"No."
[CONTRACT DECLINED]
cassius watched as Karavan stared at the system message in front of him.
"Eh? Declined?"He mumbled, "Kid- I mean, Cassius. Why did you decline my offer?"
"Sir, I mean no disrespect, but you are the most suspicious man I've ever met. " Cassius squinted his eyes at him.
He analyzed his actions during their time together, and the man seemed to be in a rush. Not only that, but there was definitely something he needed from Cassius. The man also said he 'became a system', but what did that even mean?
"Where did that thing even come from? We were just talking, and all of a sudden, there was this floating rectangle in my face. " Cassius facepalmed, gesturing what it looked like from his angle, "Then, there was a man kneeling on one knee asking to be my 'system' as if he wanted me to marry him."
The man stared blankly at him for a few seconds.
"Ah, I assumed you would know, since you found the artifact. " He smiled, rubbing the back of his head, "How did you even find the artifact if you didn't know this much?"
'Because I'm a regressor.' Cassius thought, 'Maybe I'm overthinking this, but why does the way this guy talks almost seem like he knows that already?'
Despite throwing the word 'kid' around, and acting like he's talking to a child, the man's word choices and assumptions didn't feel suitable to the kind you would have when talking to a young boy.
'Who swears in front of children? Why would he assume a child knows so much? And why do we both happen to be regressor's?'
"The eyes in your portrait looked shiny, so I plucked them out." Cassius innocently stated. "Then I was sent here."
Karavan burst into laughter.
"This whole time I thought you were some genius kid like Karia, but turns out you're just as clueless as any other kid, huh Cassius?" Karavan chuckled as he patted Cassius' head.
"Karia?"
'As in the legendary healer, Karia Winter? The first S-rank woman?' Cassius thought.
"Ah, Karia is a teammate of mine and she's like a little sister to me. She's the real prodigy. And just as cute as you, Cassius. You should meet her someday."
"You're talking about Karia Winter?"
"Huh? Do you know her? Are you two friends?" Karavan asked excitedly.
"No… Sir, do you know what year it is?"
"What do you mean?" Karavan asked.
"It's been hundreds of years since Karia Winter died,"
The room went silent, and the easy-going atmosphere disappeared. Karavan's smile fell and he didn't say a word for the next few minutes.
' He's been standing there without a word for so long.' Cassius thought. ' Did he really not know?'
"Cassius." Karavan said sternly, "Can you tell me exactly which year it is?"
"This year is the 600th anniversary of the Karavan empire."
Karavan nodded and went silent for another few minutes.
'What is wrong with this guy? I would have left by now if I could.' Cassius thought, 'What if I wasted my time for nothing?'
Cassius hadn't slept once in the past 30 hours since he'd regressed. He stayed up all night thinking about the future before concluding he needed to get his hands on the legendary artifact, Karavan's Eyes. Nonetheless, he didn't have much information about the artifact and was worried it was fake. If that was true, then he would have wasted all this time for nothing.
'Do I really have to go with plan B?' He thought.
Plan B was to go through the awakening ceremony without any cheat artifacts, after which he would have to decide between plans B1, B2, B3, and so forth depending on the circumstances. He had plans ranging from A to Z, yet the thought of doing anything besides plan A left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Cassius hadn't eaten today and hadn't slept in the past 30 hours, this took a toll on his young body. He looked at the floor wondering if he could take a nap until Karavan decided to speak.
Karavan finally spoke, "Cassius, what do you desire most in this world?"
'He has no clear string of thought. He keeps jumping from topic to topic.' Cassius thought.
Instead of answering, Cassius chose to just stay silent for a few minutes to spite him. 'Yeah, that's right. You're not the only one who can do that.'
After a few minutes of Cassius's silence, Karavan began to list options.
"Toys?"
"Food?"
"Books?"
"Love?"
"Money?"
Cassius didn't react to anything Karavan mentioned.
"Power?"
Cassius flinched.
"Oho? Power?" Karavan smiled, leaning in closer. "I didn't expect that from a cute kid like you, Cassius. Seems there's more to you than meets the eye."
"I couldn't care less about power." Cassius finally spoke, before turning his head away from Karavan who was invading his personal space.
"Are you sure?" Karavan moved his head.
Cassius nodded.
"Are you sure you're sure?" Karavan came closer.
Cassius hesitated, "Yes."
"Are you sure you're sure you're sure?"
Cassius was starting to get annoyed, "I just want to live peacefully. I don't need power."
'I just need enough to take my revenge. After that, I'll live peacefully.' Cassius insisted to himself.
"You know it's okay to want power, right? I'm not judging you." Karavan smirked, "In fact, I can even help you become the most powerful man in the world."
Even though he claimed he didn't crave power, without realizing, Cassius's heart raced at his words and a slight glint of longing appeared in his eyes, "The most powerful man... In the world?"
Karavan smiled softly, "How about we take a seat? This dull void is so tedious."
And suddenly, a delicate floral scent filled the air, as the void got transformed into a beautiful garden with luscious greenery and a table set for two at its center.