The Goddess' Champion

"Did something happen? what did she do to you?" Zamira inspected him cautiously, the glance that woman gave just now, she wants trouble!

"Nothing, but she's going to wait outside... that woman wants a fight, Zamira"

"N-No... I am sorry, I shouldn't have brought you here!" Although she believed him, all of the girl personnel were people above the Nascent Magus stage, that woman wouldn't be an exception, let alone she's a noble elf, all of them are monsters!

"Don't worry, I will be okay... but I need you to leave." He ordered, but the purple-haired beauty wasn't about to take that.

"I won't leave you here on your own!" Now she regretted having taken him here, it was a deadly mistake.

"You're so stubborn... I'll allow you to stay and look, but you can't involve yourself, I don't know how strong she is and I can't protect you as I fight." If she wanted to stay like the warrior she is and die together, he'd not stop her, she's a warrior, not a flower.

...

They were speaking, unaware of their surroundings and didn't even notice the distasteful violin symphony that suddenly stopped, only when there was a change in the atmosphere did they perceive something.

The violin stopped playing for a moment and it was then that they noticed someone was in the room.

It was a round room filled with shelves with books and treasures all around, but in the middle sat an individual covered in a black cloak and a crow mask, his or her appearance was eerie, to say the least.

"..." Constantine felt an evil aura coming from this person.

"Hmm hmmm, customers... and who might you be that you believe yourself qualified to step in this deeper end? you better show something worthy or else… not even your corpses will remain, children" That voice couldn't possibly belong to a human.

'Demon?' Zamira frowned, it wasn't confirmed, the only thing she knew is that this 'thing' is not human or even an elf.

"Where is Mr Seledus?" She asked, it was the person that had been originally here all the time she came.

"Oh... Seledus... he has resigned and returned to the Wolf Empire. I am taking his place now as the leader of this branch, my name is Inkseth and people around call me the Keeper... it is a pleasure to meet you, or not, pitiful humans... a mere mercenary and a nascent magus, how distasteful." Constantine's eyebrows twitched when he saw the man shake his head in disgust.

"Your face is distasteful."

"Thank you~" He answered Constantine with a mocking voice, this mere response served for him to somehow associate this person with the 'scarred cult' but he could be wrong.

'It seems there is no one in this damned place that is friendly.'

[Truly no one.]

"That comment before about us not leaving this place... was that a threat?" He asked the man with a glare of his own.

[No, it is a birthday invitation, fool!]

Constantine ignored the annoying mare, it is not like she ever says anything useful.

"No, it is a birthday party invitation, young hybrid~ of course it is a bloody threat." He could see the 'thing' roll his dark eyes beneath the mask.

'... quite the joker isn't he?'

[See?~]

"You know you suck with the violin, right? I have heard sewer rats compose better" He had to get back at the bastard somehow.

"I am sure you have, some of them happen to have more witnesses than most of us. but you know little hybrid, even then… I love my violin... in any case, tell me what is it that you hold? I have beautiful symphonies to compose and can't waste any more time with the likes of you."

'Beautiful symphonies my ass!' He thought but didn't voice it out loud.

Constantine also didn't want to waste time, he placed the rock on the ground and uncovered it.

The man raised his cloak with his hand concealed beneath and the rock started to float to his side as he 'inspected' it.

Valentine thought he was going to steal it until the man started to speak.

"I see, I see… a majestic stalactite of Sandork's Blood, the crystal divinity of the Joker God… let me weight it up... Hmn, twenty kilos… non-volatile, it could work perfectly for a formation I have in mind… how about ten thousand gold coins?~" The man said straight away with a concealed glint in his sinister voice.

Zamira's lips started to shiver, 'Ten thousand... gold coins...'

But if that number left her speechless, the following words would make her lose her bollocks if she possessed any.

"Fifteen thousand, it is twenty-five kilos we're talking about, do you think it is easy to get it huh?! I almost lost all my limbs for it!" He screamed in outrage as if the amount the man offered had been a slap to his face.

!!!

'E-Eh!?' Zamira didn't expect her saviour to reject this adamantly, let alone... isn't the story a little over-dramatized?!

[*PFT!*]

"Oh? Is that really the case?" The man's gaze rested on Constantine and he could feel some pressure on his shoulders as if the man was asking for the truth.

And the truth he'd get.

"Only because I was strong enough to protect myself against that three-headed drag-" Constantine hurriedly covered his lips as if he just said something he shouldn't have!

"Speak boy! what did you see!?"

"..."

"If you don't say it, don't expect to leave this place alive!"

"Three-headed dragons." Constantine spoke solemnly, his body even 'shivered' at the recollection of those mighty dragons.

[Those are a lot of heads hahaha!]

'Don't laugh dammit or I will laugh too and then we're fucking dead!' His body shivered indeed.

"T-Three-headed dragons? d-did you really see them?" The man asked in awe, it was difficult for a person to lie under pressure, surely the hybrid is saying the truth, and his capacity to resist the pressure further proves his prowess.

"Of course we did! Three-headed Dragons, they spit lighting even! Do you have any idea how much I had to work for this piece, for merely ten thousand gold coins!?"

'Where were those!?' Zamira wanted to yell but she realised that she better shuts her mouth here or they won't be leaving this place even as corpses.

In truth, Constantine's knees were barely holding... but when hadn't he been under pressure? when didn't he have to survive in tough circumstances, in order to reach his status as an Emperor... this is not the first and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

'I'll make sure to squeeze as much as I can!'

...

"To think the cave of Sandork still contains mystical dragons and with ice attribute! this is such a revolutionary encounter and piece of information!" The man's voice contained enthusiasm while Constantine struggled to keep his facade and not laugh out loud.

"I mistakenly gave you this piece of information for free, so you should show me some love too, fifteen thousand..." The poor bastard merely wanted to be paid properly for the hard work he did.

'What invaluable information!?' Zamira didn't know if she should laugh or cry, whichever it might be, she had to do it outside or this creature would spot them.

"Hahaha~ you're so interesting boy, to be able to obtain a treasure this big and still come alive and boast in front of me, you have guts, how about this, I'll give you ten thousand gold coins and I'll allow you to keep them after you leave, what about that?~" The amount of wickedness contained in that voice was not something Constantine had ever heard before.

And the worst is, he expected it.

"Ha!? What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" He asked, acting oblivious.

"What? aren't you content? with strength merely at the nascent magus do you believe yourself qualified to go around holding ten thousand gold coins? The moment you stepped outside that door I would have had your neck~ but since you gave me such a piece of precious information, I'll allow you to walk out of here and play rich for as long as Rotborn doesn't strike you, you can't say this is a bad deal... but there is a single condition, the next time I make an excursion to the Cave of Sandork, you must come and guide us, otherwise, I will make sure to hunt you even if it is the last thing I do, boy!"

Inkseth wasn't joking.

"Bastard…" Constantine realised that it would be difficult to squeeze more money out of this old fox, it was the truth, if this man wanted to ambush them outside, assuming his strength is greater, there is nothing they can do... let alone there is already the threat of Ludmilla around the corner, having these two experts ambush them, he might as well slit his own throat right now and save everyone the trouble.

"Ten thousand and something else… do you anything to distinguish me from other customers? Like a badge that would allow me to easily enter?" He proposed the last straw.

"Of course, with that much wealth around it is my best interest that you spend it in our shops~ take this badge, only 'especial' customers are allowed to hold it, but there is a condition." The man took out a pitch black badge with the sing of an eagle.

Constantine took it with a frowning gaze.

"What is it…"

"You have to spend a thousand coins in my store within the next ten days…"

"You wicked fiend, I get it…" They really knew how to sell their products.

'I need to spend some money anyway to defeat that woman...' He sighed, one thousand coins would go down the drain so quickly,  but even then, he still had his own plans on how that money would be spent.