One Last System

Lucius sat down at the dining area of the Inn they were lodged at. Even though his room was just a few meters away from Arthur's, he didn't see his subordinate ever since he asked for help with his failed gamble. 

"That fucker," Lucius muttered right into the opening of the cup. 

Normally, his trip to the sect would only take a single day. Yet now, because of that damned full moon, he had no other choice but to spend over three days just sitting around the place. 

For someone who would usually blast away all of his money on the same day he would get into the sect, extending his stay at the place was one of the worst things that could happen. 

Lucius took another sip of the drink. 

'At least I saved enough money to be able to keep drinking,' he thought, taking another gulp to drown down his sorrows. 

But this time, not a single drop of liquid fell down his throat. The cup was already empty. 

"Another one!" Lucius shouted, striking the cup down against the wood of the table he was sitting at. 

"Pay up first, you waste!" the innkeeper shouted over before spitting into the rug she was using to wipe the glasses. 

The only reason why Lucius chose this kind of establishment was simple. It was cheap. And while Arthur didn't appear to mind it at all... he didn't appear in it at any other time but deep into the night. 

'If not for his meals, I would have long stopped thinking about him,' Lucius thought, standing up and pulling out one of the last coins that he had on him. 

With their time at the sect finally closing to an end, he could splurge all the rest of his savings.

"Here," he shouted, tossing over the last of his gold coins. "Flush it!" he added, striking the table with his cup again. 

The doors to the Inn opened the moment the innkeeper was about to fill Lucius' cup. 

"What a waste," Arthur muttered when he laid his eyes on the sight. He then turned his eyes away and made his way upstairs to where his room was at. 

'This damned fucker,' Lucius thought angrily before being forced to swallow his anger down his throat. A sip of his freshly poured drink turned out to be a great help at doing so. 

'I will get him back for it one day,' he thought, dumping another portion of cheap alcohol on the pile of his sorrows. 

*****

'That damned waste,' I thought, climbing up the stairs to my room. 

Seeing Lucius waste the precious time at the sect grounds doing nothing but drinking while I was running around and trying to squeeze the most out of every last second I had...

It was both infuriating and humiliating. For someone who was supposed to guide me in the ways of a contractor, Lucius stopped doing his damned job a long time ago. 

Sure, he was great at hunting... But a little bit over a month into the job, I already proved that I could get more efficient at hunting. 

'This is really annoying,' I thought the moment I entered the room and pulled out my cooking utensils. 

If there was any time that I was willing to waste while in the sect, it was the time I used to prepare my meals. 

It could seem like a waste of time of the highest magnitude for others. After all, with the kind of money that I had, I could easily order some of the greatest foods of the place to be delivered to my room at specific times.

Even if this wasn't a standard service that people would provide in this world, there was hardly any problem once enough money would be dropped at it. 

'Still, there has to be a reason why he is acting like that,' I thought as I watched the few ingredients that I brought on quickly turn into a stew. 

In theory, cooking within my own room was a pretty bad idea. After all, an open fire in a wooden building didn't seem like the smartest thing to set. 

Still, I was confident about what I was doing. There were hardly any occurrences of me failing my cooking even back on earth. And now, with an entire system job here to support my efforts?

Just by means of my cook's job, I was better at handling the flames than some of the elemental-oriented cultivators could ever get in their lives!

Still, the moment of respite brought by the cooking could only last for so long. Once the meal was done, I simply devoured my portion before setting aside one for Lucius. 

Even if our relations were a lot colder right now, I would still leave a portion for him. 

Not for the sake of currying his favor. With my silent treatment, any chances of gaining his kindness were long lost. But one thing didn't change. 

And it was the fact that he saved my life once. And as much as I could dislike him now, I would still attempt to repay this debt in any way that I could. 

'After all, the fact that we have different ideas about growth and life itself doesn't mean I need to be a dick to him,' I thought. 

In the end, I was more than aware of just how high quality my cooking was. 

I packed up Lucius' portion of the meal before bringing it to his room. As we were traveling together, the key that we received could be used to open both of our rooms.

It was a small convenience that the magicless world like earth desperately lacked. 

'Let's not waste any more time,' I thought, hurrying down the stairs the second this annoying duty of mine was over. 

It's been barely an hour since my meeting with the experts and potential investors ended, yet I have already made my way back into the auction hall.. After all, now that we managed to settle the deal, I was going to make full use of the favor that I asked for from the auction hall boss.