Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 56: Xia Ya’s Value

“More money?”

Isadella repeated the phrase.

This was the third time tonight she had experienced surprise—the first was watching her own private film in the dream, the second was facing such a direct confession.

Before extending her invitation, she had anticipated various possible responses.

A cold rejection, a request for time to consider, or perhaps certain conditions being put forward.

But in Isadella’s view, even if Xia Ya were to make demands, they shouldn’t be so shallow—

Lifting restrictions on Transcendent Academy admissions, popularizing enlightenment literature, eliminating class barriers, achieving a unified human civilization…

These proposals would be far more fitting for someone with the grand vision of that dream’s master.

Yet Xia Ya kept surprising her time and time again.

“You want money?”

Isadella spoke with some uncertainty.

“As far as I know, if we’re only talking about wealth—”

“The Dark Tower, as an ancient organization with a thousand-year legacy, has an internal treasury no less than that of a pureblood dragon’s hoard.”

“I didn’t expect Your Highness to have even investigated my lineage so thoroughly. It seems the Empire’s intelligence network is stronger than I imagined.”

Xia Ya’s tone remained calm, carrying a hint of laziness.

“But my teacher is my teacher, and the Black Tower is the Black Tower.”

“I am indeed a disciple of Hathaway, but I am not a member of the Black Tower. There is no ‘Xia Ya Egut’ in the Black Tower’s registry.”

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“Besides, my teacher is the kind who teaches but doesn’t provide. She’s probably still off somewhere traveling in a subspace or dimensional void…”

“All of my summoned beasts were nurtured by myself, bit by bit. I’ve never been one to freeload.”

A flicker of thought passed through Isadella’s crimson eyes.

That "Eternal Page" had never once invested resources in Xia Ya? That was a detail her intelligence network had not managed to uncover.

No wonder Xia Ya and Ailora had spent so much effort engaging with the Order Bureau, the Military Department, and the commercial activities in the Imperial Capital.

She had originally thought it was just a matter of personal interest and self-discipline.

But now, it seemed they had been forced by circumstances.

And the implications of this revelation were even more intriguing.

A disciple personally trained by a Legendary Beastmaster, reaching near-Fourth-Ring combat strength at just seventeen years old—

Impressive, but not exactly unprecedented.

However, if he had achieved this entirely on his own, then it was a completely different story.

...

“Of course, whether it's money or Rhine Gold Coins, they’re merely universal equivalents for trade.”

“What I need is the purchasing power that money represents. I trust Your Highness understands my meaning.”

Xia Ya spoke again.

The Second Imperial Princess recruiting him was within his expectations—in fact, he had actively maneuvered events to lead to this outcome.

As for the reason, it certainly wasn’t just because she was a silver-haired, red-eyed beauty, though that did align with his personal preferences.

As a transmigrator, Xia Ya did have some sense of belonging to this country. After all, he had lived here for over a decade—it was certainly more familiar to him than nations he had only heard of by name.

But if anyone thought he had some grand ambition to "purge the traitors and make the Empire great again," that was pure nonsense.

His actions were purely driven by self-interest.

Aside from the unsettling intelligence the Shadow Council had on Ceylan’s "Saint’s Dusk Bell"—

The biggest reason was that Xia Ya was in desperate need of resources…

His beginner quest—this Historical Echo of the Cangting Ancient Kingdom—had already progressed to its final act.

And now, the opposing forces had been revealed.

At the Cangting Principality’s borders, three Titled-tier members of a hidden organization would take action, though their target was the Grand Duke of Cangting, meaning they wouldn’t influence the internal situation of the capital in the short term.

Inside the capital, apart from cultists inciting riots, at least one Fourth-Ring powerhouse was expected to act.

But the greatest threat was Elder Norton himself.

Though his publicly known strength was merely that of a peak Fourth-Ring Master-tier Beastmaster—

Anyone cunning enough to orchestrate something on this scale wouldn’t possibly reveal their true strength so easily.

Based on Xia Ya’s assessment, Norton was likely not at the Six-Ring Titled-tier yet—since breaking into the Imperial Tier would require an Emperor-tier summoned beast, and such breakthroughs were impossible to conceal.

However, it was almost certain that Norton possessed at least Fifth-Ring Grandmaster-tier combat power.

Xia Ya estimated his own combat strength to be around mid-Fourth-Ring, with an insurmountable gap ahead.

If he wanted to become the deciding variable in the final act of the Cangting Ancient Kingdom’s Historical Echo, securing the best possible beginner quest rewards and achieving the most perfect ending—

He had no choice but to resort to some unconventional means.

For example—

Pay-to-win.

…

“Tell me what you need.”

The Imperial Princess spoke.

If she could secure Xia Ya’s allegiance with material conditions, it would be the most cost-effective deal possible.

Xia Ya didn’t hesitate and spoke bluntly:

“A pair of military-grade bidirectional teleportation arrays—small ones, just large enough for a single person.”

His first request instantly plunged the room into silence.

The stability of Western Continent’s major powers stemmed from their unique trump cards.

These were the very foundations of their national destiny—the true depths of their strength.

The Noble Alliance had the "Gustav Cannon," the Holy Theocracy had "Divine Spirit’s Descent,"

The High Elves had "Void Zero Blessing," and the Goblin Kingdom had "Bone Marrow Detonation"…

Any leaks of such national secrets would guarantee the leaker was hunted by multiple Legendary powerhouses.

While bidirectional teleportation arrays weren’t exclusive to any single faction, their unparalleled strategic influence on the battlefield meant that—

In every nation’s Royal Magitech Academy, the research and optimization of teleportation arrays were classified as top-secret, first-priority projects.

Within the Shadow Council, any information related to teleportation arrays was classified as "Saint’s Dusk Bell"-level intelligence.

The monetary value of a small teleportation array pair was secondary—

The real concern was the Magitech knowledge embedded within. If leaked, the Empire’s loss would far exceed that of a single Titled-tier powerhouse.

A long silence followed.

Then, Isadella nodded slightly.

“…Agreed.”

This meant, in her eyes—

Xia Ya Egut was now worth more than an existing Titled-tier Beastmaster.