"…"
"…What?"
Feeling confident that the young man in front of them would say yes to their request, it was no surprise that both Vynar and Anton were left speechless after hearing the exact opposite leave Valyr's mouth.
Glancing at each other for a bit, the two of them briefly thought back to the various offers they made in exchange for the request, being reminded that so of them were even unplanned due to Aster's own offers.
Because of that, the two deluded themselves into thinking that they'd just misheard him, prompting Anton to look at the young man once more as he asked with a slightly forced smile, "Could you… could you repeat what you just said?"
At those words, Aster briefly looked at the man before softly shaking his head in disapproval.
"As I've said it before…" Feeling the sa way Aster did towards how the other two reacted to his words, Valyr made sure to not show it on the outside as he responded in a calm tone.
"I'll have to say no on your offers."
With Valyr's words telling them that they hadn't misheard him earlier, both Vynar and Anton looked at each other once more before looking back at the young man as if they were wronged.
"Are our offers not enough for you?" asked Vynar, his tone and his body language showing the young man that he wasn't taking no for an answer.
"It's not that." Valyr shook his head in response, briefly noticing that the disappointnt on Aster's face deepened at Vynar's actions.
"Then why did you say no to our offers?" asked Anton after Valyr's response, a bit of anger beginning to seep into his tone.
"…I just felt like it," replied the young man after a bit of silence, even though the thoughts going on in his mind at that mont said that his response wasn't as spontaneous as it seed.
Even though the rewards the nobles planned on giving him if he were to beco representative were considerably better compared to the rewards the Mage Guild gave him to beco their representative, Valyr decided to decline their offer in the end because of one reason.
The strings that ca attached with each one.
Although all the Mage Guild had to offer in exchange for him becoming their representative were perks related to his position in the guild and the like, there were no strings attached to it.
Considering that all they wanted from him were the rewards that would be given to the organization affiliated to the winner, the young man felt as if he and Dalton made an equivalent exchange.
On the other hand, the offers the nobles gave him were more insidious than one might think.
'I'm certain that they'll make sure to follow up on their side of the deal up to the tournant,' thought Valyr to himself as he watched Vynar and Anton barely suppress their anger.
'However, that all changes once the tournant ends.'
'Whether I do poorly or great in the tournant, I'm sure the nobles would treat far differently than before, making use of the rewards they offered in order to control for their own benefit.'
Thinking about how the first two rewards they tried to offer them would allow them to do just that, a faint shudder ran through Valyr's body as he briefly imagined what would have happened if he were to accept their offer.
Though, before he could get any further along his current train of thought, the two that were most affected by his refusal decided to try and change his mind one last ti.
"Three requests," said Anton all of a sudden, causing both Valyr and Aster to pay attention to him. "The Ullvayne clan will fulfill any three requests you have, no matter what."
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"Sa goes for the Fimbul clan," replied Vynar, his expression firm. "We'll even give you an additional plot of land if you accept."
"No need for additional offers," said the young man as he faintly shook his head at the two. "My mind is still set on rejecting your offers."
Seeing that even offering additional rewards to Valyr did not work, Vynar and Anton decided to drop all pretenses as they flared out their auras.
"Are you rejecting our offers because you really don't want to?" Anton gave Valyr a slightly venomous gaze, focusing most of his aura towards him. "Or are you rejecting our offers because you feel like they're lacking?"
"Better not bite off more than you can chew, Ataraxia," said Vynar after that. "The only reason why we asked you to co here is because you only have the potential to be a part of the upcoming tournant."
"You haven't even t the requirents needed to enter in the first place."
'Well, he's not wrong,' said the young man to himself as he faintly nodded in agreent. 'Dalton did say that I'd need to reach Rank 2 first before being able to participate in the tournant.'
Though, with his stats already high enough for him to fight even peak Rank 2 class holders on even footing, the young man saw no rush to ascend to the next class rank.
Even more so if he reminded himself that it had only been over a week since he ascended to Rank 1.
"…Enough." Feeling like the two had already crossed a certain line in his mind, Aster took it upon himself to flare his aura out in its entirety, causing both Vynar and Anton to stop what they were doing as they were reminded of who they were accompanying.
"It's a sha that the Fimbul and the Ullvayne clan brought the two of you out as their clan's representatives," said the man, his authoritative tone making the two bow their heads down at him in embarrassnt.
"Just because Ataraxia here didn't want to accept our offer, you two felt that it was right to resort to coercion?"
"But the head told us to pull him over to our side no matter what…" murmured Vynar in response, which unsurprisingly piqued Valyr's interest.
"If your head knew any better, then he wouldn't have made you their representative," said Aster in response, only to shift his gaze towards Anton after that.
"I suppose you also have sothing to say?"
"…Not at all." Anton quickly shook his head and kept his mouth shut, feeling both fear and terror as Aster's aura continued to envelop their bodies.
Feeling like he'd finally knocked the two down a couple of pegs, it was only then did Aster retract his aura, allowing the two to take in a deep breath filled with relief.
However, that relief didn't last long as the man soon gave them an order they couldn't refuse.
"With this eting over, I want you two to head back to your respective clans and tell your heads at all costs that Ataraxia rejected our offer."
"Now, if they have sothing to say about it, and I'm sure they will, then just tell them that I'll remove their slots from the dungeon if they decide to retaliate."
"Understood?"
"Y-Yes, sir!" replied the two simultaneously as both fear and panic were evident in their expressions.
With Aster's words weighing down on their minds, the two did not hesitate to leave the plaza after that, leaving only Valyr and Aster in the gazebo after a bit of ti had passed.
"…Well then." Letting out a relieved sigh after making sure the two were gone, Aster gave the young man a knowing smile.
"Now that they're out of the way…"
"Shall we discuss about my actual offer?"
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