“But the price of falling as a Demon Lord is too steep.”
Shiroyasha was clearly still trying to talk Ryo out of it.
Ryo, however, waved it off casually.
“I don’t have Host Master Authority.
It’s not me who’d be falling.”
Shiroyasha paused, glanced hesitantly at Lamia, and seeing no resistance in her expression, sighed.
“Fine.
Do what you want.
Though I do feel a bit sorry for Leticia.”
Harsh as it was, this was reality.
If her visitor hadn’t been a young Pureblood Dragon like Ryo, Lamia wouldn’t have even made it through Thousand Eyes’ front door.
Because while Shiroyasha had been fairly close with the old Arcadia and was acquainted with Leticia, their relationship didn’t extend much beyond having met each other.
Back in the old Arcadia, it was Canary she’d been close with.
Now, in No Name, it was Kuro Usagi she kept in touch with — not Leticia.
She had no obligation to stop Ryo from sending Lamia to her death.
As long as Ryo himself didn’t come to harm and his elders didn’t come looking for her, that was good enough.
But inevitably, her estimation of Ryo dropped a few notches in her mind.
“So what kind of help do you want?
There’s only so much I can offer right now.”
Shiroyasha said coolly, her earlier warmth completely gone.
“Of course — we’re well aware of that.
I’ve come to purchase some information from you, Lady Shiroyasha.”
Ryo said, rubbing his hands with a smile.
Thousand Eyes — one of the largest commercial communities in Little Garden.
Yet their most famous business wasn’t their commercial achievements, but their near-monopoly on intelligence and information trading.
If not for the fact that Ouroboros’s upper ranks were filled with core figures from every major pantheon, backed by Two-Digit existences running interference, it was hard to say whether Ouroboros would’ve kept its tail out of Thousand Eyes’ reach — or whether its secrets would’ve been sold off long ago.
Of course, there was another possibility: that Ouroboros’s leadership had simply paid an enormous sum to monopolize all Thousand Eyes intel regarding Ouroboros, buying out the distribution rights entirely.
But the specifics of those arrangements were core Ouroboros secrets.
Ryo didn’t yet have clearance to know.
Perhaps once he became one of the upper echelons, he’d find out.
“What kind of information?”
Shiroyasha showed a flicker of curiosity.
She’d pegged Ryo as a reckless brute.
Now, though, he seemed surprisingly cunning — almost at odds with his age.
“A detailed layout of Perseus’s compound defenses.”
Ryo said with confidence.
As for combat strength?
That wasn’t an issue at all.
Combined with the Shadow Authority she’d just absorbed from Leticia’s godhead, infiltrating the compound to scout the situation wouldn’t be difficult.
That was exactly why Ryo wanted the defense layout — get in first, assess the situation, then plan the next move.
Lamia was his person.
He wasn’t about to actually send her to her death.
“But Perseus is still one of our Thousand Eyes executives…”
Shiroyasha put on a troubled expression — though, in a corner only Ryo could see, she was rubbing her fingers together.
Ryo smiled.
Shiroyasha’s meaning was clear: it’ll cost extra.
The deal was as good as done.
“But they won’t be Thousand Eyes executives much longer, will they?”
Ryo’s smile was positively radiant.
“You’re right.”
Shiroyasha snapped her fan open, concealing the sly grin spreading across her delicate face.
After all, she was a Floor Master — a senior Thousand Eyes executive showing such an undignified smile?
Unthinkable.
But right now, she really couldn’t help it!!
“So, about the price…”
Ryo rubbed his hands together expectantly.
“Then I’ll sell it to you at the standard rate for five-digit community intel.”
Shiroyasha was clearly in a good mood, so she didn’t try to gouge him.
She even gave him a considerable discount.
After all, Perseus was still technically a Thousand Eyes executive.
Even for an intelligence organization that worshipped money above all, there were lines — like not selling intel on your own members.
Unless, of course, the price was truly…
exceptional.
“Five-digit?
Shouldn’t it be six-digit?”
Ryo scratched his head.
Perseus had already dropped a digit due to Laius’s mismanagement, and now that they were about to be expelled, they’d drop another.
So the price should’ve been based on six-digit community rates.
“You little…”
Dark lines appeared on Shiroyasha’s forehead.
There was pushing your luck, and then there was this.
She’d already practically given it away, and he still wanted more?
If he thought it was too expensive, why didn’t he just go buy intel somewhere else?
Didn’t he know Thousand Eyes was famous for its outrageous prices?
“We’re a bit short on funds, you see.”
Ouroboros’s initial startup capital still hadn’t been approved.
It was supposed to come with his first mission assignment.
But Ryo didn’t have the patience to wait.
A few more days, and his Leticia would end up as someone else’s maid.
If his timing was right, very soon — or perhaps right now — No Name’s problem children, Sakamaki Izayoi and the others, would be arriving in Little Garden.
“Why don’t you just ask for it free?”
Shiroyasha muttered.
“Free?
Really?
Lady Shiroyasha?”
The moment the word “free” hit his ears, Ryo’s freeloader radar lit up.
His eyes sparkled as he leaned forward eagerly.
In the early stages of building an operation, money was needed everywhere.
Base of operations — money.
Supplies — money.
Gifts — money.
Hiring personnel — money.
Intel — money.
And on top of all that, Ryo had a money-devouring black hole called the Dimensional Forum.
Goddamn forum — two thousand points for a round trip?
Why don’t you just rob me?
For a moment, Shiroyasha was speechless.
She didn’t know what to say.
She could smell poverty radiating off Ryo — the same kind she smelled on Kuro Usagi.
Still, if this brat was so confident, giving him a chance wouldn’t hurt.
“Free is fine.
But there’s a condition.”
Shiroyasha opened her fan, looking mysterious.
“I want to make a bet with you.
If you can retrieve Leticia’s ownership contract, I’ll waive the intel fee — I’ll cover all the costs myself.”
“But if you fail, you pay the intel fee at my price.”
“How about it?”
“Naturally.”
Ryo said with full confidence.
The next moment, two copies of a contract documenting the bet descended from above, landing in Ryo’s and Shiroyasha’s hands respectively.
The bet was witnessed by the Little Garden Central Core.