"Do you still plan to stop ?"
Eren chuckled after he heard Agatha's response that sounded like a challenge. He shook his head before speaking up:
"I still want to avoid listening to your sob story if I can. There are a lot of people in the world who would have an even more heart-wrenching past than yours. What makes you special?"
Agatha wanted to respond with a lot of words. But no words ca out of her mouth when it ca to talking. Eren continued speaking before she could get over her silence.
"That being said, I can help you step into Ace rank."
Agatha shook her head in denial as if she was expecting this solution to be preached by Eren.
"Even with the anthrope-specific ranking techniques, the chances for anthropes to progress further in their ranking journey are extrely low. So obtaining such a technique at such a high cost might result in a huge loss if I end up staying stagnant in the Novice rank.
I know how you value your money. You would sell imdiately on the black market to recover your losses."
Eren raised his right hand that was holding the smoke and pointed at Agatha to say sothing. But he stayed speechless for a while. Then he coughed before speaking up.
"*Cough. That's not what I was suggesting, Agatha. I'm saying we could try a different approach. Sothing that would make you capable of practising normal ranking techniques of your elent."
Eren finished his statent and took a drag. Agatha narrowed her eyes before asking the first question that ca to her mind.
"You are not bullshitting the way you bullshit with other rchants and your clientele, are you?"
Eren was again made speechless by Agatha. She seed to be on-point with her verbal punches.
"No bullshittery. But it's just that I'd need so ti, which I'm always running short of these days. It might take a few months. But you'd see the results if you choose to be patient.
In the anti, I suggest that you use potions to reach the solid stage. Then use your current ranking technique to stabilize it. Keep your revenge plans on hold till then.
Rember, revenge would only make sense in your head. So you should plan everything before setting things on fire."
After speaking, Eren threw the butt of the smoke into the ashtray. Then used his mana sense to operate the small array placed at the bottom of it. The ashtray caught fire on its own and cindered everything in it into nothingness– making it clean and as good as new.
Agatha was finally convinced and she decided to put her plans on hold for a while. She wasn't suicidal. She only tried to make haste because she thought she had next to no chance of upping her rank.
"Al... alright. I'll postpone my task. I'll focus on expediting the manufacture of these upcoming products. And also prepare for moving to the Nightshade duchy. I'm sure you must have planned a few things from your end. So I'll need your input from ti to ti."
Eren nodded at his assistant before deciding to read up on a rune-sealed scroll he had gotten from his underground contact. It was information related to various cultist organizations and the regions in which they were presud to be active. He had started collecting information about the Nightshade duchy through legal and illegal ans.
Eren raised his head from reading the scroll and looked up at Agatha, who was standing awkwardly beside him. He narrowed his eyes and asked.
"Is there anything you want to ask?"
Agatha played with her hair as if she was a bit nervous before asking sothing random.
"Um… I don't know. Well… Oh, yes! I… I always wanted to ask you sothing. Why do you act so thrifty even though you are getting richer even as we speak?"
'Small talk?'
Eren pressed his lips when Agatha asked him a question. He had realized that she wanted to ask him about sothing else. The question she threw at him was just a ruse. But he decided to answer the question honestly anyway.
"Well… I wasn't always like this. But you tend to value your financial stability extrely when you almost get kicked out of the city for not having enough money to pay the monthly city tax. Then forced to take so extre asures only to end up almost getting eaten by so beast in the most horrific way possible.
Things like that are... let's say bound to leave a scar on your conscience. You'd do anything in your power to prevent it from happening again.
But that's not the question you wanted to ask, was it? Tell what you think. I'm listening."
Eren asked while continuing to read from the scroll. Agatha played with her now-long hair so more before asking in an even lower voice than before.
"Um… that kiss… what… what was that?"
Eren replied without thinking while reading the scroll.
"Hm? What kiss?"
Agatha didn't speak and let Eren think it through. The latter rembered after a while that he had kissed Agatha on a whim when they were in the city of Lionhearts. He smirked and stored the scroll in his storage before saying.
"Gee… I don't know. Let confirm by doing it again."
Eren disappeared from his seat and appeared right in front of Agatha– startling her. She was about to take a few steps back. But she found out that her waist was locked in the sa position because Eren had grabbed it with both his hands on either side.
Agatha nervously looked upwards only to find out that Eren was staring down at her with mischief in his eyes. She had a range of emotions at that ti. But before she could process them for what they were, her lips were sealed by Eren's.
Eren caressed her waist while inserting his tongue into Agatha's mouth. She wrapped her hands around his neck and resigned herself to his sudden attack.
Eren broke the lip-lock himself after a while. He caressed Agatha's hair and patted her before speaking up:
"Sadly, we don't have ti to go any further than this, Agatha. I got to et up with Jack now that he is here along with a few of his contacts.
But at least we'll have sothing to look forward to when we reach Nightshade Duchy. See you soon."
Eren said and separated from Agatha. The latter seed too stunned to speak. But she followed his gradual disappearance with a glint of expectation in her eyes.
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