For the longest ti, Haji disliked Lola. It got to the point where he would intentionally add more workload on her or make her lift heavy weights just to force her to give up.
Vito had asked him to help her. Yet all Haji ever did was try to break her spirit.
But Lola — stubborn, unreasonable Lola — would still quietly do everything she was told to do. And that only made him even more frustrated. The more she persevered, the more upset he got. Every ti she stepped into the "cage" for a fight and got beaten senseless, his expectation for her to finally give up only grew.
Unfortunately for him, no matter how many tis she got trashed in her matches — up until she finally won her first underground brawl — Lola only grew stronger.
To be honest, Haji had no real reason to like her at all. Even after spending so much ti together, they barely spoke. They knew they didn’t like each other, and neither of them ever hoped to beco friends.
Who would have thought that in the end... they’d beco good friends?
*
*
*
"Haji."
Haji blinked back to reality, finally noticing Izu’s team gathered around the sa table. They were all staring at him curiously.
Izu withdrew his hand from in front of Haji’s face, sighing. "Man, you’re zoning out."
"You should train less," one of the n suggested with genuine concern. "You’ve been working too hard — more than all of us."
Another one laughed as he leaned back in his chair. "We already train more than any group in the Order, but we gotta admit, you still work harder than we do."
There was laughter and relaxed smiles around the table. Not a shred of bitterness. They respected Haji — not just his strength, but his resilience. They might be considered the weakest group in the Order despite their consistency and hard work, but Haji’s dedication had never gone unnoticed. Admiring him was the least they could do.
"Heh." Haji scratched the back of his head. "Was I zoning out for a long ti?"
"Since you sat down," Izu replied. "Not that long, but long enough."
"I see..." Haji nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.
"What were you thinking about?" another asked, clearly curious.
Haji humd. He thought about answering honestly, but he didn’t want anyone thinking he was going sentintal. He wasn’t — he just got reminded of his history with Lola: how they started, and how everything changed between them.
"Nothing," he shrugged casually, redirecting the conversation. "Actually, I was wondering what’s going on around here?"
That drew everyone’s attention. They looked at him with mild confusion, so he elaborated,
"Earlier, there were guys in the main residence aside from you. For the past month, even though other security personnel are stationed around the property, only your team is allowed near the family’s wing."
"Ah..." Understanding washed across their faces before Izu explained.
"Currently, the Order needs to form a reinforcent group for the Bellemonte soldiers," Izu said, giving Haji a short smile. "So those people you saw are probably candidates, either here to receive instructions from the Order or to et the Master and help him strategize."
Haji’s eyebrows arched upward. "Oh..." He paused. "Wait — is it really okay for you guys to tell this?"
"Everyone knows about it," another teammate chid in. "It’s basically like an audition to be part of this reinforcent group."
In other words, not a secret, even among the Order’s closest allies.
"Everyone wants in," Izu continued. "It’s a joint operation with another founding family. If it succeeds, the rewards will be worth it."
"A promotion to the inner circle, maybe?" another added. "Higher rank, more authority — we’re not sure. But definitely sothing nice."
Haji nodded, a little intrigued. He thought he already understood the Order’s structure, but clearly, there was much more to learn.
"Didn’t expect rewards would drive everyone this much," he muttered, earning a wave of laughter.
"You’d be surprised what motivates the security teams," Izu said knowingly. "There are a lot of activities designed to keep us busy and motivated."
"Yeah?" Haji raised a brow.
"Yes!" the man across from him chuckled. "The Order’s security force is the largest division in the family. The Master needs to keep us occupied one way or another."
Haji looked slightly puzzled, so they clarified.
Most mbers here were trained intensively — combat, strategy, infiltration, assassination. If even just one well-trained group planned a coup, it would spell disaster. So Atlas built a system to prevent any internal rebellion.
Hence, the hierarchy and the ranking system.
This would make each group wary of the rest. On top of that, each team would focus more on outdoing the others. This would leave them with no ti or energy left to plot against the boss.
"Makes sense," Haji agreed. "So ranking isn’t just about who kills more, huh? It’s about who contributes more."
"Exactly," Izu nodded. "Missions, annual brawls, performance — it all adds up. This operation is another way to earn credit, and a reward on top of that."
"Ahh..." Haji leaned back, letting it sink in. "This place is definitely different from the ones I knew."
With Vito’s organization, everything had always depended on the man’s mood — promotions, punishnts, rewards, all decided on a whim.
Haji then noticed sothing else that made him frown. "You guys aren’t joining this mission?"
Everyone paused... then laughed softly, shaking their heads.
"Why?" Haji pressed. "Aren’t you interested in this joint project?"
"The rewards and points are tempting," soone at the end of the table said. His laughter died down, replaced by a flicker of bitterness in his eyes. "But we’d rather stay behind since we’re tasked to protect the Madam."
"Besides," another added, "the Inner Circle already has their eyes on the slots. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Master sends them specifically."
"It’s a dangerous mission, Haji," one more teammate said. "We’re not scared of danger, but we don’t know anything about that place. And that’s the problem."
Even if Atlas and the Bellemonte family sent thousands of highly trained soldiers, the chances of success were still low if they lacked knowledge about the terrain.
"It’s a lawless land," Izu added grimly. "Sure, we know the basics about Ravah Territory. But this is a rescue operation — knowledge of routes, landmines, enemy hideouts, every detail matters."
"Ravah Territory?" Haji repeated, and the entire group nodded.
He blinked once, then twice.
"You an the Ravah Territory — where the citizens are basically criminal syndicates, rcenary groups, black market traders, and every kind of illegal operation alive? The Autonomous Territory of Ravah?"
Everyone gave another synchronized nod.
Haji blinked again before blurting out:
"I know that place."
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