Sigrid was having her own meeting meanwhile, in the bank of fate. The meeting, was with the usual bank officer she dealt with. Sigrid had taken to calling her, the sadistic immortal.
The difference between the previous times she met the sadistic immortal and today was the fact that her new assignment was optional and there were no consequences if she turned the bank down.
This had been made very clear from the onset, even before the details on the assignment were mentioned.
Sigrid was loving it so much, the feeling of having the upper hand in a negotiation with the bank.
"So, I can say no and you are not going to torture me." She repeated for the fourth time because she needed clarification.
The sadistic immortal was already growing frustrated. "I will squish you like a bug if you do not stop annoying me deliberately."
Sigrid looked at the golden quill which she had always wanted to touch. "Can I touch it?"
"No." The sadistic officer answered in a tired voice.
"Why?" Sigrid asked.
"Because you cannot lift it."
"Can I try?"
"No."
"You are so mean."
The sadistic immortal just blinked. "Your ability to annoy is truly a talent. You are nearly as irritating as the letters written by your mother which Cosmos has circulated in this bank.
I have never seen so many bored banking officers looking for the opportunity to play fairy godmother. I look forward to the day when you have no business with this bank, Sigrid Thorin."
"Me too." Sigrid smiled dryly. "Now, before you tell me about this assignment, can we sign a contract that clearly states you will not harm me if I say no to you."
"No." The sadistic immortal answered. "And, if you keep asking annoying questions, I will kick you out and pick another transmigrator to come to your world and do the task." She leaned forward and smiled cruelly, "Maybe, I will give her the lucky halo."
Sigrid gasped and clutched her chest. "You bitch!!"
The sadistic immortal shrugged. "If you say no, I have to find someone else to do the job, just like you were found to help this bank retrieve the halo. Why are you saying no anyway? It has come to my attention that you no longer wish to be the all powerful empress." She laughed sadistically. "All that paperwork and the never ending meetings and the whining of officers one after the other. It is a bitch, right?"
Sigrid folded her lips. She did not want to give Mrs. sadistic the pleasure of being right, which she was. Lately, the ambition for power had dimmed. She was now happy just helping Roland while growing her own influence separately without having to be burdened with all the troubles of the empire.
She did not want to be like Roland, reading documents at 3:00 p.m.
She would rather watch tv, eat ice cream and eat Mauve’s pastries at that time. Or...have sex. Such a relaxed life was much more appealing than the 4:00 a,m to 12 midnight cycle she had lived in her former life.
Anyway, now, she had accumulated enough power not to be threatened by anyone in Eldoria. Within a few years, nobody in the world would be a threat to her.
"Oh, how wrong you are." Mrs. Sadistic laughed. "There are mages in your universe that are more powerful than you are. It is just that these individuals have contracts with the bank so when the system was helping you scan for the powerful mages in Eldoria, these people were left out."
This news made Sigrid sit up. "Who? Who dares to be more powerful than me?"
Mrs. Sadistic smiled cunningly, "Ah, so you are now interested."
Sigrid shifted in the chair. "I am willing to listen." This matter was now related to her survival. How could she ignore it?
Mrs. sadistic snapped her fingers once and a big red book appeared on the table. "This bank does a lot of business on worlds with magic. Sometimes, people borrow things and they don’t return them to us. The bank is too busy to collect debts so we borrow the hands of others to collect debts for us by any means necessary. Of course, we provide back up and resources needed for you to accomplish this attack."
Sigrid pushed forwards. "What kind of things have these people borrowed?"
Mrs. Sadistic started reading off names and what was borrowed.
"Dogan Elspeth, he was born human and he burned with a desire to be a mage. He was lucky to stumble onto the bank and we lent him a magic root. That was eight years ago. It should have been returned by now but Dogan decided he had other plans."
"So, you want your root back." Sigrid said calmly.
"Yes." Mrs. Sadistic nodded. "There are others like Nashira Sage, she borrowed a staff. It was supposed to be used for ten years but let’s just say two hundred years have passed and now she thinks she owns it.
Nether Ximina or Netherlight as she went by. She borrowed a pair of eyes that can look into the future. She went into hiding with our eyes and we would like them back because there is a new client that is need of them urgently. If you accept this task, she is the first defaulter we need you to find."
She flipped another page in the red book. "We have Jamir Agoth. He borrowed a mirror which would allow him to change his face. At the time, he was a wanted man whose family had been wrongfully persecuted and wiped out.
He took our mirror, involved himself in evil and he has been on the run for so long....five hundred seven years to be exact. Hmph, this one has really lived a long life. We need our mirror back and he needs to die.
Maldrine Erythis, the one that decided to turn herself into a goddess. When it was time to return the soul crown she was lent, she turned herself into a sculpture and started collecting soul power from believers. The power of the lucky halo is so great that the statue is cracking and she is about to return to the real world.
She also has to die...after you get our crown back of course." She looked at Sigrid and said with emphasis, "They all need to die. It is the price that one pays for cheating this bank. They signed this into their contracts.
I have twenty four names and all of these wonderful people will be converging on Eldoria thanks to the lucky halo. I can either bring a an outside hunter or you can be our hunter."
"What do I have to gain?" Sigrid asked Mrs. Sadistic.