Chapter 170
Hmph~ Neither of you are good people, no wonder you two ended up together.
Ryan betrayed Caslathdi. As for 'Lin Qi', regardless of whether it counts as betrayal or not, just looking at what she did to her, on the surface Saintess is a saintess, but in reality she is a Great Demon desire. Janus must have been blind to choose such a person as the Saintess.
But.
Although he was annoyed, Haino suddenly had a good idea.
"Could we talk somewhere else? I have something very important to tell you," Haino said.
"Let's go somewhere else..." Ryan turned around and saw the soldier driving out the car, so he said, "Get in my car."
Haino: "..."
She was going to suggest finding a coffee shop or something, but what was the point of getting in the car?
Ryan shrugged. "The Grand Duke needs to see me, I have to go back right away."
"Oh well."
Haino followed Ryan into the car and then cast a barrier to prevent outsiders from eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Count Ryan, I would like to ask you for a favor."
"Help? You're Seventh Tier Transcendent, is there anything you need my help with?"
"No...only you can do this." Hainuo hesitated for a moment, but finally made up his mind. "Saintess Lin Qi has something of mine on her, and I want you to help me get it back."
"Lin Qi?" Ryan asked in surprise. "How come she has your things on her?"
"It is... a very special relic. It's complicated and hard to explain, but if you can promise to help me get it back, I will personally promise to help Magana if she ever wants to fight for the throne!"
Haino has already made her decision. Since there's no hope for Caslathdi anyway, there's nothing wrong with her choosing to help Magana.
Then what.
The Pot of Greed must never fall into the hands of others. If 'Lin Qi' keeps it, she can continue to command her unconditionally, which is worse than death for her.
If Ryan helps her retrieve the Pot of Greed, she can also help Magana deal with 'Vainay' to avenge Caslathdi —it's killing two birds with one stone!
As for the recording stone, Hainuo wasn't worried. As long as the Pot of Greed was retrieved, 'Lin Qi' would lose her means of controlling her, and wouldn't she be able to manipulate 'Lin Qi' at will?
The main problem is that once the Pot of Greed is activated, her body is completely out of control, and she can only be manipulated by 'Lin Qi'.
"Is that thing very valuable?" Ryan asked hesitantly. "Ms. Haino, you know I'm a very loyal person. Lin Qi and I are good friends. Asking me to do something like this is like asking me to betray her."
Haino thought you were loyal? You didn't even blink when you betrayed Caslathdi.
"It's not a betrayal. That was originally mine, but for certain reasons I couldn't take it back myself," she advised. "Besides, you did this for Grand Duke Magana, which shows your loyalty, doesn't it?"
"Please, Earl Ryan, that item is really important to me! And I'm sure that even if I get it back, it won't have any effect on Saintess Lin Qi; she won't be harmed because of it."
"Real?"
"Of course it's true, but the premise is that you hand it over to me immediately after you get it. Under no circumstances should you try to use it. It's something that could destroy a city if something goes wrong."
Ryan exclaimed in surprise, "Wow! Such an amazing treasure?"
Haino opened his mouth. "Earl Ryan, you seem... very excited?"
"Oh no, of course I wouldn't touch something so dangerous." Ryan thought for a moment and said, "Although I really want to help you, but... to be honest, I'm a little worried. Since it's such an important thing, what if you change your mind? What if I get it and give it to you, and you kill me to silence me? Ms. Haino, to be fair, is there really no such possibility? Wouldn't you be worried if you were in her shoes?"
"This... will."
Hainuo nodded.
Indeed, the difference in strength between her and Ryan was so great that if she went back on her word, Ryan would have no way to change his mind.
"So, there's nothing I can do to help," Ryan said, waving his hand.
"I can sign a contract with you!" Haino said in a deep voice. "We will sign an order contract and abide by it together, then we won't have to worry."
"Oh? That's an option."
Before Ryan could make a move, Haino took out the contract paper himself.
"I'll write it."
Ryan said.
Without hesitation, Haino handed him the paper and pen.
After a while, Ryan wrote down the contents of the contract on a piece of paper.
"According to the contract, I will help you obtain the relics, and in return, you agree to assist Grand Duke Magana when she succeeds... In addition, you cannot kill me, you cannot harbor hostility towards me, you cannot cause me any form of harm, you cannot have negative emotions towards me, you cannot..."
Ryan added a whole bunch of restrictions in one go.
"You... aren't you too afraid of dying?"
Hainuo frowned. Was she the kind of person who would forget kindness?
"It's better to be afraid of death than to be reckless, right?"
"What about the time limit?"
"Of course, we can't set a time limit. Even if the deal is done, we can't remove these restrictions. What if you want to kill me later?"
"... Fine, whatever."
Although it felt unnecessary, Haino was too lazy to argue with Ryan about these things. "Add one more thing: you must never use the relic, you must return it to me after you get it, and you can't tell anyone else."
As long as she gets her hands on the Pot of Greed, that's all that matters. As for killing Ryan? She hadn't even considered it. In fact, the two of them would never cross paths again after this incident, so what did it matter how many restrictions the contract imposed?
Haino just wants the Pot of Greed back!
"Alright, let's sign the contract."
"The great God of Order, the guardian of all justice in the world,"
With your boundless wisdom and power, you bring justice, balance, and harmony to all things...
Haino personally recited the incantation for the Order Contract. As their blood dripped onto the contract paper, an invisible power manifested, and the contract paper was burned by flames, its contents etched into each other's souls.
"Phew~ all done."
Haino breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Earl Ryan, you don't have to worry anymore, do you?"
"Yes, I'm relieved now."
"Well then, I look forward to your good news."
Having achieved his goal, Haino removed the barrier and quickly left.
After all, she didn't want anyone to see her getting into Ryan's car.
Goodbye, Ms. Haino.
Ryan smiled slightly.
He achieved his goal.
According to the contract, Haino cannot even show any hostility towards him, meaning that whatever Ryan does to Haino will basically only increase his favorability.
What does that mean?
Classic butter technique!
"The vice dean is still too naive."
"As everyone can see, she signed it herself; I didn't force her."
We'll talk about Hainuo in a couple of days. He'll find a place then to have a proper chat with the vice president.
Back at the camp, Ryan had planned to talk to Magana about dealing with Kalkart. He had just finished talking with 'Vainay' and naturally wanted to return to report to the Grand Duke.
"You can handle it yourself!"
Magana's voice came from inside the tent, preventing Ryan from entering.
Ryan was puzzled.
What's wrong with the Grand Duke?
Did she realize she's not actually 1.5 meters tall and get upset?
Shaking his head, Ryan returned to his residence and sent a magical letter to Kalkart, arranging the attack time for tomorrow.
Everything is ready.
The next day, Ryan stayed in his room playing video games and keeping an eye on things in the Kingdom of Lotte.
It's worth mentioning that Ina has already arrived in Baron from the Western Territory and went straight to the castle early this morning. Vainay has assigned her the job of Minister of the Interior.
With the new emperor's ascension to the throne, the power structure has been reshuffled, and the Old Emperor's Vainay have no intention of being reused.
Oh, Old Joe can still stay in the Burning Covenant and shine brightly.
In the afternoon, Ryan changed into the dress specially prepared for the engagement party and walked out of the tent just in time to see Magana coming this way.
The Grand Duke was wearing the outfit they had coordinated yesterday: a black dress and white stockings... Oh my gosh! A white-haired loli, the Grand Duke looks amazing!
"W-What are you doing?"
As Ryan stared at her, Magana felt that fluttering feeling in her heart again, just like she had yesterday.
"What are you looking at? It's not like we haven't seen this before."
Ryan laughed and said, "Everyone else looks bad in it, but the Grand Duke looks the best in it."
"Is that so..."
Is it really that good-looking? Magana didn't know either, but she felt that Ryan liked it, which made her quite happy.
Da da da da.
Just then, the carriage arrived.
"Let's go, Ryan."
Magana walked to the carriage and gracefully extended her hand.
"Yes, Your Grand Duke." Ryan walked over, took Magana's hand, and boarded the carriage, heading towards the castle.
Second update! Sorry it's a bit late, I accidentally slept until evening, ate a quick meal and rushed over to write. Another day of intensive updates, please vote with your monthly tickets! Let's go for it at the end of the month!
Are there any AI experts out there? I want to create some character designs but I don't know how. I've been trying for ages and nothing seems quite right.