— — — — — —
Who in their right mind would buy now?
Just look at Uesugi Kenshin's face—that was definitely the look of someone who'd been ripped off hard.
Rin grumbled inwardly, but as the strategist of her community, she still waited for Highness's cue.
"No need," he said calmly. "We'll conduct our own investigation."
And with that, Highness led her out first.
Their plan was simple: check what they could on their own, and if that failed, they'd get Ouroboros' sponsors involved and buy the intel from Thousand Eyes directly.
Hercules lingered for a moment, then glanced at Ryo before following suit.
His gut told him that buying intel from this guy would cost way more than purchasing it directly from Thousand Eyes headquarters. Probably several times more.
Uesugi Kenshin, still nursing her loss, shot Ryo a final glare, then said nothing, and turned to leave.
"Wait a sec," Ryo suddenly called out.
Kenshin paused, tilted her head, and caught something he tossed her way—a Gift Card.
It was the same card she'd handed him earlier… except it was a thousand gold short.
"What's this supposed to be?" she said, frowning. A refund? And not even a full one?
Ryo smiled faintly. "According to the intel I've gathered, every steel hero god in this world has the potential to become the King of End."
He smiled wider. "That piece of intel is worth a thousand gold."
"Huh?" Kenshin raised an eyebrow, then let out a soft laugh.
"So that's why you chased the others off first, huh? You were saving this one for me?"
"No," Ryo said matter-of-factly. "Just business—and connections."
Former Arcadia strategist Canaria was the disciple of Indra himself. And Uesugi Kenshin happened to serve directly under Indra.
So from a networking standpoint alone, Ryo would never have scammed her for a measly ten thousand gold.
Burning a three-digit favor for a few coins? That'd be idiotic.
"You're honest, I'll give you that," Kenshin said with a laugh. Then she flicked the Gift Card back at him.
"Keep it. That line alone's worth every coin."
She turned, adding over her shoulder, "If you ever need anything, look me up at the Outer Gate 1000 Army Division."
Ryo caught the card, looked it over, and grinned. "Then I won't be polite about it."
A profit and a personal connection in one go—not a bad day's work.
Kenshin waved him off and walked away, her expression thoughtful. Clearly, she already had her next lead.
Before long, only two people remained in the ruined hall: Scathach and Ryo.
The Celtic Queen of Shadows gave a teasing chuckle. "Not bad at all. You even managed to play Bishamonten herself."
Ryo smiled faintly. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."
"Ah, definitely a troublemaker," she said under her breath, amusement in her eyes. Then, more directly, "So? This King of End—what's the connection to the Celts?"
"E-class intel," Ryo said briskly. "One hundred thousand gold, or something of equal value."
He put on a businesslike expression.
Scathach didn't even blink at his act.
Leaning lazily against a broken marble pillar, she narrowed her eyes, voice lilting. "Big Sister doesn't have that kind of money. Could I… pay in other ways?"
Ryo's mouth twitched. "Please don't try to drive up the price like that."
"Heartless man."
She chuckled softly, then asked, "Alright, enough jokes. What do you actually want from me?"
"Don't tell me you had me wait till everyone left just for a chat?"
Ryo hesitated, then said carefully, "Lady Scathach."
"Oh? Using honorifics? Must be serious, then."
"Yeah… you could say that."
He took a breath."I want you to ask the Queen something for me."
His tone grew solemn. "What would it cost to borrow the power of the Zodiac?"
According to Shiroyasha's calculations, completing his Another Cosmology (Pseudo Star-Map Creation) would likely require tapping into the Sun Authorities linked to the Zodiac constellations.
Ryo needed them all—at least temporarily—to complete his cosmos.
Shiroyasha possessed seven of them, which meant there were five left to gather.
Fortunately, he knew Queen Halloween held two—Virgo and Aquarius.
That left the remaining three, the truly troublesome ones.
His future could depend on them.
"....."
The moment she heard "borrow the Zodiac Authorities," Scathach's teasing smile vanished.
Her gaze sharpened as she studied him, frowning.
It was the first time she'd seen anyone ask the Queen to lend Sun Authorities so casually.
"I'll relay the request," she said finally, "but I can't promise what the Queen will say."
Still, she had a feeling the Queen might actually agree—if Ryo didn't mind the whole world finding out.
After all, 'Shiroyasha's subordinate god asks the Queen Halloween to borrow a Sun Authority' was the kind of scandal the Queen would find hilarious.
It'd be a perfect chance to rub that smug ShiroYoruMaou's face in it.
"I'd prefer this to stay a secret," Ryo said seriously.
Shiroyasha had always said she didn't care, but Ryo felt bad making her lose face again.
If word got out that her subordinate had to beg Queen Halloween for help, she'd never hear the end of it. And Ryo was sure the Queen would love spreading that rumor.
Scathach sighed and shrugged. "That, I can't promise."
The Queen's whims were impossible to predict—even her closest handmaiden couldn't claim to know what she'd do.
Ryo didn't press. Instead, he said quietly, "The King of End and Artio might be… mother and son."
Scathach froze, then frowned. "Her? So that means… it's related to Arthur?"
In mythology, Artio's offspring were often linked to the origins of King Arthur himself.
That made this very delicate.
The Celtic pantheon had been wiped out from Little Garden's upper layers.
If Arthur turned out to be the King of End, then his reemergence could very well awaken those extinguished divine spirits—bringing the Celtic mythos back from the dead.
And such a move could only have one mastermind behind it.
Queen Halloween.
At least, that's what everyone else would think.
Scathach turned away, her form beginning to fade. Before she vanished completely, she said, "I'll try to put in the request. But don't get your hopes up."
"So… that's a yes?" Ryo exhaled in relief.
Trading that intel for her help had gone exactly as planned.
Whether the Queen agreed or not, though—that was beyond his control.
"I'm still too weak," he sighed quietly and waited.
It wasn't long before a tall, broad-shouldered figure—built like a heavyweight boxer—appeared again.
Hercules.
He stood opposite Ryo, silent and steady.
Ryo didn't look surprised. A faint smile crossed his lips. "What kind of intel are you after?"
Hercules rumbled in his deep voice, "The King of End—and the Trickster."
Then, after a pause, he added, "Right after I descended, I received some intel from the local strongmen. After reading it, I reached out through divine resonance—to confirm if it was true."
His expression hardened.
"The seventh Campione—the godslayer who killed the silver-haired Athena… that was you, wasn't it?"
His gaze sharpened.
"The 'Trickster' who allowed Lady Athena to reach her Trinity form."
.
.
.