"As a form of goodwill, let’s keep the second condition a little simple."
On my words, Ana clicked her tongue, though Ashlyn’s expression stayed the sa.
From the looks of it, Ashlyn didn’t seem to care much for whatever condition that I had already proposed and the one that I was planning to disclose now.
That ant two things... either she was outright going to reject , or else...
Ashlyn was dead set on having my support no matter the sacrifices that she had to make.
Though I knew my real worth, the sa couldn’t be said for Ashlyn, who only knew about from all the things that I had displayed in the academy.
And all of those things didn’t even co close to my real abilities.
So if Ashlyn was this determined to have as her supporter... I really wondered what she had seen in , to go to such an extent to earn my support.
"You will owe a favour."
That was the simplest explanation of my second condition.
"And what would that favour be?"
Ashlyn asked, seeing that I didn’t take any extra effort to explain further.
"It’s still undecided. But whenever I ask for it, you will have to repay the favour by fulfilling whatever demand I have at that ti. And unlike the first condition, you can’t change the terms of the favour that I may redeem in the future. You will have to repay it in the terms that I dictate—"
"Fuck off, bastard!"
Hm?
A very unpleasant interruption, but I chose to ignore it, knowing that Ana was a close friend of Ashlyn.
It wouldn’t look good on to kill a friend of my debtor.
After all... I didn’t want to suffer any unnecessary losses.
"Just because you have so above average abilities than the rest, doesn’t an that we will grovel before you."
"..."
Above average abilities?
Heh.
"There’s no need to negotiate with him—"
Ana paused, seeing the smile on her friend’s face, as she looked at while leaning in her chair.
"Ashlyn?"
"Isn’t it interesting?"
Without taking her eyes off , Ashlyn spoke to Ana, making the latter frown in confusion.
"What do you—"
"A first year student, who is known to be at Silver 3, is sitting across , negotiating a deal that appears to be entirely in his favour. Normally the negotiations are done taking into consideration the mutual benefit that both parties would receive, but seeing the... intensity of your conditions—"
Ashlyn paused at the end, as she glanced at Ana, making the latter obediently sit down.
"I wonder what you have in store to present such a deal. Sothing that makes you confident enough that you would be able to provide an equivalent exchange for the conditions that you have put forth."
Haa...
This girl—
She didn’t reject my conditions.
Though that didn’t necessarily an that she would accept them either.
Still... it was better than lashing out at .
I gave a short glance to the volcano erupting at my side, though the person in question had already closed their eyes, not wanting to accidentally attack out of sheer frustration.
Though Ana’s behaviour might have looked impolite, I couldn’t really bla it on her.
After all, the conditions proposed by were too ridiculous for any sane person to accept, and that too for a person who was the current head of the disciplinary committee.
It was obvious that the scale may seem to tilt in my favour, but in reality I believed that I could provide Ashlyn with enough returns, if she indeed accepted my conditions with no change in them whatsoever.
"Let be honest."
Pretending to clear my throat, I adjusted myself on the chair, to be more comfortable than before.
"From within... I am a very gentle and kind person."
"..."
"..."
Neither of the two seed to believe what I was saying.
Well... neither did I.
"Speaking by the facts, not only can I provide you equal returns for the conditions that I have put forth, but... I can promise to extend my support beyond the grounds of Namda."
Every piece had its own foundation... its own story.
I just had to make sure to craft it with enough care, so that the piece could remain standing even in the most brutal storms.
"..."
Though Ashlyn didn’t say anything, her expression said otherwise.
A small frown had appeared on her face, as for the first ti during our conversation, she genuinely felt confused about my words.
"I don’t think having your support beyond Namda will help in any way—"
Ashlyn paused at the end, as her eyes slightly widened in realization.
"That’s right. It won’t directly help you, but... I don’t think your father would want to miss such an opportunity."
The Levaiths were the third strongest power in the Veltran Empire.
Though going by the ranking, their position might feel a little fragile compared to behemoths like the royal family and the Frosts... the reality was far different than that.
Considering the actual standing of the Veltran Empire in the world, even the third strongest power was considered to be one of the major powers in the world.
Not every duchy in the world enjoyed the sa level of respect as the Frosts and the Levaiths.
After all, there was a reason that the Veltran Empire stood on equal grounds with races like vampires and werewolves, who had every possible advantage in combat and lifespan from birth.
There was a reason that a human empire was feared so much by even the strongest predators on Jutan.
The combined might of the Veltran Royal family, along with the Frosts and the Levaiths, was a calamity for anyone daring to lay their eyes on the human empire.
"I must apologize, as I don’t have the authority to negotiate on behalf of my house."
Ashlyn, knowing that the negotiations were reaching a level beyond her ability, uttered the words with a serious expression on her face.
Though for ... it looked kind of—
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