Chapter 51 – Blackmail (Letty’s POV)
I ran through the hallway to deliver the good news to Teacher and Sir Richard. They were ecstatic. And why wouldn’t they be? Their daughter just learned a skill that could potentially save herself from danger. For Aria, who doesn’t practice any combat, this is a perfect skill that would keep her safe in the face of any unexpected danger.
I'm really happy that she listened to me and forgot about the so-called protagonist. I would have been even happier if she hadn't ordered me to use that scroll, but at least it all worked out in the end.
We all once again gathered in the sitting room to see the skill in action.
“Miss Letica, why don’t you have a little spar with my pumpkin? I heard that the shadow guard helps you train from time to time”, Sir Richard suggested.
What? Why me? What if I hurt her?
“Uhm… Do I have to?”, I asked.
Just as I was about to suggest calling a guard, Teacher said something that surprised both of us.
“I’ll do it. I know some basic fist fighting techniques”
“Mom? You know how to fight?”, Aria asked, surprised.
“Should we move to a courtyard, darling?” Sir Richard asked before she could answer.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt my daughter. And yes, dear, I can fight a little. Now, activate the skill”, she said as she took her fighting stance.
“Okay, I’m using it now. G-Go on”, Aria said with a quiver in her voice, as a golden hue covered her body. That must be the evasive aura.
Teacher launched her first punch, and Aria just covered her face with her hands while closing her eyes. Teacher halted her hands before her punch could connect and instead gave her a light chop on the head.
“Ow, you said you wouldn’t hurt me. What was that?” Aria complained.
“You said that your skill increases your agility, reflexes, and perception. But that would only work if you were able to see your opponent. So don’t close your eyes, and let’s do it once again”, Teacher said as she readied herself once again.
“But you looked scary…”, Aria mumbled.
“Hmph, at least try to look cool in front of your girlfriend. Now come on, keep your focus on me”, Teacher said, her voice sounding a little annoyed. I must admit, being referred to as her girlfriend sends butterflies down my stomach.
This little provocation seemed to have worked as Aria loudly replied “Okay, I won’t close my eyes”.
Teacher launched her punch again, but this time Aria managed to dodge it by ducking just at the right moment.
Content with her accomplishment, Aria pumped up her fist and said,
“Yay! I did it!”
“Don’t start celebrating just yet, after a single punch”, she sighed before continuing, “You know what, that was a good start. You should start doing some practice until you can properly use the skill”
“Yes, I will”, she then turned to me and said, “Did you see that Letty? That was so cool! I went whoop, and Mom totally missed. Maybe I have a knack for this”.
Holding back my laughter at her childish reaction, I replied, “You are really cool! And you are always welcome to join us, Aria”.
+50 SP
I also love this quirky side of her. She only gets like this when she is very excited about something.
Teacher and Sir Richard also had a chuckle and said, “You did great, baby. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have some other matters to attend to. Have fun playing around with your skill”
After they once again left us alone, a quest popped up,
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Quests –
Ooh, good luck with that. Don’t let your mistress find out about this mission for bonus rewards. And shh, you didn’t hear it from me.
Clear Criteria:
Your mistress does light workouts for at least four days a week for a month.
Rewards:
10 EXP + Bonus
Failure Penalty:
- 5 EXP
Your business is booming, but you have more potential. Use your connections to secure a successful trade deal for Alteria’s Haven. Your mistress would be content regardless of the outcome. The base reward isn’t much, but depending on the scale of the deal, it might turn out rather juicy.
Clear Criteria:
Secure a successful trade deal within the period of 90 days.
Rewards:
5 EXP + Bonus
Failure Penalty:
- 2 EXP
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Good job, System! The first one seems very easy, and I had plans for the second one regardless of the mission. I wonder why people mull over how hard their quests are, mine are so easy! I don’t know why making her exercise is giving me twice as much EXP as getting a trade deal (without bonus), but I’m not complaining. System, don’t go back on the rewards when I complete the quest easily.
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Of course, the rewards are set in stone.
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Now then, first things first. “Aria, you wanted to exercise, right? Let’s start now. I’ll prepare appropriate clothing for you, so let’s not waste any time”.
“What? Now? Erm… okay”
I then dragged her to the courtyard to make her do some exercise. She did try to keep up for the most part, but it seems that her stamina is pretty low. She was out of breath after the warm-up and laid down on the ground after a few jumping jacks.
Now here’s the problem, if this keeps up, there is no way that she would want to continue tomorrow. Sigh, I now understand why it offered more EXP than the other one. This is going to be trickier than expected.
***
So, this is the next day. And Aria is nowhere to be found. She is hiding from me to avoid working out. Tch, tch, tch, this won’t do. For the quest and for her health, I have to do this!
Given the size of the mansion, it’s impossible for me to find her in time. Especially since all the maids are working with her to misguide me. I reluctantly gave up for the day and came up with a plan that has to work.
I waited for her to return to her room and used the dirty plan that I now had to resort to. Blackmail.
“Aria, think of this as revenge for ordering me to use that scroll”, I paused and said, “If you run away tomorrow, I’ll go inform your parents about the storage ring”
“What? But you promised that you wouldn’t tell anyone. Didn’t you say that you would buy another storage ring for me from your Shop, so that Dad wouldn’t realize that I lost it? You can’t turn on me like this”, she said in a panic.
Yes, it is about the storage ring. This clumsy girl in front of me thought that she had put the ring in the jewelry box and forgotten about it. But in fact, she lost it. I searched her entire room thrice and didn’t find it. Not to mention the 4,000+ gold coins that were in there along with some of her personal belongings.
Can you imagine losing more than 4,000 gold coins and not even realizing it for about a year and a half? Given her wealth, it is just a trivial inconvenience, but even so, Teacher would not be happy if she found out.
“You only have yourself to blame for this”, I said with a grin, knowing that I had won.
“Come on, Letty. Please don’t do this, Dad would be very sad if he finds out”, she pleaded.
“Are you really blackmailing me for not exercising? That’s so unfair!”, she yelled. “I was too conceited to think that exercising would be easy. It’s not! And now my whole body is in pain”
“That’s perfectly normal, and believe me, you can do this”, I explained, continuing after a pause, “I am doing this for your own good. Now listen, Sir Richard would be sad, but he'll come around eventually, but think about Teacher for a second. She would not be happy with your irresponsible behavior”, I reminded her of the real threat.
Aria's eyes widened, and she gulped, a sudden realization dawning upon her. She took a step back, her voice filled with fear as she pleaded, "Oh no. Don’t tell her. I’ll do whatever you ask. Just don’t tell her"
“Maybe my mouth will stay shut if you regularly join me for light exercises going forward”, I added.
“Okay, I’ll do some exercise”, she said in defeat.
“Don’t make it sound like I’m bullying you, it’s for your own good”
“But you are bullying me… Now come hug me”, I did as she asked. While still in the middle of the hug, she pouted and said, “Oh Letty, a little while ago, a bad lady blackmailed me. Don’t be like her, okay? Blackmailing is bad… And buy that ring asap”.
I just chuckled at her antics and kept hugging her.
***
After successfully blackmailing her to exercise for a few days. She herself started to see its benefits and stopped complaining. I also managed to accumulate 1,000 SP and buy the ring for her within the same month. It’s a little different than the one before, but I doubt anyone would notice.
This way, the accidental loss of her storage ring remained a secret, and my quest was completed along with the bonus part.
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Quest Completed–
Encourage your mistress to live a healthier life!
Rewards:
10 EXP + 10 EXP (bonus)
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I also laid some groundwork for finishing the second quest. I scoped out the perfect person to negotiate a deal with. Duke Arboun’s mining company is a large supplier of lithonade in the market, which is an important metal that is used in a lot of the gadgets that we sell. As we require large quantities of lithonade, I figured that it would be beneficial for us if we struck a deal directly with the supplier. The only problem is that Duke Arboun doesn’t like to do any direct trades. He trusts his son-in-law’s firm with the responsibility of supplying it to the market.
Hopefully, my efforts to arrange a meeting with Duke Arboun will succeed in time to complete the quest as well.
Anyway, enough about the boring stuff. Let’s talk about Aria, she is working on a new series of gadgets, and they are simply awesome! She recently showcased a device that can be installed in wagons and carriages that absorbs the shocks, making carriages ten, no, a hundred times more comfortable. I don’t understand how it even works, but that’s the case for literally every other gadget that involves the use of mana-stones. I love to see everyone praise her for her hard work.
She also said that she was facing some unforeseen issues with the lightning spell thrower device. Sadly, I am unable to provide any help in that regard. But she was talking about some breakthrough, so let’s see how it goes.