Arknights - Hearts of Fortune collection

¡Hola iberia! Part 1

And because of this, I technically owned nothing—no assets, no income, and no tangible holdings whatsoever.

But let's return to the issue at hand, shall we? How should I deal with this thug who masquerades as an LRA inspector?

"Aight, then. 'Inspector Li'. I'll look the other way and I'll be excusing myself."

"Not so fast. My boss wants to see you."

"Yeah? Well he will need to submit the appropriate forms for a meeting with me. Goodbye." I turned my back on him, before turning right back and dispatching a bullet that narrowly missed his head and struck the wall behind him, "This is just a warning." I smiled.

"What's up with that guy?" I let out a weary sigh as Mostima and I entered my office. "I mean, come on, you're just a run-of-the-mill thug. No need to go to such lengths to masquerade as an ignorant, self-centered, selfish, loudmouth from the LRA people."

Mostima gracefully meandered through my office, inspecting every object that caught her eye.

"Can you imagine that?" I continued, "Who the heck does he work for, anyway?"

"Hmm... he probably works for the Rat King..." Mostima replied casually, her attention now fixed on a potted plant I bought in Kjerag. Unfortunately, it had met a grim fate. Such a shame... it was vibrant once...

"Rat King?" I sat down on my desk chair, and rotated it to look at Mostima, "Who the fuck is he?"

"The Rat King," she reiterated calmly, as she delicately examined the wilted plant. "He's the godfather of Lungmen's criminal underworld."

"Yet another godfather," I muttered, "Well, I suppose as long as he keeps to his own business, I won't give him much thought."

"With the recent influx of exiled Siracusan mafia members, particularly those from the Carolina family who sided with Mary Carolina, relocating to Lungmen," she explained, referring to the migration, "you've probably put him on edge."

She put the potted plant down and looked toward me, "Anyone would be wary if their power is perceived to be in danger." She smirks.

"And why does he seem to be keen on targeting me?" I raised an eyebrow.

"The Rat King isn't stupid. He knows you're the one behind the mass influx of the Siracusan mafia in Lungmen." She smiled as she walked towards me and sat on the chair in front of my desk, "So, your answer?"

"Hmm? Ah. That. Well what was it again? 'the thing that I most regret?"

"Yup,"

"Well, the thing I most regret is..." I paused, shutting my eyes briefly, the weight of the memory sinking in. "Not saying goodbye to my loved one," I finally confessed with a heavy sigh.

"Oh... you had a girlfriend?" she questioned.

"Ehh... might as well call it that." I replied with a slight cough, "Uh, we made a promise to take care of each other when we were, what, like... 10 years old or something."

"Are you implying marriage?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.

"My child and teenage mind certainly thought of it that way," I admitted, memories flooding back, "Oh, her name is Isabell, by the way."

"Isabell... what a lovely name," she remarked with a warm smile, "How many years since you last saw her?"

"Four? Maybe five years? No, it's been six years." I thought to myself, mentally tallying the time.

"And do you want to see her again?"

"She's over in my old hometown, err, village, back in Iberia." I answered, "I'm going there to meet an old friend, actually." I added nonchalantly, giving a casual wave.