>>6339828Oh, this time she's gonna get it, with her neutral expression and apparent disinterest in everything around her. Your voice rising over the mayhem, not caring about how ridiculous you may look at this moment, you vent all your anger, fear and frustration on the girl, throwing your rifle on the ground, <span class="mu-i">demanding</span> to know why you were sent single-file into a death trap, eventually collapsing into incoherent rambling about the zombified girl, the spore-monster, Chernabel's condescension, Umaz's sneak-attack, and Maggde's breath weapon, and you even manage to throw in some irrelevant complaints about Garrett, and about the Talons Guild's stupid pamphlets and glorified death marches, which you had to <span class="mu-i">pay</span> to attend, even!
Patiently waiting for your tirade to sputter into wordless frustration, the girl maintains her unchanging face, though you can tell--or at least you think you can tell--that she's struggling to do so.
"I know," she starts, so calmly that it only makes you angrier. "Well, you mentioned a number of things that I can't do anything about... I agree that Garrett is a filthy man... but in the name of the Talons Guild, I deeply apologize for this unforseen development." She bows ceremonially, and extends a manilla envelope to you.
Before you decide how to react, you cautiously take the envelope and open it. It's the money you paid for the excursion, and then some. In fact, it's enough to cover a couple months of rent, and some change.
"Hey!" Hassan shoves you aside. "What about me?!"
"Of course," the girl hands him an identical envelope.
You are in disbelief. All this and now you're being bribed?
"It's not a bribe," the girl clarifies, as if reading your mind. "Seeing as the trip didn't go as planned, the Talons Guild has decided to reimburse you and provide compensation for your incinerated belongings. Beyond that, surely you <span class="mu-i">must</span> be aware that all hunters enter the Chaotzakka Condemned Zone under their own responsibility and mortal peril. Still, as you can imagine, this little 'newcomer excursion initiative' will be put on the back burner for now."
Finally, the flashes a small smile, the first you've seen from her. You can't help but feel like you're still being bribed.
"I can explain more later, but right now I need to file mountains of paperwork, go down to the station, and well, before all that I need to see how Maggde's doing," she fires off, her eyes wandering about. "The good thing is that none of you were infected."
You don't know if that even counts as a silver lining, but you suppose you'll take it. You're still brewing with anger inside, but the girl's ice-cold reaction has somewhat disarmed you. Hassan, meanwhile, is still counting the bills.
"I'm Miro-miro, by the way," she says out of nowhere. "That's my name. I'll look for you at Saturn Apartments later, but right now I have a mountain of things to do." And with that, she walks away and is lost in the crowd of policemen and soldiers.
