to meet you, Sir Puten." Zack maintained a poker face before proceeding to ask Puten about his son. "I want to have a talk with your son, Hayden Solanski, regarding a very major thing inside Hikari."

After Zack had spoken the words, he realized how weird it sounded. He wanted to talk about something inside a game that didn\'t have any direct importance in the real world.

But only he knew how important the underworld truly was. If it fell into the hands of the other side, not only the Eizenburgh kingdom but the entirety of the Southern Continent would be in danger.

"So, what will I get if I let my son talk to you?" Puten asked with a smile as he bent forward and stared straight ahead. It was as though he was sitting right in front of them and staring at them.

"You will gain money and connections as your son will be leading an important part of the kingdom he is in. Plus, Oracroft has already taken many players under their wing and many more would soon follow," A smile appeared on Zack\'s face that matched Puten\'s smile.

"What do you think will stop them from eradicating you and your empire? They have already dropped nukes on Evangeline\'s and Telsa\'s CEO\'s house and the headquarters of their companies. Do you want to risk your empire on that?"

Zack knew that what he was saying was only half true. If Puten were to go ahead and meet up with Oracroft\'s founders, the three of them would have a good time together.

Even if Zack failed in talking with Hayden, he would still be able to prevent the head of a huge criminal syndicate from meeting up with the current number one company.

"Hmm, that\'s not a very pursuing thing unless…" Puten paused as his gaze settled on Emma. The pink-haired woman raised her eyebrows in response.

"I wonder if the FBI is still around," Emma spoke. "I need to contact them regarding something."

Puten grinned before he disconnected the call thus giving his reply as no. Zack and Emma sighed as both of them had already expected this type of outcome.

"So you both now have to go ahead and meet this Hayden yourself?" Mia asked while stepping forward.

"Well, the hard way failed so we now have to take the harder path," Zack replied before he and Emma went ahead and sat into the gaming pods.

***

After Puten had disconnected the call, he looked at the message he had received from Oracroft. The message had asked him to have a talk with the two CEOs.

Puten had been reluctant to do that since the beginning but the talk with the two teenagers had confirmed his doubts.

As he was sitting on the desk, Puten moved his hand under the desk. He had been doing the same thing for the past ten years to see if someone had been listening to the conversation.

\'Better be safe than paranoid.\' As usual, he found nothing and stood up from his chair. He had a few meetings to attend to.

But what Puten didn\'t know was that someone had managed to listen to the entire conversation without him realizing it.

That someone was curious to meet Zack and Emma in the future. After all, the future of Hikari depended on that.