This Lich is a Better Landlord

Chapter 130: Future of a Wage Slave

Politely seeing off Withered Rose, Ambrose couldn't help but hum a tune from his hometown.

Every time he made a profit, he had a habit. Show off a little, but don't get carried away, otherwise, the money earned would soon be lost—this was the experience summarized from hundreds of years of life.

He just didn't expect Catherine to suddenly appear behind him and say, "An interesting tune. I've never heard a song with this rhythm."

Ambrose turned his head, looking at the Elf Queen whose eyes were still red, and felt the atmosphere was a bit awkward.

Previously, Catherine was just a fat sheep in Ambrose's eyes. He could welcome her with a smile, ready to slaughter her wallet at any time. But now that the slaughter was over, in the near future, Catherine would be working for him, and Ambrose had to provide her with food and shelter. This feeling was completely different.

He didn't like subordinates of such high status and strength; they were completely uncontrollable factors. As a scholar, what he disliked most were these "accidents."

"Your Majesty, actually, you didn't need to treat yourself as a bargaining chip," Ambrose said.

Catherine replied, "I couldn't help it. Who asked me to be a naive and childish little girl?"

Ambrose's body shook. She had actually heard his conversation with Withered Rose just now? The two of them had spoken very quietly and were separated by a long distance.

Catherine stared at Ambrose and said, "You forgot, I am also a Legend, and I ascended to Legend as a Ranger. I can hear any sound in this castle."

Ambrose said shamelessly, "Sorry, talking about people behind their backs isn't right, but we liches are just like that."

Catherine paused for a moment. This Lich was too practiced at making excuses; many people must have been pitied by him like this.

Catherine inquired, "So, previously you controlled the Wheel of Fate. You said on the surface that you didn't pry into the Elves' secrets, but actually, that was a lie too?"

Ambrose said righteously, "No, what I said then was the truth. I never used your Wheel of Fate to pry into the Elves' secrets. I said at the time that it was my sincerity toward the Elves. Business is about integrity. Everyone who has worked with me knows that I am the most honest and trustworthy person. Even the Paladins of the Ryan Empire have to admit this."

"But you still knew the secret of Magic Addiction!" Catherine said somewhat agitatedly.

Precisely because of this, Withered Rose was able to gain the upper hand in the negotiation. Catherine had been caught by her greatest weakness. No matter how hard she tried, she could only compromise in the end.

Ambrose smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you underestimate people too much. I am also a Legend, and before reincarnating as a Lich, I was a mage of the School of Divination. To know the secrets of the Elves, I didn't need to borrow your Wheel of Fate at all."

"Is this also called honesty and trustworthiness?" Catherine was so angry at Ambrose that her eyes turned red again.

"This is business. Whatever I say to you is guaranteed to be the truth. This already makes me a rare honest merchant on the continent."

This was also the reason Ambrose didn't show his hand to Catherine at the beginning. He wasn't familiar with Catherine. Negotiating directly could easily cause things to fall apart.

Revealing the card that he could cure Magic Addiction directly would have only two results. Either Catherine would be willing to accept his exorbitant demands, or the Elves would immediately start hunting down Ambrose with full force. There was no third possibility.

Only Withered Rose, speaking to Catherine as a fellow queen, could dispel the Elves' impulse to flip the table. Using the method of a "heart-to-heart between sisters" to ease the conflict allowed the negotiation results to develop in the direction Ambrose wanted.

The same card revealed by different people—some would get their hands chopped off, while others could pick up the suitcase of money and leave. The results were completely different.

This was also why Ambrose pulled the people from the Elegy Society along from the start. A mere Lich was too insignificant compared to the Elves and would only be passive during negotiations.

Catherine seemed to figure it out, took a deep breath, and said, "You're right. I am indeed a naive and childish little girl. Unlike the previous kings, I didn't travel the continent in my youth to see the customs of various countries, to temper my wisdom and will.

"Whatever the reason, this is my flaw. That's why I made the wrong decision, causing almost irreversible consequences. If not for your appearance, the Elves would have been destroyed because of me. So, I should thank you."

Ambrose was a bit confused by Catherine's words and couldn't help saying, "If you want to thank me, you should give more money. How does working for me count as thanks?"

Catherine said very seriously, "Because the gold reserves of the Silvermoon High Court aren't large. Our Elven wealth isn't measured in gold coins. Taking out these gold coins now is already the limit. Don't worry, I am also a competent mage. I will be a qualified lab assistant. Saving the hiring fee of a Legendary Mage, you're not losing out, right?"

Ambrose asked suspiciously, "Will you really work for me wholeheartedly?"

"Of course. Business, after all, is based on integrity. What I say is definitely the truth, hehe." Catherine mimicked Ambrose's tone, laughing out loud after she finished.

Tsk, this little girl wanted to play mind games with a Lich? She didn't even know how many holes were in Ambrose's ribs.

Once the money was received, he would immediately send her to the Underdark and let Withered Rose send her to Ryan as a femme fatale.

Although he was thinking about transferring the assistant, Ambrose said, "Then we'll discuss the work details after the formal peace talks."

Speaking of peace talks, Catherine said with some concern, "Although the biggest problem for us Elves has been solved, this peace talk probably won't be that simple. How was our Elven advance route leaked? Have you found the reason?"

Catherine's words made Ambrose frown.

Busy recently, he had really forgotten to pursue this matter.

The Hell Gates were indeed created by those Hell believers, but blocking the Elven advance route so accurately must have required special intelligence channels.

coupled with Ambrose's previous unease, there was definitely someone playing schemes behind the scenes.

Seeing Ambrose fall into deep thought, Catherine couldn't help saying, "Aren't you a Diviner? Why not perform a divination? Wouldn't everything be clear then?"

Ambrose said without thinking, "What if the result of the divination is that I die? What then?"

It wasn't that divination couldn't get results, but that the results obtained couldn't be controlled.

The biggest problem with the power of Fate was that you couldn't change the future you had already seen.

Ambrose could only comfort himself by saying that when unseen, the future was Schrödinger's cat, a state of superposition of life and death. Once you opened the box and saw the cat, your future was determined and could never be changed again.

Divination was possible, but if a bad result came out, it was equivalent to placing an irrevocable curse on oneself.

Therefore, every divination had to be incredibly careful, and one had to be mentally prepared, or else one would fall into long-term torment.

Ambrose had experienced this feeling many times, so he wouldn't easily use a self-damaging method like divination.

Catherine asked again, "Is just looking at the past not allowed either? Just don't look at the future, right?"

"There's no such cheap thing. Using the power of Fate is like throwing a stone into the river of time. You can splash up enough water, but you can't guarantee that the water will bloom into the shape you want. Observing the past doesn't guarantee you won't see the future. You wouldn't understand even if I explained it."

The School of Divination was the most special existence among mages. Many things in it violated the basic logic of magic, so getting started was very difficult, and improving was even harder.

Viewing the past and future was a life-threatening ability, more dangerous than the effect of Ambrose's Fate Weaving. Without enough profit driving him, Ambrose wouldn't use it easily.

Catherine said dissatisfiedly, "Then are we just going to do nothing and hope everything goes smoothly? We Elves are very likely to encounter a second attack. If the negotiation fails then, the transaction between you and me might also be affected."

These words hit Ambrose's soft spot.

That was a huge sum of money; Catherine absolutely could not be allowed to have any mishaps.

Thinking for a moment, Ambrose comforted Catherine, saying, "Don't worry, I will make all preparations to ensure that no mishaps occur in this negotiation. Rest assured, I will definitely guarantee your safety. However, it might be a little painful. Can you endure it?"

Catherine felt Ambrose's words were a bit strange. "A little painful? What exactly do you want to do?"

Ambrose said to Catherine, "I want to weave a future for you, a future where you will absolutely survive."

"This... is also the power of Fate? Aren't you afraid of the side effects you mentioned before?" Catherine asked strangely.

"It's different. Observing the future and designing the future are two completely different applications. I don't know how to explain it to you; you'd have to read my fifteen books before discussing it with me. Anyway, I can do it. Do you want to trust me?" Ambrose asked Catherine.

Catherine said decisively, "There's nothing to distrust. I am now very certain that you are willing to do anything for money. Then for the sake of this transaction, you will definitely protect my safety."

Catherine also hoped this transaction could proceed smoothly; it concerned the survival of the Elves.

"Good, then please give me your hand." Ambrose politely extended his right hand to Catherine.

Catherine placed her palm in the Lich's hand and immediately felt a strange power coming from Ambrose's palm, like a cool breeze blowing through her body.

This made Catherine blush involuntarily. What kind of strange spell was this?

If this person weren't a Lich, Catherine would suspect he was deliberately taking advantage of her.

Ambrose, however, had absolutely no other thoughts. He just said to Catherine, "How about weaving a future where you lose all your hair when you get old?"

Catherine immediately screamed, "Don't touch my hair!"

"Tsk, truly vain creatures. Fine, I promise not to damage your beauty."

Ambrose thought for a moment. Since this Queen Catherine wasn't willing to accept this little bit of pain, he'd have to think of another one for her.

Got it. Didn't this Elf Queen want to work for him?

Then, let's bestow upon her a future of being a wage slave. Working overtime until she cries from a breakdown counts as pain, right?