“Why would my father sponsor Ace for the slayer title instead of his daughter? And why do you think my father is pissed with Ace? You don’t reward someone you hate with the most prestigious title a curse user can gain,” Elinor blurted out her thoughts, unable to understand why her father would sponsor Ace instead of her.

Yes, they had their differences, but she had hoped her killing a Void-tier curseling would change that. Ever since she learned that she had supposedly killed a Void-tier curseling, she had been eagerly waiting for her father’s call. No, she didn’t want him to tell her he was wrong; she just wanted to hear him tell her how proud he was of her. However, the call she patiently awaited never came. Instead, she learned that her father had sponsored Ace for the Slayer title and her name never even crossed his mind. She was heartbroken, devastated even.

“Come here, honey. It’s okay. Everything is alright,” Janice whispered, slowly pulling the clueless Elinor into her embrace before beginning to run her hand through her hair and back, comforting her.

Knowing Elinor’s daddy issues, Janice had purposefully skipped this detail when she had informed her group about Ace being granted the Slayer Title: Samsara Slayer. But now she didn’t have that option.

“Wow, and here I thought I had a messed-up childhood,” Ace uttered, pitying Janice and Elinor and counting his lucky stars for his quirky but loving family.

“Keep at it, and I promise you will have a messed-up teenage life,” Janice warned, triggered by noticing pity for them cousins in Ace’s eyes.

Ace ignored Janice and tried to think of a way to stop the slayer title ceremony. But since Janice chose to leave her luxurious lakeside mansion and move to a ranch despite knowing that her presence might put his family and the town in added danger, he understood there wasn’t anything they could do about the collective decision of the cursed community of the country.

Therefore, instead of worrying about what was beyond his control, Ace decided to focus on what he could control, asking Janice, “Tell me about the security detail you have arranged for my family and extended family.”

“Don’t worry, the C.I.B. and the entire curse community of the country are monitoring your family, your extended family, friends, their families, and family friends. My people are there too, making sure they will act in time if there is ever a need. Also, I’ve had my people arrange a few curse array formations around your estate. They should be more than enough to protect your family in case the cultists are bold enough to launch an attack here. As a last resort, there are my sub-space curse tools. I will not hesitate to use them if the situation demands it. So, trust me, your family is covered. For extra assurance, it would be great if you had your clones draw their attention and divide their forces in event of an attack,” Janice explained while, from the corner of her eye, she witnessed her cousin wiping her tears on her shirt.

“Are the curse array formations as dependable as you make them out to be?” Ace asked skeptically, knowing that in case of an attack, the curse security would be busy fighting off the invaders, trusting their clients’ safety to the curse array formations. However, if the curse array formations don’t work as advertised, then his family would be sitting ducks. Therefore, he wanted to be thorough.

“It depends. How long did you say it will take for the payment you promised Elinor to go through?” Janice asked, trying to distract her cousin’s mind from her father.

Ace rolled his eyes but had Dame Wasp email Elinor the details of multiple cryptocurrency wallets from which she could access the payment he had promised her. Once he got confirmation from her, he informed Janice, “I have sent her an email listing the cryptocurrency wallets containing the payment I promised her in full. She can verify them and make the payments to the C.I.B. right away so that the families of the victims can get their compensation sooner.”

“Elinor, quit it and check your email,” Janice snapped at her cousin, telling her she had cried enough and to focus on the present, forcing her to toughen up.

Leaving Janice’s embrace, Elinor took out her cursed phone and, taking a seat on the lounging chair, began to go through the list of cryptocurrency wallets one by one, verifying that the sum amount in them was the same as the amount she was promised while Ace was still there.

Ignoring Elinor, Janice turned to Ace and said, “The curse array formations protecting your family estate are the same ones employed by the local C.I.B. headquarters. Even a void-tier curse user had to steer clear of it and rely on double agents to make backdoors from the inside. Even when inside, they couldn’t destroy it and were limited by the array’s power. Yes, so it’s the best out there.”

“That must have cost you a lot?” Ace asked in surprise, feeling that his 100 billion dollar payment wasn’t enough to cover those arrays. It was even possible Janice was spending over billions running the arrays 24/7 all time.

“No, because I had them install the array formations I prepared for my resort mansion on your estate. My first thought was one stone for two birds, but my Delores was right. I should have just moved you guys to my resort instead.

“This means that even if this thing with the Samsara cult is over, you are stuck with me as your tenant until you can reimburse me for the array formations in full.

“Yes, I will be accepting payments in cryptocurrency, but you will also have to procure the super rare materials one cannot get in the market or the ones regulated by the government. Also, hire a renowned curse array master to prepare those formations. So, us leaving this town depends on you—i.e., don’t come blaming me if a few assholes come here to pick a fight with me, Delores, or Elinor,” Janice explained that to protect Mandy’s family, she had the curse array formation that was prepared for her resort installed in the Lander family estate. This way, they both could use the array formations and save tons of resources that could otherwise have been used to operate two sets of these formations.

“That was awfully generous of you, thank you.” Ace thanked Janice for her thoughtfulness, even though she repeatedly made a point to remind him that she didn’t do it for him but for Mandy. Then, turning to Elinor, he asked, “Elinor will be living here too? Did Matthews finally fire her from the C.I.B.?”

“No! I was kind of promoted,” Elinor snapped, and then smugly explained, “Matthews recommended me for the National Asset Program. She said that with proper support, I could become the nation’s number one assassin. She gave extend leave until after the the trails so that I can practice my curse spell and think of creative ways to make up for my short comings.”

Elinor’s eyes sparked. Ace swore he saw a mini Elinor dancing in her pupils while repeatedly singing the same verse, ‘Nanana nanaa, Matthews recommended me, not ya. Nanana nanaa Matthews recommended me…’

Shaking his head, he asked her, “What about Lilith while you are out attending the program?” After last night, seeing her in action and what her curse spells were capable of, Ace had no doubt about her getting into the National Asset Program.

“Obviously, she will be with Janice and Delores. Also, I will try my best to finish the program and return as soon as possible. Besides, the trial is still months away. What I am really worried about is that I cannot think of any creative way to make up for my lacking tier. When Jason attended the trial, he was at the top of ocean-tier. The gap between us is too big.

“Not to mention the trial takers are not some illiterate body-possessing mutated worm curselings; they are monsters that eat the best of the best for breakfast. Though my Curse Spell game is off the charts, my Curse Art game is lower than subpar,” Elinor sighed, shaking her head in dismay.

Ace stared at Elinor in shock because if her curse arts game was lower than subpar, that meant his curse arts game was lower than trash. It awakened him to the reality that he, too, was too reliant on his innate curse tool and arts; without them, he would find himself in a position worse than Elinor’s.

“I’m sure you will figure something out sooner or later,” Ace assured Elinor, who nodded before returning to her cursed phone. Ace then turned to Janice and asked, “Would it be helpful if I was on the run? Will that make my family less of a target?”

“I can see why you would think that, but no. They are crediting you for the destruction of the entire cult, not just killing one or two dozen members. The fanatic cult members will most likely target those you care about first, to ensure you die knowing everyone you loved had died in pain because of you. This is also the point Elinor’s father made to ensure anyone dumb enough to be blinded by the allure of a slayer title would give up on that notion. Man, what did you do to him to piss him off so much?” Janice asked Ace, recalling the events, especially the anger on her uncle’s face. Then, noticing Ace’s glare, she retorted defensively, “Don’t look at me like that. I could have joined others when they laughed at your misfortune, but I held back out of respect for our friendship. It wasn’t easy with all those funny names and titles they came up with to mock you.”

“Aren’t you a saint? Would you prefer I light up candles in your name? Or better yet—” Ace began sarcastically, but Janice interrupted him, cutting in, “Shut up, snarky mouth. Just tell me what you did so I can help you mediate with him.” Noticing Ace’s neck and ears turn red with rage, she introduced him to reality, “You can get back at him when you have the power, but for now, kneel down if need be. Because this is not just about you but your entire family. Got it?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep