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Chapter 77: A Deal For Hope
Chapter 77: A Deal For Hope
Chapter 77: A Deal For Hope
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Yuuto then told Alister to go on.
Alister proceeded to tell Yuuto the items he was looking for, causing Yuuto to look slightly puzzled.
Yuuto couldn't help but let out a sigh. "Those are some high-grade items you're looking for. If I didn't know you wanted to save your sister, I would have thought you were trying to bring back the dead."
'Bring back the dead?' Alister silently wondered.
Yuuto then turned to face him. "But I know your intentions are pure, so no problem. However, as per our deal, I'll only be telling you the location of one item."
Alister clenched his fists, feeling silently frustrated. He then said, "Alright, tell me the one that would be the easiest to obtain currently."
Yuuto smiled and said, "I'm sure you already know about the black market. After all, you've snuck out two times now."
Alister remained calm as he said, "As per the terms of our contract, I am allowed to go wherever and whenever I want, or am I wrong?"
"No, you aren't," Yuuto replied. "You just have to be careful the Union never catches you there."
"I don't see how this is related to..." Before Alister could finish, Yuuto interrupted him.
"Hold this." Yuuto pulled out a black metallic card with a purple reaper symbol on it. "It's an access pass to the Reaper Guild's exclusive auction. Cheng Zhi recently led a clearing that led to his guild finding a root belonging to the World Tree. They extracted some of its sap from there, and it will be going up for auction tonight."
Alister collected the card and looked at it. "I would not have expected the old and wise Master Yuuto to be involved in illegal business."
Yuuto chuckled. "Oh, please, it was ages ago. I was bored and curious back then."
Alister then said, "Is that so? If that is all, I'll get going now."
Alister then turned around and began to walk away.
"Alister, wait up," Yuuto called out to him. "I have a question I hope you are willing to answer."
Alister narrowed his gaze. "Go on."
Yuuto placed his hand under his jaw thoughtfully. "Back at the arena, try as I might, I couldn't find you. How did you do that?"
Alister smiled and shrugged. "Sir, I don't know what you are talking about. You were so focused on Darven you completely forgot about me."
Yuuto chuckled. "Oh, come now, give me some credit. As a seasoned fighter with countless raids and clearings under my belt, do you really think I would really lose track of the position of another person who was supposed to be some ten feet away from me?"
Alister tensed up slightly as Yuuto slowly walked up to him as he continued speaking.
"I know you thought everyone else wouldn't notice, since your summon became everyone's main focus, and the gusts of wind caused things to look a bit blurry, as well as some dust slightly affecting everyone's vision. But I'm not just anyone, and so I'm absolutely certain."
Yuuto was practically inches away from Alister at this point, his silver eyes glowing slightly with his silver mana as he spoke in a dangerous tone.
"You completely disappeared, didn't you?"
For a moment, there was a tense silence between the two of them. Out of nowhere, Alister let out a sigh, then smiled as he said, "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. What does it matter now? The spar is over."
Alister's words caused Yuuto to momentarily look surprised before suddenly bursting into laughter. "I see you are using the words I used back in the treasury against me," Yuuto said, slapping Alister's back repeatedly while he laughed.
"Good one."
Yuuto's slaps were powerful, causing Alister to be pushed forward slightly as he stepped back. Taking a look back at Yuuto, Alister asked, "If we're done now, can I go?"
Yuuto paused, then smiled calmly. "Yeah, you can go now."
"Thank you, sir. Later then," Alister said before turning to leave.
Yuuto couldn't help but look slightly nostalgic as he watched Alister walk away. He murmured to himself, "He's just like you, attitude and all. It's a shame you aren't here to see him grow."
With a sigh, Yuuto shook his head and said, "Well, enough standing around. I guess I should meet Aiko so we can go to that meeting. Although it's a bit early, it's never been my style to arrive late."
...
As Alister made his way back to the guild's main building, he noticed Lila standing near the entrance, waiting. She had a curious look on her face as she approached him.
"Hey, Alister," Lila greeted with a friendly smile. "How did your training go? I heard your summon and the guild master really went toe to toe in the arena earlier."
Alister relaxed his posture and replied, "Yeah, it was a bit intense, things almost got a bit out of hand."
Lila's eyes brightened with interest. "That sounds intense. So, did you win?"
Alister chuckled. "Well, guess you can say I did, although I'm sure if the guild master decided to make it an actual spar where he and my summon traded blows things would have been completely different."
Lila nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. "You must be pretty hungry after all that mana you used. W-want to head over to the café and grab something to eat together?"
Alister considered the offer for a moment. "That sounds good. I could use a break and some company."
With a soft smile, Lila pointed toward the café. "Great! Let's go. I heard they have something new on the menu."
As they walked together toward the café, the weight of the day began to ease, and Alister found himself looking forward to a casual chat.
As Alister and Lila strolled towards the café, they came across an unusual scene near the guild's training grounds.
Lady Aiko stood with a stern expression, and Axel and Blitz were on their knees, visibly shaking.
The two were being reprimanded for their recent antics, which had involved scaring newbie guild members and broadcasting it on their stream.
Axel, with his usual confidence completely stripped away, was practically shaking as he
begged.
"L-lady Aiko, please, we didn't mean to cause so much trouble, It was a social experiment. We were just trying to obtain some new data!"
Blitz, equally panicked, also spoke up, she was practically crying at this point "Y-yeah, Lady Aiko, we'll make it up to you! Just... please go easy on us!"
Lady Aiko, arms crossed and her gaze icy, replied, "You both need to understand that causing fear among the new recruits is unacceptable. Not only were you damaging the reputation of our guild over the internet but you also caused some of them to consider leaving the guild." "With what both of you have done today, not even the guild master can save you."
Axel and Blitz exchanged worried glances, their fear growing as Lady Aiko's intense gaze seemed to piece through their souls.
Just then, their eyes caught sight of Alister and Lila approaching. Seeing an opportunity, Axel and Blitz's faces lit up with hope.
"Alister! Lila!" Axel shouted, trying to get their attention. "Help us out here! Lady Aiko is
being really tough this time!"
Blitz, almost crawling towards Alister, added, "Yeah, Lady Aiko's in a bad mood today! Please, can you talk to her for us? We promise to treat both of you if you can get us out of
this!"
Alister raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit awkward by their sudden desperation. He exchanged a glance with Lila, who was trying to suppress a chuckle at the scene.
Lady Aiko then then said, "When I'm done with the both of you, you'd forget the concept of pranks even exist." She adjusted her glasses, causing them to glint in the light.
Axel and Blitz trembled under her gaze, hugging each other tightly in fear, "Please don't kill
us!"