Having a powerful lord as a father figure, what's wrong with just wanting to draw cards?

Arriving at the small storage room in the corner of the tower, he searched high and low, but couldn't find the little cushion he had used for several years.

Those were his comrades-in-arms who had been with him since childhood. He had witnessed countless sunrises and sunsets with him, endured countless lonely moments together, withstood hail and torrential rain, and accompanied Emperor Dominic through the pass. And now they were gone?

When I opened the door, I found that my little cushion had been dragged out and someone else was sitting on it.

With her slender figure and her bright red hair, as vibrant as the day she was born, who else could it be but Shia?

She's been monitoring him for three years, so she must know his daily morning routine. But why is she coming too? Getting up even earlier than him, is she out of her mind?

"Come on in~ Have a seat."

Shea didn't even turn her head, acting as if she were the owner of the little cushion, which made Domi quite helpless. However, in order to avoid getting his bottom dirty, he still chose to sit next to the fragrant Shea.

The two were arm in arm, and could feel each other's body temperature.

The cool morning air made his skin feel icy, but he could feel the intense heat hidden beneath that coolness.

There were not many words exchanged between the two.

Domi began his breathing cycle on his own, while Shia waited for him, as if she had come all this way just to do this...

Day 2 of 10,000!

Chapter 92, Section 91: The Correct Way to Activate Weapons with Soul-Eating Energy

This continued until Domi completed a full body circulation and exhaled a breath of stale air. He had collected his 'daily reward' for the day.

He kept his eyes closed, seemingly unwilling to face reality, and only said:

"Now you can tell me your payment terms."

Shia tried to take deep breaths like Domi, but it was definitely useless.

"Why does your breathing have a special rhythm? Is this also a power of the Soul Eater?"

"Answer my question first."

However, Shia pretended not to hear: "Very good, another characteristic of the Soul Eater added~"

"...If you don't want to talk about it, then forget it. Just pretend I didn't ask that question."

After saying that, Domi got up and went downstairs to have breakfast.

However, at this moment, Xia said, "Don't be impatient, look, here are your payment terms."

The sound of carriage wheels echoed in the parking area in front of the castle; in the morning, when only birdsong could be heard, this sound was quite loud.

Domi turned around and stood on the edge of the battlement, looking in the direction from which the sound came. He saw a handsome young man step down from a royal carriage, carrying a simple longsword on his back.

With sword-like eyebrows and a sharp aura that seemed to reach the heavens, he was like the sharpest longsword in the world!

The boy didn't look very old; I'd guess he was only about ten years old, roughly the same age as Shia, and a third taller than Domi.

"he is?"

"Alger, a genius swordsman from the army, not only has unparalleled swordsmanship talent, but also the superpower of photographic memory."

After being discovered, this promising talent of his was promoted rapidly and is now in the elite training camp of the "Lion's Mouth." He's about my age and has already fought on the front lines against the demons, so he has a wealth of combat experience.

[One of the chosen ones of the human race has been detected. The villain points gained from them will be multiplied by 5! Directly killing the current chosen one will grant you five million villain points.]

[WARNING: Please proceed with caution if you wish to hunt the Chosen One. After successfully killing him, your body will be hunted by the 'World Will' and targeted by the 'Lionheart Empire's' national guardian beast. Please be aware.]

Compared to the Forest Elf Chosen One that Aurora encountered last time, the system issued one less warning against overestimating herself, and the reward for killing him was five million less than Merlin's.

What does this mean?

This shows that Alger, the chosen one of humanity, has not yet fully developed, and with his current strength, he is capable of hunting!

Despite his confidence, Domi remained vigilant, given that it was a life-or-death battle. But he couldn't just start by fighting to the death with someone, could he?

Even without risking your life, you can still squeeze a lot of villain points out of him.

Noticing Domi's serious and thoughtful gaze, Shia comforted him while saying:

"The condition for this payment is that you have a match with Alger. If you win, I'll let you know. If you lose, it's okay. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. If you're really struggling, you can come to me and whine and complain. I'm always welcome!"

"Okay, remember what you said."

Domi silently made a mental note of this guy, and couldn't wait to go over and give him a hard time, and then earn some villain points.

Seeing Domi's fearless demeanor, Shia wondered if she had exaggerated Alger's abilities, making Domi seem more interested than anything else.

Alger isn't just a simple mage; he's a swordsman who specializes in swordsmanship and uses magic as a secondary skill. Even for Soul Eaters, he's one of the most difficult to deal with.

Moreover, he is three years older than Domi, which means he has grown up for three more years. With such a gap, isn't Domi worried that he will lose?

As expected of the successor of the Soul Eater!

Just as the ancient books say, powerful Soul Eaters are all unruly and fearless beings!

"Let me look forward to your performance..."

Shea's eyes shone with excitement. Although she had arranged such a formidable opponent for Domi, she couldn't wait for him to win.

As for the reason, if she doesn't say, who would know?

On the other side, Domi had already arrived at the castle gate. With the help of two maids, Alger had also arrived at the gate. The two stood on either side of the threshold, facing each other.

With just one glance, Alger and Domi knew that the other party was truly capable, not just a pushover with empty boasts.

Although their strengths are comparable, their identities are worlds apart.

Alger never forgot that he was just the son of a soldier. If it weren't for the princess's instructions, he might never have met the son of the Duke of Brofell, let alone fought him.

Out of respect and courtesy, Alger stepped over the threshold and extended his hand to Domi with a smile:

“My name is Alger. Princess Shia sent me here. It is an honor to meet you, young master Dominic!”

Q: How do you fleece tons of money from the chosen ones?

A: In Long Aotian novels, just do what the villains do—however arrogant and do-fighting they are!

To avoid attracting negative attention for such behavior, Domi also created an additional persona for himself—the fervent admirer of Shia. Later, he'll forcibly assign another persona to Alger—the fervent admirer of Shia x2.

At that time, Domi will have a legitimate reputation for all his actions, and he can also take advantage of the situation, killing two birds with one stone!

So, without even glancing at Alger's outstretched hand, Domi looked down at Alger, who was a third of his height, with a contemptuous gaze:

"Oh, so your name is Alger. I didn't know until I saw you. I was shocked. People say you're a genius and very capable, but after seeing you in person, I realize you're nothing special, just all talk and no action."

"With this level of skill, you should just stay in the village and be a local genius. You're not good enough for Shia."

Upon hearing this, the two maids beside him gasped in shock.

They had never seen Domi so aggressive. The young master Domi had always been gentle and kind to everyone. Why did he become a different person when he was with Alger?

And judging from the last sentence Domi said, there seems to be some big gossip involved!

What are Domi and Alger like? One is a good-for-nothing rich kid, and the other is a minor genius born into poverty. They both pursue the imperial princess! They love and hate each other for the sake of a woman, so much so that the atmosphere is full of gunpowder right from the start!

There's a reason for all of this!

Good heavens, they'll be spreading this gossip until next year! I'll have a good chat with the other girls about it later.

Alger's outstretched hand and the smile on his face froze, and his heart skipped a beat, as if a long-buried secret had been suddenly discovered.

How could he know that he liked Princess Shia?!

[You gave the chosen one, Alger, a classic villainous intimidation tactic, villain value +1 (after bonus settlement)]

Alger's lips twitched violently, and his hand, which had been hanging in mid-air, fell limply to his side. He was about to say something to ease the tension, perhaps there was some misunderstanding between him and Domi.

Unexpectedly, after giving him a hard time, Domi turned around and left without showing him any respect at all.

My heart was immediately filled with anger, grievance, and helplessness.

The other party is the son of the Duke of Brofell. Even if I have talent, I could never outmaneuver such a behemoth.

But if a stroke of luck were to befall him, he believed that fortunes could change in thirty years, and one should never underestimate a young man's potential!

Only after Domi had disappeared from sight did the maid dare to step forward, take Alger's luggage, and lead him to his guest room on the fifth floor.

Throughout the journey, the maids still made sure to speak up for Domi:

“Mr. Alger, to be honest, young master Dominic wasn’t like this before. He was humble, studious, and gentle. He was kind and kind to everyone, and even to us ordinary people, he would show us great care.”

"Yes, he's not as harsh as you think. The young master may have suffered some major trauma, which is why his words and actions are a bit extreme."

With the constant guidance of the maids, Alger, who had arrived at his room, fell into deep thought.

In aristocratic families, would servants really speak up for their masters without hesitation?

In his mind, weren't nobles always oppressing their servants and treating them like cattle? If they weren't genuinely kind to them, why would they speak up for Domi?

Could it be that Domi really suffered some kind of trauma, as the maids said?

What kind of stimulation...?

Alger suddenly realized that Domi had said he was not worthy of pursuing Shea, which implied that Domi also liked Shea and was pursuing her!

I'm like a rival who suddenly appeared out of nowhere!

Domi is only seven years old, and his mind is not as mature as his. It's not impossible that he said such extreme things under the sudden change.

"I see~ I see! I was overthinking things and misunderstood you... On the day of the competition, how about we go easy on you a little?"

Like Domi, Alger, despite realizing that his opponent was truly skilled, still believed that he would definitely win.

Just go easy on him a little, so he doesn't lose too badly or lose face in front of his sweetheart.

After all, he had to win. No, he had to win Princess Shia's heart!

After learning that Alger had moved in, Shia told Domi that the match would take place at 1 p.m. the next day in the Dragon's Nest Arena, but it had been postponed by a day so that he could get used to the home environment.

Domi wasn't in a hurry, because Shia also told her that Alger was her mother's personal bodyguard, appointed by the current queen, to protect Shia's daily safety and, incidentally, to cultivate their relationship.

“But don’t get me wrong,” Shia explained, “this ‘cultivating feelings’ means making him always loyal to me. After all, Alger is quite outstanding and will grow into a good bodyguard.”

Domi just shrugged: "There's no need to explain so clearly to me. We're just using each other, aren't we?"

Xia was momentarily speechless; all the words she wanted to say vanished from her mind. She didn't know how to continue, and could only let out a long sigh.

Okay, good luck!