Leon and the other two girls continued exploring the market, wandering through the bustling streets with genuine curiosity. Whenever sothing caught their interest—unusual artifacts, enchanted accessories, exotic foods—they bought it without a second thought. Money was no object.
They eventually ca across an alchemy shop displaying rows of colorful potions in glass vials. Healing potions glowed with soft red light, while mana potions shimred blue. Leon examined them carefully, his analytical mind comparing them to items he’d purchased from the system shop.
Very low effectiveness compared to what I have. Five percent is as potent as the best.
Still, he bought ten of each type. They were surprisingly cheap—only five gold coins per vial—and having backup supplies never hurt, even if they were inferior quality.
As they wandered further, Seraphine suddenly stopped walking. Her eyes had caught the na on a particular establishnt ahead of them, and recognition flashed across her face.
This was the sa place ntioned in the story the bunny girl had told her wolf friend—the conversation Leon had spied on and relayed to them through their ntal link.
The building was quite luxurious looking. Three stories tall with elegant architecture, large windows that glowed with warm light, and an ornate entrance flanked by well-dressed guards. Everything about it scread wealth and sophistication.
"Should we go inside?" Seraphine suggested, her voice carefully neutral despite the sharp edge entering her eyes.
She reasoned aloud: "The wolf girl would have freed her friend by now and left. It’s been hours since we saw them at the guild."
But that wasn’t her real motivation for wanting to enter.
Having heard the bunny girl’s story, she wanted to see this scamr, Luke, for herself. She wanted to understand their ga, play along with their sche, and when the right mont ca, teach them a lesson far harsher than the one she’d delivered to the disrespectful shopkeeper earlier.
She’d managed her own city in the Lower Domain before Leon arrived. She knew these types—the scum of society who plagued communities and preyed upon innocent people. They destroyed lives through predatory behavior, sotis even causing deaths through debt-driven despair or violence.
She despised them with every fiber of her being.
And the sche they’d pulled on that bunny girl was particularly vicious. Deliberately rigged gas, compound interest designed to be unpayable, slave contracts hidden in loan agreents—it was textbook predatory lending taken to criminal extres.
She’d co to understand that rules in the Middle Domain were more universal and standardized than the Lower Domain’s patchwork of local laws. Even so, that didn’t an there was no cri. Instead, criminals simply hid behind legal loopholes and technical compliance.
She didn’t care about any of that bureaucratic nonsense.
One thing she knew with absolute certainty: strength prevailed above all else. That was the most basic rule in this world, transcending laws, contracts, and social conventions.
Her athyst eyes blazed with sharp intensity as she stared at the establishnt. She wasn’t the only one affected—Loriel also had unusual seriousness in her expression as she studied the building.
The sudden halt in their casual exploration made Leon realize imdiately what these two were thinking. Looking at their faces made it quite obvious.
"Shall we go inside?" he asked, already walking toward the main gate.
The two guards at the entrance opened the ornate doors without question, probably assuming from their appearance and confidence that they were wealthy patrons.
As they walked, Leon used his telepathic ability to relay information directly into Loriel’s mind. Don’t act up too much. Be oblivious to their scams. Pretend you don’t know anything about how this place operates.
Loriel nodded subtly without saying anything aloud, acknowledging his warning.
Leon felt relieved he’d inford her specifically beforehand. Otherwise, he could easily imagine her blowing their cover within the first few seconds, probably by righteously confronting soone about their unethical business practices.
Inside was a luxurious testant to the wealth this establishnt generated from its victims.
The size of the place was impressive—easily as large as the entire Adventurer’s Guild building they’d visited earlier. Most of the seats were filled with people engaged in various gas of chance. The atmosphere buzzed with excitent.
Leon detected subtle glances from multiple people landing on them—his sharp senses picking up the attention imdiately. Staff mbers were watching, evaluating, and probably trying to determine how much money these new arrivals had to lose.
He could hear people winning their gambles all around them, celebrating loudly with cheers and laughter. Coins clinked, dice rolled, cards shuffled. Victory seed constant and effortless.
But all of that is just theater to lure people in.
He didn’t see anyone actually losing. Not a single person appeared upset or disappointed. Every visible ga showed patrons winning small amounts, creating the illusion that success was easy and common here.
However, scanning deeper into the establishnt, Leon’s spatial awareness detected sothing different. In the far end of a specific table, he recognized two familiar figures.
The sa wolf girl from before sat at a gaming table. Beside her was the cute bunny girl with white rabbit ears. And across from them sat another man—well-dressed, handso in a slick way, with dark hair and a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
They’re still here.
The furious expression on the wolf girl’s face told him clearly that things were not going well. Her ears were flat against her skull, her jaw clenched tight, her golden eyes blazing with barely contained rage.
Seraphine and Loriel noticed them too, but they didn’t have ti to focus on that situation.
Multiple servers imdiately descended upon Leon’s group, their approach coordinated and practiced. They spoke with exaggerated politeness, their voices dripping with false warmth.
"Welco, honored guests! We’re so pleased to have such distinguished visitors!"
"What beautiful companions you have, sir! Truly radiant!"
The complints flowed like water—excessive, insincere, designed to flatter and disarm.
"Which ga would you like to try first? We have many options for entertainnt!"
Leon glanced around, observing the various gas scattered throughout the hall. Many looked similar to gambling gas from his original world—roulette, card gas, dice gas—but with slight variations in rules or presentation.
He pointed toward a table that looked similar to roulette, positioned conveniently next to the table where the two demi-human girls were engaged in tense conversation with the man who must be Luke.
"That one," Leon said simply.
The servers guided them to their seats with practiced efficiency, pulling out chairs and offering refreshnts.
As they settled in, Sylphia noticed their presence from the adjacent table. Her golden eyes flicked toward them briefly—recognition and surprise flashing across her face for just a mont unnoticed.
This situation with this bastard Luke was too important, demanded too much of her attention.
And this man sitting across from her was far too clever and vile for her to allow any distractions.
She had to find a way to get her friend out of this situation. The problem was that using her strength—simply beating Luke unconscious and taking the contract by force—wasn’t an option anymore.
Not after what she’d learned in the past few hours of negotiation.
Once she got Bunbun out of this ss, she would raze this entire place to the ground. And this man Luke—she would torture him thoroughly, make him regret every breath he’d ever taken.
She shouted at him once again, her voice sharp with desperation and barely restrained fury.
"You bastard! I’m giving you seven hundred platinum coins worth of my own equipnt! Let my friend out of your contract! I’m even willing to sign a Union agreent contract for the rest of the three hundred coins!"
Sylphia had discovered through careful examination of the predatory contract that the amount Bunbun owed had specific paynt restrictions. The money had to be earned by her and her alone, with verifiable proof of origin. If soone else attempted to purchase her freedom by paying off the debt, the contract stipulated the amount had to be ten tis the original sum.
One thousand platinum coins instead of one hundred.
I’m going to kill him. The mont Bunbun is free, I’ll end his miserable life.
But she couldn’t do anything before then. That was the truly infuriating part. If she accidentally killed him now—if her rage got the better of her and she struck him down—Bunbun would die too because of the slave bracelet’s fail-safe enchantnts, one of the extre asures, she had not imagined this to be sneakily used in such a contract.
Bunbun is so dumb!!!
Never in her entire life had she felt such overwhelming anger toward another person. Her hands trembled with the effort of restraining herself, her claws threatening to extend involuntarily.
Luke smiled as he looked at the big fish he’d just caught on his hook.
Haha, she’s so desperate. This is perfect.
This idiotic bunny girl was friends with a four-star adventurer! If he’d known that before setting up the initial contract, he would have made the terms even more absurd, squeezed even harder.
He leaned back in his chair, speaking in a leisurely manner with that infuriating smile still plastered across his face.
"I need one thousand and forty platinum coins. In cash." He spread his hands as if being perfectly reasonable. "I’m not an unreasonable person. You just have to follow the contract she signed."
His tone carried false sympathy, as if he were the victim here, being forced to enforce unfortunate but necessary rules.
Luke knew this was a dangerous ga he was playing—perhaps the most dangerous of his career. But it was also one he had a very high chance of winning, and the potential rewards were astronomical.
He wasn’t alone in this venture. The High Magistrate himself was backing Luke’s operation, taking fifty percent of the profits directly into his own pocket. With that kind of protection, Luke was effectively invincible within Conan City’s borders.
As long as he played his cards right.
Because I know the mont I release this hostage—the mont I let go of this bunny girl—that woman will kill . Her wrath would be unstoppable.
A four-star adventurer like Sylphia could slaughter everyone in this establishnt within minutes. His guards, his enforcers, even his best fighters—none of them could stop soone at that level. He’d be dead before he could reach the door.
So he was never going to sell this bunny girl freedom.
Not unless he was absolutely certain of his own safety first.
And right now was definitely not the right ti.
Seven hundred platinum coins were an astronomical amount—more money than most people saw in their entire lifetis. Enough to retire comfortably, to live in luxury for decades.
But he wasn’t going to fall for that trap.
That’s not all I can gain here. I can see the bigger picture.
Having this four-star adventurer in the palm of his hand through her friend—that was worth far more than any imdiate paynt. He could milk this situation for years, extracting favors, demanding services, leveraging her desperation for tasks that would normally cost fortunes.
The long-term value was imasurable.
His voice turned sharp, carrying an edge of warning as he leaned forward slightly.
"Don’t raise your voice at again, or there will be no deal happening for your friend. Do you understand?"
The threat was clear: push too hard, and he’d simply refuse to negotiate at all. Leave Bunbun enslaved permanently out of pure spite.
Sylphia gritted her teeth, her jaw clenched so tight it hurt. Her entire body trembled with fury at this whole ordeal—at her own helplessness, at the legal trap that bound her friend, at this smug bastard who held all the leverage.
I’ll kill him. I swear on my clan’s honor, I will make him suffer before he dies.
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