Whether I should drink or not was a surprisingly complicated question. To begin, there was the risk of being poisoned. Someone else might assume that it was unlikely since this was an open invitation, but acting like that was a certainty was a dangerous way to live.

It took only a fraction of a second for me to confirm that it was not poisoned. I raised the glass slightly while keeping my attention on the mysterious man who was ordering the guildmaster like a servant, watching his reaction, trying to find a hint of anticipation or excitement, like an important ploy was about to succeed.

There was no such sign. So, unless someone else had poisoned the drink without telling him, there was no poison.

At this point, I had another option. I could still insist on not drinking, or checking it first, which would help me to set up a paranoid and careful personality. I was tempted to do it, especially since everything I had done so far would confirm such a personality.

But, seeing the disdain in his eyes — well hidden, I had to admit, but not enough to avoid my attention — I decided to go in a different direction.

There was a dangerous habit that ambitious people possessed. Once they managed to climb up and attain success, they believed that everything they achieved was about their incredible features rather than a lot of lucky circumstances coming together, leading them to be arrogant.

Admittedly, it took some harsh lessons when I was young to realize just how big of a mistake that attitude was.

Still, looking at the barely-hidden dismissive attitude of the man, I decided to play on that stereotype. I raised the glass with a big smile. "Amazing vintage," I said once I took a deep sip, acting like I was hiding my enjoyment.

Though it was nowhere near as tasty as Zolast's magical cocktails.

"Good to see you enjoyed it," he said, managing to keep his disdain out of his voice as I confirmed I was just as arrogant, showing he wasn't an amateur when it came to such meetings. Too bad for him I was experienced at reading people even without my Perception acting like a real-time lie detector.

I decided to play that arrogance up even further. I leaned back as I took another sip, sending a mocking glare to the guildmaster, gloating about our victory. "Now, how about we cut to the chase and speak about why am I here," I said, blunt and arrogant, doing my best to look like a self-made man, hypnotized by my own success.

Such an attitude was believable, because, from the outside, I looked like a random commoner who had managed to climb several social classes at once to become an important ally to a Duke. There were not many nobles that could claim the same.

The mysterious man chuckled. "Right to the point, impressive," he said, which was a good way to call me a bone-headed moron. "I'll be honest. I'm here to solve the problem my little nephew is struggling with."

"Seems like a small problem to make a man such as you travel a long way," I said, doing my best to read his reaction, expecting some kind of annoyance.

But there was none. Either he really loved his nephew, or he was already on the border for a different reason … reasons such as the presence of the cultists, the sudden appearance of a mysterious church, or the lost hero.

In other words, there was a very high chance that he was here for me.

The irony was delicious.

"Things we do for our families," he said.

"And, how can I help your nephew?" I said. Then, I gestured toward the guildmaster with my hand, my attitude dismissive. "And what would be the pay? I ask you to keep in mind that your man here has failed spectacularly."

"Good," he said. "We want your guild to pull back from Town Yoentia."

I made a show of widening my eyes. "That's a big ask," I said, but rather than looking shocked, I did my best to look greedy and excited.

"It comes with a big reward," he countered.

I decided to interrupt him before he could offer. "I want three things," I said. "Three top-tier abilities for a commander, twenty master skills for combat, and a license to open a business at the inner ring of Oniphia."

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It was a very aggressive request, one that I didn't expect them to pay. The ability to enhance command capability was a force multiplier and, therefore very valuable. Master skills were strategic resources controlled tightly by the kingdoms. And a business license in the inner ring was something that could only be given by the royal family.

I requested it, because I wanted to read his attitude for every line. To my surprise, he reacted to the mention of the master skills the least, and the business license the most. Implying that he had the ability to pay the second, but not the third … which was an interesting dichotomy.

Zolast was very detailed in explaining the possession of the skills. Royal families were the only ones that could access master skills easily, due to a complicated set of reasons like dungeon monopolies, the positioning of the churches, and other issues.

But, if he had such connections with the royal family, a business license would have been an easier challenge.

Unless, of course, they were not from our kingdom.

While he tried to come up with a counter-offer, I sipped my drink, waiting for him to respond while I internally went through the political landscape, which, up to this point, I ignored in favor of local politics.

The kingdom that owned the border region was the Kingdom of Ralum, which was one of the weaker kingdoms according to what Zolast explained. Our side of the border was connected to the wilderness, making the act of expanding borders more of a colonization than an invasion.

The other side of the border wasn't as simple. The Kingdom of Ralum shared borders with two other kingdoms, Somaton, and Xurat, locking the area into a complicated standoff., which was another reason why the royal families couldn't do much against their vassals, their possession of Master skills not enough — especially since one of their rivals could easily supply a rebelling vassal with them if necessary — when they relied on their vassals to help defend their borders.

Just like how the Dukedom of Yoentia was responsible for defending against the Kingdom of Somaton.

It was a wild conjecture at this point, based on a bunch of independent observations and instincts, but I was reasonably confident that the man in front of me was from Somaton, likely from the royal family.

Suddenly, I was very glad that I didn't assassinate that young man. Things were complicated enough without adding a royal family hellbent on revenge.

Still, I was glad for the realization. It explained a lot about the way the Night Blades acted, supporting the town, only to pull back at a critical point. They wanted the young duke desperate as his rivals in the family pushed him more and more desperate before they extended an offer. Just like a drug dealer giving free samples, only to jack up the price once the withdrawal hit.

It was a good way to flip the situation at the border. Assuming the young duke accepted the offer, at a minimum, the morale of the dukedom would be troubled. At best, they might actually change sides.

Too bad for them we ruined their plans thoroughly.

"That's too high of a price," he said.

"No, it's not," I answered. "I'm selling a duke here, after all." Of course, I had no intention of actually selling him out. It was not a habit of mine to sell my allies … even the reluctant ones. But, the realization of their strength meant that I couldn't just reject them either.

I didn't want to deal with their incredible offer.

"How about we make some adjustments? Two abilities, and ten master skills, and a hundred expert skills."

"Not even close," I answered. "The reputation hit we get will be too much. We need the power to convince another town to give us a chance, and for that, we need the skills," I said. "How about we ignore the abilities, but you give us fifty master skills and four hundred expert skills."

I could see him relaxing at my counteroffer. Understandable, as Abilities were actually more valuable for the royal families than they were for a guild, especially ones of a command variety. And, while a guild with a few hundred expert and master skills was a potential source of trouble … it wasn't something they would care about.

Of course, just because it was affordable didn't mean that they were willing to pay. "Thirty master skills and three hundred expert skills, and nothing else," he countered.

"Fifty, and three hundred and twenty," I answered, deliberately pushing up, overplaying my hand. Unless I misread the situation too much, they wouldn't pay such an exorbitant amount, giving me a few days that I could use to —

"Deal," he interrupted. "I like the way you bargain," he said. "Fifty master, and three hundred and twenty expert skills, and you abandon the town immediately."

It took all I had to fake a genuine smile while all I wanted was to curse. It was an absurd price. Who the hell accepts such an absurd price for a mere betrayal? Even a hundred master skills were pushing it, let alone three hundred and twenty.

Unless, of course, they wanted to leverage the absence of the royal military to start attacking their neighbor, trying to leverage the delay of the Calamity.

I immediately communicated the news to Zolast, receiving a mocking reply about tricking myself in return, followed by another message about a way to play for time.

"Make the expert skills four hundred, and a fourth of the skills for mages, and we will sabotage the dungeon before we leave as well," I offered.

"I like the way you think. You'll have your skills tonight," he said as he smiled, thinking that his disdain was hidden. "Please escort our visitor out," he said to the guildmaster.

"Master Euon, please," he said, not as successful in hiding his fury.

I just smirked as I walked away, my mind already churning about the ways the inclusion of a new kingdom could change the situation.

But, one thing was clear.

Taking my next promotion had been the right choice.