Don't Tell me That's It

“Because the boss told us in advance that he’d be visiting soon.”

Huh?

What is he talking about now?

After a moment’s thought, something came to mind.

…Ah, don’t Tell me.

I absolutely could not agree. You couldn’t call that Alone “telling us in advance.”

This was one hundred percent the Dragon President’s fault.

I swear to heaven, I had never heard that the Bratva gang Boss would be visiting the bar.

And it was also the first I’d heard that this boss was a massive, muscular Old Man whose forearms were as thick as my thighs.

All I had heard was just-

‘Ah, I happen to know a Red Mafia Executive. I got some help. That bastard was so condescending about it… though it’s true that things were handled cleanly thanks to him.

Anyway, so I promised to treat that bastard. He said he’d visit our bar soon, so treat him well.’

‘You’ll know him when you see him. He’s a guy who looks very Russian. He Resembles a Brown Bear.’

It was a story I heard at a company Dinner.

Right. Well, it was all true.

It was true that he was a Red Mafia Executive, and it wasn’t wrong to say he had a distinctly Russian appearance resembling a brown bear.

But anyone, not just me, would agree that this was not “sufficient” information.

Who on earth would hear that and expect, ah, the Criminal underworld Magnate, Mr. Red Mountain, will be visiting our bar soon!

That damn Dragon and his Mysticism.

Would it have killed him to just say that he knew the Red Mafia Boss straightforwardly?

It would be impossible, but I wondered how the Dragon President would react if I retaliated by saying, “An acquaintance from Headquarters is coming to visit,” and then brought Isiho’s Iron Blood Chairman - or another Magnate of a similar level - to the shop.

Would he panic like I am doing now, or would he greet them casually like an Ordinary Customer with his usual sly Demeanor?

Given the Dragon President’s suspiciously vast Connections, he might even Encounter the Isiho Chairman and greet her gladly like an old friend, saying, “Yo, Karin-chan!”

Though I couldn’t imagine such a sight at all.

Enough idle thoughts.

I Ground my teeth and lifted the tray and the Cocktail Glass on it.

“…I should treat him well, just as our boss ordered.”

The Dragon President would pay the price for this someday, but apart from that, I couldn’t delay the service any longer.

Especially considering that the Customer waiting for the service was an old Russian man who resembled a brown bear and clearly lacked patience, and that I had a track record of cutting off his grandson’s arm.

“Anyway, you can do it! Cheer up, Aaron!”

Not his problem, huh. At Tony’s half-hearted cheering, I expressed the intimacy we had recently built up with a raised middle finger and then set the cocktail down on ‘Red Mountain’s’ table.

“The cocktail you ordered, the Bloody Martini.”

A blood-red vodka-based liquor with a bright and cheerful name.

It seemed to hint at my ominous fate as I stood before Red Mountain. It was an excellent menu choice.

Seeing Tony snickering in the back, I knew he definitely chose it on purpose.

“Tastes like absolute SHIT.”

He took one sip, frowned, and slammed it down.

Fortunately or unfortunately, it seemed the Customer didn’t like this cocktail either, just as I did.

“I forgot to mention that I hate Synthetic Vodka. Synthetic liquors add fucking artificial scents and flavors to fucking artificial alcohol to somehow pretend to be natural, but that doesn’t work for vodka. Since it’s a liquor with no taste or scent, the more you add, the more it becomes a cheap cum dumpster.”

The atmosphere suddenly turned fierce.

I didn’t know how luxurious a taste he expected from a cocktail at an Outskirts Street Bar, but being serious about vodka and getting even more foul-mouthed with alcohol in his system were exactly what you’d expect from a Russian who seemed to lack patience.

‘Why is he bitching at me when he’s the one who ordered a Vodka-based Cocktail?’

I wanted to say exactly what popped into my head, but I shouldn’t do that.

It was a moment when one might worry about how to handle it, but fortunately, this wasn’t my first time meeting a Magnate Troublemaker. And it wouldn’t be the last.

“I apologize. There is an empty seat at the Front Bar. Would you like to speak to the Bartender?”

It meant if he had complaints, he should tell the Bartender, not me.

“Or I heard you are acquainted with the President. Would you like to speak with him? He will probably Welcome you gladly.”

Or call the President.

It would be a burdensome choice for a normal Employee, but not for me.

If I could pass off this burdensome and Awkward criminal Magnate Customer to someone else like a game of hot potato, I’d Welcome it.

And it would be absolutely perfect if that target were Tony or the Dragon President.

The mountain-like Old Man’s deep Blue Eyes gleamed at my flowing Technique of deflecting a Troublemaker.

Perhaps not expecting this reaction, he bared his teeth in a smirk and again drank the Bloody Martini he had just harshly criticized as tasteless.

“No, I don’t think that’s necessary yet. It’s true I came to meet that Dragon bastard, but I need to take care of my prior business first.”

It was an action that practically admitted his rough behavior was an act to test what kind of person I was.

I expected it, but he really was getting angry on purpose.

Though I saw him frown while drinking, it seemed true that he actually found it tasteless.

“Unfortunately, you’re a man with no fear. It’ll be hard to get anything out of you through intimidation.”

“I think you’ve made a hasty Judgment. It’s rare to find someone as cowardly as me.”

When I replied casually, he patted my shoulder and burst into hearty laughter again, as if he had heard a funny joke.

“You’re good at jokes too! What a fun friend. I can see why my bastard grandson tried to Force himself on you.”

“…”

“That was a joke too, so don’t look so serious. You’re not my type. I like women. There’s nothing better than a young, busty blonde.”

I was seriously wondering if a certain sexual orientation - homosexuality - was also a Genetic Trait, so it was a relief that it was a joke.

“Of course, my philosophy is that I won’t refuse a Cross-dressing woman or a Cross-dressing man as long as they taste good, but even if you were that type, you’re Outside my Strike zone.”

“Uh… thank you?”

At my sincere Words of Gratitude, Red Mountain snorted and said.

“There’s no benefit in dragging this out, so I’ll get straight to the point. As you might have guessed, there’s a reason I’m holding onto you and spending my precious time talking to you, rather than Sasha Dragon or the other Bartenders.”

As I said, it’s obviously not because I want to fuck you - he made another sexually harassing remark before continuing.

“It’s simple.”

Surprisingly, it really was simple.

“I want you to return the hand you cut off.”

A short and clear demand.

Red Mountain shrugged and added.

“It’s a very expensive prosthetic arm. And it’s something my grandson cherished.”

Aha, is that so.

“So, is it possible?”

* * *

There was no reason it couldn’t be.

After all, unlike his grandson Man Hunter, grandpa Red Mountain was someone you could reason with to some extent.

The severed prosthetic arm was my trophy, earned fair and square through my own skills, and he acknowledged that fact too.

“Take it back by Force? Of course I intend to buy it with money! What do you take this Old Man for? I’m not a barbarian. This is highly insulting.”

That’s what he said.

It seemed obvious he had tried to get it for free by scaring me at first, despite what he just said… but I didn’t bother pointing that out.

Since he showed his intention to purchase my property, he was a precious Customer. There was no benefit in getting on his bad side.

Man Hunter’s severed prosthetic arm - it was Scrap cyberware that I would never use in my life anyway, so I had planned to sell it on the net. If I could hand it over for money directly, it would be a profit.

A Yangban who was nominally the Godfather of the Red Mafia wouldn’t try to settle it cheaply with pocket change, would he?

And I wouldn’t have to pay commission fees to an Auction Site either.

I had forgotten and put off putting the prosthetic arm up for auction on the site I got from Tony, but it actually turned out well, now that I think about it.

Thanks to this, I might be able to Finish it cleanly with a Direct transaction without any annoying procedures.

“So, how much were you looking to spend?”

When I threw that magic sentence at the Customer with a bright smile, Red Mountain’s white eyebrows wriggled like Dragons.

* * *

Shop Closing Time.

After finishing Inventory Management, Washing Dishes, and Cleaning, I pulled down the shutters, locked the shop door, and stepped Outside the building.

Usually, the Dragon President was with me, but today it was just me. I did it all by myself.

Did this mean I had gained enough trust to be entrusted with the Closing Tasks now that I was a Full-time Employee, or was I just dumped with all the annoying chores at once?

I’m a positive person, so I decided to think it was the former.

Being Bustling and noisy is nice, but being Alone is Comfortable too, and now I was at least capable of protecting myself even walking the dangerous night streets.

Anyway, before I knew it, Tony and Sey had clocked out right on time, and the Dragon President had disappeared somewhere with Red Mountain.

It seems he really only talked to me because of the prosthetic arm, that Old Man.

Once the transaction was over, he didn’t even give me a single glance after that. It was almost enough to make me feel hurt.

It didn’t seem like the prosthetic arm was his main purpose in the first place anyway… After all, a Yangban who was the boss of the Red Mafia wouldn’t have come all this way Idly just to retrieve his grandson’s prosthetic arm.

It seemed he had something important to discuss with the Dragon President.

Or maybe they just went out to chug vodka together. Who knows.

“One hundred thousand…”

One hundred thousand.

100,000 City Dollars.

It was a significant amount.

Three times my monthly salary, an amount that would be close to 4 or 5 million won at the prices that I remembered in Korea in the 2020s.

It was also the highest appraised value that Tony and Sey had estimated for the broken Military-Grade Prosthetic Arm. They both said I could get up to one hundred thousand if I was lucky.

The amount offered by Red Mountain Goran Gergeyev was also exactly one hundred thousand.

Calling out the highest expected amount right from the start showed his intention to Finish the transaction quickly while paying a high price without unnecessary Bargaining, since he already knew the fair price.

I thought I might make some good money thanks to the magnanimous Mafia Boss, but as expected, he wasn’t a pushover.

One hundred thousand wasn’t a small amount - no, considering my earnings, it was an undeservedly large sum of money, but it left me feeling somewhat regretful, considering that the trading partner was a massive Magnate.

Of course, I kept that regret to myself.

As I said, the other party was a Criminal underworld Magnate, and he was only acting like a gentleman thanks to my Patron, the Dragon President. Originally, it wouldn’t have been strange at all for a Yangban like him to try and snatch my trophy right away without paying.

I had to be satisfied with the fact that I could sell it for a little more than its fair price, and with the small bonus of avoiding auction commission fees.

So I decided to sell Man Hunter’s prosthetic arm to him.

Since I didn’t have the item at that moment, I agreed to bring it When I Came To work tomorrow, hand it over to Red Mountain’s people when they came looking, and receive the payment.

It was a decent transaction.

The earnings were lucrative, and thanks to this, it felt like I had somewhat tied up the loose ends of my ill-fated relationship with the Red Mafia.

However, there was one thing weighing on my mind.