Chapter 23: Isn't This a Little Too Wild?
"Mr. Mammon, it's just two people. Is that really so difficult for an organization like yours?"
Lusamine felt the boy was brushing her off.
At her words, Mammon merely smiled.
"Our organization has only just arrived in Alola. We have a mountain of things to deal with right now."
Mammon spoke lightly.
"As things stand, we haven't even fully consolidated our territory in Alola. We're already short on manpower."
"President Lusamine, we'd be very happy to establish a good working relationship with you. But asking us to pull people off active assignments to track down two individuals during a period like this? It's not really realistic."
Mammon tilted his head slightly as he watched her.
"Besides — Team Rocket is a dark organization. Hunting down missing persons isn't exactly our specialty. You'd be better off hiring a private investigator."
At those words, Lusamine fixed a long, deep stare on this seemingly carefree, devil-may-care boy.
"These two people are extremely important to me. I would ask your organization to do me this favor. I will compensate you handsomely afterward."
For all of Mammon's smooth talk, Lusamine wasn't buying any of it.
If Team Rocket genuinely wanted to help, there was no way they couldn't free up the manpower. He was simply angling for a better deal.
After all, what he'd said at first was that the job wasn't going to be easy — not that it was impossible.
"I see. Well, since President Lusamine is being so sincere about it…"
Mammon's mouth curled slowly upward as he gave Caitlin a small signal.
Caitlin produced a folder she'd prepared in advance and elegantly handed it across to Lusamine.
The terms were ready in advance?
Lusamine kept her expression carefully neutral as she accepted the documents. After two glances, her brow drew tight.
"These properties — President Lusamine, we'd like you to purchase them, and then transfer them over to us. Would that work?" Mammon asked with a smile.
This was an issue Lance had been struggling with constantly — Alolan locals refused to sell land to him. Even leasing was hard to come by.
But with Lusamine, that wouldn't be a problem. She wasn't just an Alolan native — she had an excellent reputation throughout the region.
Of course, that was all assuming Lusamine was willing.
"Mr. Mammon. Don't you think this is going a bit too far?" Lusamine raised her gaze toward him, her stare sharp as a blade.
"This much property — no matter how subtly I try to handle it, anyone paying attention will notice. Where exactly does that leave my Aether Foundation?"
A distinct chill had crept into Lusamine's voice.
Buying up properties and transferring them to Team Rocket wasn't difficult in itself. The hard part was doing it without anyone catching wind of it.
The instant the outside world caught even a whiff of the Aether Foundation "colluding" with Team Rocket, the carefully cultivated public image she'd spent years maintaining would collapse entirely.
But Mammon wasn't in any rush.
"If President Lusamine finds it difficult, we can take it slow. There's no need to purchase all of them in one go. As for the cost of acquiring the properties themselves — we'll cover that."
Mammon smiled at her.
"Of course, if President Lusamine is unwilling, we won't press the matter."
Lusamine's expression didn't shift, but inside she was seething. This Team Rocket boy — the audacity!
The gleam and gradient slowly drained from her pupils, leaving them hollow and empty in a way that made the skin crawl.
This was a physical tell of Lusamine's. Whenever her psychological state began to slide toward obsession, her pupils visibly changed.
"You will find those two children for me." Lusamine's tone was cold.
And that statement, in roundabout terms, was her acceptance.
Compared to Cosmog, this much risk was something she was willing to bear!
"Of course. A pleasure doing business, President Lusamine."
Mammon's smile deepened. Watching the lofty Lusamine wear that expression of pure displeasure while still being forced to lower her head — it was rather entertaining.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Lusamine excused herself, citing other matters to attend to.
"People, you see — once you've found their soft spot, they're so easy to handle."
Mammon lounged back into his chair, took a sip of red wine, and spoke lazily.
How to put it?
If Lusamine weren't so desperate to recover Lillie and Nebby, she would never in a thousand years have agreed to terms like those.
"Those two — they'd be President Lusamine's children, wouldn't they?"
Caitlin picked up the photo and glanced at it. The relationship was easy enough to guess.
After all, both Gladion and Lillie shared a clear resemblance to Lusamine.
But that just made the whole thing even stranger, didn't it?
Her own flesh and blood — and yet Lusamine was willing to take this kind of risk, going to a dark organization like Team Rocket to track her own children down.
"And besides… Mammon, isn't Gladion one of our own?"
Caitlin looked over at him, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. She'd never met Gladion in person, but Mammon had mentioned him in passing during a conversation with Plumeria some time back.
The detail-oriented Caitlin had filed it away.
"That's right. Gladion joined the organization a little while back." Mammon nodded.
As for telling Lusamine? Why on earth would he tell her?
And as for honoring agreements and being trustworthy? Don't make him laugh — you're trying to talk trust in a deal with a dark organization?
That said, Mammon would eventually bring Gladion to see Lusamine — just not now. The current Lusamine had her entire mind consumed by Ultra Space and Ultra Beasts. She was practically possessed.
Gladion's "super-effectiveness" against the present-day Lusamine simply wasn't strong enough yet.
Once Lusamine had been "brought back to her senses," then both Lillie and Gladion would be the children she cherished beyond anything else.
"Mammon, you're really quite the liar."
Caitlin recalled the exchange between Mammon and Lusamine and couldn't help offering up that observation.
But she didn't dislike it. If anything — for someone in his position, in his role, how could you possibly grow your power without a bit of cunning?
"When the right moment comes, we can take the Aether Foundation completely. By then, our plans here in Alola will be able to take a major step forward."
Mammon's eyes flickered slightly. In his plans, Lusamine was someone he absolutely had to get a grip on. There simply wasn't a more suitable candidate.
And Aether Paradise itself was a very nice piece of real estate too.
"Mm~"
Caitlin's fair, delicate face wore a smile, her soft, crisp acknowledgment carrying just the faintest hint of nasal warmth.
Adorable.
Meanwhile, Mammon was already turning his thoughts to how exactly he was going to use Lillie and Gladion to leverage a recovered Lusamine down the line.
For her beloved children, this woman — who was, under normal circumstances, a great mother — should certainly be willing to make sacrifices.
"I call you sis, you call me daddy? Hisss~ isn't this a little too wild?"
Mammon muttered under his breath. He really shouldn't be that kind of person… right?
"Mammon, did you just say something?"
Caitlin asked, puzzled. Mammon's voice had been too low for her to catch.
"No. Just thinking about how to take Lusamine down."
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