“Tough position?” Isla raised an eyebrow curiously. She didn’t expect to hear the prince making excuses out of nowhere. This was a man with enough influence to rule the entire capital if he wished. There was really no viable way of putting pressure on this man unless you have something he wants.
“I feel frankly disappointed that you think I am not someone who upholds agreements, Lady Isla.” The prince replied in a cold tone. “Your little foe had asked to meet me as soon as he arrived at the city and his offer was, and I’m being honest here, quite odd.”
“Was it better than what we offer?” Isla asked. “We are giving you the biggest advantage.”
Isla wasn’t someone who loved to brag or show off. But, she was aware of how truly precious their connection with the prince was. They were the strongest players and the ones to arrive first in the capital. They had an advantage no other player had and the prince seemed to see that too.
Losing that connection for something else was not something Isla expected. Even with Lamenter’s terrifying ability to manipulate others, he still can’t do much unless he somehow has something the prince really wants.
“That I do agree with. But, that boy didn’t even ask anything from me. He came into my office with one simple request.” Vincent explained as he locked his fingers together. “He simply asked to join the Colosseum season as one of the warriors.”
Isla’s eyes flashed with a weird glint. That was the reason why she had visited Vincent in the first place. All over the city and wherever she went, large advertisement signs were plastered on the walls announcing the arrival of a Gifted One into the Colosseum season.
The news was so shocking that Isla had to double-take. But, it was true, and she quickly knew that it was Lamenter purely by the sudden occurrence of it. She knew that young man far too much not to immediately pick up on his antics.
However, what bothered her a lot was her inability to know his motives for doing this. Joining the Colosseum might be good for training or getting stronger, but it was far from the most efficient way of doing it. Not only because hunting monsters was way faster, but also because of the lack of diverse situations he would find himself in.
Fighting is all about making successive correct decisions at the right time and in the right place. To build that success rate, one must experience battle in every situation and environment which was something the arena didn’t offer.
So, the reason was definitely something completely different… Something Lamenter would do all of this just to achieve.
“I cannot refuse his offer because he was going to approach someone else who can get him into the arena. I had no choice but to accept.” Vincent replied. “I have not received anything from him.”
“…” Isla didn’t reply as she simply stared at the prince, prying through his eyes for the real truth. However, she couldn’t notice any lies in his tone or expression. In reality, she found some sense in his words as it felt exactly like something Lamenter would do.
However, she wasn’t really certain that no transaction had happened between the two. That part was what mattered to her. So, with no basis to accuse Vincent, she could only give up for now.
“Understood.” She said. “If that is the case then I believe nothing can be done about it. However, I will still keep an eye on the situation, Your Highness. If by any chance, I discover that you have lied to me then consider our agreement broken.” Isla then turned around and walked to the door.
“Don’t worry, Lady Isla. I am not foolish enough to anger the Diviniely Chosen people. I believe in curses, after all.” He replied.
Isla stopped for a second and looked over her shoulder for a moment before she opened the door and left silently. Vincent kept staring at the closed door for a few seconds with a mysterious expression. Nobody knew what was going through his head at that moment.
“She’s quite dangerous, isn’t she?” He finally spoke.
“…” The bartender stared up with a surprised look. There was no one else there apart from him so the words were directed toward him. “Y-Yes, sir. She has quite the strong presence.”
“The people of her kind are always the most peaceful ones. However, once you do something they don’t like… They will flip hell over your head.” Vincent smiled slightly as if he was amused by what he was saying.
‘*Gulp* why do you seem so entertained by that fact?’ The bartender screamed in his head. He could never understand his boss’ antics and attitude. Isla was clearly threatening him in broad daylight and he still somehow found that amusing.
“However, it is quite interesting. That boy Lamenter and Lady Isla seem to have a far deeper history than I expected. The hatred was written all over her face.” He licked his lips. “Things might get very interesting very soon.”
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***
Isla walked out of the building and stopped outside to take a carriage into the heart of the city. Her mind was still occupied with the conversation she just had with Vincent. Something was still bothering her about this entire interaction and she couldn’t understand what it was.
Her senses are always accurate when sensing danger and they were now going off with every passing second.
‘I need to get to the bottom of this.’ She thought to herself. ‘There is no time to waste.’ She looked up with a cold look on her face before her eyes shifted to the side to stare at the behemoth structure standing above her head.
“The Divine Tower…” She muttered. “Arthur is in there.”
Immediately, Isla’s mind drifted back to him. Even when she stopped thinking about him for a moment due to this problem, her mind always went back to him as if that was the default state. Arthur was slowly taking over her mind.
“…” Isla’s lips slowly pursed. She took a few seconds as if she was thinking about something. Then, she slowly tapped her menu open and then went to her messages feature before typing something really quickly and sending it.
After that, she changed her direction and started walking toward a different place. It was a sudden change of plans. But, with everything happening, Isla knew that things were bound to go chaotic very quickly and very soon.
Lamenter was planning something big and their guild was at a crucial moment before the influx of players arrived. It was a day or two before thousands of players finally made it to the capital and when that happened, she had to be ready for it.
So, Isla had one thing in mind… She needed Arthur, more than ever. More than her own feelings, Arthur was her strongest ally and someone who could truly come through when she needed him the most.
“I need to meet him… right now. I can’t postpone it anymore.”
A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let’s keep it up!