OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 169: Dear Elijah

[Dear Elijah, this comes from a fan of yours, a person who stole away your master some time ago... I'd rather you be smart about this and not inform your family; otherwise, I'm not sure what would happen to her.]

Emir read the message over a few times and pressed send, not wanting to write anymore until the kid read it, as he wanted to start a conversation, not a simple threat.

But he didn't need to wait long, as Elijah replied a minute later.

[Call me.]

Emir raised a brow.

'He might be naive, but he got some balls on him.

'His looks don't show it, though...'

[Sure, why not?]

'I can use the voice disrupter option anyways.' He scoffed.

After a few clicks, he brought the terminal to his ears.

"Hello, do you understand me, kid?" Emir spoke with a commanding but chilling tone.

"You asked for a call, and now you're silent? Well, I don't mind as long as you hear what I have to say."

"Evidence..." Elijah spoke quietly, his soft voice trembling.

"Speak up; I didn't hear you."

"I want evidence!" He bellowed.

"Oh... I can't really show that, can I? But let's see... I can tell you that two of her guards died and that she was picked up while crossing the street to a clothing shop, with you trailing behind her like a dog..."

"And before you speak, I'd rather not have you question me like that again, alright? Something might happen to her, you know?"

"I-I understand... What can I do for you to let her go?"

"Now we're getting somewhere... But before I tell you, I want to know. What are your thoughts on your family killing competition like that?"

"C-Competition? D-Do you mean with the business side of the family?"

"Hmhm. They've been going haywire for a while now... Thinking that they're top shit, don't you think? Closing down shops left and right for no reason. And we've watched that in silence for a while; after all, we are only here due to a higher organization's command."

Turning around in his office chair, he faced the wall and continued, his struggling to hide a smile:

"But we can't watch any longer; morals are a precious thing, and we don't like to see people abuse them or squash them for nothing more than appeasing their greed."

"I don't know why you're telling me this; I-I can't do anything about it..." Elijah spoke with sadness prevailing in his voice.

'Naive as ever, aren't you my friend?' Emir inwardly mused.

"Oh, but you can. Your family began targeting another company after officially shutting down Hunter's Den a few days ago. And you... You've got the status to fight back against them, no?"

"A-are you asking me to stand in court against my own family?"

"That is exactly what I'm saying, and see? You are showing how smart you are already."

"...I'll do it, but you have to promise-no. You have to make an oath with your Aether core that you won't hurt her and return her unharmed."

'Smart kid... Too bad though, I don't have an implanted Aether core; no contract can bind me...'

Of course, that was the case unless the central AI was connected to his nanobots directly instead of the conventional Aether core contract.

An Oath was similar to a binding contract in that if a person went against it, they would automatically die or face the consequences specified, and it was mainly used for simple deals such as this.

All that the person swearing the oath needed to do was activate their Aether core, intently connect it with their neural network, and speak aloud what the oath entails.

And that was what Emir did.

With his hand near his second heart, he spoke:

"I announce my Oath. I and my companions will not hurt Aria Goldleaf and keep her relatively healthy until the day when Elijah Moonscribe does what I ask of him; after he does, only then will I allow them to find Aria and extract her from where she currently is."

Following Emir's oath, Elijah did the same:

"I announce my Oath. If this person I'm talking to adheres to his oath, then so will I."

Usually, a question from the AI system responsible for the planet would reach those who swore their oaths...

However, Emir wasn't connected, so he heard nothing, meaning that Elijah had just sworn on oath with himself.

'This kid... he doesn't know my cheat but he still took precautions...'

'He didn't need to do that though, but still, a goody two shoes will always be that way, eh?'

Snickering, Emir said:

"Good. Now that we've got that over with, I'll get down to the specifics: a company by the name of Prince Emporium is under threat, and you will stand with them in the court hearing.... Whenever it may be, is that understood?"

"...Prince Emporium. I understand. I will not let you down."

"Of course you won't. Your life now depends on it, and make sure to tell me anything new relating to this company.... That is all good luck, kid."

Emir ended the call without giving Elijah a chance to reply, finally turning back to see who came into the office during his talk.

And who greeted him was a buff, dark-skinned man with brown eyes covered by glasses and a

fade for a haircut.

"Steel?" He asked.

"Yes, Sir Emir, do you remember me?"

"I do, you stood out to me in the black market... There aren't many Africans around these

parts."

"Yeah. I ain't seen much of my people around either; I'd like to think that unknown sectors still exist in Africa, but I don't have much hope..." Jamal confirmed, his voice carrying the weight of remembered scars.

"You've all got some interesting stories, huh? I seem to have gathered quite the bunch."

Raymond snickered.

"Well, we gathered around you like a moth to a flame for a reason... You must have the most interesting story out of all of us."

Jamal smacked the old man's back while saying:

"You're right about that, seeing him waffle as much as he did what that Elijah kid explains

enough."

"Ay, Jamal.... Show some respect to your boss, yeah?" Emir said with a dark smile.

"Boss Emir, I've never disrespected you; I'm only complimenting you." He retorted.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. We got our own way of showing our love, you don't seem to be a normal Westerner either... Ya names Emir, you Arab?"

Emir chuckled, though his eyes remained devoid of any mirth, fixed as if staring at a dead

man.

"And yours doesn't sound western either... I mean, Jamal? It doesn't suit a buff piece of coal

like you."

A tense silence hung between them, and Raymond's gaze shifted back and forth between the two as if anticipating the death of his newly made friend at any moment.

Then the old man took a hesitant step backward as he witnessed Emir rise from his seat and

approach Jamal.