Wrong.
Damien practically emptied his entire inventory, but the Golden Dragon Emperor remained unimpressed throughout the entire showing.
It didn't matter even if Damien pulled out a rare Demigod inheritance that had been unseen for a hundred thousand years, in the Emperor's eyes, it was trash!
It became clear that material trade was going nowhere. Damien needed to provide something far more substantial than just resources.
A thought came to mind.
"What if…I become Astoria's tutor?" He suddenly said.
The Golden Dragon Emperor finally showed a change of expression, raising his brow in curiosity.
"Oh? Go on." He proclaimed with interest.
Actually, Damien was rationalizing it at the same time as the Emperor, so all he did was voice his thought process.
"I won't call myself the best spatial expert until I kill the Ancestral Sovereign, but I'm definitely up there near that peak. I specialize in spatial destruction, but I have experience with the other facets of space so I won't be constrained to teaching her by my own path…"
There were several more positives and negatives, but in the end, it came down to one thing.
"When it comes to talent, she's the only person I've seen who could genuinely match me, and I don't want to see that talent go to waste."
It'd happened too many times. Every spatial expert he'd met so far besides Tian Yang and perhaps Leona had wasted their talent due to the universe's skewed belief on how spatial experts should be.
This was something Damien wanted to see change, but even on a small scale, his existence hadn't been able to tip people's perception of spatial experts.
At least, in his own experience.
Unbeknownst to him, his presence was indeed subtly changing the stigma around spatial practitioners. For one, in the Human Domain as a whole, spatial experts had become incredibly respected and cherished.
But that was a story for another time.
"If you leave your daughter in my hands, I can guarantee that she won't continue wasting her affinity like she's been doing so far. I'll turn her into an expert you're proud of, and maybe fix her temperament a bit while I'm at it," Damien proclaimed confidently,
The Golden Dragon Emperor's eyes narrowed as he fell into thought.
Astoria was already a 4th class expert who rose through her Baptism using the techniques and skills of the Golden Dragon Clan that could subtly manipulate fate and mainly relied on the physical body.
However, now that he knew she had such a talent, could he really allow it to go unrefined?
It irked him that, as a Godbeast, he wasn't able to sense her affinity at all. It made him suspicious that this man could do it while he couldn't.
But there were several explanations that could rationalize this, including the fact that the Emperor had never done a comprehensive scan of Astoria's affinities, or that the affinity was only recently awakened in its truest form.
'Can I trust this man?'
For the first time in a long time, the Golden Dragon Emperor was facing a genius too great for him to control.
These kinds of existences could either massively boost the fate of an influence or collapse it entirely.
It was an incredible gamble.
However…
"I accept."
Astoria was the Golden Dragon Emperor's most cherished and doted-on child. She was also the child with the most potential among her 8 siblings.
Merely, with Astoria's temperament, she was never fit to be a ruler.
The Emperor couldn't correct her. It was too late for him to start being strict. She absolutely wouldn't take him seriously.
But in Damien's presence, that unruly princess had been completely suppressed.
'Maybe this is the kind of influence she needs in her life.'
This was the thought process that led to his decision.
He didn't even care if Damien could properly teach Astoria, as long as he didn't ruin her achievements, his influence and presence would definitely cause a positive change in her character by filling a hole in her heart that her blood brothers couldn't fill.
After all, they were too embroiled in competition for the throne to have time to care about Astoria who didn't matter to this battle at all.
"I wish for you to be Astoria's live-in tutor for the coming months. If your performance is satisfactory, I will grant you the Genesis Bead." The Emperor said.
Damien sighed
Hidden behind that proclamation was a very serious bit of fine print.
As a live-in tutor, wouldn't Damien be considered part of the Golden Dragon Emperor's camp?
He would definitely be asked to help solve the clan's current problem.
Luckily for him, he never expected things to be easy from the start.
If at least one world wasn't blown up by the time he left a sector, he simply wasn't Damien Void!
'Plus, I've always wanted a dragon. This Black Dragon Clan seems to have some interesting picks.'
"Good," he said, responding to the Emperor. "However, I have conditions."
"Speak."
"First, if it ever looks like my life is in danger, I will escape. If I can take Astoria with me, I will, but if I can't, you aren't to blame me." Damien started.
The Emperor glared at him for a moment, but conceded to his request. In the end, he couldn't expect Damien to sacrifice himself for people he barely knew.
"Secondly, I'm not doing this for free. The Genesis Bead is originally the Ancient God Clan's treasure, and I have no interest in stealing it from them. I want to visit your treasury and pick a few things for myself."
"You are working for the Ancient God Clan?" The Emperor asked.
"They're my subordinates," Damien responded.
"Hmm…" the Emperor muttered disbelievingly, however, for now, he would let it slide.
Boasting was only a crime when it was found false, after all.
"How many items do you wish to take from the treasury?"
"Five."
"One."
"Three."
"Three is fine."
"Three it is!"
"However, you must first swear a Mana Oath that the Genesis Bead will be left to the Ancient God Clan."
"That's easy."
Damien and the Emperor both nodded in satisfaction at the ease of their current negotiation. Since neither of them was trying to play tricks on the other, it was able to proceed without hiccups.
"I have one final request," Damien continued a few moments later, somewhat hesitating.
"What is it? At this point, is there a need to hesitate?" The Emperor questioned.
Damien firmed his eyes and nodded. "The last thing I wish for…is the unconditional support of the Golden Dragon Clan after this matter ends."
The Emperor's eyes turned cold in an instant.
"Are you aware of what you are asking for?" He asked icily.
"I do," Damien responded with the same firmness.
"Giving you the unconditional support of our clan is the same as putting my clan's fate in your hands. Do you think this is a privilege that can be given to just anyone?"
"I don't."
"And you still dare to request it?!"
"I do," Damien responded calmly.
"I'm aware that it's an outrageous request, so don't answer for now. Wait and see my potential for yourself. When this conflict comes to an end, I'm sure you'll make the decision that best benefits your people."
The Golden Dragon Emperor's expression slowly returned to its neutral state as he nodded and continued the conversation.
From that point on, both Damien and the Emperor acted like the final demand was never stated. They discussed the Black Dragon and Golden Dragon Clans, the history of the Beast Domain, the Nox invasion, and many more topics before the conversation finally came to an end and Damien was escorted to his living quarters.
However, unknown to Damien, the Emperor's opinion on his final demand wasn't as firm as he made it seem.
He'd seen it for himself.
A number of resources that could build a major influence just below the level of a Holy Land in an instant…representing the personal wealth of a single man.
And considering that they were strangers, there was definitely plenty more Damien was hiding.
'Not only that, he was confidently displaying his wealth before me without worrying about me oppressing him and stealing from him. He is clearly not naive, so his confidence must have some origin…'
Indeed, as Damien had said, it was best to observe him and judge his potential personally before coming to a decision.
'Someone whose fate I cannot read…I look forward to seeing what kind of influence he can have on Astoria.'
With that, the Emperor concluded his thoughts on the matter.
Now, he needed to continue preparations.
A beautiful ceremony of blood was going to take place soon enough.
And absolutely nothing could go wrong when it did.
