Duke Albert and Sordal Larkas could not help but stare at Pedro as if an evil being was in front of them. Thus, this made the air inside the room a bit awkward—consequently making Pedro shook his head.
Pedro took a deep sigh, and said, "Well… I would be the one doing most of the work. So, there's no need for you to feel troubled about it."
Then, he glanced towards Duke Albert and asked, "You won't have any problem doing such arrangements for me if you became the new King… right?"
At this moment, Duke Albert was forced to return to his senses. He nodded unconsciously towards Pedro and said, "Of course… Such things would not be a problem if I would be the next King!"
"Good! Good!" Pedro nodded his head in satisfaction. Then, he smiled and said, "Then, into my third condition… The Kingdom shall hold an annual fighting competition! And the winners shall serve under my fleet!"
Duke Albert could not help but force out a smile in response. He rubbed his forehead—seemingly troubled about Pedro's third condition. Then, he took a deep breath and said, "Forgive me, officer Aron! But… Can you kindly be more specific about your third request? Like… Who are the participants? Are the heirs of the Royal Family included in the said competition?"
Pedro frowned in response. Then, he rubbed the top of his head and said, "If you are worried about the heirs of the Royal Family nor other important men of the Kingdom being taken by me, then… You don't need to worry about it! As I said, it is a competition. And I want it to be open to all!"
"Even slaves?" Sordal Larkas asked with a frown painted on his face.
"Hmm…" Pedro pondered for a few seconds after glancing towards Sordal Larkas. Then, he said, "It would be a troublesome case for the slaves, huh? How about this? The slaves that were permitted by their owners shall be allowed to join the competition? As for those who do not have an owner yet before the competition starts—allow them to join the contest if they have proof or a decent background that would act as a basis that they would be able to fight head to head with the other participants? Just pay the slave traders an appropriate amount as compensation for their participation."
Pedro glanced to Duke Albert—waiting for his response. This, in turn, had placed Duke Albert under a lot of pressure, and eventually, he had no choice but to bit his lips and said, "Alright! I agree! I know that the forces of Bearth Human Organization need reinforcements from time to time… As long as the Kingdom's interests won't be affected too much, I don't think that there would be an issue in sending capable warriors to your force, Officer Aron!"
"Based on your response… Can I take it that you are agreeing to my conditions?" Pedro asked as his face wore an evil smirk.
He took out a wooden cup from his inventory bag and placed it on top of the table. Using his pen-knife, he made a cut to his palm on his right hand before he gripped that hand tightly and allowed the blood to drip and fill the cup, around one-eighth full. Then, he pushed the wooden cup towards Duke Albert and, at the same time, handed his pen-knife towards him as if Pedro was saying that it was his turn.
Duke Albert simply smiled in response as he took the cup and the pen-knife from Pedro. Then, he did what Pedro did—making a cut on his right palm and allowing his blood to drip into the cup to fill it until it reached around one-fourth of the capacity of the wooden cup.
"Blood Oath, huh?" Duke Albert chuckled. "Officer Aron, you are sure cautious about this agreement."
"I am just being careful, Duke Albert! After all, the lives of thousands of people lie in my hands. A few safety measures won't be that bad, right?"
Duke Albert simply burst into laughter in response—consequently making Pedro smile at the same time. Then, after a few seconds, Duke Albert calmed down and raised the wooden cup, while saying to Pedro, "I, Albert Estania, hereby swore to uphold the conditions given by Officer Aron in exchange for his support in my succession to the Tarala Kingdom's throne!"
Duke Albert simply took a sip before he handed the wooden cup to Pedro. Then, he took a gulp and wipe the blood on his face.
At this moment, Pedro raised the wooden cup and said, "I, Aron Death, hereby swore to support Albert Estania in his succession to the Tarala Kingdom's throne!"
Pedro drank the remaining blood in the cup until there was not a single drop left. At this moment, Pedro's player interface had suddenly popped out with a notification displayed in it.
[Congratulations Player Death! You have successfully formed a Blood Contract with !]
[Conditions of Blood Contract established with !]
1.Support Albert Estania to become the new King of Tarala Kingdom.
Note: Condition of this Blood Contract shall be fulfilled when is crowned the new King of the Tarala Kingdom.
[Failure to meet the conditions stated above shall result in the inevitable death from the curse of the Blood Contract!]
~~~~~~
Pedro could not help but sigh heavily deep inside. He thought, 'This… I have already seen such notification countless times, but the trap of the Blood Contract never gets old! Though there is only one condition included in it, I must also ensure that Duke Albert would not die until he is crowned as the Tarala Kingdom's new King! Else… I would fail to fulfill the condition, and I would definitely die—no matter how overpowered I currently am… In any case… This Blood Contract is worth the risk! Once I complete my part, I would be free from the curse of the Blood Contract! While on the other hand… Duke Albert is forever tied to our agreement until he dies. He had no choice but to uphold his side of the agreement no matter what.'
At this moment, his attention was shifted to the empty wooden cup and thought, 'Fortunately… Blood loss or bleeding is connected to a player's Health Points. I only need to drink a potion or two to regain back the blood and, at the same time, heal the wound on my hand.'
Pedro took out two potions from his inventory bag. He gave one to Duke Albert, while he drank one for himself. Fortunately, a potion was enough to cure the cut on his palm and, at the same time, solve any irregularity that his body was experiencing—making Pedro feel rejuvenated.
"Thanks!" Duke Albert said as he drank the potion that Pedro gave. The cut on his hands also got healed as his body got rejuvenated. Then, Duke Albert took this chance to go back to their business concerning the two Wolf Transformation Skill Pages, and said, "Moving Forward… Officer Aron, I would like to offer two hundred gold coins for one of the two Transformation Skill Pages! I know that it is a bit shameful for me, the Auction Master, to buy one of your items instead of putting it in the auction but… I, personally, do not want to pass on such a rare skill to slip from my hands! Besides… I personally think that the value of the transformation skill page would rise to an unfathomable amount if only one copy would be auctioned."
"You want to tell the Auction Participants that it is only one of a kind? A rare one, as they say?" Pedro rubbed his chin, seemingly interested in Duke Albert's idea.
"Yes, Officer Aron!" Duke Albert simply nodded with an evil merchant's smirk in response. "From my estimate… You might earn two hundred gold coins at the least! With another two hundred gold coins from me, won't it be a good deal for you?"
"You are right!" Pedro said, "If there's only one copy being auctioned, the Auction Participant might even exhaust all their resources just to obtain the said rare skill. And it would consequently raise the value of their bids to its maximum! But… Two hundred coins are not enough for me! Add two more goods in the Auction Den of my own choice, then you can have yourself a deal!"
At this moment, Sordal Larkas had seemingly fainted after hearing the staggering amount that Duke Albert had offered to Pedro. Thus, Sordal Larkas was not even able to hear Pedro's counter offer.
On the other hand, Duke Albert could not help but to bite his lips in response. He pondered for a few seconds before raising his hand for Pedro to shake, and said, "For the sake of our partnership… I agree to your conditions!"
"Deal!" Pedro gladly grabbed Duke Albert's hand and shook it. "It's my pleasure doing business with you!"
Duke Albert could only force out a bitter smile in response and said, "Same! Same!"