Chapter 16: The Victory Week
[Host... which shonen anime are you trying to imitate?] The System's comment.
{Shut up,} Maximilian shot back.
Hearing Maximilian, Ricardo was stunned... All that talk, just to mock them!? His eyes filled with despair, disappointment, and a hint of resentment. He had thought Maximilian would offer a way out. Gritting his teeth, Ricardo clenched his fists.
"Making that face... Did you even hear me refuse yet?" Maximilian leaned closer to Ricardo's group, his voice deliberate. "Let me ask you plainly... Why should I? I'll spell it out for you if you're too slow to understand."
He slowed his words, emphasizing each one.
"I'm not a charity worker. So... what... do I... get out of this?"
Ricardo's mind went blank. Money? They had none. They only had a dilapidated building they rented from another gang—not even their own.
Seeing Ricardo frozen, Maximilian snorted before roughly resetting his dislocated shoulder.
"Grrh!!" Ricardo grunted in pain before the agony subsided, his joint back in place.
"I'll give you two days... think it over. If you can't come up with anything... forget I ever spoke." With that, Maximilian walked away, leaving Ricardo and his brothers to their own devices.
[Host, why not just say you want to recruit them? They wouldn't refuse.] The System's tone was curious.