Cooperation

"You don't actually think I like this woman, do you?"

Anna did have a lovely figure, and Lister couldn't help stealing a few extra glances.

But he wouldn't lose his head over a little beauty. In this other world, he could have it whenever he wanted, and even the maids at home were his for the taking.

"I'm just honoring the outcome of the duel."

When Quint faced Lister again today, the superiority he had shown while speaking that night was gone from his face. His arrogance had vanished completely.

His voice was a little hoarse, but he sounded much steadier.

"While we were dueling yesterday, these two left Will City with a merchant caravan."

"Their plan wasn't bad, but they underestimated me!"

"Viscount Anbeite is still searching everywhere for Anna. However you want to deal with her, I won't tell anyone!"

No wonder Lister hadn't heard of Viscount Anbeite coming to offer congratulations and gifts today, when it should have been time to collect the returns on his "bet."

So his daughter had run away, leaving him unable to answer to Lister, and he was searching for her everywhere!

As he spoke, Quint tossed him a bottle of potion.

[Horsetail sleeping potion (antidote): dispels the sleep induced by horsetail]

The two people in the wooden crate were bound hand and foot, their breathing unusually slow and steady, undisturbed by the two men's conversation.

So they had been drugged with some kind of magic potion.

Lister rubbed the antidote between his fingers as he thought.

From what Quint meant, Anna was his to deal with as he pleased from now on.

Lister could even have his fun with her, then find a place to bury her whenever he wanted.

And given the current strength of Viscount Anbeite's family, they probably wouldn't be able to find out what had happened to his daughter in their lifetimes.

Lister couldn't be bothered to do that, though. He still needed to spend his energy on leveling up, including going to wipe out the Ghost-Eyed Giants.

Just then, he noticed a hint of gloom hidden in Quint's gaze as he looked at Anna.

Lister suddenly remembered how things had normally ended in the original Divine Revelation world, and immediately made up his mind.

"I'm not interested in dealing with Anna. We did have some feelings for each other before, after all. Why don't I leave her to you?"

"Since she dared use you, I'm sure you've already thought about what to do with her, haven't you?"

Although he didn't want to act personally, he was quite fond of giving things a push from behind the scenes.

The boss Anna, the Ghost Bride of later days, was probably Quint's doing, barring any surprises.

Lister thought Anna's original ending was good, and he was also curious about how she had ultimately become the Ghost Bride.

He even thought it wouldn't be bad to wait until she became the Ghost Bride, then farm her for some levels himself.

"Fine! Since you can't bring yourself to do it, I'll deal with her."

"Don't worry. I guarantee she'll pay the price she deserves for her own insults and ignorance!"

Sure enough, Quint had already thought about how to deal with the two of them.

Only because he had lost the duel had he reluctantly handed Anna over to Lister.

"You didn't come here today just because of Anna, did you?"

Lister was deliberately waiting for Quint to bring it up.

He had his reasons for not deliberately inflicting a serious wound on a vital spot during the duel, and for restraining his impatience and leaving room for compromise in their earlier conversation.

It was just that Lister really hadn't had much to say to the arrogant Quint of before.

Now that Lister had taught him a lesson in the dueling arena, he was much easier on the eyes.

"There is something else I came to tell you."

Quint paused at that, his emotions somewhat complicated.

But in the end, he let out a breath, as though he had already accepted the outcome.

"Tomorrow, I'll leave for Rai Territory and become its new baron."

Lister understood at once. Quint was out of the running for the time being.

Under normal circumstances, he had no chance of competing for the dukedom in the future.

Of course, until Duke Will III formally inherited the title, any of the heirs still had a chance.

"Wait. Rai Territory?"

Lister suddenly remembered the task Quint's eldest brother, Walen, had given him that morning.

"That's right. The territory where the Ghost-Eyed Giants invaded and slaughtered people. It's also where your task is."

"My father also assigned me several professionals trained by the family. One of them is about to break through to the fourth tier."

Quint spoke quietly, but the news was extremely important.

Lister knew the duke didn't like his youngest son, but surely there was no need to grant him a fief so far away on the border.

It had just been ravaged by the Ghost-Eyed Giants, too. What room was there to develop that wretched territory?

Thinking it over, Lister realized something was wrong.

He had already been given the task of wiping out the Ghost-Eyed Giants, and the duke didn't like this son of his. By rights, there was no need to send a professional who was about to reach the fourth tier to protect him.

This was only the Duchy of Will, after all, the location of some side quests in the second expansion.

Third- and fourth-tier professionals, no matter how low their overall ratings, still had some influence in the Duchy of Will.

If they joined any of the factions, they would definitely become core members.

There was definitely more to this than met the eye if all he was doing was protecting an abandoned heir.

Unless—the professional had been sent to kill Lister!

No wonder the reward for the task of wiping out the Ghost-Eyed Giants was so generous.

Quint didn't interrupt Lister's thoughts. Only when he saw Lister's expression suddenly change did he speak.

"You've figured it out, haven't you?"

"Now he wants to use me as a pawn again. After all, you humiliated me pretty badly in the dueling arena!"

"Then what are you going to do? Once we get to Rai Territory, send that professional to kill me?"

Lister stared intently at Quint.

He also felt somewhat helpless. Ever since learning about the circumstances surrounding him and the duke's attitude toward him,

he had understood that he had very little time to grow stronger.

He just hadn't expected time to be this tight. Perhaps Will II really hadn't originally intended to kill him.

As long as he knew his place, Lister could have kept his head down and stayed alive after the Merick Family's destruction.

Just like in the original expansion, Lister Merick had indeed been alive and well, apart from losing an arm.

But now, in front of the entire city, he had openly slapped Will II, the Will Family, and the duke's son standing before him, who had temporarily lost his right of succession, in the face.

He had thought that morning's task was exactly what he wanted. It turned out that, in the end, it was a trap set for him.

"Ha! Do I look like someone who'd give up competing for the dukedom now?"

"If I killed you, how would I borrow the strength of the seven great families?"

Hearing that, Lister's gaze softened considerably.

He had expected that Quint wouldn't act against him now, either.

With the seven great families standing together, at least until Quint became duke, the only people he could work with were the seven great professional families.

"As for the duel, I lost because I wasn't as skilled as you! Although I still don't like you, I know you're a smart man too."

"This Kailina might also have been sent by the old man to keep an eye on me. When the time comes, we'll have to find a way to get rid of her first!"

Sometimes, fate was truly strange.

Even though the two had only dueled yesterday, and Quint still harbored grievances and resentment toward Lister,

their core interests still drove them to work together.

"I understand!"

"In any case, I can support your bid to become duke! I'll find a chance to bring up your plans to Count Connor for you."

Since Will II had now decided to get rid of him, Lister naturally wouldn't sit around waiting for the outcome. He wasn't nearly that good-tempered.

The most important thing now was to level up first. Once he was strong enough, he could even sweep through the entire duke's castle without a problem.

Quint seemed to have misunderstood something. His face showed surprise for a moment, and he spoke as though he could hardly believe it.

"You... you're willing to... follow me!?"

"Is following someone the only thing you can think of? Do you think that if Count Connor helped you, he'd want to follow you too?"

"Do you know what a working relationship is? Working together!"

This was the setting of the second expansion, after all. Ordinary professionals following high-tier professionals or nobles had long been an established practice here.

Such followers weren't like slaves, completely stripped of their freedom. It was actually more accurate to think of it as both sides getting what they needed.

One side provided the professionals willing to follow them with better skills and resources, while the other lent their martial strength to the high-tier professionals and nobles.

If either party died, or both parties agreed, the relationship could be dissolved at any time.

Lister simply didn't like the word "follow," especially when it meant him following someone else.

Even when he lived in a slum in the Earth Federation, he had his own principles and dignity.

With Quint, naturally, he was more comfortable with a working relationship.