RISE OF EROS

The sudden appearance of Arturios surprised everyone. Aki and Marie instantly raised their guard and were ready to attack. Carolina and Helena retreated to the back of the room scared that they would be involved in the battle, as they had no fighting strength at all.

On the other hand, Andrew remained seated and only turned to look at Oliver. He is the most powerful fighting force in the Heavenly Palace, so Andrew wanted to see Oliver's expression, to evaluate the person who had appeared.

However, seeing the serious expression on Oliver's face, Andrew became worried because he understood that the man who had appeared in front of them was extremely powerful.

"You must be Andrew," Arturios said in a deep voice. Andrew summoned all his courage to calm down and engage the visitor in conversation, "Indeed, it is me. May I know who the gentleman is?".

Andrew tried to be as polite as possible because he knew he was in front of an expert and since he had not started attacking, perhaps he could reason with him, so he tried to get on his good side.

"My name is Arturios Von Done." When the visitor introduced himself, everyone present swallowed hard because there was no one in the empire who didn't know that name.

Andrew also became serious because he was standing before one of the protectors of the empire, so he stooped up and with a respectful bow said, "An honor to meet the protector of the empire."

Arturios was unfazed by Andrew's politeness. He had his eyes fixed on Oliver and after a few seconds he dulled a smile and said, "I did not expect to find Nufa's most prominent general here."

When Arturios finished speaking, the office fell silent and the tension rose because many things could be misconstrued from Oliver's former position. To be mistaken as remnants of the extinct kingdom of Nufa was problematic, but Oliver kept his cool.

"It is an honor to be recognized by Lord Arturios," Oliver said with a small bow. "I would be a fool not to acknowledge my enemies. Which brings me to a question, what is your objective?" said Arturios inquisitively.

"There seems to be some misunderstanding. I imagined that Ms. Candice reported our findings, was I mistaken?", Oliver continued. Normally it would be Andrew holding this conversation, but Oliver and Arturios were the experts in the room, and no one complained.

"Misunderstood? I'm not sure. Until recently a group of remnants led by the crown prince of Nufa attacked the city. How do I know you are not part of that group?" asked Arturios with a stern expression that indicated murderous intent.

"Lord Arturios, there is no need to fight. I'm not part of them, in fact, I didn't even know the crown prince had escaped," Oliver replied without showing nervousness.

"And I'm supposed to believe you?", Arturios asked again in a mocking tone, to which Oliver replied, "Well, that's up to you. As for the information that Ms. Candice communicated, it's not false."

Oliver spoke firmly, but he really was nervous. He knew that, if Arturios decided to attack, they would not be able to escape, it was certain death. Before Arturios could speak again Oliver said, "Lord Arturios, I abandoned Nufa long before the war ended, I have no desire for revenge, I only accompany young Andrew whom I now serve."

Oliver's comment made Arturios redirect his gaze to Andrew as if sizing him up. After a few seconds, he spoke again, "I don't think a man like you, would follow a young man like him."

"Since Mr. Arturios recognized me, I imagine you know my character, so you must know I don't lie," Oliver said. Silence pervaded the office again.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for Arturios' verdict. Everyone present knew that they were at Arturios' mercy and could do nothing if he decided to act, so they waited in silence.

As Oliver had stated, Arturios knew Oliver's character and knew him to be a man of honor. Many would argue that this was not true, as he abandoned his country to its fate when he fled, but those who knew Oliver's circumstances knew that decision did not tarnish his honor at all.

"I guess I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for the time being. Now I want to hear from Silvio and Milton," Arturios said relaxing the situation. Oliver was about to talk, but Andrew was faster.

"Mr. Arturios, all the information we know must have been told by Ms. Candice, we really have nothing new to comment on, only that tomorrow morning Milton will arrive with slaves and infected animals."

Arturios wrinkled his eyebrows in disgust, seeing Andrew interrupt his conversation with Oliver. Although Arturios is a man without arrogance, it is common knowledge that when experts speak they should not be interrupted and that was what annoyed him.

Andrew had noticed this and quickly added, "Mr. Arturios, this is my Heavenly Palace, so I have the power to speak." Andrew's words were firm and Arturios noticed this.

Unexpectedly, Andrew's words had some authority and it wasn't because he owned the place. For an expert of Arturios' level, he could feel the pressure coming from Andrew's divinity, although he didn't know what divinity was exactly, and that made him cautious.

"Young man, your words have power. I wonder if I should eliminate you, you seem like a threat," Arturios said, releasing his powerful aura. This made everyone in the office feel despair, especially Carolina and Helena who had no way to resist.

"Mr. Arturios, I would appreciate it if you would not resort to violence. If building the best pleasure house in the world is a threat to the empire, I can take my business elsewhere," Andrew said unexpectedly nonchalantly.

This surprised Arturios. He had already evaluated Andrew and knew that Andrew had no combat strength, but for some reason, he felt that he was not a normal young man, this made him uncomfortable, but at the same time he did not feel any negativity from Andrew, so he suppressed his aura and looked at him seriously.

"I appreciate your compassion. Now, let's get back to what's important," Andrew continued. Again he began to tell everything they knew about Silvio and Milton and although a little more detailed than what Candice had told them, it didn't differ much.

Upon hearing Andrew's whole story, Arturios asked, "What are you looking for?" to which Andrew replied, "Just 2 things. First, by eliminating Silvio and Milton, I got rid of two troublesome enemies and gained an additional property."

Andrew paused and continued, "Second, gaining a favor." The first reason generated no feeling in Arturios as he could deduce it, the second reason was the one that troubled him and he did not hold back as he asked, "What kind of favor?"

"Well, I don't know if Mr. Arturios is aware, but I am the manufacturer of a beauty cream that has gained popularity in the city, but the person I work with in this business, has become greedy," Andrew explained.

"Unfortunately, this man has gained many connections with the nobility and is problematic to deal with...", Andrew was saying when he was interrupted by Arturios, "So you want us to rein in the nobles so that they don't cause you trouble, right?".

"That's right," Andrew replied with a smile. Arturios had no problem with that, as it was a minor matter, but he still said, "We can certainly do that, but what will you do when they find out that you took him out? We can't protect you forever."

"I think there will be no problem as long as they can get the product. That man's connections only exist because of my product, so for them, it will just be a change of supplier, I don't think they'll bother me about that," Andrew clarified.

"I see, there enters Miss Candice. Well, as long as you don't act recklessly I warranted the conditions," Arturios said and then added, "Now, where do I find this pleasure house called Paradise?".

Andrew dared not linger, nor doubt Arturios' word, so he told him where it was and took the opportunity to ask him not to be too violent in that place because it would be his property.

Although he asked him that, it was only a request, so whether Arturios took it into consideration was uncertain. Andrew finished reporting Silvio's location and Arturios had already disappeared the same way he had arrived.

When he was gone, the tense bodies of everyone present relaxed, slumping to the floor. Some breathing heavily, but Oliver's comment again made everyone tense, "We drew the attention of the least desirable character."

They all sighed helplessly, as they understood what Oliver meant. They were now in the crosshairs of none other than the empire itself, which was not good news for them.

They were barely recovering when in the distance they heard a loud explosion and they all ran to the window to see what was happening, then they saw the column of smoke where the Paradise pleasure house was located.

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