Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

'Layla didn't disappoint me.'

Eren smirked after hearing the news. He had been keeping tabs on the news related to Lionheart duchy ever since he came to this place. So far, things had worked out exactly the way he wanted them to.

He finished all his projects in the city of Osan and left with Nina to come to the duchy of Nightshade. Travelling to this place would have taken them months if they took regular transport. So they chose the shortest method: using kingdom controlled teleportation arrays.

Eren and Nina only needed to travel to the city of Lionhearts to access the teleportation array. Even a one-way trip using a teleportation array was threateningly expensive in Eren's eyes. Nevertheless, since this was an on-field assignment, he was exempt from paying the fee.

Eren had also arranged for Agatha to come to the duchy of Nightshade. She had taken a few days to wrap up her affairs and arranged everything the way Eren wanted her to. Then she used Eren's arrangement to go to First Salvation, which was on the border of Edinburgh. A bunch of tasks were awaiting her there, assigned by her master.

Eren had also uncovered something of significant value after revisiting the Osan Woods following the spectral coordinates stored on the array disk. He only delivered the disk to the person Lin wanted him to deliver it to after he was done with it. Suffice to say, he had struck a metaphorical gold when he reached the site. But the effects of these fortunes were going to take some time to surface for him.

Renar and Viper were preparing to take a long route to the duchy of Nightshade. This was because they had been assigned a few tasks along the way. That and the fact that Eren was too frugal to spend teleportation money on two more subordinates.

The news lady in military uniform kept on talking but Arjun had something on his mind so he asked Eren about it.

"Eren, you are from the city of Osan, right? How was Isen Osan?"

Eren had expected questions like these thrown at him even before he entered the army camp. So he compiled a few standard answers ready for standard questions like these. The two kept talking for a while.

"Tell me Arjun, you are a talented ranker yourself. Plus, you were running for the vice-captain role along with Sid and Dianna. How come you aren't as frustrated?"

Arjun shook his head before replying:

"Experiences matter more to the elves than holding onto any positions. It's not that I'm not frustrated. Hell, I'm doing the vice-captain's job for you by trying to make peace between you and Sid without getting any rewards for it.

But I'll be fine, Eren. All my grievances vanished after looking at you. If you were any less worthy of your position than you are right now, I would create a bigger ruckus than that doofus."

Eren raised his eyebrows after listening to the ranger talk before replying.

"So you think I'm still not worthy of my position?"

Arjun flashed a grin before bursting into a burst of hearty laughter.

"Hahahaha! That doofus Sidro would have considered that as me praising him. Alright. Seems like you have made up your mind. So I won't bother you anymore. But be sure to report on time. I'm not planning to send you reminders anymore. Consider that my way of getting back at you. Kekeke!

See you on the battlefield, my friend."

Arjun finished his drink in one big gulp before taking his leave. Eren breathed a sigh of relief when he did that. He didn't have anything against the guy. It was just that his plans mattered more to him than bonding with his teammates at the time.

Eren wasn't planning to stay in the army forever anyway. So positions didn't matter to him. This job was just a means to an end. He had taken up this job to enter the Anfang Badlands without any hindrance.

******************

"Sorry for being late, Eren. I was busy with some personal stuff, hehe."

Another person showed up at Eren's table and took a seat exactly where Arjun was sitting. This was also another of his squadmates. She was a redhead human that looked to be in her early twenties. She was tall and had a medium bust. Her waist also has the right curves.

She wasn't in her military attire though. She had worn her casuals. A skin-hugging blouse that only covered her bust and cargo pants that were placed way below her navel. Her curvy mid-waist region didn't fail to grab the onlookers' attention.

"It's fine, Dianna. So tell me, what do you have for me?"

Eren had ordered a few snacks to munch on while waiting for Dianna. The latter couldn't resist the fish fingers. She picked up one and started nibbling on it before replying.

"Eren, before you buy that land, I need you to understand something. That land won't gain anything and would end up as a dead asset in the end. Are you sure you want to proceed even after knowing this?"

Eren smiled after he heard Dianna. He had realized that she wasn't really worried about him. This was just her way of keeping the "I told you so" card in hand in case he acts up in the future.

"Yes, I'm sure. I wouldn't have asked you otherwise. Will you tell me now?"

Dianna shrugged her shoulders as if to convey "she had tried" and took another fish finger from Eren's snack basket before responding.

"Alright. Even though my family owns that land, it's not like we are doing anything over it. I already asked. This is the amount my uncle wants me to pitch to you."

Dianna drew a number on the table with her slim fingers and long nails. The exuberant price Eren had to pay for a seemingly dead land made him whistle. But he also knew that this was an inflated price.

So he kept on bargaining with Dianna, who then kept on calling her uncle to receive instructions from him. The sessions lasted for a while before both parties agreed.

"Sold!"

Dianna hammered the table with her hand when she said that. Eren also smirked after realizing that the first few steps of his plan were heading in the right direction.