I Only Summon Villainesses-Chapter 311: Bargains of Chips

"But there’s something..." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

My heart caught as he mentioned that.

’Something? The fuck you mean something, Mr Man, let us to the damn Night Auction you violent pillar of excretion.’

His gaze shifted to me.

"What about the frontline? How are we going to take care of that? You’ve gone and become a key to the battle today. I can’t just let that go."

I raised my brows, surprised and offended.

’What does he mean he can’t let that go.’

For some reason, I was smelling a ploy here. This man was about to be sketchy.

He spoke before I could press the point.

"Yes, you are right. The House Valatian values profit far more than anything, and inhibiting you would most certainly be disadvantageous to them. But in this special condition, letting you go will also work against them."

He breathed before he continued, and even that breath felt measured, like he rationed his pauses the same way he rationed information.

"Letting the Night Fall Order take tonight’s win can destroy a decade of what the House Valatian has been working for. At the end of the day, I have to weigh which choice carries more weight of consequences."

He glanced at the Fox Lady and then returned his gaze to me.

"However, I am willing to make a special exception for you."

’I knew it!’

I kept my face neutral and stared into his eyes, which were like way up there. The man was unreasonably tall.

"And what will this exception be?"

A smile curled upon his lips.

He changed his stance, standing more casually with all those robes draping around him. The shift was too smooth. Rehearsed. He’d already decided what he wanted before this conversation started, and everything between then and now had been theater.

’Wonderful. A businessman pretending to negotiate. My favorite kind of con.’

"It’s simple, you see... I’m sure, after seeing all the reports that were made about you, I’m certain that you are a Heroic Summoner. Hence, I want you to do two things for me." He raised two fingers forward, looking at me in the eye. "Two."

I stood there, watchful, while he was still smiling and the Fox Lady was beside us, silent but looking interested enough that she hadn’t left.

Well, it was up to Atlas that she could enter the Auction after all.

"Alright?"

"First, I want to know your rank..."

I scoffed. "That’s simple, I’m..."

He stopped me before I could talk any further by putting a finger over his lips.

"Shush... I don’t care about what your rank says on paper or what the runes say. We have our own way of knowing. I simply want you to submit yourself to it. Undergo the test. That is one." He folded one finger down. "Two, I need your summon for that destruction that is outside. If your attributes are that strong, then I am sure that you’re holding a monstrous thing in there. I want you to send it outside to change the tide of the battle and aid us as much as you can. After that, we can then discuss making you a captain."

I thought about the things he said without responding right away.

’Well, a re-evaluation of rank does no harm. After all, I know I’m F rank, so he’ll be very disappointed actually.’

The real problem was the second thing he wanted me to do. Sending Maggie out there felt like sending her on slave work.

Then again, who was to say they couldn’t do a little slave labor for me? After all, I’d been pampering them the whole time. Every last one of them.

My gaze sharpened at the sweet thought.

’Yea, no bad. Let her too work for her rent.’

It was actually not a bad idea. After all, thinking about it thoroughly, I sighed and looked at the man.

"I have a counter condition too."

Atlas chuckled, but the chuckle didn’t quite reach his eyes. His expression stayed arranged, controlled, like someone used to laughing without it meaning anything.

"You don’t have the right to object to anything, Mr Cade. I believe you have made your conditions clear from the very beginning, and by doing this, I’m merely doing you a favor."

He shifted his gaze to Lady Fintan.

"A favor you very much owe to the Lady of the White Tail Clan."

He was right. This chance I was only able to take so much advantage of because the perfect opportunities had presented themselves, and I’d used every one of them to slip myself through. That was not to say that things weren’t proceeding well for me.

Still though...

"I only asked you for one thing. You’re going to ask for two, and in that regard, it’ll leave me thinking if the profit I seek is enough for me to expose myself in the way you want me to." I breathed. "It’s only right that I make this fair so I can be satisfied with the choices I make."

He continued to stare at me.

I shrugged.

"Or if that’s not enough, we can simply just withdraw all of this. I can tear my way to the enemy’s camp and decide to help them instead."

A pale smile fell from his lips.

"Mr Cade, I do not respond so well to threats."

There was no iota of fear in my gaze. His stare held mine with cold and subdued contempt, and yet all of it affected me in no way at all. Either I was getting somewhat too cocky or the attributes that affected my head were getting powerful enough to dampen my fear and whatnot.

’I think I’ve always been a fairly cocky person.’

"You can try me... nothing can hold me down and I am very confident about it. Nothing here can."

The Fox Lady at that moment nodded and spoke.

"He says the truth, Atlas. Listen to the young man if you value your place... he single-handedly humbled me and that pretentious War-Prelate of the Iron Covenant."

Atlas was silent, and wasn’t one to show emotions, but that silence was quieter than just not saying anything. Something shifted behind his eyes. His gaze drifted towards me and a small smile played at his lips.

"Certainly. A re-evaluation of your rank will be very much appreciated. In that case, I shall consider your request. What is it?"

I inhaled and exhaled.

"I need to find a companion of mine. We left the Mercenary Guild in El Mercado... from there, I’ve heard nothing of her. I assumed that she would be providing support from some higher elevation since she was a sniper, but then there’s been no sign of her."

Atlas rubbed his jaw.

"A sniper... now those are very rare summoners, and the best of them that I at least know about are from the House Valatian..."

He paused, still rubbing his jaw, and looked down on me with one of his brows slightly raised.

"What is the name of this person?"

I responded casually.

"Cressida...?"

Immediately as I uttered the name, a dark frown knitted his brows.

"You... wait." His voice changed. The practiced smoothness cracked, just slightly, just enough. "Have I bothered to ask... who are you, and where do you come from?"