106: Really? I don't believe it!

Inside the study.

The atmosphere became silent for a moment.

“Mr. Uz, are you… joking with me?”

After a long pause, Beruke finally spoke, his voice a bit hoarse.

He slowly straightened his back, his gaze at the puppet no longer as eager as before, but filled with gloom.

“Before leaving headquarters, Lord Leader personally promised me that the establishment of the Kula City branch would be entirely my responsibility.”

“Now, you suddenly appear, wanting to cooperate with me… Heh heh, it seems this isn’t according to the rules, is it? Does Lord Leader know about this?”

Beruke said with a gloomy, unfriendly expression.

He had paid a huge price to come to Kula City.

As a result, after he had finished all the busy work these past two days, this Uz wanted to come and split his spoils of victory?

What a joke!

Even if he was the son of the Wild Beast Spirit, it was unacceptable!

Beruke secretly hardened his resolve, his eyes full of defiance as he looked at the puppet.

However, the next moment…

A simple word from the puppet’s speaker made Beruke’s expression change dramatically.

“Fral.”

After saying this word, the puppet stood there silently, tilting its head to look at Beruke.

And the hostility in Beruke’s eyes suddenly turned into terror and shock.

“You, what did you say?”

After a long while, Beruke swallowed hard and asked, feigning calmness.

The puppet’s mouth plates, however, moved up and down as if it were laughing heartily.

“Fral, Treasure Crown Hotel, Rose’s Home, Moonless Night…”

Ron spoke softly, uttering a few more words.

With the appearance of each word, Beruke’s face grew paler and paler.

“Do I need to explain further about your true purpose for coming to Kula City?”

At this moment, the puppet’s glass eyes were like brilliant pearls.

They were bright and insightful, making Beruke’s pale face twitch uncontrollably.

“No, no need…”

Beruke said with difficulty, his gaze shifting, not daring to meet Ron’s eyes.

And as he spoke these words, he seemed to lose all his strength.

His legs gave out, and he sank back into his chair.

Seeing this, Ron scoffed, then also sat back in his original seat.

He casually picked up a pen, twirling it between his fingers like a windmill.

“You, how did you know?”

After a long silence, Beruke, slumped in his chair, suddenly spoke, asking with a mix of unwillingness and fear.

The puppet turned its head, shrugging in a human-like manner, then replied evasively.

“I am Uz, and my father is Uld.”

Hearing this, Beruke was startled at first.

Then, as if understanding something, he couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

Immediately, he turned his head dejectedly and said weakly, “Alright, you win.”

Beruke paused briefly, then, as if giving up, continued, “As long as you don’t reveal this matter, I can withdraw from Kula City and give all the credit to you…”

However, before Beruke could finish speaking, Ron raised a hand to interrupt him.

“Beruke, what did you say? Give all the credit to me?”

Beruke was about to nod when he heard Ron say with a chuckle, “Really? I don’t believe it.”

“…”

Beruke choked again, instantly feeling a bit broken.

What kind of ghost was this Uz, to enjoy messing with people’s minds so much?

At this moment, Ron, tilting his head, spoke leisurely, “I think the purpose of you saying that is likely to temporarily stabilize me.”

“Then, you’ll secretly investigate to see if anyone else knows your secret besides me.”

“If not, and I happen to be here alone, then you’ll take a risk and find a way to kill me…”

As the puppet narrated, the feigned dejection on Beruke’s face vanished instantly.

His eyes were bloodshot, crisscrossed like a spiderweb, staring intently at Ron, as if they would pop out.

“Uz!!!”

Beruke’s face was distorted, his voice shrill, and his Breathing Technique instinctively activated, releasing a powerful aura.

The mark of an Armed Knight appeared, and a veil of battle aura formed around Beruke.

This veil, condensed by an entry-level Armed Knight, though not as sturdy as true alchemical armor, could still block over seventy percent of a Blast Bomb’s power.

“Look, why are you getting so agitated just from talking?”

At this moment, facing the enraged Beruke, Ron, still seemingly carefree, joked.

“Don’t worry, even though your intention to kill me has been exposed publicly.”

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t continue to cooperate, does it?”

Hearing this, Beruke, who had been gritting his teeth and whose eyes were about to pop out, suddenly froze, put off by Ron.

“…What trick are you trying to pull?”

Beruke asked somewhat indignantly. As fellow thieves, he knew the nature of thieves all too well.

So from the very beginning, he simply didn’t believe in any “cooperation” Ron spoke of.

He just thought Ron was still trying to toy with him, deliberately messing around.

However, he felt somewhat helpless against Ron’s malicious behavior.

“I’m not trying to pull any tricks, I genuinely want to cooperate with you.”

Ron said with a sincere expression.

“After all… I didn’t come from headquarters.”

Hearing this, Beruke was instantly stunned.

He subconsciously stood up, looking at the puppet with some disbelief.

“What? You weren’t sent by headquarters? You came here on your own?”

Ron nodded sincerely. Beruke was shocked for a long time at this, then slowly uttered two words.

“This time… I somewhat believe what you said.”

It should be known that ordinary low-level thieves are not only wild and untamed but also prone to fighting, making them difficult to control.

Therefore, the Thieves' Guild is relatively lenient in terms of control and discipline for ordinary members with lower strength.

However, powerful individuals like him and Uz, who are above the Just Knight rank, are strictly controlled by the organization.

Each mission requires strict review and reporting before they can be dispatched.

So, when Ron first mentioned sharing his credit, he immediately thought there had been some problem at headquarters after he left.

After all, Beruke had seen many instances of people being forgotten once they left their positions.

However, what he never expected was that Uz was not sent by headquarters?

And not only did he not conceal this, but he openly told him?

Amidst his surprise, Beruke’s first reaction was—Uz must be lying again, trying to continue playing with him.

But the subsequent words gradually made him dismiss this idea.