“Oi, laddie! Hands off the meteorite. We saw it first!” the man at the head of the group shouted as Khrx picked up the meteorite. It was heavy, laden with bits of black ore. “What do you say? I won’t feel right taking goods from a child; how about I give you some candy for it?”

“Should I kill them?” Lorin asked, grabbing her sword’s hilt. “It shouldn’t take long.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” the man said, holding out his hands as he approached Lorin and Khrx with slow steps. “Let’s not be so quick to use violence now. We’re from the city-state of Tahens. Where might you be from?” The rest of the men caught up and lined up behind their leader. “Ah, but first, let me introduce myself. My name is Opricles, guard captain of Tahens.”

Khrx and Lorin exchanged glances. Before Khrx could tell Lorin to draw her sword, a rectangular screen appeared in front of him.

[You’ve met the city-state of Tahens! As the first guild to make contact, affinity between Tahens and Paradise has increased.]

Khrx scratched his head as he dismissed the screen. The heck was a city-state? Some guild feature probably. “I’m Khrx’Lrvnjl.”

Opricles’ eyes narrowed when he realized Khrx wasn’t going to say anymore. His fingers tapped the hilt of the saber hanging from his waist. “Khrx’Lrvnjl, eh? Where are you from?”

Khrx turned and asked Lorin, “What’s the name of the guild place thingy?”

“The City of Paradise.”

Khrx nodded at Opricles. “We’re from the City of Paradise.”

“Ah,” Opricles said, nodding his head. “The City of Paradise…. I’ve heard of it, but I’m not quite sure of the details. What empire does it fall under?”

[Pick a name for your empire! Only Senior Officers and above have the right to select a name.]

Khrx blinked. “I can pick?”

[Congratulations! The empire, I Can Pick, has been established by the guild Paradise!]

“That’s an odd name for an empire,” Opricles muttered. He shook his head. “But I understand. The empire of I Can Pick must be a mighty one. I apologize for interrogating you. There’s been a lot of barbarians running around recently. We had no choice but to wipe them out.”

Khrx blinked again. “Uh….” He waved his hand and dismissed the screen. That didn’t happen. If Luke asked, he’d blame it on Aaz’Tala. “No problem.”

Ring, ring.

Khrx cleared his throat and canceled the incoming call. He was in the middle of very important negotiations. Luke would understand.

Ring, ring.

Khrx shoved the screen aside. “Mm, so this city-state of Tahens…”

Ring, ring.

“Is it fine to ignore that ringing noise?” Opricles asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, of course,” Khrx said. “It’s just a, uh, annoying curse I contracted while sleeping.”

Doubt covered Opricles’ face. “If you say so…. About that meteorite…, how about we negotiate over it?”

[Quest acquired!]

[Diplomacy time! I hope your charisma is high! Oh, it is. That’s disappointing. Well, the city-state of Tahens wishes to acquire the meteorite. If you somehow screwed this up, it’d be fitting of your negative intelligence, so don’t feel too bad if you do.]

[Rewards: A trade route will be formed between Tahens and I Can Pick. Whatever you can negotiate for the meteorite.]

[Failure Penalty: Affinity between Tahens and I Can Pick will decline. A war may even break out. I suggest you hand over the meteorite.]

“What are you offering?” Khrx asked, placing the meteorite down and sitting on top of it. He hated standing for extended periods of time.

“I suppose you wouldn’t trade it for candy, would you?” Opricles sighed. “Then—”

“What kind of candy?”

Opricles shut his mouth. He turned around to face his men. “Take out all the candy you have.”

“Sir…”

“Now!”

Lollipops, gumdrops, jelly beans, gummy bears, and jaw breakers appeared in the Tahenian soldiers’ hands. Opricles gestured towards them while speaking to Khrx. “Do any of these suit your taste?”

“Let me try them,” Khrx said, holding out his palm.

Lorin bit her lower lip. “Khrx….” If she killed them, wouldn’t they have the meteorite, the candy, and all the armor and weapons the soldiers were wearing? Why was he negotiating? She knew how strong Luke was. He could probably destroy a city-state with a single spell. It didn’t matter if Tahens and I, I Can Pick went to war.

Khrx placed a gummy bear in his mouth and chewed. His eyes lit up as his tail rapidly swished back and forth. He closed his eyes and chewed, relishing in the sweet taste.

A smile appeared on Lorin’s face. Maybe it’d be better to give away the meteorite. The quest description said a trade route would be established, right? If she could get the Tahens to trade gummy bears to Khrx, then she’d be able to see that adorable expression of his all the time. It was settled then. She wouldn’t kill them. Her hand released the hilt of her sword, and she took the rest of the Tahens’ candy before taking a seat beside Khrx, offering to feed him.

“Then … we have a deal?” Opricles asked with a strange expression on his face. His eyes glanced between Khrx and Lorin before his gaze settled on the meteorite underneath Khrx. “If you accompany us back to Tahens, I’ll give you a whole basketful of candy.”

Lorin lifted Khrx and kicked the meteorite towards Opricles while nodding.

[Quest complete!]

[Your intelligence is perfectly reflected by your stats.]

[Rewards: A basket of candy. A trade route will be established between Tahens and I Can Pick.]

“Ah?” Khrx opened his eyes and looked around. The quest was completed? But when did he accept? He looked up and met Lorin’s gaze which seemed to say, “Praise me.” Khrx sighed but chose not to renege on the deal that Lorin established. The actions of his subordinates were his responsibility. Of course, he’d have to punish Lorin later for accepting such a bad deal. She could’ve gotten at least three baskets of candy! Ah, wasn’t his original goal a weapon? Well, candy was just as good—one couldn’t eat a weapon after all.

Ring, ring.

“Let’s go to Tahens,” Khrx said, dismissing Luke’s call once again. Yes, a superior had to take responsibility for his subordinate’s actions; thus, it was Luke’s own fault that the empire ended up with a name like I Can Pick. Having removed the last vestiges of guilt from his system, Khrx let out a hum and popped a jaw breaker into his mouth.