"Damn it!" Piccoro cursed out loud. "Just how long does that bastard Half-Elf plan to stay inside that Dungeon! How many days should I keep waiting here?!"
After the Gate of Famine had been conquered, Piccoro decided to stay and wait until the Half-Elf appeared, so that he could personally invite him to the Crystal Palace to have a nice long talk about certain things.
Of course, if Lux rejected his invitation, Piccoro would not hesitate to use force and drag the Half-Elf back with him whether the red-headed teenager liked it or not.
He even praised himself for thinking ahead, so he asked the three Saints, as well as the other envoys of the Crystal Palace to escort Aur back to their territory.
The Dragon Prince also wanted to wait until Lux exited the dungeon. But, after Piccoro promised him that he would personally bring the Half-Elf back to the Crystal Palace, Aur decided to go with the others and return to their homeland.
However, three days had passed and there was no sign of the Half-Elf appearing at all!
If not for the fact that he couldn't destroy the Gate of the Domain, Piccoro might have already smashed it to bits out of anger and frustration.
"You want to play the waiting game huh?!" Piccoro growled at the Gate in front of him. "Fine! I'll play your game! I swear that the moment I get my hands on you I'll make you understand the consequences of angering me!"
The Dragon Born crossed his arms over his chest, and sat cross-legged in front of the Gate of the Fallen.
He had no intention of leaving until he captured the annoying Half-Elf and gave him a good spanking!
Headquarters of Eternal in Whitebridge City…
"Achoo!"
Lux rubbed his nose, while walking down one of the hallways of Aina's Guild Headquarters.
"Someone must be thinking about me," Lux said. "Do you think it's your Mama, Eiko?"
"No!" Eiko replied. "Ugly Dragon Born!"
"Hahaha!" Lux laughed. "An ugly Dragon Born is thinking of me? No thanks!"
He had just finished his talk with Aina, and advised her to not leave her Guild Headquarters until he finished dealing with Lucius.
Aina agreed to this request.
She also promised that she wouldn't let Colette, and her friends, take a single step outside of their Guild Base, with the exception of Robin, whom Lux wanted to take with him.
Now that his business with the doll-like beauty was over, it was time to meet with the middle-aged Dwarf, who was still upset with Lux for needing to cough up ten million gold coins.
Nevreal swore on that day that he would never make a deal with the Half-Elf again, even if an axe was placed above his head.
But, this time it was different. This concerned the Dark Guild Twilight Rain.
Nevreal would set aside his grudge any day if it would help end the tyranny of this organization a day sooner. So, when Robin contacted him and told him that Lux wanted his help in order to seize one of the Honorary Elders of the Dark Guild, Nevreal didn't hesitate and agreed to meet up with the Half-Elf and listen to his plan.
As soon as Lux left Aina's office, he put on the mask and transformed into a chubby Human once again, so that his true identity wouldn't be revealed just yet.
"I've been waiting for you," Robin said as soon as he opened the door of his room to let Lux inside. "Nevreal has already arrived. We will meet him at the Dancing Lass Inn."
The Half-Elf nodded his head and followed Robin outside of Eternal's Guild Headquarters.
Robin was wearing a hood that covered his head, and face, preventing those who were familiar with him from identifying him.
Although he was doing his best to be low profile, that didn't mean that he was safe from being targeted by Twilight Rain.
When they arrived at the Dancing Lass Inn, Robin didn't even bother to ask the Innkeeper which room Nevreal was staying in.
The Inn was one of Nevreal's properties, so he naturally had a VIP room all to himself, complete with soundproofing enchantments to prevent anyone from listening in on private conversations.
This was also one of the meeting places of the Order of the Griffin, so there were always guards on duty, who were playing the role of customer.
"Your Highness, it's good to see that you are safe," Nevreal said as soon as Robin closed the door. "I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't go anywhere on your own, especially after this incident. I hope you understand me, Your Highness."
Robin sighed before reluctantly nodding his head. "I understand. I will do as you say and no longer travel alone."
After getting Robin's promise, Nevreal then shifted his gaze to the Half-Elf, who was looking at him with a smile.
"Start talking." Nevreal snorted. "Lucius is a very influential person in the Kingdom of Gweliven. He and some High-Ranking nobles are very close friends, which makes him truly dangerous if he is really one of Twilight Rain's agents. Are you sure you have the right information? If this is just a joke, then I'm telling you that it's not funny."
"It's not a joke, Sir Nevreal," Lux replied in a heartbeat. "This is the truth. In fact, I'm very surprised that His Majesty didn't consider something like this happening. Money makes a kingdom prosper, and it can also orchestrate its downfall. Twilight Rain was very smart to target these merchants because a single word from them and the economy of this Kingdom would crash.
"You should even be grateful that I managed to find this out early. Otherwise, it would be too late for regrets when this annoying Dark Guild decides to start a civil war."
Nevreal didn't refute Lux's words because this was indeed one of the greatest worries that he, and His Majesty, dreaded.
The only reason Twilight Rain had not made their move yet was due to the fact that they still weren't confident that they would be able to move the hearts of people, and rally to their cause.
For that to happen, they needed to make the King look incompetent when dealing with National Affairs. Unfortunately for them, King Uther was a smart and just leader. Not only did his laws make the citizens' lives better, they also ensured that they would stay loyal to the Royal Family.
"Okay, so this is what you're going to say to Lucius," Lux explained. "First, you will tell him that you want him to invest in a big project. This project involves expansion into the Savage Lands that are located in the Westernmost part of the Kingdom.
"The base of operation will be none other than Leaf Village, and you will need a huge amount of money in order to build a stronghold. In return, for his investments, he will get 20% of all the resources that will be found in the uncharted regions."
Nevreal rubbed his chin before shaking his head. "This won't work. For something like this, the one who should be making the investment will be the Royal Family. Expansion is a National Affair, so they might get suspicious if such an important matter is handed over to a Merchant."
Lux nodded. "I understand your concern, but it is exactly why this will sound appealing to a Merchant. Expansion and exploration have a high chance of yielding unexpected results. If a Silver, Gold, or Mithril Mine is discovered, they would profit a lot, even if they will only get 20% of whatever is found in the Savage Lands. Any merchant will be unable to resist this offer, so they will definitely bite this bait."
"You sound confident. What makes you think that this will work?"
"Let's just say that I know a merchant that understands what moves them."
Nevreal pondered a bit, but he was still reluctant to use this excuse. Seeing that the middle-aged Dwarf was still not convinced, Lux decided to throw ing another excuse that would help him convince Nevreal to follow through with his plan.
"If Lucius asks why the King isn't personally funding this project, just tell him that His Majesty is focusing his attention on the recent incidents that happened inside the Kingdom," Lux stated. "You can tell him that his Majesty was pooling his resources to investigate what happened in the Wolfpine Barony, and find the culprit for its destruction."
Nevreal, who was hesitating just a minute ago, became solemn after remembering what happened in Wolfpine Barony.
Truth be told, his King was truly pooling resources to hire Elites in order to find the base of Memento Morin inside his Kingdom.
Although Twilight Rain was a threat, someone who commanded a Calamity Ranked Beast was a walking time bomb that might explode at any time.
Since the excuse that Lux gave him was truly what was happening in the shadows, Nevreal finally agreed and brainstormed with the Half-Elf until they had a fool-proof story that would not have any flaws.
