How to Survive Against Villains Chapter 300

Chapter 300 – Underwork (2)

The Grade 1 storage depot was located in the city’s comrcial district, so it had great accessibility and was extrely secure.

The Aintrier Administrative Bureau even managed its security separately, and on top of that, we stationed Keros the Sentinel to guard it, making the risk of exposure virtually negligible.

Starting the next day, the Ghosts began roaming the city and spreading rumors about the leaf’s effects.

The response was enthusiastic from the very first day.

The World Tree’s Leaf.

The miraculous light shown at the city gates on the first day, along with the mystical na ‘World Tree,’ seed to have left a strong impression.

As word spread that it contained a blessing powerful enough to lift even incurable curses, the na Alex—the one who brought the leaf—began circulating throughout Aintrier.

And then—

[Alex Marcia – Location Information Fee: 200,000 Gold]

The Ghosts discreetly posted a bounty on my location.

As soon as a reward of 200,000 Gold was announced, information guilds began moving, drawn by the scent of money.

Once the information guilds got involved, rumors spread even faster.

And the higher the bounty, the more sensational the story of the leaf beca.

The initial 200,000 Gold reward steadily increased.

300,000… 400,000… and within a few days, it reached 700,000 Gold.

[Maybe the rumor is true.]

As Alex’s bounty skyrocketed with no signs of slowing down, word spread throughout Aintrier that the World Tree’s Leaf might truly contain divine blessings.

People gathered and speculated about the leaf’s effects.

Many beca obsessed with finding Alex, greed burning in their eyes as they searched every corner of the city.

As competition intensified, even the information guilds began collaborating.

The entire city was stirred in a frenzy to locate one man, but no one could uncover Alex’s whereabouts.

“Ah, so refreshing.”

Maybe it was because we were inside the depot, but it was very cool.

I had taken off my shirt, spread a soft cloth on the ground, and rolled around lazily.

With not much to do, I played with Lily in the mornings, and spent the afternoons in half-idle leisure.

“You’re lazing around so comfortably while the city outside is on fire.”

“You’ve got to rest when it’s ti to rest.”

“Such smooth-talking nonsense.”

Samuel clicked his tongue and shook his head.

Whenever he found an opening, he’d grumble like that.

Though I cured the Curse of the Fissure, the days he spent as a test subject(?) seed to have built up a lot of complaints.

No one expected that soone new to Aintrier would be hiding in a Grade 1 storage depot.

Then, a day later, the news I had been waiting for arrived.

[Location bounty: 1,000,000 Gold.]

Soone had posted a bounty of 1 million Gold for the location of Alex Marcia.

And it wasn’t one of the Ghosts who did it.

A new player had appeared.

“The bait’s been taken.”

When the Ghosts brought the news, I nodded and asked,

“Who is it?”

“Grand rchant Italus.”

“Italus? Are you sure?”

When I asked, the Ghost nodded, and I let out a low groan.

With a neutral expression—neither pleased nor displeased—Elton asked,

“Wasn’t this the news you were waiting for? You said that as the bounty grew, eventually soone would be willing to pay a massive amount to find you.”

“That’s true… but the fish we caught is much bigger than I anticipated.”

“You’re right. Italus isn’t soone to deal with lightly.”

Samuel was the one who agreed with .

His complexion had improved even more since yesterday, likely thanks to his body recovering from the fissure curse.

“You know him?”

In response to Elton’s question, Samuel licked his lips and nodded.

“You’ve heard of it too, haven’t you? That equipnt workshop they call the Dwarves’ Tomb.”

“Lenon Workshop? Don’t tell Italus is the owner of that place?”

“That’s right. He runs the top workshop in Hell Gri, and he’s also considered the second most powerful person in Aintrier.”

The two exchanged glances and turned to Arthur. Everything was playing out exactly as he had intended.

They had caught the perfect person to give the World Tree Leaf its maximum value.

But for so reason, Arthur stroked his chin in silence, deep in thought.

“Shouldn’t we et him first? Just showing your face is worth a million Gold.”

“There’s a risk now.”

“What kind of risk?”

“If he pays a million Gold and doesn’t get what he wants, we could end up making Italus our enemy too—on top of Azonne.”

“Fair point…”

My Sacred Power wasn’t so miraculous cure-all.

It was a force that resisted things like chaos and darkness.

Through my tests on Samuel, I’d identified various cases, including ones where Sacred Power didn’t work.

If the treatnt failed, we had to factor in the risk.

Still, the answer was obvious.

High risk, high return.

If I could win over Italus, we’d have the strongest foundation within Aintrier.

“Let’s et him first.”

“If this fails, you might not be able to stay in Aintrier.”

“But if I succeed, I gain an incredibly powerful backer.”

“He’s a ticulous rchant. He’s not the type to clash with Lord Azonne.”

I gave a small smirk and shook my head.

“Then we should deal with him rchant to rchant.”

“You’ve got a plan?”

I’ll decide once I et Italus.

But before that, there was an important task to handle—Samuel’s departure.

“It’s about ti you left, isn’t it? I heard the Ship Gridnt is departing soon.”

It was ti to send Samuel back to Ordor Forest.

“I was just getting ready.”

Samuel gestured to the side, where a mirror bathed in blue light had appeared.

A giant mirror big enough to fit two or three people—Samuel’s space portal.

“When I open the portal from the other side, it’ll turn red. So send people quickly before the witches beat to death.”

“Elton will go. No need to worry.”

I had already briefed Samuel and Elton on what needed to be done in the forest.

Elton and the Ghosts who remained here had to train inside the World Tree’s Rift to further their growth.

As for Elton, he was expected to reach 5-star level soon.

“Ugh, it’s ti then.”

Samuel stretched and looked at .

“I’m a little concerned about Italus, but I’ll trust you, Captain.”

“Should I pass on your regards?”

When I pointed toward the other side of the storage, where Lily was, Samuel shivered and wrapped his shawl tightly.

“It’ll take about a week.”

With that, Samuel disappeared as if being sucked into the void.

A week was both a short and a long ti.

I only stared briefly at the spot where he vanished before letting out a short breath and nodding at Elton.

Following my signal, Elton left to bring Italus.

We’d earned 1 million Gold—for now.

The question was whether the man who gave that money would beco poison or opportunity for us.

That evening, an elderly, gaunt man entered the storage accompanied by two n.

Leaning on a cane, the old man glanced around before letting out a dry chuckle and slumping into the chair Elton had prepared.

“Tsk, 1 million Gold gone with one step.”

“Do you live nearby?”

Italus turned his gaze toward .

“What a sly raccoon. To think you’d hide in a place like this.”

“Have you ever seen a raccoon this handso?”

“Even your tongue is irritating.”

Italus clicked his tongue briefly.

Our first eting wasn’t bad.

At the very least, he seed curious about .

“Did you raise your own bounty?”

“I just put the right value on myself.”

“Then I hope you judged that value properly. I despise people who don’t know their place.”

Two robed n stood at either side of Italus.

They were clearly his bodyguards, and their presence was intense.

Even with Elton and the Ghosts, we might not be able to handle them.

“You know who I am?”

“I do.”

“Good, that saves us ti. Let’s get to the point. My granddaughter is sick. It’s an unidentified illness. Can you cure her with that leaf of yours?”

“I’ll need to examine her condition first.”

When I said this, Italus nodded.

One of the robed n removed his cloak and gently laid down the girl he’d been carrying.

I had assud he was just so big guy—didn’t expect him to be carrying Italus’s granddaughter.

Soon, a small girl was laid on a simple cot, and I examined her condition.

Placing my hand on her wrist, I slowly spread Sacred Power through her body.

There was a reaction.

Confusion, coldness, and a lifeless energy.

The Sacred Power surged as if trying to restore order—it was sothing I could cure.

But then—

‘Why does this feel so familiar?’

It was the first ti I’d seen this girl, but the aura was familiar.

Where had I felt this before?

Reto answered that question.

[This energy resembles the Heart of the Frost Lord.]

“…Ah.”

The Heart of the Frost Lord.

The mont I heard Reto’s words, my heart dropped.

That heart should’ve vanished when Lyon Martrein died.

So why did that aura appear here?

No—maybe it was just a similar energy.

Still…

‘Now that I think about it, there was never any ntion of Italus’s granddaughter dying from a curse or disease…’

This was a new story, a consequence of the causal chain I created.

I stiffened my expression and looked at Italus.

“When did this begin?”

“Not long ago. She suddenly started feeling cold, lost all body heat, and gradually lost her muscle strength. Now she can’t eat or walk on her own.”

“I can cure her.”

Despite the positive answer, Italus showed little reaction.

He stared at for a while, then asked,

“You want sothing in return, right?”

“Of course.”

“I just hope your greed doesn’t reach the level of that money-grubber Azonne.”

“Does he have a way to treat her?”

“If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have made such a bold offer.”

Azonne?

That reeked of sothing shady.

I had a feeling digging into Lord Azonne might reveal sothing big.

Several assumptions ca to mind, but I shelved them for now.

I had Elton bring over the jewel box.

Presentation matters.

If I just handed over a plain leaf, it would look cheap. So I had it wrapped in a luxurious-looking box from a jewelry shop.

When I opened the jewel box, the leaf dyed in golden light appeared.

Its warm, mystical glow made even Italus gasp softly as he stared at it, entranced.

A mont later, I saw longing in his eyes as he looked at .

He might be a hardened old man who wouldn’t shed a drop of blood even if stabbed, but clearly his granddaughter was precious to him.

“Take it.”

“You haven’t nad your price yet.”

Even with his granddaughter’s life on the line, he still approached it as a business transaction.

I smiled and placed the box into Italus’s hand.

“One leaf won’t be enough.”

“…You’re scarier than I thought, young man.”

Would he back out after seeing her healed?

If it were anyone else, I’d say no.

But this old man might actually do it.

However—

“I’ll make two proposals.”

He would not be able to refuse.

Because neither would be too difficult for him to accept.