“What method?” Sophia’s curiosity was piqued, and she couldn’t help but ask eagerly.
“It’s very simple.”
Selim clapped her hands happily and explained, “The Demon Order only allows you to take one-tenth of the other party’s assets, but you have no idea how much property they actually own. You can only make a rough guess. Am I right?”
“That’s right.” Sophia recalled her career as a Demon Hunter—this problem had indeed troubled her more than once.
In fact, the first time she fell into Selim’s trap and chose to return to the manor with her, it was not just out of kindness, but also because she noticed Selim’s wealth and thought she could make a hefty profit.
A single haul could equal a hundred operations’ worth of rewards—although now she herself was deeply entangled.
“So, when it comes to the rich, they have all sorts of ways to hide their income. It’s hard to get much money from them in one go. Besides, they may not even be willing to pay you; even if they agree, they’ll definitely drag it out for a long time.”
Sophia glanced at Selim, who was going on and on, forcing herself not to call out this classic rich person who delays payment.
In her eyes, Selim was exactly the kind of person who liked to delay or even skimp on payment, but in the end she said nothing, just nodded in agreement.
“As for the poor, even if you take a tenth from them, how much is it, really?” Selim changed the topic. “And… I don’t believe you really have the heart to take from those struggling on the edge of life and death.”
“Yes, that’s true, so? What’s your point?” Sophia admitted that Selim had hit all her sore spots.
“The Path of Heaven takes from the surplus to make up for the deficiency. The Path of Man is different; it takes from the deficient to serve the surplus.” Selim didn’t answer directly, but instead spoke cryptically, waiting for the bait to be taken.
Selim’s grand sales pitch had officially begun.
“What does that mean?” Sophia frowned and asked.
Selim’s gaze grew deep as she said slowly, “The law of nature is to lessen the surplus to fill the lack. But the rules of this world aren’t like that. Instead, they lessen the lack to serve the surplus. The root of all injustice and misfortune in the world lies here.”
She pointed at Bart. “Take Bart, for example. Why was his wife framed out of nowhere? For what reason? Isn’t it because some people follow the doctrine of ‘taking from the lacking to serve the surplus’?”
Sophia fell silent for a moment, then nodded. “You’re right. But what does this have to do with me breaking the rules or making more money?”
“Who can have enough to serve the world? Only those who walk the Path!” Selim straightened up meaningfully. “Who can give up their surplus to help the world’s lacking? Only those who uphold virtue and the Path.”
“I understand!” From afar, Bart’s eyes suddenly lit up, looking at Selim with gratitude and fervent admiration.
While Selim continued chanting philosophy to Sophia, it was Bart who fell for it first.
“Oh?” Selim feigned surprise and asked, “Bart, what is it that you understand?”
“I understand why Sharn trusts you,” Bart’s voice choked. “Sharn is a part of my life that I can’t live without, and you appeared before me to fill what is missing in my life.”
“Since Sharn chose to believe in your idea of having enough to serve the world, then I can’t waste my limited life in decay and depravity any longer.”
“Please, tell me your honorable name. When I find Sharn, I wish to follow in your footsteps!”
Bart was moved to tears by his own words.
Seeing Bart like this, Selim couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. Although Bart didn’t mean to act as a stooge, his actions served the same purpose.
She was preaching from above, and the person below was sobbing. The scene was almost like some kind of pyramid scheme.
Her real intention had only been to persuade and tame Sophia, to make her more obedient, but she accidentally hooked Bart, turning him into her follower.
Still, Selim didn’t mind having one more follower. In fact, she was quite pleased.
Perhaps she could use Bart’s trust to gain the support of the High Goth in the future.
“My name is Selim Nutrisk.” Selim cleared her throat and said solemnly, “I am determined to mend the world’s wounds and build a new order.”
“Bart Temur.”
Bart knelt on one knee and said, “In that case, there’s only one answer.”
“I will swear loyalty to you!”
“Now do you understand, Sophia?” Selim turned to her, eyes full of expectation, hoping she would take the initiative like Bart.
“I… don’t understand…” Sophia just felt lost, even beginning to doubt her own comprehension. She couldn’t keep up with the pace of these two at all.
Selim snapped her fingers.
“It’s simple, all you have to do is change our relationship.”
“From a noble lady and a Demon Hunter to a noble lady’s Demon Hunter.”
“This way, you no longer have to strictly adhere to those precepts, because whether it meets the standard of ‘the Path of Man’s balance’ will be for me to judge.”
“No, that’s not right… There’s definitely something wrong here.” Sophia couldn’t find a loophole in Selim’s sophistry for the moment, but her instincts told her something was definitely off.
Selim pressed closer, intensifying her argument.
“That’s right, there is something wrong, but it’s not with me—it’s with you, with all of you.”
“The Demon Hunter precepts? That’s where the problem lies. They’re a set of rules meant to guide people to goodness—their intention is good.”
“But there’s a fatal flaw: they only bind those willing to obey.”
“In the end, they only restrict good girls like you, Sophia—they become bad laws.”
“What if…” Selim suddenly lowered her voice, full of temptation, “there was someone who could supervise and safeguard the Demon Hunters? Wouldn’t that both guarantee the interests of all humankind, and not betray the contributions of the Demon Hunters?”
“And I, I believe I can be your guardian, Sophia. What do you think?”
“That… makes sense, but…” Sophia struggled inside, falling into a tangle. She held back for a long time before finally speaking.
“But what if, one day, you fail to live up to your claim of giving surplus to the lacking—won’t I become your accomplice?”
This was almost a personal attack, but after much hesitation, Sophia still said it, holding her breath as she awaited Selim’s wrath.
“Very good, it seems your reason remains.” Selim just blinked. “So, can I ask you to be my guardian, too?”
“Do you remember?” Selim took Sophia’s hands.
“I want you to be my sword, my eyes, my hands—the extension of my will.”
“You can become ‘Selim’s Sophia,’ and I can become ‘Sophia’s Selim.’ We’ll be each other’s mirror, reflecting our truest selves.”
“So… that’s how it is?” Sophia was thoroughly drawn in, a strange sense of fate rising in her chest—something she had never felt before at Selim’s side.
“If that’s the case, then I, too, am willing to pledge my loyalty to you, Miss Selim.”
Sophia mimicked Bart, kneeling on one knee and swearing allegiance to Selim.
As someone who thrived on delight, even if Selim’s face remained calm, inwardly her joy had reached a peak—she could hardly wait to reap the rewards of her victory.
“Very good, it seems you really do understand my good intentions.”
Selim held the coin pouch out in front of Sophia.
Now that she was completely out of her overthinking state, Sophia felt no guilt about claiming her rightful reward—at worst, she’d pay Bart back a little.
She had just reached out, but Selim deftly withdrew her hand.
Sophia’s hand froze in midair, her lake-green eyes fixed on Selim, waiting for an explanation.
“Do you know? To swear loyalty, you must bark like a dog.”
Selim put Sophia to an obedience test.
“As ‘my Sophia,’ can you do that for me?” Selim curled her lips, putting one hand playfully beside her ear, mimicking a puppy’s pose.
“Woof~ Woof.”
Sophia’s whole body stiffened in place, her sense of shame completely unable to support her through such an act.
“Don’t… don’t joke like that.” Sophia blushed and refused.
Selim didn’t mind, but instead turned to Bart in the distance and said, “Bart, can you give it a try?”
“Alright.” Bart imitated Selim, barking a few times like a dog. He didn’t find it shameful at all—he’d learned many animal calls while hunting.
Bart, unlike Sophia, didn’t feel teased in the slightest.
High Goths didn’t see dogs as a cultural symbol. While he thought barking to swear loyalty was a bit odd, he just chalked it up to a peculiar human custom.
“Is this supposed to be difficult?” Selim asked with feigned innocence, demonstrating once more for Sophia.
Seeing the other two performing the action so easily—especially Bart, who seemed completely at ease—Sophia, swayed by peer pressure, felt her resistance fading.
She lowered her head, cheeks reddening, and let out a barely audible, “Woof~”
“Couldn’t hear you at all~” Selim deliberately leaned in, cupping her ear.
Seeing this, Sophia had no choice but to call out again, a little louder.
“Woof~ Woof~”
“And the action? I don’t see it—are you being perfunctory?” Selim pointed at Sophia’s hands hidden behind her back, pressing even closer. “Still can’t hear you—come a bit closer.”
Having already compromised twice, Sophia gave in a third time.
She crouched down, hands mimicking dog ears atop her head, eyes squeezed shut, and forced out a “Woof~” through clenched teeth.
Her personality would never let her do such things voluntarily, and with Selim towering above her, the overwhelming shame nearly drowned her, forcing her eyes tightly closed.
Looking at the face so close at hand—eyes shut but unable to hide its charm—Selim, unwilling to waste a golden opportunity, gave Sophia’s cheek the lightest of butterfly kisses before she could react.
Caught completely off guard, Sophia opened her eyes, only to see a coin pouch that had shrunk a little.
“Alright, alright, I trust your loyalty now. This time I’ll give you seventy percent, and the remaining thirty goes back to Bart. Is that alright?” Selim quickly steered the conversation, blocking Sophia from asking any awkward questions.
Sophia’s heart was racing. She was hesitating whether to ask if Selim had kissed her or not, but with the topic shifted, she could only swallow her doubts.
“Fine, I have no objections.” Sophia took the money Selim handed over and stood up as if to escape.
“Bart, catch!” Selim tossed the remaining coins to Bart.
Bart took the coin pouch with the leftover thirty percent, looked at the strangely-behaving Sophia, then at the calmly-smiling Selim.
With the ambiguous atmosphere between the two, he couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d somehow become part of their play.
Fortunately, Selim’s next words brought his focus back at once:
“Are you two ready to raise your blades against the wicked?”