Chapter 1467: Chapter 208 - The Merchant (7)
"You really are trying to seduce me, aren’t you?" I asked as I looked at her. "Now that I’m thinking about this a little more carefully, it feels less and less like us meeting here was actually a coincidence. The more I look back on everything that’s happened, the more it feels like this was intentional from the start rather than something that just happened by chance."
Foriel smiled when she heard that.
Not the kind of smile that looked nervous or guilty.
If anything, she looked amused.
"I think you’re overthinking things, Mr. Faust," she said calmly. "Do you really believe I have some hidden agenda behind all of this? Honestly, I think you’re spending too much time thinking about things that probably don’t need that much thought in the first place."
Well, maybe she had a point.
At the same time, I couldn’t exactly blame myself for being suspicious.
Things had been moving far too quickly.
The timing felt strange. The circumstances felt convenient. And more than that, every new development seemed to push things further and further along at a pace that didn’t feel completely natural.
Maybe it was all innocent.
Maybe I really was overthinking it.
Still, when enough convenient events start stacking on top of each other, it becomes difficult not to wonder whether there’s something else going on behind the scenes.
At least, that was how I saw it.
The fact that she had been moving so fast with everything only made me question things even more. Because honestly, if our positions were reversed, I would’ve been suspicious too.
It just felt a little too neat.
A little too convenient.
And because of that, my brain naturally started trying to fill in the blanks and imagine different possibilities.
"Fufufufu."
Foriel let out a soft laugh.
It wasn’t mocking.
It sounded more like she genuinely found my reaction entertaining.
"Well, that’s fine, Mr. Faust," she said. "If you want to doubt me, then go ahead. Honestly, I think it’s a pretty valid reaction."
I watched her walk over to the bed.
Then she sat down on the edge of it before casually crossing her legs.
The movement itself wasn’t particularly dramatic, but it was confident enough to draw attention to itself.
She looked completely relaxed.
Meanwhile, I was still trying to figure out what exactly was going on inside her head.
"Well," she continued, "to tell you the truth, I did have a motive."
That immediately caught my attention.
I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?" I said. "And what exactly would that motive be, I wonder?"
"Fufufu."
She laughed again.
At this point, I was starting to think she enjoyed making people wait for answers.
"Well, isn’t it already easy to guess?" she asked. "Most of your assumptions are actually correct."
I stayed silent and let her continue.
"The only thing you’re wrong about is the idea that I planned for us to end up together here. That part really was a coincidence."
She leaned back slightly.
"Everything after that, however, was something I decided to take advantage of."
"Take advantage of?"
"Of the situation," she clarified. "I found myself together with you unexpectedly, and I realized that the opportunity was too good to waste."
A small smile appeared on her face.
"I mean, let’s be honest here. If an opportunity suddenly appeared right in front of you, would you ignore it? If something valuable was practically handed to you, you wouldn’t just walk away from it, would you?"
Well, she wasn’t exactly wrong.
If I was presented with an opportunity that was genuinely worthwhile, then naturally I’d want to take advantage of it.
Most people would.
It wasn’t exactly some profound revelation.
If a door opened in front of you, you at least checked what was on the other side.
That was just common sense.
Of course, that didn’t answer the actual question.
"What exactly are you planning to do?" I asked.
"Well," she replied, "I want to use my appeal to convince you to cooperate with me."
That answer only created another question.
"And where exactly does that cooperation lead?" I asked.
She tilted her head.
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is simple," I said. "If you’ve already offered the reward upfront, then doesn’t that make the appeal itself less effective? If someone already got what they wanted, then using that same thing as motivation afterward doesn’t really work as well."
Foriel smiled.
The look on her face suggested she had already thought about that.
"I planned ahead, just so you know," she said.
"Oh?"
"Of course."
She looked completely confident in her answer.
"While it’s true that I would offer myself as part of the arrangement, that doesn’t mean that’s the end of the rewards. If our cooperation succeeds, then I can reward you even further afterward."
Her smile widened slightly.
"What should I say..." she murmured. "Perhaps I should ask whether you enjoy taking someone in the butt?"
That statement definitely got my attention.
Just not in the way she probably expected.
For a moment, I simply stared at her.
Then I let out a small sigh.
"You really think men are that easy to charm, huh?" I said.
Foriel blinked.
"Well, that’s what I’ve always heard."
She didn’t even sound embarrassed saying it.
"If you want something from a man, then you need to offer something valuable in return. That’s what people always say."
I couldn’t help finding that explanation a little funny.
"So your solution was to offer everything?"
"More or less."
She shrugged.
"I figured that if I wasn’t willing to offer anything myself, then it wouldn’t be fair to expect cooperation from someone else."
Then she tilted her head slightly.
"Was that not enough?"
"It’s not really a question of whether it’s enough or not," I replied.
The issue wasn’t the offer itself.
The issue was the reason behind it.
"More than anything, I want to know what you actually want my cooperation for," I said. "That’s the important part."
Foriel listened quietly.
"Depending on what it is, I might consider helping."
Then I paused briefly before continuing.
"And just so we’re clear, I’m perfectly fine with there being no strings attached. I don’t really want to sleep with someone who’s only doing it because they’re trying to secure my cooperation," I said. "If the entire reason behind it is transactional, then that changes things."
The moment I said that, her expression changed.
She looked genuinely surprised.
Not the fake kind of surprised people used when they wanted to flatter someone.
Actually surprised.
For a few seconds, she simply stared at me.
Then she blinked.
"That’s weird," she said.
I raised an eyebrow.
"Weird?"
"Very weird."
A laugh escaped her.
"I honestly thought you’d jump at the opportunity immediately."
"Is that so?"
"Of course."
She nodded.
"I expected you to pounce on it without even thinking twice."
I looked at her for a moment.
What exactly did she think of me?
Actually, now that I thought about it, I probably already knew the answer.
Considering my reputation, I couldn’t even say her assumption was unreasonable.
It was annoying.
But it wasn’t entirely unfair either.
Unfortunately.
"I see," I said.
"Did I say something wrong?" she asked.
"No."
Because honestly, I couldn’t exactly argue against it.
Not convincingly, anyway.
Foriel seemed amused by my reaction.
Meanwhile, I was starting to feel tired.
The conversation had already gone on long enough.
And it wasn’t like I was going to get any more useful answers tonight.
If she wanted to tell me something, she would.
If she didn’t, then pushing further wasn’t going to accomplish much.
"Now then," I said, letting out a quiet breath. "If we’re done here, let’s get some sleep."
I glanced around the room.
"We should continue our journey early tomorrow, so resting now would probably be the smarter choice."
The moment I said that, I heard a quiet sound.
A snicker.
I looked toward her.
It wasn’t sinister.
It wasn’t threatening.
Honestly, it sounded more amused than anything else.
Like she had just remembered something funny.
Or maybe she was simply entertained by how the conversation had turned out.
Either way, it didn’t sound dangerous.
I paid attention to her for another moment.
Nothing felt off.
No hostility.
No killing intent.
No feeling that she was secretly preparing something while I wasn’t looking.
She seemed completely relaxed.
Comfortable, even.
And because of that, I didn’t feel particularly worried.
Whatever motives she had could wait until tomorrow.
Right now, I was tired, and spending the entire night trying to solve mysteries that might not even exist sounded like a terrible use of energy.
Besides, if I kept overthinking every little thing, I was probably going to end up arguing with imaginary versions of people inside my own head.
That never led anywhere productive.
So after deciding there wasn’t any immediate danger, I stopped worrying about it.
I lay down, closed my eyes, and allowed myself to relax.
Before long, I drifted off to sleep without any real concerns.
