Chapter 63: Terms of Favor

  Lily watched the nobles in front of her as their attention clung to the items on the desk, thinly veiled greed flickering behind carefully controlled expressions. She had seen that look countless times before. It was the same look players got when rare loot dropped and everyone pretended to be polite while already calculating how to claim it. At least these people had the decency to stay quiet.

  For Lily, choosing what to give them had been more difficult than she had expected. Her inventory was full, yes, but not in a way that was actually useful right now. A large portion of it consisted of RP items. Things she had carried just for flavor, for events, and for immersion. Clothes, accessories, curiosities, items she had never meant to rely on in a real fight, and that she would not have cared much about losing if she had died during her last raid, because all of it could have been replaced without much effort.

  The rest of her inventory was the real problem. Those were the items she had acquired during her last raid, actual loot. And that meant endgame battle gear. Weapons, armor, artifacts, and even pieces tied directly to the [Maw of Creation] itself. And that was exactly why she hesitated. All of it was far too much for these people.

  And since Tiara had become her reference point for the overall state of this world, based on what she had seen so far, she didn't feel comfortable introducing items that could singlehandedly tilt the balance of power here, at least for now. The problem was not just rarity or raw strength. The problem was how high-level gear actually worked.

  Items didn't have visible levels the way people did. They had rarity tiers, and an invisible internal level based on the monster they dropped from. In theory, that meant even a level one person could carry endgame gear.

  Which sounds horrifying outside of a controlled system, she thought.

  In Xantia, that exact problem had been handled by penalties baked into the mechanics. A player could equip anything, but effectiveness scaled with their own level. The formula had been simple and effective:

  Effective Stats = Gear Stats × min(Player Level / Gear Level, 1)

  That meant a level nine hundred sword in the hands of a level one character would operate at barely a fraction of its intended power. Even if the item was equipped, its output would be almost negligible. On the other hand, a level one sword would still be a level one sword in the hands of a high-level player.

  She remembered the example clearly, because it had come up often in theorycrafting discussions. A player at level fifty using a weapon with a gear level of two hundred would operate it at:

  Player Level = 50

  Gear Level = 200

  Efficiency = 50 / 200 = 0.25

  So, the weapon would function at twenty five percent of its base power.

  There were upsides to that system. The weapon grew stronger alongside the wearer, and most special effects remained active, though those effects were also heavily penalized until the player reached roughly seventy five percent of the item’s level. It prevented power leveling abuse while still rewarding long term investment.

  But that was a game, Lily reminded herself. And this is not a game anymore.

  She had no confirmation that those formulas translated cleanly into the real world. And even if they did, she had no way of knowing whether the penalties behaved exactly the same, or if something subtle could slip through the cracks. Handing out high-level combat gear based purely on assumptions felt reckless, and she was not willing to experiment right now—especially after everything had gone so “well” over the last few days.

  Instead, she considered for a brief moment asking Igrath to forge suitable items for the nobles. But the idea barely lasted a heartbeat, because she had only just been back at her mansion before being dragged straight into the audience, which had already pushed the thought aside. Then there was the fact that she had not slept the entire night because of the damn mannequin, and that same encounter had forced her to accelerate her empire building plans far sooner and on a far larger scale than she had intended. Not that she had ever had a proper plan to begin with. On top of that, she had already dumped the full responsibility of the newly formed stronghold onto Igrath without hesitation. So even if she had remembered the idea to let him forge something, he was more than busy enough as it was, and asking him for additional work right now felt unreasonable, even to her.

  So that left her with only RP items to hand out. On second thought, that wasn’t a bad option at all. She had more than a few items like that in her inventory: shiny, symbolic, and perfectly suited for nobles who valued prestige, presence, and subtle advantages. The only problem was that Lily had already realized that everything she had brought with her from the game transformed into a version that fit the now-real world. That meant the flavor texts of the items also became true to some extent. And some of those items had a few rather funny flavor texts, to say the least.

  With a quiet inward sigh, she pushed the concern aside and focused back on the people in front of her. Her emerald eyes swept over the gathered nobles, lingering briefly on each face, before stopping on one in particular.

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  Nathanel Veyth. The auctioneer stood a little apart from the others, posture controlled but tense, his gaze carefully lowered. Lily felt a flicker of recognition tighten in her chest, uninvited and unpleasant. Her memory supplied the image without mercy.

  She saw again the way the black hellfire crawled across his skin, dissolving flesh in bubbling layers. She smelled the thick, choking stench of burning meat. She heard the broken moans, the scraping sounds of his body on the floor, the way his screams had collapsed into hollow, rattling breaths.

  Nathanel Veyth was her first reminder in this world that everything she did was real. And even though she had seen some really hard shit on the internet, she was still a sheltered girl from Earth who couldn’t handle real gore well.

  She forced the memory down and straightened slightly in her chair.

  “The Princess has tasked me to reward each of you who pledged yourselves to her cause,” Lily said calmly. “One named item per person.”

  A ripple of restrained excitement moved through the room.

  “But,” she continued, her tone shifting just enough to draw their attention, and her emerald gaze settled on Gideon. Among the nobles present, he was clearly the most influential, and also the one who had negotiated directly yesterday when she had stood here in her demon form. “Before anyone reaches for anything, you should know that I have only twelve items prepared, Gideon.”

  Her gaze slid to Veyth. “And yet, you are thirteen.”

  Gideon bowed his head slightly before answering, clearly pleased that she addressed him so familiarly.

  “Lysaria, first allow me to say how glad I am that our paths crossed again so soon under these circumstances,” he said warmly. “Even if we still have an auction to attend together today.” He paused, eyes drifting upward for a brief moment in thought. “Though I do wonder whether the auction will be delayed, given the situation we now find ourselves in.”

  A faint smile returned to his face. “Still, I am certain we will find the time for it, Lysaria. One way or another.”

  He then turned slightly toward the other nobles, his expression growing openly smug. “And let me add how delighted I am to be receiving a second named item from you today. That truly is a pleasure I didn’t expect to enjoy so soon again.”

  He smiled at the others, clearly enjoying their jealousy.

  “And even if his face is a bit different today…” Gideon rested a hand lightly on Nathanel’s shoulder, the gesture almost fatherly. “You have already met him in the Salon. My friend Nathanel Veyth. He wished to sell you something special.” A small chuckle escaped him. “Well… you see how that turned out. Not so special after all.”

  He laughed softly at his own joke while several nobles glanced at Nathanel. The auctioneer lowered his gaze, his shoulders tight with embarrassment.

  “But I vouch for him,” Gideon continued. “He is extremely competent, and I believe he will be needed if we want to establish a stable government in Tiara. So I would like to ask on his behalf whether the Princess might include him under the same conditions as the rest of us. He could not join yesterday due to… unforeseen complications.”

  Lily paused, fingers resting lightly against the arm of the chair. It made sense. Groups like the Salon protected their own. It’s always the same; if you gather yourself inside a club, you have a sense of belonging. They shared resources, influence, and interests. Since they had already sworn a soul contract, Gideon would not risk a betrayal now. And she needed locals to govern locals. It all aligned neatly.

  Besides, she was in her elven form. Plenty of distance to hide behind.

  She smiled. “Oh Gideon, I’m also glad to see a familiar face. Who would have thought that the first person I met in Tiara would now be my main point of contact in the city. Truly, fate moves strangely.”

  He brightened visibly at that, while Lily tilted her head slightly and continued. “If you vouch for him, I can hardly refuse. And it’s part of your responsibility as the new nobles of the Empire to handle matters like this, especially since we are forming a provisional government here in Tiara for…”

  Lily sighted theatrically.

  “…for the transition period. The Princess will observe how you act, and she will judge whether some of you are fit for larger responsibilities. Perhaps more than governing a single city.”

  The effect was immediate. Eyes widened, postures sharpened, ambition rose like heat in the room.

  Lily hadn’t planned this, but since she was going with the flow, it somehow sounded good. Maybe it was her passive [Governance Mastery] skill, or her old self, or just a gut feeling, but it felt right to control the nobles like that. And judging by the reaction of the nobles, it worked perfectly.

  “And since you are taking over here,” Lily added, “you may, of course, hire your friend Nathanel. We appreciate him becoming one of you. But only the Princess can name nobles and only she can reward them. So, he must prove himself first.”

  “That will be no problem,” Gideon said warmly. “Thank you, my dear Lysaria. I am certain he will not disappoint your trust.”

  The others nodded their agreement, and Nathanel bowed deeply before the desk. “I want to thank you for this opportunity. I will prove myself worthy.”

  Lily looked at Nathanel again. The burns along his face stood out sharply under the light. A small twist of guilt settled in her chest. He had definitely deserved some consequences… but maybe not the full pyrotechnic treatment. And her own idiotic cultists had started the whole mess anyway…

  Fine. She could frame this as a favor.

  “And since I can’t reward you with a named item right now, because your conditions differ slightly,” she began, waiting for him to rise from his bow, “I will give you something else.”

  She let her emerald eyes openly scan him, making sure everyone noticed.

  “Something I acquired during my travels in the south.”

  She reached into her inventory and placed a [Greater Healing Potion] on the desk beside the displayed items.

  “This will be your payment for now. It should help with your… condition.”

  Gasps rippled through the nobles. Even Nathanel froze, stunned, and then bowed again with visible gratitude.

  “Thank you… Lady Greenwood. Truly.”

  Lily nodded, turning back to the group. “Now, since I assume you want your items, let us keep this brief. We have administrative tasks today, and I must attend to several matters.”

  She gestured to Tessa at her side. The girl straightened slightly.

  “You may also have noticed my company. This is Tessa Noze, the new apprentice of the Princess. So please remember her face. I have work to do with her while we are in Tiara.”

  The nobles bowed lightly to Tessa, who looked like she wanted to sink into the floor.

  “So,” Lily concluded, “let us go over what needs to be done. After that, Tessa and I will leave. You may divide the items among yourselves as you see fit. Except for the potion.”

  Every noble nodded, eager, focused, and ready to act.