Eren asked Nina to postpone her line of questioning for later.
"Look, RDX is not at fault. A knife gets used in the kitchen and street fights the same way– to cut something up. The holder of such weapons is responsible for their actions, not the weapons themselves.
Same way, I serve as a distributor of my products. I can't be held responsible for what the buyers do with them afterward."
Eren said before walking up to his desk. Argo was also paying close attention to what his master was saying and could follow his chain of thoughts. He released a low growl at the audience behind Eren's back before speaking in a beastly voice.
"Master be spitting facts, yo. Don't hate the player, hate the game."
Eren was glad that Argo played it safe by voicing his opinions with objectionable words when there were Master rankers present in the room. The demon beast was bold but not stupid. He respected the boundaries of the other side if it was stronger than him and not directly threatening him.
Nina, Amory, and Jiana looked at the lion-type demon beast, which was chewing on a Monster King's meat in peace, with various emotions in their eyes. They had so many questions to ask Eren about how he was able to tame such a unique and fierce demon beast. Or how did he get his hands on the Monster King's meat? Or how could he afford to give the meat as a treat to his beast rather than treat it as a precious ingredient for his potions?
Eren chuckled looking at Argo and sat down in his seat before speaking up.
"My purpose in bringing my products to market is to help rankers get out of the tough situations they face every day. It is also supposed to help them in the upcoming war should they decide to participate in it.
I won't claim the success my buyers achieve in their lives because of my products. So I should be spared from being seen as someone responsible for their actions as well.
Don't you agree?"
Eren posed a question to a pensive-looking Jiana, hoping she would buy whatever he was selling at this point. Because he had done his best to pack it nicely.
He had to admit that taking over Jiana's guild was getting more difficult than he had initially thought. He couldn't just make the complications arising from RDX's involvement in the attack disappear.
Jiana was a tough nut to crack. Still, the butcher had redeeming qualities. Due to his determination to give his all to everything he planned to do, he didn't stop his progress with Jiana midway. He looked at the kingdom-bonafide ranker with a tinge of confidence in his eyes as he carried on.
"Besides, I have been through all the legal troubles before selling my products. I have only sold RDX to a select few people whose identities had been approved by the kingdom itself.
So I'm guessing that the cultists got my products through illegal means. Am I right?"
Jiana looked at Eren with mixed emotions in her eyes before dropping her shoulders. She sighed before nodding at him. The reports had made it clear that the RDX used in the attack had been stolen from a kingdom-sanctioned guild's warehouse.
This was also one of the reasons why the kingdom of Edinburgh wanted to just get over with the matter instead of pursuing it like it was supposed to do. First, it had bigger fish to fry in such a tense atmosphere. Second, the more it tried to dig, the more it would appear that its decision to legalize Eren's products would be questioned.
After such a horrendous incident, Edinburgh would have revoked Eren's RDX selling rights if it had happened at any other time. It might not have approved open selling in the first place.
However, these were not normal times. The kingdom needed Eren's products. The product can also support rankers participating in the war. As such, the kingdom was in silent agreement with Eren even after the attack on the city of Curar and Healers' Nirvana.
The butcher was also counting on this scenario when he decided to sell RDX. But he had never thought that his actions would bite him in the arse from another angle.
Jiana sighed as if giving up on the argument. She said her next words in a weak voice.
"Yes… those RDX potion bombs were stolen goods. I won't blame your guild anymore. Still, I need some time to think about my guild's future. I can't just…"
Eren scrunched his nose when he heard Jiana's words. She stopped objecting to his proposal. But she was yet to say yes to him. This wasn't the kind of outcome he was hoping for after he did so much convincing.
'Damn it. I don't think I've taken this much effort to convince a woman in a long time. My luck with elves is really not that great.'
Eren said to himself and sighed in his head before cutting her off.
"If it still makes you restless in your heart, how about I offer you something that would wash away most of your bitterness?"
Eren's words stopped Jiana in her tracks. She looked at Eren with a curious gaze, prompting him to elaborate.
"Don't you want to get revenge on the cultists who attacked you?"
Jiana chuckled and looked at Eren as if he was some naive kid. She sneered at him before answering his question.
"Of course, I do, Eren. But it's not just those damn cultists. The kingdom of Layos who sponsored them is also equally responsible for the destruction of my guild. You think you and your guild are strong enough to take my revenge on both of them?"
Eren raised his eyebrows before answering.
"No… but who said I had to be strong to target a mere cultist organization and an enemy kingdom?"
Eren flashed a wicked smile at Jiana before posing her another question.
"Do you want to see what I can do with the kind of money I have?"
