I Only Summon Villainesses

“This brings a lot of difference, but it still doesn’t explain how you can defeat an Apex beast… it’s…”

Levi sighed deeply. “Gods, Milo, just let it go and let’s focus on what matters.”

Milo exhaled too, pressing his palms against his knees as if he could physically push the shock out of his system.

“Okay. Back to the main topic. Manhattan. Is it just about this, your friend?”

I muttered, “She’s not…”

“You’re willing to give up a fortune for her. The least she can do is be your friend.”

’It’s all for the game, man. You don’t get it.’

I don’t think anyone does. It might be evil, but the more I thought about how expensive this was going to be, the more I was willing to actually go through with it. This way, she would be deeply indebted to me. Not only would she become my door to entering the world of elves, but she might also fall in love with me and let me suck her breasts.

Who knows? I might actually hit and even get an elven baby. That’s one of my fantasies. I wouldn’t even need to pay child support, and granted, I had no desire to abandon a child of mine anyway.

But first I needed to raid a lot of gates and build my fortune to the point where spending this much wouldn’t cripple me.

’I need to build a fortune, and to do that I’ll need some things.’

“So what you want us to do is reclaim her, isn’t it? Then it’s simple. We buy her.”

I studied his face. Something in the way his lips curved told me we weren’t anywhere near finished. “But something on your face is telling me it won’t be simple.”

Milo smiled. “Oh goodness, am I that transparent?” He adjusted his glasses by the frame, a habit I was starting to recognize. “But yes, you’re right. It’s not going to be simple at all.” He paused. “I’m guessing the slave has already been bought?”

I nodded. “She has.”

“What race?”

“Elf.”

His mouth dropped.

At first I was worried when he wasn’t saying anything, but barely a second later his voice eventually came out.

“I was wrong. She is special.” A strange light entered his eyes. “But this actually complicates things while also making them interesting.”

“How so?” I leaned forward slightly, paying full attention now.

“When it comes to trafficking, there’s so much bias. But things get sensitive when it comes to the Aelvir and other rare races. It is why they’d never do it openly. We can actually punish them for it.”

I stared into space for a moment, confused by the logic.

“How does one punish an illegal action in a city of criminals where illegal things are the norm?”

Milo shrugged, as if the answer were obvious. “It’s straightforward, don’t think too much about it. We take justice into our own hands.”

I looked at him. “Isn’t that going to be bad?”

He smiled and nodded. “Of course it is.”

“Then wouldn’t it work against our favor?”

He extended his index finger, shaking both the finger and his head in that insufferably knowing way of his.

“Hm, hm, hm, hm, not at all. We are not going to engage in unnecessary combat. That’s where it could work against us. We are just going to sabotage their market enough that it’ll affect their relationship with the government and expose some of their heinous deeds.” He held up a second finger, warming to his subject. “That’s just by the side though. A different party is to try to buy the elf lady. But don’t buy just her. Buy a couple of them, so it is less suspicious.”

I thought about it myself for a moment, turning the plan over in my head, then brought my gaze to meet him.

“I think you’re forgetting something important.”

Milo tilted his head. “I never forget anything. But what would that be?”

“The slave has been sold.”

He merely chuckled, and the sound carried an irritating amount of confidence. “I told you earlier. She’s an elf. It makes things easier and harder.” He leaned forward slightly, clearly enjoying himself now. “No trade center, not even Manhattan, can sell an elf outright. Not because they can’t, but because the worth of an elf is too precious. Selling them in totality for a finite price doesn’t cut it. Elves can live a really long time, you know?”

I nodded. Indeed I wasn’t alien to this fact.

“So why sell an elf that can live for seven hundred years to a man who can only live for a hundred, for just some gold coins? The market has learned to milk value until it is dry. So elves are sold according to life span. Not just one-time payment like the common races.”

“Doesn’t that mean they’re just being lent out?”

Milo covered his lips with his index finger. “Shhhhissshhh. Everything is customer satisfaction. Especially when it comes to a slave like an elf, you want to have a sense of ownership.” He spread his hands as if presenting an elegant solution. “Many people have caused trouble trying to buy off elven slaves just to get that entitlement of being the legitimate owner. It caused a lot of loss for the market, especially since elven slaves are not so common.”

I nodded in understanding.

’So they’re just trying to deceive everyone. Use the consumer’s greed against them.’

The trafficking market was smarter than I gave it credit for. Create the illusion of ownership while retaining the asset. It was almost elegant, in a twisted sort of way.

Milo continued. “For the right price, we should be able to buy some elves from their owners. It’ll cost a lot of money though. But if we can get through that part, things will only get interesting from there.”

Milo really looked excited by all of this. The way his eyes gleamed made me wonder if the complexity itself was the appeal for him.

“But isn’t purchasing a lot of elves going to bring attention on me?”

Milo laughed.

“Of course it will. That’s the whole point.”

I squinted my eyes in confusion. Actually, at this point I was beginning to think this guy was the confused one.

“The intention is to create a false alarm, to spook them, while we cause them a really devastating loss. But this will lead us to the most difficult part of this plan.”

“Which will be?”

“Freeing the elf. With a slave collar, the slave can be located anywhere, so it’ll actually make you very vulnerable. Which means for this mission to be very successful, we kind of have to hack a high-value slave collar.” He let that sink in, watching my face. “Trust me, Cade, that is not as easy as it sounds.”