Chapter 267 - The New Leader (1/2)

”Where did that idea come from, Felix?” Argentum could not help but say in response to Felix's question, briefly radiating a slightly confused aura. He then pondered over the proposition for a bit, eventually shaking his head left and right as he added, ”Either way, I'm not fit to become the leader of a town of Animates. I'm just a measly Pseudo-Animate that does not know how the world of the Animates work. If I become the town's leader, it might just lead to the destruction of this town.”

Listening to Argentum's disapproval, Felix could not help but scratch his head as he mulled over Argentum's words, slightly finding it peculiar as to how Argentum was able to make the guards not act on them before he had arrived. With that in mind, he asked him with a hint of caution, ”Just to make sure, do those guards really not know that you two are Pseudo-Animates?”

”Not at all,” Argentum said as he shook his head. He then continued, ”As I've said earlier, they must have thought that we were humans like them. With the combat power we showed in front of them, who would think that two entities like us would actually be Pseudo-Ani—huh.”

Just as he was about to finish his statement, a grin could be seen creeping up on Felix's handsome face, giving Argentum the feeling that he was being led somewhere. With the grin still plastered on his face, Felix said in a cheerful tone, ”Well then, you said it yourself. Those Animates don't know that you're a Pseudo-Animate, so why don't you try your hand at being a leader of a town?”

He then added, ”I've noticed that the guards did not move, even when the leader I killed ordered them to attack you. Surely you must have persuaded them, or gave them some incentive to not make a move on you both.”

Hearing that Felix knew what had happened before he had arrived, Argentum was about to ask this question, only for Felix to be one step ahead of him as he said, ”Oh, and also, my spells cover a large range. It's a simple matter for me to know about these things.”

”Huh…” Argentum said with a tone of slight understanding and confusion, going silent for a bit after that. After a while, he let out a soft sigh as he answered, ”Sure, I did persuade them to not make a move on us, but for the most part, in order for them to follow my words, we had to show our full strength in front of them. I was just using the cards we had to the fullest effect at that time.”

”Nevertheless, you still have a scheming mind,” Felix replied as he let out a light chuckle. As he listened to Argentum's counterarguments, although they expressed deep disapproval in the proposition of becoming a leader of Verdant Breeze Town, the reasoning he used was more than enough for Felix to consider him as a possible leader of such a town. ”Plus, this is a world where the rulers are based on strength. Who would not show their strength at opportune moments if not for them to be at an advantage?”

Argentum had nothing to say to Felix's question. Of course, it was not because he did not have any words to say to the question, but instead, he felt like if he answered, he would be dragged deeper into what seemed to be a trap.

A trap that would give him no choice but to become the leader of Verdant Breeze Town.

With that in mind, Argentum went ahead and changed the topic in an instant as he said, ”In any case, I don't have the qualifications to become the leader of such a town. I don't have enough strength to be able to maintain the position of leader.”

”Oh?” Felix raised his eyebrows as he heard those words, replying with a question as he said, ”Not enough strength? But you were able to make the guards obey you because you had enough strength to do so?”

”Do remember that I'm just a Normal-grade Pseudo-Animate, Felix,” Argentum said in response, letting out a short sigh after that. ”I've already shown you my full power back in your inheritance, but that level of combat power is something I can only maintain for an incredibly short time. For the most part, I relied on Blob to make the guards wary of our strength, not mine.”

”Haah…” Felix could not help but let out a sigh of his own after hearing that, feeling Argentum's determination of not accepting the position. Naturally, he was still thinking of ways to make Argentum accept the position of becoming the leader of Verdant Breeze Town, since he felt like it was a good platform for him to become well-known throughout the continent. But at this moment, he could not help but mutter, ”You know Argentum? You're one tough cookie to cra—”

”Hm? Could you repeat that?” Argentum asked Felix as he noticed that he stopped in his sentence just as he was about to finish. But unfortunately for Argentum, it seemed like the statement would not be repeated as a grin was plastered on Felix's face once more. This time though, the grin was incredibly wide, making Argentum feel like he was looking at the crescent moon instead of a grin.

”Hehehe…” Letting out a low chuckle, Felix imitated the sound of one clearing their throat as he said in a sarcastic tone while shrugging his shoulders, ”Oh, well. Since you don't want to accept the position, then I guess I won't tell you the benefits of becoming a leader.”

In response, Argentum briefly radiated an aura of curiosity, to which he suppressed as he felt like he was being led to a trap. Nevertheless, he still asked him, ”And what benefit would that be?”

”You don't need to hear it,” Felix said as he waved his hands, non-verbally telling Argentum that he shouldn't listen to it if he did not want to become the leader of Verdant Breeze Town. Ironically, Felix increased the distance between the two of them and started to speak in a hushed tone. Of course, with the help of Argentum's enhanced senses, he was able to hear it pretty easily.

”I just remembered something I've heard a few hundred years ago that, if you become the leader of a settlement, you gain a boost in power akin to becoming the owner of inheritances. Of course, the stronger the settlement, the higher the boost. Unfortunately, you don't want to be the leader anyway, so I won't persuade anymo—” Felix muttered to himself, only to stop as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Turning around, he noticed that Argentum was looking at him with an elated and expectant expression. Imitating the sound of coughing, Argentum then asked Felix, ”So you're telling me that I can obtain a boost in power if I become the leader of this town? Alright, I'll accept it.”

”…” Felix was left at a loss for words at Argentum's sudden change in personality. Just a while ago, Argentum was thinking that becoming a leader was not a perfect fit for him, but after hearing that he would become stronger if he did it, he accepted?

'Does that mean whenever I request Argentum to do something, I should always talk about the benefits of doing it beforehand?' he thought to himself soon after, thinking that Argentum was the first being he had met that was incredibly profit-oriented.

Scratching his head to relieve the awkward atmosphere in the surroundings, Felix let out an awkward chuckle as he lightly smiled, saying, ”Well, I'm glad you accept. Trust me, becoming the leader of this town would help you out in the long run. Not only would your combat power increase, but you would also have an army of people at your beck and call to help you out, whenever and wherever it may be.”

”I've never thought of it from that perspective,” Argentum said as a follow-up to Felix's statement, committing the last sentence Felix said to his mind. He then pondered over something for a bit before going ahead and focusing his attention on the notebook beside the four flasks.

He then skimmed through the notebook, eventually realizing that this notebook was far more precious than he thought. At first, he thought that this notebook would only contain a bit of information regarding the four flasks, but who knew that this notebook would actually detail the recipes of the four concoctions, as well as its previous iterations that might result in a stronger effect?