Deal?

I jumped out of my seat, ready to attack.

"Please don't!" the woman spoke up urgently. "I'm not here to fight you!"

She remained unmoving on her seat, with her hands visible, resting on the bar counter.

I loosened up a bit, but I remained on guard, ready to strike at any moment. I quickly glanced around, but I haven't noticed anything off. It was far more likely that it was just a trap. But I was on high alert right now, and still couldn't sense any of that feeling I always got from other outliers. Was she really alone?

But then again, I haven't noticed anything off about her either. Even now, when I was focusing my whole attention, she seemed like a completely normal person from this world. There was not even a hit of that outlier aura. Even the boy or Wright at his weakest had a much stronger presence.

And even if she was alone right now, that didn't mean that there are no field agents waiting on standby, ready to teleport and attack.

I was conflicted about what should I do. I must admit that I was a bit curious what she might have to say. It was completely different from their usual approach.

I guess I might give her a chance before I destroy this place. "Continue." I glared at her with narrowed eyes.

She let out a small sigh, as if relieved. Seems she must have been a bit nervous about approaching me. Her facial expression was so calm and collected that I would have never guessed.

"I want to make a deal with you," she spoke while looking me straight in the eyes, unbothered by my readiness to strike.

I raised my eyebrows. "Deal? What sort of deal?"

"A truce. Wouldn't it be better for you to be on… peaceful terms with us?"

I chuckled. "Peaceful terms? How is that possible?"

It sounded ridiculous. Especially coming from the organization that attacked me first, without even trying to communicate with me in any way before.

The woman was unperturbed by my reaction. She seemed to have expected that much. Maybe she was not a total idiot.

She opened her mouth to answer me, but paused, looking to the side.

The barman was staring at us with a weird look in his eyes. No wonder. Not only was I still standing, in a pose as if I was about to start a fight any minute, but we also spoke in raised voices. There was loud music playing in the background, after all, so there was no other way. But that also meant he heard everything from our unusual conversation.

The woman cleared her throat. "Ahem, should we perhaps move somewhere else to continue?"

"Alright. Let's go outside." That was even more convenient for me, as in open space, it would be easier for me to escape if needed.

I slowly walked toward the exit, not letting my eyes off the woman. She didn't have their radio in her hands, but there was probably one hidden in her pockets.

Once we got out of the club, I led her to a back alley. She followed me without question, which honestly made me even more suspicious. As soon as I was sure that nobody could see us, I grabbed her and jumped onto the rooftops.

She was a bit startled. "What are you…"

"Shut up," I interrupted her. "If we're gonna talk, it's gonna be on my terms."

Surprisingly, she didn't object. She just stayed quiet and let me check her pockets.

Just as I expected, she had a radio… or rather, two radios on her. I obviously couldn't let her keep them, but I couldn't hold onto them myself either. I didn't want to risk being forcefully teleported to their base. And there likely was a tracker installed in them.

What surprised me, however, was that she had absolutely nothing that could be used as a weapon on her. Aside from the radios, her pockets were completely empty.

And so, I just tossed them on the ground, threw the woman over my shoulder, and started quickly moving a safe distance away from the club. Once again, she remained calm and didn't object, she just let out a long sigh. It didn't seem as if she was afraid of me or anything.

What a weird woman.

I found a nice place where we could have a chat, in the middle of an empty park. I put her down on the ground, sat on the bench, and lit a cigarette. "Alright, so where were we?"

She took a seat on the other end of the bench. "I would like to negotiate with you. I believe that we can find a way to coexist, without the need to constantly fight each other." She got straight to the point.

I observed her in the cold, faint moonlight. She maintained perfect composure, as if she was in the middle of a regular business meeting, and not in a park in the middle of the night with a stranger who just dragged her across the city. Only her messed-up hair and disheveled clothes disturbed the image.

Well, honestly, it added her more charm. Too bad she was from the organization, otherwise I wouldn't mind taking her home.

"You're not going to say anything about what has just happened?" I couldn't help but ask.

"You mean about how you grabbed me and brought me here?" She was looking straight at me calmly. "What do you want me to say? I understand. You don't trust me, so you wanted to make sure that no one knows our location, so we can have a discussion in peace, without you needing to worry about being ambushed. Isn't that right?"

"…right." Her reasoning was spot on. That was exactly what I was thinking.

After all, even if she was alone at the moment, as long as they knew where we were, the organization could send a whole team to teleport and attack me at any time. And so, it was best to dispose of the radios and relocate.

"But aren't you afraid to be alone with me here? Without any chance to call for backup?" I smiled at her, but I actually found her behavior more and more suspicious. I kept staring at her, looking for any hint of dishonesty.

However, she answered clearly, without any hesitation. "No. If you attempt to attack me, I can escape by teleporting away."