Book 4, 153

A Conflict Worth Millions(2)

Richard didn’t even spare a second glance at the downed man as he walked forward, randomly punching another stocky man to send him flying towards another group. The crowd didn’t even stop him from doing this, just bursting into excited laughter at the chaos.

“What was this one for?” the assassin asked nervously. She hadn’t seen anything special about the second man, but suddenly started wondering whether he was an assassin himself or something. She didn’t expect Richard’s answer at all: “He’s too ugly.”

Richard walked over to the counter, staring the blade-scarred old dwarf manning it dead in the eye, “Get me a room I won’t be disturbed in.”

The dwarf’s curses faded away into flattery as gold coins jingled onto the wood. He quickly picked all of the money up and shot a glance at the woman, “Come with me, my Lord! I’ll find you a place even the flies won’t disturb you in!”

After being led through a long, twisted path in the alleyways, Richard and the assassin were pointed at a tiny room which barely managed to fit a single bed. However, the decorations were luxurious with precious fur hanging on the walls and dazzling gold lining on the sheets. This was quite in the taste of the dwarves.

The room didn’t even have a window, all ventilation coming from a few meshed holes at the ceiling. This place truly was as described: not even flies could find their way in when it was closed. Richard smiled at the sight, not standing on ceremony as he pulled the assassin in and closed the door.

“Not half bad,” he said as he took a seat on the bed.

“Wha— what are you doing?!” The assassin tried to pedal back, but the dwarf had already closed the door. Only after another glance at Richard’s smile did she remember that she was supposed to be in charge, turning fierce once more, “RICHARD! You better know that killing you will be easy as lifting a finger!”

A dark hood covered much of the woman’s face, but the sharp chin and little mouth that were revealed were rather exquisite. The thick cloak that covered her wasn’t very useful when she didn’t have much space, doing little to block Richard from seeing her lithe body. Richard raised both hands, “True. I’m only a mage, and I don’t even have much equipment on me. Wait, there’s the dagger; should I give it to you?”

“No need,” the woman said through gritted teeth. How would a small dagger be much of a threat to a saint like her? The very idea was humiliating.

When Richard’s eyes suddenly glimmered a little to scan her up and down, the assassin felt a surge of extreme discomfort and couldn’t help but squeal a bit. However, she didn’t realise quite where that came from even as the light faded away and Richard locked eyes with her once more, “You’ve got a good figure!”

“That’s got nothing to do with you!” the assassin shouted angrily.

“It really is good though,” Richard emphasised.

The woman was obviously angry, but she just shrugged it off. She didn’t know that Richard had basically seen her from head to toe.

To Richard himself, such an alluring scene was considered a fair price for trying to threaten him into a discussion. Of course, the main priority of that look had been to analyse her strength and equipment. The view was just a nice bonus.

The assassin did her best to calm her mood, saying in the coldest voice she could muster, “Richard, you should be aware that your life is now in my hands! You’d best be obedient!”

“And what do you need?” Richard asked with interest.

“If you wish to keep your life, give me someone in your hands!” she said haughtily, but her voice betrayed her uneasiness. Richard noticed her breasts starting to heave, and a slight glimmer appeared in his eyes that faded away in an instant. Analytic was becoming more and more useful, and this girl also looked pretty too.

“Did you hear me?!” the woman shouted, “If you want to leave this place alive, you’ll need to give me someone you have!”

Richard just relaxed and pulled himself up further on the bed, leaning against the pillows lazily, “And who might that be?”

The assassin grew increasingly nervous, but she finally spat out a name, “Raymond.”

“Oh. That makes things easy,” Richard’s attitude changed instantly. He sat up a little straighter and flashed a smile that indicated he was the one in control now. The slight traces of fear he had been faking faded away completely, replaced by an air of superiority.

“Do you want to die?!” the assassin unsheathed her dagger halfway.

“Do you want Raymond to die?” Richard asked calmly.

“You’d kill him? Then I’ll kill you first!”

Richard remained calm as the dagger rushed towards his throat. He made no move to resist, but the slightest of sparks appeared at his fingertips. The attack eventually stopped halfway and the assassin lifted her hood to reveal a beautiful face, “Fine, you win! What do you want for his release?”

“Well, Raymond can’t live much longer. Three months, to be precise. You have a way to heal him?”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Of course!” the woman stated confidently.

“Blessings of time are useless. He isn’t afflicted by ageing, this is a sort of divine punishment of sorts.”

“What? Impossible!” The assassin evidently hadn’t known this.

“So you’re saying I’d lie to you?” Richard smiled, “Do you think I like playing around with my life?”

“Ugh!” she gritted her teeth, forcing herself to calm down, “Why are you telling me this?”

Richard sighed again. He’d thought this one was a rookie, but she was clearly just stupid. He’d gone through all the effort of putting her in an uncomfortable environment, but she was losing her calm at the most open of secrets. Even as a saint, she was certain to ruin any important mission she took on.

“What I’m saying is Raymond won’t live past a week if I die,” a malicious smile appeared on Richard’s face, “As for whether he can continue to stay alive, that depends on my mood. If I’m really happy, he might even live a little comfortably.”

“You!” The assassin was about to rage, but couldn’t help but tame herself under Richard’s bright gaze. Despite herself, she returned the dagger to its sheath, “Fine, tell me what you want. Runes— No, equipment, money... Anything works.”

“Money? Now you’re hurting my feelings!” Richard shook his head, smile turning even more evil.

The assassin felt her entire body go cold. “I’ll give you a million gold!” she gritted out.

“That’s just a rune set,” Richard answered with a grin.

“Three... three million!” It was obvious that the would-be killer was already feeling stifled.

“Three sets.”

“Five...”

“Five sets.”

“SO WHAT DO YOU WANT?” she finally broke down.

“Simple. I just want to be in a good mood,” Richard laughed.

The assassin finally understood that money was no way to get to a runemaster. “I have a blueprint for a rare grade 4 rune called the Crimson Inferno,” she said with determination, “I can give it to you.”

“Not interested,” Richard shook his head.

“WHY?!” The killer felt like she was going insane.

“I’m sure there’s a line of people waiting to gift that to me so long as I want it. You should know these difficult runes aren’t particularly rare to find blueprints for. What’s the point of a blueprint to a rune I can’t craft?”

The assassin went silent, unable to find anything that would move him. Just as she was about to change her approach, however, Richard suddenly cut her off, “Right, be a little smart about this. Don’t even think of using your family or father to pressure me into anything, that won’t end well for you.”

“I... My father...” Her heart thumped a few times as she nearly lost control. She had no idea whether Richard could recognise her or if it was just conjecture.

Richard seemed to guess at her thoughts, “Mm, think about what you can offer me.”

The woman froze, taking inventory of what she had. There was a personal plane she earned profits from, but the actual rights to the plane still resided with the Emperor. Outside of that, all she had was money, equipment, runes, and the blueprint. Richard had rejected it all. The only thing left was... herself?

Richard didn’t give her much time to think this time, “Do you know the relationship Raymond and I share? Do you know what condition he’s in, why he’s still alive?”

She shook her head dazedly.