"Don't underestimate him. He is also a demon beast tamer like us."

Altashia's statement froze Rodrick's speech. He looked at Eren once more intently. The two had a small staring contest which Eren won in the end. So the royal shrugged his shoulders as if to say there's no hurt in trying before addressing Eren.

"*Sigh. Eren, what did you think about my battle style?"

Eren lit up his smoke when the stare-down ended. He took a much-needed drag and relaxed on the bed before looking at the royal and opening his mouth.

"Hm. You offered Altashia two transcendent-grade rewards, right? What do I get in return?"

Rodrick saw that it was only fair that a simple-looking guy like Eren would ask for rewards from him, a royal, under these circumstances. So he didn't hesitate to reply.

"Sure. What do you want? I'll offer you something good if the advice is worth it."

Rodrick flashed a royal smile at Eren. he didn't know what was in it for him in the future. So he might as well behave like a royal when he still had the chance.

Eren also flashed a broad smile that said "jackpot" before responding.

"A transcendent-grade spell of course."

Rodrick suppressed the urge to cough like a rankless mortal who had been sick and bedridden for months on end when he heard Eren's statement. Before he could say anything, however, the butcher continued with his words.

"Just hear me out, Rodrick. If you can distribute it as a reward for one friendly spar, I'm sure you won't have any problem giving it to someone who could help improve your battle style.

The way I see it, you were going to give the spell to Altashia anyway if you won or lost. For whatever reason you may have, you wanted her to be your ally like she owed you one.

The battle was just a ruse to make that happen. That way, Altashia and her family would see you in a positive light. I don't want to get into royal politics. But if the royal administration can enable you to grant someone a transcendent-grade spell, I'm sure they can make another exception.

I'm not saying I'll be a worthy ally for you to invest your resources on. But from the looks of it, you don't have many options anyway. Why not use the resources you already have to place your bets on a gamble?"

Altashia opened her eyes and looked at Rodrick when Eren made her see Rodrick in a completely different light. The royal, upon seeing Altashia looking at him with shocked expressions, sighed and nodded at her. He admitted that whatever Eren had said was the truth.

Of course, one of the reasons Rodrick fought Altashia was that he saw her as one of the toughest opponents in their generation. But it wasn't that his pride was hurt because of one loss. He just had to act like a royal nonetheless, because it was expected from him to act in such away.

The backing behind Altashia was no joke. Rodrick had just used his loss as a way to make connections with Al, and her family by proxy. He thought that his act of hurting a royal was pretty believable. He could have never guessed that a random stranger would be able to see through him.

"Eren, you sure surprised me. Alright. Since you have put it this way, let's gamble.

What the heck! Haha. I'll offer you the same transcendent-grade spell I offered to Altashia. Since it is related to the demon beast, you can benefit from it as well.

Now tell me. What are my weaknesses?"

Eren didn't even flinch when he said his next words.

"Stop fighting with your brain. And start using your brawn in a fight once in a while."

Rodrick listened to Eren and took some offence in that statement. He wanted to retort. But Eren didn't give him a chance.

"You are a berserker right?"

Rodrick paused for a moment before nodding his head in affirmation. The butcher pressed on.

"This would be the second berserker I'm gilding. I have to charge extra money for berserkers from now on."

Eren remembered Steve Austin as he took another drag from his smoke before marching forward.

"Before I say anything, can we put your royal status aside for a few minutes?"

Eren looked Rodrick in the eye and let the question stay in the air for a while. Rodrick had another brief staring contest with the butcher before relenting once again. Before addressing the seemingly nobody, he looked in the direction of the door.

"Alright. Give me some time with my friends here. Please lock the door and let nobody in. Please do not act on what my friends say about me in this room. At least until I say so."

"Understood!"

A hoarse male voice resounded in the lounge hall. It had an unknown origin. But before Altashia could locate the source of that voice, the lounge's big door suddenly closed.

Rodrick sat on the couch that was in front of the one Eren and Altashia had sat on. The butcher thought of something and threw a new smoke at him out of the blue. The berserker caught it between his index and ring finger just as quickly before looking at Eren with puzzled expressions.

Hatchlings of the Flame!

A thread snake of only five centimetres appeared on the tip of Eren's finger. It crawled its way to the smoke Rodrick was holding in no time and opened its mouth to light it up before dispersing into thin air.

Eren waited for Rodrick.

The royal understood Eren's gesture. For some reason, he felt compelled to do what Eren was asking him to do. He sighed and took a drag from the smoke the butcher had offered to him.

Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!

The royal started coughing violently as soon as he took the drag. This time, he couldn't help coughing like a rankless mortal on his deathbed. His eyes got red and watery. His face was the colour of a tomato.

"Hahahaha! Take another hit. Don't worry. It'll grow on you. You'll need its effects to understand what I'm about to say to you on a deeper level."

Eren said amusingly as he looked at the coughing royal.