Chương 373: Allies And Deals

I soon got to meet the cleric the miss with one eye had been intending to take me to before I got things sidetracked a bit. This Mnolm was a rather unusual individual. Not only was he a bunch of pink crystals just floating around with a skull trapped inside one of them, but most of all, he was probably the first to call me 'Goddess Nebulo' without being a creature that was created because of me.

Apparently, since Prophet Irjalumn isn't around, Lopst and Mnolm are actually pretty big voices within the Deep Dream, which sounds impressive until you realise that the fuckers are completely disorganised and just do whatever they want in their own pursuits of anything sleep-related. The Deep Dream is more so a house of scholars with similar interests than a proper religion, it seems.

They do worship some vague idea of some all-powerful sleep deity, but it is vague at best, and they obviously all have very different interpretations of what this deity is meant to represent or be. It is all rather confusing and unclear, but this lack of clarity was what was responsible for Mnolm's deep-seated belief that I was that very dream deity, or at least one of its angels, and a lot of others seemed to agree with him.

The rest opposed the idea, but they nonetheless greatly respected me on account that my nightmare-theme powers were far beyond what they were used to. Looks like they rarely ever ran into anyone with such abilities… Prophet Irjalumn remained unseen during my stay, but I was able to guarantee the assistance of at least a good portion of the members of the Deep Dream.

I definitely wasn't the divine being they believed I was, but since it benefited me for them to believe it, I never said anything that could go against their interpretation. … Well, things went even better than with the System Fundamentalists. Being attributed divinity is always a big help in negotiations.

There is no way they could have refused to help you when many of them are profoundly convinced that you are the elusive entity they've been worshipping all this time, or that you are at least an extension of it, anyways… Mmh… I did hear from Mnolm that he had attempted several times to reach out to me through various means, but that his attempts had been thwarted by 'hidden enemies' nearby that were messing everything up.

In fact, he knew exactly who was to blame, as the distance separating him and the culprit was too great for any mana signature to be concealed, or so he claimed… I acted like I didn't already know who was messing around outside, and soon bid my goodbyes and left the Cave of Somn through the same way I entered. I still had no idea where Ririlt was currently hiding with Argantis, but I only needed to walk around by myself for a little while and wait for the famed curse slinger to show himself.

If he was so desperate to prevent others from contacting me, then he surely wouldn't miss the chance to meet me face to face. After all, unless he was consistently lying to our dear foxfolk employee, then he too wanted to have me as an ally. The only obscured part was that Argantis seemed to not be working by himself, but unfortunately, Ririlt never managed to figure out who he was working with or for. Not that it mattered much. Whoever Argantis was willing to associate with was certainly not a paragon of light.

It only took about ten minutes before the man himself appeared before me. He was indeed great at concealing his presence, especially since he was able to prevent me from following the faint trail of negative emotions linking him to me. The negative emotion in question was a small amount of suspicion melded with cynical vigilance alongside a hint of scepticism. It was clearly only a minuscule amount, but this old man started on a much different foot compared to Sir Seventh or Mnolm.

Those two previous guys had been in admiration. I probably could have asked them ridiculous stuff without them batting an eye. … Not that either of them could actually have eyes… I am starting to think that I have a certain affinity for getting along with old skeletons with unusual personalities… For one, Argantis isn't a skeleton. Not yet, at least.

"Miss Nebulo, it is a pleasure to be meeting you today. I am Argantis, and to be transparent, I am working with the former king of Beelmart, Beliol Azt Mastras. He wishes to call upon your service again as he did in the past so that he may ascend back to the throne""I presume that him being king would benefit you in some capacity?"

"Naturally…" Argantis hesitated for a flicker of a second.

"... He knows things that he never told anyone else, but he needs full access to the royal palace of Beelmart and also to be the official ruler of the nation. He is somewhat vague, but the treasures he promised are hidden in vaults that are tightly protected by strong restrictions.

One being that the person trying to access them must be the rightful ruler, so without getting his title back, he can not get to these items at all" Argantis spoke with certainty, making it seem like he knew for certain that the former king wasn't swindling or lying to him in any capacity. I probably could try to imply otherwise, but I didn't see the point. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"I presume that he has something to offer to me, then?" I went straight to the point, and apparently, my instant focus on the possible reward or payment made the old mage's suspicion grow ever-so slightly stronger. Does he… Does he suspect that I'm the one who robbed him back then? I suppose the curse-eating incident would be a pretty big hint that the thief he tried cursing and I are the same person, but it looks like he isn't convinced yet.

In fact, his suspicion is so low that it's almost like he doesn't actually believe it for even a second.

"He knows of your… Appetite, and promises to give you everything that could possibly catch your interest""Everything?"

"I was surprised by the generosity as well, but he definitely has vaults that he is planning on keeping secret that contain the stuff he really wants to keep, so it isn't surprising" I stared at the old man standing across from me.

"What if I go to his daughter instead? She's the rightful ruler. She could find and open vaults for me as well, couldn't she?"

"With all due respect, I doubt anyone would be willing to allow you anywhere near any royal palace" I smiled and modified the appearance of my 'Gynoid Form' right in front of his eyes.

"With all due respect, I can be anyone I want, and I don't think there are many who could discern the truth" There was a pang of strong shock and momentary paranoia from Argantis, certainly because he failed to see through a disguise that he had seen being created a moment ago, and also because he imagined just how close I might be able to get to him in a crowd without him realising it.

The 'Gynoid Form' might be one of the weakest in terms of combat power, but who needed such a thing when you could stroll to someone and turn your arm into a sickle to stab them through the heart as they thought that you were merely reaching forward to shake their hand? It is effective if people don't know about it, and when they do know about it, well, they become paranoid, and they now direct more than enough negative emotions toward my person for me to know exactly where they are at all times.

I win in all cases.

"There are surely things that he knows that his daughter is unaware of. There are countless hidden places on the continent. You seem to have discovered a blood ocean yourself, but there are others–Cursed grounds, areas infused with countless trapped souls, ancient carcasses that have refused to rot for centuries… I assure you, Beliol Azt Mastras can pay you handsomely for your assistance" I smiled charmingly.

"Tell him that I'll need some advance payment. Maybe I'll consider the offer then" I threw him a little piece of mechanistry Mari had built according to blueprints I had created whilst in the Dreamscape.

"Hit the green button when you're decided and want to talk to me" Argantis caught the item and looked at it with a raised eyebrow.

"What is this object, exactly?" It was a rather bulky thing with only two buttons: A green one and a red one.

"A long-distance communication device. The green button will allow it to connect to another identical item that I own, and the red one will simply end any ongoing communications. Do not be afraid. It isn't one of those anomalous mechanical items" Argantis opened his mouth to speak, but I had already decided that the discussion was over and allowed myself to warp right back to Leou's tower, leaving the old mage alone…

To say that Argantis was dumbfounded would be an understatement. For one, he hadn't been told that the horrific monster could turn into a pretty girl, which was rather disconcerting, and also, Mara Nebulo wasn't easily moved, even with the promises of great riches. If anything, she seemed so greedy that the initial offer simply wasn't enough for her, hence why she wanted to have a 'taste' of the payment before even accepting to take the job.

"Knowing him, he'll accept without question" Beliol Azt Mastras was strongly convinced that Mara Nebulo was the solution he needed. The former king had clearly been greatly impressed by the performance of her Nightmare Plague back when he had first worked with her. He even often lamented the fact that he hadn't been more generous to her, considering how big of a deal she was nowadays. Honestly, Argantis felt bad for Balayal Azt Mastras when he heard the former king speak of Mara.

The old man was talking as if he would have preferred Mara to have been his daughter instead of his actual daughter.

"It's no wonder that she was so uncaring about your condition when you got booted… To have everything and squander it like that for a measly crown…" Argantis and the beastfolks soon left the area as there wasn't anything else that could be done at this point. Unfortunately, Mara Nebulo had formed a connection with the Deep Dream, which meant that there would be competition for her assistance and favours.

The point of messing with them was so that Beliol Azt Mastras would be the sole ally that she had, which should have made her more receptive to offers, but that plan was dead in the water. The old mage would have to assist the beastfolks with their own idiotic plan of toppling the Felinis royalty, but first, he needed to report what had happened. The former king was hiding in Giorsalbe currently.

The base of operations had changed a few times, but now that things had gone to chaos throughout most of the continent and that a huge barrier surrounded the countries part of the alliance, the safest area that wasn't inside the barrier was the great desert. The 'anomalies', as they were being called, weren't very active there. Not since they had ravaged the desert kingdom, that is…

As such, Argantis wasn't worried about running into any of those bizarre monsters, but he somehow ran into something worse when a figure he instantly recognised just by its manner of walking stepped from behind a tree-sized cactus.

"By the gods, am I hallucinating? If it isn't my fellow disciple… Where have you been, Atlent?"

"It's been a while, Argantis… It's been a while…"