After the Auction, Ain and his entourage were led down to the main chamber of the Pavilion. On the way, Ain spotted several of the individuals present, but mostly Demons. The others must've projected from some other place. Across Realms as well, no doubt. The Demons mostly showed curiosity, but also respect, towards Ain. Yes, he was merely a Human, but he was also in the Demon Realm, a feat accomplished only through extreme misfortune, or powerful backers.

The God waited for Ain behind the counter, holding a small bag in his hand.

Ain approached with a smile and extended his hand towards the bag.

"I still can't believe it. So it is true. You are Ain. You..." the God said, handing the bag over.

"Don't forget. You still owe me a favor, Istli," Ain said.

The God blinked. "You know my name?"

Ain smirked. "Of course. Rumor has it you died in the Great War."

Senon suddenly became aware of the tension in the air. She glanced about herself and noticed the Demon bodyguards assuming aggressive postures.

Ain continued. "The Supreme God of Fortu--"

"What do you want, Human?" Istli interrupted.

"What name do you go by now?" Ain asked.

"Arte," Istli said.

"Arte..." Ain repeated and nodded. "You owe me two favors, now."

The God narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I will keep your secret. I know who you really are. That is worth a favor, isn't it?" Ain said.

"Leverage," Troma added.

"I also know who you are. There are plenty more of those who want you dead than there are those who want me dead," Arte said, angrily.

"Consider that favor settled, then," Ain said. "I will keep your secret, and you won't be going around filling heads with nonsense. Deal?"

"Hmph, why would I accept such a deal. I am a God of Fortune. Your head would fetch a high price," Arte said.

"A price you cannot pay, little godling. Even with one arm, I can make sure there is nothing left of you," Ain said, inhaling sharply.

Arte narrowed his eyes. A shiver ran down his spine. "We have a deal. Considering you killed my--"

Ain lifted a warning finger.

"Right," Arte said. "One favor, Ain. And take this. On the house." Arte tossed a medicinal pill across the counter. "If you ever come to kill me, I don't want them to say I was killed by a cripple."

Ain smiled and took the box. He looked at the small bag in his hand. "I assume I don't have to count the gold."

"I run an honest business," Arte snapped.

"Good. Have a nice day," Ain said and turned to leave.

"Yeah. You too."

Outside, Def sighed in relief. "Def learn something from Master. Racketeering and blackmail. Master truly profound in the illegal arts."

Ain chuckled and shrugged.

"So what was that all about?" Senon asked.

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"What do you mean?" Ain questioned, pretending to be stupid.

"He said he knew who you are."

"Def also hear this," Def said.

"Must have me confused for someone else."

"Don't lie to me," Senon barked.

"Affhole!" the Living Word chirped.

Ain glanced at Senon coldly. "You are right, I am sorry. It is a long story, and I have no desire to tell it. Not yet, at least. For now, all I ask is that you trust me."

Senon thought about the words, and then nodded. Not that she had much of a choice anyway. And she couldn't afford to seem ungrateful, considering the very expensive sword she was holding in her hands.

"Still, to think that I only managed to raise two and a half million gold for a Heavenly Count Method," Ain sighed. "Talk about poverty. I haven't been this poor in for--"

"Poverty?" Def asked. "Master! We filthy rich. Def finally pay off debt and live easy life. Def drink bloody Mary all day."

"Who the fak is Mary? New wife?" Troma asked.

Def laughed. "Def marry Mary too."

"Not so fast," Ain said. "You aren't paying off any debt yet."

"What Master mean?" Def asked, eyes tearing up.

"One and a half million goes to the Syndicate. Five hundred thousand for operating expenses, and one million for the Estate."

"Estate?! What kind of estate cost one million gold? Master build villa out of gold?"

"We do need Headquarters," Ain said. "But the truly expensive thing is what we will build inside. Space."

"Space?" Def shook his head, bewildered. "What Master mean space. 'Excuse dumb goblin, can Def have one meter of space, please?' Space!?"

Ain nodded. "You saw it in the pavilion. Same type of spatial magic."

"Troma head spinning," Troma whined.

"Just build bigger villa!" Def complained. "Or Master wave hand and make space. Master strong."

Ain shrugged. "Sorry, not quite my specialty."

Def sighed.

"We also need Teleportation chambers," Ain said.

"For what? Go to grocery store?" Def lifted an eyebrow. "Teleportation no longer work. World broken."

"No, the old ones don't work," Ain said. "Teleportation works just fine. Trust me."

"What, Master can teleport?" Def asked, mockery in his tone.

Ain shrugged. "Of course."

The group stopped and stared at Ain. "Across Realms?"

Ain nodded. "Realms, Planes, wherever."

Def burst out into laughter and hugged Ain. "Master beautiful sonuvabitch. We become rich. Filthy rich."

Troma nodded. "No anti-trust laws in the Teleportation business."

"Supply and demand," Def said.

"If we have the monopoly, we drive prices up," Troma explained in perfectly spoken native Common.

"We choose prices," Def laughed, releasing Ain from the gobbo-hug. "Hold on, Troma become smart?"

"Troma always smart," Troma said.

"Well, about the Teleportation business..." Ain said.

Def was crushed. "Please don't do this Master. Don't say something stupid like 'not available to public'."

Ain sighed. "I will think about it. But for now, don't tell anyone. This is our Syndicate Faction secret."

Def sighed. "Ok. Def promise. Def not tell anyone about working Teleportation chamber. Honest."

Troma smirked. "Def ly--"

"Shut up," Def elbowed Troma in the ribs.

"Affhole!" the Living Word chirped.

"Master better not forget loyal goblins when payday comes," Def said.

Troma nodded. "Goblin not work for three."

"Free," Def corrected. "But goblin work for as many as Master want."

"Good," Ain said. "Let's head back to the Academy."

___

The next day, Ain watched the goblins shout at the new recruits. He sat on the porch of their temporary housing - they upgraded from a tiny maintenance closet to a proper villa - with Senon.

The Syndicate Faction numbered thirty eight, at the moment, far more than the required five they required to become officially unofficial. Def styled himself a teacher, because he finally managed to conquer the basics of the Fire Moon Method. Troma was often far too busy running the finances to care about teaching newbies.

To be fair, the 'newbies' were all considerably more powerful than the goblins. In a fair fight at least.

Daily expenses for the Syndicate Faction ran up to two thousand gold pieces. Courtyard repairs, accommodation, food, training gear... none of it was cheap. Two thousand gold was the average monthly income of a family. They burned through something like that in a day.

"Are you really planning on teaching them Emperor level Methods?" Senon asked, quietly, holding her new sword in her lap.

Ain nodded. "If they are worthy, of course. They are my Factionites. My Peacekeepers."

"How do you know so many things?" Senon asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You teach Emperor level Methods like they are nothing. You sold a Heavenly Count Method, taught me a Heavenly King one..." Senon trailed off and then added in a whisper: "You use Source magic."

"I treat my friends right, I suppose," Ain said.

Senon shook her head. "That's not what I mean. How do you know all this? How old are you even?"

"Me? Eighteen," Ain said. "You?"

"Eightee-- that is beside the point," Senon said angrily.

"Senon, you should already know the answer," Ain said. "There is no way someone like me should know all these things. This knowledge is acquired over several human lifespans."

Senon thought about her Master's words - contemplated them quietly - before she finally spoke. "They say, at the end of the Great War, the Human Realm surrendered when the Fortress Ain fell."

Ain looked at Senon and smiled. "The Empress named that Fortress after me."