Base

What headquarters?

Livy tried to guess what Arthur meant, but until they reached the settlement by the sea, she still didn't understand anything. The driver took them to one of the houses very close to the harbour. When she stumbled into the courtyard of the house, the first thing that caught her attention was the practice arena which was right to her left.

In the center of the large area was a building that resembled a house. But it's not really a house, more like a shed that has a compartment-like enclosure.

There were two men who greeted them as they came down. The two men were very respectful of Arthur.

"Boss, everyone has gathered inside." One of them said.

Boss?

Livy was confused why this man called the same way as Dave called Arthur.

Arthur just nodded, then held out his hand for Livy to hold. "Come on."

Before they reached the entrance, she subconsciously withdrew her hand from his grasp. This made he pause.

"What's wrong?"

Livy was very worried. "This ... what is this place?"

The worst thought that she could conclude was that this might be the bases of villains in action movies. She wanted to believe him, but she was also worried. She should have never listened to Sarah when she was talking about the thriller she was watching, now she was thinking something wrong.

Before her question could be answered, the door in front of them opened and a tall, burly man appeared. Livy saw a scar on his right eye, like a knife slash.

"Boss, I heard that you have come, but why didn't you come in?"

This man's voice was exactly like his appearance, sinister.

"Don't be afraid." Arthur realized that Livy was hiding behind his body.

The big man was smiling. "Oh, is this little sister-in-law?"

Little sister-in-law?

"Don't scare her, Kibe," Arthur said firmly.

The man called Kibe chuckled, aside from his sinister face he actually had an amiable smile. Kibe wiped his hand on his thigh, before holding it out to Livy. "Nice to meet you, Sister-in-law. I am Kibe. The third boss has told me a lot about you."

Livy stared at the big sturdy hands full of oil. "T-Third boss?"

"That's Dave." Arthur explained.

"Yes, the third boss is Brother Dave. He should have met you, right? He told me that you were very short and cute, it was just like he said." Kibe laughed and his whole body shook as he did that.

Livy was a little confused as to why she was called short, but Kibe was indeed very tall. Even taller than Arthur himself, he was like an executioner at court in the royal era. Maybe if he was holding an iron club, the picture would fit.

Not wanting to offend him, Livy shook Kibe's hand, which was, as she expected, rough and calloused. "Nice to meet you, just call me Livy."

Arthur watched this whole process and smiled invisibly.

He quickly pulled Livy's hand back, wiped it with his handkerchief. "Kibe is a ship mechanic, he is used to working on engines, that's why he is full of oil."

Kibe scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry for showing such a dirty look, Sister-in-law. I just finished and was suddenly asked to gather for dinner. Then I'd like to go take a shower first," the man politely glanced at Arthur, "Boss, third boss can't come today. He still has work to do at the hospital."

"No problem, hurry up and take a shower and join in."

"Yes, Boss!"

Now, Livy was trying to get used to the title of 'third boss', it's Dave. Then who is the first and second boss? What about Arthur?

As soon as Arthur brought her in, she was immediately greeted by a group of men sitting in various empty spots. Chairs and tables appear to be pushed against the wall as they fill the center. These people look almost the same as Kibe. Not all of them were big and tall, but they looked like manual laborers in matching uniforms.

"Boss!" They said in unison and stood up. Arthur motioned for them to sit back down.

As Livy had guessed earlier, this wasn't really a house at all, maybe it was what Arthur had said earlier—that this was the headquarters.

Even though almost everyone looked scary, Livy didn't want to be prejudiced like when she first saw Kibe. After all, the other half of these people are dressed normally and clean.

At this time, Evander suddenly walked in with a large glass in his hand.

"You arrived?" Evander sat in a chair with his legs crossed, he wasn't wearing his usual glasses and his hair wasn't neatly combed. "Hi, Miss Livy."

"Second boss, you drank beer before us, what a cheat!" Someone who is thin protested at Evander.

"I told you there's no need to wait for Arthur. Have a drink if you want." Evander answered indifferently.

Everyone inside looked at each other, their faces showing that they didn't dare. Moreover, their big boss had just arrived. As a result they were still afraid, but kept glancing at Arthur waiting for orders from him.

With small hints like this, Livy began to understand, so Arthur was the first boss here, second was Evander.

"Let's just start dinner."

Everyone cheered and scattered into another room. It was estimated that there were almost fifty of them in all. Almost everyone was so excited that even Livy heard their voices outside along with some equipment.

"Miss, do you like barbecue?" Evander asked.

Livy was not used to Evander's appearance this time, as if seeing someone she didn't know. So she just nodded.

"You can't drink today." Arthur led her to a chair to sit down.

"Mn."

Even though she was with Arthur now, she still felt scared to be in this unfamiliar place. Moreover, the appearance of the men, almost like the villains in the drama. Maybe she really thought too much, she couldn't focus on the next conversation Arthur and Evander had, and could only look around the room.

The room was big enough. If the chairs and tables weren't pushed against the wall, it would probably be set up like a workers' canteen. When she worked at a railroad counter, the workers' canteen would have several long tables and chairs facing each other. It is in this place that the togetherness of the workers is intertwined.

There was still another room, she felt curious and subconsciously brought her feet there. She was amazed when she saw the large iron shelves on the wall with all kinds of equipment such as nets, barrels, anchor hooks, and others. She didn't know the names of those things. In this place, even though there was a thick sea salty smell, but all the items were neatly arranged. She saw several middle-aged women with masks and hats mopping.

The female workers saw her come in, then they looked at each other confused.

"Hey pretty girl, you new here?" Someone approached and asked her.

Before she could reply, the other one snapped, "Wait a minute, don't talk recklessly. This girl is probably our big boss' little wife! Didn't she come today?"

Everyone there was shocked.

"Ah, you're right. Didn't the big boss come already, that's why everyone started preparing the roast?" Someone else answered as well.

"But that's possible, it's rare for a girl to come in looking good and apply for a job here. Look, she's so pretty." The first worker said again, then glanced at Livy. "Forgive us for mistaking earlier. Are you really our little sister-in-law?"

God, why does everyone call her sister-in-law?

Because Livy heard this too many times, she got used to it, she said, "You don't need to call me that, just call me Livy."

"It's exactly as little boss said, you're beautiful and very friendly. Ah, wait, we'll finish this and join you, Miss Livy. Wait outside because it's full of dust in here."

Who else is 'little boss'?!

Finally she didn't know who it was and chose to return to the previous room. She really had to leave them so they could finish their work and could join them for dinner.

When Livy returned, Arthur was still talking seriously with Evander, their voices so low, they were almost whispering. This made she sit up in a low sound as well.

Come to think of it, this place isn't so bad. When she found that there were several women here, she felt very calm. Moreover, the women looked almost as old as her mother if she was still alive. They don't look scary either.

What she still doesn't understand, what exactly is this place?

"Are you bored?"

Livy gasped when something touched her shoulder and it turned out to be Arthur.

"This place is a bit stuffy, want to go out to have a look?" Arthur stretched out his hand, and she found the jacket on his body had been opened. Livy saw that the man was sweating a little.

Livy took the tissue she brought with her and placed it in Arthur's hand instead, allowing Arthur to frown.

This expression was so funny to her, she laughed. "Let me help you then."

She took a tissue out of the pack and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Surprised by this sudden treatment, he held her hand. Within that narrow distance, they stared at each other.

"Ah, sorry." Livy pulled her hand away. "You can do it yourself."

"I can't."

"Hm?" Livy confused.

"Could you wipe it for me again?"

Her face turned red and she couldn't hold it anymore. Until Evander finally cleared his throat.

"Hey, hey! I'm still here y'know," he said.

There were other people here and they teased each other like the world only belongs to them!

Arthur's expression immediately soured. He held Livy's hand more gently. "Let's get out."

Evander laughed at them when he saw Arthur's annoyance.

Outside, the courtyard that previously contained only two guards was now packed full. Various kinds of baking tools and food bowls and tables have been provided there. There was even a small canopy tent.

Arthur was still walking, but Livy suddenly stopped. He stared at his little wife in bewilderment.

"Arthur, can you tell me first ..." Kiran was a little nervous, before boldly continuing, "What exactly is this place? The headquarters you mentioned ... is it here?"

Arthur was prepared for this possibility, however he was determined to bring her to headquarters, so he wouldn't keep anything secret.

Weighing his thoughts, Arthur calmly led his little wife to sit on a bench under the awning.

"This is my headquarters and the others too. This is where I started my business from scratch."

Livy still couldn't fully understand these words, but she didn't interrupt Arthur's story.

"Have you ever heard of Eternuz?" Arthur stared at her.

This name Livy seemed to have heard somewhere, she tried to remember it a bit before saying, "There was once a small rumor regarding a mafia kingpin, I think the name is the same."

The two looked at each other, though his gaze was more like he was piercing through her.

There are rumors that she talked about, that in their country there are also many mafia kingpins hidden in the underworld. Those who are invisible but have the power to bring each other down. Usually these mafias are in the hands of large, competing companies.

Arthur had also heard of it himself.

Then he averted his eyes, saw the passing of workers preparing toasters. "Maybe that's one of the rumors circulating about Eternuz."

"So you mean ... this base ...?"

Arthur shook his head. "Regarding the rumors that you heard there are, but not all of them are true. This base is not the headquarters of the mafia, you can see them."

Livy also saw the workers who looked happy and had fun preparing everything in the yard. They even joke and mock each other sometimes. To be honest, she also had bad thoughts when she first met Kibe. But it turned out she misjudged.

Even though Kibe looked scary, he was a friendly guy.

"I built this base when I was 20 years old. At first it was just a playing organization consisting of three young people, until we had the same vision and mission to build a business."

Livy guessed roughly, "Those three people, are you, Evander and Dave?"

Arthur didn't answer, just smiled.

The wind at night was cooler, even though it was a bit stuffy in the room, as soon as Livy went out she shivered a little. She glanced at him to watch his expression and the wind blew some of his bangs open.

That was where she noticed there was a scar.

When did he get that wound?

Livy stared blankly at the scar. "You said that the rumors weren't all true, does that mean some of what the rumors say are also true?"

Arthur shrugged. "Depends on which side you look at it. This base has several workers who were former thugs. Almost all here are homeless and familyless. You can guess the rest."

Maybe that's why the workers here look so scary, and the average female workers are those who are over 50 years old.

It turned out that they were people who had been abandoned by those closest to them and brought to work here.

And those ex thugs ...

Livy immediately looked at the sinister, muscular man who was shoulder to shoulder lifting the table from inside the room. Their bodies were stocky and their skin tanned from the sun. Are they field workers?

"What do they do?" asked Livy, before continuing, "You said before, Kibe is a ship mechanic. Is that a fishing ship?"

"Big ocean liner."

Livy frowned. What is a big ocean liner for transporting passengers between islands?

As if understanding Livy's confusion, Arthur explained,

"The big ship in question is a logistics cargo ship to send goods from one island to another. The big port here belongs to Eternuz."

... to be continued ...