Chapter 247 - 246: My Eighth Tier, Secured

Chapter 247: Chapter 246: My Eighth Tier, Secured

Around three in the afternoon, the long "gamble" finally drew to a close.

The butler became the winner, as expected, taking possession of Lord Olga’s notebook and Lady Inesha’s pop-up book.

In addition, there were two large checks, intended as "hush money" for what was to come.

Once he integrated and digested their two ’Stories,’ he would perform a simple little ritual to complete his eighth Transcendence and become a Deputy, just one step away from a Saint.

"Alright, congratulations, old friend. I hope we’re both still alive the next time we meet."

Lord Olga spoke with a fair amount of grace, but his face was pale and he was grimacing. It was hard to say whether it was from the pain of his loss or the physical discomfort of losing his ’Story’.

Lady Inesha, equally pale and grimacing, was much more direct:

"I can’t be bothered with pleasantries. I just want to go have a private meeting with my little cutie right now."

The butler spread his hands and replied,

"Of course. Be my guest. But please, remember your prior agreement. There’s no need for any more unpleasant arguments."

The two losers had already come to an understanding in front of the butler. They would each approach Lloyd and ask for his help.

However, for the sake of decorum and their friendship, they would each only speak with Lloyd once. Regardless of who he chose to help, there would be no further pestering or retaliation.

As for the reward promised to Lloyd, that too had been agreed upon, using the butler’s recent payment as a baseline. The core of it was a Tier Five advancement material for the Veto system and a ’5’-series Holy Artifact, supplemented with some knowledge, experience, or promises.

This price was actually a bit high. Generally, one material or a Holy Artifact, plus some additional conditions, should have been enough. That was the established market price for the Manifestation school, agreed upon over many years.

It was only because Lloyd was so exceptional that the two magnates were willing to pay a premium. After all, compared to the allure of the Eighth Tier, such a reward was nothing.

And with their offers being roughly equal, who Lloyd would ultimately help would depend on the Attributes and functions of the Holy Artifacts, as well as what additional conditions each could offer.

"Well then, let’s go talk to Lloyd."

Lord Olga stood up from the table and asked Lady Inesha,

"Shall I go first?"

"Whatever. Just don’t go making wild offers just because your family has deep pockets."

Lady Inesha replied nonchalantly.

"Heh, I’m more worried about *you* making wild offers. After all, you keep calling him ’little cutie.’ Are you that fond of the boy?"

"Of course I am. He’s handsome, has a great body, and even works out every day. He’s much better than those toy boys I keep. How could I not like him?"

The two magnates bickered for another moment before Olga went upstairs to the second floor first.

He first checked on his nephew, who was lying on the bed, deathly pale. He had a dreamy, obsessed look on his face and was muttering an unfamiliar name, clearly still caught up in the experience and not yet fully emerged from someone else’s ’Story’.

’Getting entangled in such tacky romantic drivel? How disappointing...’

Lord Olga complained internally, then wiped the disappointed look from his face and walked into Lloyd’s room.

Lloyd, having been informed in advance through the butler’s "narration" that the two magnates wanted to see him, was already waiting in his room. When the lord entered, he quickly stood up out of politeness, then gave a nod that was neither servile nor overbearing and offered a greeting.

"Hello, Lord Olga."

"Hello, my Bright Star. Your performance these past three days has been truly impressive."

Olga smiled, pulling a small sound-proofing device from his pocket to prevent eavesdropping. He then skipped the pleasantries, got straight to the point, and stated his offer:

"...Randolph said you are a young man who doesn’t disappoint, and I too am very optimistic about your future. Therefore, if you can help me win a gamble, I will absolutely provide a reward so generous it will surprise you...

I already know that Randolph promised you one Tier Five material for the Veto system, plus a Tier Five Holy Artifact. So, I am willing to give you an additional Tier Five material or Tier Five Holy Artifact. That’s a total of three Tier Five rewards. Consider it an investment in your future.

In addition, I am willing to share some of the insights I gained in my youth. And, of course, our family will forever remember the friendship between us."

Lloyd listened, stunned, and quickly tried to sort things out in his head.

’So, he wants to hire me as a hired gun? Oh, wait, it should be a ’Reader,’ right? And for that much?’

’But the butler only promised me a single Tier Five material. How did the offer get so big right from the start?’

Lloyd thought for a moment and quickly understood the butler’s intention.

He had clearly exaggerated the reward he’d promised Lloyd, so that if any other magnates wanted to hire him, they would have to add on to the "Tier Five plus Tier Five" baseline.

’Mr. Randolph, you’re too good to me!’

As for the other bonuses like "a magnate’s insights" and "family friendship," they were also quite good. If used well, they could bring immense benefits, just not as tangible as three Tier-Five rewards.

Of course, Lloyd wasn’t foolish enough to reveal the truth, but he also didn’t get greedy and try to haggle for more. He maintained a calm expression, acting as if he were unconcerned by the rewards, and replied,

"More than any of that, I value the friendship we can build."

"Mm, not bad."

Lord Olga nodded, seemingly pleased with Lloyd’s attitude, and continued,

"Think it over. Write to me if you’re interested."

With that, he left a business card. It had only a name and a symbol, no specific address.

Apparently, he also had a Messenger similar to the butler’s.

After finishing his business, Olga should have left. But just as he was about to walk out the door, he turned back as if he had suddenly remembered something. He lowered his voice and told Lloyd a "little secret":

"Next, that old woman Inesha will come talk to you about the same thing. She might even try to use her looks to seduce you... I shouldn’t be telling you this, as she and I are, in a way, friends. But I can’t bear to see your talent wasted on her, to see you fall into ruin by her side...

So, you’d best be careful around her. Don’t be fooled by her lies. That woman is a master of deceit."

After bad-mouthing her, Lord Olga finally left the room. A confident smile spread across his face, as if he felt the matter was already in the bag.

’After all, I secretly added another Tier Five reward on top of the price we agreed upon. How could I possibly fail?’

’My Eighth Tier is secured!’

He couldn’t help but hum a happy little tune to himself, but when he returned to the third floor, his expression was grim, as if his conversation had not gone well.

Lady Inesha glanced at him, then stood up to go downstairs.

Just before she left, however, she made a point to ask,

"You didn’t raise the price on your own, did you?"

"Of course not. I’m a man of my word. Besides, no matter how exceptional your ’little cutie’ is, he’s only a Tier Two. I’m a Tier Seven, after all. How could I lose face in front of a novice?"

Lord Olga replied with a straight face, his tone full of righteous indignation.

"Hmph. I’ll believe you this time."

With that, Inesha went to the second floor. She too first glanced at the toy boy she was keeping.

He was staring blankly out the window with the look of a spurned lover, exuding an aura of utter despair.

’What a useless thing. Can’t even resist a little temptation from a ’Story.’ He’ll definitely be tricked and stolen away by some other woman in the future.’

Inesha shook her head in disappointment, then adjusted her mood, put on a seductive smile, and walked into Lloyd’s room. She took the initiative and greeted him warmly,

"Hello there, my little cutie. I’ve been wanting to get you all to myself for a while now."

"Uh... Hello, Mrs. Inesha..."

"Pah! Don’t call me ’Mrs.’ Call me ’Lady,’ understand? You have to learn the proper forms of address if you want to win a girl’s favor, you know."

Her words made Lloyd’s scalp tingle and his heart race. He instinctively took two steps back, afraid she might suddenly decide to force herself on him.

’Objectively speaking, no bias or exaggeration, Lady Inesha’s looks weren’t bad at all. You could call her a beauty, only a tier or two below the girls around me.’

’Her figure was even better maintained—bigger than Evelor plus Weiya, times Elolo.’

’But... she was a bit old. She looked to be of an age where she might enjoy playing with steel wool, which was frankly terrifying...’

’And at her age, combining it with those deliberate, seductive poses was simply overwhelming.’

’She was clearly better suited for the dignified and elegant noblewoman route, yet she insisted on this path of a thirsty, rich old lady...’

Lloyd was helpless. He could only endure his discomfort as she flirted with him, patiently listening to her offer:

"...So, that’s the situation, my little cutie. Are you willing to help your big sister out with this?

Of course, your big sister won’t treat you poorly. You came all this way to help Randolph bully me, and he only gave you one Tier Five material and one Tier Five Holy Artifact, right?

Hmph. He’s so stingy. As long as you agree to help me, I’ll add another Tier Five item—material or Holy Artifact, your choice.

On top of that, if you have any problems you want to... discuss with me in the future, I won’t refuse. *Any* problem at all, you can come to me..."