Black Rattan House (1/2)

Arlott wore a black suit and pants with a red tie matching his eyes, while Iris wore a casual, high-neck red dress.

Both of them left their house in a blue sedan car Iris owned.

"Do you know Luna's place?" Iris asked.

"Nope," Arlott shook his head and took out a mobile phone before calling her. The mobile phone was touchscreen, and it used both the mana in the atmosphere and the battery to work—a product of Magitech.

"Got it. She lives in Skysmith residency, the city's west area."

"Oh? That's a luxurious place, almost the same as ours," Iris commented before she increased the car's speed.

"Yep. Luna told me her father is in the top 100 rankings."

…

The duo arrived at Luna's house and picked her up. However, Arlott saw a familiar face at her house. 

When her parents came outside with her, Arlott saw that Luna's father was someone he knew very well.

It was someone who was at the After-War party in the Arcane Tower. In short, he was a target of his revenge.

'This is troublesome.'

[It's fine, hon. All you have to do is to love Luna more than her parents and then tell her the truth about your life.]

'Since I have decided to tell them about my past life, I'm prepared.'

Of course, he wasn't going to tell them now, but later.

"Arlott, I was a kissi~," Luna said as she came forward from the backseat for a kiss. She wore a beautiful white-blue casual long frock dress.

[She is an eighteen-year-old girl. Let her have fun, hahaha.]

Arlott internally shrugged and smiled as he pecked his lips on Luna, who then satisfiedly leaned back.

"So, where are we going, Arlott?" Iris asked.

"Yeah, what's with the sudden plan?" Luna curiously asked.

"We are going take a first step towards dominating this world," Arlott said with a light laugh. "Iris, drive to the black market."

"W-wait, really?" Iris visibly stammered upon hearing him, while Luna was shocked.

"Of course," Arlott grinned. "You two have nothing to fear with me. Hammer that in your heads."

"Ok, so why are we going there?" Luna asked. "Do you want to buy something illegal?"

"You'll know when we reach there."

…

The black market was a dangerous place. Even if some crimes happened there, no one would really know unless you had some means to let that information out of the place.

In this new era where the population was increasing, and many powers had risen, the waters ran even deeper with many forces. After all, the magical phenomenon ran rampant all over the world, which increased conflicts everywhere, both on the surface and in-depth.

Black Rattan House. The organization that created the Black Market in this Blue Tide City had established itself stably over the past twenty years. Naturally, it had connections with the city's government and other forces, making it practically untouchable by the police.

Ever since the peace had ensued, the world had returned to conflicts and turmoil as those at the top competed for resources and power.

Everything was gray, much like the road of this black market, as the trio got out of the car and arrived on the bustling street.

The whole area had a Magic Veil around it, making it impossible for mobile phones and other normal communication means to work.

Seeing Arlott, Iris, and Luna, the other people, especially the ones with stalls, cast a weird glance at them.

What were these kids doing here without any bodyguards or guardians?

Iris looked a bit older since she was 23 years old, but she was still young, and no one around her age would come here without any bodyguards or guardians.

"Arlott, I am scared," Luna held Arlott's hand, feeling nervous and slight fear as she felt many gazes on her.

Iris had never come to such a place, so she was also nervous.

Suddenly, a muscular middle-aged man with no hair came out of an alley and stood right before them.

"Kids, what are you doing here?" the man asked as he crossed his arms. He wore a tank top and had a tattoo around his neck.

Arlott sized the man for a second before he nodded. "You'll do."

"What?" the middle-aged confusedly frowned at the strange response from Arlott.

"Lead us to Black Rattan's place. I know their base is somewhere in this area," Arlott demanded with a smile, his ruby eyes gleaming slightly.

Arlott didn't want to create a scene, so he used his soul force and pressurized the man.

The middle-aged man felt sudden suffocation, and his breathing turned heavy. In his eyes, Arlott's figure suddenly towered over him like a giant, making him feel as if Arlott could squash him like a bug if he wanted to.

Well, Arlott indeed could.

'Is he some bigshot in disguise? Damn it…' The middle-aged sweated and opened his mouth.

"I do-"

"You do know, and I won't hear a lie from your mouth again," Arlott interrupted the man as he exerted more pressure.

Luna and Iris just watched in shock as the middle-aged man obediently nodded, and his posture slightly lowered as he said, "A-Alright. Follow me…"

The middle-aged man gulped and turned around before silently walking ahead and wiping off the sweat from his face.