One Last System

"To test this thing out..." the boss muttered as she raised her hand to hide her lips.

I wouldn't be a man of a culture if I didn't notice the slight blush that blossomed on her cheeks.

"That's right," I nodded my head. "I believe it will be better if you find someone suitable before we actually spread this product to the brothels," I added.

In theory, everything that I was doing right now was to perfect the product that I would later sell to a brothel while claiming a hefty margin of its profits.

But it was only a part of what I had in mind right now. Sure, that was what I went with at the beginning, but now that I had the attention of the auction hall...

Why would I bother dealing with a brothel ever again?

It wasn't like I enjoyed going there to do business. I did so only because I just happened to have a nice idea that could sell and a brothel was the place where I would likely be able to sell it.

Sure, it was nice to have good ties with a place like a brothel. With the insane amount of information flowing through it, I would be able to learn more about the world and all the things that I would find interesting...

But I could do the same just by asking for a small favor from the auction house were our current deal to conclude successfully!

'In other words, there is no point whatsoever for me to deal with whores ever again,' I thought. Still, all of those thoughts...

In the end, they were just an excuse.

Because the real reasons why I started to dislike doing business with the whorehouses were different.

The first was obvious. Since Lucius frequented brothels, it was a place where I was likely to run into him. And it wouldn't be a stretch to claim that our relations right now... weren't the best.

And the second...

Even though it's already been a long while since I last saw Mia, I still felt bad whenever a half-naked girl would shove her filth and disease-covered skin onto me!

"I will get it done; give me a moment," the boss said as she stood up. Then, without saying another word, she left the room.

The room filled with an awkward silence. Even though the spectators were supposed to be some big shots the boss would pitch my idea to, they weren't in the mood to strike up any conversation.

Or maybe they were some extras?

Whatever the case, they didn't say a single word, and I didn't deem it a good thing to do either.

"Listen, young man," Ackhart suddenly spoke up, breaking the awkward moment of silence. "While I have huge hopes for this project of yours, I don't think it gives your abilities justice," he said, shaking his head as if lamenting over me wasting my knowledge on such a folly.

"What are you trying to suggest?" I asked, genuinely puzzled by the motives of the man.

Was he trying to recruit me? Or maybe he just wanted to get me to talk about what I discovered about formations?

"If you ever get bored with whatever you are doing right now, feel free to contact me," Ackhart smiled as he brushed his fingers through his short beard. "I will be sure to create a spot within the formation department of the sect for you!" he announced.

The world around me froze.

Not literally, obviously. There was no reason for some godlike being to suddenly freeze the time. And even if a force existed capable of doing so, such a coincidence would be just too much.

In reality, I got stunned. Because this suggestion was pretty damn interesting.

Without the burden of being a contractor, I would likely be able to rejoin Mia. After several weeks of separation, I could finally hold her again, feel her warmth, make sure that she was doing all right...

'No,' I shouted in my thoughts, forcing this enticing idea away. 'I'm the one who settles her sponsorship,' I thought as my face darkened a little. 'What would happen if I changed the job?'

A smile crept up on my lips.

'And it's all assuming that the sect would allow me to do so in the first place,' I thought before shaking my head to deny the offer.

"I'm sorry, but right now, I'm not in a position to change my jobs," I declared. "I will keep your proposition in mind for the time when I will once again be the lord of my own fate," I added in order to placate the man's pride.

Given how he was openly called a master by me and the auction hall boss as well, he likely wasn't used to people dismissing his kindness like that.

"I see," the man nodded his head with a smile before turning his attention back to the table. "I guess I will project the extraction formation, then," he added, hiding the dejected look that appeared on his face the moment he assumed I could no longer see it.

For the next few moments, only the sound of the feather scratching the rough paper that this world had to offer could be heard. Yet, before this constant, nearly background noise could lull me to sleep, the boss of the auction hall returned.

Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were shining.

And with just a single glimpse, I could tell that the dildo she held in her hand was pretty wet.

'Did she...?' I thought as my eyebrows went on the pilgrim to the top of my head. I then shook those wild thoughts off before focusing on the topic.

"It's done," she said, even her voice becoming a bit more relaxed than before.

"Did it work?" I asked, pretending not to see any of the clues.

"You tell me," the woman rolled her eyes and placed the tool on the table, only to move her eyes at Ackhart. "Now, if you tell me that you can make the extraction possible... I think we will be able to make a pretty nice market for those," she said as she turned her eyes back on me.

"You don't even have a shred of an idea," I muttered, dissatisfied with her relatively mild response.

For me, it looked like she was only interested in the mechanical function of the dildo rather than the insane opportunity that it brought.

"Excuse me?" the woman angled her head to the side. She kept the smile on her lips, but I could tell from the look in her eyes that her mood took a drastic dive after my words.

"Before, I suggested using the dildos as a means to undermine the monopoly of the sect over the cultivation resources," I said, bringing back the discussion we had with the boss when we first met at the auction hall. "But now? After we learned that you need a formation to make use of those energies?"

A chuckle made its way from the very bottom of my heart to my lips, only to evolve into full-fledged laughter.

"Can't you see it?" I asked, nearly bending in half from amusement. "Right now, those dildos and formations give us the tools to basically take over all the dual cultivation sects in one quick swoop!"