Another month, another tomb…. Though, this one is a lot less crowded than the others. There’s only one giant group of people wearing black and no one else. I think they’re the Death Seeking Sect. I don’t get it though. If the third trial requires them to obtain fifty heads…. “Doesn’t that mean they’re going to kill each other in there?”

Treasure Finder, who was no longer tied up because I found out she wouldn’t leave if I kept her friends as hostages, turned around and looked at the massive group of ships in the sky. “About half of them belong to the Death Seeking Sect, but the rest of them are from smaller sects that follow the Death Seeking Sect. Most likely, this is an initiation of sorts for them. If the people from the weaker sects want to join the Death Seeking Sect, they have to pass part of the trial.”

Mm, math is hard, but if one person has to kill fifty other people…, and half of the people belong to the same sect…. Uh…. Where was I going with this? “Doesn’t that mean they’re going to kill each other in there?”

“…Yes. In the Death God’s Tomb, people will kill each other.” Treasure Finder nodded at me. “Speaking of which, I’ve already given you all the help I can. How about I wait for you outside the tomb? I have no affinity with this inheritance, you see, and I really don’t want to be in the same place as you when you have to kill fifty people to proceed.”

“Eh? You don’t trust me? The barkeep’s coming, and he’s a weakling! Aren’t you a sky-realm expert?” Hmm, Treasure Finder did do what I asked her to do, and the barkeep turned out to be pretty good at solving tombs, so she’s not really needed for this. And this is the last tomb I’m going to do, since they’re really boring and all the same. “Alright, fine, you’re free to go.”

Treasure Finder’s jaw dropped open, and she didn’t say anything while looking at me. Was there something behind me? Nope, nothing. “…Really? You’re letting me go just like that?”

Did she think I was a kidnapper or something? I don’t hold people against their wills! …Unless they’re useful. And even then, I’m only borrowing them. It’s not kidnapping. Eh? How can you borrow a person? Simple. You take their freedom temporarily, then give it back to them later. “Unless you don’t want to go?”

“What about me?” Treasure Finder’s friend asked.

“Um, you can go too.” I was only keeping her because she was smart with her protection fees, but she stopped talking to me completely except to make snarky comments, and I didn’t want to punch her because she’d probably explode like Durandal did when I hit him lightly. After that, I only kept her around to keep Treasure Finder in check, but since Treasure Finder’s leaving, her friend can leave too.

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Treasure Finder’s friend’s friend, the bald man, dropped to his knees and clasped his hands in front of himself. Was he going to ask to be let go too? “Please. Adopt me.”

“What?” Adopt him? Wouldn’t that make me a mom? I don’t want a child like him! “Absolutely not!” He’s not cute at all, and he has no tail, and no ears. Well, he has ears, but they’re not like mine. Mm, now that I think about it, when Durandal and I have kids, will they have tails and ears like mine? I’m not sure…. They better! If they don’t, that means Durandal cheated on me with a random woman! Uh…, wait a second, that’s not right.

“Why do you want her to adopt you?” Treasure Finder asked. Her expression was one that someone would make when they were looking at a cockroach. “Are you hoping to use her to fend off the people from the Pentorn Armory?”

Pentorn Armory? Pentorn…. Pentorn…. That sounds really, really familiar. Ilya? Oh. She’s not around to read my mind anymore. I can’t ask her, hah…. I guess I’ll never know. I’m sure I heard the word Pentorn from somewhere before. Maybe Durandal or Puppers would know. “Hey—”

“That’s not it!” Treasure Finder’s friend’s friend said. “Adopt was the wrong word. Please, take me as your disciple! I wish to be as strong as you.”

“A disciple?” What’s that? “What benefits do I get from having you as a disciple? And what do I have to do?”

“If you take in a disciple, you won’t have to worry about your techniques being lost. You’ll teach me everything you know, give me resources to become stronger, and support me as a backer. Then, when you die, I can carry on your legacy for you!”

This … sounds like a scam. “You missed the first question. What benefits do I get from having you as a disciple?”

The bald man sat up and stared at me with a serious expression. “You won’t have to worry about your techniques being lost! Look at the big three; they left behind tombs that people desecrate simply because they didn’t have disciples to inherit their techniques. You don’t want to end up like them, right?”

This is a scam! “That’s what children are for!” This guy’s expressing the exact same thing as the Slaughter God. “You’re supposed to have lots and lots of children to pass on all your stuff to them. You don’t give it to a random stranger.”

“But I won’t be a random stranger,” the man said and scrunched up his forehead. “I’ll be your disciple.”

“How about this? I’ll be your disciple. Then you can give me all your techniques, resources, and support.”

“I…, you…, that’s…, that’s not how it works!” The man shook his head. “The stronger party makes the weaker party their disciple, not the other way around. If it’s the other way around, that’s practically extortion, cutting off a bud before it can grow!”

“I knew it! You’re trying to extort me!” Hmph. He thought I was that easy to trick? I remember now! Ilya became Softie’s grandmother’s disciple, and Ilya’s a genius. She wouldn’t do something that’d put her in a bad spot. And if there’s a relationship between her and Softie’s grandmother, then the grandmother has to be the one worse off. If I accept this man as my disciple, I’ll be losing! I’m not sure what I’ll lose, but I’ll definitely lose something.

Dong!

Ooh! The tomb’s opening. “Try to convince me later, Treasure Finder’s friend’s friend. I’ll reject you after I’m done finding a new Vera in this tomb.”