Landlord Wears A Mask

Chapter 7: Small Effort

Adam was cursing his lack of self-control. Did he perhaps go too far this time? Choosing his own wants. Still, Jake realising the possibility his family had wronged Linda from the beginning was...

...well, it had a gratifying feeling to it.

The best part was seeing such a stubborn guy like Jake Arcadia find his whole world collapse before his eyes. The point now was if that was worth death. Of course, Adam wasn't just going to sit by and watch himself be killed. There was so sense in waiting.

Proactiveness was what protected people.

However, he wondered if telling the Crowned King about his little situation was really a good idea. After calming down a bit, what was the probability that he'd be killed simply for taunting the guy?

Jake couldn't possibly do that.

King Ramos banned aristocrats from fighting each other, and the Arcadia Household was quiet. It'd probably take a lot of time before someone even thinks of sending out assassins and killers.

Even then, It wasn't like he had no other options.

Before contacting someone with a higher standing than him like King Ramos, Adam found it better to use his position. He'd find it easier to trust an employee he could have a business relation with and who he hired his own self, rather than a 'friend'.

Not that Adam knew what friends were, anyway...

Now, Adam COULD hire somebody with the remaining assets he had, but he was too cheap to do that. The lack of funds going inside his pocket made him more sensitive to whatever was coming out.

He at least wouldn't spend it willingly, anyway.

The next best thing was to try his luck elsewhere.

"Gaia, can you hear me?" Adam thought. He looked at the system interface and tried to send his thoughts to her. Out of all the people he knew, Gaia was the most trustworthy. She had a nice personality to boot!

At least in his desperation, he'd rather trust this unknown cosmic being than deceitful humans. His eyes darkened when while waiting for her, and was disappointed from seeing the lack of an answer.

"...I want to talk about my last Skill." He tried it again. Attempting to make this thought more business related. She couldn't ignore this request when it was her who allowed him to 'choose later'.

[Are you sure about it?]

The way the answer came immediately through the blue screen felt like she was waiting for this. There was likely a 24/7 link between him and Gaia- No, it might be that cosmic beings existed in this state.

"Do you always monitor people? " Adam thought.

[I can hear anyone who thinks of me.]

"How does that work...?" Adam imagined it was like her landline ringing. Narrowing it down to those who thought of her didn't make it easier. Those who worshipped her as an extension to their Gods were many. Every religion here had an aspect of her.

People who worshipped the ground they tread.

[It's pointless to try and imagine it. We can just say that my existence straddles the line between illusion and reality. I'm here.. but I'm also not a human or sentient planet. Just a representation of an idea.]

"But you exist though?" Adam didn't understand it.

[I do. But not in the form you saw me as. I am the world. To put things in perspective: My true form is nature, the planet, and reality. The 'Divine Realm' itself. I'm an inanimate background to most.]