Chapter 58 : Setback
After closing the door, Vanessa stood leaning against the wall.
She smiled while looking at Sal standing quietly, her eyes full of excitent.
Since Vila had just left, the tension that had filled the room seed to have finally disappeared.
Vila had left imdiately after Vanessa presented the conditions.
Sal raised his hands and clapped a few tis towards Vanessa, making a gesture.
She bowed elegantly in response.
Sal still couldn't believe the conversation just now had gone so well.
"I'm really glad you were here. If I had dealt with Vila alone, I would have been eaten alive!"
Vanessa laughed, approached a chair, and plopped down.
"Vila is tricky, but she's a fair person. You did really well today, Sal! But don't mistake that for aning I'm not angry with you."
She wore a mischievous smile and pointed at Sal on the opposite side of the room.
"You crafted a Legend rank! Do you know how big of a deal this is? This is an event that could completely change the ga, Sal!"
Vanessa shook her head lightly and leaned her head back against the leather chair.
"Everything I said during the eting was a strategy to extract the best possible conditions from the Reavers Guild. So if you don't like it, you don't have to accept it. Okay?"
Sal sat in the chair opposite her and nodded.
"Thanks for saying that, but I'd rather leave this kind of thing to you. These negotiations... I think you could even win against my notorious father."
Sal smirked, imagining his father and Vanessa facing off.
Vanessa lifted her head and accepted that smile.
"Thanks for trusting . But if we are really going to work together, there are a few things we need to be clear about."
She straightened her posture and looked directly at Sal.
"Right now, you are the most valuable crafter in this academy. The weapons you make are unique, and the quality is trendous. And there will definitely be people who want to use your ability in the future. Including ."
She crossed her arms and watched Sal's reaction.
"Although I kept teasing and joking around... we have so chemistry. But if those feelings cross over into a real business partnership, problems arise. Right now, the balance between us is not equal. If we follow that chemistry, frankly speaking, it would beco using you. You don't know yet how amazing you are, but I do."
Vanessa smiled as if to reassure Sal and placed her hand on his knee.
Her eyes were staring straight into his.
"So now you have to make a choice. It might be sudden, and I'm sorry. If you want to work together, we must proceed in a strictly professional relationship from now on. I don't mix business with pleasure. Because that eventually ruins everything."
Sal shrugged and laughed.
"Actually, well, I didn't think sothing like that would happen in the first place. So it's fine. If I can work with you, Vanessa, that's enough. A professional relationship sounds good."
Vanessa paused for a mont at those words, then burst into laughter.
"Not that I'm trying to take back what I poked at, but honestly speaking, there was a possibility of us moving towards a deeper relationship. That's also why I'm saying this."
She shook her head slightly as if with a mix of regret and showed a dazzling smile.
"You are a rare good person, Sal. From now on, it will be my job to protect you so that you aren't used by anyone."
And after a brief pause, she tapped his knee and added playfully.
"Of course, using you is an exception. Only I'm allowed, right?"
Sal answered with a laugh.
"Then are you going to stop the endless teasing now?"
Vanessa pointed at herself and pretended to be surprised.
"This is my default attitude. But if you want, I can tone it down a bit. So you can feel a bit safer?"
Sal stood up from his seat with a laugh.
"So to summarize... the reason nothing will happen even though you like is because it feels like you're using ?"
When Vanessa answered with a smile, Sal continued.
"But later, if I beco a Guild Master and you, Vanessa, work on my team... isn't that using you? Since you'd be giving up your career and betting on my success."
Vanessa's smile changed into a deep, mischievous one.
She also stood up from her seat.
"Career? The Credit Floor is just a job, Sal. Working with you and making a new guild the best is a real career. If I make you the most successful Guild Master in the city... shall we talk about our chemistry again then?"
Sal grinned and retorted.
"Do you think I'll still be single then?"
Vanessa answered without blinking an eye.
"Of course. Because I'm going to lock you in the workshop and only make you work."
***
When Sal looked up, he saw Divinity putting her tray down on the cafeteria table.
"I thought you were standing up. Did sothing happen?"
He threw a joke with a smile, but what ca back was an exhausted expression.
Sal regretted his words imdiately.
Divinity's conversation today was exceptionally edgy.
Just as she looked like she would explode any mont, Divinity took a deep breath and sat down quietly.
She pushed aside the salad she had ordered as usual and seed to be trying to calm down.
Divinity rubbed her eyes with both hands, then eventually sighed and looked at Sal.
"Today was really the worst. Sorry I'm late, and I apologize for being sharp with you earlier too."
Sal shook his head.
"It's okay. What happened? Is it because of forming teams in combat class?"
Divinity looked straight at Sal with expressionless eyes, then shook her head.
"Sotis I feel like you live in another world. You missed almost all of combat class today too.... It made wonder if it's eventually becoming the future I first saw. The image of you continuing to disappear."
There was an edge to her words, but Sal did not refute.
It was aningless to be hurt or angry about things that hadn't happened yet.
It was clear Divinity wasn't in a good mood, so he tried to change the subject.
"Tell what was so terrible."
Divinity closed her eyes and covered her face with both hands.
"Sorry, Sal. Just... today is really not the day."
She lowered her hands, bit her lip with an expression mixed with anger, and continued.
"I heard in Skill class that my ability to utilize Essence is terrible. Started the day with that. Being moved to the redial class due to lack of control was one thing... but being picked last in combat class? Do you know how fatal that is? It ans my evaluation depends on the performance of students who have no interest in this class!"
Sal listened to her quietly.
"Professor Lombardi locked in the Skill Tuning Chamber to check if what you touched was damaged. Of course, there was nothing wrong with my Essence. But the problem is, I could hardly manipulate Essence there. If I hear the professor say 'Relax and try to breathe' one more ti, seriously...."
She gritted her teeth and glared at Sal.
"So I checked the future. How badly we fail in combat. I'll tell you. We... really get crushed. You lose all of the first eight battles. I lose all ten. I couldn't bear to watch any further. If things go on like this... we're completely dood."
Divinity roughly pulled the salad bowl towards her, and from that impact, a tomato popped out and rolled on the table.
She pointed her fork at Sal and said.
"This is why my day today is the worst. How was yours? Was the secret date with the girl in uniform fun?"
Sal quietly shut his mouth watching Divinity poking at her salad as if angry.
An impulse to suggest a solution right away rose, but he suppressed it.
Right now, Divinity just wanted to vent her accumulated annoyance, and considering what she had done for him over the past week, listening to this much was only natural.
Divinity put down her fork to one side and took out a tablet.
"After you left class, everyone poured combat-related questions on Professor Rust and analyzed other students. I looked into the future, and my team composition was truly terrible. Let's see...."
Divinity scanned the tablet and gestured.
"3 Supporters and 1 weak Defender. Kids who lost both tis in combat class. Whether they used abilities or not. Still, the reason it's not four crafters is because you picked most of them and left one Defender at least. I'm grateful, but even so, we're still dood."
Sal nodded cautiously.
But seeing Divinity stop speaking and stare intently at him, he realized she was waiting for an answer.
Swallowing the urge to solve the problem again, Sal sighed.
"Really... totally the worst."
Divinity stared at him for a long ti, then picked up her fork again and continued eating while huffing.
Sal watched her quietly for a few minutes and began to ponder ways to get out of this situation.
"Still, there is one positive thing. We can help lanie a bit when she forms her team. Looking at the current rankings, she'll probably be the 1st or 2nd pick."
Divinity raised her head and looked at him.
Finally, a slight smile hung on the corners of her mouth.
"That's okay. If we help well, lanie could stand out."
Feeling the atmosphere soften a bit, Sal cautiously brought up another suggestion.
"Then... how about coordinating with other top rankers in advance? If we align beforehand on who to pick, wouldn't the overall power of our teams improve a bit?"
Divinity said without taking her eyes off the salad.
"Nova and Victoria follow the plan, but Dominic betrays us to take his own profit. He sees it as a chance to raise his rank and just goes for it."
Sal sighed, leaned his chair back, and looked at the ceiling.
"So in the end, there's no way to escape the current team composition. I can make equipnt. Couldn't we raise the probability even a little with that?"
Divinity took her eyes off the salad and shook her head.
"It's a good idea, but that's not enough. The kids on our team are afraid of combat itself. They freeze up if they feel even a little threat. No matter how good the equipnt you give them, what's the use if they faint as soon as the match starts?"
Sal laughed.
"Surely they wouldn't really faint?"
But Divinity looked at him with a serious expression.
"In the first match, three kids on your team faint. They are kids who have never been hit by anyone in their lives. How are such kids supposed to fight against Attack lineage students?"
Sal pulled his chair forward and rested his arms on the table.
"Then... how about we hit them once or twice ourselves before the match? Wouldn't they get used to it if they get hit in advance?"
He tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but Divinity looked at him with serious eyes.
"That's it!"
Divinity clapped her hands and shouted, and Sal started racking his brain to catch up with her thoughts.
"You don't an we're actually going to hit the kids, right?"
Sal asked cautiously, but Divinity waved her hand and dismissed his words.
"No, no. I an let's train them! You said it earlier talking about Skill class. That I should find optimal training thods with my precognition ability. But couldn't we apply that to our team kids? We don't have much ti, but if we just get them out of the level of freezing from fear... we might be able to win a match or two!"
Wanting to continue this positive atmosphere, Sal quickly brought up another suggestion.
"Shall we make so equipnt to increase our win rate too? Like armor, or equipnt usable from a distance! If all the kids on our team are crafters, we might be able to cover about our two teams."
Divinity leaned back in her chair as if lost in thought and nodded.
She finally seed to escape briefly from the frustration she had suffered all day.
Divinity pushed the half-eaten salad aside and looked at Sal seriously.
Her pupils turned cloudy.
"Good, then let's do this properly from now on!"
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