He knew exactly where Leticia was.
For starters, the time point he’d transmigrated into — if his intel was correct — was about three years after Arcadia had been destroyed by Ouroboros’s Demon Lords.
It was also just before the original story was set to begin.
The moment when Sakamaki Izayoi and the others were about to arrive, and when they would take Leticia away from Perseus.
On top of that, by the time he’d received the written order from his convenient elder sister, he’d already used his authority to gather intel on Leticia — which naturally included her current whereabouts.
After all, Leticia had become a publicly announced Gift Game prize.
Anyone with even a little curiosity could find out with minimal investigation, let alone Ouroboros’s professional intelligence apparatus.
You knew where she was, and you still came here to ask?
Poseidon looked at Ryo, unable to stop himself from complaining internally.
If this kid weren’t the little brother of that exalted one, he’d have thrown him out already.
Did anyone actually believe Poseidon was some kind of nice guy?
“Prince Ryo, what is the meaning of this?”
Poseidon said, playing dumb.
But Ryo just sneered.
He didn’t believe for a second that Poseidon didn’t understand what he was getting at.
“Lord Sea Emperor…
some things aren’t so easy to swallow.”
Ryo slammed the armrest, his tone icy.
“Her godhead…
do I need to say more?”
Poseidon’s movements froze.
His gaze swept over Ryo with a chill — he knew I brought the godhead with me?
But when he glanced over at his two trembling subordinates, Poseidon realized he’d misunderstood.
“The godhead?
So there’s a problem with the godhead that was on Leticia?”
That, Poseidon had not expected.
Leticia’s status was extremely sensitive.
Even reduced to slavery, she had to be treated with care.
Whatever condition she’d arrived in, she had to leave in the same condition.
But losing her godhead — that was harder to justify.
Poseidon’s eyes turned cold as they swept over his two fine subordinates.
They certainly had nerve.
Sending Leticia — that hot potato — out had been his own decision.
But who had given them permission to touch her godhead?
“Who gave you permission to remove Leticia’s godhead?”
Divine might crashed down on the naga and lion-man like a tidal wave.
Unable to withstand Poseidon’s pressure, they collapsed to the ground, completely unable to straighten up.
“It wasn’t that we wanted to remove her godhead…
Perseus simply didn’t have enough funds to purchase a four-digit slave with a godhead attached.
We had no choice but to—”
The naga, pinned to the floor, squeezed the words out through gritted teeth.
Then the middle head among her remaining six opened its mouth and spat out a blue Gift Card marked with ocean-wave patterns.
A dark, octahedral crystal appeared.
Ryo winked at Lamia.
She opened her hand, and the godhead flew straight into her palm before she tucked it away.
Now even Poseidon couldn’t say much.
This time, his subordinates really were in the wrong.
“Very well.
Is there anything else, Prince Ryo?”
The godhead had been retrieved.
Poseidon had no idea why Ryo was still here.
Reading between the lines: time for you to leave — and for me to settle accounts with my subordinates.
“Lord Sea Emperor, there’s no need to rush.”
Ryo picked up his teacup and took a light sip, smiling.
“I still need to figure out how to write the report for this assignment.
My head is positively aching over it.”
Should he write that Poseidon’s negligence had caused the loss of Leticia’s godhead?
Or that Kurma’s divine decree had arrived too late, and by the time he got there, Leticia had already been sent away?
Of course, Ryo didn’t say any of this out loud.
They were both old foxes — there was no way Poseidon didn’t understand what he meant.
This was blatant extortion.
Ryo was openly seeking compensation.
Poseidon’s mouth twitched.
He understood just how troublesome this kid was.
The boy had come here specifically to shake him down, and it was hard to say the World King herself didn’t have a hand in it — a little reminder to keep him in line.
So now he really had no choice but to take the loss.
If that report were written the first way, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t end up before Kurma herself.
And even if it didn’t, it would still give his enemies ammunition to use against him.
It’s over…
completely over…
Beside him, the naga wore the expression of someone utterly broken.
Her plan — quietly pocketing Leticia’s godhead, then using Ouroboros channels to exchange it for one better suited to her own attributes — had just gone up in smoke.
And she’d left a terrible impression on the Sea Emperor in the process.
Laius, you goddamn son of a bitch — you’ve screwed me over!!
Almost as if sensing the naga’s thoughts, Ryo merely let out a cold sneer.
At that moment, Poseidon made up his mind.
He swept a cold glance over the naga and sighed helplessly.
Then he opened his palm.
A sea-blue octahedral crystal appeared in his hand.
This was also a godhead.
“In that case, allow me to offer this godhead of mine to Prince Ryo — as a token of appreciation for your…
writing efforts.”
Ryo reached out and accepted the godhead, his eyes narrowing as a brilliant smile spread across his face.
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly…”
“Rest assured, Lord Poseidon.
I’ll write the mission report properly.
Completely objective.
Not a trace of fabrication.”
He paused, and the corner of his mouth quirked upward.
“Naturally.
I trust in Your Highness’s credibility.”
Poseidon breathed a sigh of relief.
It had cost him, but he’d finally sent this young lord on his way.
Still, it was a shame about the godhead he’d intended to give the naga.
All those years of loyal service, and now — because of a moment’s greed — she’d lost the reward she deserved.
Later, on the streets of Elm City, Ryo idly toyed with the two godheads in his hand, thoroughly pleased.
“Extortion really is the fastest way to make money.
One outing, and I’ve already made two four-digit godheads with built-in Authorities.”
“Then master, when can we extort someone again?
A few more times, and we might have enough to buy our own base.”
Beside him, the lively vampire girl tapped her small, rosy lips with her finger, blinking as she struck a cute pose.
“You think something like that can succeed more than once?
We got lucky this time.”
Ryo rolled his eyes and rapped Lamia lightly on the head.
If he hadn’t remembered from the original story that Leticia had lost her godhead, the best he could’ve gotten out of this trip was some compensation from that list.
And if it weren’t for his identity, forget extortion — he’d have been thrown out before he even got through the door.
Lamia had only just entered the four-digit range herself.
If that naga hadn’t been too afraid to fight back, ten Lamias together wouldn’t have been a match for her.