"But I rarely hear of her going on missions."
"She explained this to me when we first met. It's possible the higher-ups of the Demoness Sect don't have time right now." Altair didn't care much about this matter and replied casually.
After thinking for a moment, she added, "We don't have anything worth scheming for anyway, and if anything goes wrong, there will be someone taller to hold up the sky."
Vivian nodded, then stood up with light steps and sat in Altair's lap. In a seductive voice, she said, "I'm curious, what plans do you have for that extra sequence four characteristic, Lady Altair?"
"Hmm~ I haven't decided yet." After saying that, Altair wrapped her arms around Vivian's slender waist and added, "We don't have many people around us on the Demoness Pathway anyway. How about we get a cat and save the characteristic for her?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of "Meow~ Meow" echoed in Altair's ears, followed by her usual cat-petting session.
Having just arrived in Backlund today, Altair was in no rush to see Uncle-Grandfather Leif and the others. Things should be done slowly; as long as part of the trade was completed by the end of next January, it would be fine.
What she wanted to do now was maximize the profits. The Loen Kingdom Army bought rifles from the arsenal at 7 pounds 10 sol each, while the Navy paid 7 pounds 15 sol. The Demoness Sect surely wanted to buy at the Army's price and then resell them.
But everyone knew that the firearms weren't particularly advanced and could be easily replicated without paying intellectual property fees.
The important part was the bullets; that was the only technology this era hadn't fully mastered. The best way was "bundling," or following the previous method of having them pay a firearm design fee before they could purchase finished bullets.
Near noon on December 22, 1346, Altair took a carriage alone to Strauss Manor. She planned to see Uncle-Grandfather Leif and brief him on the Demoness Sect's affairs.
Regarding this matter, Altair really had no other choice.
After two days of thinking, Altair guessed that the most likely reason the Demoness Sect approached her to buy weapons was to drag everyone into the water and involve them in George III's Apotheosis Project.
This approach could achieve multiple goals at once. First, they could quickly accumulate funds through reselling. Second, at a critical moment, they could frame her for the illegal sale of weapons. When the time came, pulling up the radish would bring the mud with it—Uncle-Grandfather Leif and the others would certainly be implicated.
So she planned to lay her cards on the table and tell Uncle-Grandfather Leif about the Demoness Sect's schemes. As for the most important part—George III's Apotheosis Project—she would simply frame it as a suspicion that the Augustus Family and the Demoness Sect were secretly cooperating, without needing to explain everything fully.
At the dining table, after Altair explained her thoughts to Uncle-Grandfather Leif, he nodded and said, "Your guess makes a lot of sense. No wonder the Augustus Family suddenly intervened in that matter between us and the Demoness Sect back then."
"Go back after lunch. I have to discuss things with those old fogies this afternoon. I don't think you'd want to participate in such a boring affair."
Altair nodded, picked up her knife and fork again, and continued her lunch. She indeed had no interest in attending a gathering of old men, as it was far too boring.
After lunch, Uncle-Grandfather Leif walked Altair to the door. Just as the carriage was about to leave, he remembered something and said to her, "If there's a next gathering, you can bring Vivian along. Some things no longer need to be kept secret from her."
This sentence immediately sent Altair into deep thought. After returning home, she asked Vivian about it.
Only then did she learn the reason: on the second day after Altair had left Backlund, Uncle-Grandfather Leif had sought out Vivian.
After their discussion, one thing was settled: Vivian officially joined the Sheffield Family, changed her name to Vivian Sheffield, and had already been added to the family tree.
On the evening of December 30, 1346, Altair and Vivian returned to their own home after having dinner at Uncle-Grandfather Leif's house, not staying to spend New Year's Eve with him.
The carriage had just stopped in front of the villa when the clock of Empress Borough struck twelve.
Taking the opportunity, Altair brought out a gift she had prepared long ago: a multi-strand sapphire necklace. The necklace was composed of several gold chains, with square sapphires inlaid at regular intervals. The overall design was simple and elegant, yet not lacking in luxury.
Actually, Altair believed that the best gift for a Beyonder should be a Sealed Artifact. Unfortunately, she hadn't yet advanced to an Artisan, so she couldn't craft a good Sealed Artifact, nor did she have the contact information of any Artisans. Thus, she could only give ordinary items.
Vivian, on the other hand, took out a jewelry box. Upon opening it, a slender rose gold ring was revealed. She took the ring out and said to Altair, "I practically went bankrupt to get this ring."
——
After her exclamation, Vivian placed the ring on the ring finger of Altair's left hand and introduced it: "This ring is a Sealed Artifact made using the Beyonder characteristic of a sequence six Rose Bishop."
"It has only one ability, which is 'Flesh and Blood Magic.' As long as you don't involve changes to your spirituality, you'll be fine."
"The side effect is that after each use, you need to replenish flesh and blood—preferably fresh."
After introducing the Sealed Artifact, Vivian wrapped her arms around Altair's neck and gave a seductive smile.
After using her spirituality to communicate with the ring and activate its ability, Altair conveniently lifted Vivian up.
Vivian looked at Altair with eyes as pure as a fawn's and said to her, "For today, tomorrow, and the day after, there are only you, me, and two unimportant personal maids in this house. You can do as you please."
As she spoke, Vivian wrapped her long, beautiful legs around Altair's waist, letting her body lean into her embrace.
Altair tore at her clothes as she walked.
After returning to the room, high-pitched singing soon echoed throughout the bedroom——
But perhaps because they were too focused, neither of them noticed a trace of imperceptible light flowing from Altair's body into Vivian's, continuously transforming her.
After a long time, the two finally entered a state of rest. Vivian leaned against Altair and sighed weakly, "It seems my money was indeed well spent; the effect is quite good."