— — — — — —
"Greetings, Lord Indra…"
The moment Dipankara saw Indra, he visibly relaxed.
'Finally, someone who can actually make decisions has arrived…' he thought.
No one wants to die. Not humans, and not buddhas either. He had worked hard for countless years and relied on a bit of luck to reach Buddhahood. Life had been fairly comfortable since then. Why would he want to throw that away?
Because Ryo had pushed him to the edge.
If the price had merely been five ordinary Gifts, Dipankara might have clenched his teeth, stomped his foot, and agreed on behalf of the people above him, even if it meant carrying a few thousand years' worth of debt.
But limit authorities were another matter entirely.
Each one was incredibly precious. Possessing one could create a four-digit, making it one of the most valuable Gifts in all of Little Garden.
That kind of decision wasn't something a mere four-digit being like him could make.
Fortunately, Indra had stepped in.
Even if Indra leaned toward Ryo, that was fine.
From here on out, the negotiation would be between Ryo and the three-digit buddhas behind Dipankara, with Indra acting as mediator.
"Tsk," Indra said with a grin as he let go of Dipankara's hand. "Your life's been pretty comfortable, hasn't it? So why the sudden urge to throw it away?"
His words carried a double meaning.
On the surface, he was referring to Dipankara's attempted suicide.
But he was also talking about the task of tracking down Algol.
Anyone with a brain could see that this mission was dangerous. It was bound to offend Ryo, a newly risen four-digit rule-breaker. If negotiations fell apart and Ryo held a grudge, even completing the mission for the Buddhist higher-ups might not save him from a miserable end.
"Just trying to survive… just trying to survive," Dipankara replied bitterly.
Then he added respectfully, "Since it's Lord Indra asking, of course this humble monk wouldn't refuse. I won't attempt nirvana again. But the matter between my lineage and friend Ryo truly requires a trustworthy mediator…"
"Well, would you look at that. I save your life once and you immediately rope me into your schemes?" Indra laughed and slapped Dipankara's shoulder hard several times. "Pretty sly, aren't you?"
"But fine. I happen to be in a good mood today. Helping you out isn't a problem."
'Yeah, right.'
Standing nearby, Ryo silently rolled his eyes, 'You arrived five minutes ago. You just stayed hidden the whole time.'
Dipankara lacked the strength to detect Indra's presence, but Ryo certainly didn't.
He had already noticed someone observing him earlier. Among them were two familiar presences: Uesugi Kenshin and Prithvi Mata.
During his conversation with Dipankara, Mata's aura had briefly disappeared. Not long after that, Indra showed up and concealed himself nearby.
Clearly, Mata had gone to fetch him.
So this wasn't Indra showing up in a good mood. He came prepared.
Still, Ryo couldn't help grumbling inwardly.
'Would it kill you to stay hidden and mind your own business?'
'Now that a well-connected guy like you is acting as the middleman, how am I supposed to fleece them properly?'
Not that Ryo regretted calling Asura.
'Since you're Kurousagi's great-grandfather, I'll even help you reunite with your dear daughter.'
"You look pretty unhappy," Indra said suddenly, scratching his ear as he turned to Ryo. "Kid, mind if this elder acts as mediator between you and the Buddhist faction?"
'Elder'? This bastard is taking advantage of me.
Ryo's mouth twitched. He wanted to argue, but he couldn't quite find the words.
If nothing unexpected happened between him and Kurousagi, then technically speaking… Indra really was an elder.
That was a little frustrating.
Ryo shot Indra a sideways glance and said impatiently, "If you want to mediate, fine. But my price isn't changing."
"Oh? Which price isn't changing?" Indra asked teasingly, clearly seeing through Ryo's trick.
Five limit authorities was impossible. Everyone knew that.
Ryo's strategy was simply to ask for as much as possible.
His real acceptable price could be flexible.
Two. Three. Or maybe four if he felt stubborn.
"The number of limit authorities, of course," Ryo replied confidently.
"Kid, I came all the way here to play peacemaker and you're still pulling tricks like that?" Indra said, exasperated.
Did this brat realize how outrageous his price was?
At that number, those old bald monks in Buddhism might just personally come down and fight Ryo for it. They might even gamble on cracking open his head to extract the information.
Five limit authorities.
Their branch was notorious for having too many monks and not enough resources. They even shamelessly encouraged devotees to donate golden statues.
If they were willing to do that, would they really hesitate to gang up and kill Ryo?
Wasn't he worried that asking for too much would get him blasted with a shotgun in return?
No... Ryo wasn't stupid. Something didn't add up.
Indra raised an eyebrow.
'Wait… did this kid expect someone to step in and...?'
With that thought, Indra looked at Ryo more carefully.
At the same time, Ryo looked back.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, it was as if they had communicated silently.
'Three for me, two for you. Deal?'
Indra forcefully suppressed the surge of greed in his heart and shook his head. "Don't overthink it. Sure, you're selling out Algol, but they'll probably only offer one limit authority."
He sighed. "The buddhas aren't rich either."
Even Indra would be tempted if he could squeeze five limit authorities out of the Buddha faction.
But as fellow big shots in Buddhism, he knew their finances well.
Dipankara's branch could produce two limit authorities at most.
That was their absolute limit.
And there was no way they would risk everything just to learn Algol's whereabouts.
Yes, everyone believed success was almost certain.
But an ancient monster like Algol definitely had hidden trump cards. No one wanted to end up losing both the prize and the money.
Which meant Ryo's demand was never going to happen.
Seeing that even temptation wouldn't work, Ryo quickly guessed the situation of the Buddha faction.
'Cheap bastards.'
He cursed them inwardly before speaking with a dark expression.
"Fine. One limit authority. But I choose the concept. Payment and information exchanged at the same time. That's my bottom line."
He wasn't greedy anymore.
Getting one was still better than nothing.
"Deal!" Indra nodded.
"End, destruction, shattering, annihilation. I want authority tied to those concepts. It must be a high-quality one."
"Alright."
Indra clapped his hands and turned to the dumbfounded Dipankara with a grin.
"Pay up, Dipankara ."
"…"
Dipankara's lips moved silently, as though communicating with someone far away.
The discussion lasted twenty full minutes.
Finally, Dipankara wiped cold sweat from his forehead, sighed deeply, and bowed toward Ryo.
"My friend… we accept this transaction."
Ryo immediately broke into a smile.
At the same time, Indra let out a sigh of emotion.
'Look at that. If I'd been as shameless as this kid back in the day, squeezing benefits wherever I could, maybe I wouldn't be stuck like this now.'
Indra was still sighing to himself when—
In that single moment of relaxed distraction—
A sword appeared in his chest.
Hidden in the shadows, Asura had finally made her move.
.
.
.