At that, Sett's face lit up with delight, but he quickly hid it. He knew that when negotiating, the last thing you wanted was to let the other party see how pleased you were.
"That's it? There aren't any other conditions?" He tried to get a better deal.
Chen Ce knew what he was up to, but there was nothing wrong with that.
"Of course there are." He took another heavy bag from Ahri. "Since this is a deal, money is essential. Three hundred gold coins. I'll make sure Lady Dadana gets them."
It was all money he had won gambling that night. He'd bet fifty gold coins that Sett would knock out his opponent in one round and won more than five hundred.
Come to think of it, he'd earned that money thanks to Sett.
Giving three hundred of those five hundred-plus coins to the man who'd made it possible didn't bother him in the slightest.
"Three hundred..." At the number, Sett instinctively sucked in a breath.
After all, even winning the championship that night had earned him less than a hundred.
The Imero Stone pair might have been incredibly rare, but they weren't easy to sell. During the war, many wealthy merchants who enjoyed collecting had other things to spend their money on. Few would fork over a fortune for a pair of "ornaments" that were good for nothing but looking at.
"Besides, I'll tell the Resistance Army nearby to look after Lady Dadana. I won't let those rumors reach her ears again." Chen Ce offered one final condition Sett couldn't refuse.
Under that three-pronged attack, even someone as stubborn as Sett had to give a little.
"Not a bad deal..." Keeping his eyes fixed on Chen Ce, he took the pair of Imero Stones that had made Ahri so excited from the bag. "I hope you'll keep your word."
"Of course." Chen Ce took the Imero Stones and gave a crisp Resistance Army salute. "I hope we work well together, comrade."
"Hmph..." After the deal was done, Sett brushed the dust off himself and headed home without looking back.
Chen Ce didn't take offense at his rudeness. He simply waved goodbye. "I'll come see Lady Dadana tomorrow. See you."
Clack. The door closed softly.
Meanwhile, Ahri was holding the pair of Imero Stones in both hands, so excited she could barely contain herself. Her fox ears stood straight up, and her nine tails swished like fan blades.
"I got your gemstones back. Any ideas?" Chen Ce asked casually. "About the mystery of your origins?"
"I can feel a strange power in these gemstones!" Ahri answered at once. "It's the kind of power... yes, the same kind as mine! I'm sure I can find some clues in them!"
As she spoke, she took out the pair of Twin Gemstones she had been carrying with her.
Brilliant energy, like blue fireflies, swirled around the Twin Gemstones. The wondrous power connecting them to the Spirit Realm was soothing to the soul.
Before long, the same brilliant energy began to glow from the Imero Stones she had just acquired.
Ahri's eyes brimmed with longing, and she even seemed a little dazed. It was as though she had glimpsed some secret within the Imero Stones.
Chen Ce didn't disturb her. He simply stood to one side and waited quietly.
He had only one thought now...
Now Ahri could use "double Q" too.
Like a charge-up skill, she could fire off two Q abilities at once.
Mm... support Ahri really was pretty strong.
My Ahri got a double-Q kill!
Chapter 48: A Friend's Mother
Ahri hadn't said a word for a whole day.
Ever since she'd gotten the pair of Imero Stones, she'd been pouring magic into them and staring at their surfaces. She was so focused she seemed less fascinated than possessed.
Yes, she hadn't even slept. She'd spent the whole night studying the Imero Stones.
Even when Chen Ce rubbed her tails, she didn't react. Normally, she'd have blushed and let out some strange sound.
This was getting ridiculous.
"Ahri, you're studying the Imero Stones again. How about taking a break?"
At sunset, Chen Ce gave the nine fluffy tails one last rub, then pointed at the dinner on the table.
"I just want you to eat properly."
"Quiet, quiet. This is the crucial part, don't disturb me..." Ahri replied impatiently without thinking.
But she quickly realized who she was talking to.
"I mean... I'll eat in a bit. Just leave it on the table, please. Thanks~"
"You're practically going to lose yourself in this..." Chen Ce shrugged helplessly. He stopped trying to persuade her and turned to get ready for his own plans.
He had the Imero Stones, but he still had one last thing to do to fulfill his agreement with Sett. He had to visit Lady Dadana again and use a kind lie to conceal the fact that Sett had been fighting in the Underground Fighting Pit.
Once he'd taken care of that, they could continue toward Fae'lor Island.
"Badge, gold coins..." Chen Ce began gathering the things he'd need to bring that night.
Just then, something sharp suddenly sliced through the air.
Almost by reflex, he snatched up Doran's Spear, which was lying beside him, and looked toward the sound. It had come from outside the window.
A white shape was speeding toward him.
Chen Ce prepared to strike.
But... as the "thing" drew close, it suddenly slowed down.
Once it came right up to the window, Chen Ce saw that it was only a pigeon.
A very unusual pigeon: a Four-Winged White Dove.
This was a unique creature native to Ionia. Using its strange connection to the Spirit Realm and the fluctuations of its energy, it could deliver messages across a thousand miles. It didn't even need a fixed destination, only a specific recipient. All you had to do was let it sense an object bearing some trace of the recipient's magic.
It came to rest outside the window and pecked at the glass with its sharp beak.
Chen Ce immediately realized someone had sent him a letter.
"Is it from Irelia...?" he wondered as he opened the window to retrieve it.
Four-Winged White Doves were incredibly effective messengers. They were also extremely rare. Even wealthy merchants and prominent figures were reluctant to use them for ordinary letters. They were reserved for urgent, secret messages.
So Chen Ce's first thought upon receiving one was that the Resistance Army had run into an emergency. Irelia had a Four-Winged White Dove of her own and only used it when the situation was urgent.
But when he opened the envelope, he found that the letter had come from across the ocean, from Noxus.
It was from Samira.
The message was brief, but it efficiently covered all the important points:
[In seven days, within the next half month, a small warband will land at Reef Strait south of Wuju. It will be transporting a large quantity of alchemical weapons from Zaun.]
[Also, I still haven't found the person who previously hired me to kill you. Please give me a little more time.]
[Samira]
Short, concise, and clear. It suited Samira's style perfectly.
"The pieces are starting to move..."
After reading the letter, Chen Ce didn't hesitate. He tore it to shreds, then took out paper and a pen and wrote a new letter to send to Irelia. This intelligence was extremely important to the Resistance Army. They couldn't afford to delay.
By the time he was done, the sun had completely disappeared behind the mountains.
Ahri was still engrossed in studying the Imero Stones, seemingly unaware of everything that had just happened.
Chen Ce didn't mind. He sat by the table and thought for a while.
A moment later, he stood up with the cloth bag in hand.
Tonight's plans wouldn't change, but he might have to add a few things to the itinerary...
There might even be a "second round" to his deal with Sett.
"Ahri, I'm going to see Lady Dadana. Take your time studying the Imero Stones."
"Okay~" Ahri replied distractedly. "Come back early tonight, and don't stay too late playing with Mrs. Dadana. I'll lend you my tails to use as a blanket again tonight~"
"...What nonsense are you talking about? See you."
"Bye~"
Night fell, and Sett once again dragged his exhausted body home.
Today's opponents hadn't been as strong as Avase yesterday, but there had been more of them. After fighting several matches in a row, he hadn't been badly hurt, but he was still completely worn out.
At least the prize money was good today.
As a half-beast, he healed much faster than an ordinary human. The minor injuries he'd suffered yesterday had almost completely healed. He'd been able to remove the bandages from his hands, and his new skin showed barely any trace of the wounds, save for a few thin, earthworm-like scars.
He also made better time on the way home than he had yesterday.
The journey had taken him well over an hour the previous day, but today it took only forty or fifty minutes before he spotted the cozy little house, still lit up.
The warm, yellow candlelight spilled from the windows, while the bright moon illuminated the road beneath his feet.
Sett felt a warmth in his heart. He couldn't help quickening his pace, and with every step, his weariness and pain seemed to vanish into the evening breeze.
But... just as he was about to reach the door, he suddenly stopped.
He'd heard a man's voice.
"Not at all. Mrs. Dadana is still young, and her skin is lovely. She's beautiful too... She looks just like a girl of seventeen or eighteen."
"Oh, dear... but I'm already in my forties. Calling me a girl feels so awkward..." This time, it was his mother's voice.
Sett's heart lurched, and a nameless fury rose within him.
He didn't need to guess who that smooth-talking, silver-tongued man was.
The moment he opened the door, he saw the man he despised: the Resistance Army soldier from Placidium.
The man was sitting on the sofa with his mother, chatting and laughing.
"You're back?" Lady Dadana's smile grew even brighter when she saw her son. "Chen Ce came by today too. He's such a good young man."
"Good?" Sett's eyes sharpened, and he looked at Chen Ce.
The other man was smiling at him.
Fresh fruit, a bag of gold coins, and a Resistance Army badge sat on the table nearby.
"He's all right, I guess. At least he kept his word... But the really decent thing to do would be to leave as soon as he'd fulfilled his promise, instead of shamelessly hanging around here."
The room fell silent.
After a moment of shock and confusion, Lady Dadana furrowed her brows. "Sett! How can you be so rude as to kick out our guest? Especially when Chen Ce has been so kind to us!"
"Chen...?" Hearing her call him that only made Sett angrier.
But before he could say anything, his mother sternly ordered him to sit down.
He didn't dare disobey.
But he could still speak. "Mom! Don't be fooled by his harmless-looking face. He's deliberately—"
"That's enough, Sett!" Lady Dadana cut him off angrily. "Chen Ce is our guest, and he's helped us. I won't allow you to speak to him like that, and I won't allow you to slander him!"
After a brief pause, she coldly pointed toward the bathroom. "Go take a bath and cool off. Don't interrupt me and Chen Ce while we discuss something important."
"..." Sett's eyes burned with fury, and his ham-sized fists clenched tightly.
Unfortunately, all he could do was stew and curse under his breath.
Something important? What could Chen Ce possibly have to discuss with his mom? He was just after her looks! That wretched bastard! He wanted to rip that slick-talking mouth of his in half!
The atmosphere in the living room had turned icy. Sett could only glare viciously at Chen Ce and warn him with his eyes while cursing him in his mind, then...
He meekly went to take a bath.
His mother's orders mattered more to him than the Spirit of Ionia. He wouldn't dare disobey.
After Sett left, Lady Dadana gradually returned to her usual gentle, dignified manner, though a trace of guilt still lingered in her lovely eyes.
"Sorry, Chen Ce. Sett is just like that, but please believe me when I say he doesn't mean any harm..."
"I understand." Chen Ce smiled and nodded. "I can understand how he feels too. He just cares about you a lot."
"Ah... He's not a child anymore. He should really be focusing more on himself..." Lady Dadana shook her head, and her beautiful, pale-pink hair slipped from her right shoulder.
"Let's get back to what we were discussing... You said I'm still young, so I don't need to worry about being unable to learn the things the Resistance Army girls are teaching me? Is that... really all right?"
Before you continue