"By the way, Boss, why don't you just buy her yourself?"
Aslan asked curiously. For someone like Shiroyasha, that amount of money shouldn't be much, right?
Yet, seeing Shiroyasha's awkward expression, Aslan realized he might have just asked a very foolish question.
Shiroyasha glanced at Kurousagi, whose eyes had lit up with renewed hope, blinking at her expectantly.
She awkwardly unfolded her fan—emblazoned with the Thousand Eyes logo—and held it up to hide her face.
If only Shiroyasha could have confidently slammed the table and declared, "It's just Leticia? I'll buy her."
Kurousagi might have instantly fallen for her.
Just a few risqué photo books—she could take as many pictures as she wanted.
Kurousagi, being a self-sacrificing Moon Rabbit, wouldn't have refused Shiroyasha, who had just saved her friend.
But the problem was...
"I don't have that kind of money either?"
Shiroyasha said helplessly, shrugging her shoulders.
Did they think she was rich now?
Although she possessed many rare Gifts, she couldn't liquidate them quickly.
As for things that were usable and easy to sell?
They'd already been taken by that woman—Canaria.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be this furious.
Clearly, this was a direct attack aimed at her!
Now it could be said that Canaria had, by accident, dragged No-Name into this mess.
Thinking back, she, Shiroyasha, had once been one of the wealthiest beings in Little Garden. But to help Canaria fight the Absolute Evil, she nearly sold her Sun Authority.
Seeing Shiroyasha and Kurousagi frustrated, Aslan remained silent.
He simply stood quietly beside them, holding two Magic cards, lost deep in thought.
He was wondering—were Shiroyasha and Kurousagi worthy of him revealing his greatest secret?
His true Gift, bestowed and authenticated by the core of Little Garden upon his arrival.
Although, thanks to his knowledge of the original story, Aslan understood Shiroyasha's and Kurousagi's personalities well.
But knowing their characters didn't mean he had to fully trust them.
And if he didn't intervene, Leticia's fate might end up in Perseus' hands.
Three years later, when Izayoi and the others arrived, they would win her back.
But should he take the risk?
Aslan sank into deep contemplation.
If he succeeded, he'd gain a true powerful patron and Shiroyasha's protection.
If he failed, the consequence would merely be that he'd never set foot in Little Garden again until he reached a certain level.
After all, as a Planeswalker capable of traveling freely between infinite worlds, Aslan wasn't short of worlds to help him grow.
But if he succeeded, he'd gain the protection and guidance of a Two-Digit ranked figure.
That was tempting.
Go for it. At worst, he'd never return to this "dumpster" called Little Garden.
Besides, if he couldn't even take such a small risk, how could he continue journeying across countless worlds?
Dangers in other worlds weren't necessarily weaker than here.
"Maybe I have a way."
Aslan began to speak, idly shuffling the two Magic cards in his hands.
The Planeswalker Card—this was the real reason Aslan dared to adventure across worlds.
In the game of Magic, Planeswalker Cards are allies players can summon into battle.
But in Aslan's inheritance, a Planeswalker Card could actually be considered an avatar, or a second life.
Its function was similar to a Lich's phylactery, or a character card in a roleplaying game.
If he died, for Aslan it was merely like tearing a Planeswalker Card.
He'd only lose everything contained within that card—what was commonly called "tearing the card."
And as a Planeswalker, as long as he still had one Planeswalker Card remaining, he could reincarnate into another when his current card was torn.
Although the cost of creating a single Planeswalker Card was extremely high, he still had two or three.
Meanwhile, the true Gift bestowed by Little Garden was:
[Outer Law: You originate from a universe beyond Little Garden's observation, and you may freely travel to any world.]
[If you bring an unknown universe into Little Garden's observational range, you will gain a large amount of achievement points, enhance your Divinity, and obtain Authority]
This was the real reason he hadn't immediately fled this "dumpster" called Little Garden.
After all, compared to slowly and painfully training step by step, gathering knowledge and gradually increasing strength—what could be faster than Little Garden's Gift?
And this didn't conflict with his interworld travels—in fact, they complemented each other.
It was like gaining a double experience card.
And especially those last four words: obtain Authority.
In Little Garden, Authority was an incredibly valuable thing.
Not only for the various abilities that came with it—which were powerful Gifts in themselves.
Most importantly, Authority granted you the right to collect achievement points from specific phenomena.
For example, if you held Steam Engine Authority, then every time someone in human history—or even in Little Garden—used or created a steam engine, you'd gain a small amount of achievement points.
Though the amount per individual was tiny, human history was infinite. Combined, it became a massive accumulation of achievement points.
In Little Garden, achievement points equated to merit in mythology—and this was real currency.
If observing a new world was a one-time business, Authority was a golden egg-laying hen.
Continuous and endless.
This pointed directly to Sun Authority. As long as the sun rose normally, the holder of Sun Authority could gain massive achievement points and increase their Divinity—even while lying down.
This was why Sun Authority was considered Little Garden's true secret treasure, and the cause of the two Sun Authority Wars.
Of course, for Aslan to obtain a fitting Authority, he'd also have to introduce something entirely new—something never before observed by Little Garden.
For instance, he couldn't simply bring back a knife from another world and gain Knife Authority.
But if he brought back a Zanpakuto, then he could obtain Zanpakuto Authority.
Something like that.
Of course, obtaining Authority was only the first step. To truly gain massive achievement points, he'd have to integrate the Gift associated with that Authority into human history and spread its influence.
Just like the Magic Card Authority he currently held—it was no different from not having it at all, because Magic Cards were created by him using his Planeswalker spark.
There was absolutely no chance of spreading or expanding its influence.
After all, not all Authorities were like Star Authority, which could gain achievement points just by existing in the sky. Most required actively promoting the influence of the associated Gift.
Authority could be easily obtained by Aslan, who could travel to different worlds. But integrating it into human history and spreading its influence wasn't something he could do alone.
In other words, Authority could be called a tax right over a specific Gift.
For example, Sun Authority. You're basking in sunlight, right? Pay up! Oh, I mean—pay your taxes!
Authority was roughly something like that.