Ball of Nothing

Chapter 562: Alex's Deal

Behind closed doors, Alex dropped his act. Zero wasn't too surprised to know that the spriggan had a cold side to him. It was a good thing he learned how to negotiate with tricky people beforehand. Besides, the Weeping Willow reminded him about how cruel Alex could be if he didn't like a person. The spriggan had a sadistic side to him and loved creating chaos in the name of doing good. It was a strange balance, but Zero really couldn't fault his twisted logic. Sometimes, it was necessary to break a bone and realign it before a patient can fully recover.

"I'm assuming you're not here to bath with beauties," the spriggan smiled. Zero's external appearance didn't fool him. This person that Sharo brought in was dangerous.

Zero smiled. "Not at all. I'm here on a mission to retrieve something in your care. As well as relay a message from someone."

Alex raised a brow and Zero withdrew something from his inventory. It took the spriggan a few moments to recognise the objects floating in Zero's grasp. The Red Phoenix Pearl and Condensed Sphinx's Breath vibrated as if sensing that another one of the keys was near, and Alex felt his eyes bulge.

"You're the one Nel has been waiting for!"

With a short chuckle, Zero didn't deny it. Instead, his eyes twinkled. "Are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way? Can I have the Moss Giant Orb?"

The devilish charm that Zero displayed almost made Alex hand it over. However, he held himself back with a steel will and growled.

"You're very good at manipulation. Fortunately, I have enough resistance to the allures of flesh."

Zero pouted playfully when Alex said that. There wasn't any real threat or bite to his words, so Zero decided to play along with the spriggan. "Is that so?" he asked innocently and batted his lashes exactly how Lilith taught him.

Alex groaned. The chosen one was too good at this. However, Alex wasn't just going to give the key away.

"You mentioned earlier that someone has a message for me. Who sent you? What do they want? Don't tell me it's those humans from Smargdas because I'm not interested. That's Sharo's job."

Zero became slightly more serious. "It's someone who owes you an apology for a long time now. I guess you've figured out by now it's Sharo's other mom who wants to see you."

The playful mood from earlier vanished and a solemn air replaced the atmosphere. The smile on Alex's face was gone, and he didn't make any moves for a while, just letting the message sit in. Zero didn't pressure him for an answer. After all, this feud has been going on for many years. It wasn't easy to simply accept the olive branch or make the first move to reconcile. A spriggan and their tree shared a special connection that was hard to destroy. Yet, it didn't mean the partnership was without difficulties. The Weeping Willow might be reaching out, but Alex might not be ready to forgive her just yet.

"Did she say anything else?" he asked after a long while. Zero waited patiently and observed his reactions. There wasn't a strong rejection although there was a lot of hesitation, so Zero took it as a good sign. This was something he could work with.

"She told me a lot about how you used to work together. You drove her up the wall with all your pranks to change fate. Charo is now gone, what would you like to do? Sharo is now the king. Nobody can challenge his position as long as you continue controlling Altear from behind the scenes like what you're doing now."

Alex sighed and brought out some drinks, pouring one for himself and another for Zero. The tea was made from boiled bark, and finally, Zero understood why Arvin thought that tea was brewed using barks.

"Now I know why Arvin makes such bad tea. You were the one who taught him how to do it!"

Offended by Zero's remark about his tea-brewing techniques, Alex quickly defended himself. "This tea is different from the others! It's brewed with the barks I gathered from the Weeping Willow!"

Zero inspected the tea closely to verify if telling the truth. He was slightly surprised to find that the bark tea was indeed brewed from barks of the Weeping Willow. In addition, it contained special properties such as the ability to increase thinking speed and enhance memory clarity.

Hesitantly, Zero downed the tea in one go. The taste wasn't as horrible as the one Arvin brewed, and Zero nodded in approval. Alex grinned. Of all the barks used, only the Weeping Willow's barks tasted good.

"Why do you keep the Weeping Willow's barks around? Better still, how do you collect them if you never go out to see her?"

The question Zero raised was valid, and Alex grinned. "Who says I haven't been seeing her? I bet Sharo only took you to see where her manifested body is. That's not all of the Weeping Willow. Her roots spread vastly all over the land of Altear. As her spriggan, I would naturally be most familiar with it. Besides, Sharo that fool built this resort based on my request. In that huge garden in the backyard, a particular bush is planted above the Weeping Willow's root. It was also the first place we met many years ago. I never once forgot about it."

Zero looked out of the window and saw King Sharo sitting in the garden, looking awkward. Then, he turned to Alex and asked if he was still angry at the Weeping Willow for doing what she did.

Alex sighed heavily and poured himself another cup of bark tea. "What's done is done. I cannot unwind time to undo all the things we did wrong, and even if I could, I would never be able to convince my past self to change. You want the Moss Giant Orb. It's not difficult to give it to you. However, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. If you help me, I'll help you as well."

Zero understood what Alex wanted and didn't expect anything less.

"What's your price?" Zero asked, and Alex pointed at Sharo.

"Take him to look at the world. Teach him to embrace his weakness and become a wiser king than his father will ever be. Neither the Weeping Willow nor I can handle him. Arvin is also in exile, Sharo doesn't want to see him. Nobody in Altear can stop this foolish child, so please, Great One. Save him from the monster his father tried to create."

Zero didn't need to be told twice before he accepted the request. A new quest was added to his system and Mii informed him that there were several pending quests.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "This is going to be trickier than getting Desert Poppy seeds."

Zero nodded. If Alex wanted this, he would have to fulfil it. Besides, this wouldn't be harder than Sylvia's request. Zero had to create a literal world tree for such a miracle. What's smacking common sense into a king's head compared to that sort of feat? Sometimes Zero wondered if Mii had her head on backwards.

"I accept your request. Please polish the Moss Giant Orb and wait for me. I'll bring king Sharo back as a brand new person to lead Altear into a better era full of peace and stability. No more elven blood shall be spilt when I'm done with him."

Alex grinned. "Now that the official business is over let's discuss pleasures. How do you know the exact type of beauty I've been looking for? Was it that dumb lad?"

Zero grinned and flaunted his customised vessel. "Do you like it? I heard that you're a fan of red hair."

Thrilled, Alex asked if Zero could change his appearance with magic. The doctor grinned and told the spriggan that he could do more than illusion magic if the spriggan truly wanted. Once Alex heard that nothing was stopping him from demanding to see the beauties from his fictional wonderland using Zero's abilities.

Zero didn't let the opportunity go easily. For every transformation and unique pose, he charged the spriggan heftily. Alex didn't care about the price. King Sharo should have more than enough to pay Zero, and this was exactly what Zero wanted. Alex's signature made King Sharo obliged to pay an exorbitant amount for Alex's entertainment expenses. The only thing left for the elven king to do if he couldn't pay his worth in cinnites was to enter into a trade treaty with Half Moon Trading.

Zero had them hook, line and sinker. Mammon would be proud of him.