Chapter 73: The Youth Who Pays Respect (4)
Hotel Gallot. Room 207.
The bodyguards bowed upon seeing Ray enter with his guide.
“Good evening, Mage.”
“A pleasure to see you again, Mage.”
Their manners were impeccably respectful. None among them dared show insolence toward a recognized mage.
Ray returned a slight nod while unconsciously scanning for one face.
‘Michael.’
For reasons unknown, the young man was conspicuously absent among the guards.
A knock echoed from the inner room.
Knock knock—
“Sir. The mage has arrived.”
“Send them in.”
Creak—
The door opened to reveal opulent carpets, leather sofas, and an antique-styled desk. Beyond it, John stood by the kitchenette in a robe, steeping tea in a porcelain pot.
“I’ll take my leave now.”
The bodyguard bowed to John’s back, shut the door, and vanished.
Creak— Thud.
Only two remained.
“Sit,” John urged, returning with a steaming teapot and cups. “Thank you for humoring this late summons. I know it’s discourteous, but the matter is urgent.”
His smile remained mild as ever.
Ray sat wordlessly across from him.
“How fares the search? Skyle mentioned your tracking magic proved invaluable against the Rockdeer.”
John filled the silence with trivialities—search updates, idle chatter, weather, magic theory—while the tea brewed.
“This should suffice.”
Sssss—
Only Ray’s cup was filled.
“Lepinail tea, Sector 33’s specialty. Relaxes muscles and steadies the mind. Drink—it’ll thaw the night’s chill from your bones.”
The room bloomed with earthy fragrance, yet Ray’s expression remained sterile. Flavors and scents held no allure for him.
……
Ray’s gaze drifted from his cup to John’s vessel—a maelstrom of emotions layered haphazardly over years. Specific sentiments blurred together, but one blazed unmistakably at its core:
Golden.
The most colossal material desire Ray had witnessed since arriving in Sector 48. Around that golden mana clung swarms of lesser cravings—possessiveness, ambition, gluttony—like parasites.
‘No different from our first meeting.’
The only novelty lay in other emotions now rippling beside the greed: anxiety, anticipation, restless tension. A textbook cocktail for deception.
John’s eyes kept darting to Ray’s untouched cup as he meandered through conversation.
……
He’s waiting for me to drink.
Under the room’s harsh lights, John’s poorly concealed malice reminded Ray of back-alley tactics—drugging food or drink being the oldest trick.
Clink.
Ray lifted the cup. John’s anticipation surged.
Clink.
Slurp. Gulp.
Ray mimed a sip, ensuring not a drop touched his lips. Confusion flickered in John’s vessel—had he truly drunk?
“Might I ask why you summoned me?”
“Ah! Let’s discuss compensation. We can’t possibly accept a mage’s aid without proper remuneration.”
John’s questions about payment grew pointed, probing Ray’s greed rather than negotiating terms.
“The more, the better.”
“Hah! A truer word never spoken. Money solves all woes, doesn’t it?” Golden mana swelled as John laughed.
Their conversation circled meaninglessly until—
Thud!
Ray telekinetically yanked the wall clock down.
“Hm? What—”
While John turned to rehang it, Ray dumped his tea into his coat lining and reset the cup.
John’s eyebrow twitched at the half-empty cup upon returning, but he resumed with a thin smile. After calculated minutes, he leaned forward.
“I have a proposal.”
Simultaneously, Ray shaped golden mana toward John’s vessel.
“A spent hound should be put down, no? Useless mouths drain coffers.”
John’s plan was simple: annihilate Skyle’s mercenaries in the wasteland once they located the target.
“Conveniently, Skyle himself chose tomorrow’s ambush site. How poetic—digging his own grave.”
Not only to withhold final payment, but to reclaim deposits and loot the mercenaries’ assets.
“Though I never expected them to actually find the Blue Gem Rockdeer.”
At this, the tendrils of possessiveness coiled around John’s golden mana twitched.
“Why hoard more wealth when you’re already rich?”
“You said it yourself: more is always better. Youth like you can’t grasp money’s true power.”
John launched into a sermon on wealth’s supremacy, but Ray—as with Skyle—felt nothing. To John, money wasn’t a means, but the end itself.
“With your help, the battle could—”
“Wouldn’t you win regardless? Michael seemed quite capable.”
John’s smile froze.
“……Michael has rigid principles. Unbending bamboo. Too fixated on ‘honorable combat.’”
He revealed Michael knew nothing of tomorrow’s betrayal. “He still sees me as benevolent. It’d shatter him.”
John’s monotone confession continued:
“I too once believed in changing the world. Age teaches futility. Charity becomes tax evasion. Philanthropy, PR. ‘Generous’ water distribution? Testing tainted supplies on the poor.”
He sighed. “Everyone grows vile with age. Compromise. I’d hoped Michael would too, but…”
John had wanted Michael to handle assassinations, corporate espionage, other dirty work. “His stubborn integrity ruined Kernel Water. With more pragmatism, we’d have survived years longer.”
“Hence your insurance: me.”
“Precisely. If you refuse…”
“Promises of riches? You don’t have that wealth.”
John’s face purpled. He shot up, laughter shrill.
“Ha! Think you can refuse? That tea you ‘drank’ contained Tikaioxin. No antidote, and your heart stops within days.”
Ray’s performance was wooden, but John’s frenzy hid the act.
“The antidote’s stashed where only I know. Try fleeing this sector, and you die.”
Poison. Predictable.
Ray had provoked this reveal intentionally—letting festering malice surface prematurely.
“Until tomorrow, then. Remember—the antidote stays with me.”
Ray nodded at John’s wolfish grin and exited.
Creak— Thud.
Alone, he replayed their agreement:
「“I’ll signal when to attack—ideally mid-spell preparation.”
“Finally seeing reason. My men will be ready.”」
Amusing, really. Ray had merely fanned existing rivalries. Both John and Skyle sought to exploit him—one for replacing Michael, the other for recruiting. Neither would succeed.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
On the stairwell, Ray sensed presence on the terrace. Michael leaned against the railing, staring into the darkened streets, his vessel churning with turmoil.
Ray activated stealth magic and approached.
“See something interesting?”
“Gah! You startled me!”
