Everything's going according to plan... until it doesn't...

"...and even though normally I would say that using some of my people to raid a suspicious group's hideout, even if they were hiding on my territory without my permission, was taking things too far…"

Ivo leaned back in his high chair and looked at the stone-faced Medea sitting on the opposite side of his extravagant desk.

"But, since there were no casualties on our part, and we even got some useful information beyond the scope of the research, even I have to admit that you went above and beyond and brought me the irrefutable proof I hoped for but didn't actually count on getting it."

"It was for reward, but in the future, you can think of my efforts this time as a baseline of how my cooperation with you will look like, Sir."

Ivo added with a somber smile that turned into a look of genuine surprise when Medea responded amicably, yet his face remained completely expressionless.

"I'll personally see to Baron Grimguard making you his successor."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Sir."

The southern crime lord declared, but instead of rejoicing, the black-haired demon simply nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"One last thing before you leave."

"...?"

Unexpectedly, Ivo spoke up, for the first time, making Medea give a different reaction, although it was limited to him tilting his head at a slight angle.

"From now on, instead of a tombstone, I'm going to build a legend in memoriam of my daughter. One where she fell for a man her father didn't approve of. A tragic love story where the lovers decided to die together rather than live apart. I'll be using parts of your report to paint that waste of air man as the most powerful spellcaster, one that could stand side by side with the ancient legends. Can I count on you to refrain from revealing the -freak accident- result part of your investigation?"

As Ivo began speaking up, he leaned back into his chair and gazed at the ceiling as if he could see through it and admire the starry sky above.

"As long as the information about the nature of my inheriting the title of a Baron will not spread around, I will gladly endorse this new legend."

"Then we have a mutual understanding. Farewell, Medea."

Medea gave it a moment of thought before responding with a light nod, which made the crime lord come back to earth and smack his thigh with gusto, before sending the black-haired man on his way.

"Until next time."

The black-haired man stood up and nodded back at the graying man, using most of his strong will to stop himself from calling out to him in the voice of his late daughter…

|Papa~ Pfffft….!|

Still, Medea certainly did though about doing it, and only because he had already turned around did the corners of his mouth twitching from holding back a bright smile remain hidden from Ivo.

Medea's first steps after walking out of Ivo's manor were towards the lower quarters, where on the corner of the pleasure street stood a pawn shop that for some reason seemed to escape the attention of most passersby.

*ring*

"Welcome, Young Master Medea~!"

As the black-haired man entered the pawn shop and the bell above the door rang out, the violet-haired man with dark bags under his eyes who sprang up from behind the counter didn't even pretend to be unaware or even surprised about who visited him.

"Good evening, Mister~"

Medea's face remained emotionless, but the gaze of his eyes certainly softened as he greeted the shopkeeper.

"Tonight I'm interested in…"

This time around, Medea was after an extremely rare and extremely valuable ingredient, one that Zorivia had already purchased in the pawnshop back in Daakvilllan once…

The black-haired man wasn't interested in just a single one either, but rather in a bulk.

The haggling competition that commenced was a spectacular one.

Although the prices flying around were all hundreds of big gold coins worth, both the black-haired man and the violet-haired pawnshop owner were duking it out even for a single small copper coin.

It was like an actual battle, and by the end of it, both parties were sweaty and grinning at each other after using up all their tricks without holding back.

Indeed, it was probably the first time since his childhood that Medea was smiling without tormenting someone and simply because he was having fun as they shook hands, sealing the deal.

It still was a completely demonic expression, and anyone watching him would have run for their lives already.

Anyone except for the pawnshop owner, though, who with his own wicked smile lighting up his face looked well-rested, not to say rejuvenated, for once.

"Mister, how much would it cost for you to set up a shop in Grimguard territory?"

"That came out of nowhere, but let's see… First of all, would there be a reason why I should do that?"

Unexpectedly, Medea combed back his raven-black hair and asked lightheartedly, making the pawnshop owner tilt his head and ponder with consideration.

"I want to sell a small orihalcion coin, but transporting that much gold, silver, and copper coins over such a distance would be as dangerous as stupid. And having you close by would be… welcomed."

The excited grin perished, replaced with a stoic expression, and only the softness of Medea's gaze would convey the sincerity of his words.

"...?"

That made the pawnshop owner straighten his back and look around as if distracted by a swarm of wasps, only to focus back on the black-haired man.

"I… was under the impression that you never wanted to leave your woman's side again?"

The violet-haired man asked, leaving all the unsaid follow-up questions to just hover in the void for Medea to pick up on.

"When I asked her if she wanted to experience everything that she was robbed of as a noble lady, she said yes. While growth and having expectations placed upon one's shoulders are certainly amongst those experiences, being officially betrothed to a powerful noble is up there, close to the top of the list. I once told her that I would give her the world or burn it so she could feel the warmth she was robbed of, and I will keep that promise."

Medea looked up at the ceiling for a moment as if organizing his thoughts, and then focused back on the violet-haired pawnshop owner and boasted with no shame whatsoever.

"Grimguard's territory is a barony, though… personal power aside, it's the lowest heritable title in the hierarchy."

"Oh, the time needed for me to rise in those ranks would be spent on courting her, of course. I will give her the genuine experience of being coveted by an aristocrat so smitten by her that he will climb to the top solely for her hand in marriage."

The pawnshop owner pointed out, but Medea had a response prepared.

"Pffft…!"

"...is my enthusiasm too much…?"

That seemed to be too much for the violet-haired man as he snorted and lowered his head, trying to hold back laughter, making Medea fidget awkwardly.

"On the contrary, young master."

The pawnshop owner waved his hand dismissively before looking up at the embarrassed youngster.

"I simply imagined the neighboring nobles trying to exert some pressure on you, or even bully you, completely blind to the consequences…!"

"Oh my. Then you do understand why I actually wish to start from the lowest position~"

The pawnshop owner explained, making the black-haired man chuckle and smile the way that always filled the hearts of his victims with despair.

"I'm almost done with the list, but with that, new people to torment and torture will line up for me, without me lifting a finger~"

Medea nodded with a refreshed expression.

"I see. I understand now. I thought you wanted to make a perfect panacea and sell it off, but instead, you are stocking up for the revival of that guard you chose for your woman, expecting the hardships he will be pushed into."

The violet-haired man clapped his hands together and hummed happily, as if certain and complacent in making all the correct guesses.

"About that, not exactly."

"Oh?"

Medea shook his head, looking to the side and making the pawnshop owner raise his brows at him.

"You see, the orphanage that burnt down… Originally, I was going to adopt two children from there, but they all died. Two portions are for them. Oh, you know one of them. The boy, Rolph. The client you mentioned the last time."

"..."

While Medea's gaze softened as he spoke up, slightly embarrassed, the pawnshop owner's eyes widened as his expression began to change to one of shock.

"Since I am going to revive them, and they will lose a portion of their memories, so they will not remember their deaths, I don't want them to get traumatized once they learned their orphanage burned down and all the other kids they were living with died. So most of the ingredients I bought will be spent on reviving all those children."

"...!"

The black-haired man continued, shying away from looking at the violet-haired man, whose face was twisting in horrified realisation, the more he learned.

"The thing is, since they all will be alive again, but only the two of them will be getting adopted, while the others will have to struggle without a roof over their head for who knows how long, that would most likely lead to those other kids resenting my kids. And so, since I want to eliminate as many obstacles for my kids as possible, I will be simply adopting all of them."

"!"

Medea revealed with a light shrug while the pawnshop owner behind the bars covered his mouth with one hand, utterly horrified.

"Whether my current plan will work or not, I will be getting my hands on some property, and I will be in need of manning it up with people I can trust. And, while it will take some time to happen, what could be better for that role than someone indebted to me whom I will personally raise?"

*WHAM*

The black-haired man added with a shadow of a smile on his face, and that seemed to be a breaking point for the violet-haired man, who slammed his fists against the counter.

"...?"

Medea leaned back and stared at the distraught pawnshop owner with confusion, about to ask him what his behavior meant, but then…

"YOUNG MASTER! I HAVE INFORMATION YOU MUST KNOW!"

"?!?!"

The violet-haired man howled, close to panic, making Medea even more confused.

"One-time deal! A single copper coin! BUY IT!"

The pawnshop owner declared, reaching towards Medea through the bars and shaking his open palm urgently.

"...I think I'll pass, Mister… If it was something really important, you would try to get as much as possi…"

"GIVE ME THE COIN!"

*THUMP* *ring*

Medea raised his hand and was in the middle of politely refusing when the pawnshop owner's shout shook the entire building and caused the bell over the door to jingle.

"...here…"

Medea looked around cautiously, slowly reaching into his pocket and taking out a small copper coin that he flicked right on the violet-haired man's palm.

"Young Master! Perfect Panacea isn't what the legend passed down in Wondalandor is! That potion only protects the normal people of this world from death! It doesn't work on those already dead! The only ones who can be revived are the five chosen ones! Noah Allsworth, Theodor, Leon, Castor Iwanmore, and Blake!"

"..."

The next moment, the pawnshop owner called out desperately, causing Medea's expression to turn completely blank, with the look in his eyes becoming vacant.

"I don't know what you were told, but if Perfect Panacea could bring back everyone indiscriminately, the ancient civilization would never fall!"

The violet-haired man took back his hand and said apologetically, with his expression showing genuine worry and compassion.

"...only… only those five…?"

After who-knows-how-long silence, Medea opened his mouth and asked in a shaking voice.

"Yes."

The pawnshop owner bit his lips and nodded with a guilty expression.

"But… but… the plan… the kids… My children…"

"I am truly sorry, Young Master."

Medea seemed to have trouble breathing as he spoke up, to which the violet-haired man closed his eyes and shook his head from left to right, and said, leaving no room for guessing.

"..."

"!!!"

The black-haired man lowered his head, and his glasses slid down to the tip of his nose. That's why when he raised his head back up, the pure intensity of his glare caused the pawnshop owner to shiver.

"Mister… sell me as many healing pellets as I can carry."

"Young Master… wait, what…?"

Medea spoke up in an eerily calm voice, which caused the violet-haired man to have a double-take.

"Young Master. Even with the enhancement of the ancient orihalcion coins, the healing pellets won't revive anyone. Only the chosen one can be brought back after experiencing death. It's the same whether it's Perfect Panacea or spells. The spell to revive will only work on the chosen ones. The world would make no sense otherwise. It would simply break."

The pawnshop owner breathed out and explained in an apologetic voice.

"I understand. Those aren't for that."

"...pardon…?"

Medea's response was short, but it took the violet-haired man by surprise anyway.

"Sell me as many healing pellets as I can carry, Mister."

The black-haired man repeated himself and anyone who would catch a glimpse of his eyes at that moment would be able to tell…

…those simply couldn't be the eyes of a human…