Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"Are you done with your work here, Eren?"

Altashia asked when Agatha finished the process. Eren shook his head in denial before retrieving a rune-sealed document from his storage. He walked ahead to the counter once again and unsealed the rune with his mana sense before presenting it to the counter lady.

"I'd also like to register this plot of land under White Raven's property."

This was the same plot of land Eren had bought from Dianna Remus. A considerable amount of fortune earned from Purgatory and his other adventures had been spent on it. That included the money he had earned from selling the artefacts he had received from the slain soldiers and all his other victims.

Of course, he had kept some of the useful things to himself. But Eren had slain too many high profile rankers while he was in the Lionheart duchy. Most of the artefacts and other items he had received from them carried heat. Especially the army-issue artefacts.

So he had sold the artefacts to a pawn shop that was linked with a cultist group and made quick bucks from them. Although he only received around half the value of the artefacts' original price, their quality and quantity had given him enough Extols to meet his ludicrous needs.

The counter lady checked the document by placing it over the array disk and validated it to be real. The plot of seemingly dead land was soon registered under White Raven Guild's banner.

Agatha was stunned by how much the butcher planned ahead in terms of guild assets. She wasn't aware that he had also secured the property for the guild even before making the guild a reality.

"Now, I'm finished. At least here.

Let's celebrate. Altashia, treat us to a tasty lunch. You know, to congratulate us on the foundation of our guild and the acquisition of its assets. Hehe!"

Eren said to the warrior ranker while placing his arm over the other side of Agatha's shoulder in a friendly manner. He had tilted over to the anthrope, placing half of his body weight on her.

"Hmph! You are shameless. It should be you who treats me for owning something like this."

Altashia complained when she heard Eren's ridiculous demand. The latter sighed and admitted the truth.

"We should have. But as you can see, we had to pay for so many things all at once. We are broke now."

Eren said with a helpless sigh. Agatha heard this and tried to open her mouth to speak but Eren stopped her from doing so by contacting her via ID stone communication.

'Don't say a word, woman. There is no doubt you have received plenty of profit from our legal and illegal sale of potions. But Altashia doesn't know that and I'd like to keep it that way.

Running a guild is no joke, Agatha. We will need to spend every penny with utmost caution.

Besides, that girl is loaded. It would be a waste to not profit from her.'

Eren quickly said all he had to say to Agatha without Altashia hearing about it. The anthrope sighed when she realized that although her master had indeed changed in some aspects, his core beliefs had remained the same. He was the same frugal and greedy businessman she had known him as.

"*Sigh. Alright. Let's find someplace to eat first."

Altashia gave up arguing about petty things with Eren. She had already learned her lesson not to engage with him in a verbal spat. It was much easier to beat his ass than to win an argument against him.

**********************

"I'll have some Ace Ranked steak along with a bottle of Frostfoam as a starter. Then I'll have some…"

Eren kept on adding multiple cuisines to his menu when a mortal waiter came to take the table's order. He, Agatha, and Altashia were now patrons of a well-known restaurant named Amazing Arangar, which was near the city admin building. They had reserved a patio table on the first floor. The floor was empty except for a few groups of rankers who seemed to be busy among themselves.

Eren placed orders for both himself and Agatha as if he was treating her. He then looked at Altashia, who was staring blankly at the butcher's behaviour.

The warrior ranker sighed and ordered a couple of dishes for herself as well. This was the first time she had met someone who would ask for a treat from her while trying to date her. The butcher had become a unique existence in her eyes as a result.

"Altashia?"

The trio heard a distinct voice directed at their table just when the food arrived. While serving rankers, the waiter didn't waste time. He served the food as per the orders and scurried downstairs.

They all looked to see a young man in his twenties approach them with a charming smile plastered over his face. He was a tall man with a lean build. His muscular definition and form-fitting clothes made him look like a capable ranker.

"Morty? What are you doing here?"

Altashia replied with a question of her own. Although her expressions were plain, Eren could tell that she was not exactly happy seeing the guy here.

"Oh, I was here for some work. Never thought I'd meet you outside the Royal Ren grounds so soon. A welcome surprise. Hehe!"

Morty started walking towards the trio's table before stopping when he was standing beside Altashia. He continued as if he had remembered something.

"Oh! Now that I think about it. I had heard that you were stationed at the Kadhak army camp. So finding you here shouldn't come as a surprise I guess. Hahaha! Small world."

Morty just pulled up a chair that belonged to an empty table and sat beside Altashia. The bunch of rankers he had come with looked at him and chuckled before finding a different table in the corner. As if they wanted him to have his time.

Altashia subconsciously looked at Eren when Morty sat beside her. But the butcher just smiled and blinked once- telling her he was not offended by her acquaintance's rude behaviour.

Altashia sighed and decided to soothe the tension around the table that only she felt was there. She cleared her throat and prepared to make some introductions.