Chapter 2693 Bond of the Heart <TOC> Chapter 2695 Developed Sentience
Translator: SumTLMan
“Should we discuss this here, or should we go to my residence to talk?”
Angel was actually still a bit hesitant about this question. Personally, he preferred going to the Sovereign of Wisdom’s dwelling because they would inevitably have to pass through the Sovereign of Wisdom’s Great Hall if they wanted to head to the ruin site. However, he was not alone now and naturally had to consider the others’ opinions as well.
The Sovereign of Wisdom probably noticed Angel’s hesitation. He said calmly: “You may discuss it among yourselves first and then decide.”
After speaking, he adopted an attitude of standing apart from everything.
Simultaneously, the Black Count’s voice came through the mental connection: “The Sovereign of Wisdom’s energy fluctuations have been drawing inward since he closed his eyes, so he isn’t eavesdropping on our conversation now.”
In other words, they could freely discuss everything in the mental connection right now.
“Really? Is he that kind? If I curse him out right now, he probably won’t hear me, right?” Without a doubt, it was Daus, with his ever-present irreverent tone, who said this.
He had barely finished speaking when, after only a few seconds, he began shouting in an exaggerated manner in the mental connection: “Were you lying to me? The Sovereign of Wisdom just glanced my way!”
“Sovereign of Wisdom, I wasn’t really insulting you. I was only joking around.”
The previous sentence was him complaining to the Black Count, while the latter sentence was him pleading for mercy from the Sovereign of Wisdom.
The Black Count said: “…I have no need to deceive you.”
Daus replied: “I don’t believe that.”
At that moment, the Sovereign of Wisdom spoke calmly: “Your thoughts are written all over your face. If you want to curse me in the mental connection, you should learn from the fellow beside you and not give yourself away.”
When he finished speaking, he opened the third eye on his forehead and gave a meaningful look at the person next to Daus… Vai.
Vai evidently did not expect the Sovereign of Wisdom to target him all of a sudden. He stared wide-eyed and began to stammer: “I, I… I didn’t, didn’t…”
“You may not have spoken it aloud, but inside your mind, you were indeed cursing,” the Sovereign of Wisdom said: “And it was not just once.”
Vai’s expression instantly turned rather unpleasant because the Sovereign of Wisdom was precisely correct.
Since he was a virtual shut-in who almost never went out, his only social interactions took place when he worked at his fortune-telling shop, facing customers. In Mesomiya, Vai’s fortune-telling shop was also called the ‘Ask-Death Shop,’ so the customers who came were either those who believed they were doomed or those who feared they were doomed, hence coming to Vai to inquire about their prospects of dying. Since extraordinary individuals’ “senses” often proved accurate, if the customers persisted in their worries, eight or nine out of ten truly would meet their end. Death is a very sensitive matter. Even if one suspects their impending doom, hearing someone else say so can make people uncomfortable. It can even feel like being cursed behind their back.
Because of that, many customers were exceedingly difficult. And because many of them had influence, Vai could not simply fly into a rage, so what he did most often was to smile outwardly while constantly grumbling inwardly.
This had basically become part of his everyday habit.
To him, venting his displeasure in secret once felt wonderful for the moment, and continuing to do so felt wonderful all along.
When he was watching Angel’s live broadcast illusion earlier, the undercurrent of complaints in his mind never really stopped. Apart from not cursing his own superior or Angel, whose “honeymoon period” had yet to expire, he had mentally complained about everyone else. Among them, Daus and the Sovereign of Wisdom were definitely at the top of his list.
He was especially upset when the Sovereign of Wisdom unexpectedly left the live broadcast illusion, scaring him into thinking the Sovereign of Wisdom was about to storm into the Earth Rampart to kill them. Fear had made him inwardly curse up a storm.
But to Vai’s surprise, it backfired badly this time because of the Sovereign of Wisdom, and he ended up crashing right into a brick wall.
Vai’s face went from red to white, at a total loss for what to say.
If he tried to explain, that felt wrong. If he did not, that felt wrong too.
While Vai vacillated, not knowing how to respond, Angel broke in and said: “These are trivial matters, so why concern yourself with them, Sovereign of Wisdom?”
As Angel spoke, he deliberately revealed the Wood Spirit behind him. The Wood Spirit was so frightened by the re-opening of the Sovereign of Wisdom’s third eye that it shrank its head back without daring to peek out.
The Sovereign of Wisdom glanced at Angel, then at the Wood Spirit, and finally let out a sigh without pressing the matter further. He closed his third eye again.
As the third eye shut, the oppressiveness in the air eased back into something calmer.
Vai also breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Angel with gratitude and reverence.
Angel, however, felt a little self-conscious at Vai’s gaze.
It was not that he was thin-skinned. Rather, it was because… Vai’s unpleasant predicament, in which the Sovereign of Wisdom sensed him secretly cursing, was partly Angel’s doing.
The reason the Sovereign of Wisdom could perceive Vai’s silent insults was that he detected the targeted negative emotions Vai was directing at him.
Thanks to their innate mental shields, wizards generally maintain excellent emotional control. Even someone as formidable as the Sovereign of Wisdom would have difficulty sensing another person’s emotional fluctuations directly without the proper gifts.
Vai’s emotions were so openly exposed because of the live broadcast illusion.
While Vai’s consciousness was focused on the illusion, he treated the illusion as his true body, so his actual body was letting those emotions out without restraint.
And since the Sovereign of Wisdom could easily distinguish between reality and illusion, he noticed Vai’s true body nearby, releasing directed negative emotions toward him at such close range. Even an ordinary individual might sense hostility in such a situation, let alone the Sovereign of Wisdom, whose sensitivity to emotions was off the charts.
This was one of the drawbacks of the live broadcast illusion.
For that reason, Angel had stepped in to help Vai.
“Is it true that all my thoughts are written across my face?” Daus mused in the mental connection.
“Ahem, none of that is important,” Angel insisted, not wanting to linger any further on this topic. He shifted the conversation: “Back to the main point, should we talk to him here, or should we go to his Great Hall? Also, concerning the next steps, whether we Stay or Leave and how the benefits are distributed, we need to discuss that again.”
The first part of Angel’s question was not that crucial to him personally. He cared more about the second part.
By ‘whether we stay or leave’ and ‘how benefits are divided,’ he was referring to what choices the Black Count and Daus might make, as well as the distribution of interests.
They each represented a different stake in this. The Black Count and Vai represented the Noah family’s interests, which, from what Angel could tell at the moment, made them the biggest beneficiaries of the present expedition.
Meanwhile, Daus and Kael represented the “additional gains” group. They might not get access to the major spoils.
Even so, Daus and Kael had contributed a great deal.
Kael was the actual owner of the key. Daus’ inspiration had helped them evade a lot of dangers and needless detours.
They could not just overlook their achievements.
Angel had already come to a private agreement with the Black Count, so that part did not need rehashing. But ensuring that Daus and Kael both got their fair share was still necessary.
Especially Daus.
All along, he might have acted like he was desperate to make a big profit in this excursion, yet whenever they found anything of value, he always deferred to the principle of distribution by need rather than seizing things for himself.
In reality, though, as a wandering wizard without any organization behind him, Daus was the one who could most use the proceeds, even if only from the here and now.
Angel understood this perfectly, so while he would occasionally remark that Daus only had eyes for immediate profit, when it came time to actually talk about proper distribution, Angel would stand up for him.
After all, as the leader of the expedition, Angel had an obligation to do so.
As for how to protect their shares, obviously it fell to the Black Count, the largest visible beneficiary, to guarantee it.
Angel might be a beneficiary too, but his real gain came through the Nightmare Plane, not from the ruin site in reality. He could skip making any demands for now because the others had no clue just how crucial that ruin site was to him.
When Angel finished, no one was more surprised than Daus. Ever since he discovered that this ruin site was linked to the Noah family, he had already guessed such an outcome.
However, Daus did not mind, because from his perspective, he had not contributed that much. He was only tagging along to take advantage of the situation.
In addition, his inspiration had awakened, and that gain alone was more than enough for him. What was more, he had continued to maintain a “friendship” with Angel, at least that was how Daus saw it, so he did not feel he needed any special privileges.
Yet if he really did get those privileges, he certainly would not refuse them. He simply never expected that the one who would mention “special privileges” would be Angel.
Daus hesitated for a moment, then said: “We can talk here or at the Sovereign of Wisdom’s Great Hall. It doesn’t matter to me. As for staying or leaving, I will definitely stay.”
After Daus finished, he looked over at Kael. The latter quickly followed up: “I will do the same as Daus. I, I still need to continue recording the historical remains here.”
Angel nodded, not commenting further. Instead, he turned his gaze to the Black Count.
The Black Count had apparently already considered this. He answered without delay: “Whether you speak here or in the Sovereign of Wisdom’s Great Hall is for you to decide. As for who will stay or leave, and how we distribute benefits, we can discuss it right now, or we can discuss it after we depart.”
Though the Black Count tossed the question back to them, his words made it clear that he would ensure the others’ gains.
The question of whether Daus and Kael would talk to the Black Count immediately or later would decide how much they ultimately received.
If they demanded their rewards now, they lacked any reference point for what benefits they might discover at the ruin site. Asking for more now would be a gamble that the real benefits from the ruin site might be modest, so they would aim above that baseline.
Waiting until afterward, however, meant a specific baseline would have been established, and it would be the Black Count initiating the conversation. At that stage, there would be no chance for a massive windfall.
In other words, negotiating now was a gambler’s dream, while negotiating later was the safer route.
It was up to Daus and Kael to decide whether to gamble or play it safe.
Based on Angel’s understanding of their personalities, he assumed Daus would be the impulsive gambler, while Kael would be more cautious.
To his surprise, they ended up reversed. Daus chose caution, while Kael went for risk.
Even more coincidentally, they cited the same explanation, saying that, so long as they received their due, the amount was secondary.
When Daus said it, Angel sensed his emotions radiating contentment and relief, suggesting that he genuinely believed as long as he got something, it would be satisfactory.
Though that clashed with Angel’s initial impression of Daus as a more impulsive type, it made sense upon reflection.
When they had been in Princess Town, Daus had shown interest in taking part in the Guman Kingdom turmoil for profit. Angel had originally thought that impulsive, but in retrospect, perhaps Daus was not reckless. He simply wanted a piece of the action. As a wandering wizard lacking the massive intelligence networks or backing of a wizard organization, it was much harder to land a hefty return in one go. That left him eager to dabble in any venture offering profit. He was not chasing enormous riches, only looking for a small windfall anywhere he could get it.
Kael, on the other hand, despite being a wandering wizard, had the support of his teacher, the “Dimension Walker” Aesop, and he could rely on his own skills to make a living, providing a stable income.
In that sense, Kael was quite like Angel. Both could rely on their craft to earn gold, so they had the luxury of gambling. Win or lose would not drastically affect them.
That explained why Kael opted to negotiate right away.
Still, if Daus really put in the effort, he could continuously earn a living by “hunting,” and his returns would likely surpass Kael’s. Nonetheless, he and Kael were fundamentally different. One was a formal wizard, while the other was merely an apprentice. Their desires differed, and so did their outlooks. That shaped their mindset regarding how much they hoped to gain.
Their varied perspectives, not simple personality traits, dictated their choices.
Once Daus and Kael had made their decisions, the Black Count directly initiated a private connection with Kael and spoke for a couple of minutes.
When they finished, Kael’s expression betrayed neither joy nor gloom, so no one could tell if the Black Count’s offer met his expectations. Yet as long as both sides agreed, that meant Kael’s share was settled.
Daus’ share, on the other hand, would have to wait until they left the underground sewers. Only then would he discover whether he would be happy or disappointed.
At that point, the Black Count turned his gaze back to Angel.
“What about you? Do you want to talk to me right now?”
Chapter 2693 Bond of the Heart <TOC> Chapter 2695 Developed Sentience