Shortly after departing from the slums, Erich and Mirage arrived at the manor which Hideaki lived at. The estate was almost asrge as the one Erich lived in on Teutonia, and was built in the architectural style that was somonly found across the Great Oni Empire.


    However, the moment they stepped out of the vehicle, Erich and Mirage were greeted by an entire staff of lovely Oni maidens, all of which were dressed in French maid uniforms. Where the Oni conceived of this idea, Erich did not know, but he suspected it was taken from the Germanic Star-Empire, who often employed maids in such attire.


    "Wee home masters..."


    Mirage noticed that Erich was particrly happy to be called master by a bunch of beautiful Oni woman, to which she simply nudged him in the ribs, before lecturing him on his misced thoughts.


    "Don''t get any ideas!"


    Of course, Mirage had no idea that the moment she did this, Erich''s thoughts suddenly shifted to her being dressed in a French maid uniform, and weing him back home by calling him by such a title.


    The very notion of the intelligence agent being reduced in status to a mere maid meant to serve his every whim was something that Erich suddenly approved of within his own mind, even if he did not dare express these thoughts aloud.


    Hideaki, of course, walked forward with his arms spread wide open in a weing gesture before saying the words in his mind.


    "Wee to my humble abode. Pleasee in. I will have a feast prepared for you momentarily. In the meantime, let''s have some sake bombs and discuss some more important matters."


    Erich and Mirage entered the manor and sat down at the bar, where a particrly beautiful young Oni bartender greeted them with a smile. Before Erich could request a drink, Hideaki pped the woman on the ass, before pouring them all some sake bombs. The man then raised his ss and said his toast before pounding the liquor instantly.


    "Kenpai!"


    Erich and Mirage followed suit, where they were then ambushed with questions about Butcher by Hideaki.


    "So what has Butcher been up to? Surely that old bastard is still kicking, right?"


    Mirage then red at Erich, who she had tasked withing up with a believable story about Butcher''s death. To which Erich forced a glum expression and sighed heavily before shaking his head.


    "Splinter was damn near wiped out during the war with Terminus. Half of the Empire was destroyed by the Naraku, and almost all of our territory with it. Unfortunately, Butcher was at our headquarters when the Naraku Hive Fleet arrived, and as far as I know, he died defending it against those fucking bugs.


    He wasn''t alone, though. None of the other underbosses survived. The organization had to be rebuilt from the ground up after the war was over. With people like myself, and Mirage here gaining some significant power."


    Hideaki sighed when he heard this, and shook his head in defeat, almost as if he had expected such an answer all along. However, he was quick to ask the next question on his mind.


    "How did the two of you survive then, if most of Splinter was wiped out?"


    Erich did not hesitate to answer this question with a masterful facade, one that made it look like he was the luckiest man in the world.


    "I still don''t believe it myself. But Mirage and I were outside of the Empire when the Naraku invaded. We were overseeing the transfer of some cargo to the Lutharian Ascendency. It took us a while to get back to the Empire, and when we did, it was already toote. In the end, it was one dumb smuggling job that ended up saving our lives...."


    Even Mirage was surprised at how skilled Erich''s acting was, because if she did not know any better, she would have believed his bullshit herself. And because of this, it naturally worked on someone like Hideaki, who did not know any better. The man sighed once more while he raised a shot of sake into the air before saying another toast.


    "To Butcher, he went out like the warrior he was!"


    Erich and Mirage did the same before swallowing the alcohol in an instant. With this small talk out of the way, and his curiosities resolved, Hideaki finally got down to business as he asked what exactly Erich and Mirage needed from him.


    "I doubt you havee all of this way to restore business ties between the Ronin and Splinter, so how can I help you?"


    Erich and Mirage looked at each other for a moment, before the blue-haired beauty spoke up on Erich''s behalf. There was a bit of urgency in her tone as she did so.


    "To put it simply, we''vee to take advantage of this ongoing civil war that your Empire is currently facing. While the Lutharians are providing support to the rebels, we know that they have withdrawn support from the anarchists who seem to be causing wonton destruction with aplete disregard for coteral damage.


    We believe we can provide these Anarchists with the weapons and munitions that they need to continue their activities, and we suspect that they would be willing to pay us a fair price for our goods. We just need to establish contact with them, and because of this, we were hoping you would introduce us to them. Seeing as how nothing happens within the Criminal Underworld of the Great Oni Empire without the Ronin being aware of it."


    Hideaki remainedpletely and utterly silent for some time, even as the food his kitchen staff prepared was ced in front of his guests. He seemed to be contemting whether or not he should entertain such an offer.


    After all, while he may know about the Anarchists, and several of their hideouts, he was not exactly one who supported chaos for the sake of chaos. There was no honor in the deaths of civilians, or the looting of businesses.


    But he did owe Butcher a favor. And even if the man was dead, that debt still remained. Thus, if he could be rid of it by simply introducing the man''s protégé to a bunch of anarchists, he might as well do it. Thus, after some deep contemtion, Hideaki decided to agree to Mirage''s request.


    "Very well. I can arrange a meeting. Though it might take some time. Just be warned, these people arepletely unpredictable, and are a danger to everyone and everything. If this ends up blowing up in your face, I refuse to share any of the me.


    Mirage smiled when she heard this response, and Erich simply nodded his head in approval. They were about to thank Hideaki for his generosity when he suddenly got up from his seat and ordered his manor staff to do something unthinkable.


    "Alright! Now that business is concluded, let''s enjoy ourselves! Girls, bring out the good stuff, and go unburden yourselves while you''re at it!"


    The maids simply smiled and bowed their heads to their master, where they then scurried off. Hideaki then asked Erich a question he never thought he would ever hear in his life.


    ''So, Apex, do you like Oni girls? I know your kind is very strict about outbreeding, but don''t tell me you have never thought about it before?"


    Erich felt extremely awkward. On the one hand Mirage was ring at him, as if she were demanding he not say anything which would dishonor the Empire, while on the other hand he did not want to refuse Hideaki''s offer. Thus, Erich came up with the perfectpromise as he made a shocking deration with a wide smile on his face.


    "Indeed, I do! In fact, I have two Oni lovers waiting for me back in the Empire. So I''m afraid whatever crazy thing you had in mind, I''m going to have to pass..."


    Mirage was stunned to hear this. While she was aware of Erich''s previous rtionship with Yumi, she was not, however, aware that both Yumi and her niece were staying with Erich currently. That was a secret that even her immediate superiors were not privy to.


    In all honesty, she did not know if Erich was speaking the truth, or was simply making up some bullshit to avoid whatever crazy thing Hideaki had nned. However, Hideaki merely broke out intoughter and patted Erich on the back while making a shocking announcement.


    "Good! Good! I''m d to see you haven''tpletely fallen for your Empire''s brainwashing. There are a lot of beautiful women in the gxy, from a million different species, and it would be a shame if you could not enjoy them all. However, I understand when a man is in love, so I won''t force you to do anything you don''t want to do. But might I make a counteroffer?"


    Immediately, the maids returned while dressed in nothing but micro bikinis. They appeared to have kilograms of drugs in their hands. Which Hideaki offered to Erich immediately.


    "Initially, I was nning on having these women entertain you, but since that would be crossing a line, I suppose all I can really offer is this? How about we snort some Euphoria out of these bitches'' navels and see where the night takes us?"


    Erich looked over at Mirage, who was giving him a death re, and decided it would be best not to take Hideaki up on his offer. Instead, he had a better idea. One that would prove he wasn''t a nark, while also appeasing Mirage, who could quite literally make his life a living hell if he made one wrong step.


    "I have a better idea..."


    After saying this, Erich grabbed a hold of a vial of what Hideaki referred to as Euphoria and pinned Mirage on the sofa. At first she began to struggle, and tried to straight arm lock Erich in response, but he quickly raised her shirt, and poured the drug on her breasts, where he immediately snorted it all in one go.


    This caused Mirage to flush in embarassment and p Erich across the face, which only made the manugh, as he felt his brain rush from the drug he had just snorted. Hideaki seemed to enjoy the sight of Mirage''s substantial bosom, and cheered Erich on, while making ament about his rtionship with the blue-haired beauty.


    "Damn, I didn''t know the two of you were like that! Well, trust me, it''s a long night, and there''s plenty more where that came from. Let''s party!"


    Erich and Hideaki then began to drink excessively, and snort an ungodly amount of drugs. All the while, Mirage watched the two of them in silence. She was furious at Erich for what he had just done, and would make him pay for it one way or another.