"Averon Solkara. The Lord of the Solkara race. A Transcendent Talent holder," she said.
"He's not my subordinate. There's no way he's just going to follow into a eting like that when following ans accepting that they are my subordinate," Isaac said.
"He isn't your subordinate yet, so you need to make him one. You cannot afford to let him remain independent anymore. He is too valuable, and there's another reason as well to make him your subordinate. I don't think I need to explain that part to you," she said.
Isaac didn't respond imdiately.
He knew exactly what she ant.
Right now, he wasn't just another City Lord. He was an asset. A rare one. The kind other Lords would fight over without hesitation.
The Florathi had already shown their stance that morning. They didn't see him as an equal. They saw him as sothing to be taken, shaped, controlled.
If they couldn't take him directly, they would go around him.
Other Lords would do the sa.
They could surround his city by taking control of nearby territories. They could restrict movent, limit hunting grounds, choke the growth of his awakeners.
They didn't need open attacks, or anything too obvious. They would use under-handed tricks to pressure him and make staying
independent unbearable for him.
Averon's city would be their target as well. Hs City was close to Isaac's. Too close.
They would gain control over his City, and other nearby Cities, and
use those places to harass Isaac.
If Isaac didn't pull Averon in, soone else would.
And once that happened, the situation would turn much worse.
"We need allies, Isaac. The apocalypse is dangerous, the monsters are dangerous... but don't underestimate the other Lords. So of them are worse," Eleanor said.
"I understand."
Isaac gave a small nod, his expression serious now.
"Good. I've already arranged a eting with Averon for you. Ti is limited, so don't waste it. Bring him under you, no matter what. You should be able to handle that, right? You've learned quite a bit during the Trial." She turned slightly, as if concluding the matter.
"Yes, I can-"
He stopped.
How did she know what he learned in the Trial?
'Did sis tell her?'
That was the most reasonable explanation. It had to be.
Because if Eleanor actually rembered what happened in the Trial...
...then there was no way she would be standing in front of him this calmly.
Isaac stared at her. He was too curious. Unable to hold back his
curiosity anymore, he used Inspect on her.
The familiar screen appeared in front of him.
Na: Eleanor Weiss
Age: 167
Rating: 97
Personality: Dignified, Unbreakable Will, Pervert (New)
Likes: Swordsmanship, honest and hardworking people, challenges, collecting swords, Voyeurism (New)
Dislikes: Laziness, complacency, arrogance without strength, unnecessary violence, disrespecting the "Sword," being called old,
Isaac (New)
Status 1: Worried about your, and her new family's safety. The eting
with the Lords can be very dangerous.
Status 2: In denial of her new 'interests. Hates her new 'interests.
Isaac froze.
For a mont, he didn't even blink.
Normally, he skimd over everything except Status, but this ti...
'What... is this?'
His eyes moved over the lines again, slower.
'She gained a new personality... and it's [Pervert]?'
His gaze dropped further.
'Likes... Voyeurism?"
And then-
'Dislikes... Isaac?'
A dull headache started forming at the back of his head.
He had wanted to confirm sothing 'simple!
Instead, it felt like he had opened sothing he really shouldn't have.
His eyes lingered on the word "interests" in the Status.
He exhaled quietly.
'Interests ans... watching others during their private monts,
right?'
Isaac slowly lifted his gaze from the screen and looked at Sword
Empress no, Eleanor with a strange gaze.
The sa composed expression. The sa steady posture.
Nothing about her outward appearance matched what he had just
read.
But the Status screen wouldn't lie.
'Did she gain these strange interests because she had been single for
over a century, and the loneliness ended up twisting her tastes?'
The Sword Empress.
A woman who had stood at the peak for over a century. Soone whose na alone could make enemies tremble.
And now-
'She likes... that?"
Isaac opened his mouth, then closed it again.
There wasn't a good way to approach this.
'You know what...'
He straightened slightly.
'I didn't see anything. It's not my problem if I don't know about it!
'Out of my sight, out of my life!
He could live with that.
But the one line still bothered him.
She disliked him now.
That part he couldn't ignore.
Then again... he could guess why she disliked him.
'She gained a new interest-voyeurism-and she is in denial. She doesn't want to accept that she is a pervert, so she is blaming for
showing her those things.
'How is this my fault?'
He hadn't even known she was watching.
And if she hated it that much, maybe she should stop doing it in the
first place.
"Why are you still standing here. Go and et Averon," Eleanor said,
breaking his thoughts.
"...I'm going."
He turned and walked away.
Alice and Avery remained behind with Eleanor. He asked them to stay
with her. He needed a mont alone to clear his head.
As he walked down the corridor, his thoughts gradually settled.
'She's in denial.
That much was clear.
'As long as enough ti passes, she'll co to terms with it.
And once she did, the misplaced dislike toward him would probably disappear. Of course, it would take ti.
At least, that was the most logical outco.
Unless sothing drastic happened to make her accept her new
'interests' soon.
Isaac frowned slightly.
'I'm not going to try to help her accept her interests faster!
Whatever internal struggle she was dealing with, he wasn't going to
step into it.
He had enough to handle already.
By the ti he reached the eting room, his expression had
returned to normal.
Two guards stood outside.
They were familiar faces.
Solkara guards.
Isaac recognized them imdiately. They had arrived with Averon
before... and they had also been part of the group he beaten back
then.
Both guards straightened slightly when they saw him. "Greetings, Lord Isaac."
Their tone was respectful. They opened the door without hesitation.
Isaac stepped inside.
The room was large, and opulent.
Averon Solkara was already there, seated, with Simraj, his advisor, standing slightly behind him.
The mont Averon saw Isaac, he shot to his feet.
"You! Give my money! How shaless can you be to scam like
this?" Averon snapped, his voice rising imdiately.
"...What are you talking about?" Isaac asked.
"Don't play dumb!" he shouted. "Your wife-Emily-she tad those
Blazing Pterodactyl spirits! Those were mine! I killed them in the Great Dungeon!"
"What are you talking about?" Isaac asked with an innocent expression.
For a mont, it looked like Averon might actually cough up blood
from anger. "You-!" He pointed at Isaac. "You livestread her Lord Quest! Everyone saw it! Those three Blazing Pterodactyl! They are the monsters I killed! I brought their corpses out of the Great Dungeon!
You owe for them! Pay !" Isaac blinked once.
The accusation ca fast, loud, and filled with just enough
confidence that it might have worked on soone else.
He didn't react imdiately.
Instead, he looked at Averon with confidence. "Do you have any
proof?"
"What?" Averon asked, stunned.
"Proof that those three were killed by you?" Isaac asked.
"I know how the monsters I killed looked like-" "Well, all Blazing Pterodactyles look the sa. You are probably
mistaken," Isaac said.
Averon was stunned. Anger instantly dissipated from his face, replaced by sheer stupefaction.
In truth, Averon wasn't angry. He knew that it was his fault for being
scamd.
The reason he acted angry was to extort money out of Isaac. Was this
behavior shaless? Yes. But so what? He would rather be rich than
prideful.
However, Isaac turned out to be even more shaless than him. Let alone paying good compensation or bad compensation, he straight-up denied those monsters being Averon's kill.
One had to know Isaac was filthy rich right now, at least by Averon's City's comparison. He could have easily paid the compensation. "Why are you looking at like that?" Isaac asked.
"...have I ever told you that I hate you?" Averon asked. "You told that during our first eting. Then, you got beaten black
and blue for what you said," Isaac replied.
On the side, Simraj's lips twitched. He almost laughed, but he held it
back, lowering his head slightly as if adjusting his posture. Averon let out a breath and dropped back into the sofa. The energy he
had walked in with was gone now, replaced by sothing closer to resignation.
"Sigh, I don't want to talk to you anymore. Just tell why you
arranged
this eting, then get out," Averon said, sitting on the sofa like a deflated ballon. "Aren't you going to join the Lord eting, right now?" Isaac asked instead of answering as he sat across the table.
One of the Solkara guards stepped forward at the right ti and placed tea on the table. The movent was quiet and practiced, and within seconds, he stepped back again, leaving the two of them facing each other.
"Are you asking because you don't know, or are you actually clueless?" Averon asked.
Isaac shrugged, even though he knew the answer. Averon stared at him for a few seconds, then let out another sigh.
"There are many Lords who have co here today. But only five will join you at the eting. These fives are the strongest in our region. They are just below the Florathi. If small Lords like attend the eting with them, they will see it as a slap to their face, and then..." He stopped there for a mont. His expression shifted slightly, as if
he was recalling sothing from the past.
"Then, the best case scenario is that they will restrict your trade
routes, and worst case scerio is that they will make you a Slave City," Averon ended.
He leaned forward a little, resting his elbow on his knee as he spoke. Restricting trade routes wasn't complicated for powerful Lords. Influence alone was enough. A word passed to the right people, a deal struck behind the scenes, and suddenly no one wanted to trade with you. In a world where resources were scarce, that kind of isolation
was enough to destroy a City without a single battle. Not every City could support itself. Not every City had land, skills, or abilities like Isaac's.
And a Slave City...
That was worse.
The City would remain standing, its people alive, but everything they
produced would be taken regularly under the excuse of trade or
protection tax.
The Lords who now controlled them wouldn't conquer the City, but instead keep it alive to suck out the benefits from them regularly. This way, they wouldn't need to treat the new citizens as their own
citizens and give them welfare benefits, and if the Slave City fell, the Lords wouldn't face any problem. "So you are scared of these Lords?" Isaac asked.
"Yes. I am not going to do anything stupid that will put the life of my
people in danger," Averon grunted.
"Says the person who attacked on our first eting, without knowing our military strength," Isaac replied. Averon's expression tightened. That mory wasn't a good one. Back then, he had acted without thinking things through. Emotion had taken over, and he paid for it. That didn't need to be said out
loud.
Of course, he had leaned from the experience. But that didn't change
the fact that Isaac was poking where it hurt.
Ignoring Averon's expression that said he had eaten sothing bad,
Isaac leaned forward, and said, "Beco a Sub-Lord under . You
can join the eting that way."
The
room went quiet.
Averon didn't react at first. He simply looked at Isaac, trying to decide
whether this was serious or not.
"...is this supposed to be a funny joke?" Averon finally asked.
"It's not a joke," Isaac replied.
"....I want to insult you, but instead of wasting ti, let's be direct.
Why do you think we will serve under you? There have been plenty Lords who wanted to work for them. I refused all of them, and those that tried to force , I've defeated all of them," Averon said. "The ones you defeated were near your City. They were not strong
Lords," Isaac replied.
"Strong or weak. That doesn't change the fact that I did defeat multiple Lords." Averon said, then chuckled, "I can't believe soone who hasn't been a Lord for even half a month dares to call other Lords weak. You are just a newbie."
"A newbie who defeated two Catastrophes," Isaac replied.
This ti, Averon didn't laugh.
The words settled heavily in the space between them.
He knew it was true.
Isaac's City wasn't normal. The combination of several abilities alone
made it stand out. Emily's ability to ta spirits of dead monsters, no matter their rank. Saintess Alice's overpowered healing skills. Isaac's 100% Drop rate Talent. Catherine, SSS rank Farming. The potential, combat power and financial power of Isaac's City was
no joke.
Moreover, Averon had a feeling that Isaac had more trump cards he was not revealing.
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