And you—what's with the way you're looking at me?
Rios found it increasingly odd. What was wrong with Larry today? Ever since Leon walked in, Larry had been acting strange, and now he was giving Rios this weird look—damn, was that look... pity?
Larry must've really lost his mind...
Forget it, I'll ignore him for now. Some days, even Leon can't be bothered to unravel the mysteries of idiocy.
"That's right—compensation!" Rios temporarily set aside Larry's odd behavior, looking down at Leon with an air of superiority. "The Gilded Rose's provocation has crossed Viper's Nest's bottom line. Now you have two choices: compensate us, or become an enemy of Viper's Nest."
"Well, I think compensation is probably the better option," Leon replied, his voice dripping with mock reasonableness.
"Smart choice." Hearing the willingness to compensate, Rios flashed a victorious smile. Ever since Leon entered the reception room, this was the first time the great swordsman had sat down.
"My demands are simple. Five alchemy apprentices—two hundred thousand gold coins each, for a total of one million. And before nightfall, I want to see that batch of detained goods outside the Razor Rift."
"Wait, wait..." The great swordsman had just sat down, satisfied, but as he listened to Lin Yun counting off the terms of compensation, something felt off. "What do you mean by compensation?"
"Tell me, Rios, you didn't really think you could just detain people from the Gilded Rose, did you? Do you have any idea those five you detained are the best alchemy apprentices the Gilded Rose has? Each of them brings enormous profit to us. I'm only asking for two hundred thousand per person—I'm not even being greedy," Leon said, letting his words linger with a hint of dark amusement.