Peaceful Life System: I only need to live peacefully-Chapter 170: Rudolf (2)

"Then let’s not keep her waiting," Riku said, standing.

Riku and Sherry were led to a lavish, sound-proofed room at the very top floor of the Gavel.

Inside, the Violet Emissary stood by a large window overlooking the city. Seated in a high-backed chair, his back to them, was a single cloaked figure.

Riku felt a flash of anger. "Magister Kaelith," he said, his voice dangerously quiet. "You were to find me a name, not arrange an ambush. You have broken our deal by exposing my identity."

Kaelith paled. "Master, I swear, I did not! This man... he is not your enemy. He is the one you have been looking for."

The man in the chair slowly turned. He was older, with a kind, weathered face and sharp, intelligent eyes that held a hint of weary amusement.

"He is telling the truth," the man said, his voice calm. "I am the one who consigned those scrolls to this house."

He stood and extended a hand towards Riku.

"My name is Rudolf. And I believe you are curious about those light magic scrolls. Maybe we can exchange notes?"

The air in the Master’s Suite was thick with unspoken questions.

Kaelith wiped a bead of sweat from his temple. His eyes darted between the newcomer and Riku. The Violet Emissary stood perfectly still by the window. She was like a statue carved from shadow and silk. Her unreadable gaze was fixed on the scene.

Sherry shifted her weight. Her hand never strayed far from the dagger at her belt.

Rudolf’s hand remained extended. His expression was one of weary patience.

Riku broke the silence. He did not take the offered hand. "You recovered them," he stated. His voice was calm but demanding. "From where? And from whom?"

Rudolf lowered his hand. A faint, wry smile touched his lips. "A fair question. Please, sit. This is not a short story."

He gestured to the plush chairs. Riku took one. Sherry stood beside Riku, still not trusting the people in front of her.

Before Rudolf could go on, the Violet Emissary approached Riku with a big sack of dark leather.

She placed the sack on the table between them with a heavy thud.

"Your payment," she said, her voice laced with feminine charm as she looked at Riku in the eye. "Four hundred and seventy-five thousand gold. Five percent commission retained by The Gavel, as agreed. However, we could give you the full amount if you could grace me with your friendship."

"My lady..."

"Shhhhh"

Kaelith tried to object, only to get hushed by the Violet Emissary.

"Thank you. However, I am more interested in hearing Rudolf here." Riku said as he waved his hands in dismissal.

The Violet Emissary was shocked, but the man seated grabbed her hand and shook his head. She nodded, and stepped away from the table.

"Greetings, Master Riku. As I said earlier, I am Rudolf. I serve as a direct aide to our Darklord," Rudolf began.

His voice took on a narrative cadence. "My duties often require me to visit the minor noble houses, to keep an ear to the ground. A few weeks ago, I paid a visit to the estate of House Falco."

He paused, swirling a phantom drink in his hand. "Lord Falco is a man of... boisterous appetites. He delights in showing off his new acquisitions. On this particular visit, he was eager to display some strange trinkets he had ’procured’."

Rudolf looked directly at Riku. "He showed me a chest that bled cold mist and kept his wine chilled. He offered me another drink, a potion from a sealed bottle that sparkled and bit the tongue. He said they were procured from a strange merchant he had captured."

Riku’s outward expression remained a perfect mask of calm indifference; however, internally, he was praying that nothing bad had happened to Rennan yet. He still could not call divine beings to bring him back to life.

"A merchant from beyond the Frostfang Mountains, Falco boasted," Rudolf continued. "He’d taken the man’s cart, his strange goods, and a pair of scrolls he found on the horse and the merchant himself. Light-magic scrolls. Falco thought they were some interesting trinkets and brought them back."

Rudolf leaned forward slightly. "But I knew better. Light magic is rare here. Foreign. The enchantments were unlike anything in our archives. I knew they were important. I... persuaded Lord Falco to part with them. He has a weakness for rare soul-gems, you see. So I made him a trade."

"And that is how I got the scrolls. However, after analyzing them, I realized that no one could use it, so I gave them away to this auction house. You probably already know the rest of it."

He sat back. His story was finished. The room was silent again.

"I have told you what I know," Rudolf said, his gaze sharpening. "Now, you will tell me your secret."

"i don’t think I have any secrets. I am curious what Lord Rudolf wants to know." Riku asked with a slight smile.

"That sword," Rudolf said, his eyes intense. "The ’Soul-Drinker’. I have spent a lifetime studying artifacts. No living man in this entire empire can craft such a thing. Tell me, how did you acquire it?"

Riku met his gaze without hesitation. "I made it," he said simply.

A flicker of disbelief crossed Rudolf’s face. Even the Violet Emissary’s stillness was broken by a slight narrowing of her eyes.

"You... made it?" Rudolf repeated, his voice skeptical.

"Yes," Riku said.

"Impossible," the Violet Emissary spoke for the first time. Her voice was a low, dangerous whisper. "Soul-craft is a lost art. A forbidden one."

Riku offered a small, unbothered smile. "Is it?" He turned to the sweating Magister. "Kaelith. Bring me a sword. Any sword. One of your plain, unadorned blades from the armory."

Kaelith stared, his face pale. "Master Riku... I..."

"Now," Riku’s voice was quiet. It held a command that could not be disobeyed.

The Magister practically fled the room. He returned moments later. He held a simple steel longsword with trembling hands. It was identical to the one Riku had bought in the armory.

Riku took the sword. "Watch closely," he said to the room at large. "I will only show you once."

He held the sword in one hand. With the other, he drew a single, long fingernail across the flat of the blade. His nail, hardened by a flicker of mana, moved like an engraving tool.

He carved rough lines of runes down the length of the blade.

Rudolf leaned forward, his eyes wide. "What is he doing?" he whispered to himself.

Kaelith could only shake his head, his mouth dry.

Dark Soul Enchant. [-100 Goodwill Points]

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