After his boss battle, William returned to the Thousand Beast Domain, just in time to see Chiffon chatting with B1, B2, Bacon, and Sharur.
The moment B1 saw William, the dumb bird made an excuse to leave and flew away like there was no tomorrow.
The Half-Elf didn't find this odd as he approached the pink-haired girl who had a sweet smile on her face.
"How did the conference go?" William asked as he gave Chiffon a hug.
Chiffon hugged William back and rested her head on his chest.
"The conference went well," Chiffon replied.
William smiled and patted her head. "That's great. Who did you choose to take my place?"
"B1!" Chiffon replied in a heartbeat.
The smile on William's face stiffened as beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He didn't expect that Chiffon would choose B1 as his replacement.
'System, I believe I told Chiffon to look for someone smart, and trustworthy, right?'
< Yes. >
William used all of his willpower to prevent his face from twitching as he continued to brush Chiffon's long-and silky hair with his hands. He liked how smooth it was, but the feeling of dread overcame his feelings of appreciation.
"Um, did B1 say anything out of place?" William inquired. Chiffon's answer would determine whether or not he would eat roasted bird tonight.
Chiffon shook her head. "No. B1 did an amazing Job."
"Is that so?"
"Un!"
William glanced at Sharur, but the mace started whistling on the side. A few seconds later, it transformed into an arm guard and flew towards Chiffon's wrist. Clearly, it didn't want to meddle in the troubled waters.
Left with no choice, William decided to seek the answer from a trusted source.
'Ashe, how did the conference go?' William asked through telepathy. This was the only way to confirm the suspicion he had in mind.
'How did the conference go? It was perfect,' Ashe replied with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
'How perfect is perfect?'
'You cursed everyone inside the conference room, including the Royal Family. I know you were brave, but I didn't know you were THAT brave.'
The beads of sweat that were forming on William's head was now a river flowing freely. Having a dumb bird barbecue was a very good choice!
Ashe's giggle could be heard on the other side of William's consciousness. After the conference, Princess Sidonie had asked Chiffon if the one speaking on the platform was really William.
Naturally, Chiffon didn't lie and told them that it was B1. Princess Sidonie and Ashe were not surprised by this answer because, aside from the Rainbow Birds, there was no other creature in William's forces that had the audacity to curse everyone until their fifth generation.
'For now, don't show your face in the academy,' Ashe advised. 'Emperor Leonidas, Evexius, and Headmaster Gilbert are out for your blood. It will be best to let their anger simmer down for the time being. Seriously, why did you choose B1 to become your representative? There were so many other candidates.'
William felt an upcoming headache. He bid Ashe goodbye and asked her to keep her eyes, and ears, open for any rumors that would spread in the next few days.
THe Half-Elf knew that he couldn't blame Chiffon because for her, B1 was smart and trustworthy. Although the dumb bird was truly trustworthy, its habit of badmouthing and cooking up trouble for William was top tier.
William pulled Chiffon close to him and gave her a kiss on the lips. The moment the pink-haired girl closed her eyes. William immediately summoned Stormcaller and Gaebolg and instructed them to skewer the bastard bird that made life difficult for him.
The two sentient weapons flew towards the dumb bird's location and, after a minute, a loud explosion was heard inside the Thousand Beast Domain. It was the sign that B1 had detonated which made the itch in William's heart lessen by a bit.
He planned to skewer the dumb bird everyday, after it respawned, for an entire week until it learned its lesson!
—–
Back in the Tower of Babylon…
Several envoys appeared on the 51st Floor bearing gifts for William. Since the Half-Elf wasn't there, it was James who shamelessly accepted the gifts on behalf of his grandson.
The old scammer allowed the representatives of the different factions in the Central Continent to enter the Floor of Asgard because this was also what William wanted. The old and the young bandits wanted to add more valuables to their family's treasury, so they decided to accept the bribes, and whatever the guests wanted to give them.
Since the powerful factions were giving these treasures for free, who were they to reject them?
Accepting gifts was fine, there was nothing wrong with it, but if they wanted to get their hands on their family's property, all of them could just keep dreaming!
"Your Excellency, James, the Ares Empire is willing to negotiate for the rights of ownership of one of the floors of the tower," one of the Elders of the Amazon Race said with a smile. "If possible, we would also like to invite his Excellency, William, to visit our territory for a few days.
"This year, we have many warriors that have reached adulthood. Our race would be very honored to give birth to Lord William's daughters."
James rubbed his chin in contemplation. "William only gave me the authority to govern over this floor, so I can't help you in acquiring rights for the other floors. As for my grandson visiting your territory, I will do my best to convince him. I always encourage him to give me more great grandchildren to hold."
Almost everyone that stood at the peak of the mortal realm had heard about the Amazon Race. There were even powerful warriors who would often visit the Ares Empire, in order to sow their seeds without needing to worry about taking responsibility.
The Amazons didn't care whether their children had a father or not. All of their daughters were raised with love by the entire tribe, so they didn't lack in love and affection. For them, a man's only role was to give them their seeds. Whatever happened to them afterwards was of their business!
Of course, there were also Amazons who decided to only have one partner for life and have a family together. Empress Andraste wasn't so shortsighted to prevent these kinds of relationships. The only thing that wouldn't change was the hierarchy of their empire.
Only women were allowed to hold positions in the government. Even Empress Andraste's current partner, didn't dabble his hands in politics and spent his life at home like a proper house husband.
"It's good that we can reach an agreement, Your Excellency," the Elder of the Amazon race commented with a happy expression. "Don't worry. I swear upon our Goddess Astarte that we will take good care of His Excellency William's daughters. This is a win-win for everyone."
James nodded. "Indeed. It is a win-win for everyone."
The old coot was even thinking of ways to tie up William and toss him to the Amazon Empire to play around for a few days. As long as their lineage prosper, he wouldn't mind helping the Amazons squeeze William dry!
The delegations of the other Empires, and Kingdoms in the Central Continent cursed under their breath. They were also thinking of using Honey Traps in order to lure the walking bag of riches (William) to their homeland.
After James had accepted their gifts, the old man only pretended to listen to their proposals and set them aside. No matter what kind of offers they made, James would always say the same excuse "I have no authority over the other floors. If you want to negotiate, go find my grandson."
This answer made everyone's liver itch.
If we could find your grandson, do you think we would be humbling ourselves before you?
Know your place, you old fart!
The business minded people that came with the envoys had a different thought in mind. They approached James and gave their proposals to him.
"Your Excellency, we are willing to open our business on the Floor of Asgard," a good looking merchant said with confidence. "In less than a year, several challengers will enter this floor to start the trial to ascend to the 52nd Floor. Our Blackstone Trading Group is willing to invest heavily in your domain."
"Us, too! We would like to invest and set up shops on the Floor of Asgard."
"Your Excellency, if possible, we would also like to secure a piece of land for our merchant shop."
All of the merchants knew that the 51st Floor would become the most visited place a year from now. This would be the floor where the challengers would congregate, and it was the perfect place to set up a business.
Only fools would let this opportunity pass.
So what if we can't take over the other floors? As long as we can rent the best places to set up a shop, we are the winners of this trip!
James listened to their proposals and nodded his head. As a statesman, he understood how important trade was.
'Having more merchants means more taxes.' James smiled evilly. 'More taxes means more money. William has already told me to accept all proposals and let them bid for the prime locations on the Floor of Asgard. We will definitely make a killing before the 52nd Floor even opens.'
James laughed in his heart. He knew that it was a good idea to come to the Central Continent to help William, and allow the resources of their family to grow.
He was confident that with his scamming skills, he would be able to make all the parties bleed until holes started appearing in their pockets.
'I wish I'd brought Eve with me,' James sighed as he thought about his cute granddaughter who was currently undergoing Oracle training in Lont.
Aside from William, and the wandering Morgan, there were only three Ainsworths currently in the Central Continent.
Suddenly an idea came to his head and he sent a mental message to Ezio in order to give his trusted subordinate an order.
'Find my son, Morgan and bring him here,' James ordered. 'He has been wandering outside for many years. It's time for him to share the burden of our Family as we make our presence known here in the Tower.'
'As you wish, My Liege,' Ezio replied and disappeared from the Tower of Babylon.
Morgan had always liked his freedom, so James allowed him to travel to his heart content. However, William's battle with Rebecca was less than two months away.
James planned to let Morgan guard the Floor of Asgard, while he traveled to the Misty Sect to support his grandson.
Also, his old acquaintances would be there, and it would be a good opportunity to have a reunion. It was the perfect place to brag about his grandson's achievements and make the old foxes spit blood out of jealousy.
More than anything else, James wouldn't let an opportunity like this pass.. As long as he could make his old friends suffer, he would be about to laugh without any guilt in his mind.
