Chapter - 71

High Priest Remus leaned forward, the firelight casting deep, skeletal shadows across his withered face. He held up three trembling fingers, staring at Leo with a mixture of greed and desperation.

"Three favors," Remus repeated, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Or rather, three specific items. I know you have access to the good stuff, Leo. The kind of quality that doesn't usually make it out of the Endless Forest."

He dropped the first finger.

"Moon-shade Herb."

He dropped the second finger.

"Iron-Hide Rhino Horn."

He left the third finger hanging in the air, a silent hook, letting the implication sit between them like a loaded weapon.

Leo leaned back in the plush leather chair, swirling the vintage wine in his goblet. He looked at the old man with an expression of utter boredom.

"You've got to be kidding me, old man," Leo scoffed. "Do I look like a wandering grocery store to you? Do you think I have a farm in my pocket?"

He took a slow sip of the wine. It was good, but the conversation was starting to taste sour.

"Why ask me?" Leo pressed, his eyes narrowing. "You're the High Priest. The voice of the gods in this city. Snap your fingers and the faithful will crawl over broken glass to bring you whatever you want. Why are you begging a 'commoner' for supplies?"

Remus chuckled dryly, the sound like dry leaves scraping together on a stone floor.

"I did ask around," Remus admitted. "In fact, I just spent a small fortune at the Silver Route clearing out their new stock. Lady Ryana was quite... smug about her new supplier."

Remus fixed Leo with a knowing, shrewd look. "She acquired a pristine Moon-shade Herb and a massive Rhino Tusk just yesterday. And coincidentally, a young hero with deep pockets and a very specific swagger was seen leaving her office moments before the inventory was logged."

"I bought them," Remus said, his hands twitching on the desk. "But it wasn't enough. The herb was potent, the best I have seen in decades, but I need a steady supply. And the horn... well, the demand is high. I need more."

Leo shook his head, finishing his wine in one gulp and setting the glass down with a clack.

"If I had more, I would have sold more," Leo said casually. "What use do I have hoarding purple weeds and horny-goat horns? It takes up space."

Remus's eye twitched visibly. The corner of his mouth spasmed.

'Weed?' Remus thought, his mind reeling. 'Did this boy just call a high-grade magical reagent... a weed?'

The Moon-shade Herb was a treasure. A single stalk could stabilize mana flows that would burn a lesser mage to ash. It was sought after by Archmages and Kings. And this boy dismissed it like it was a dandelion plucking from a roadside ditch.

Remus re-evaluated the young man sitting across from him. He wasn't just a lucky warrior. He wasn't just a skilled killer. To speak of such treasures with such disdain... he had to come from wealth. Real, ancient wealth. Was he the bastard son of a Duke? A runaway Prince from the Empire?

"Can you get them?" Remus asked, his voice bordering on desperate, pushing aside his curiosity for his need.

"Maybe," Leo shrugged. "The forest is big. I find things. But before I agree to become your personal harvester, I want to know why."

Leo pointed a finger at the old man's chest.

"I get the Moon-shade Herb. You look like you're one bad cough away from the grave. Your skin is grey, your hands shake. You need the mana to keep your heart beating, don't you? You're running on fumes."

Remus stiffened. He straightened his robes, trying to regain some dignity, but he nodded.

"Sharp," Remus rasped. "Yes. I am a Level 2 Alchemist, Leo. A rarity in the priesthood. Most rely on prayer. I rely on... chemistry. My vitality is waning with age. The potions keep me stable. They keep the Light burning."

"But the Rhino Horn?" Leo grinned, a lecherous, knowing glint entering his eyes. "Don't tell me you're planning to use that yourself? I doubt even magic can raise the dead that effectively. That thing is for stamina, not resurrection."

Remus let out a laugh, a wet, rasping sound.

"Oh, no. That is not for me. That is for the... devotees."

He leaned in, his voice lowering further.

"You have seen the nobles in this city, Leo. You saw them at the party. Fat. Lazy. Indulgent. They have appetites that their bodies cannot support. They want to drink, they want to feast, and they want to bed young women."

Remus smirked, a greedy, unholy expression.

"But their flesh is weak. They come to me for 'Blessings of Vigor.' I brew tonics. I create pills. They pay... exorbitant fees for the privilege of feeling young for an hour. It is the Temple's most lucrative revenue stream. The tithes of the poor pay for the candles; the vices of the rich pay for the power."

"So you're a drug dealer," Leo summarized bluntly. "A holy pimp selling boner pills to old lords so they can disappoint their mistresses."

"I am a provider of essential services," Remus corrected smoothly. "I merely fulfill a need."

"Right," Leo scoffed. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"So," Remus said, rubbing his hands together, the sound of dry skin on dry skin filling the room. "The arrangement. From now on, when you find these 'weeds' or other rare items... you bring them to me first. Before Ryana. Before the Golden Scales."

"Offer them to the Temple," Remus smiled benevolently. "As a tithe. A donation to the Light."

Leo frowned. "And why would I do that? Ryana pays cash. Immediate, heavy bags of gold. You're asking for charity. I don't run a soup kitchen."

Remus shook his head slowly. "Not charity, Leo. Protection."

The atmosphere in the room shifted. The air grew colder. Remus leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers, his eyes glinting with a malicious intelligence.

"You see, Leo... people talk. The servants in the Keep talk. Maids see things. Guards hear things."

Remus's gaze bore into Leo.

"They whisper about how Lady Seraphine is glowing lately. How she hasn't looked this happy in years. How she walks with a spring in her step, despite the tragedy of the party."

"They whisper about the 'Hero' who stays in the guest room. The one who refuses to leave. They whisper about the late-night visits where the Lady dismisses her guards."

Remus smiled, and it was the smile of a snake.

"Rumors are dangerous things, Leo. If they were to reach Lord Caelum's ears... well, he is a jealous man. A possessive man. Even if he doesn't touch her himself, he wouldn't like another man playing with his toys. He would view it as theft. Treason."

"But," Remus spread his hands wide, "As the High Priest, I guide the spiritual health of the household. I hear confessions. I guide the narrative. I can... curb these rumors. I can ensure the Lord remains deaf and blind to your little affair. A win-win, don't you think?"

The room went silent.

Remus waited. He expected fear. He expected the boy to realize he was cornered. He expected a stuttered agreement, a plea for silence.

Leo started to laugh.

It wasn't a nervous chuckle. It was a loud, full-bellied bark of amusement.

"Is that it?" Leo asked, wiping a tear from his eye. "That's your play? You're blackmailing me?"

Remus blinked, his confidence faltering slightly. "I am proposing a mutually beneficial—"

"Save it," Leo cut him off.

The humor vanished from his face instantly. His expression went flat, cold, and dead.

[Predator's Instincts Activated]

The air in the small study suddenly felt heavy, suffocating. A wave of pure, concentrated killing intent washed over the desk, slamming into the High Priest.

Leo stood up slowly. He didn't rush. He walked around the desk, his movements fluid and predatory. Remus tried to push his chair back, but he hit the wall. He was trapped.

Leo leaned down. He placed his hands on the arms of the Priest's chair, caging the old man in. He brought his face inches from Remus's.

"You think you have leverage, old man?" Leo whispered. His voice was a low rumble, vibrating in Remus's bones. "You think I'm scared of Caelum finding out?"

"Let me tell you something," Leo hissed. "Someone who walks out of the Endless Forest with items worth a king's ransom... someone who slaughters seven professional assassins like they're cattle while your 'holy guards' stood frozen... isn't here just to fuck a Lord's wife."

Leo reached out. He tapped Remus on the cheek. Tap. Tap. It was disrespectful. It was terrifying.

"I'm not hiding from Caelum," Leo said, his eyes burning with a dark fire. "I'm hunting him. I'm just waiting for the right time to bury him and take everything he owns."

Remus trembled. He couldn't breathe. The boy in front of him wasn't a commoner. He wasn't a hero. He was a beast wearing human skin.

Leo straightened up, looking down at the trembling priest with contempt.

"So here is the real deal," Leo said coldly. "I bring you the goods. You pay me full market price. No discounts. No tithes."

"And you?" Leo leaned in again. "You keep your mouth shut. Not because we have a deal. But because you want to live to see next winter."

"You better choose your sides right, High Priest," Leo said, his voice flat. "A lot of pigs are going to get slaughtered in this city very soon."

Leo turned his back on the priest. He walked towards the door, but he didn't leave. He stopped, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, radiating menace.

"And I don't want you to be one of them."

Remus sat paralyzed in his chair. His heart was hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. His hands shook so violently that he knocked his wine glass over, the red liquid spilling across the desk like blood.

He stared at Leo's back. He realized, with a jolt of ice-cold terror, that he had made a fatal miscalculation. He had tried to leash a wolf.

'Monster,' Remus whispered inside his own mind, his thoughts screaming. 'He's a monster.'

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