Chapter 384
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 384
Chapter Title: A Problem Has Arisen.
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While the entire world was buzzing with the emergence of <LE & IN>.
The Black Dragon Clan, White Dragon Clan, and Infinity Guild were running even more frantically than the others.
Supplying food to an entire country and securing distribution networks was a national-scale endeavor in itself.
But trying to push into the Holy Alliance and Zhonghua Federation overnight had everyone working themselves to the bone.
Youin, who was already helping Li Chingwei with her backlog, was so gaunt from the added workload that he looked on the verge of collapse.
If even a high-ranking expert like him was in that state, there was no need to mention the others.
But the true culprit behind all this uproar.
The secret chamber at the lowest level of Leviathan, the source of it all, was enveloped in a profound silence.
"How is it, old hag?"
A woman with dark red hair was observing a massive cauldron radiating a mystical aura at a glance, scribbling notes on a parchment.
Syr took off her glasses and replied.
"It's still stable."
"No need to top it off?"
"At least as long as this system holds, yes. Even if we don't offer more sacrifices, Dagda's Cauldron won't suddenly grind to a halt."
"Hmm, exceeding expectations?"
Rimon, arms crossed as he watched, let out a short murmur of admiration.
<LE & IN>, which supplied unlimited food, possessed such tremendous power that it had thrown even the other clans of the Seven Dragon Society into disarray.
But Dagda's Cauldron was ultimately a reproduction of a divine relic.
No matter how it was modified.
No matter what power was infused into it.
It was a product of magic that inevitably demanded a price.
That was the very point Rimon and Syr had been most worried about.
Producing infinite food meant requiring infinite compensation.
Continuously paying the price to feed a population exceeding a billion was something even a legendary archmage or Sword Master could scarcely achieve.
Yet the sole reason Dagda's Cauldron was functioning properly right now was this.
They weren't the ones footing the bill.
"I was surprised too. I never imagined substituting faith with memberships would be this efficient."
People could never dream of it.
The money they spent on <LE & IN> memberships.
That very sum was transforming into the magical price tag, converted by Dagda's Cauldron into the food they consumed.
Rimon, on the other hand, responded indifferently.
"What's so surprising? Proving faith with fat donations over sincere prayers has been a time-honored tradition since the Silver Age."
"Even back then, people had clear objects of faith, sacred altars, and solemn rituals."
"Same thing now. The object of faith is just money, the altar is your card and bank account, and the ritual is checkout."
"...Did you sell off all the sanctity and solemnity?"
"Tried killing some—turns out the faithful aren't all that sacred or solemn either."
"That's cheating when you say it, kid."
Whether offering sacrifices to gods.
Or swiping a card for payment.
The point was the same: emptying your pockets for what you wanted. Syr let out a wry chuckle.
An utterly absurd blanket statement.
But the fact that it came from a Sword Master who had slain even gods lent it undeniable persuasive power.
"So in the end, money itself has become faith for the kids these days."
"Pretty much."
"...Who could've thought an era would come where scraps of paper with numbers stand in for shining gold as gods? The world truly is one worth living long to see."
From the distant Silver Age.
As a witch of myth who had lived alongside incarnations with her demigod bloodline.
Syr felt a profound generational disconnect and bitterness. Rimon fell silent watching her.
Not to her extent, but as a Sword Master who had lived centuries himself, he could roughly understand her feelings.
No matter how hard you tried to keep pace with the times, eventually the era would race ahead and leave you behind.
That was the fate of those like him and Syr, who lived eternal spans.
"Well, that's precisely why it's never boring, no matter how long you live."
"Exactly."
But Syr quickly shook off her bitterness, her face lighting up with intrigue, and Rimon naturally accepted the fact as well.
Embracing the changes.
Finding joy rather than despair.
And relishing the chase to catch up with the era once more.
That was an indispensable quality for immortals, a mindset they simply had to possess.
...Those who couldn't manage it might gain eternal life but wouldn't last long before perishing anyway.
"In any case, this Black Dragon Princess is truly remarkable. To come up with such a bold concept."
And so Syr expressed her admiration.
Because the mastermind who first devised the system of substituting money for a magic price was none other than Li Chingwei.
Of course, making it workable had required the combined efforts of the legendary archmage Syr and Rimon.
Even accounting for that, Li Chingwei's preparations—issuing memberships for <LE & IN>, extending into finance, and handling every uncertainty with thorough readiness—were nothing short of awe-inspiring.
"Well, the princesses of this generation are exceptionally standout."
"Not just standout, kid. Outstanding enough that you even took one as a bride."
"......"
Rimon fell silent at Syr's remark.
Propping up the world peace plan.
Abandoning the Seven Dragon Society's convictions.
Developing fusion power.
Forsaking futures they had personally foreseen.
Toppling the top ten guilds, and more.
The achievements of each clan's princess were standout even in the Seven Dragon Society's millennium-long history.
Of course, many of those were results intertwined with Rimon.
But even factoring that in, it was undeniable that their talents and character outshone previous generations of Seven Dragon princesses.
That was why.
The reason Syr added one more word.
"Honestly, it was a bit unexpected. After what happened with her, I never imagined you'd take another bride..."
"Old hag."
Before she could finish.
Rimon cut her off in a low voice.
His usually impassive golden eyes rarely turned icy cold as he fixed her with a stare, then continued quietly.
"Watch your mouth if you don't want to end up dead."
As if to prove it wasn't an idle threat.
Syr glanced at Rimon's hand now resting on his sword hilt and smirked.
"No need to get so vicious. I'm a slave who has to obey her master."
"Then a slave should know what to say and what not to."
"I chose my words carefully. It's just us here anyway, right?"
"......"
"On that note, one life-on-the-line request: please be careful."
Before being a slave, as a legendary witch and prophet.
And as an immortal who had lived several times longer than Rimon, having witnessed his life at its most intense and treacherous.
Syr spoke with a seductive smile.
"If you get tangled in your little love drama right now, even I might end up dead without a trace."
An ordinary woman might survive.
But getting caught in a romance tangle with Seven Dragon Society princesses? Even she had no confidence of emerging unscathed.
So, as her master with a duty to preserve his slave's life, don't start something that could get her killed.
Rimon frowned for a moment at Syr's words, laced with sincerity beneath the jest.
Then he replied indifferently.
"Cut the needless worrying, old hag. I've got plenty of miles on me too."
"Appreciate the words, but thinking back to your younger days makes it hard to relax."
"...Old hag, you really asking to die?"
"Hehe, guess the past embarrasses you too."
As if daring him to strike.
She simply smiled faintly. As Rimon clicked his tongue.
His communicator buzzed.
[Sword Duke, could you come by?]
"What's the matter, Princess?"
Puzzled by the sudden call, Rimon reflexively asked back.
To him, she replied in a somewhat awkward tone.
[A bit of a troublesome problem has come up.]
Ever since her bout of illness.
With backlog processing compounded by <LE & IN>'s expansion, Li Chingwei had been too swamped to see straight.
She could finally spend time with Rimon after so long.
But she couldn't bring herself to be happy about it.
Not just because interferers like Syr and Yuna Kyung prevented a cozy alone time with him.
The reason she called him was far more headache-inducing.
"Hmm......"
She read the letter, luxurious from stationery to envelope and ink.
Frowning for a good while.
Rimon lightly clicked his tongue.
"Requesting shares in exchange for hunting down the Liberation Brigade. Definitely a hassle."
"Troublesome in every way."
Li Chingwei let out a soft sigh.
At the previous Seven Dragon Conference, Rimon had posted a bounty granting share trading rights for hunting the Liberation Brigade, and the other princesses had eagerly accepted.
The Seven Dragon Group was an anomalous megacorp where each princess monopolized 100% of the holding company's shares.
Without such conditions, there was no way for them to acquire each other's stakes.
It wasn't a bad deal.
For Rimon and Li Chingwei, it gave them a chance to leverage the Seven Dragon Society against the Liberation Brigade.
In fact, Ekaterina and Charlotte had diligently hunted them down in their own ways.
Thanks to that, over the past few months, more than ten Liberation Brigade bases had been smashed.
Dozens of their executives had lost their heads too.
Considering precedents for even locating their bases over the past decades were countable on one hand, it was a staggering achievement.
The problem was that Ekaterina was now demanding her reward.
"Honestly, it was out of left field."
"Was it?"
"Yes. I figured we had more time before any share buyout requests."
"A bit premature, yeah."
Rimon nodded in agreement.
Though the Silver Dragon and Gold Dragon Clans were fervent in the hunt, they hadn't caught a single ghost.
Not enough to claim a decisive lead in the share war.
Plus, it was unexpected that it was Ekaterina, not Charlotte, making the request.
Of course, as allies, her shares would effectively become friendly stakes for Charlotte...
"Looks like Ekaterina's got ulterior motives."
"Not exactly shocking."
Any other princess, maybe—but the Silver Dragon Princess harboring odd thoughts was par for the course.
In that light, Rimon accepted the situation coolly.
It was just sooner than anticipated, but the outcome had been set since the bounty on the Liberation Brigade.
What was truly surprising wasn't the buyout request itself, but the target.
Because Ekaterina hadn't requested shares from Li Chingwei or Leviathan.
That was why.
Rimon turned to the white-haired girl silently standing by with a blank expression.
"Foolish Princess, what're you gonna do? Looks like the Silver Dragon Princess wants to mess with you."
The target named by the Silver Dragon Princess.
Owner of Tiamat, the world's top megacorp in culture and arts.
Ainsha stared at Rimon for a moment before bluntly replying.
"I'll stop Ekaterina."
"Sure, keeping the shares would be great, but doable?"
"Not about shares. Means stopping what Ekaterina causes."
"Huh?"
As Rimon blinked in confusion at the abrupt statement.
Li Chingwei wore a peculiar expression.
She had a rough idea why Ainsha was saying this out of nowhere.
"Did you see something, Ainsha?"
"Saw what happens after Ekaterina buys the shares."
"What future are you planning to block?"
Rimon eyed her even more puzzled, looking at Ainsha—who, before being Tiamat's chairwoman, was the world's greatest prophet who foresaw futures.
The White Dragon Clan stepping up to alter the future was rare in itself.
He couldn't even guess what future they'd ignore a Tiamat stock crisis to change.
To him, Ainsha revealed the future she had foreseen, her face as impassive as ever.
"A future where half the Russian Khanate's population dies."