Chapter 92: Negotiations
Nesha remained holed up in her house for a couple hours, much to the crowd’s dismay. She did walk out eventually, casually strolling towards the building next door, yawning along the way. Everyone but Percy quickly masked the frustration in their expressions, unwilling to risk pissing her off.
As eager as Percy was to approach her, he decided to blend with the others at first, waiting patiently for the opportune moment. Nesha finally opened the gambling den, letting her customers inside. Only after everyone was sitting at different tables, engaging in various games involving dice or cards did Percy grab the chance to talk to her.
“About that thing I mentioned earlier–” he started saying, before she interrupted him.
“You’re really keen on this, aren’t you?” she rolled her eyes.
Percy frowned.
“Shouldn’t you be too? I told you it’s going to be worth your time. And you know I’m telling the truth.”
“I know you believe that. If I had a brown chip every time somebody made a similar claim, I wouldn’t have needed to open the gambling den in the first place.”
Realizing she was going to take some convincing, and also understanding this wasn’t the place to make a scene, Percy opted for a subtler approach. He handed her a small pouch, before speaking.
“Look, words are cheap. Open it when you’re back at home and try out the thing inside. In private. I swear it’s safe. I’ve included instructions on how to use it. We’ll discuss the rest later.”