Season 3 chapter 111
The Two-Month Milestone
Time moved aggressively forward.
The immediate financial crisis had been completely neutralized by Kniya's brilliant loophole: securing the initial 35 trillion credits upfront as a low-interest KNB corporate loan. For the next eight weeks, the DI'an Energy Department had quietly and methodically transferred the remaining staggered payments to finalize the massive federal purchase.
Two months later, the heavily reinforced executive suite of Kavilson Steel was quiet.
Malesh stood near the massive glass windows overlooking the smog-filled industrial skyline of Seistain. He was holding a thick, leather-bound accounting ledger and a fresh stack of stamped banking telegraphs, his dark eyes scanning the ink with pure analytical focus.
The final string of numbers locked into place.
"Kniya," Malesh announced, his voice echoing perfectly flatly across the plush office. "We finally received the last installment of our staggered payments from the federal government."
Kniya was lounging horizontally across his highly expensive executive sofa, reading a light novel. He didn't even look up from his book, casually flipping to the next page.
"So yeah, this means we finally have to repay our massive loan," Kniya sighed lazily.
"Yeah, we absolutely do," Malesh confirmed, closing the heavy leather ledger and sliding it onto the mahogany desk. "The capital is fully secured."
Kniya snapped his light novel shut and aggressively sat up on the sofa. His chaotic, unhinged capitalist grin stretched wide across his face as he reached for his heavy analog phone.
"Alright then," Kniya declared, cracking his knuckles with absolute enthusiasm. "I am calling Mantouse Adeius. Let's go ruin his day by officially paying him back."
The Mantu Mantu Call
Kniya reached across the mahogany desk, aggressively grabbing the heavy receiver of his analog corporate phone. He dialed the highly secure, unlisted number for the most powerful underground financier in the Republic.
The line clicked open.
"Hello, Mantu Mantu!" Kniya greeted cheerfully, deliberately using the man's first name twice just to be as absolutely obnoxious as humanly possible.
A long, incredibly heavy, and deeply exhausted sigh echoed through the speaker. It was the sound of a man whose soul was actively trying to leave his body.
"I am getting so fucking tired of you guys," Mantouse Adeius groaned, his voice dripping with pure, aristocratic fatigue. "First of all, Kniya, my name is Mantouse Adeius. It is absolutely not Mantu Mantu. And second of all... I already know exactly why the fuck, you called me today."
Mantouse's tone suddenly dropped, shedding the exhaustion and snapping into a cold, highly lethal financial authority.
"It is because of the reason that you didn't have the fucking money to repay my loan—"
"No, Mantu, we finally collected the money to repay the loan to you," Kniya interrupted loudly, speaking over him at the exact same time. "We are not poor like you. We will absolutely repay the fucking loan today."
Mantouse stopped speaking. The line went completely, utterly dead silent.
"Wait... what the fuck?" Mantouse stammered, his lethal authority instantly shattering into pure, unfiltered shock. "What the fuck did you just say?"
"Yeah," Kniya smirked, popping a fresh piece of mint gum into his mouth. "Just tell us exactly where we have to meet. Because I want to transfer that massive fucking amount to you right now, so that you cannot use that 'fill in the blank' bullshit condition in our corporate deed."
The Absolute Breakdown
Mantouse let out a ragged breath. The sheer impossibility of the situation was actively short-circuiting his brain.
"I don't believe you guys," Mantouse denied frantically, his voice rising in sheer panic. "I am absolutely not going to believe you for a single fucking bit! You are seriously telling me that you gathered sixty trillion credits in a span of exactly eleven months, and you are ready to pay me in full?! It is literally impossible! You cannot fucking do that! I explicitly set the conditions way too high so that you guys would never be able to repay the loan! How is it even physically possible?!"
"Well, Mantu," Kniya replied smoothly, completely unbothered by the billionaire's meltdown. "The truth is the truth, and you just have to accept it."
"I am not going to accept this shit!" Mantouse practically screamed, completely losing his sophisticated underworld persona. "It is literally blowing my fucking mind! You guys are always exactly like this! You guys were absolute anomalies the first time we ever met because you somehow found my hidden cave when I expected that absolutely no one would ever be able to find it! You literally did that! Then you literally provided me with the limitless potions! And now, you somehow managed to get sixty trillion credits in eleven months?!"
Mantouse was actively hyperventilating over the analog line.
"What the actual fuck is that?!" Mantouse ranted. "What am I even getting to know right now?! It is literally the kind of bullshit that I am totally unable to believe!"
"Yeah, well, it happened, and now we are going to repay the loan," Kniya stated proudly. "So, Mantu, for this absolute miracle, you have to give us a reward. Because you are actively refusing to believe us, we are going to formally challenge you."
Mantouse paused, his breathing heavy. "...What kind of fucking challenge?"
Kniya leaned forward, his chaotic, highly unhinged energy completely taking over the conversation.
"It is basically like this," Kniya proposed with absolute seriousness. "If we actually provide you with the money to repay our loan today, you are going to take your current underwear off, and basically, you have to give it to Leon. You have to physically force that arrogant bastard to smell that fucking thing. That is our challenge. If you lose and you are definitely going to lose because we have the money with us and you are going to lose this challenge.."
Mantouse let out another agonizing, soul-crushing groan.
"Why the fuck do I let you drag me down to this level?!" Mantouse exploded, his professional composure entirely destroyed. "I am standing here screaming over a telephone just because you guys are proposing this absolutely useless, completely insane challenge about my fucking underwear! Every time I talk to you two, I completely lose my fucking mind! What the hell is wrong with you people?!"
Mantouse cleared his throat, desperately trying to reconstruct his shattered aristocratic ego.
"And the thing you have to know, Kniya," Mantouse argued defensively, aggressively trying to take back control, "is that basically, I was the guy who provided you with the loan! So the condition would be mine on what I am going to do! I am absolutely not going to accept your fucking underwear challenge! Because it was me who provided you with the cash when you required it the most, without asking you a single fucking question! You just told me you wanted a loan for a personal reason, and I just accepted that! A fucking thirty trillion credit loan! I was the guy who gave it to you!"
"Don't have this massive fucking ego, Mantu," Kniya scolded him mockingly, entirely enjoying the psychological torture. "Ego is really not good. It can absolutely take you down."
"Why am I even acting like this?!" Mantouse groaned to himself, completely defeated by the sheer stupidity of the conversation. "Okay, I'm just... I don't fucking know anymore."
The Farmland Rendezvous
Standing next to the mahogany desk, Malesh smoothly adjusted his silk tie. He stared at Kniya with a completely deadpan, exhausted expression, having listened to the entire unhinged argument.
"Kniya," Malesh stated flatly, cutting through the nonsense. "Ask him the main fucking question."
"Oh, right. Okay," Kniya nodded, leaning back into his executive chair. "Yeah, Mantu. Where do we have to meet? When and where?"
Mantouse took a long, deep breath to steady his racing heart, finally returning to his serious, underworld baseline.
"Yeah... you know the location," Mantouse replied, his voice dropping into a dark, highly lethal tone. "You know that farmland where we previously met. Be there at 5:00 PM."
The Girlfriend Excuse
" And there is one thing that I need to tell you and that is first of all, stop calling me Mantu!" Mantouse Adeius snapped, his voice echoing through the heavy receiver. "My name is Mantouse Adeius. You guys already know that, so stop fucking calling me that ridiculous name!"
Kniya rolled his eyes, aggressively kicking his boots up onto the edge of the mahogany desk.
"Well, keep that shit aside," Kniya dismissed lazily. "Tell me, why the hell can we not meet before 5:00 PM? Do you have some kind of highly important appointment with your GF?"
Before Mantouse could even open his mouth to defend himself, Kniya immediately answered his own question in a highly obnoxious, teasing tone.
"Oh, wait, yeah. You can go," Kniya nodded, feigning complete, serious understanding. "It is really important. We absolutely don't have a problem with that. But you really should have just told us the truth! It is incredibly important. As we all know, meeting with your GF and fucking all night is a top-tier priority."
Malesh, standing perfectly still next to the desk, smoothly adjusted his silk tie and stared at the phone with pure, deadpan seriousness.
"Yeah, Mantouse," Malesh chimed in flatly. "Especially considering all the highly specific, bizarre fantasies you have to fulfill with her."
"It is absolutely nothing like that, you fucking idiots!" Mantouse roared, entirely losing whatever small shred of sanity he had left. "I do not have a fucking appointment! It is because of the reason that I have some highly important ledgers and documentations to fill out! That is exactly why I am telling you 5:00 PM! It is not my fault that—ah, fuck! I am saying that this time now I am... you guys are literally idiots! You make me so mad I am literally confused about what I am even saying anymore!"