"Luck had nothing to do with it my friend," Soun replied, "I had the man waiting before you came. I just asked him to stay in that other room, and he was there in plenty of time."
"And now your daughters will belong to my son."
"Yes, indeed. And I could not be more pleased."
"You do realise what will happen then," the more portly of the two commented. "Especially with the full access bit we have..."
"Hmm... I do believe that it well that we put that in there."
"Now that is an understatement, and once they get a load of my boy..."
Soun nodded, though his mind was more on the relief that he was feeling at the time. With this act, he would not only be settling his girls all at once, but it would allow them to be more secure than they would know. He knew that it was his own fault that they had been that at risk, but he had no choice at the time. Being in a situation where he'd been saddled with a massive meal bill even though he had little money and eaten not much of that food, he'd had little choice.
But the Chardins had left him no other way out. Either he paid in cash, or with his daughters. Either way, they'd get something out of it, and he'd be rid of his debts. However, he'd never wanted to let his babies go to someone who not only overcharged for their meals, but were so... so... disturbing. He just didn't like them, but he'd gotten to work with a back up plan. There was a fun to pay for everything that went into this sale of his daughters. Once it went through, then he'd have access to the fees that would be paid to him for the sale. That would more than cover the meal, and anything they might stick onto it. And if they came for the girls anyway, he'd be able to say that they were legally not available.
With the payment in hand, and the girls already sold, he'd have outwitted them but good.
Plus with children born of these sorts of unions being born free, they wouldn't have to worry about inheritance.
All he had to do was get to the desk and file the forms. Of course, it was a government office, and there was a bit of a line. "Some things don't change, do they?"
"Yes, and not even between worlds. I remember when I had to file my marriage license, and it was so long that I wondered if my turn would ever come."
"They don't speed it up, but I expect they never will."
"Even with new technology they can't. They have to add more things because the machines are able, but then it means more stuff that you have to do. But think of it this way," Genma told him with a sly smile. "With my boy being with your girls, they are no doubt already starting their relationship as we speak."
"I certainly hope so."
"Don't worry. My boy has always had a way with the ladies," the portly fighter reassured his friend. He knew it to be true, as he'd seen the boy manage to charm both free and slave women alike. It wasn't something that seemed hard for him, but then the boy never did really try. That was a bit confusing, since over the time that they had been in this world, Genma himself had seen the way that things went, and had even considered getting the boy a slave of his own just to let him get used to it. But he had decided against just picking one out of a hat, since it would have not been rather well done. Getting one had not been out of the question however.
Still, the boy seemed to act pretty... friendly. His son knew what went on, and what was expected, but he always just tried to be nice to any and all that he would meet. In fact, as a child, he'd managed to find ways to get the slaves and free women at resturants to give him extra tidbits. When he got older, he did have his share of admirers, though he never seemed to actively pursue the possibilities. There had been plenty of opportunities for bedding girls, but if he took them, his father didn't know.
In any case, the boy was definately interested in girls. He just didn't act like a normal teenaged boy. The elder Saotome knew that many other young men his age would have salivated over such girls, but it seemed that the boy, what with his exposure wasn't so... obvious.
Not that it mattered. Tendo and he were heading to the front of the line, and there was little doubt in his mind that once the initial surprise wore off, the boy would buckle down to his duty.
They just had to finish with this interminable wait at the office while:
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(Posted Fri, 16 Jul 2004 09:48)
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