In Another World, All Milfs Will Be Mine-Chapter 156: [ - - ] - The Merciful New Lord

Leo still stood amidst the carnage with his eyes still locked into nothingness. To everyone else he was still like a statue, but inside his mind, he was standing in a cathedral of avarice.

[Welcome to the Shop, Master,]

Aiva purred, her voice echoing in the vast space.

[You have 8000 Gold. Try not to look so poor in front of the merchandise. It’s embarrassing.]

The System Shop interface didn’t just appear as a scrollable list. It manifested as a grand sequence of tiles in the air that stretched infinitely in all directions.

Mountains of artefacts, pills, clothes, weapons made of dragon bone, armour forged from starlight, and grimoires bound in demon skin floated on pedestals, each one pulsing with immense power.

Leo looked at the shop in front of him and scoffed, ’Poor?’

’8000 Gold is a fortune. I could buy a castle with this.’

[In the mortal world, perhaps. Here? You might not even be able to afford some doormats.]

And just as she said that, one of the item on the tiles in front of him, was selected and it opened in front of him 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

[ITEM: Dragon-Bone Greatsword]

[Grade: Legendary]

[Cost: 500,000,000 Gold]

Leo choked, "Have you gone fucking crazy?!" Leo cried out loud.

"Leo?!"

"Master!"

Both Seraphine and Belladonna jerked when they heard Leo. Worry was evident in their eyes. But Leo was quick to raise his hand.

"It’s alright!" He assured them and turned back towards Aiva.

’F... Five Hundred Million Gold Coins?! For a sword? Are you trying to scam me?’

[It’s made from the femur of an Ancient Fire Dragon. One swing from this sword and you can level up mountains after mountains. Quality costs money, Master.]

Leo moved to the Skill section.

[SKILL: Draconic Breath (Fire)]

[Cost: 2,000,000 Gold Coins]

’Okay,’ Leo muttered, feeling the sting of poverty, ’So I am broke. I get it.’

[Item: Nine Heavens Wind-Walking Boots]

[Grade: Rare]

[Cost: 14,650,000]

[Cost: 21,501,000]

[Cost: 117,213,200]

[Cost: 5,01,300]

[Cost: 706,120]

[...]

[...]

[...]

Leo realized quickly that he couldn’t afford almost anything in the Shop. Everything was rare, flashy, god-tier items.

’Don’t you have a filter where I can set the price limit?’

’Show me something I can actually afford, Aiva,’ Leo ordered in annoyance.

[I told you so!]

And with a swish! Every item in front of Leo rolled away. And dozen or so new items appeared in front of him.

[Item: Twin Bloom Yin-Yang Lotus]

[Cost: 4000 Gold Coins]

[Item: Spirit-Reinforced Crossbow]

[Cost: 5760 Gold Coins]

And so and forth.

Leo scrolled through the items in front of him and finally settled upon two of them.

[SKILL: Eyes of the Hoarder]

[Cost: 3000 Gold Coins]

[Effect: Low-Level Appraisal Skill. Allows the user to see the ’Value’ of anything in accordance to the level of the user.]

[Useless to Anyone above Level 15.]

[Useless on anyone more than 20 levels higher than the user]

[Can judge pills, artefacts, reveals loyalty, hidden desires, and secret hidden paths.]

’I definitely need that,’ Leo decided instantly.

[ITEM: Totem of Terror]

[Cost: 4270 Gold Coins]

[Effect: A totem carved from the bones of Undead Netherworld creatures. When placed in a spot, it emits a low-frequency aura of dread that suppresses rebellion and increases obedience in the populace.]

’Perfect,’ Leo grinned, ’Auravale needs a little discipline.’

[Total Cost: 7270 Gold Coins. Remaining Balance: 730 Gold Coins. Proceed?]

’Fine. Do it.’ Leo thought to himself, ’I can’t go more broke.’

The gold vanished from his mental counter, and soon the vault faded from his eyes and both the items appeared in his inventory.

Leo finally blinked. And it was time to test out his new toys immediately.

He pulled out the Silent Shadow Cloak from the inventory.

Under the dim, flickering candlelight of the banquet hall, he simply... vanished in front of everyone’s eyes.

Ryana gasped, her eyes darting frantically around the room, "Where did he go?!"

Even Seraphine looked startled, her eyes searched for her lover in the room.

Only Belladonna seemed to stand still, her eyes slowly moving as if she was tracking someone.

"Boo!" Suddenly Ryana felt something brush against her ear.

Ryana shrieked, jumping a foot in the air. She spun around, her hand going for the blade on her waist.

But before she could attack him, Leo materialized out of thin air, a smirk playing on his lips.

"It’s me!" He grinned.

[Eyes of the Hoarder].

His vision shifted. The world turned into shades of grey, but Ryana lit up in gold. Text scrolled beside her head.

[TARGET: Ryana (Merchant)]

[Value: High (Administrative/Financial Asset)]

[Loyalty: 35 (Fear/Greed)]

[Primary Desire: Wealth, Stability]

[Hidden Desire: To be conquered by a partner stronger than her. Submissive tendencies masked by professional dominance.]

Leo’s smirk widened.

Loyalty 35. That was low. But the hidden desire? That was interesting. The Merchant Queen wanted a King for herself.

"You..." Ryana breathed, trying to compose herself, "Wh... Don’t do that again!"

"Just testing some toys," Leo smiled.

He decided to save the Anklet for later. He didn’t need magic to break Ryana, he just needed to be the strong partner she secretly craved.

He turned his attention to the head of the table.

Belladonna was standing over Baron Volkov. The fat man was sobbing, his eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the end. Belladonna blade was still over his neck, ready to separate his head from his shoulders.

Volkov squeezed his one eye open. He saw the blade stop. He saw Leo walking towards him. Hope flooded on his face again.

"Oh, thank the Gods!" Volkov blubbered, trying to crawl towards Leo, "Thank you! I knew you were merciful! I knew..."

"Shut up," Leo said, looking down at the man with disgust.

"Master?" Belladonna asked, confused. "Why? He is trash."

"He is," Leo agreed, "But he is useful trash. Think, Bella. If we kill a Baron, the Crown sends an investigation. They send an army. But if the Baron is alive... well, then everything is legal."

He looked around the room.

"A dead Baron brings questions. A living Baron however might bring in some legitimacy."

Leo kicked a clean chair away from the table, dragging it into the center of the room. He walked over to Volkov, grabbed him by the collar of his piss-stained robes, and hauled him up.

"Get up, you fat pig," Leo grunted, throwing the heavy man into the clean chair, "And stop crying."

"You have a fucking job to do."

He turned to Ryana.

"Dear! Will you get me a Paper. Quill. and the Baron’s Seal?"

Ryana hesitated for a second, then nodded. She grabbed a pristine sheet of parchment and a writing kit from a nearby desk that had miraculously survived the carnage.

She also grabbed the Baron’s seal that was lying on the desk for anyone to use.

And then she placed everything in front of Volkov.

"Write," Leo commanded.

Volkov’s hands were shaking so bad he could barely hold the quill. Ink splattered on the page.

"W... What should I write?" Volkov stammered.

Leo leaned in, resting his hand on the back of the chair.

"You are going to write the truth," Leo lied smoothly. "Or at least, the truth the King needs to hear."

"You are going to praise me, dear Baron!"

"Now!" Leo rubbed his hands in excitement, "Write down..."

"To the Crown..." Leo said, "No... Wait! Write ’To the merciful benevolent king.’

Volkov scribbled frantically.

"You might be unaware of the recent political turmoil in the town of Auravale, under the authority of Lord Caelum."

"But in the time of calamity, Lord Caelum has fled the city with the treasury, abandoning his people when they needed him the most."

"Monsters attacked the town."

"But I could not abandon the people. My heart would not allow it."

"I rushed to their rescue as soon as I could."

"And with the help of High Priest Remus... we heroically tried to defend the populace."

Volkov looked up, confused, "Heroically?"

"Write it," Leo snapped.

"But we fell short... The monsters were just too much for us to handle."

"Death was in front of me. I was ready to die for the people. Give my life protecting those I care about the most."

"But the Gods did not abandon us."

"Amidst the chaos..." Leo continued, a dark smile touching his lips. "The Adventurer Leo Dragomir stepped in. He organized the defense. He saved the city from ruin."

"Along with the fugitive and most wanted Blackfang bandits. Who unlike the Lord, who ran away leaving his people behind stepped forward not caring for the consequences and protected the town."

"Therefore..."

Leo leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper that only Volkov could hear.

"I, Baron Volkov, humbly request that all charges against the Blackfanf bandits be dropped and they get recognised as a newly formed Mercenary group, the Blackfang Mercenaries."

"And.."

"I would also like to recommend Leo Dragomir be appointed as the new..."

Leo paused with the smile on his face getting wider.

"Lord of Auravale."

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