Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2871: Holmic Tribe

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, Headquarters

”Is that the last of the Holmic Tribe deals?”

”Yes,” Susan answered the Clown Mask. Both appeared visibly exhausted. The latter more than the former, though the mask made it difficult to tell.

”Another high-risk bond. These dark tribes aren’t easy to deal with — show even a little weakness and we might as well forget our investment,” Clown Mask said, massaging her temples.

Having used her Eye of Fortune frequently, she had come to recognize its serious shortcomings. Prolonged and repeated use put an extreme strain on her mind. She could manage it with a few mental recovery cards and potions, but what troubled her more was the ever-changing fortune.

She would use her Eye of Fortune to check the returns on a deal before signing through the Devil Merchant Code’s inter-realm network with the dark races. However, when she checked the same deal later that day, the fortune had flipped entirely, what had looked promising was now projected to be their worst deal yet. They’d be lucky to break even.

Still, through repeated use, the occasional loss, and help from Hive Spirit, she had learned how to get the most out of her Eye, how to sort the promising deals from the bad ones, and how to tilt the odds in their favor. It came at the cost of greater mental strain. But given her recent streak of high-margin deals, she no longer felt guilty reaching for the high-level mental potions.

”The system you’ve built here is impeccable. It’s more efficient than what we had in place before. The only problem is that you carry all the burden yourself, you could manage even without me,” Susan remarked. The whole time, she had felt her presence was redundant.

What she didn’t know was that, with the help of her Hive Spirit, Clown Mask could handle all of it on her own. The only reason she had created the position in the first place was to be closer to her daughter, who was, at that moment, consoling her best friend.

”Your Highness—” Just as Clown Mask moved to console Susan, she sensed her master’s presence and turned at once, greeting, ”My Lord, you are here.”

I nodded to Clown Mask and glanced at Susan, who hadn’t yet hidden her surprise at seeing me. Composing herself quickly, she remarked, ”I thought you were in the assembly.”

”I wrapped up the assembly early and came over. Why didn’t you attend?”

”Why ask when you already know the answer?”

I smiled and drew her into my arms. She had grown more outspoken. It seemed she had adapted well to her new position of power.

”You three need to figure things out before factions start to form. After that, don’t blame me for doing what needs to be done,” I warned, without mincing my words. I didn’t want harem drama in my empire. They could either learn to work together or simply give up their own authority. It was up to them.

”Your sweet nothings have lost their edge,” Susan said playfully, running her fingers through my hair.

”Hm,” I said, frowning at my grimoire — it was flooding a string of notifications, enough to give me a small migraine.

”What’s wrong?”

”My inbox is filled with complaints about Corey.”

”Corey? I thought the side effects of her power system had been handled.”

”It turns out it’s chronic. She needs to learn to manage it and take her prescribed pills occasionally.”

”So, what did she do this time?”

”Apparently, she tried to blow us all up as a joke.”

”What?”

”She’s heading over now. You handle her.”

”No, you deal with it— Wyatt, why does it feel like we have a grown child out of wedlock?”

”How would I know? You’re a single mother. You tell me — also, why didn’t you tell me you have a child before we got involved?”

”What would you have done if I had told you?” Susan glared at me and rolled her eyes, causing me to burst out laughing. She knew Corey thought of her as a mother figure, yet played ignorant whenever the girl was around.

”I don’t know, but I feel cheated. I demand compensation!”

Susan’s lips curved into a smile. ”You want compensation? Well, what do you want?”

”How about you make me an offer? I’ll decide if it’s enough,” I said, signaling to Clown Mask, who had already moved deeper into the warehouse to keep Corey and the others out. At the same time, I summoned my Celestial Blood Rule domain, letting it settle over the space like a quiet seal.

Pecking my forehead, Susan asked, ”Is this enough?”

When I shook my head, she tapped the tip of my nose and searched my eyes. Seeing me shake my head again, she hesitated, then leaned in to brush my lips—but before she could pull away, I gently placed a hand at the back of her head and deepened the kiss. Only when she was out of breath did I let her go.

As she caught her breath, my lips found her shoulder, then her neck, and finally, I nibbled at her earlobe. Her fingers curled into my hair, and she whispered in my ears, ”My, aren’t you a greedy one.”

While my hands wandered freely feeling her curves, my grimoire buzzed with a chain of frantic texts from Corey.

...

”Clown Mask, let me in!” Corey shouted, despite seeing the warehouse wrapped in her friend’s domain, she knew he had no intention of meeting her.

Clown Mask didn’t bother replying. She was tired of repeating herself.

”Psst, Field Marshal,” Aurelia called out while everyone waited to hold Corey accountable for her actions. When the Field Marshal turned to her, Aurelia said, ”You owe me five dozen devil-grade ingredients.”

The Field Marshal smirked in response, asking. ”How about I give you five dozen slaps instead?”

”One devil-grade ingredient—I can’t go below that... I’ll cry!”