Chapter 1704 (2/2)

“I have nothing right now, but I can guarantee that I’ll have no problems with the request for buying planets.” Claudette shrugged and her brow furrowed. “My family regularly participates in the real estate market… considering the size of our assets, a few planets will not draw anyone’s attention. However… it will be more difficult for me to give over control of the Nexus Ways for those planets to you if you wish to prevent others from coming and going from your planets…”

“I have my own methods for disconnecting the planet from the Nexus Ways,” Randidly said. Then he felt vaguely confused as he felt a flash of fear and disgust from Claudette, even though her features didn’t shift at all.

What the hell sort of assumptions are you making about me…? Randidly wondered even while being impressed with her control over her face.

But Claudette didn’t give him the chance to voice his confusion. “As for your request regarding Nether Cores… that will take me a bit more time to arrange. I believe my father has extensive literature detailing both methods… but those records I will not be able to get freely. There are certain… costs within my family. I will need both a justifiable excuse and some… collateral to pay for the knowledge. That will take some time to gather.”

Randidly nodded slowly, wondering what it would be like living with a father who could use his Skills to compel you to obey him based on the things he had done for you in the past. The affection from such a powerful individual… was infectious indeed.

Still, Randidly shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. “That… is fine. As long as you understand that I cannot… guarantee the results from my assistance helping you refine your image. Aside from my own image… I’ve never engaged in something like this before. But we should also talk about the timeline. When should I… be ready?”

Claudette paused then and examined Randidly from the top of his head to his bare toes. She seemed to be reckoning with the knowledge that they were really doing this. Again, her expression was completely blank, but Randidly could completely feel her emotions as she doubted her initial instinct to give Randidly this responsibility.

But a dark streak of fatalism seemed to suffocate her hesitance and Claudette smiled warmly at Randidly, a chilling contrast to the bleak outlook he could sense within her. “Well… before the celebration of my father's third Mille. Preferably we would finish at least a few weeks before, so I can get used to the… refinements to my image. So tentatively, we need to be successful four months from now? So… we might need to start as soon as possible.”

That admission made Randidly blink. “You want to start… immediately? As I said, I have no knowledge of the process… how long does it usually take?”

For the first time, Claudette’s expression was bitter. It was clear that the prospect of failure already filled her with grief. “A proper image refinement can take years. But, since you weren’t very experienced anyway… and I assumed we would rely on partial time dilation to give us some extra breathing room…”

Randidly reached up and rubbed his chin. “...I can make sure the time dilation we experience is… quite strong. But I need some time, both for you to provide the planets and for me to make my own… preparations.”

Claudette pursed her lips. She weighed him again, that same calculating look Randidly had seen in the eyes of her father, without any of the sharp hooks. “...fine, but I want a hard start limit of two months. Agreed?”

Randidly winced slightly. I might need to go to the shaft for a bit if I need to accumulate enough Nether to make a Nether Ritual for the planets in that time… I could wait until after, but somehow, I doubt that Don Beigon will remain idle after the work begins-

There was a soft knock at the door and then a familiar voice, “Honey? Papa just wanted to see-”

The door slid open and revealed a completely transformed Don Beigon, his face lit by a warm smile filled for affection for his child. Yet when his heavy-lidded eyes landed upon Randidly, his expression suddenly became stiff. There wasn’t a hint of recognition there as he glowered at this ‘interloper’. “...hmmm? Who… who the hell are you, in my daughter’s room?!?!”

“Papa!” Claudette was on her feet in the next instant. She swayed and collapsed toward Randidly, her hands held up protectively between her father and him. “Please, this isn’t what it looks like! We are just friends.”

“FRIENDS?!!?!?” Don Beigon thundered, wheeling himself into the room and releasing an explosive wave of heat. His words shook this entire wing of the sprawling house. “YOU DARE CLAIM THAT YOU ARE FRIENDS WHEN HE LOOKS AT YOU WITH SUCH COVETOUS EYES?!?”

Did you… get me to promise not to mention our meeting just so you could barge in as the righteous father? Randidly wondered, feeling vaguely exhausted. I suppose it can be considered barely not interfering that you waited until we were done discussing the details to make your entrance…

“Those are just his eyes!” Claudette denied, but she gave Randidly the sort of look that mixed desire, guilt, and rebellion in such a complex concoction that even Randidly couldn’t help but wonder if this was a play where someone had just forgotten to give him his lines.

If he didn’t know better, he definitely would suspect they had worked together to prank him.

Randidly cleared his throat. Both Beigons, melodramatic expressions on their face, turned to him, giving Randidly a chance to participate in their strange game. He did his best to resist the urge to roll his eyes. But even to his ears, his voice sounded monotone. “...I didn’t expect things to progress so quickly either. I was simply swept away by… passion.”

“Dearest Randidly…” Claudette sighed with crocodile tears in her eyes. Randidly couldn’t decide if it was better or worse that she didn’t address how flat he had sounded.

“GET OUUTTTTTTTTT!” The Don howled.