The next day, Lux returned to Leaf Village and went to look for Nevreal and Robin in the inn they were staying at.
He still wore a disguise, of course, and Cedwyn had already informed Nevreal about this matter.
"It's good to see you again, Lux," Nevreal said with a smile. "It has been several months since we last saw each other."
"Indeed, Sir Nevreal," Lux replied. "Let's get down to business. Why have you come to look for me?"
The Half-Elf didn't want to make small talk and decided to take the initiative to get straight to the point. This way, he would have a better understanding of the real reason why the middle-aged Dwarf was looking for him.
"Getting straight to the point as soon as we meet." Nevreal smirked after hearing Lux's words. "Well, I don't really mind. But, before that, allow me to introduce you to Robin. He is my current employer, and we need your help in order to do a few things for us. Naturally, the rewards will be sufficient, so you don't have to worry about the proper compensation for your services."
Lux gave Robin a side-long glance before shifting his attention back to the middle-aged dwarf.
"Can't you just ask the 'Order' about it?" Lux asked.
Nevreal shook his head. "The Order of the Griffin answers only to the King. No one can command them except him."
Lux blinked as he pointed at his face. "Um, are you forgetting that I am also part of the Order?"
"It's fine, you are still considered a Trainee." Nevreal waved his hand, as if to brush away Lux's claim as one of the official members of the Order of the Griffon. "You're still not a full-fledged member of the Order. Do you really think it's that easy to become one of them?
"Only when all the members have agreed that you have met the necessary qualifications would you be able to meet the King and officially take an oath of loyalty. Then and only then will you become an official member of the Order."
Lux pondered before nodding his head in agreement. Since the Order of the Griffon was the Dwarf King's personal secret forces, it was only natural to swear an oath of loyalty to him before officially becoming one of its members.
'Well, it's not like I'm keen on swearing an oath of loyalty to the Dwarf King,' Lux thought. 'I guess being a trainee is good enough.'
After settling this issue aside, Nevreal then told Lux why he came to find him.
"Right now, Robin's father is looking for the one who will inherit his position as an official in the future," Nevreal explained. "Because of this, he set up a Merit System for his four sons and two daughters. All of them are eligible to inherit his position as long as the accomplishments they make benefits the Kingdom of Gweliven as a whole. Do you follow me so far?"
Lux nodded to acknowledge Nevreal's question.
"Because of this Merit System, Robin's siblings have set out to the various parts of the Kingdom in order to accumulate Merit Points. Unfortunately, the Young Master is currently in last place because he has not been able to rack up achievements during this period of time."
The Half-Elf glanced at Robin and gave him the "Bruh, why are you so useless?" stare, which the brown-haired Dwarf ignored.
Robin just looked at Lux, as if trying to check whether the Half-Elf was really capable of getting him sufficient Merit Points to stay in the game.
Lux rubbed his chin as he pondered whether he should accept Nevreal's proposal or not.
In truth, what Lux wanted to do at the moment was to go to Karshvar Draconis and start the construction of his Guild Headquarters, as well as add the other guild facilities like a Smith, Bestiary, etc. He had only set this agenda aside for now because he promised Iris that he would stay with her for a week while waiting for Eiko and Vera's revivals.
"I'll think about it," Lux replied after pondering for a few minutes. "I am currently dealing with important things on my side, so I can't agree to your request right away."
Robin, who had expected Lux to accept Nevreal's offer right away, looked disgruntled after hearing the words "I'll think about it".
For the brown-haired Dwarf, this was as good as telling him "I'm not interested", making him feel that he had wasted his time coming to Leaf Village.
"I see." Nevreal played with his beard as he observed the Half-Elf who looked disinterested in his proposal. "How about I throw in another bonus for you? You just made a guild, right? How about I give you enough funds to help build your Guild Headquarters? How does that sound?"
This time, Lux's interest was piqued. In truth, building a Guild Headquarters required a lot of money.
As of the moment, Lux only had a little over 2 million gold coins in his possession. This was a high amount of money, enough for him to go to auctions to buy a few Mythical Grade Items. However, this amount of money wouldn't be enough to support a big guild, especially if he were to hire workers to install facilities like the Smith and Bestiary.
After checking his Elysium Compendium to know the cost of building one of those facilities, Lux's wallet itched.
500,000 gold coins.
That was the price for building a Smith or a Bestiary.
The Guild Headquarters, on the other hand, could be made from cheap materials, making it less expensive. Even so, the cheapest was 500,000 Gold Coins, and it was just made of wood!
Lux could afford it, but he owned a Mythical Guild.
If there came a day when the members of other guilds visited his headquarters, they might find his cheap headquarters laughable.
Colette's sister, Aina, who was the Guild Master of Eternal, had their headquarters built in marble, which cost her around 3 million gold coins.
Such expenditure wouldn't have been possible if Aina didn't have a strong backing, indirectly showing how prominent her family was.
Nero's Headquarters, on the other hand, was made from bricks. Although it was the second cheapest option available, it still showed that he had the capability to gather enough funds on his own without asking the Guardians for help.
This also earned him the recognition of his Guild Members, as well as the Elders of Wildgarde Stronghold.
Lux didn't treat Nero as his rival, so he didn't mind using the funds of others to build his Guild Headquarters. Since Nevreal had presented him with such a juicy option, why would he reject his offer?
"It's a deal!" Lux grabbed hold of Nevreal's hand and shook it. "I look forward to our jolly cooperation!"
"I knew you were a very sensible lad," Nevreal smiled as he shook Lux's hand. "Let's discuss the price for the construction of your Guild Headquarters after you finish the mission that I will ask of you first. As long as you manage to do this, I'll shoulder the construction of your Guild Headquarters."
If the middle-aged Dwarf only knew that Lux would demand almost half of his fortune, he would definitely crush the hand of the Half-Elf that he was shaking right now, and spit on Lux's face for trying to scam him in broad daylight.
Fortunately, he didn't know, preventing a blood bath from happening in Leaf Village at that point in time.
