"It will soon be two years since I used my privilege to choose Serene Will. If the book records a woman with extraordinary ability, I will have to risk contacting Dark Root."
Lawrence does not lose hope that the woman he chooses will be indebted to him forever. Even if Serene Will never returns and ends up ascending to the Divine Plane successfully, she will never become his enemy.
On the other hand, there is a significant possibility that she will come to his aid if he ever finds himself in trouble. Not just once, but as many times as necessary.
Someone like her does not fall in love twice.
"I want to see the record book."
After borrowing the book with this year's new women, he sits down nearby and reviews its contents.
"Oh, Life Ice, not bad."
The Life Ice ability allows her to freeze someone at death's doorstep and prevent their death while inside. Moreover, it can store the frozen person in a storage ring without any side effects.
'Transporting people in storage rings... it's quite interesting for surprise attacks or playing possum. Good start, let's see the rest.'
He meticulously reads through the list of women until he stops at one.
"Knowledge Exchange?"
The user can transfer knowledge from hunter A to hunter B, making it their own immediately. Best of all, she can do it to herself, and it's said that she has acquired a vast amount of knowledge throughout her life.
'By just earning her trust, I could make all her knowledge mine, I would never have to read a damn book again! Moreover, these aren't based solely on books but on lived experience, interesting.'
He notes both women in his notebook as potential candidates and continues with the rest.
Until…
'This… This woman has to be mine!'
Lawrence closes the book and throws his notes away, they are no longer necessary.
The chosen woman has the ability Return from Death.
+++
"I didn't think we'd meet again. I told my bodyguards to expel you if it didn't seem important, if you're here it must be, right?"
Dark Root is the most carefree and extroverted of all the partners in the underground city of Agares. It is said that he has some kind of blood relation with the founding partner, but no one knows how true this information might be.
Those who know his true identity are very few, and Lawrence is not one of them.
"I have a lot to talk about, but before that... This gift is a small courtesy on my part."
"Ha! Not even my closest friends gift me a bottle of Dragon's Breath, you make it seem trivial. Don't expect me to share it with you, instead I'll give you something else."
He gestures to an employee in the distance, moments later four beautiful women appear. Two sit flirtatiously next to Lawrence and the other two next to Dark Root.
Lawrence makes a displeased look for a second and then asks. "How long have these women been here?"
"Hahaha, we seem to have the same tastes. Don't mind it, they've only been here for five years, they don't yet offer special services."
"Oh"
Immediately his gaze returns to normal and he reaches out to the soft behind of one of the women, caressing it while drinking alcohol. The woman smiles and sighs near his ear, while the other caresses Lawrence's crotch and then brings her head under the table.
"What do you want to know from me?"
"That day I wanted to talk to you about the woman who disappeared, I wanted to tell you personally that I had nothing to do with it. I got involved in problems without even being part of anything..."
Lawrence explains the situation from his point of view, and then Dark Root stops him near the end.
"That matter is already closed." Dark Root is also receiving the services of the women, so he speaks with a cheerful and carefree smile. "Don't think about it anymore, everyone has been silenced. Some scapegoats' heads were cut off, the result isn't bad if you ask me. Now, what else did you want to talk about?"
Lawrence pauses and then says: "Do you know a woman named Coldness Divine?"
"Oh, the one with the innate ability Return from Death? That ability allows her to go back one day in the past after dying, retaining her memories."
In the conversation, Dark Root didn't say it, but Lawrence deduced that Coldness Divine also came from the Inferior Plane. A woman with her ability would have been backed by a sect a long time ago.
"If you asked about her, it must be for a reason, right?"
"You know me more than you should."
Lawrence removes a second bottle of Dragon's Breath wine from his storage ring. All his savings go exclusively to please this centuries-old rich kid.
"Hahaha, for me, cards hold no meaning. Take it, do what you want with it."
Dark Root agrees to grant Lawrence a new privilege in exchange for the bottle that appears on the table.
"I will make good use of it."
From then on the conversation becomes irrelevant, both enjoy the company of the women while dining on a lavish banquet.
+++
"My sister must be laughing at me."
Coldness Divine swings her feet while sitting on the roof of her residence.
"The dragon race always looked down on others. I still can't believe I've fallen so low."
She has a tail covered in scales and two wings on her back, her golden eyes are similar to a snake's but with a magnificence hard to match. She possesses two qualities that always surprise those who see her for the first time.
First, her wavy hair, short to the shoulders. Reddish in color and from which embers fall, they are harmless when she's in a good mood, but can harm like real fire when she's not. For this reason, her residence is slightly different from the rest.
"Her assassination attempts were easier to overcome than this."
Second, her horns. They are curved backward, the greatest pride of the dragon race since their shape determines lineage and beauty. To humans, Coldness Divine is beautiful, and even more so to those of her own species.
"...I wish I could go back in time beyond my ability. I've acquired a lot of information about this sub-space thanks to my regressions, but..."
Throughout her life, Coldness Divine has perfected assisted suicide, which allows her to go back one day in the past with any enemy attack--
"Are you Coldness Divine? I introduce myself, I am Lawrence."
Her precious rest is ruined by the arrival of a man with black hair.
"Are you a new servant? No, you're not."
Coldness Divine jumps off the roof and lands gently on the ground, at some point during her fall her wings grow several times their size.
"I'm not a servant, I'm your dao protector. My job is to ensure your mental state, you can consider me as your confidential friend, nothing you tell me will be reported to my superiors."
She looks at him silently and then laughs.
"Hahaha!"
Coldness Divine is surprised, because… 'Did that man tell me the truth? I already knew who he was, it's unexpected that he dared tell me to my face.'
"For consideration to your honesty, I will let you live, now get out, I have enough entertainment with the servants."
They always come in the morning to clean her house and the yard, in addition to cutting the grass and beautifying the garden. They don't bother her at all, it's her who has to be behind them to talk and obtain information.
A dao protector? Let it go, she doesn't need it.
"Unlike the servants, I have no prohibition on what to talk about."
"Oh, then tell me something I don't know."
She stops and looks at him with a provocative expression.
"The barrier of this sub-space discriminates under established rules, this process is automatic, so no client or worker can enter what is considered as prohibited objects."
"…"
'Well, that's interesting information… But it's not enough, because in a few more regressions I would have discovered it myself.'
At some point, the embers falling from her hair damage the grass under her feet.
"Time's up. You are my enemy. That is the only truth I acknowledge."
A simple fan appears in her hand, the next moment her aura changes.
'This dragon bitch means business!'
Lawrence quickly retreats, just at that moment the ground cracks and a column of fire appears in his previous position. Not only that, the ground around him begins to crack as well.
"I'm not your enemy! If you're so sincere in wanting me to leave, then I will. Goodbye!"
Coldness Divine stops when she sees Lawrence's attitude and lets him leave without continuing her attacks.
"If you come back tomorrow, don't expect any consideration from me."
"Understandable, I'll come the day after tomorrow!"
"You…!"
Lawrence was already far away, even if she wanted to harm him, she couldn't.
Two days pass and Lawrence reappears before her.
"Good morning, Coldness Divine."
"…"
Coldness Divine does not return the greeting nor does she engage in conversation, directly taking out her fan ready to crush her enemy.
"You promised you would only hurt me yesterday!"
"Don't play dumb with me! Get back here!"
A ten-meter fire sword falls from the sky towards his position, Lawrence uses his sacred chains to move away as quickly as possible from the minefield. Behind him, a column of fire suddenly rises, he is moving away well, but not as much as he would like.
'Serene Will looked nice compared to this dragon bitch, at least she didn't attack me seriously!'
As soon as he gets time, he draws a strange sword and begins to fly.
"Do you think you have an advantage in the air? You're wrong! My flight speed competes with that of weapons!"
Her wings grow in size and Coldness Divine begins to fly, the strange thing is that her wings practically don't move, there was no effort on her part and she could already keep up with Lawrence.
Hunters can fly on their own from a certain level, but the problem lies in this sub-space, which restricts flight. It is surprising in itself that he can fly using a sword as a base, but even more so Coldness Divine with her wings!
Lawrence clicks his tongue and starts to fly seriously, unaware of Coldness Divine's gaze.
'How is it possible that a user of sacred magic works in this place? His magic remains pure despite all the corruption of this place…'
Coldness Divine does not hold back in attacking, even when her enemy must be someone with a pure heart, but the difference in levels is clear. If the elusive Lawrence makes an effort to evade her attacks, she can't stop him.
"You only know how to run!"
"I'm flying, you idiot!"
"How dare you mock me?! Die!"
From that day on, Coldness Divine avoided saying phrases that could be misunderstood, because she discovered that Lawrence always used them against her.