Chapter 306 - 302: The Bet
He had begged the servants to tell her where he could meet the young miss of the clan, and he even bribed one of them. Only then was he able to get her location, but as he stepped inside, he saw her with Ryder. He couldn't believe how the situation had turned sour for him from that point onwards. Now even the Young Miss of Silva Clan looked angry.
" I don't think I'm a kid that you need to find. Anyway, since you came here to see our Ancient Museum, you can see it. I'll be leaving now," Keia said to Rahil before she glanced at Ryder.
"Come, let me show you something," She told Ryder as she held his hand and pulled him with her. Ryder wanted to see what weird things this museum had, but he needed to get to know about the Ancient Cultivation Family, and only Keia could tell him about them.
He let himself be dragged by Keia without resisting even a little.
"Ah, Miss Keia, wait," Rahil called out as he reached out his hand, but Keia didn't stop and continued walking away.
"This bastard! He took Keia with him!" Rahil muttered as he cursed under his breath. Even though it was clear that Keia took Ryder, he placed all the blame on Ryder.
He stomped his feet on the ground before he left the Ancient Museum.
****
" Where are you taking me?" Ryder asked Keia.
"Outside. To have some fun," Keia said as she chuckled.
"Hmm?" Ryder couldn't help but frown.
"From what I have seen, stealing is your fun. Don't tell me that you want to take me outside to steal," Ryder inquired with a weird look on his face.
"Hehe," Keia looked at Ryder and grinned. Even though she didn't say anything, Ryder could feel that he had received his answers.
'This weird girl. She's so rich, yet her hobby is stealing. I can't believe her family doesn't know about it. They must know it as well, yet they let her do it,' Ryder thought as he sighed.
" Your family knows you like stealing things?" Ryder asked Keia as he walked beside her.
" My mother knows, but other than her, no one in my family knows," Keia said as she shook her head.
"You're a really weird girl, you know. Were you a thieving cat or something in your past life? You have all the money one could hope for, yet you find pleasure in stealing," Ryder told Keia as he shook his head.
" I am the way I am," Keia let out as she raised her hand innocently.
"How about we gave a contest?" She asked Ryder.
"What contest?" Ryder inquired in confusion.
"There are many big people here today, and most of them came with their guards that they left outside, right?"She asked Ryder.
"That's right," Ryder said, nodding his head.
"The guards must have weapons as well," She said.
"Yes, they do," Ryder replied.
"Half an hour," She said to Ryder.
"Half an hour, what?" Ryder asked in confusion.
"You have half an hour. Both of us will go outside and try to steal the weapons of the guards without being discovered. The one that can steal more weapons in half an hour will win," Keia explained.
"What if the guards discover you and they shoot? I can protect myself, but you might be in danger," Ryder asked Keia.
"Don't worry about me. I will be perfectly safe. I have many ways to protect myself," Keia said, shaking her head.
" If you say so. Anyway, What will I get if I win?" Ryder asked her.
Keia thought for some time as she looked at Ryder.
"Uhmm, You'll get a promise," Keia said to Ryder.
"What promise?" Ryder inquired curiously.
" You can ask for anything from me. Even if it's about killing someone, I'll make it happen," Keia replied.
"Oh? A promise like that from Young Miss of the Silva Clan? The offer is pretty tempting. What will you get if you win?" Ryder asked again.
"Hmph, isn't it obvious? I'll get the same thing. If I win, you'll do any one thing I tell you to," Keia answered.
" Oh? And what might that one thing be?" Ryder asked her.
"You'll know after you lose," Keia responded with an amused smile on her face.
"This competition does sound interesting, and I would agree to take part in it, but first you need to finish what you were telling me about the Ancient Cultivation family in this vicinity. I don't like leaving things hanging in the middle," Ryder told Keia.
"Oh, that. I had completely forgotten about that. One of the Five Ancient Cultivation Families, the Jacksons," Keia answered.
"Jacksons? I've never heard of them. Where is their family established?" Ryder inquired.
"The Jackson Family is one of the Five Ancient Families, but they are near the bottom of that ranking. They mainly deal in the assassination. I can give you their entire address but first, let's not delay. The ball will begin soon, so we should finish the competition fast," Keia told Ryder as she refused to answer.
"Fine. Let's finish our bet faster. After that, you can give me the address," Ryder said as he nodded his head.
"Yeah, leave the Mansion and wait at the door. I'll come out after getting into the old clothes. This dress is not comfortable for stuff like this," Keia said as she turned back and went away.
" Hah, this girl is a real character, but she seems like a nice person. After winning the bet, I can use that promise for many things. I'll have to think carefully about what I want from her," Ryder muttered as he shook his head. He continued walking towards the exit.
Ryder left from the main gates of the mansion and looked inside. He could see the guards of various guests spread out throughout the long Boundary of the estate.
Ryder stood at the entrance of the mansion as he waited for Keia to arrive.
After a few minutes, Keia appeared beside him like a shadow.
"I'm ready," She said.
Ryder looked at her and noticed that she was once again dressed in entirely black clothing that fit her perfectly. The only difference was that she had changed her mask.
"The same clothes? Doesn't matter. Let's share the playground, so we don't get in each other's way. I'll take the left side; you take the right side. The person that comes back with most weapons at the end of 30 minutes will win," Ryder said as he nodded his head.
"Wait a minute; I have something to say," Keia stopped Ryder.
"It won't be easy to hold onto all the weapons until the end, so I have thought of something," Keia said.
" Look behind you," She told Ryder.
Ryder looked back and realized that a young man was standing behind him. The man had blonde hair, and he looked like he was in his late 20s.
Ryder was surprised as he looked at the young-looking man. The man had managed to appear behind Ryder without him finding out. Ryde couldn't help but wonder if it was because the man was genuinely talented or because Ryder's mind was diverted by the thoughts of the Jackson Family, and he didn't notice it.
"This is Saleyn. He is my most trusted guard. He protects me from troubles and many more things. The rules are that after stealing each weapon, the person must come to him to submit the weapons before going out to steal more. This would help in safeguarding the weapons as well as giving you the freedom to act freely without having to worry about the weapons," Keia introduced the young man briefly before she started telling him the rules.
"I agree. Let's just start now," Ryder told Keia. He wanted to finish it as fast as he could without having to wait for it.
****
Both Ryder and Keia went their separate ways as the competition began.
Ultimately, it was decided that Ryder was going to steal towards the Right side.
Ryder walked around, wondering how he should deal with it. He was athletic, but he didn't have any experience in theft.
His powers also didn't come in handy at this point. His healing was useless when it came to stealing. His flying was also useless. As for his blessing of water, he couldn't even form the weapons of water correctly, let alone using them for anything. He didn't have anything that could help him in this competition.
"I don't have the talent, but I have something that will make up for that lack of talent in this situation," Ryder muttered as he smiled.
"My dear Janus, Open the store for me," Ryder told Janus with an amused smile on his face.
Janus was Ryder's biggest weapon and his biggest strength, and he was going to use it.
Ryder realized that Janus was a supernatural system, but he didn't know how it came to exist or why it chose him only.