Chapter 2696: Buying Silence
Date: Unspecified
Time: Unspecified
Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, TSR Guild Headquarters
"No, Petra. Thereās no point in trying to bribe me. It isnāt mine to trade with you," I replied, holding my ground against her temptation, as three massive stone rule ore veins were far from enough to satisfy my appetite. The more Petra offered, the more my craving grew.
"Then how about this?" Petra pressed. "Iāll give you those three stone rule ore veins and liquid stone rule power ponds if you stay quiet while I try to persuade Bloodette to come with me. Thatās something you can do, right?"
She tried to buy my silence, finally accepting that I felt too guilty to trade the blood rule rock vein for her stone rule ore veins.
"Yeah, but what kind of friend would I be if I didnāt help my friend when she needed my advice?" I continued to play hard to get, noticing that Petra was not only increasing her offer but also steadily lowering what she expected of me in return.
Petra stared at me in a sheer rage before snapping back, "The kind who, just a few minutes ago, was trying to sell his friendās valuables while she was struggling to cope with her inner turmoil and ghosts."
"I donāt know what youāre talking about," I replied, shamefully feigning ignorance.
"Ah!!!" Petra screamed in frustration, fully concluding that the Anti-Petruth would become a thorn in her path to bringing Bloodette back to their home.
In that moment, she genuinely wanted to kill him and beg for Bloodetteās forgiveness later. However, when she noticed a tiny pair of pink eyes peering at her from within his hair, she erased that thought immediately.
Petra knew that, if the choice were left to Bloodette, she would never return home with her. Even back then, Bloodette had been fascinated by card apprenticeships and their way of life. That fascination ran deep, enough for her to risk the stability of their entire group of friends. Now, with no recollection of that past bond, Petra believed it would be even harder to persuade Bloodette to come home instead of chasing her long-held interest in card apprentices.
That difficulty was only compounded by people like Anti-Petruth and Cortney, who would undoubtedly encourage her to stay. Because of that, Petra had planned to buy their silence. But seeing that she could not even purchase lowly Anti-Petruthās cooperation, how could she ever hope to buy Cortneyās?
After thinking it over, Petra decided to double down on her plan to buy their silence. She would only leave the card apprentice regions with Bloodette. If that failed, she intended to keep trying until Bloodette eventually gave up and returned home with her.
Petra glanced at Anti-Petruth and said, "Alright. Name the price for your silence."
"Petra, friendship doesnāt work like that. You canāt just buyā" I stared at her in disbelief and started to lecture her, but she cut me off sharply.
"Cut the bullshit. Drop the high-and-mighty act," she snapped. "Even without my Petruth rune, I can tell youāre full of it. Just name your price while Iām still feeling generous."
"Fine," I said, taking off my mask to put forward my quote. "I want at least five different rule ore veins. Each of them must be no smaller than the blood rule rock vein. That will be enough."
Seeing the sudden shift in my expression and demeanor, Petra was momentarily taken aback. She was only bluffing, she didnāt think it would work so effectively. She no longer seemed to care whether I was genuinely Bloodetteās friend or not. Without hesitation, she agreed, "I can arrange that."
Now that I had seen just how loaded Petra truly was, I finally understood why the card apprentices of the Five Regions were willing to risk their lives traveling deep into the Way Beyond to besiege the Supreme Beings. Compared to them, however, I chose a different approach.
I had a strong suspicion that if a Supreme Being made the request, another Supreme Being would not mind parting with a comparatively meager amount of resources. Petraās swift agreement only confirmed my belief.
"Good," I remarked before bringing up the next order of the business. "The same rates apply to Dredre, Corey, Lilā Baem, and everyone else present here, except for Cortney."
I made the demand knowing that, unlike us card apprentices, Supreme Beings did not break their promises, even verbal ones, unless they felt they were being deliberately cheated. I had no intention of screwing Petra over in a bountiful deal as this, so I wasnāt worried. Instead, I began actively helping her purchase the silence of the rest of us. I even called a few of my calamity daughter gems down to the basement specifically for this moment.
"Sure, but Iām paying for Dredre and Coreyās silence. Not the rest," Petra said, having caught on to my trick. "I donāt think Bloodette even knows them, and that snake keeps staring at Bloodette and me like weāre its next meal."
āDamn it, I forgot about her Petruth Rune,ā
I cursed inwardly as a brilliant opportunity slipped through my fingers.
"Hey, I never agreed to that," Corey suddenly protested. "Unlike him, you canāt buy my silence. Iāll tell Bloodette exactly what youāre doing right now."
Seeing Corey prepare to rat her out, Petraās gaze filled with murderous intent. Sensing the shift, Lilā Baem moved first, slithering in front of Corey as its body slowly expanded, slit eyes locking onto Petraās glare.
At the same time, another voice spoke up. "I wonāt sell my friendship either."
It was Dredre. She stepped forward, no longer hiding in my hair.
I walked over to Petraās side. She looked ready to fight both Lilā Baem and Dredre if it came to that, even though they were clearly far above her weight class.
I leaned in and whispered into her ear, "Just pay me. Iāll handle that tattletale and Dredre."
Petra turned to meet my gaze. When she saw me nod back with my most assuring smile, I added softly, "Trust me. Iām their boss."
After a brief pause, she finally withdrew her murderous intent and calmed down.
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