Chương 295: Recruited And Extorted

Ririlt was already starting to regret his actions. He hadn't wanted the snakefolk to be killed, but it had definitely been predictable that, on the off-chance that his gamble worked out, Maeve, or rather Mara, would want to clean up the area of anyone else. The foxfolk swallowed his saliva as he could already feel his back begin to grow moist with sweat.

It had been so improbable that he would guess correctly that the thing hiding in the equipment room was the monster he had run into way back that he had expected nothing to happen, or for something else entirely to come rushing out at them, but here she was–Much bigger than he remembered her. He wasn't certain what sort of instinct made him assume that the unknown entity was her in particular, but it turned out to be accurate, though he was uncertain whether to call his correctness a fortune or misfortune.

Ririlt cleared his throat and sighed to calm himself down as the massive steel monstrosity looked him straight in the eyes, her maws a single motion away from bisecting him… The snakefolk hadn't been particularly powerful, but he had nonetheless been an experienced warrior. In fact, all beastfolks who were–Or had been–Present were skilled fighters, but absolutely no one managed to move a single step when she came rushing out of there. Which was actually quite amusing to the monster.

She didn't have access to 'Embodiment Of Negativity'. They had been frozen in fear through perfectly natural means. If she had been able to affect them with this ability of hers, they might have fainted on the spot. The foxfolk raised his hands as if to make it more than clear that he was peaceful, not that anyone present thought that a fight would turn out to be anything more than an instant slaughter…

"It is true. We only met briefly in the past, but I have heard of your enjoyment for steel, curses, and spirits… So…" He hesitated.

"So… So I would like us to strike a deal. If you could do something for me, I'll tell you where to find the soul river mentioned on the piece of paper" The birdfolk behind Ririlt was scared out of his mind. He couldn't believe that his leader would be insane enough to try to negotiate in their current situation. There was absolutely nothing stopping the monster from just shrugging her shoulders and deciding that she would rather torture the information out of them instead of playing along.

And at first, it seemed like this was what was going to happen. However, Ririlt then smelled something interesting. It wasn't odd for someone who was around beastfolks to have a bit of their smell on them, especially humans who loved to shake hands and share pecks on the cheeks as a greeting, but Ririlt had a particularly sensitive nose, which he owed to his past as a tracker and ranger before becoming a would-be anti-Felinis revolutionary.

As such, he could tell the difference between the different kinds of smell a beastfolk could leave, and also guess what sort of contact would leave what amount of smell.

"I could also add the position of a rich vein of iron infused with mana, which I am certain you would enjoy, but also that Miss Palf could exploit to enrich the city" Mara tilted her head slightly.

"You sm–smelled her on me, didn't you?"

"... I hope things are going well for you guys…" The towering creature of steel chuckled and casually reached out past Ririlt, crushing the birdfolk and leaving only his clothes and a few of his belongings behind.

"Let's keep this just between–ween the two of us, shall we?" As she said this, she snapped her fingers, the sound making Ririlt's ear ring, but his eyes worked perfectly well to see a horrific ghostly entity crawl out of the ground. It looked as though it was pulling itself out of a hole, but it really was just phasing out of the solid stone ground. It had a sort of green tint sticking to it, and its body seemed to uncontrollably be overtaken by spasm at times, though it seemed not to be a hindrance whatsoever.

She just glanced at the skeletal ghost, and it flew away, hovering barely a few centimeters off the ground.

"Good thing I keep one out–out all the time… He'll go inform Leou of your offer. Do not worry, she is nicer than me" Ririlt, in the past, would have been confident that he would be fine, as he knew Leou Palf to be someone with a good heart and true will to help others, but now knowing that she mingled with the most prolific killer of the modern era… He was a bit doubtful of his chances of survival. … When the ghost came back and silently stared at Mara, Ririlt suddenly lost consciousness.

Only to awaken sitting in Palf's office. The snow leopard was sitting across from him, just as beautiful as he remembered her, and behind her in a corner was a cloak and hooded figure from white, two pale white dots of shine could be seen.

"Mmh… I believe this isn't our first interaction, Mister Ririlt" The foxfolk was still a bit dazed, but he gathered himself as quickly as he could. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"Aherm… No. I tried to convince you to become a part of our movement several years ago" He left out the fact that she had immediately reported them to the crown. It was preferable not to mention that they were supposed to be at odds.

"That vein of iron. How good is it, exactly?"

"It is basically untouched. We have only ever extracted a single ore from it so far, since we can't really sell anything on the black market without being spotted, we've been keeping the vein itself as a bargaining chip" Ririlt was the leader, so it had all been of his own decision.

If not for the fact that the woman across from him had made the existence of his group known to the crown, he absolutely could have exploited the vein himself, but he had reflected since then, and in hindsight, it had been obvious that, as good a person as Palf seemed, it had always been clear that she had a certain closeness to the crown.

"What about this 'soul river'?" The foxfolk had never expected to have to mention this, but unlike the iron vein, it wasn't a loss at all for him. He had no use for what he called a soul river…

"I don't know its origin, but as you may know, my group used to work with Beelmart. Since the crown changed hands and the regime morphed, we decided to relocate in case the new leadership would get their hands on documents about us…

As a new member of the alliance, it would have made sense for Beelmart to alert its new allies of domestic threats""Whilst we were moving, however, we traversed a dense forest that seemed to have nothing out of the ordinary, but one of my men fell into a pit covered by the vegetation, and when I went to get him back up, I discovered a large cavern filled with totems made from the bones of beastfolks, and in the middle of it all, there was a river that flew a deep blue""I rushed over since my man had fallen into the river itself on his descent, but he was pulled at the bottom by what I believe were souls or spirits, and when I took a closer look, I saw that the river was filled with those beings…

While an interesting find, it is of no use to me, and I assume that Miss Mara will find more worth in it than anyone else" Leou took in the information without showing much reaction on her face, but he knew that she had to find it interesting. The smell that had been all over Mara was a clear indication of a romance between them. The scent did not lie, and the only reason Leou didn't have a smell of her own was because Mara had none.

"Listen, Mister Ririlt… I appreciate what you have to offer, but I hear that you and your collaborator mentioned Argantis during your meeting… Tell me, are you familiar with the name 'Atlent'?"

"I… I have never heard that name before" The foxfolk told the truth. The name didn't ring any bells. Leou then pulled out an image made using magic of a human man with an uncanny stare and a smile that looked more like an involuntary twitch than an actual smile. He involuntarily gripped the armrests of the chair he was in.

"You might know him under another name, but if I am not mistaken, you formed your little revolutionary group because you found out that he had worked with the Felinis in the past, yes?"

"Of course! This guy used to be an asset of the old Beelmart! He was specialised in capturing our people and turning them into slaves! Our royals meeting with him on good terms is an insult to the whole of Heldinot!"

"Well, his name is Atlent, and he's actually somewhat related to Argantis. I don't know what the relation between him and the crown is, but it is likely that they hired him for something""Why are you telling me this, Miss Palf…?"

"You want to live, correct?"

"... Yes…" The atmosphere immediately changed.

"In this case, you will do what the snakefolk wanted to do, but for the sole purpose of getting Argantis to tell you where Atlent can be found, alright? Do this, give the vein and river, and you'll be allowed to live–In fact, I'll even go out of my way to protect your life if you succeed" Ririlt knew that he shouldn't ask why Leou wanted to know Atlent's whereabouts, so he instead asked something else.

"May I know more about him?"

"Of course, as you know, Argantis is an expert curse slinger, master incantionist, and even a hex maker, yes? Well, that's actually only part of his skillset. Because Argantis and Atlent are both direct disciples of the late Clatamicus" The foxfolk opened his mouth, but no words came out. Not just because Clatamicus was an infamous figure who slaughtered countless in the pursuit of power and knowledge, but also because he had died a very long time ago, implying that Argantis and Atlent were actually ancient beings.

"Then…?"

"Yes, Argantis and Atlent are users of black magic above all else, just like their master. So you shouldn't mess with them too much" As she said this, Leou casually slid a piece of paper over to him.

"Sign this. There is no drawback for failure, but there is a punishment for intentional failure. Do your best, Mister Ririlt" The foxfolk looked at the contract in front of him and knew very well that he didn't have the option to refuse. Although she looked different now, he felt that it was pretty clear that the hooded figure in the corner was Mara, and if he had forgotten before, he had seen how willing she was to kill on a whim.

In the end, instead of striking a deal, he ended up being forced to give up two valuable locations and had to pretty much sell his soul to the snow leopard. As he silently walked down the stairs of the tower, he ran into a rather unconventionally dressed girl who locked eyes with him and then smiled.

"Why the long face?"

"Huh… Nothing much" The woman in front of him was dressed in clothes that were half-white and half-black. Her skin was as white as chalk, and her hair perhaps the darkest shade of black he had ever seen. He didn't feel like she was human despite showing no particular traits that told otherwise, and he couldn't help but be flustered as she rapidly closed the distance and threw her arm around his shoulder. Which was odd as he was certain that she was shorter than him a moment ago, but was now the same height.

"You have the face of someone who got outfoxed" After saying her part, she ran away while laughing, as she had just said the most hilarious thing ever, leaving the stunned Ririlt behind as he blinked a few times.

"That was… A terrible joke" For some reason, he couldn't help but smile thinking about it.