Levi sat silently.
'Hmm. So she didn't have the time to explain properly. No wonder this became so troublesome.' He thought.
'We always talked about the abundance of mutated beasts in this wilderness, but we also agreed that it would be too dangerous to act on my thoughts...'
2 years ago at the Inn, Cloud Continent.
"... What is this spike in the use of silver coins?"
"Humph! Those fools downstairs held a drinking party earlier. Are you going to continue to let them do as they please? Really, young master." Aria sighed in exasperation.
"... All right, you can go." Levi said.
"Eh!? Aw. Ok... Um, young master?" Aria hesitantly called out.
"Hmm?" Levi looked up.
"Th-The two of you aren't going to get up to anything behind my back... right?" Aria shyly glanced between Nerezza and Levi.
"Ah? You've been asking that question for the last two years. Give me a break." Levi waved her away.
"... Now. About what we were talking about before, Desolate mountain's dwindling supply of mutated beasts." Levi's gaze landed on Nerezza.
"What do you think?"
"... For now, we should gather them from the cloud continent's countries." Nerezza said.
"What about your home, the divine dragon continent? There are a lot there, right?" Levi said.
"... There are also people there who can squash you like a bug. And that place is not my home." Nerezza said.
"Sigh, I guess that is the only option after all..." Levi mumbled.
"You can go."
...
Present.
"You're not going to say anything?" Eljha's expression twisted.
"..." Levi's eyes slowly closed as he recalled a scene from the not so distant past.
A few days ago at the port town, jade sword continent.
...
"... How am I supposed to know?! I don't!" Adam's brows crumpled.
"Then stop wasting my time!" Levi shouted.
"But these people haven't done anything to you! You want the people you care about to be safe, but so do they!" Veins lined the backs of Adam's clenched fists.
"If you're like this, what makes you any different from him? HUH? You're being a hypocrite!" He pointed.
"... Die for all I care.." The pillar of Q swelled further, as Levi's muscles tightened.
"Ah!" Adam ruffled his hair.
"Levi..."
"... What are you doing?" Levi asked. Nerezza stood behind him.
"I'm... going back with him." She removed her hand from his back.
"What?" Levi looked over his shoulder.
'Listen, don't reply. He will notice our conversation.' Nerezza's voice sounded in Levi's head.
'She learned it this fast?' Levi thought.
"..." He stood silently.
'I will use going back with him for our needs. When we get there, I will go to the wilderness and deliver your proposal, regarding the mutated beasts. That way, if or when you go there, they will know who you are and what you want.' She said.
"..." Levi kept silent.
'Also...' She glanced briefly at Aria. 'I know where my home is.'
"... Humph." Levi drew the Qi pillar back into his body.
The black vine-like structures shrank as a thin, shiny black blade reappeared. It vanished after he placed it before his chest.
"... Young master?" Aria called out weakly.
"You want to go back with him?" Levi clenched his fists.
'You've become a skilled actor.' Nerezza thought.
"Yes." She said as she looked at the ground.
'No. This anger is genuine.' Levi thought.
"Young master!" Aria's eyes squeezed shut as she shouted.
"... Humph." A haggard figure drew Levi's attention...
...
Present.
Levi slowly opened his eyes.
'But then, she suddenly proposed this idea. Hehe.' He snickered internally.
"You asked what I wanted?" A slight smile hung on his face.
"..." Eljha looked down at Levi, his expression black.
"I want to come to an agreement with you all," Levi said.
"Don't joke with me! You-"
"Relay that to your leader." Levi laughed lightly.
"..." Eljha glared at Levi for a few seconds before doing as he was told.
"?!" Levi felt a slight prick, causing a shift in his attention.
"Tribe leader said-" High pitched screaming drowned out Eljha's voice.
"What happened?!" The shaman trembled as 'he' gripped Eljha's arm.
"You shouldn't try to enter people's minds without asking." Levi smiled gently.
The shaman continued to scream and thrash.
"What is he saying?" Levi asked.
"He..." Eljha looked at Levi strangely. "He said not to agree to anything you propose... that you are evil..."
"Hahaha! That's a misunderstanding. As a child, I was taught a technique that creates a guardian that protects my mind from mental energy attacks. It gets upset when other people's mental energy enters my mind." Levi said with an apologetic smile.
'What guardian. If you minded your own business, you wouldn't have seen something you'd rather not see.' He clicked his tongue internally.
"Is that so..." Eljha watched the shaman as 'he' got on 'his' knees beside the tribe's leader. 'He' kept repeating something nonstop.
Eljha turned to the tribe leader after hearing his name.
"What did he say?" Levi asked.
"He said... to continue."
"Oh. Anyway, I said I wanted to make a deal."
"What are you proposing? Keep in mind that this question does not imply the acceptance of anything." Eljha said.
"I want mutated beasts. And I want you to give them to me." Levi pointed upward with a grin.
"You... You're demanding things?" Eljha looked like he would explode from anger, but still relayed Levi's words.
"Ah, but don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to extort or enslave you, so don't worry. Tell me what you want in return." Levi smiled.
"Sigh. I knew we should have killed you two silently." Eljha said coldly. "The animals of this forest are sacred; You don't kill what you don't eat, or won't need. And you are saying what? That you 'want' them?!"
'Sigh. Why do I have to deal with these overreactions?' Levi thought.
"Relay it."
"Tsk." Eljha clicked his tongue. "Why do you assume you have anything we want? Is what he said."
"If I don't have it, I will get it. Relay." Levi said.
"We want nothing."
"Hmm, is that so? But is there anything you 'need', perhaps?" A small grin formed on Levi's face.
"We don't need anything either," Eljha said. "Stop trying to delay your death."
"Sigh, well... If you don't need or want anything... I guess I can't save my life today." Levi sighed in resignation.
"Humph! Guards! Take these two out and behead them." Eljha purposely spoke for them to understand, while signaling with his hand, as well-built men approached the two.
"Ah! Before I die, I want to ask something." Levi raised his hand, a saddened expression on his face.
"... What?" Eljha glared disdainfully.
"Why are there people on the ground outside?" Levi asked.
"..." Eljha's expression flickered. He turned to speak to the tribe leader.
"..." An enormous grin formed on Levi's face. Aria flinched as she shrank away slightly.
"Why are you asking? It has nothing to do with you. You won't be living much longer anyway."
"No, it's just... You see, I have these pills that were gifted to me on my birthday. Since I'm dying anyway, I just thought..."
'Aren't those the pills he took from that prince?' Aria looked at Levi strangely.
"Humph. What can your pills do? Stop with the nonsense." Eljha gestured to the guards.
"Well, they close up even bone-deep wounds, but they can also nourish the body and get rid of colds..." Levi said.
"Tsk! Does that look like a cold to you?! They are being punished by God." Eljha sneered.
"Punished by god? But..." Levi furrowed his brows while holding his chin.
"Going to belittle our faith now? Why are you so slow?! Hurry and drag them away!" Eljha snapped impatiently.
"That's not it! It's just that... Ugh! Fine, I'll tell you! She is a physician." Levi pointed at Aria.
"?" Aria stared blankly.
'... Young master?!?!' Her expression changed drastically.
"And so?"
"Well, before we came in here, she examined those people from a distance and concluded that it was a disease. But to think it was a god's punishment. What did those people do? Which god did they offend?" Levi asked innocently.
"..." Eljha's expression froze. He gestured for the motionless guards to stay, before consulting his leader.
"Heh heh." Two low laughs went unnoticed by everyone except Aria.
'...' Aria observed him cautiously.
"She's a physician? And she also said that it's a disease that our people have?"
"Mhmm. Well, technically..." Levi paused. He could see Eljha's expression tightening as he smiled involuntarily. "she is both an apothecary and a physician. These pills were also a gift from her."
'Young master!!?! You stole those pills!!! How can you lie so blatantly when our lives are on the line!??' If Aria's mouth wasn't empty, she would have spit everywhere.
"..." Eljha eyed him suspiciously before turning to his leader.
"What are you trying to do? Don't think we'll spare you." He said.
"No, no, how could I be thinking something like that? I've already accepted my demise. But I want to help others keep their lives if I can, even in death. If these few pills can do that, then..." Levi looked down at the pouch. He sneakily observed Eljha's expression before continuing. " It's a pity that there are only four... if only there were more... Only four..."
He enjoyed watching Eljha's expression tighten as he said 'only four'.
Eljha turned to his leader.
"... If your pills work, we'll make sure you have painless deaths." He said with a compromising frown.
'Hahaha! A painless death? And you still want to take my belongings?! People never cease to amaze me!' Levi roared with laughed internally.
"I-If they can help!" He immediately offered them up with a bowed head.
"... You, go bring one of them in here. Don't waste any time!" Eljha pointed at one man.
The man left, returning a short while later with a skinny man. He gripped the man's arm while dragging him along.
"Feed him the pill and we'll see."
The man landed before Levi like a leaf.
'Hahahaha! He's afraid of catching it?!' Levi almost shed a tear from holding in his laughter.
He took out a pill from the pouch and dropped it into the man's mouth.
"Now we just have to wait." He smiled.
'What are we going to do? When that pill doesn't work, I'll move to shield young master from that one standing beside him...' Aria began planning for the inevitable battle. Her gaze darted around as her fists tightened.
The man started sweating heavily.
A few minutes later.
"Ah.." He slowly opened his eyes.
"..." Eljha unintentionally took a step forward.
The man mouthed something.
"What did he say?" Levi asked.
"... He asked what happened to him... He said that one minute he was hunting, and the next, he couldn't even lift an arm." Eljha's brows furrowed deeper as he spoke.
"Oh..." Levi plastered a satisfied smile on his face.
Eljha turned to his leader.
"You... Can you get more of these pills?" He asked.
Levi barely stopped himself from erupting into laughter.
"Well... Aria made these but..." He paused, his expression stiff.
"W-What is it?" Eljha swallowed.
"It's just that the herbs used to make these pills are ridiculously expensive and rare. I'm afraid..."
"Then, if you had the herbs?" Eljha quickly responded.
"Then I think it could be done! But..." Levi's cheery mood became gloomy in a second.
"But what?!" Eljha started to get annoyed.
"It's just that... these particular pills also need parts of mutated beasts to be made successfully..." Levi peaked up at Eljha multiple times.
"..." Eljha grit his teeth. He turned to his leader.
"Then... we will provide you the herbs and 'mutated beasts'. Can you do it then?" He asked.
"W-Well..." Levi said hesitantly.
"What is it now?!" Eljha exploded.
"I-It's just that I can't take your things for free! Tell me how much money you want and I'll-"
"Nobody want's your money!! Why the fuck would we need money in a forest!!!" Eljha roared.
"S-Sorry!" Levi plastered a wronged expression on his face.
A deep voice sounded, causing Eljha to turn. "... You were proposing an agreement earlier... right?" He turned to look at Levi, his expression strange.
"Y-Yes..." Levi said as tears streamed down his face.
"What was it?" Eljha asked.
"... That in return for mutated beasts, I will give you whatever 1 thing you want..."
"Our leader has said..." He seemed troubled as he glanced at the still bowing and begging shaman, before turning to his leader once more. "Our leader has said that... we will accept your proposal..."
'What do you think, demon saint? Didn't I catch a big one?'
'Mhmm, Mhm. As your master, I'm proud of you! Flawless execution!!' The demon saint snickered along with Levi.
"Really?! Thank you for believing in me! For trusting me!" Levi kowtowed as his forehead brushed the ground.
"Don't fool yourself. There's nothing to trust about you." Eljha sneered.
"T-Then..."
"Which is why... our leader... proposed..."
'Hmm? Proposed what?'
Levi couldn't wait to see what else he could swindle from these people.
"Proposed... marriage," Eljha said stiffly.
"..." A blank expression appeared on Levi's face.
"... Pardon?"