Chapter 189: Sunburst of Krauss (2)
"I took your new favorite attendant," Riku said. "The man who brought a few wonders for you. The man who made your house the envy of your peers."
He paused. "To make up for that loss, and as an apology for the methods I used, I will give you something far more valuable."
Riku looked at Rennan. "The blueprints. For the cooling chest. And all the recipes for the drinks that you had enjoyed. Everything."
Lord Falco sneered. He spat on the ground beside him. "You brat. That coolbox was a thing of a miracle. You expect me to believe you can simply create the plans for such a thing?"
"I can," Riku answered calmly. "And I already proved I can offer items of far greater value."
He glanced at Rudolf. Rudolf understood and immediately nodded.
"He speaks the truth, my Lord. The artifact he traded was... beyond measure."
Lord Falco stared at Rudolf. Then his gaze snapped back to Riku. His mind began to race. The coolbox. The sparkling potions. The Soul-Drinker. All these impossible things, all connected to this one, unassuming man from the south.
Could it be? Falco thought, his anger finally giving way to a dawning, greedy curiosity. Did Rennan not invent those things at all? Did they all come from... him?
Riku turned back to Falco. "I will give you the knowledge to create these marvels for yourself. All of them. In exchange for peace between us."
Lord Falco stared. His anger, his humiliation, his fear—it all melted away. It was replaced by the pure, unadulterated greed of a collector who had just been offered the ultimate prize. He could own not just the trinkets, but the secret to making them.
He looked at Riku, no longer as an enemy, but as a peer. A grandmaster craftsman.