"You haven't mentioned the possible places we could find the mirror at. That means…"
Eren didn't have to complete his sentence. Layla did it for him.
"Yes. it's already in possession of a family. I don't think I can help you in any way in getting that mirror from its owners. You need to figure out how to get the stuff on your own."
Eren nodded aimlessly before adding on.
"We can forget about asking for the mirror upfront. First, anyone who owns a transcendent-grade treasure would not part with it willingly. Even if they could, they would ask for an exorbitant price. Something I'm not willing to pay.
Where is this mirror? And who is the current owner of the artefact?"
Eren asked while reading the scroll. He soon got the answer he was looking for without Layla having to say anything.
"House of Lancelot located in the city of Lancelot.
Fuck!
Are there any alternatives to this artefact?"
**************************
Eren gasped when he read the artefact was now owned by the house of Lancelot. It was a famous artefact-making house. It was also known for running a state-of-the-art weapon smithy and an elite guild.
The house of Lancelot only catered to high-ranking entities. The guild run by the house would only accept or issue high ranking missions. Therefore, it had a very niche clientele and association with other rankers' organizations.
Moreover, the house had devised an ingenious scheme to keep powerful rankers working under its banner.
The house would offer discounts for custom orders placed by C-rank rankers and above. Provided they serve the house for a certain period through their guild or undertake the tasks that it tells them to do. The discount would be based on the duration of service or the severity of the task. Of course, since it only dealt with high-ranking entities, the service they needed to provide wasn't anything demeaning.
For the most part, the Lancelot guild ran like any other guild. However, it had a lack of low ranking missions that were usually carried out by any normal guild.
Furthermore, the house of Lancelot always played fair and offered the rankers a fair deal in exchange for the efforts they put in. If any ranker performed way beyond what was expected of them, they would be awarded cutting-edge weapon artefacts that wouldn't pale in comparison with army-issue items.
As a result, a lot of rankers served happily under their banner. Messing with them was akin to painting a bull's eye on your back that would not be missed by high-ranking entities.
****************************
"Are there any alternatives to this artefact?"
The butcher asked after picturing the trouble that could potentially ensue from trying to obtain the artefact by any means. He'd rather try his luck finding a Simbelmyne flower in the Badlands than this almost sureshot way to commit suicide. But alas, Layla's answer was only going to disappoint him.
"Eren, there are indeed other ways to achieve the same effects as the mirror can produce. But they are either too high ranked for you to perform or the items they require are even more difficult to find. There is also an array method. But neither you nor I have the expertise or resources to construct something of that calibre.
Obtaining Shallot's Mirror is something you have a chance to achieve no matter how difficult it looks. And to be precise, all the other options I've listed also take this thing into account. Why do you think I took this long to come up with this project?"
Layla said while folding her hands under her non-existent bosoms, leaving Eren speechless. He grunted and used some foul words randomly to vent his frustration before speaking up.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuckity fuck!
Damn it. I'll… I'll need to come up with a plan for this."
Eren said in a voice that was devoid of confidence. He then exhaled his smoke. Layla knew that she would become the primary target of passive smoking if she stayed in the same position, so she quickly rose from her position and straightened her dress before commenting.
"I'm sure you can come up with ways to achieve these two things just fine, Eren. You just need to put your half-blood powers to proper use, is all. Master Eliza counted on your powers more than she counted on you when she relayed these tasks."
Layla said and coughed a bit. Eren knew she was hesitating to state the task that was next on her list. So he sighed and spoke up.
"Spit it out."
Layla smiled as if she was guilty of something and continued.
"Hehe! You might not like it. But it is what it is.
Shallot's Mirror is not the only thing we want from house Lancelot. Its weapon smithy contains the Soul Seed Insertion array. They use it to insert beastly consciousness into weapons, making them either high-grade weapons or transcendental grade weapons that grow with their rankers.
That array is the reason behind House Lancelot's success in weapon manufacturing. They breathe life into their weapons after all. I think that guy Rodrick's weapon was also made by them.
We will also need the array's layout for our project. I can modify it to suit our needs if and when we get our hands on it."
Layla said after unfolding the next scroll in front of Eren. Then she looked at him sneakily to observe his expressions. Surprisingly, his face was calm and collected.
"You stopped caring?"
Layla asked with a puzzled expression. Eren shook his head and took a long drag out of his smoke before responding.
"It's not that.
I think it's better for us that the array belongs to the House Lancelot. Saves us some time and trouble looking for it in someone else's house.
Whether I use the tip of my dick or dip it all the way in doesn't matter if I have to "lance" the Lancelots anyway. I might as well rob them of all of the things I can get from them."
In one breath, Eren released his smoke. Layla pursed her lips and twitched her nose after hearing Eren's crass way of putting his point of view across. After that, she pressed her palms against her mouth to contain her laughter. The pun took a while to kick in.
"Hehehehe! That's right. Whether you push it in all the way or... cough cough cough. I mean, yes. It saves us time."
