“What crazy plan are you concocting? There is no way these fairies will listen to you. You are not their host and they have probably already received enough points to spy on you.”

“But what if I pay them enough points for them to ignore their hosts?” I asked hesitantly. “The fairies are free to do as they wish so if I provide more value than their host, they should side with me, don’t they?”

“You want to bribe the two fairies?” Levi exclaimed unhappily. “You did not agree to give me anything and yet you are going to bribe other fairies.”

I rolled a mana stone between my fingers as I considered my options. After a while, I shook my head. “No. Doing so will be pointless. It will just delay the two fairies. Nothing will stop them from coming back on the very next night and ask for more points. I know how shrewd the fairies can be. And even if I give them enough points to keep them away, nothing will stop other fairies from trying to profit from the situation…”

Levi nodded with a thoughtful expression. “That makes sense.”

“Then. We don’t have many options left. Pushing away these two fairies won’t be easy. The only solution left is… To have you fight the two fairies and keep them at a distance. The fairies are not allowed to harm the hosts, but it should be fine for the fairies to attack each other, right?”

“Exactly. It is good that you realise the situation you are in. Wait what? What did you just say? There is no way I am fighting against two fairies.” Levi exclaimed furiously. He rapidly flew around me, letting the annoying buzz of his wings ring through my ears.

I waited for him to calm down before continuing. “Don’t you call yourself the great Levi? It should be easy for you to deal with these two fairies.”

“Human! Even though I am indeed powerful, the other fairies aren’t weak either. Not only that, but I will lose a lot from a fight with them and gain nothing in return but the ire of my peers.”

“Then would you rather share the treasure with them? You realise that right now, we both only have three thousand coins. It is far from enough to obtain the truly valuable treasures. The Soldiers, Nobles and Royals sections should contain the majority of the coins. Considering how good we are at puzzle solving, I doubt we will be able to fully explore these sections in one night. It will take us at least two or three nights for each section.”

“Do you get what I am trying to say? If these two fairies follow us to the tombs, it is just a matter of time before everyone becomes aware of the existence of the tombs. Hiding in the village won’t help either and I cannot afford to waste so much time here. If we don’t get rid of these two, it will be impossible for us to purchase the treasures of the merchant tower. Can’t you just deal with these two? Who are their host?”

Levi fell silent. He seemed to be internally debating with himself. “You are not wrong. But it still is not enough for me to antagonise my peers. I can tell you who their hosts are but is that going to change anything? One of them is the woman who has been angry at you for a while, her name is Xia Shiyu, I believe. As for the other, you’ve never spoken to him, but his name is Rudolf.”

‘Xia Shiyu… That woman again. She is still not satisfied after the rearrangement of the teams. As for that second person, I’ve never heard of him. He may just be an opportunist trying to figure out my secrets.’

“I just wanted to know who is spying on me. Is it your final decision? You are not going to chase away these two fairies?”

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“Absolutely. I am confident in my strength but nothing good will happen if they report me. While it is not forbidden for us to fight, what if the other fairies get involved? Furthermore, a small fight here may spark an all-out battle when we return to our clans upstairs.” Levi crossed his arms.

I sighed in defeat, not knowing how to convince Levi. He was the key to solving this situation. ‘I pushed myself a lot for these treasures and now, I am being forced to reveal their existence to the others? These people are just too curious; can’t they mind their own business and give me some privacy?’

‘Do I really need to share everything? Not necessarily. I have already accomplished my goal here and have almost reached the first threshold. I can already focus on collecting points for the First Floor Ticket and leave. Being two weeks early would make things even safer for me. However, it leaves a bitter aftertaste to leave the treasures behind now that I know of their existence.’

‘I don’t really need them since I won’t be fighting on the frontline, but it would be nice to have them. They should keep me safe in the cities and in the worst-case scenario, I can sell them for a good amount of points. I want to live peacefully but also comfortably. I won’t become a beggar. D*mn… Now, I am thinking of all the savings I accumulated during my past life… All gone…’

‘Think, Alex! Think of a solution… How can I convince Levi…’

…

“Levi.”

“What?”

“Were you not extremely interested in the artificial elemental seed from the merchant tower? Are you really going to let go of the opportunity to get it for yourself?”

The fairy cocked his head before chuckling mockingly. “Are you still trying to convince me to fight? I am indeed interested in the artificial elemental seed but the seed itself is a gamble. Furthermore, I never thought of buying it for myself. Instead, I just wanted to offer it to my clan to rise in rank. Using an artificial elemental seed is dangerous and I don’t want to be hunted down by the tower.”

“I see. It is what I predicted. You and your clan side with the Purists.”

As soon as he heard the last word, Levi revealed an expression of surprised before narrowing his eyes. “How do you know this term?”

I let out an enigmatic smile. “That, you don’t need to know. I am aware of the political situation of the tower. All I want to say is that you are probably not willing to make a move because the risks outweigh the rewards. Even if we clean up the tombs of all their treasures, you will at most be able to bring back the artificial elemental seed to your clan. You will rise in rank but that is it; you yourself are unwilling to shoulder the risk of being hunted down by the tower. At most, the artificial elemental seed will save you a few decades of climbing up the ranks in society.”

I paused for a moment, watching Levi intently. “There is nothing wrong with that. Knowing the fairies, as long as they are given enough benefits, they won’t hesitate to make a move. In other words, if the price I pay is high enough, having you deal with the two fairies spying on me should not be much of an issue.”

“Human. I do not know how to know so much information about the tower, but I will admit that you correctly deduced many things. Artificial elemental seeds are taboo for a reason. If you take out an item that I can use personally, then, I won’t mind antagonising the other fairies but unfortunately, you do not have anything that is truly valuable.” Levi answered calmly.

“True. I do not have any items, but I do have some useful information. What if I can give you some information about an item that is even more valuable than an artificial seed from the viewpoint of a fairy. An item that you yourself can use and is guaranteed to raise your status in your clan. Furthermore, it is not even a taboo item and won’t turn the entire tower against you.”

“Does such an item even exist?” Levi asked jokingly; it was clear that he did not believe me. “If you are really able to give me such an item, then of course I will immediately go and deal with the two fairies out there.”

My lips curled up naturally.

“As I previously said, I do not have the item on me, but I believe that just giving you the current location should be valuable enough. It is in fact so valuable that I think you should also give me some of the Nazlock Coins since you won’t need the artificial seed anymore after this.”

“Stop beating around the bush. As long as the item you are talking about is worth it, I will accept your request.”

I sat up and stared at the fairy for a moment. “Good. Then, what if I tell you that I know the current location of the Crown of Belavir?”

“What did you just say?” Levi exclaimed. His calm demeanour vanished in an instant, replaced by complete disbelief. He was visibly shocked and agitated.

In response I simply asked, “At how much do you value the current location of the legendary artefact of the first Fairy King?”