Chapter 273: The Coin
“You what?” Yonas exclaimed, staring at Arwin in aghast disbelief. He sent a glance over their shoulders into the ruins of the boss room behind them, then turned his gaze to the dungeon heart tucked under Arwin’s arm.
“We would like to keep the Dungeon Heart,” Arwin said, giving Yonas a sheepish grin. “If we can come to terms, that is.”
“Why?” Yonas asked. “Is this meant to be some kind of joke?”
“No. Why would we joke about something like this?” Lillia asked.
“Because it’s ludicrous,” Yonas exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air. “How will we get rid of the Ardent Guild? Of Twelve? What could you possibly do with the Dungeon Heart that would let us all win? And for that matter, who attempts to change a deal when you’re still in the dungeon with their business partner? Anyone with half a brain would wait until we had left the dungeon and were in a safer area.”
“But that would be pretty rude, wouldn’t it?” Anna asked, tilting her head to the side with a small frown. “We only just decided we wanted to see if we could alter the deal, after all.”
“I feel like it’s a bit late to be worried about being rude at this point,” Yonas said, his features growing sharper as he realized that the Menagerie were actually serious and had absolutely no plans of handing the Dungeon Heart over. “You’re not stupid. Do you really think keeping the heart ends in a way where we all win?”
It was several seconds before Arwin responded.
“I honestly don’t know,” Arwin admitted. “But the more I think about it, the more distasteful I find the idea of giving Twelve a powerful magical item. If there is any alternative path, I would like to do my absolute best to find it. Even if that just means loaning the heart to us for a few days while we figure out our options to see if any alternative exists.”