The atmosphere couldn’t help but turn a bit tense. They knew well that their lives were on the line here. If they stepped over the bounds too much, Sylas could very well lash out. Even if there was a fallout and revenge was eventually taken on their behalf, they wouldn’t be here to enjoy it. At that point, what would the point be?
Virgil took a breath.
By the same token, though… if they didn’t say what needed to be said and just scurried off with their tail between their legs, then there wouldn’t be a chance for them to move up.
“We are authorized to tell you that if a working relationship cannot be formed, then it may cause friction—.”
“Because you want to rely on the Africor government?” Sylas asked plainly.
The three froze.
“If you’re smart enough to make it this far, then you also know that they’re just using you. The fact that they are means that either they want to use you all to probe my bottom line, or they’re occupied with something more important than the sudden appearance of a Warlord Territory.
“Regardless of which it is, you’re at most receiving superficial support right now. Maybe some information, some scouting, some treasures… but ultimately you’ll be castaways.
“Really, you would be forced to choose between myself and the Africor Continent, and in the eyes of your leaders, the governments are still supreme. So I won’t try to convince you of which side to take. But if your plan is to try to get me to back down, then you’re coming at this from the wrong angle.
“The reason you’re so confident is because your scouting has told you that I’m relatively alone… True enough. But you’re free to test my bottom line.”
Sylas looked at them calmly. “If that is all, you can leave now.”
Virgil gulped, feeling like he was walking on tenterhooks. He had realized already that he was dancing a line between life and death, but this was the first time he realized just how deep he was in it.
This was no normal man.
Virgil and Austin lowered their heads and made their way back with quick steps.
Sylas cast a glance over to Tasia before walking away himself. She seemed to be hesitating about something, but it wasn’t Sylas’ problem to deal with.
In the end, she took a step toward Sylas.
“Sylas!” she started enthusiastically. But when Sylas actually turned back toward her, she felt a shudder run through her. There was something particularly oppressive about Sylas’ gaze that made her feel it all the way down to her toes, almost like she had been thrown into an ice cellar.
She had been trying to be just as cheery and casual as before, but it was hard to do so when Sylas was bearing down on her.
The best thing for her was to continue to be oblivious and take advantage of her charms to try and get closer to Sylas. Didn’t men like ditzy, clueless women?
But it only took her a moment to realize that this sort of shtick wasn’t enough to entice Sylas. His analysis from earlier had made his meticulous mind obvious enough, but she had thought that if she randomly changed her personality in the middle of their first meeting, it would leave a bad impression.
“What’s wrong?” Sylas asked coolly.
Tasia took a breath, gazing toward Nosphaleen, who was still by the door.
“Can we speak somewhere more private? I have additional information for you.”
To her surprise, Sylas nodded quite easily. “Sure.”
…
Sylas walked into the City Lord’s office. By now, the City Lord had already vacated the premises, taking up one of the vacant Duke houses ready for heroes of Earth to buy them up.
The office was pretty spacious and grand. There were panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows in the circumference and a large desk in the center that looked large enough to be a dining room table for 12.
There was a seating area to the side and even a small greenhouse by the side that had the function of multiplying the amount of Aether in the air.
The difference between this place and the outside was like night and day.
Sylas took a step forward, but he heard the door click behind him, and he felt two arms wrap around his waist, a pair of something soft squeezing onto his back.
Looking down, he found a pair of small hands resting where they definitely shouldn’t be.
What surprised him wasn’t the action. He had somewhat expected something like this. What he didn’t expect was his reaction to it.
Maybe he should have, though. Every time he had a great breakthrough, especially in Genes, it was like his will to pass on those very Genes multiplied several times over. After he gained his Dual Class Constitution, it only became worse. And from what he could see, it would only continue to do so.
The heat in his lower belly almost flared out of control.
Almost.
He stood in silence, taking a breath and squashing the fiery heat.
“Is this what you wanted to talk about?” Sylas asked.
Tasia bit her lip. She had already expected that something like this wouldn’t work on a man like Sylas. Even if she was ten times as beautiful, it likely wouldn’t make a difference.
But she at least had to try.
She gritted her teeth and chose to be a bit shameless. She removed her hand from Sylas’ crotch, not wanting to push her luck, but she didn’t move very far away.
“If I return now, the odds they will kill me are high. Those two are probably already dead. They don’t want you to send someone to follow us back.”
Sylas didn’t respond. It would be a smart action… if he didn’t already know the exact location of their villages thanks to the City Stele’s ability.
“Is this what you wanted to talk about?” Sylas asked again, not changing his tone in the slightest.
“No. I really do have information. It’s just that… I can’t return. I have no family, and they will lord my life over my head every step I take.”
Tasia thought that she could pull on Sylas’ heartstrings since he didn’t push her away. In reality, the only reason he hadn’t was because he was trying to make sure the heat in his blood had calmed down completely.
The truth was that he was interested in Tasia for a completely different reason. Her performance this time was quite good. If she had a Profession to match it, she could do some good things.
Most importantly, he was looking for a Steward that could replace Gregory for Cassarae. She had the right combination of meticulousness and boldness, a conclusion he had come to in just a few interactions.
However, she was going to have to stop this habit.
Sylas finally calmed completely and took a step out of her arms, turning to face her.
He looked her up and down to find that she was actually still surprisingly calm. Maybe it was because of the evolution of his Will, but he could also feel that she had something else interesting inside of her.
‘Hm… is that the real reason I’m drawn to her?’
The Greed Seed… it could sense something it wanted.
But by the same token, what it wanted to devour would also come from people who could be quite useful.
“What is this information of yours?”
