Jiang Yu was rather annoyed once he realized he had been played.
Granted, Aha had no obligation to drop any power for him.
It was like being pranked by a close buddy. He had a bellyful of frustration, and he needed to find a chance to prank him back!
If Aha could pull stunts, why couldn't I, Jiang Yu?
Let's set a modest goal: spread "Aha, for crying out loud" throughout the entire Tavern first.
As for my first target...
Jiang Yu raised his head, his gaze settling on Sampo's face.
Sampo noticed Jiang Yu's gaze. He had no idea what this "colleague" was thinking, but it probably wasn't anything too outrageous, so he remained immersed in his performance.
When he heard that March 7th and Stelle didn't know who Gepard or the Silvermane Guards were, he first looked surprised. A brief moment later, his expression shifted to an easy, knowing look. Finally, the corners of his mouth curled upward, his foxlike, crafty eyes narrowed slightly, and even his tone grew relaxed.
"Oh, you're not Silvermane Guards? You should've said so! Fighting our own people-what was the point of that?
"Sampo Koski. Pleasure to meet you."
Seeing Sampo introduce himself, the "young and naive" Stelle nodded and gave her name as well.
The gray-haired girl even smiled. Her golden eyes were so clear that she practically had "You're actually pretty nice" written across her face.
"Right, right, I'll remember that. Honestly, I never expected to run into fellow professionals out here in all this ice and snow.
"Business hasn't been great lately, but don't worry. I, Sampo, never keep all the spoils to myself. There's a huge treasure trove out here. Why not all make a fortune together? Hahaha."
Sampo rested one hand on his hip, his tone playful and his smile thoroughly affable.
"Why don't we team up? I've got reliable intel: the bulk of the Silvermane Guards have been sent to the front lines. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..."
Stelle's eyes lit up when she heard Sampo mention treasure.
Then she raised a hand to her chin, looked at Sampo, and asked, "What kind of business?"
Sampo, however, put on an innocent expression and said:
"...That's a bit much, folks. It's fine if you don't trust me, but you don't have to play dumb to this extent, do you?
"All right, I know the rules. We're all in the same line of work. A little caution is understandable! Blame me for being so naturally warmhearted and innocent...
"Meeting like this must be fate, after all. Ask me anything you'd like to know. I'll tell you everything I know, without holding anything back! But let's keep it brief. The Silvermane Guards could show up at any moment..."
Dan Heng and Jiang Yu silently watched Sampo put on his act.
The former still didn't fully trust him. As for the latter, if he hadn't known something about the plot beforehand, he probably would've been like Stelle and March 7th beside him, trusting Sampo somewhat and taking an interest in the treasure and business he mentioned.
After all, Uncle Cold Feet was quite skilled at this sort of thing.
Fortunately, old Sampo wasn't an outright villain, so there was no need to worry about everyone getting swindled out of even their underwear.
Hearing Sampo's words, Stelle immediately asked why he had been hiding in the snow.
Sampo promptly adopted an expression that mixed innocence with a hint of grievance.
"Me? You scared me, that's why... I was just poking around here and there, hoping to dig up some ancient relics and make a little money... Then you made such a racket that I thought the Silvermane Guards were coming.
"Please, I'm begging you. Keep it down next time. Seriously. If the Guards run into you, they won't be hiding in the snow. And you? You'll be sitting in a jail cell..."
Jiang Yu shook his head. "From what you've said, it doesn't sound like you're in a legitimate line of work.
"Those Silvermane Guards you're so afraid of are this planet's police or law enforcement, right?"
As he spoke, Jiang Yu lifted the Blazing Glory Creation in his hand and waved him around.
"If they're law enforcement, surely they'd come help if they saw defenseless travelers like us being attacked by Fragmentum monsters?"
"Uh..."
Sampo was at a loss for words.
"And seriously, you're so tall, and you look pretty strong too. How much could you possibly earn rummaging through ancient ruins out here?"
Jiang Yu wagged a finger at Sampo, then pointed toward the distant Bud of Erudition.
"With your skills, you might as well try the Bud of Erudition. Maybe you could get some gold coins to drop!"
"You're joking. I only look a little intimidating. How could I possibly beat those Fragmentum monsters around the Bud of Erudition?" Sampo shook his head and waved his hands repeatedly, acting as though he were terribly weak.
"How could that be?" Jiang Yu leaned over to look behind Sampo. "You're walking on snow this soft, but you haven't left so much as a single footprint."
Hearing Jiang Yu's words, March 7th and Stelle leaned over to look as well.
They found that their own earlier footprints still left faint traces, but Sampo really hadn't left a single footprint on his way over from the snow mound!
"That's amazing!" Stelle exclaimed.
Sampo's breathing briefly caught, and he immediately explained:
"Haha... In our line of work, of course we have to be careful. It'd be bad if the Silvermane Guards caught us because of one careless mistake. This is just a little trick I know. I'm no good in a head-on fight."
As he spoke, Sampo frantically signaled to Jiang Yu with his eyes.
Colleague, friend, brother, buddy, my man!
It's really not cool to butt into someone else's performance like this!
Perhaps it was a blessing of Elation, or perhaps it was the result of Sampo's own training, but he could manipulate practically every nerve and muscle in his face at will.
Even as he signaled so frantically, his control kept anything unusual from showing on his face, as though he were conveying everything through his eyes alone.
Unfortunately, Jiang Yu couldn't understand him, rendering all that effort wasted.
After all, Jiang Yu wasn't a Masked Fool and didn't know any secret signals. Nor had he spent enough time with Sampo to develop any mutual understanding.
If Sampo hadn't possessed such miraculous control over his facial expressions, Jiang Yu probably would've simply asked whether his face was cramping.
Still, although he couldn't decipher those looks, Jiang Yu had no intention of making things difficult for Sampo.
Come to think of it, compared with their little Trailblaze team, Sampo, as a local, should be able to reach an inhabited area faster.
So Jiang Yu smiled and said:
"I get it. No problem. You seem like someone who knows how to work every angle. You must have plenty of connections, right? Want to talk business with me?"
As soon as Jiang Yu finished speaking, March 7th and the others turned to look at him.
Sampo perked up at the mention of business too. "What kind of business?"
"Here, this."
Jiang Yu raised the Blazing Glory Creation in his hand.
"Huh?"
Three cries of "Huh?" rang out, from March 7th, Stelle, and Sampo respectively.
"What do you mean, huh? He's nice and warm, right?" Jiang Yu asked.
All three nodded.
"Then, with this place being so cold, shouldn't a convenient, warm heating device like this be really popular?"
Sampo looked at Jiang Yu, opening his mouth and raising a hand several times, only to hesitate. Finally, he said, "Buddy, that's a Fragmentum monster. What ordinary person would dare use him? Besides, wouldn't it be pretty hard to mass-produce something like this?"
"Then that's a matter of marketing and manufacturing techniques. We can leave that sort of thing to people with more expertise. And if we're going to talk business, doing it out here in the ice and snow isn't ideal, is it?"
Jiang Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, a confident smile spreading across his face.
Before you continue