The Proposal (3)
"Hoo-hut."
The woman smiled and spoke.
"Nice to meet you, Master Alan Han. My name is Montblanc Kirios. Do you know Chae Gillard? He's his master."
'Chae Gillard's master?'
His words suddenly echoed in my mind. Why would Chae Gillard's master appear like this? The woman appeared without a sound, like a ghost, and I couldn't continue my thoughts.
'Wait a minute. Montblanc Kirios? That name sounds familiar.'
I had definitely heard or seen that name somewhere.
'Montblanc, Montblanc, Montblanc...'
Deserts and Italian desserts came to mind. I wanted to try one once.
'... Huh?'
Then I remembered where I had seen that name.
Haggis.
Blood King Slayer. The master of the fairy sent by Palos's Bird to kill the Blood King was none other than Montblanc Kirios.
'That means...!'
I forced my expression to hide the shock. I desperately tried to stop my eyes from widening.
But I couldn't stop the cold sweat from flowing. The desert night was bitterly cold, yet I was sweating like I was next to lava.
'Why did Palos's Bird suddenly appear? Wait a second.'
I had sensed earlier that someone unknown was behind the Snake Bandits. I hadn't known who that unknown figure was, but Montblanc's appearance completed every puzzle.
'These bastards were behind it! Fuck! I got caught completely!'
The mastermind behind the Snake Bandits' attempt to take over Baidu was none other than Palos's Bird.
'Then what? Does that mean Chae Gillard is also part of Palos's Bird?'
Since Chae Gillard had called her his master, it was highly likely. No, in this case, it was 100%.
'You fucking bastard! You tricked me!'
In truth, Chae Gillard hadn't directly deceived me, but I still felt betrayed. I hadn't really built any friendship with him, but still—fuck, I felt betrayed!
'What should I do?'
First, I couldn't let her know that I had figured out her identity. If I did, my entire party—including me—might die. She was a 4-star, level 66 master. Of course, no one here would stand a chance against her.
I could revive, but my party members couldn't.
'In this situation...'
"I see. So you're Chae Gillard's master."
I nodded calmly and simultaneously gripped my sword hilt. Of course, I had no intention of drawing the sword. It was simply the most appropriate response in the current situation.
Fortunately, Montblanc didn't seem offended by my action. She simply smiled. A sense of ease emanated from her smile. No matter what I did, it wouldn't matter. Damn it!
"By the way, why are you here, Master Gillard's master? And... it seems you've done something to my party members."
"Hoo-hut. You don't need to be nervous, Master Alan Han. Um... calling you Master Alan Han is too formal. I'll just call you Alan. Anyway, you don't need to be nervous, Alan. I've come to make you a good proposal."
"... A proposal?"
"Yes. My disciple told me that Alan is an excellent master. So he asked me to recruit you. This is the first time my disciple has asked me to recruit someone, so I can't refuse. That's why I came here myself."
"....."
'Good. I've decided. When I meet that fucking Chae Gillard again, I'm going to cut off his head no matter what.'
I couldn't hold back my anger toward Chae Gillard, who had dragged me into this shitty situation. Right now, his party might be stronger than ours, but one day I would definitely take revenge for this!
"Although it's just words for now, I can support you in many ways for Alan. It could be money or growth stones. I'll support you comprehensively so you can become a strong master and transcend."
"... Huh? Support?"
For a moment, my anger toward Chae Gillard faded as the words "support" caught my ear.
In Fairy Masters, Palos's Bird is an organization on par with the final boss of the Ferdium Empire. Players in the game defeat Palos's Bird and the Ferdium Empire in sequence to become the sole emperor of the Gaia-rium continent.
Since Palos's Bird appeared as enemies in the game, I naturally thought of them as enemies.
But hearing Montblanc's proposal as a master of Palos's Bird made me think something else.
'Do I really need to make Palos's Bird my enemy?'
Palos's Bird would become my obstacle to becoming the sole ruler of this vast continent. But right now, they were not my enemy. No, the opposite was true. Palos's Bird didn't see me as an enemy or obstacle.
These bastards only operated in the shadows without showing themselves, so it was hard to imagine how far their reach extended. To exaggerate, it was hard to find a place their hands hadn't reached.
Palos's Bird had an immense power that was second to none. If I could get even 1%, no, 0.1% of what those bastards had?
'Jackpot.'
I had many secrets that I didn't tell others.
The secrets I possessed and the resources owned by Palos's Bird.
Combining these two would create an enormous synergy.
"What do you think? Will you take my hand?"
"My answer is..."
I answered with a wide grin to the smiling Montblanc.
*****
"My disciple was right. Interesting man."
Montblanc muttered while watching the retreating Alan's group.
'I'll decline.'
Surprisingly, Alan had rejected the hand I extended. Actually, it wasn't that surprising. If he had immediately accepted my proposal, I would have suspected him.
'I know something about Chae Gillard's master, but I don't know him well. And I met you today—for the first time—your identity as Chae Gillard's master. I wouldn't be so naive as to grab the hand of someone I just met.'
'So show me.'
'How much you have and how much you can give me.'
'And I don't come alone. If I enter under you, I'll bring my party members with me. The Kanisia here is weak now but a promising talent with great potential. I brought her into my party for that reason.'
'So if you accept me, you'll all come together.'
"Hoo-hut."
It had been a while since I had seen such bold men.
Up until now, the only ones who had spoken their minds so boldly in front of me were my fellow leaders on the same level as me or my disciple Chae Gillard.
Of course, it was possible that Alan was so bold because he didn't know my true identity or how strong I was or what I could do.
But it was undeniable that his appearance had piqued my interest.
"Show me... Expect it, Alan. I'll show you soon."
Montblanc muttered toward Alan's retreating back. And she herself turned around.
Kaak~ Kaak~ Kaak~
The sound of a crow's cry echoed across the desert, and soon Montblanc's figure disappeared.
*****
'Wow... Fuck, I almost died.'
When I heard my answer, Montblanc laughed as if it was fun and immediately disappeared. She left a message to meet again soon.
'Status window! Status window! Status window!'
I quickly checked her status window as she stood up. It was good to know the opponent's information in advance, wasn't it?
So I checked, and...
'What the hell is this?'
The highest grade I had seen so far was Plasma, 7-star. But this one went even further. It was a full 9-star. And if I raised it just one level, it could become 10-star.
It was truly unbelievable.
The only reason I could maintain my composure even after seeing Montblanc's status window was because of the fairies I had raised in my previous life in Fairy Masters. Those fairies I had raised back then had been 10-star.
'Thinking about it makes me even more frustrated.'
If it had been the body of a playable character I created from scratch instead of a newly made couple character, I would have immediately taken Montblanc without hesitation!
Because she was the highest grade master I had met among all the masters and fairies so far, Montblanc was an incredibly beautiful woman. The moment I saw her, the phrase "stunning beauty" came to mind.
History shows that kings and emperors often lost their countries because they were charmed by women. I understood why such things happened.
Anyway, it had been a situation where I could have died in the blink of an eye, but I had handled it well.
I made a promise to meet Montblanc again after visiting Baidu.
'I can't leave out Oralisa.'
My second fairy, Oralisa, was in Baidu. Moreover, before leaving Baidu, I had asked her to do something, so I needed to check if she had done it well.
'I really need to extract the maximum benefit.'
I would extract every last drop of benefit from Palos's Bird—both the good and the bad.
*****
"Fuck... Finally arrived... Kanisia, we've arrived in Baidu!"
"Yes! We're here! Aaaah... I really want to wash and eat a ton! I want to sleep a ton too!"
A week later, we finally arrived in Baidu. Seeing Baidu's magnificent walls, Kanisia and I hugged each other and jumped up and down. It was so happy that I thought tears might fall.
It had taken a long time to reach the Kutlanka Ruins, the hideout of the Snake Bandits, because the extermination team had to go there. In the middle of the journey, we had to fight endless waves of bandits, so the marching speed had naturally slowed down.
But when we returned, it only took a week. Thanks to the shortest route Montblanc had told us about.
Thanks to that, we couldn't stop at villages for supplies, but it was fortunate that we could arrive so quickly.
"What? Why are they like that?"
"Yeah. Are they beggars?"
People around us looked at us jumping up and down with strange eyes, but it didn't matter now. What mattered to us was that we had arrived in Baidu.
"Let's go to the inn first."
"Yeah! Let's hurry."
We had to find the Witch Queen's palace to receive the extermination team's participation rewards, but I had postponed it. I wanted to wash cleanly and rest.
After completing the simple identity verification, we returned to the inn where Oralisa was staying.
"Master!"
"Hey, my little cutie! How have you been?"
"No! I missed you so much... Hooing."
Oralisa, who had been quietly in the room, jumped into my arms. She had gotten quite dirty crossing the desert, but she didn't care.
"Did I do what you asked?"
"Yes! I did everything Master told me to!"
Oralisa jumped up and down, took a bag from under the bed, and immediately dumped its contents onto the floor.
Uddangtang!
Gold and jewels poured out in abundance.
"Hoo, hoohohohoh!"
Looking at the multicolored jewels, laughter came out naturally.
Before leaving Baidu, what I had asked Oralisa to do was none other than looting Prince Pazniri's house, her former master.
"Donating is really a good thing."
The philanthropist of Baidu, Prince Pazniri, had donated (?) his wealth to me.
He not only gave me fairies but also donated!
Prince Pazniri was really a good guy.