v2c15 : The Unassuming Tycoon
Flora and Leona, during their time with Abyss, had always assumed he wasn’t wealthy.
They understood. He was a necromancer, after all. Necromancers were a shunned profession. No one would hire them for legitimate work, and Abyss wouldn’t resort to robbery or murder for money. Besides, excluding frivolous expenses, a necromancer’s lifestyle wasn’t costly—their primary tools were corpses, readily available in graveyards. The dead rarely complained.
So, they had thought Abyss lived a simple, albeit financially constrained, life, acquiring funds only when necessary.
But when Abyss pulled a large chest from his magical catfish’s mouth and opened it, their perception changed drastically.
It was filled with magic crystals! And not just any crystals, but the rare, black-hued, contaminated crystals found only in the Shadowed Depths!
“I acquired these from a merchant during my travels with my master—a deceased merchant, that is. He told me these were contaminated magic crystals he brought back from the Shadowed Depths. He initially thought they were usable, albeit of lower quality, so he planned to sell them at a discount. But when he processed them and tried to infuse them with mana, they shattered. He almost went bankrupt,” Abyss explained, retrieving a crystal from the chest and handing it to Rebecca for inspection. “Unwilling to give up, he kept a chest of them, almost two thousand, he said. They were buried with him when he died. I acquired them from him. In return, I took him to see his descendants. But that’s another story.”
“These are incredibly rare and valuable on the continent! They’re practically priceless!” Rebecca exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with delight as she examined the egg-sized crystal. “I went through a lot of trouble to acquire a few. The Shadowed Depths are too dangerous. No one wants to travel there and bring back worthless garbage crystals, so they’re incredibly difficult to obtain. And you have so many!”
“I also have ordinary magic crystals and unprocessed crystal ore. Perhaps seven or eight chests worth,” Abyss said, nodding. “Feel free to ask if you need any. You’re my follower now. We share everything.”
“What else do you have?” Leona asked, unable to contain her curiosity. “I thought you were a pauper.”
“I have a lot of things: weapons, armor, supposedly valuable artifacts. All gifts from the deceased. Especially when I was younger. They found me adorable and showered me with gifts. My master couldn’t stop them,” Abyss said, thinking. “I also have a few chests of jewelry, gemstones, and ancient coins. They’re quite heavy, a few tons, perhaps. But I don’t find them useful, so I’ve kept them stored in my catfish’s belly. I can give you some if you like—as long as you don’t mind them being burial goods. My little fire dragon loves gemstones. I often give them to him as gifts.”
Leona’s jaw dropped. “You’re rich?!”
“They’re not exactly money, but they can be exchanged for it. I was planning to give some gemstones to the Black Hats Gang to exchange for funds. Pawnbrokers usually don’t accept burial goods, but gangs have their ways.”
Observing Abyss’s nonchalant demeanor, Leona couldn’t believe she had endured a life of poverty with him for so long.
He wasn’t poor, he just didn’t carry cash! He was so accustomed to his frugal lifestyle that he hadn’t realized it was inappropriate for a Saint and a princess!
But Flora seemed to be enjoying it?
No, I, Leona, will not tolerate this injustice any longer! From now on, ABC has to pay to touch my head! He’s a tycoon! Leona decided, her mind made up.
Ten imperial coins per touch, three times a day: morning, noon, and night! That’s settled!
“Then we’re a perfect match! I was worried about our financial compatibility,” Rebecca said, suddenly setting aside the contaminated crystal and retrieving a red potion bottle emitting pink smoke from her alchemical apparatus. She handed it to Abyss. “The antidote is ready. How does it smell?”
Abyss wafted the smoke towards his nose, taking a whiff. “Hmm, it’s even more refreshing than the one you had in your mouth earlier. It clears the mind.”
“I didn’t expect the potency and aroma to fade after forty years,” Rebecca said, sticking out her tongue. “I thought if someone rescued me, they would pull me out of the potion first, and I would wake up and exhale the antidote into their mouth, potentially saving their life. I didn’t actually expect anyone to kiss me… But if it were you, I wouldn’t mind a kiss…”
“You should trust your own judgment more than a fortune teller’s,” Abyss said with a smile. “Spend some time with me, then decide.”
“Of course, I’ll consider it carefully,” Rebecca said, blushing slightly. “I’m just eager to fall in love, and you seem perfect, so I…”
Abyss didn’t reply, but he knew Rebecca’s feelings weren’t love, not even friendship. It was a sense of dependency, fueled by a fortune teller’s prediction and her sudden rescue by a boy her age.
Perhaps she thought they could develop feelings for each other over time. Abyss wasn’t convinced.
The necromantic link hadn’t transferred any power to him. He didn’t feel any significant improvement in his mental acuity or his alchemical skills. Rebecca’s loyalty was still low. He knew that if he were truly unworthy, she wouldn’t hesitate to leave him.
A woman of her caliber wouldn’t settle for someone who couldn’t earn her respect and trust.
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