'You might want to stop pondering over random things. Pay attention. Agatha is breaking into the Ace rank.'
Alephee pulled Eren out of his sea of thoughts and made him look ahead. The latter snapped back to reality and watched as clouds of Ace rank mana surrounded Agatha and disappeared within her soon after.
Agatha was surprised that she experienced a breakthrough only after the first cycle of her technique. Nonetheless, she knew what to do when she was ready to break through and kept her technique running with closed eyes and the utmost attention.
Agatha's breakthrough was seamless and effortless. She didn't feel any trouble breaking into the Ace rank because she had been ready to step into it for quite some time now. She had also achieved more than enough in terms of her elemental was only a matter of finding the right technique.
Et voila.
Agatha felt like all the efforts that she had thought were going to go in vain had finally paid their dividend at this point. Under the butcher's orders, she had been consistently practicing her technique every night no matter how busy she was during the daytime.
She had thought that since she wasn't progressing any further in her rank, her efforts would be put to waste. Fortunately for her, she was wrong.
Frankly, Eren wasn't counting on Layla to come to Agatha's aid much. He knew that the witch would be able to help him since she knew a lot about the half-bloods. But he was always on guard against her, suspecting any foul play. For better or worse, the butcher's paranoid nature was always with him. And this time it was no different.
That was not to say that Eren was completely happy with Agatha having a potion-dependent technique for herself. A technique that was completely compatible with her was what he wanted.
But that would come after he makes contact with the half-blood forces. The technique Agatha used at the time assured a seamless path for her till she breaks into Adept rank. For now, that was enough.
'Hmm. Let me speed up her ranking journey some more.'
Alephee said and Eren felt like her existence had expanded beyond his mana core that she was occupying. In the next moment, a bunch of Ace rank mana clouds was summoned into existence around Agatha again. The half-blood manager had kept the technique running through her mana circuits when that happened.
She did not know why her mana core became even more active. The gaseous state Ace rank core had started condensing more mana as it spun at a rapid pace, only stopping when the state of the core turned liquid.
"This…. How?"
Agatha opened her eyes and asked a puzzling question. She wasn't surprised about her breakthrough. But she was shocked because she immediately stepped into the liquid stage.
Eren knew it was Alephee's doing. He didn't know how she did it. But for now, he chuckled and tried to create an explanation out of thin air.
"What do you mean, how? It's the potion's effects. How's the technique? I didn't cut any corners in trying to get the most effective technique for you, you know."
Eren rubbed his hands like he was doing a lucrative business transaction while he said that. Agatha chuckled before getting up from her position. She stood proud in front of him with her seductive curves bouncing the light blue moonlight off of the creamy skin.
Agatha spread her arms for Eren in an inviting gesture before speaking up in a low and erotic voice.
"Well… I'm all yours."
A gust of wind was generated around Agatha as soon as she said that. A bunch of wind blades rotated around her at a rapid pace and lifted her in the air. The manager was thrown into Eren's open arms the next moment as he jumped into bed with her.
***
The next morning. At the inn's lobby where Eren and Agatha had spent the night.
"Long time no see. Renar. Viper. How have you been, guys?"
Having last seen his subordinates in the Lionheart duchy, Eren greeted them. Having emerged from Purgatory, he parted ways with Laylas
He had sent them on a bunch of assignments. The first was to make contacts with merchants as they traveled from the Lionheart to Nightshade duchies in an old-fashioned way. It was to create virtual distribution channels for potions and supplies the guild would be pumping into the market all over the kingdom eventually.
Eren's first target was launching his guild's products on a mass scale in the Lionheart and Nightshade duchy. That's because he already had basic contacts in the Lionheart duchy due to Jake's father. And he had been quite active in the Nightshade duchy for quite a while now.
Eren had stayed in contact with the two guys as they visited various places and made contract-bind deals with a few merchants. He guided them from time to time. He also told them which places they should contact based on the knowledge he had from his previous life.
Renar and Viper had done their job with dedication. They knew that with all the ranking-related bridges burnt off for them because of their past, Eren was their only salvation.
"How have you been, you ask? I… I'm tired. Mentally more so than physically. Never have I thought in my wildest dreams that doing business would be so difficult."
Eren chuckled and patted Renar's shoulder. He didn't say anything and let him vent.
"You know why doing business is difficult? It's because people can be incredibly stupid. They'd keep on asking the same things over and over again. Or haggle with you for pointless profit margins.
This is it. I demand a week off after doing so much work. I'm planning to just get wasted and eat a shit ton of my comfort food during this week."
Renar said and sighed melancholically. Eren could see that the guy was tired, mentally more so than physically. And Viper was in the same state as well.
Alas, the butcher could not grant them the mini-vacation they wanted.
"Sorry, boys. No rest for the wicked.
We are about to enter the big pool of sharks now. We can't afford to slack off.
Oh, there she is!
Renar. Viper. Meet our Miss manager."
