In this room, I only had to take out the man who'd remained. Given that my [Demeot Eyes] were reacting to someone in this room, it could be that this pathetic excuse for a guard was part demon somehow like Rajal. He didn't look it, but that didn't mean he couldn't hide it or that perhaps he didn't have any visible markers of it.

There was also Dina. She might be able to fight, but she didn't look like she wanted to do that. If she made a move, though, I wouldn't hesitate. I doubt she'd let me just walk out. Maybe she'd follow me, try to convince me to not do whatever it was that I'd be doing. Or on the other hand, she could be the one triggering my [Demeot Eyes].

I didn't think it was Rila because it would've done this when I'd fought against her in the arena. Or, rather, when Garta fought against her. I also didn't think Rila would fight me here. If anything, she'd probably fight alongside me. I'd seen her fight twice now, and she was quite skilled even if I'd bested her. I had more practical experience, but she'd be able to handle herself here. I didn't get the impression from any of our thirty escorts that they were particularly strong.

Either way, I wasn't worried about the people in this room. Those thirty escorts, even if they weren't particularly strong, were still a lot of people to handle. Best case scenario, they'd spread out in the warehouse and I would only run into a few of them as I escaped. Worst case scenario, I had to be prepared for injuries if I fought them as I was right now. I didn't want Gerard to have a reputation for being too strong, though.

So, ideally, I'd use [Forgotten Son] and get the fuck out of here without any bloodshed besides what I'd be doing in this room. They shouldn't have closed the door.

"Otherwise?" I said, drawing out my response on purpose. Just a big longer to loosen the ropes. When Dina opened her mouth to respond, I chuckled to cut her off. "Wait, wait. Okay, let me guess how this'll go. You'll probably threaten to start hurting Rila if I don't agree now to Rashania and Co's terms. As if I'd care about her? I don't even know her? So when that doesn't work, you'll try out torturing me instead. You don't have a lot of options for that in this room, though. How many ways could you possibly hurt me?"

"Enough," the guard said. The way he held his body told me he was ready for a fight, but his limbs were awkward and his sword looked too big for him. Not the person out of the thirty I'd picked to have stood guard over me. Then again, I was just a nobleman's son, so they probably didn't think I added up to much. They probably saw the dangerous one here as Rila and had him stay behind to handle her specifically.

"Do what Lady Rashania says and we can be done here," the guard continued. "You can go home to Naedoven, have a nice feast with your family, and still have some profit from your magic shop. These terms are good."

"Gerard," Dina pleaded, frowning. While her eyes seemed to shine with some sort of genuine emotion, I didn't trust it. "Be reasonable. If you don't agree with us, they'll kidnap your business parter and his sister, his entire family, and torture them until you give in. Or make you betray them by not doing what they ask and getting them killed."

[Notice] Mastery of [Demeot Eyes] has increased by .05%.

"What the fuck am I doing here if this is all about Gerard?" Rila asked. She looked angry. Angry enough to get her hands dirty. If we were to work together, that'd make getting out of here that much easier. That could be almost fun.

"Oh," Dina said, "you're here because you're valuable to us in other ways. Your father has been postponing our next meeting. If we hold onto you for a little while, he's bound to find time for us in his schedule."

"The meeting is next week," Rila said. "The date was set two weeks ago. By you! He hasn't been postponing."

"But If we hold onto you for a little while, he's bound to find time for us in his schedule a lot sooner, don't you think? There are matters we'd like to discuss with him. Very pressing matters."

Rila glared daggers. "My father cares about me as much as this asshole over here."

I found that hard to believe. Dina seemed to also find it hard to believe because she started to laugh. My ropes loose enough now, I laughed with her.

"Oh, me?" I asked Rila. "Am I the asshole?"

She turned her glare to me and spit. Thankfully at the legs of my chair. I couldn't tell if her hostility was honest or not, which was the best part. It made things more interesting. I laughed again.

"She's right. I don't care about her at all."

"You don't even know me," Rila growled. But underneath that, I could see the gears turning in her head. Hopefully she'd caught on that I was stalling on purpose. Behind her chair, her wrists twitched just a little.

"Well, that didn't seem to stop you from trying to kill me, though."

"I wasn't trying to kill you, asshole," she said. "You're really such a fucking asshole."

"It's not really fair to call me an asshole when I can't call you anything back. And besides, I prefer the term noble ass."

Rila's jaw slackened at that. But only for a moment. Her eyes narrowed, and she looked like she was going to say something, but Dina interrupted her.

"Gerard," Dina said. "Tell me more about this magic shop. Maybe there's something I can do as an intermediary."

[Notice] Mastery of [Demeot Eyes] has increased by .05%.

I thought about how to answer. If she was lying to save herself? Well, that might actually turn out to be useful. I needed to know more about Rashania and Co, and here was Lady Rashania. She was a direct source, which made her my best lead yet. Killing her wouldn't help me in the long run.

"Let's make a different kind of deal," I said. "One between us. I'll tell you all about my plans for the magic shop, but I have a friend who wants to know more about Rashania and Co. We can trade information."

Unexpectedly, I caught her glancing at the guard. There seemed to be more to her position as intermediary than she was letting on. Or she was playing the role of a damsel in distress.

Dina shook her head. "I'll be killed if I share information about Rashania and Co, just as anyone would be. That's the understanding under which we all work."

Did that mean she wouldn't betray her employer or that she was contractually obligated to keep her mouth shut about them? Perhaps a magic contract that'd kill her if she dared?

"So we don't have a deal?" I asked to be sure. To be a gentleman and all.

"No deal," she said rather firmly. "I think you forget the position you're in here, Gerard. You're tied to a chair. There are three dozen people in this warehouse who will just kill you if you try to escape."

Good to know. "And?"

She blinked. "And? Gerard, you'll die if you don't agree to pay the licensing fee to Rashania and Co. I can buy you time if you tell me more about your magic shop, but that's all I can do for you. If you run, then we'll have to assume you don't intend to pay the fee. Everyone pays the fee. You are not exempt."

"Everyone?" I doubted that.

"Gerard," Dina implored me, sitting forward as if she wanted to reach out and hold my hands. But they were tied behind my back, and she had nothing to grab. Her voice rang in my ears, sweet and lovely and alluring. "Please."

[Notice] Mastery of [Demeot Eyes] has increased by .05%.

Rila scoffed. "If you have to use [Persuasion] to get someone to do what you want, then you're not very persuasive to begin with. You two are at a stalemate and I'm bored."

I took that to mean she was ready. If I didn't want Gerard to have a reputation for being too strong, then I just had to be Trygve Teigen.