Chapter 72: Hotel Lounge
Clame met with Terrence at his hotel lounge.
Clame was adorned in tight yet comfortable tactical gear, her skin mostly covered, but her stunning figure was still clearly outlined. Terrence couldn’t keep his eyes away from her.
There was an invisible magnet to the bountiful chest she carried, and to be honest, her build was completely his physical type.
Quickly erasing those disrespectful thoughts from his mind, he walked over to the table at the hotel lounge where Clame sat. Sitting directly across from her were two muscular bodyguards, standing guard attentively.
Terrence smiled at her, surprising her slightly with his sudden appearance.
Terrence still wore a simple green tunic top, but his lower attire consisted of the durable pairs of tactical pants he had bought earlier.
"Hey... sorry to keep you waiting," Terrence said as he finally sat down, meeting Clame’s eye level as his heart briefly skipped a beat.
Clame was simply breathtaking compared to the average girls he knew; there wouldn’t even be a competition.
Clame exhaled softly as she offered a warm smile, dismissing his apology with a wave of her hand.
"No need to apologize. I just got here myself." She paused, her sharp eyes taking in Terrence’s physical frame, which seemed to have been sculpted for the better.
What Clame remembered from a week ago was a scrawny kid who clearly lacked proper nutrition. He looked decent enough back then, but nothing like the fit, athletic physique standing in front of her now.
To be honest, Terrence’s kind of physical frame wasn’t entirely shocking, but the sheer speed of his physical progress utterly amazed her.
"You look good. I mean... you look remarkably healthy," she corrected her slipped words, clearing her throat slightly. "Congratulations on your win, by the way."
A sudden flush of heat rushed through Terrence’s cheeks, but he quickly ignored the feeling and gave a modest nod.
"Thanks. Did you manage to watch the fight?"
"Uhm..." She couldn’t offer a clear answer for a second before letting out a soft sigh. "I couldn’t watch the entire match. I only arrived right as your second beast appeared. It was a flying beast, right?"
She leaned forward with genuine curiosity. "Can you summon it right now?"
Terrence shook his head gently. "I probably shouldn’t. Summoning beasts is heavily restricted inside this hotel, and they strictly enforce the local laws here."
Clame nodded in understanding.
"I see... Maybe next time then."
"Yeah. Next time for sure."
For a few quiet seconds, Terrence didn’t really know what to say. He hadn’t expected them to meet up so quickly after his duel had concluded.
The day hadn’t even ended, yet he had already talked with multiple key people. He had completed his daily mission, successfully won over Stan, discussed his strategic plan with Klein, and was now sitting across from the gorgeous Lady Commander herself.
To be honest, being this productive didn’t feel bad at all.
"I wanted to thank you for the Guard Slimes you sold me before," Clame spoke up, breaking the silence. "They were extremely helpful, and they actually saved my subordinates’ lives during a recent dungeon dive."
Terrence smiled, letting out a short scoff—though there was zero mockery behind it. He was genuinely happy to receive such sincere gratitude. At the very least, even if the beasts originally came directly from his System, he was doing genuine good for others.
"It was a fair trade. So naturally, they should be powerful."
"Right... I even distributed a few of them to other soldiers who possessed lower-ranked beasts. And surprisingly, the beasts you provided didn’t care about elemental affinities at all. Anyone could tame and form a contract with them on a stable 50-50 relationship."
Terrence’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. He hadn’t fully anticipated that specific outcome, but it made total sense, and he quickly rationalized the logic behind it in his head.
’It’s probably because they originate directly from the System, so what it provides isn’t ferocious or wild by nature. The beasts are naturally docile and don’t strictly require a high-tier mental contract to obey.’
"When I first heard about them not needing a traditional affinity contract, I had to see it for myself," Clame continued, her face lighting up as she couldn’t contain her happiness. "I was blown away when I saw that they would simply follow my orders, recognizing me as their owner the moment I bought them from you."
"They are surprisingly smart like that. You can think of it that way."
Clame shook her head, a soft smirk tucking at the corner of her full lips. Terrence remained a fascinating mystery to her, and to be honest, she preferred it that way.
No heavy questions, no deep suspicion—as long as the final results were good for her troops.
"Actually, I came here today to deliver some important news to you. But before we get to that, do you happen to have any other beasts currently available for sale?"
Terrence paused, rubbing the back of his neck awkward. Right, he had publicly advertised himself as a beast merchant, but he didn’t actually have any stock left on hand to sell right now.
To be honest, it was a bit frustrating, because he genuinely enjoyed earning money by selling unique beasts. It wasn’t overly difficult, and he could obtain far stronger creatures whenever he completed System missions.
Yet that fundamental problem resurfaced: without physical merchandise on hand, he couldn’t operate as a proper merchant.
"I will definitely contact you the moment I have new stock available," Terrence assured her. "So, what is this news you wanted to share with me?"
Clame didn’t answer immediately. A heavy, somber emotion suddenly settled behind her eyes—one that Terrence couldn’t quite read.
She hesitated, visibly weighing in her mind whether she truly needed to reveal it to him today. However, she firmly believed Terrence deserved the absolute truth regarding his mother’s tragic death.
"Your mother’s name was Kalisha Lee, right?"
Terrence was taken aback, leaning back slightly in his seat. He hadn’t heard that name spoken out loud in a very long time. A decade had passed since her passing, yet a deep, lingering ache remained inside his heart whenever he thought of her.
His mother was the one who had opened his eyes to so many things in the world. She was likely the sole reason a righteous persona developed inside him—one that craved peace and wanted systemic oppression to vanish completely.
His mother was the primary influence behind why he had misunderstood his former family for so many years. She had made him believe they were righteous guardians who helped people grow and become equal to one another.
Most of his core moral values regarding reality and the noble nobility expected of a member of the Lee Family had been learned directly from her.
Yet, simply hearing her name spoken aloud made a sharp pang strike his heart. Her death had always felt so unfair, especially since she had died saving their former home sector from a rift outbreak.
"What about her?" Terrence asked, setting aside his rising emotional memories, though his heart grew heavier with every passing second.
Clame looked straight into Terrence’s eyes, refusing to hesitate any longer. He deserved to know the raw truth.
"Her death wasn’t like the other tamers who died protecting the sector. She was deliberately sacrificed by your family."
Hearing those heavy words, Terrence was instantly bathed in a cloud of overwhelming confusion and shock.