Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

'This brat enrages me to no end. I don't know what that lass Nina sees in him.'

Amory flared his nose as he listened to Eren's words. However, he did not speak nor did he attempt to create any tension. He had full confidence that Jiana was about to say no to the butcher's absurd offer.

Eren didn't care what Amory was thinking in the first place. He cleared his throat once again before addressing a pensive-looking Jiana.

"You must be aware that investing in guilds like these is considered a risky investment. There's no assurance of obtaining a guaranteed return on investment in such cases. There's also a chance the attacked cultist organization might target my guild as a whole in the future if I successfully absorb your guild into mine.

Plus, there's a thing about paying Master-ranked entities like you, which is not a sum that can be simply shrugged off by an upstart guild like me. My guild has just started earning what it was due from its inception. So we can say that I'm taking a really big leap when it comes to absorbing your guild."

Jiana was not pleased with Eren's words. At first, he made it sound like he was ready to gulp down her guild without even letting out a burp. Then he started listing all the negative points of doing so as if she was forcing him to do the same.

Eren could feel Jiana's displeasure from miles away. And he didn't need his soul sense for that. The elf woman had a pretty expressive face. He didn't let her register her dissatisfaction and proceeded to speak further.

"Of course, I'm not saying that to get a better deal for my guild. I'm just saying how much trust I am ready to invest in you. And I think you and your guild would be worth this investment."

Eren genuinely believed what he was saying to Jiana. He knew the healer would be able to break into Grandmaster rank without any difficulty. By this point, he had come to realize that the butterfly effect of his interventions also had its limitations. In the absence of external factors directly affecting the outcome, things will proceed more or less in line with the last timeline when it comes to one's personal growth.

Investing in a potential Grandmaster ranker alone made the friendly takeover worth it. Everything else was a bonus.

At first, Eren had only thought of making Nina and Amory enter the elemental pool and ask for compensation from Healers' Nirvana. However, he changed his approach when he learned about the guild's current condition. Forget about paying for two Master rankers' elemental pool sessions, the guild couldn't even afford to keep them anymore.

Plus, the butcher did not believe in deferred payments. He was especially skeptical about an irreversibly damaged guild like Healers' Nirvana paying him money in the future.

So he decided to buy the guild instead when it was at its lowest point like a smart investor.

He was sure that other prominent guilds would send their offers to Jiana soon once they learned the news and generated a damage report for themselves. He didn't need to do the same. He was not investing in guild assets but in the guild master herself.

Jiana was no idiot to not understand the intricacies of Eren's offer. She also came to realize that the butcher was indeed taking a huge risk by giving her this offer. This too, without confirming anything and taking everything at face value.

"Why are you doing this? What would you get?"

She finally asked after pondering for a few minutes. The butcher smiled as if he had almost reeled in a huge fish. He responded casually.

"My aunt Nina and you. You two are enough reasons for me to invest in your guild."

Amory had an ugly expression when he heard Eren's statement. His nose flared-- his hands turned into fists. His aura fluctuated once more, reflecting the anger he felt towards the butcher.

"*Cough. I kinda mean you three. I am sorry Master Amory. I forgot about you since you might… you know…"

Amory had grim lines on his face as he listened to Eren.

"Insolent brat, you think I'd drop dead at any moment. Is that it?"

"To be honest, yes."

Eren replied to Amory fearlessly. Which made the old man even angrier than before. Even he knew that Eren had said nothing wrong. But that didn't mean that Amory would have to take Eren's underestimation of him lightly.

Nina, on the other hand, was all smiles about the way he had prioritized her well-being. She would have been hesitant if Eren had simply offered to join his guild. That's because he didn't have the necessary resources to support her healer-specific needs. Plus, she didn't want to leave the bond of comradeship she had developed with Healers' Nirvana behind.

However, everything would turn out to be better if Eren managed to assimilate Healers' Nirvana into his guild. He could officially use its assets– which included unique potion formulas, arrays, limited-access spells, guild lands, and various other ranking resources.

Nina wouldn't have to deviate from her path or her guild members if and when the deal came through. She would also be able to stay as close to Eren as possible when it happened.

A friendly takeover by Eren would be a win-win situation for her. She wasn't sure if Eren could afford to initiate such a takeover at first. But one look at his newly erected city was enough to tell her that he had progressed far beyond what she could comprehend.

Nina was reminded that there was a time when she had to pay for Eren's academic studies. And the same guy had grown up to buy a prominent guild on a whim. One could tell how proud she was of his progress by looking at her face and body language.

'It… it feels like yesterday when he didn't even have the money to buy his undies. Hehe.'

Nina thought to herself and smiled as she looked at Eren's back. In her eyes, the latter had grown big in more ways than one.

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