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Roman returned to his food, shoveling portions into his mouth at a greater pace than before. “Well, now that that’s out of the way, there’s something else I gotta know. What the hell’re you planning to do with all of these Rainlords?”

Hector busied himself with his own lasagna for a moment while he thought about how to answer that. “...I don’t plan to do anything with them,” he said.

Roman gave him a doubtful look. “Really?”

It didn’t seem like a simple yes would suffice here. “Well, ah... for now, they’re just going to stay here while they figure out their next move.”

“Mm,” hummed Roman. “So all this is just temporary, then?”

“...Yeah,” said Hector, though with a bit of uncertainty. “Did Voreese not explain that to you, already?”

“She did. I just didn’t believe her. And now, I’m not sure I believe you, either.”

Hector just cocked an eyebrow at him.

Roman exhaled a sigh. “You’re not really planning to just let these people go, are you?”

“Excuse me?”

“Hector. You’ve got an army here. An army that kinda loves you, from what I’ve seen. And you’re just gonna let it slip through your fingers?” Roman put his fork down and stared him in the eye. “C’mon. Seriously. I don’t have to spell this out for you, do I?”

Hector’s expression soured a little bit. “I think you’ve got the wrong impression of these people...”

“And I think you’re missing the obvious. Listen. The Queen sent me on a recruitment mission for a reason. She knows we need strong people to protect Atreya. She knows that even if things seem fairly safe now, Abolish could return at any time and try to finish what it started. These Rainlords are perfect for--”

Hector held up a hand. “No, I get it. I mean. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about that, too, but...”

“But, what?”

“They have a lot going on, right now,” said Hector. “They’re here to rest.”

“They seemed pretty rested to me,” said Roman.

“Well, they aren’t,” said Hector, more firmly now. “You don’t understand. They’ve been through so much shit, recently. They’ve been betrayed. Attacked. Multiple times. They were even forced to fight each other for a while. And tensions between the families still aren’t exactly perfect, either.”

Roman sat back in his seat a little. “I’m not claiming to know more about their circumstances than you. At this table, you and Garovel are obviously the experts on that. All I’m saying is that there’s a golden opportunity here, and you’re a fool if you let it pass you by.”

“It’s not that--”

‘How would you suggest we take advantage of it, then?’ said Garovel, drawing Hector’s glance.

“Simple,” said Roman. “Make them dependent on you.”

Okay. Hector did not appreciate that advice.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” said Roman. “They’re already dependent on you, aren’t they? I just mean, use these circumstances to your advantage and try to foster a relationship that continues on like this into the foreseeable future.”

Hector just kept staring at him.

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“That’s...” Hector didn’t even know what to say.

Roman was just looking at him, waiting for him to finish.

‘Say thank you,’ said Garovel privately.

“Ah--er--thank you. That’s amazing. That’s more than I possibly could have hoped for.”

“Funny,” said Roman with a smile. “Wasn’t more than you asked for.”

“Y-yeah...”

“And what did you say this money was going to be used for, again?” said Roman.

Hector’s mouth flattened, mostly from disbelief. “Uh... are you seriously asking me that?”

“Yeah, why? Is it that much trouble to repeat yourself or elaborate?”

“No, it’s just... I mean, did you really just decide to give me ten million troa without understanding what it was for?”

“Well, like I said, you have my trust.”

Hector didn’t know whether to smile or frown at that.

“That’s a bit reckless, Master Roman.”

“Yeah, well, that’s why I’m asking for clarification.”

“You should’ve done that before saying you would give him the money,” said Gina.

“Why? It’s not too late to change my mind. I’m not above going back on my word. Even when it’s in writing. Remember that contract with Genuto Motors a few years ago? Never paid those fuckers a thing.”

“I remember them suing you,” said Gina.

“And I remember them dropping it after one of their server rooms mysteriously caught fire,” said Roman.

“Narrowly avoiding bankruptcy is not something you should brag about, Master Roman.”

“Whatever. That’s all water under the bridge now. C’mon, Hector. Tell me what this money is for again. Some kind of bank, right?”

“Oh, ah, yeah.”

“See? I listen.”

“It’s, ah... basically, it’s to prevent foreign banks from taking over the country,” said Hector, “and, er, challenging the Queen’s power.”

Roman folded his arms, nodding. “So you’re gonna use this money to challenge the Queen’s power?”

Hector reared back in his chair. “Wait, what? No! It’s to stop foreign banks from doing that, not me!”

‘Foreign interests,’ clarified Garovel. ‘Not necessarily banks. We’re hoping to help preserve Atreya’s financial independence through this economic crisis.’

“Oh, okay,” said Roman. “I thought that was a little weird.”

“You didn’t actually think that, did you?!” said Hector.

“Well, I dunno,” said Roman. “I mean, you’ve got all these Rainlords here... and all this land... and I haven’t seen you in a while...”

Hector just lowered his brow at him.

“Heh. You might want to be careful when you tell the Queen about this plan of yours.” Roman allowed a beat to pass. “Or, have you told her about it, already?”

“Not yet,” said Hector. He rubbed his neck, figuring that he should probably go see her soon. How was he even supposed to do that? Or would just a phone call be enough? He’d have to ask Garovel about that later, he supposed.

“Have fun with that, then,” said Roman. “Tell her I said hi.”

“Ah, heh, okay...”

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“Yeah, alright, sure, you got me,” said Roman, “but that’s not what I’m talking about here. Technically, yes, I could give you a hundred million troa--just out of the kindness of my heart, I guess. But in order to actually do that, I would have to liquidate so many of my assets that, well... let’s just say, I wouldn’t be the only one affected by it. Pretty much of all of my money is being used, right now. That’s what I do. In fact, I’d say that’s the entire point. To put it back into the community. All my money is in real estate, small businesses, charities, that type of thing. I don’t just go home and sit on a big pile of gold coins all day.”

‘Well, there was that one time--’ tried Voreese.

“The point is,” Roman continued, “even if I wanted to just give you that much money--which, by the way, Hector, I don’t particularly--but even if I did, I would have to financially ruin or otherwise fuck over thousands of people, first. Many of whom are children or elderly, mind you.”

Hector gave a slow nod. “I... completely understand.”

“Do you?” said Roman, frowning. “You don’t really know much about me or my business interests.”

Hector had a feeling that he could ask Madame Carthrace and suddenly know a whole lot more about them, but he elected not to say that. “I kinda figured you didn’t want me to know much about them,” he said instead. “Didn’t you say you were a thief?”

“That’s just one aspect of what I do,” said Roman. “Though, lately, I haven’t even been able to do that. Hands’ve been pretty full, if you hadn’t noticed.”

‘You’re preaching to the choir over here,’ said Garovel.

“Look,” said Hector, taking a breath, “I was just telling you what I... currently know about the situation. I wasn’t actually expecting you to just give me a hundred million troa. But that is about how much I need, so any help you would be... willing to offer, ah--that would be appreciated.”

Roman was quiet for a time, and his frown didn’t leave his face. He rubbed his nose and his chin while he deliberated, perhaps consulting Voreese privately as well.

“Hector,” Roman finally said. “I will do whatever I can to help you. Of course I will. I’m grateful beyond words for everything you’ve done, both for me and for our country. Hell, I’d even go so far as to say that you have my trust--which is not something of mine that many people can claim to have. So, even though I hardly understand what your actual objective is here, that’s almost inconsequential to me, when we get down to it. I may not be able to free up a cool hundred mil for you, but how does ten sound? To start things off, at least.”

“...Ten million?” Hector could hardly believe what he was hearing.

“No, ten troa. Of course ten million! I’m not that much of a dick.”