"Ha-ah..." After sighing grandly, Millisa came back to her senses. "Okay. Let's ignore these claims of yours for now. I find them very hard to believe."

Lone shrugged as he coiled a hand around Soph's warm belly and rubbed it softly. "Sure." Soph fidgeted a little bit and tightened her grip on his tails. 'Her cuteness is so cathartic...' In response to her adorably shy attitude, Lone kissed the top of her head, making her let out a small sound of joy like a kitten purring.

Mature enough to ignore the two's physical flirting, Millisa pointed a finger at Saturn calmly and asked, "More importantly, you still haven't told me where you got that."

Lone smirked. "Simple, I made it."

Millisa held her forehead and exhaled deeply. "Of course you did. Are you going to tell me that you're also a Primal as well?"

"Of course not," Lone waved his hand dismissively. 'I have four living inside of me, but that's different.'

Millisa stared fixedly at the peacefully floating Saturn before she asked, "Can that do what you claimed outside?"

"And so much more. I figured you guys would be suspicious, so I prepared a soul for an example." Lone looked at Saturn and ordered it, "Release the Longhorn's soul and then store it again before it can degrade, please, Saturn."

The shiny orb happily hummed in response and then released the soul of the black-skinned monster sheep - the Longhorn - that Lone had slain during his group's trip to Mystopolis. One second later, the soul was sucked back into Saturn's Divine Soul Prison.

"As you can see, Saturn here can store souls freely without fear of degradation. This specific model can store even Ancient souls. However, the ones I plan to sell to you guys can only store up to Divine souls," Lone claimed.

Millisa laughed and sighed all at once. "Truly, if you're speaking the truth, this is most definitely a deal which we cannot refuse. What would you ask of us in return for such tools?"

"Training on every single soul skill you guys have. I can make a pledge or sign a contract promising not to reveal any of your secrets. I guess I'd want the same for Swind too since he's also a soul oracle," Lone answered honestly.

"This isn't something I can accept by myself, I'm afraid. I'll have to consult all of my fellow masters as well as the head guider. You are staying at the Palace of Rest, yes?" Millisa asked.

Lone nodded. "Yup. I'll be studying at The Academy when its summer break is over, but yeah, I'll be living at the palace for the next one to two years. Maybe longer."

"Perfect." Millisa smiled. She was far less shock at Lone's suggested wealth than she was about anything else in this discussion of theirs. "I am very curious as to how you created such a powerful tool, let alone one with an ego, but I assume you wish to keep your methods a trade secret. Would you like to have a tour around the hall? I'd be more than willing to guide you and your friends. I have a very strong feeling that no one will oppose your trade proposition."

Lone shook his head and stood up before he lightly held Soph's hand. "No thanks. I'm meeting with some friends in an hour and I have business at the Merchant's Guild. If you don't mind, we'll be going now."

Millisa got up herself and said, "Well then, please, let me escort you outside. It's the least that I can do."

"Sure," Lone replied.

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"She was nice," Soph commented as she chomped down on a skewer that Lone had bought for her on their way to the Merchant's Guild.

"Yeah. I was expected more resistance, to be completely honest. I was prepared to burn the building down and beat them within an inch of their lives if things didn't go well," Lone admitted.

George was mumbling under his breath, "He's insane... But why do I think he would actually do it?"

Scott just patted his shoulder, a new habit, it would seem. "He's not insane. I'd do the same thing to help you or the girls out if I had Lone's powers. I think it's kinda cool that he'd go so far for a friend."

Eolande was hovering next to Swind as she held her chin and stared at him. "I feel like Swind is becoming more and more like a protagonist as time passes."

Swind raised an eyebrow. "A protagonist?"

"Yeah." She put her hands behind her head as she explained. "Think about it. If Lone and Soph weren't here, then wouldn't you be insanely unique? You have a sixth sense, you're just, everyone likes you, you have a world skill, and now you're even a soul oracle."

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Swind smiled faintly. "Thank you, Miss Eolande, however, were it not for Mr Immortus, I would be dead right now. Served up as a sacrifice by my people."

Eolande pouted slightly as her eyebrows creased up. "I guess that's true. You'd also be a goner if he didn't rebuild your body. Still... you feel like a protagonist."

Lone walked over to her and bopped her on the head, eliciting a hurtful stare asking why he'd hit her. "You need to read fewer storybooks." He then created a bag of sweets and shoved it towards her. "Here, suck on these instead of thinking about weird things."

Her cheeks puffed out as she accepted the bag and whispered, "I'd rather suck on something else..."

Lone pretended not to hear her. After all, Soph hadn't accepted her in their relationship, so he wasn't going to acknowledge such comments until she did... if she did.

The group walked for a few more minutes until they stopped in front of a building just as large as the Soul Hall, if not, even larger. Carts and people alike were coming and going as they flowed in and out of this building.

"So this is the Merchant's Guild, huh?" Lone asked rhetorically as he followed the crowd and entered the building with his group.

Once inside, he turned to George and asked, "So, does this place work like the Adventurer's Guild? Do I just go up to a reception desk and say what I'm here for?"

Before the boy could answer, Soph tugged on Lone's sleeve and said, "Um, a lot of people are rushing towards the building. They're armed."

The next moment, twenty heavily-armoured men and woman all stormed into the Merchant's Guild and surrounded Lone's group. They were careful as they pushed away and warded off the other civilians in the room.

A particularly large man walked forwards and he pointed his sword at Lone before saying, "For the crime of assaulting Young Lady Lithmon, you are hereby arrested! Please do not resist. We have permission to attack to kill, and should the need arise, we also have permission to summon a Seeker."

"Did he just say a Seeker? Aren't there only four of those in Mystopolis?"

"Yeah, but it makes sense. That demi apparently attacked Young Lady Lithmon."

"That's suicide for a demi. Poor guy."

"I wonder which Seeker gave them permission to summon them? Triple-X-rankers hate being ordered around, especially those Seekers."

"Maybe Cross? Either him or Liza."

"True. Cross is a pretty big bigot and Liza is blinded by her feminism, so I could see either one agreeing to subdue a demi male that attacked Young Lady Lithmon."

"Still, I bet the demi was wholly justified."

"Probably, but you'd be stupid if you thought that actually mattered."

"True. I only came here to verify my successful trade mission. I never expected I'd get to see an arrest of this calibre. Such an interesting day."

"I wonder if he'll resist? I heard he was the disciple of Headmaster Erion. He also just visited the Soul Hall."

"I heard about that. Seems he's a soul oracle and he got seen to by Master Millisa himself."

'Word travels fast in this city,' Lone thought to himself. He coughed lightly and said, "Look, I'm not being arrested. I'm here to register as a merchant as well as to give the chairman a deal he can't possibly refuse."

Eolande saw the smirk on Lone's face and she rolled her eyes in response. 'Are you getting addicted to saying that? Do you think you're a devil or something? Offering up temptations that would make people go insane? What exactly do you plan to offer this place's chairman, Lone?'

"We are under strict orders to arrest you, no matter what. Come quietly, or we will be forced to resort to violence," the leading armoured man claimed.

Lone lightly shook his head. "Will the chairman come out to talk to me if I take you guys hostage?"

Silence was Lone's sole answer. The twenty people tightened their grips on their weapons and narrowed their encirclement of Lone's group slightly.

Only George seemed afraid, but everyone else - Scott included - seemed to be very relaxed. Swind looked at Lone and asked, "Should I incapacitate them, Mr Immortus?"

"Nah. I'll let them experience something fun." Lone grinned as he activated his Ascending Might and focused it mostly on the armoured people, but he did let some of it leak out onto the spectating merchants and guild staff members.

Instantly, the twenty armoured men and woman fell to their knees and began sweating profusely. Many tossed their weapons aside and began muttering words of prayer in Lone's direction. They were begging for forgiveness as if he was a mighty deity that held their lives in the palm of his hand.

The many people watching this felt their minds spinning as they all saw a pure light of energy emanate out from Lone's very being. Some felt the need to treat him as their ruler, while others were shaking in fear.

"Man, this is fun..." Lone mumbled before he loudly said, "Someone bring this place's chairman to me. Tell him that if he doesn't come to see me, then his daughter will die the next time she messes with me."

With that said, Lone sat down and assumed a cross-legged position. Soph got on his lap and covered herself in his tails. Swind stood to one side while Eolande hovered on the other. Scott was in awe at Lone while George was holding his head in his hands and beating himself up mentally over the potential consequences of these outlandish actions.

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With perspiration covering her entire body, a young woman with glasses and a well-tied ponytail practically burst into Chairman Lithmon's office.

The white-haired man behind the desk in the centre of the room raised his head and cast a quizzical look upon her. His wrinkles morphed into a frown. "Why are you so panicked? Also, why are you disturbing me? I remember only ordering Gregory to inform me personally once the demi and his cohorts had been imprisoned."

"T-That's... S-Sir Lithmon... T-The demi has taken y-your guards as hostages. H-He demands that you come to talk to him in person o-or else he is threatening to k-k-kill Young Lady Lithmon when she next retaliates for what happened a-at Madam Cortelle's Palace of Rest..." The woman was trembling like a leaf. The experience of Lone's Ascending Might had invaded her very soul and she couldn't shake the feeling even slightly.

"Threatening my daughter?" He got out of his chair and calmly stroked his neat beard. "Call for Cross. In the meantime, I shall stall this arrogant demi."

"Y-Yes, Sir Lithmon!" The woman scrambled out of the room to do as she had been instructed.

As the chairman was walking down the Merchant Guild's central stairs, he was clenching his hands in pure rage. 'A mere demi dares to raise his hand towards Anita, and now he demands my presence? I do not care if you are Headmaster Erion's pet or a soul oracle, today will be the day that you die.'