“A gamble? I don’t quite follow.” Blair said, her thin facade of understanding shattered beyond repair.

Just as Aella was beginning to think that the woman she was talking to would make her life easier, her face turned into a frown before letting out a sigh.

“Well, your understanding and ability to cope with this information has surpassed my expectations, so I guess it’s fine. I’ll lay it out for you. You’re a businesswoman, yes?”

Blair nodded hesitantly. She wasn’t gonna pretend she didn’t know how Aella figured that one out. She was sure any child with even a single formed brain cell would be able to tell from her insistent use of her suit as if she had somewhere to be constantly.

“Frankly, that Cult. [Children of the Lost Sun] as they’re called according to my [Apprasial] skill. They’re target number 1. They were willing and ready to act in such a public event, meaning they’re either 1, entirely stupid, or 2…”

“They have backing to fall back on?”

Aella nodded. “Backing, large enough size. It could be several things. As much as I’d love to crush them under my boot right this instant, I lack too many things. Notably manpower, funds, and information. You, as a businesswoman, are capable of providing all 3 for me.”

Blair’s eyes went blank as she leaned against a tree, considering Aella’s words.

‘Ah… It seems I’ve been trapped. She subtly threatened me with Sera to make me her backer. If I don’t accept, then those cultists who attacked us will attack again, or worse, she might even leak information about Seraphina…’

“What do you get out of this? I’ve seen your power firsthand. You’re not someone so easily taken down. I reckon you could survive even if they sent their full force after you.” Blair scoffed, her tone filled with irritation.

Aella was not the target of her annoyance. It was herself. Such a simple trick, and she still managed to fall into it. The lass sitting in the air in front of her was right. She was an idiot.

“I honestly don’t know about that. I mean, it’s not off the table because the two cultists who attacked you, even if I didn’t step in, Aetherion would have killed them both. As for your actual question, it’s simply because I don’t know what I wanna do later in life.” Aella paused.

Looking around, Aella examined the ordinary people who wandered around the park, deep in thought.

“I… Am an Avenger. An avenger who turned into a protector, yet I failed to protect anything. So what do I gain, huh? A place where I feel like I belong, perhaps? Even I don’t truly know what will happen in the long run. All I care about right now is the discovery and eradication of those with the hubris to threaten me.”

Aella’s eyes seemed to stare through the world like she was searching for something far off in the endless cosmos. A place to belong. In such a world where even the oldest living creatures are not more than a fraction of her true age, only she could create such a place. Even if it had to be done artificially.

“Regardless, it’s not a terrible deal for you. Heck, I’ll let you choose the terms of our cooperation… As long as I see it as possible, of course.”

For the final time, Blair went silent before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. Naturally, Aella made sure nobody else heard it. Wouldn’t want a potential business partner to make a fool of herself for no reason.

“To think you finally started speaking a language I can understand. Even if you haven’t truly taken after your mother, you really are Anna’s child! HAHAHAHA! Alright, Aella Seren Rossi, daughter of the Heroes who saved the world. I’ll give you a condition for each of your requirements. If you can give me a reasonable pitch for each within the next half an hour, I’ll give you my full support. How’s that sound?”

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

With a smile of indifference, Aella nodded. “Very well, state your conditions.”

Smiling evilly, it was clear that Blair had already begun to underestimate the depths of Aella’s unfathomable insanity. Surely, as such a skilled combatant, even if Aella had lived too many lives, there was no way that she had trained in business for as long as Blair. As someone who walked a similar path to her, one of absolute mastery of a craft, Blair knew better than anyone else to become as good as Aella was at fighting; even several lifetimes might not have been enough.

“Firstly, Manpower. I will not lend you, my people. Second, funds. I will not sponsor you in any way. And lastly, information. I will only supply you with the bare minimum information. As with manpower, it’s simply too risky since we don’t know how good this group is at blocking information.”

‘So this is your plan? What’s the end goal? To scare me away from danger? To prove I was overzealous? Not that it matters. You’re doomed to fall into this abyss with me anyway.’ Aella chuckled inwardly.

At a glance, it was rather clear that these conditions were meant to be a dead end. With only the bare minimum amount of information, even Aella, who could easily combat people several ranks higher than her, would find it nearly impossible to deal with a whole organization.

However, Aella doesn’t believe in dead ends. Life is full of doors. Each door leads to something new, something mysterious or exciting. Perhaps boring. But if there's no door, then what do you do?

You break the nearest wall and create one yourself.

Aella was completely silent for an extended time. A third of the time had passed in the blink of an eye as she didn’t answer. Blair’s smile only grew slightly by the minute.

Unfortunately for Blair, she miscalculated slightly. Only now did she walk into Aella’s trap. Previously, all Aella had stated were facts. She could have backed out and found protection from the government. As a rich businesswoman in a capitalist society, the American government would have gladly protected her. Now, however, she had signed herself up for a life-or-death battle against a cult of unknown power.

Aella didn’t answer because she had trouble finding a solution. She didn’t answer because she couldn’t decide which to propose. After all, the condition was if her pitches weren’t if they were efficient. It was as if Blair found them reasonable. Meaning that she needed to make a profit by the end of it.

“That’s all I need. The information I need. I need a list of people I can reach out to who have been harmed by the cult, either indirectly or directly. The more they hate the cult, the better. Their rage against a common enemy would make them a more reliable ally. Even better if they’re Naturalis or have a close Naturalis friend, relative, or whatever. Someone who can be dragged in for a common goal.” Aella began, immediately solving two of the 3 conditions.

With this, even if she had to begrudgingly use her [Charm] skill, she could acquire the manpower needed to create a proper information network.

Blair’s eyes widened in shock. No, not shocked. It was terror. Indeed, if it was only that, it wouldn’t be difficult to cover her own tracks at all.

“What about the funds? Even against a common enemy, they won’t fight unless a reward is present. After all, they, too, have lives to live. They aren’t mindless drones.” Blair questioned, not entirely sure if she still had the upper hand or not.

That quickly changed as Aella let her manic smile slip, her eyes seeming to glow with a horrifying power.

“Indeed… Funds are… Rather troublesome. Magitech would be the quickest method of acquiring funds due to my mother, but convincing her to teach me promptly would be impossible.” Aella stated her smile and words conflicting, sending all kinds of red flags and setting off alarms in Blair’s head.

“Ah, right. I forgot, I still haven’t answered your question yesterday. About my [Aetherstream]!” She giggled.

“That Qi thing. Cultivators… Their method of gathering Mana is… Incomplete. That’s why they can’t if they have a Dragon. Much like how your body will stop you from biting off your own finger despite you being fully capable, it knows that they will die if they cultivate that technique with a dragon.”

Blair’s eyes narrowed slightly, somehow being narrow with suspicion and wide with surprise at the same time while she tried to figure out where this was going. “How is this relevant to funds?”

“You see. Every humanoid has 3 Energy centers in their body. Dragons take up the central Energy center. What those cultivation techniques do is fill Mana into one of their energy centers. Without fail, that will cause an imbalance and make them spontaneously combust. It’s either you only use 1 Energy center…”

Aella’s eyes seemed to somehow open further. “Or all 3! Gathering funds is so simple. Since you won't give me funds, we’ll do this the business way. I’ll be the supplier, and you, the distributor. We’ll topple the current power curriculum and usher in a new era! A new golden age of power on the planet!”