Yes, if it wasn’t obvious enough by now, Xenos had talked loudly back then on purpose.
He wanted the one tailing him to come out so that he’d trap them here.
Eat and deal with the rat behind the scenes in one go.
Even if the anger he showed was mostly an act, the emotion that stirred in him wasn’t.
The moment he saw them fall, something old inside him burned awake.
A memory that, even now, after accepting it before Death, still made his chest tighten.
It was a bit surprising to know that House Hades had employed Zelus, or perhaps it was he who went to be employed by Thanatos, begging them for a collar; either way, the bastard was too weak.
Now there were only two proper ones left.
Two real villains, but that was for later.
He leaned back, closed his eyes, and let out a slow, satisfied breath.
The banquet wasn’t ending after all. Follow current novᴇls on novel•fire.net
It was high time he enjoyed himself.
Light leaked through a luxurious set of curtains the next morning.
Xenos blinked awake to find himself lying in a ridiculously soft bed with white sheets and embroidered pillows, making him feel like he’d just committed a financial crime by sleeping in it.
"This thing’s so soft it’s disrespectful."
He rubbed his eyes while groaning.
’Good morning, Xenos.’
Eris’s voice hummed faintly beside his thoughts.
He sat up and stretched until his back popped.
There was a brief pause.
"Yep. I’m taking you on a date."
Something of a static pop hit through their link.
Xenos would’ve mistaken it for his back if not for—
She stammered so hard he swore he could feel Her blush.
"Sorry to surprise you, but I want to go buy something."
Xenos barely stopped himself from laughing at Her.
"So yeah, I might as well call it a date while I abuse the market a little with all this drachma I now have."
Having calmed down a little, She nodded.
’I understand, but abuse how?’
He just smiled to himself and started getting ready.
"Wait and you’ll see it. You’ll enjoy it. I promise."
After a few deep breaths, Eris’s voice steadied further.
’Fine... what are you even going to buy?’
Xenos quickly put on his usual clothes.
"For the one I’m going to propose to."
That froze Her solid.
He nodded and walked over to the window.
Slowly, Her voice returned, quieter this time:
"But that’s secondary."
Xenos added with a shrug.
"My main goal is to break the market."
’Is that what you meant by abuse earlier?’
His tone was far too casual for that statement.
"I can’t dupe glitch in this realm, so I’ll do it the fun way~."
After a long bath that steamed the whole room and breakfast with Arc and Aspen—the two of whom were still recovering from the madness of last night, now planning to go off and do their own thing—Xenos finally stepped into the city proper.
As most might expect from a city, the market square was enormous.
Its stalls stretched in every direction, selling shiny metal contraptions, incredible clothes, Scrolls, and even cages with tiny monstrous creatures inside.
Those weren’t all that cute, so thankfully, Xenos didn’t go and break them free.
People shouted prices from every corner, bargaining like their lives depended on it, which they did. It was a bit annoying, but he was somewhat used to sounds .
It reminded him of what once was his home in his old world.
And right at the beginning, a small stall caught his eye.
Or rather... forged runes.
He stopped in front of the table and its many mirrors.
Someone had gotten a Rune that made fake Runes...
It would’ve been hilarious if it weren’t so pitiful.
’Yeah... this guy would definitely have fit right back home.’
Xenos thought, deadpan, and the merchant smiled nervously at him.
"Care to browse, sir? These are genuine, authentic Runes!"
"That one says nuity. You missed a few letters."
"ᛪᚴᛂᚾᚾᛉ. Should be ᛪᚴᛑᛑᛂᚾᚾᛉ. Nullity, not nuity. This one can’t null anything except my wallet."
Thankfully, Xenos’s Beholding Eyes saw right through the forgeries.
Some looked real but missed one or two Arcane that rendered them harmless trinkets.
It was quite obvious to Eris, too.
Perhaps that was how the Main and Great Houses kept the rest on a leash, giving them the chance of the bare minimum only to pull the rug from under them...
They wouldn’t want any variable to challenge their power, never mind eclipse it.
Xenos mused while stepping back.
’They’ve probably supplied him with these Divine Mirrors too.’
Eris hummed quietly in agreement.
’It’s a cruel but clever system. Politics is a dirty game.’
’Mm. It is dirty and is a game... the axe made of wood trick.’
He could feel the tilt of Her head.
’The axe is cutting down the forest...’
He answered absently while walking on.
’And all the trees are cheering for it because the handle’s made of wood. The idiots think it’s one of them.’
’They’re literally culling competition before it sprouts.’
’So boiling the frog slowly...’
Eris murmured a somewhat similar meaning phrase.
Xenos adjusted his tunic, watching the bustling crowd.
That was also why the Houses pushed such hatred for those of Derived Elements.
Even though they themselves were of Derived Elements. Because, again, Runes were rare, and the more competition they had, the harder it’d be to find the right Rune to rank up.
’If we are ’this realm’s resistance,’ then do you plan to fix it?’
’I plan to break it.’
He would make sure of it.
This was his goal after all.
It wasn’t a hero’s goal, far from it.
There were heroic consequences.
Xenos wasn’t that type of character.
But sometimes, bad people made the right kind of noise.
’Where I come from, they used to say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions...’
And he could be a very bad man.
’Mine to heaven will be paved with bad ones.’
That was why Death liked him.
’Now let’s start breaking the market.’