CHAPTER 197: MEETING [1]

The night in the Sylvan Kingdom was as beautiful as the day.

One might say the night was a little bit better as the clear sky made it much more appealing.

The world tree of the elves glowed gently in the background as its light illuminated the place.

Akamir stared at the world tree for a while as he remained lost in his own thoughts.

’...Quite a few things don’t make sense in this world.’

Akamir thought as he let out a sigh.

Since he had arrived in this world, Akamir had seen a lot of things.

He had seen what was thought of as nothing but impossible in his previous world.

Though, he still remembered the five giants that covered the world.

’...Was that nothing but an illusion or is there something really out there?’

Oddly enough, Akamir couldn’t help but think of the five main gods/goddesses in this world.

Are they the ones who stood outside the planet?

Akamir didn’t know if it was true or not.

"My lord."

A voice made him turn around as he found a middle-aged man standing there.

"We are ready to go."

Akamir nodded as he looked down at his get-up.

Right now, he was wearing a full-body silver armour that covered his entire body.

A helmet was placed on the window side which he picked up.

Akamir was planning to join Nerco as his guard at the negotiation table against Lewin.

He could have gone for a more extravagant role like his partner or something.

But, he chose against it.

’Lewin is already guarded and I don’t want him to have any more reason to be wary of me.’

Akamir adjusted the straps of his silver armour.

"Let’s move," Akamir said, placing the helmet under his arm instead of wearing it right away.

---

Nerco, along with Akamir and a few more soldiers, moved out.

It was only a table negotiation, so they only needed to show them a sample and nothing more.

The walk through the Sylvan capital was quiet.

The elves respected the night.

Shops were closed, windows were lit with soft yellow glows, and the guards patrolling the roads didn’t make a sound.

’Maybe, it’s because of the curse as well.’

Akamir wasn’t sure, but he was more inclined to believe it was the latter.

Their destination wasn’t far.

At the edge of the city stood a dome-like structure made from intertwined tree roots and crystal glass.

It wasn’t heavily guarded like Akamir thought, as there were only two guards outside of it.

There wasn’t even a single soul except the two of them around the place.

’...Weird.’

Akamir thought, immediately getting more alert of the situation.

He kept his expression blank and moved into position behind Nerco without saying a word.

With the helmet covering his face, Akamir wasn’t in any immediate position of getting caught.

The guard bowed slightly as they arrived closer.

"Sir Lewin will join you in a while," he said respectfully. "Please wait inside."

Nerco didn’t seem to bother as he nodded. "Alright."

Akamir, though, was already aware of Lewin’s tactics.

’He is still playing the same game as before, huh?’

Akamir followed silently as Nerco stepped inside the dome.

The interior was simple—wooden floor, a long carved table at the center, and crystal chandeliers above, glowing softly like bottled starlight.

The light reflected on the curved walls, making the whole space shimmer.

Nerco took his seat at one end of the table. Akamir stood behind him, tall and unmoving.

A few more guards positioned themselves near the corners of the room, maintaining distance.

Akamir scanned the place again.

’Still too quiet.’

There weren’t even attendants bringing water or guards posted inside. Just emptiness... and silence.

Nerco seemed unfazed, leaning back in his seat. "He’ll try to make an entrance."

A few minutes passed.

Then the double doors creaked open.

Lewin walked in with a smile on his face, hands behind his back.

His long green robe trailed behind him, and a single brooch gleamed on his chest.

"My apologies," he said smoothly, "I didn’t want to rush a historic moment."

He sat down across from Nerco, still smiling.

"I hope you enjoyed the view outside. The Sylvan nights are beautiful this time of year."

"Let’s skip the small talk," Nerco replied flatly. "We’re not here for poetry."

Lewin chuckled, clearly not offended.

"Of course, straight to business then."

He clapped once, and the door opened again. "But before that, can you please send your soldiers out?"

Nerco narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"We need some privacy," he replied, dropping his smile. "I don’t want them here."

Nerco remained silent for a while before he nodded. "Get out."

Everyone accepted his order as they all walked out of the room... except Akamir.

Lewin immediately looked at him with a displeased face. "What about him?"

"He is my personal guard," Nerco replied calmly. "So he will stay."

Lewin didn’t seem to like it, but he didn’t push it either.

"Alright," he said. "Let’s start the trade."

Nerco nodded as he took out something from his space ring and placed it in front of him.

A sudden burst of life energy filled the place that Lewin noticed immediately.

His eyes widened as he looked at the spirit herb for the first time.

"This....."

"A spirit herb," Nerco explained calmly. "An upgraded version of the spirit leaves."

Lewin remained silent as he hesitantly reached out for it. "Can I?"

Nerco nodded. "Suit yourself."

Lewin gently picked up the spirit herb, holding it between his fingers like it might dissolve from a single breath.

The green glow pulsed faintly in his hand, and for a moment, his usual smug expression faltered.

"This is... far more refined than anything we’ve ever seen," he said softly, his tone almost reverent.

Akamir watched from behind the helmet, unmoving.

Every slight twitch of Lewin’s face was recorded, analyzed.

And he didn’t miss the faint gleam of greed that passed through the elf’s eyes.

"You said it’s an upgraded version?" Lewin finally asked, voice calm again.

Nerco leaned back, arms crossed. "Yes. It took a long time and more than a few sacrifices to create it. But it works."

Lewin set the herb back on the table carefully. "I assume you want a trade agreement, not just to show it off."

"Correct," Nerco replied. "We supply the herb—limited batches."

"How much?" Lewin asked immediately. "How much for everything you have now?"

"We will have a rather crude way to trade this one," Nerco replied softly. "We want pure gold in exchange."

Lewin didn’t seem to care. "How much?"

"Ten kilos of gold for one piece," he replied flatly. "One batch will have ten of them so, a hundred kilograms."

"...."

Lewin remained stunned for a while as he looked at him.

He remained lost in thought before he asked. "How much do you have right now?"

"I can give you fifty batches right now," he replied calmly. "Well, if you can afford it."

Lewin looked at the herb for a long while.

He seemed to calculate all the things that he needed to do or maybe he was just thinking about how beneficial it will be to him.

He let out a sigh as he said. "Fine."

Nerco smiled as he extended his hand. "Then it’s a deal—huh?"

Before Nerco could understand, Akamir pulled him back.

Bam!

Almost immediately, a sword that was aimed to cut his hand crashed into the table, splitting it in half.

Akamir pushed Nerco back as he raised his sword to block the intruder.

Nerco furiously glared at Lewin. "WHAT’S THE MEANING OF THIS!?"

"He isn’t my member!" Lewin remained as he seemed confused as well. "I don’t know him."

Akamir remained quiet as two more of them burst out of the shadow, attacking him.

One attacker swung low; Akamir sidestepped and slammed the hilt of his blade into the man’s ribs, knocking him to the ground with a heavy grunt.

The second one tried to strike from behind, but Akamir spun around, grabbed the assassin’s arm mid-swing, and twisted it violently until the man screamed.

The third, still standing on the broken table, lunged forward again.

Akamir raised his hand as he used telekinesis to make him freeze in his place.

He pushed the man towards Lewin, who still remained seated.

Before the man could even touch the body of Lewin, he was cut down into two.

Another man appeared in full black, protecting Lewin.

’Is he the one protecting him from the shadows?’

Akamir stared at the man for a while before ten more of them began rushing towards him.

"Tch."

Akamir clicked his tongue in frustration as he moved towards Nerco.

He grabbed him by his hand as he ducked one of them.

Akamir then grabbed another one with his free hand as he threw him into the double door.

Bam!!

The double door slammed open, and Akamir ran out of the room along with Nerco.

"What is happening!?" Nerco asked, still in confusion.

Akamir looked around as he found the dead bodies of all the soldiers outside.

The two Elven soldiers were along with them.

But Akamir’s gaze turned towards the moon.

As if to make the situation even more dire...

’...What?’

...There was a red solitude covering the moon.