Chiffon thought long and hard, but couldn't think of what she wanted. In the end, she decided to let William pick an item for her to use.
While William was discussing with the System on what kind of artifact would suit Chiffon, a little golden piglet appeared out of nowhere and started to rub the side of its face on Chiffon's foot.
Chiffon, who had been accustomed to dealing with the beasts in the Thousand Beast Domain, found the piglet adorable. She was about to pick it up when something unexpected happened.
A dark-blue mace flew out of nowhere and slammed itself into the golden piglet, sending it flying away.
The little piglet uttered an adorable cry as it fell on a small hill of gold coins, which broke its fall. Chiffon cried out in alarm and was about to go to the piglet, when the dark-blue mace blocked her way.
Suddenly, a pair of eyes appeared on the mace's head and a row of razor sharp teeth appeared when it opened its mouth.
"Young lady, good day to you," the staff said in a respectful manner. "I know that you are concerned about that piglet, but worry not, I held back my blow and merely sent it away so that we could talk. Do you know? That piglet is so clingy that the moment you choose it, it will not leave your side no matter what."
The dark-blue mace was about to say more, but Plutus had already appeared between it and Chiffon.
"Sharur! What are you doing here?!" Plutus roared in anger. "Why did you leave your pedestal? You know the rules, so why are you doing these things?"
The mace scoffed at the caretaker of the treasury and pointed its head on the piglet who had already crawled out from the gold pile where it had fallen.
"Then what about that piglet?" Sharur countered. "He also broke the rules, but you didn't say anything."
"Gullinbursti merely wanted to meet the guests of the treasury," Plutus replied. "Also, he is the Master's pet. He can go wherever he pleases!"
"Tsk, it has been so many years and you still haven't changed," Sharur sneered. "You still play favoritism. Double standard much?"
William gave the dark-blue mace a thumbs up in his heart. For him, anyone who was against Plutus was considered an ally.
Even so, he still didn't openly give his support to Sharur. How could he possibly do that?
He still remembered the information that was written about this Mace that earned the nickname "Smasher of Thousands". According to the information he had, the last owner of Sharur died because of a heart-attack.
Although these rumors were unfounded, he was still at the fence if he would allow Chiffon to pick such a dangerous artifact in the treasury.
While the Red Genie and Sharur were bickering, Gullinburst shakily walked towards Chiffon. It looked so cute and pitiful that Chiffon wasn't able to resist walking towards it.
Just as the pink-haired girl was about to pick the piglet again, Sharur appeared and stood between them.
"Pick me!" Sharur pleaded. "Please, pick me! I promise you that you will not regret it. I am a Mythical Weapon. I'm strong, you know? When I was still on active duty, they called me the Smasher of Thousands. With me around, no one will be able to bully you. I will smash them before they can even make you cry!"
Chiffon felt her heart waver. As someone who grew up being bullied, Sharur's words hit her right where it hurts.
The pink-haired girl glanced at the teary-eyed golden pig, and the dark-blue mace that was starting to cry as well.
Soon, the golden piglet and the dark-blue mace were having a crying battle, and did their best to outcry each other!
William, who was watching from the side, scratched his head. Even Plutus' felt awkward because this was the first time that this happened in the thousands of years that he had served as caretaker.
"Please, I've been stuck in this place for hundreds of years," Sharur pleaded as it bowed its head repeatedly while crying its eyes out. "I will do anything. Just please, take me with you!"
Chiffon and William were both wondering how a mace was able to cry as much as Sharur. The floor of the treasury now had a small puddle because of its tears.
Gullinbursti on the other hand wasn't backing off either. Its pitiful little squeals made Chiffon's heart ache. As someone who had become fond of B1, B2, and Kasogonaga, the pink-haired girl's empathy for beasts had grown stronger as well.
It could tell that Gullinbursti felt very lonely and wanted someone to care for him. However, Chiffon also couldn't ignore Sharur who was bawling its eyes out. Clearly, it too, wanted to leave the tower, and was prostrating itself to appeal to Chiffon's kind heart.
Chiffon stared at the two crying artifacts in front of her before turning her head to look at Plutus.
"I will return Svalinn to the treasury," Chiffon said. "I will be taking Sharur and Gullinbursti with me instead."
Plutus groaned internally. He was currently in a dilemma. Svalinn had already bound itself to Chiffon, so taking it back into the treasury was out of the question. The Mythical Shield had even changed its color and property to allow Chiffon to wield it at any given time.
The Caretaker of the treasury was about to tell Chiffon that her request was impossible when he suddenly fell into a daze.
"Give her both of them," a voice filled with authority and Divinity ordered. "Gullinbursti is still young, and I believe that it needs to see the outside world for a period of time, in order to fully awaken its powers. As for Sharur… that one is a troublemaker.
"If the young lady doesn't take it, I believe that it will throw a tantrum and start smashing things in the treasury. I'll let you handle the explanation. I still need to talk to my two friends and ask them to turn a blind eye to this incident. Although it will be a bit troublesome, I think that they will give me face and agree to my request."
"Understood," Plutus replied.
The Red Genie then looked at Chiffon and smiled widely.
"Congratulations! You have passed the hidden test of the Vault of the Vanished Warlord," Plutus declared with open arms. "As the caretaker of the treasury, your sincere feelings have reached my heart. Because of this, I will allow you to take care of Gullinbursti for three hundred years. Please, make sure to return him to me after three hundred years. Do you understand, Young Lady?"
"Un!" Chiffon happily nodded her head and hugged the golden little piglet and the dark-blue mace at the same time.
Naturally, Gullinbursti and Sharur were very happy about the sudden turn of events. They were well aware of the rules of the Tower, so they didn't understand why Plutus allowed them to go with Chiffon. Even so, both of them didn't have any complaints.
William, who was standing by the side, felt that something was terribly wrong, but he couldn't put his finger in it. Chiffon might have believed Plutus, but William had grown up with his Grandfather James.
His grandpa was a scammer and a con artist, so it was easy for him to see Plutus' poor attempt to trick Chiffon.
William was about to voice out his opinion when he was suddenly thrown out of the treasury. The pitiful Half-Elf rolled on the floor because he wasn't prepared for the sudden expulsion. A few seconds later, Chiffon came out while carrying Gullinburst in her arms like a doll.
Sharur, on the other hand, floated beside Chiffon like a bodyguard. Its eyes and mouth had disappeared and returned to look like the imposing weapon that it was forged to become.
The combination of Gullinbursti's cuteness, and Sharur's intimidation made William scratch his head in helplessness.
In the end, he could only sigh in his heart as he felt a fluctuation within the Floor of Asgard.
The Vault of the Vanished Warlord had disappeared, and he had no idea when he would see it again. According to the System, the treasury would only appear again when someone had cleared the 100th Floor of the Tower.
William had no intention of climbing the other floors of the Tower of Babylon, because that was not his goal of coming to the Tower. After the month-long transition period was over, he would leave Babylon with Chiffon and return to the Kraetor Empire.
He still needed to ask Aamon about the other quests he needed to complete in order to free his lovers from the curse on their bodies. Also, there was still the battle with his Ex-Fiance Rebecca.
The Half-Elf wanted to get this agreement over with because, for him, this was a big distraction. He wanted to properly end things, not only for his sake, but also for Rebecca's sake. William knew in his heart that he had no feelings for Rebecca.
He had already had a heart-to-heart talk with James about his relationship with his other lovers, and the old man only told William to do what he believed was right.
The battle on the peaks of the Misty Sect would also be William's way of declaring to everyone in the Central Continent that he was not someone that was moved by beauty, and riches alone.
Also, he wanted to set Rebecca free from the agreement that was made when both of them were still young. Whoever she married, or what she did in the future, William didn't care. For him, everyone had the right to choose their own paths in life.
He had made his choice, and he would follow it through till the end.
In the meantime, William busied himself in changing the policies for the other floors that had fallen in his hands.
Now that their previous owners were gone, he needed to ask the Guardians for help in normalizing the current situation, and allow the players to resume taking the trials, on the floors that now fully belonged to him.
