Chapter 267: The New Leader

"Where did that idea come from, Felix?" Argentum could not help but say in response to Felix's question, briefly radiating a slightly confused aura. He then pondered over the proposition for a bit, eventually shaking his head left and right as he added, "Either way, I'm not fit to become the leader of a town of Animates. I'm just a measly Pseudo-Animate that does not know how the world of the Animates work. If I become the town's leader, it might just lead to the destruction of this town."

Listening to Argentum's disapproval, Felix could not help but scratch his head as he mulled over Argentum's words, slightly finding it peculiar as to how Argentum was able to make the guards not act on them before he had arrived. With that in mind, he asked him with a hint of caution, "Just to make sure, do those guards really not know that you two are Pseudo-Animates?"

"Not at all," Argentum said as he shook his head. He then continued, "As I've said earlier, they must have thought that we were humans like them. With the combat power we showed in front of them, who would think that two entities like us would actually be Pseudo-Ani—huh."

Just as he was about to finish his statement, a grin could be seen creeping up on Felix's handsome face, giving Argentum the feeling that he was being led somewhere. With the grin still plastered on his face, Felix said in a cheerful tone, "Well then, you said it yourself. Those Animates don't know that you're a Pseudo-Animate, so why don't you try your hand at being a leader of a town?"

He then added, "I've noticed that the guards did not move, even when the leader I killed ordered them to attack you. Surely you must have persuaded them, or gave them some incentive to not make a move on you both."

Hearing that Felix knew what had happened before he had arrived, Argentum was about to ask this question, only for Felix to be one step ahead of him as he said, "Oh, and also, my spells cover a large range. It's a simple matter for me to know about these things."

"Huh…" Argentum said with a tone of slight understanding and confusion, going silent for a bit after that. After a while, he let out a soft sigh as he answered, "Sure, I did persuade them to not make a move on us, but for the most part, in order for them to follow my words, we had to show our full strength in front of them. I was just using the cards we had to the fullest effect at that time."

"Nevertheless, you still have a scheming mind," Felix replied as he let out a light chuckle. As he listened to Argentum's counterarguments, although they expressed deep disapproval in the proposition of becoming a leader of Verdant Breeze Town, the reasoning he used was more than enough for Felix to consider him as a possible leader of such a town. "Plus, this is a world where the rulers are based on strength. Who would not show their strength at opportune moments if not for them to be at an advantage?"

Argentum had nothing to say to Felix's question. Of course, it was not because he did not have any words to say to the question, but instead, he felt like if he answered, he would be dragged deeper into what seemed to be a trap.

A trap that would give him no choice but to become the leader of Verdant Breeze Town.

With that in mind, Argentum went ahead and changed the topic in an instant as he said, "In any case, I don't have the qualifications to become the leader of such a town. I don't have enough strength to be able to maintain the position of leader."

"Oh?" Felix raised his eyebrows as he heard those words, replying with a question as he said, "Not enough strength? But you were able to make the guards obey you because you had enough strength to do so?"

"Do remember that I'm just a Normal-grade Pseudo-Animate, Felix," Argentum said in response, letting out a short sigh after that. "I've already shown you my full power back in your inheritance, but that level of combat power is something I can only maintain for an incredibly short time. For the most part, I relied on Blob to make the guards wary of our strength, not mine."

"Haah…" Felix could not help but let out a sigh of his own after hearing that, feeling Argentum's determination of not accepting the position. Naturally, he was still thinking of ways to make Argentum accept the position of becoming the leader of Verdant Breeze Town, since he felt like it was a good platform for him to become well-known throughout the continent. But at this moment, he could not help but mutter, "You know Argentum? You're one tough cookie to cra—"

"Hm? Could you repeat that?" Argentum asked Felix as he noticed that he stopped in his sentence just as he was about to finish. But unfortunately for Argentum, it seemed like the statement would not be repeated as a grin was plastered on Felix's face once more. This time though, the grin was incredibly wide, making Argentum feel like he was looking at the crescent moon instead of a grin.

"Hehehe…" Letting out a low chuckle, Felix imitated the sound of one clearing their throat as he said in a sarcastic tone while shrugging his shoulders, "Oh, well. Since you don't want to accept the position, then I guess I won't tell you the benefits of becoming a leader."

In response, Argentum briefly radiated an aura of curiosity, to which he suppressed as he felt like he was being led to a trap. Nevertheless, he still asked him, "And what benefit would that be?"

"You don't need to hear it," Felix said as he waved his hands, non-verbally telling Argentum that he shouldn't listen to it if he did not want to become the leader of Verdant Breeze Town. Ironically, Felix increased the distance between the two of them and started to speak in a hushed tone. Of course, with the help of Argentum's enhanced senses, he was able to hear it pretty easily.

"I just remembered something I've heard a few hundred years ago that, if you become the leader of a settlement, you gain a boost in power akin to becoming the owner of inheritances. Of course, the stronger the settlement, the higher the boost. Unfortunately, you don't want to be the leader anyway, so I won't persuade anymo—" Felix muttered to himself, only to stop as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Turning around, he noticed that Argentum was looking at him with an elated and expectant expression. Imitating the sound of coughing, Argentum then asked Felix, "So you're telling me that I can obtain a boost in power if I become the leader of this town? Alright, I'll accept it."

"…" Felix was left at a loss for words at Argentum's sudden change in personality. Just a while ago, Argentum was thinking that becoming a leader was not a perfect fit for him, but after hearing that he would become stronger if he did it, he accepted?

'Does that mean whenever I request Argentum to do something, I should always talk about the benefits of doing it beforehand?' he thought to himself soon after, thinking that Argentum was the first being he had met that was incredibly profit-oriented.

Scratching his head to relieve the awkward atmosphere in the surroundings, Felix let out an awkward chuckle as he lightly smiled, saying, "Well, I'm glad you accept. Trust me, becoming the leader of this town would help you out in the long run. Not only would your combat power increase, but you would also have an army of people at your beck and call to help you out, whenever and wherever it may be."

"I've never thought of it from that perspective," Argentum said as a follow-up to Felix's statement, committing the last sentence Felix said to his mind. He then pondered over something for a bit before going ahead and focusing his attention on the notebook beside the four flasks.

He then skimmed through the notebook, eventually realizing that this notebook was far more precious than he thought. At first, he thought that this notebook would only contain a bit of information regarding the four flasks, but who knew that this notebook would actually detail the recipes of the four concoctions, as well as its previous iterations that might result in a stronger effect?

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With this in mind, he focused his vision back at Felix and asked him, "Do you really not want anything from this manor, Felix?"

"My combat power is far higher than yours," Felix responded in a slightly indifferent tone. "Plus I've already undergone three Power Baptisms. You could consider my level of strength as someone who stands at the peak."

"In other words, the items in this manor hold no interest for me," Felix added, only for him to become silent as Argentum raised a flask filled with a blue viscous fluid. Even without focusing his aura on the flask, Felix knew very well that this flask contained an extremely dense concentration of the Water element, giving him the feeling that if he consumed it, his control over the Water element would slightly improve. Of course, to Felix, even a slight improvement was more than enough to increase his combat power by a few times.

Seeing Felix's eyes fixate on the flask he held up, Argentum let out an inward chortle as he explained what was inside the flask, saying, "Heaven's Water Potion. That's the name of the potion. It increases your perception of the Water element by multiple degrees for a long amount of time. To someone like you, who's well-versed in the Water element, wouldn't you like your control over it to become better?"

"Well, that…" Felix said, eventually finding out that he had no words to say. In the end, he let out a sigh as he felt like Argentum was just doing the same thing he did to him a while ago, which he had no problem with. Kindness begets kindness. The same thing applies to other things. Tidying up his suit, he said, "Does that mean you're giving me that flask?"

"Nope." Argentum shook his head, making Felix slightly dejected. But just as Felix thought that he had to give up something in exchange for the flask, Argentum's words shocked him as he said, "Instead, I'm giving you the recipe for you to create the contents inside this flask at any quantity."

In an instant, Felix could not help but radiate an excited aura, wondering how much of an improvement he would gain after consuming something like that multiple times. But just as he was about to accept, he noticed that a slightly mocking aura was radiating from Argentum, prompting him to think that there was a catch to accepting his offer.

Slightly cautious, he asked, "What's the catch if I accept?"

"Just give me a bit more control over your inheritance, that's all," Argentum replied with a light giggle that was slightly filled with mocking intent. "Around 5 percent, perhaps?"

"Fine," Felix said as he let out a defeated sigh. Although 5% was not a lot to him, it would still reduce his combat power by quite a considerable degree. In the end, he consoled himself with the idea that he was going to increase his power with the concoction.

With the deal now being made between the two of them, Argentum did not hesitate to give Felix the recipe of the Heaven's Water Potion through a few strands of energy, to which Felix committed to memory. Soon after that, Argentum went ahead and kept the four flasks and the notebook inside the system's inventory. With those items kept, he then looked at Felix and said, "Let's go upstairs and meet up with Blob. After that, let's announce the new leader of the town."

Felix nodded in response before making their way out of the secret room, slowly heading towards the second floor of the manor where the library was located. Along the way, Felix could not help but ask Argentum, "Now that I think about it, what are you going to do with the guard that was elected by the other guards? Are you going to make the election null and void as you announce your ascension to the position?"

Surprisingly, Argentum shook his head as he recalled the thoughts he had in mind after deciding to become the leader of Verdant Breeze Town. He soon responded, "I've thought up of a good use for that elected guard."

He then continued, "Since I'm still a Pseudo-Animate, it would be dangerous for me to be in town, since multiple Animates might try and capture me for profit. I've decided to take an Animate form first before truly taking the position of leader."

"Before then, I'll let the elected guard be a proxy for me," he added as he looked at Felix's expression. Unexpectedly, no change could be found on Felix's face. As to the reason why Argentum was looking intently at Felix's face, it was because he wanted to find out if other Pseudo-Animates, especially strong ones like Felix, knew of ways wherein one could become an Animate even as a Pseudo-Animate.

Seeing the indifferent expression on Felix's face, it seemed like there were ways to do so, prompting Argentum to make a mental note to ask Felix after everything here was done.

Eventually, the two of them had arrived at the entrance of the library, only to see Blob making his way out. Briefly radiating a surprised aura, Blob said to the two, "I didn't expect you two to come here and meet up with me."

In response, Argentum let out a light chuckle as he asked Blob, "Did you find some good skills to learn, Blob?"

"Sure did," Blob radiated an elated and satisfied aura as he responded to Argentum's question. He then added, "As long as I polish these skills to a certain level, it would definitely help you out, Argentum."

"I'm glad to hear that," Argentum said as he let out an aura of satisfaction of his own. He then looked at the two with the same aura before saying, "Since we have no other business to do in this manor, it's time for us to go back to those guards."

"A silent yet huge change is about to happen to this town."

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