Legacy of the Dark Sage

Not wanting to miss the chance to buy Kyran's items and also form a connection with the alchemist who created them, Reynard was quick to choose the final card he could use in negotiations.

Returning Kyran's faint smile, Reynard replied, "You may not be short on money and items, but you may find something useful... at least, I believe we have some things in store that may pique your interest."

Kyran tilted his head. His expression showed slight interest.

Seeing such an expression from the young man before him, Reynard smiled and continued, "If you agree to sell your items to the Crepuscule Clan, then I will show you what the clan can offer. Would you like to enter the Crepuscule's Treasure Vault? You may choose anything you find interesting, and we will assess its quality versus the ones you have."

Kyran raised his brows and looked at Reynard curiously.

But even when he showed such an expression, the things that slipped from his lips were something Reynard had not expected.

"Did you think I'm a food? Did you think I wouldn't understand what you meant by your words? Offering to show your clan's treasures and yet assess the item I may find of interest according to your standards against my items? Is that the best you can offer?"

"That is not—."

"We haven't even built any rapport, yet you're already treating us like this."

"No— wait," Reynard hastily tried to explain himself. "Please, do not misunderstand my words."

"What did I misunderstand? Your words are spoken quite clearly. Right, Marigold?"

Marigold flinched at being singled out suddenly. She looked nervously from Kyran and then to Reynard, who was silently sending her a silent message with his eyes: 'Not to say anything stupid.' But in the end, she did not know what kind of answer would result in being considered stupid, so she answered, "V-Vice Head Reynard did speak very clearly..."

Technically, Reynard did speak clearly. If not, even Marigold, whom she considered pretty slow on the uptake, would need clarification on his words. But since she understood them perfectly, he spoke very clearly.

Alas, proving Marigold's slow-wittedness, she failed to comprehend what Kyran asked her, and she answered precisely how he wanted him to.

"You—!"

Marigold cringed in fear as Reynard shot her a deathly glare.

"I-I'm sorry!"

"Don't look at her like that," Kyran frowned at Reynard. "She only said the truth."

Reynard snapped his head toward Kyran and tried his best to control his emotions before saying, "S-Sir Null, please excuse my unsightly behavior just now. But I genuinely have no intention of treating you like a fool. My words might have come across differently, and for that, I apologize—."

"Are you saying that my comprehension is lacking and misunderstand your words on my own?"

"N-No! That is not what I—!"

"Forget it," Kyran grunted. "If the Crepuscule Clan disrespects us to this extent, then forget about selling our items to you; we will not even participate in the open auction."

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"!"

Alta, Leif, and Mira looked at Kyran in surprise.

"Are you serious?"

"W-Wait, Null."

"What are you...?"

Alta, Leif, and Mira reacted, respectively.

"Let us not burn the bridge before we've even crossed it—" Reynard started to pacify Kyran's mood again. But the latter already waved his hand, and all the potions and pills on the table disappeared back to his space storage ring before tugging on the young woman's hand by his side. After that, he escorted her out of the room.

The other women with Kyran looked at him and Reynard in confusion but eventually turned and followed.

"Wa-wa-wa-wa...." Marigold muttered nervously, unable to decide what to do next.

But then.

"Please wait a moment!"

Reynard used an amplification spell on his voice to ask Kyran and his group to stop.

Because Reynard's voice was amplified tenfold, the room shook from his voice's intensity, and everyone inside had to stop and cover their ears reflexively.

Reynard rushed to the door and stood before Kyran at once. He then lowered his head in apology and said, "Please accept my sincerest apology if my words earlier offended you. I understand what I have done wrong. Please allow me another chance to give my offer properly."

Kyran, forced to a stop because of the amplification spell's effect, looked at Reynard with a slight frown. However, he no longer attempted to walk toward the door and look at the latter in silent consent.

Reynard sighed in relief after seeing Kyran not attempt to leave the room again. He straightened his back, saying, "The Crepuscule Clan has various useful items that will definitely pique your interest. From my understanding, those potions and pills... you have concocted them yourself, am I correct?"

Still frowning, Kyran only nodded in response.

His response seemed enough, however, because Reynard looked delighted at that.

"Such profound Alchemical Knowledge! I believe you are the first... no, maybe even the only alchemist in the Higher Realm that has managed to attain a level closest to our Clan Head, Lady Estrid," Reynard said, singing praises at Kyran's Alchemy.

Kyran did not say anything and only kept on frowning at him.

Reynard's brow twitched slightly at Kyran's unmoved expression, and he cleared his throat in embarrassment.

"A-As I was saying," he hastily continued. "Our Clan might be the only one next to the Solis Clan with various items that others consider rare or even legendary. Why not check them out? If you find anything you want, then we will negotiate. I will not make any mistakes next time."

Frankly, Reynard could just detain Kyran and his group and steal his items. Moreover, their Clan Head, Lady Estrid, had a compelling and fearsome innate ability— mind control— that even The Emperor did not want to mess with her. If Reynard told her about Kyran's talent in Alchemy, she would definitely want him for herself. However, they still had to consider Kyran's unknown affiliation.

Rather than say unknown, it could be better to say ambiguous because Kyran did not declare it on the document he submitted to the docks upon entering their plane.

Kyran was not the only one. Each member of his group did not mention any affiliation. However, they did declare on their profile overview that they were from a newly established free-lance mercenary guild.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Judging by the other women with Kyran, apart from the one beside him, their levels were indeed impressive. As to Kyran himself and the young women beside him, Reynard admitted to being unable to see through their levels. This alone made him think that both probably belonged to a prestigious clan or tribe because only they could have a relic that could hide one's level.

If Reynard's guess was correct, Kyran and the young women with him probably belonged to a large or medium clan, and they were currently on a rite of passage of some sort and had to hide their identity. If this was the case, Reynard had to avoid getting on the wrong side.

Their clan might not be afraid of most clans because of Lady Estrid's special status in the Higher Realm; however, if the clan Kyran belonged to was a large or medium clan, they had to know who they were and establish a good rapport.

After all, given the quality of the potions and pills Kyran could make, his clan did not need to curry favor from Lady Estrid. Thus, the Crespuscule Clan lost a good card they could use to get them on their side.

Most importantly, Lady Estrid aimed to make the Crepuscule Clan the most powerful Alchemy clan in the Higher Realm. If there was another clan that produced an alchemist that could rival her, or at least close to becoming her rival, then they had to eliminate them if they could not be swayed into surrendering Kyran.

After all, the Crepuscule Clan still had another card to play, even if they lost the edge on Alchemy. Their clan had the most extensive intelligence network, and the variety of rare items at their disposal was vast. They did have a monopoly on items that could only be traded underground because of their underground auction.

"...Fine."

Reynard's face lit up when Kyran finally relented. He beamed at him and said, "I promise you will not regret this."

"..."

Reynard did not want to waste time and immediately suggested going to the Crepuscule Clan's Treasure Vault. Kyran agreed only after leaving Cyneah and the rest in the room with Marigold.

Initially, Reynard wanted the others, or at least Cyneah, to join them because if Kyran didn't find anything that tickled his fancy, maybe she would find one and convince him to trade. But since Kyran insisted on having them stay and look at the items being auctioned so they could buy whatever they wanted, Reynard did not insist.

From his understanding, Cyneah likely held similar authority to Kyran; thus, if good items were being auctioned, she was the only one apart from him who could decide whether to buy them.

After instructing Marigold to attend to Cyneah and the other women's needs as best as she could, Reynard and Kyran left the room and made their way to the Crepuscule Clan's Treasure Vault, located inside the inner city.