Trafford's Trading Club Chapter 1280: Chapter 7: Siblings

Chapter 1280: Chapter 7: Siblings

“Have the housekeeping department prepare some food and also some suitable clothing.”

In the room, the Little Beastman sat on the floor wrapped in a towel.

Although she held a cup of hot tea in her hands, she remained alert, watching the person in front of her who had effortlessly subdued her… It seemed like they were trying to municate in the language of her hometown to ensure she understood.

The Maid, who once had a part-time job as a top world-class mysterious fashion designer, naturally had a good grasp of measurements and nodded upon hearing this, almost not needing to take any measurements – since she had already estimated it at a glance.

The size was A.

So the Maid walked slowly to the phone, dialing the room service number – surprisingly, it was Mr. Chen who answered.

Truly dedicated.

“May I help you with anything?”

“Can you help prepare some clothes?”

“Of course… Clothes?” Always on standby at the housekeeping department, waiting for this suite’s line to ring, Mr. Chen was slightly taken aback upon hearing the voice of the woman beside Young Master Qiu, and curiously asked, “What kind of clothes would you like, please?”

“Well, do you have women’s sailor outfits? Preferably in a small size, and also underwear… Is that possible.”

“Of course! They will be delivered to your room shortly.” Mr. Chen promptly agreed, and the call was disconnected at that point.

Mr. Chen hurried to instruct someone to prepare the clothes.

However, along the way, he couldn’t help but wonder, considering the lady’s good figure, wearing a size smaller seemed… for fun?

“Does this Young Master Qiu have some particular hobby…”

Mr. Chen muttered, contemplating whether or not to relay this information to Miss Ying on the other side of the hemisphere, perhaps seizing another opportunity for promotion and pay raise?

…

It’s normal for the hotel to prepare food, but in terms of clothes, it could have been skipped – but recently, having splurged a bit more, Boss Luo naturally didn’t opt for convenience with the principle of saving where possible.

Moreover, it’s not like they’re on a wild map, and the hotel preparations were rather swift.

Food and clothing were delivered simultaneously, taking less than fifteen minutes – Luo Qiu moved to another room to give space, while the Maid took the food and clothing, municating with the Little Beastman… Quite worry-free, isn’t it?

When You Ye reappeared with the Little Beastman in front of him again, the Little Beastman seemed to have let go of most of her guard, with more anxiety and unease on her face.

Boss Luo curiously asked, “What method did you use?”

“I just helped her treat her wounds and then casually mentioned that we might be able to help her.” The Maid smiled slightly, “However, afterward, she needs to pay some remuneration… pared to ill-defined goodwill, she actually believes more in something that is payable.”

As expected.

Luo Qiu originally had no resistance to business… He began scrutinizing the young Beastman, who appeared to be around the age of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old human girl.

However, the clothing she was wearing was somewhat odd…

A short skirt female sailor suit with red and white striped long socks, really didn’t know where to start plaining from – or maybe whoever prepared the clothes was quite understanding?

“Mr. Chen seemed to have misunderstood something…” The Maid looked with gleaming eyes.

Even if there was a misunderstanding, it wouldn’t warrant preparing a sailor suit…

Boss Luo pretended not to notice this peculiar point… nodded, and in the end, he still went against his original intent—having the Little Beastman change into different clothes.

Of course, this change was instantaneous, without any situation such as bursting clothes.

Simple cropped jeans and a short-sleeve top, white flat shoes, and a plain-colored jacket… When it es to attire, Boss Luo was never quite adept – but at least it was better than the awful sailor suit just now, wasn’t it?

“Actually, the previous outfit would be more convenient for mobility.” The Little Beastman suddenly said earnestly, trying to make her expression appear natural, but it couldn’t mask her inner shock, “Are you… a magician? I’m starting to believe you might help me.”

Only a magician capable of using various magical tricks could have the ability to change clothes in a snap… Also, the ability to restrain oneself…

“You can just see it that way.” Luo Qiu ignored the Little Beastman’s first sentence, smiling, “How should we address you?”

“Lale,” she responded.

“Tulip, huh…”

Luo Qiu nodded slightly, “Ms. Lale, we are indeed engaged in providing paying services to our clients… I wonder, is there anything we can help you with?”

Lale was silent for a moment, eventually making up her mind… Just as the other party said, with such powerful abilities, it would be easy to do anything to her without beating around the bush.

“I think you can help me find my brother, his name is Oga.”

Lale bit her lip, explaining her background, “Originally, my brother and I were caught by a group of damned Beastman traffickers. They planned to transport us for auction… But when passing through here, the ship was suddenly attacked, a group of strange people barged in, fighting those damned traffickers. Amid the chaos, many beastmen started fleeing… During the escape, I got separated from my brother. Originally, I could trace my brother by scent, but a rainstorm suddenly washed the scent away… I, I couldn’t find him.”

She became frustrated.

This Beastman girl had not had it easy, caught by traffickers to a faraway land, faced with an unfamiliar city and language barrier, thinking she escaped to safety, only to be separated from her kin.

“Your brother’s name is Oga, correct?” Luo Qiu verified with Lale.

She nodded.

Luo Qiu then stretched out his hand, to Lale’s astonishment, he retrieved a sheepskin scroll out of thin air, glancing at it before saying, “I believe I’ve found where your brother is.”

“Really?!”

She was so thrilled that she almost jumped forward… nearly pouncing onto Luo Qiu, but at the same time, a gentle force stopped her body, “You?”

“Rest assured, your brother is temporarily safe.” Luo Qiu rolled up the sheepskin scroll, looking at the Little Beastman, as if pondering something.

“Remuneration?” Lale asked tentatively, sensing something.

Luo Qiu nodded.

Purchasing information required a certain payment and naturally involved expenses: the club’s basic trading principle always existed, even though there was the autonomy of opening and closing trades at any time, when it was formal enough to resemble a trading process, it would be presumed a trade had begun.

Of course, whether this transaction was for profit or was essentially a loss, the boss had some leeway in deciding.

“Then… one month,” Luo Qiu thought for a moment before slowly stating, “Ms. Lale, I need you to provide me with one month.”

Upon hearing this, Lale was initially surprised, having prepared to pay the price, but hearing a month’s time, she instinctively moved her lips.

She gritted her teeth, resolutely nodding, “Alright! As long as you truly can help me find my brother, I… I will acpany you for one month! But… but I won’t accept excessively perverse requests! And you… you must ensure protection is used!”

At this moment, Boss Luo was glad that he wasn’t in the middle of sipping tea or anything.

In memory, a similar thing seemed to have occurred before?

In South America, when encountering that woman with Dimensional Observer abilities… Luo Qiu glanced at the Maid, surprisingly finding that her face did not show the same kind smile as last time.

Vaguely, it seemed there was even a hint of amused delight?

It seems like a good thing…

Luo Qiu waved at Lale and said seriously, “Miss Lale, I think you misunderstand. What I mean is, this information is worth a month of your life… meaning, after you find your brother, I will take a month of your life as payment. You don’t have to stay with me for a month, and I… don’t have any strange hobbies.”

“My… life?” Lale opened her mouth in confusion.

How does one give away life? And specifically for a month’s time?

Luo Qiu said, “Let me explain it this way… finding your brother takes time, and we help you save that time, allowing you to find him in an extremely short period. But conversely, if you were to use normal means, your brother might encounter danger, and you might be too late to rescue him. Our service allows you to avoid such risks, so naturally, it costs more. Currently, time equals payment, which should be the most affordable way for you to pay… after all, it’s just about finding your brother’s location.”

Lale shook her head; she didn’t understand, not even knowing if spending a month in this context was worthwhile.

She solemnly said, “You say a month, then a month it is. As long as I don’t have to stay with you, it’s fine.”

Ignoring the last sentence, Luo Qiu gave her a final confirmation, “Miss Lale, are you willing, to pay a month’s life as the cost, to purchase the information about your brother’s location from us? You are very young now and might not really value the length of life, but when you reach the end of your life, you might regret this month.”

“Enough talking!” Lale frowned.

The concept of life as payment was indeed hard to believe… she preferred to think that the other person was being kind, using this jesting way to make it easier for her to accept the help.

But… no magician among humans is a good person.

“Then let’s sign the contract.” Luo Qiu waved his hand, and a sheepskin scroll unfurled in front of her.

She hesitated for a moment, but in the end, urgency overruled reason, and she gritted her teeth before leaving a handprint on it.

Amazingly, even though she couldn’t understand the contents of the contract, its meaning immediately imprinted into her consciousness at that moment.

Life payment… could it really exist?

She finally received the sheepskin scroll containing the information about her brother’s current location from Luo Qiu—on the scroll, it seemed to be a map.

There were two marks on the map, one red and one blue… The blue mark was an arrow. Lale raised her head in confusion.

Luo Qiu said, “The blue arrow is your location, and the red mark is your brother’s location… You’ll be able to find your brother easily, and it’s not far.”

Lale nodded and said nothing more, instead directly opening the window and climbing out, quickly disappearing into the night.

…

The maid walked to the window, closed it carefully, then turned around and chuckled, “Seems like quite the impatient one.”

Luo Qiu smirked, “Speaking of which, why did Chen Peter prepare such clothes?”

The maid blinked, “Master… do you want to see?”

Luo Qiu chuckled, “You’re being more and more like a versatile witch, you know.”

The maid slowly walked over, crouched down gently next to Luo Qiu, cupped his hand, and pressed it against her cheek, looking up softly, “Master… would you be willing to bee my big devil?”

He tilted his head down to kiss her.

This time, it was on the lips.

…

…

Evening.

The social work center had already finished for the day, but Will stayed behind.

If munication in words wasn’t possible, music would be a good way to municate—Will had always believed that if you performed with your heart, the message would surely reach the other party.

This child looked about thirteen or fourteen years old, and although he was as delicate as a girl, he was indeed a BOY… His two colleagues and bandmates left early, saying they didn’t want their orientation challenged.

Overall, Will was someone who couldn’t stand seeing others in distress without offering help—so he stayed late to cover the role of a temporary psychological counselor.

With no good way to address the child’s unease, Will came up with a non-solution of sorts—he brought an acoustic guitar in front of the child.

Of course, it couldn’t be something like punk rock; Will chose soft country music instead.

This child, since he had eaten, had been curled up in the corner of the room, seemingly fearing everything and everyone… When Will walked in with the guitar, he even started to shiver.

Will later saw the bruises on the child’s back.

Some were old, but others were fresh and crimson, clearly indicating ongoing violent treatment… Will found it hard to imagine what kind of brutal person could bring themselves to harm such a gentle child.

“I mean no harm, I just hope you can calm down.” Will spoke with his softest voice, “It’s safe here; no one will hurt you. Please trust that we will help you… although you seem not to understand.”

The child only shivered more as Will approached.

So Will, with a gentle smile, sat in front of the child, adjusted the guitar strings a bit, and began his fingerstyle performance.

“The Original Scenery of the Hometown”

Even as someone who loved punk rock, upon hearing this tune from a distant land, he immediately fell in love with it.

“Relax a bit, a friend who’s furthering his music studies from the east taught me this piece,”

Will said as he strummed the strings.

The sound rose, like the wind over the plains, deep and melodious.

Gradually, the delicate boy became less afraid, even stopping his shivers, and his eyes more on Will’s hands.

He seemed to be captivated by the sound, subconsciously calming down, and his eyes became moist… He reached to touch his face and realized he was crying.

Will glanced at him but didn’t stop and insisted on finishing the piece, then brought some tissues, handing them to the boy.

He hesitated but still timidly took them, saying something in a low voice.

Will couldn’t tell which language it was, but it didn’t impede their exchange… probably words of thanks.

Will smiled, raising the guitar, “Would you like to try it?”

The boy seemed to understand Will’s intention, hesitated… and nodded.

Will handed the guitar to the child and began to adjust his posture—letting him hold the rosewood guitar correctly.

“This is called a fret, this is called a fretboard, this is the first fret…”

Although he didn’t know if the boy could understand, Will patiently taught him.

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS: (5/27)