"Takeru, how can you do this?!" Compared to Felt's wariness, Emilia was the one who became nervous.
"Lia, don't worry. Leave it to me." Seeing her nervous look, Takeru laughed lightly and reassured her.
Seeing Takeru's expression, Emilia could only give in and watched Takeru.
"What are you plotting?!" Felt then spoke up.
"Let me introduce myself first. I am Nara Takeru. As for what you call plotting, let's say it's a small condition." Hearing her words, Takeru paused for a moment before speaking.
"Condition? I knew it!" Hearing Takeru's words, Felt looked at him with even more wariness.
"That's right. A condition. I want to use these two hundred-plus holy gold coins to buy out the rest of your life." Takeru stated directly.
Hearing Takeru's words, both Felt and Emilia widened their eyes.
"You... you pervert! I... I won't yield to you!" Felt, upon reacting, blushed and said.
"What are you thinking? I mean, I hope after you take this bag of gold, you find a proper place to live. And, from now on, don't engage in theft anymore. That kind of behavior is really not good." Seeing her expression, Takeru rolled his eyes, then spoke with a hint of sadness.
Hearing Takeru say this and feeling the heaviness in his tone, Felt was stunned.
For some reason, looking at Takeru's expression now, she could clearly sense his sorrow, making her feel inexplicably sad too. Emilia also felt an unexplained sadness.
What the two didn't know was that Takeru was simply using a Nen Technique. Takeru had discovered that through Nen, his emotions could make those around him empathize more deeply.
Takeru had realized this issue a while ago. If he could emit malicious intent, could he also emit benevolent intent? Through experimentation, Takeru found that benevolent intent could make him appear more approachable, causing people to unconsciously develop trust in him.
Like when he saved Hinazuki and the others before, Takeru had diffused his goodwill through Nen, allowing the children to accept him more quickly. He had also used benevolent intent with the little girl earlier.
However, benevolent intent wasn't omnipotent. If the other party held hostility towards you, no matter how much you amplified your goodwill, it wouldn't be effective.
Also, for people with strong wills or special abilities, it might have the opposite effect.
Apart from benevolent intent, emotions like sorrow and anger could also be amplified to make those around empathize more.
At this moment, immersed in Takeru's sadness, Felt was somewhat at a loss.
"Sorry, I lost my composure a bit just now. So, is this deal acceptable?" After a good while, Takeru seemed to finally adjust his state of mind and forced a smile as he spoke to her.
"Why?" Looking at Takeru's expression, Felt felt even more uncomfortable. Her eyes involuntarily reddened. This sudden care left Felt, who grew up in the deceitful slums, at a loss.
"Why? Because this isn't the life you wanted either, Felt." Seeing the wavering look in Felt's eyes, Takeru directly stepped forward and gently embraced her.
Feeling Takeru's action, Felt wanted to escape, but her body couldn't muster any strength, or rather, her instincts didn't want to leave this warm embrace.
"Damn it! You're just an outsider! You don't understand anything at all!" In Takeru's embrace, Felt broke down, tears streaming uncontrollably.
"I know! Because your eyes have already told me." Hearing her words, Takeru spoke gently again.
Hearing Takeru's words, Felt completely stopped struggling, then hugged Takeru back and cried.
Seeing this scene, a hint of moisture appeared at the corner of Emilia's eyes.
For some reason, she suddenly felt a bit envious of Felt. Although Emilia might seem to be doing well now, only Puck knew of her loneliness. Some kinds of care were something a father-like figure like him couldn't give to Emilia.
At that moment, Takeru also sensed that Elsa, who had been observing from the shadows, could no longer hold back. She appeared at incredible speed, then swung her dagger mercilessly towards Takeru and Felt, who were embracing.
Seeing this, Takeru narrowed his eyes, directly holding Felt and jumping away from the spot.
"Who's there?!" The sudden change put everyone on guard.
"Hey, what's going on?!" Felt, now out of Takeru's embrace, noticed Elsa and angrily said to her.
"The owner is present. The possibility of bargaining is almost zero. So I've changed the original plan. I'll kill everyone present. You failed to complete your job thoroughly. Talk is cheap, but your actions are sloppy. In the end, you're just a slum rat." Hearing Felt's words, Elsa mocked.
"Bastard!" Hearing her mockery, Felt was furious.
Seeing the slightly bristling Felt, Takeru gently ruffled her hair, calming her down.
"No wonder I felt something was familiar earlier. But now I've confirmed your identity. Elsa Granhiert, the Bowel Hunter." Takeru looked at Elsa and directly stated.
"Ara~ Looks like you know me. I wonder if your intestines are as beautiful as your handsome appearance." Hearing Takeru's words, Elsa licked her lips.
"Talking about changing the plan because the owner is present... even if the owner weren't here, you would have killed her to silence witnesses after getting the insignia, right?" Looking at her, Takeru continued.
"Ara~ Seems the young man knows me quite well." Hearing Takeru's words, Elsa narrowed her eyes, not denying it at all.
"What?!" Hearing Elsa's words, Felt looked at her with hatred.
"Talking about Felt being sloppy... aren't you the same? It was a task commissioned to you, yet you passed it on to Felt, and afterward, you plan to kill her to silence her. Truly despicable." Takeru continued.
"Sharp tongue." Hearing Takeru's words, Elsa frowned deeply, her killing intent continuously surging.
"Don't underestimate me!" At that moment, Emilia spoke up. As she spoke, a large number of ice spikes appeared in the air and shot towards Elsa.
Looking at the ice spikes, Elsa didn't intend to take them head-on and quickly dodged. In this open area, dodging was swift and easy for her.
Seeing her ice spikes completely ineffective, Emilia frowned.
However, at that moment, Elsa seized a moment of inattention. In a flash, she swiftly appeared in front of Emilia and swung her blade.
But at the critical moment, a layer of special ice manifested out of nowhere, blocking in front of Emilia and stopping Elsa's attack.
Seeing this, Elsa quickly retreated after failing to hit.
Puck, who had been idle for a while, floated out and looked at Elsa.
"A spirit, a spirit! Ahaha, wonderful! I haven't seen a spirit's intestines yet. Ahaha!" Seeing Puck, Elsa wasn't afraid but grew even more excited.
"By the way, let me introduce myself, miss. I'm Puck. At least remember my name, then die." Looking at Elsa, Puck raised both hands, and a massive number of ice spikes coalesced in the air.
Then, with a wave from Puck, all the ice spikes shot towards Elsa simultaneously. In an instant, her location was hit by a barrage of ice spikes, raising a cloud of dust.
"Did we win?" Seeing this, Felt asked nervously.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you." Sensing Felt's nervousness at the moment, Takeru gently reassured her.
Looking at Takeru's gaze, Felt felt a bit embarrassed but didn't refuse his kindness.
As the dust settled, a small iceberg appeared where Elsa had been, and Elsa was frozen inside.
"Good thing I was prepared." Elsa, frozen inside, said softly. The iceberg quickly began to crack, then, with a flash of intense light, shattered completely. Elsa's form reappeared before everyone. She had used a magic defense item to offset Puck's lethal attack.
Having broken free, Elsa didn't hesitate. She swung her dagger again, aiming for Emilia. Clearly, she now understood that the greatest threat to her was likely Emilia.
"Don't look down on a spirit arts user!" Seeing her attack, Emilia remained calm. She directly condensed a special ice shield in front of her, blocking the attack.