User blog:Seieireppa/God Eater:Universitas, chapter 19: B + C

“Fifty million fc. That’s my final offer.”

After arriving at the Liverpool Branch, Blake and Nanako had headed towards the R&D department to speak with Jack Johnson, Blake’s grandfather, while Soma had departed to meet with a… certain someone. Meanwhile, the remaining four—Nanako, Baluar, Ken, and Kota—had remained where they were, to await the arrival of a visiting God Eater known only as “C,” a shady woman who, according to Soma’s report, claimed to have knowledge of Boundary Aragami attack locations over the past few weeks. Should they obtain this knowledge, they’d gain a decisive advantage against If and his Boundary Aragami, but…

“Did… did I hear you right?” Bal exclaimed, bewildered by what he had just heard. “You want…”

“Fifty million fc, correct.”  C’s words rang out clear as day. “If you want me to tell you what I know, that’s what it’ll cost you.”

Ken leaned over and whispered in Nanako’s ear. “Are you SURE we can trust this lady? What’s to guarantee she actually knows what she claims to know?”

“She might seem arrogant,” came Nanako’s whispered reply, “but I’ve dealt with her in the past, both directly and indirectly, and I can testify that her info has never once been off the mark. She knows absolutely everything there is to know about God Eaters, and knowing her, she’s probably been all over this crap with the Boundary Aragami ever since it began.”

“I can hear you, you know,” C interjected, causing both Nanako and Ken to twitch. “Either way, my answer remains the same. Either you all pony up the fifty mil, or you ain’t getting jack from me.”

The four God Eaters gathered there merely stood in shock, unaware of how to proceed. Nanako and Baluar might have had a good deal of money, but they’d had no interest in living anything like lives of luxury, preferring instead lives of travel and combat. Ken had found himself unable to access his account after his trip back—most likely it had been placed on a hold—and Kota, well…

At any rate, the four of them were completely at an impasse, until…

“I can pay the fee.”

A voice called out from behind them. It was a God Eater none of them, save for Baluar, had ever seen—however, in another world, at another time, this man would help Nanako Kawashima in her quest to destroy the dimensional menace known as the Gehenna—

—the man known as Thomas Beoblade.

“Did you hear me?” he repeated, a tad irritated. “I’ll pay the fee, so tell us all the information you have. Every last bit.”

C, taken slightly aback that someone was actually able to pony up her price, held out a card reader over which Beo swiped a small card. A chime was heard, and the transaction was completed.

“I… well, you did pay the fee, so I suppose I’ve got a duty to tell you everything,” C spoke, still a bit bewildered. “But anyway, how are you—”  C scratched at her head. “Shouldn’t you be…?”

“If you’re referring to ‘that’ matter,” came Beo’s reply, “I was saved from that place by, well… someone I’m sure you’d be more than familiar with, Nanako. He told me not to tell you all who he was, though… said something like ‘it’s not yet time for them to discover my identity’ or something like that. I’m sure you’ll meet him soon enough, though.”

Beo ruffled his hair and turned back to face C.

“Now… why don’t you tell us everything? About the Boundary Aragami… and about Isaac Feldman.”

<-- Previous chapter | Next chapter -->