"Check my Build after you review the parameters; it will make explaining my plan easier."
I took some time to relish the culinary delights I had prepared while Kiara delved into the mission details.
This food was unparalleled, and the value of the Faeire Feast perk became evident; it was worth every one of the 10 credits I had spent.
"I admit that some of the terminology regarding the setting-specific mechanics can be a bit complex, but in layman's terms, you're aiming to get a head start in forming this peerage by recruiting some powerful waifus early on, beginning with the only Tier 8 candidate you can have due to the mission's conditions." I nodded in agreement.
"That was my original plan before arriving in this world. Unfortunately, that plan didn't just fail; it never even had a chance to take off," I confessed with a heavy sigh. The cute, puzzled expression she wore did little to distract me from a glaring issue I had realized a few minutes after waking up and had been ignoring ever since.
"Kiara, at its core, the missions assigned by the company serve as a way for powerful clients to entertain themselves by having contractors attempt to complete them in exchange for rewards.
Normally, a contractor can review the mission and decide whether to accept it after considering all the pros and cons.
However, whether it was intentional or not, there is a loophole in the conditions that currently prevents me from acquiring a Tier 8 waifu at all."
I could see her reviewing the conditions once more, and I idly wondered how many loopholes she could find without setting specific knowledge.
"Ah, Millicas, how do you use the Evil Pieces to add people to your peerage?" she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side. It was good to know she was quick on the uptake, certainly more so than I was before the merging.
"First, you must cast a specific spell to determine the value of a potential candidate.
This value depends on the candidate's power, abilities, innate potential, and your own power as the King of the peerage. Therefore, different Kings could get different value readings for the same person.
The value itself can be correlated to a pawn and is inspired by the traditional game value of chess pieces, which is the basis for the system.
Then if you can pay the cost, for a lacking a better term, you activate the Evil Pieces you intend to use on the candidate through a simple ritual and reincarnate them as a low-class devil member of your peerage."
"But unless the company pre-reincarnates a possible member before delivery, you are unable to legally purchase any Tier 8 Companions under the conditions of the mission.
This doesn't even take into account whether you are powerful enough to reincarnate the waifu in the first place."
Whether it was her natural inclination or the effects of our binding, her indignation at our situation was evident in her voice as she sympathized with me getting caught in what seemed to be a hidden restriction of the mission.
"To be fair, it's likely that had I chosen my Tier 8 Queen before arriving, Universal Calibration would have simply made her my already bound Queen and explained how she was my Queen while being much more powerful than me," I said, attempting to ease her frustration.
"Also, the condition of the Mutation Pieces is a bit more challenging."
"How so?"
I focused my magic and, with a snap of my fingers, a magic circle with the emblem of House Gremory engraved in its centre appeared on the coffee table in front of the couch.
In a flash of light, a chessboard with 15 pieces placed atop it materialized from the circle.
"When a high-class devil receives his Evil Pieces and the right to form a peerage, they must register in the King Monument.
After doing so, the 15 clear chess pieces they receive are activated and gain a colour connected to the King.
At this point, there's a chance that one or more of the pieces can transform into a Mutation Piece."
The innate glow of the Evil Pieces lightly tinted the board with their unique, ever-shifting crimson and purple hues, a sight that I remembered from the last time I saw them.
They hadn't changed in any visible ways since I received them yesterday, with only two of them noticeably larger than their counterparts.
One Rook and one Pawn were my Mutation Pieces.
"At this stage, whether the choice of Mutation Pieces was a result of chance or simply an illusion is irrelevant."
Our conversation paused for a minute or two as we stared at the chessboard.
With a clap of her hands to regain my attention, Kiara turned to me.
"Alright, your original plan seems to have failed, whether due to intentional malice, oversight, or simply bad luck. it doesn't matter," she said, looking at me with a comforting smile. Her positive outlook easily lifted the mood in the room.
"Hanlon's razor?" I asked, chuckling at our current predicament.
"Exactly! So now, we need to play the hand we've been dealt to the best of our ability, starting with creating a new and improved plan to tackle this mission."
"You're absolutely right; there's no need to dwell on this now." I stood up from the couch and extended my hand to help Kiara to her feet.
"Let's see if we can find a notebook or something similar in this house and start planning," she responded with her beautiful smile while taking hold of my hand.