Chapter 214: Unexpected Proposal
"See? All we need to do is talk! That’s what an alpha male is all about!"
Auric was standing in front of a half-crazy man who had started talking out of nowhere. Even he couldn’t help but wonder how it led to this situation.
...
A few hours ago.
Since he only talked to Professor Schad after the store was closed, Auric decided to close the store early, thinking that it might give him more time to prepare for the presentation.
"Good luck with your presentation tomorrow, Auric." Milinda pumped her fist. "You can do it."
"Good luck. If you’re able to do it, you will be able to achieve great things." Katarina nodded in agreement. "Don’t think about what’s happening in the school right now. The narrative will change the moment you do your best there."
Auric nodded. "Thank you. I’ll do my best."
Auric waved his hand, seeing Katarina and Milinda walk away. He wanted to prepare more so that he wouldn’t make a mistake during the presentation. It was such an important presentation because he believed that there might be an opportunity to repay Ellia this time.
To his surprise, someone suddenly approached him. "Fellow Student Auric."
Auric glanced back. Lindwurm didn’t warn him, so there should be no danger. He saw a woman who seemed to be from the second grade, according to the amount of energy she possessed.
"Can I help you?"
"This is an invitation from my young master. I hope you are willing to meet him. He has an important matter to discuss with you."
Auric couldn’t help but frown.
"I know this is rude, but the young master can’t show his face here to avoid any leaks, not that he is scared of having his reputation stained. This discussion might actually help you in your current predicament."
Auric fell silent for a moment. Since Lindwurm remained silent, the woman didn’t seem to be showing any sign of hostility. If it was a trap, he could still escape as long as the opponent was still a student.
Besides, he was curious about the conversation. He wondered what kind of discussion could actually help him.
"Fine. Lead me to him." Auric carefully nodded. This could also be a trap, and this so-called young master might be Trevor’s ally. They might want to defeat him.
That was why Auric asked inwardly, ’Lindwurm, can you please scan the area?’
"Worry about a trap?"
’Yes.’
"Of course," Lindwurm agreed. "Just don’t drink or do anything. Talk and leave. While it’s true that elemental poison doesn’t affect you, you will still have a hard time with normal poison."
’Got it.’
The woman led him to a secluded corner of the university. According to Katarina, it was the old campus building. It had been abandoned, and they planned to renovate it soon. Unfortunately, it would still take some time because they needed to secure the funding and search for contractors.
The woman led him to one of the rooms.
Lindwurm looked around and said, "There are only three people here. You, this woman, and one more person. He is quite strong. He should have an adult-form avatar, but you should still be able to escape from him. There is no ambush for the time being."
Auric proceeded carefully. Once he entered the room, he finally saw a man two years older than him.
He had dark blue hair and carried himself with a graceful aura.
The man stood up and spread his arms. "Welcome to my humble abode. I am Floyd Dexerteeth. You can call me Floyd."
"..." Auric didn’t say anything. His expression remained serious.
The man looked unaffected by Auric’s lack of response. He simply extended his hand. "Take a seat. I will explain."
Auric didn’t take a seat, implying that he just wanted to finish this matter and leave.
"Very well. You will probably want to take a seat later." The man paused for a moment. His gaze turned serious as well. "I’ve received an invitation from the Astler family to marry Ellia Stroph Astler."
Auric’s heart skipped a beat. An enemy? Now that he thought about it, there was a group of people who scouted his store when it first opened. There was also a butler.
Did he send them?
"So, you want to tell me to stay away from her?" Auric asked gracefully, as though he wasn’t disturbed by the information.
"Not at all."
"No?" Auric furrowed his brow.
"Sit down. I’ll explain." Floyd took a seat in front of him while extending his hand.
Auric was a bit hesitant, but he ultimately took a seat.
"A week ago, I received a letter from the Astler family, asking me to marry Ellia Stroph Astler. Now, here is the problem. Do I want her or not?
"A simple answer will be yes. She has the beauty, the money, and the talent. Well, people know me to be lustful or a playboy, but I’m not a fool.
"After all, in that letter, they also mentioned your name. They told me to eliminate you if I want her. So, can you see the problem here?"
"You may need a lot if you intend to eliminate me." Auric’s gaze turned cold.
"Eliminate you? Why should I do that?" Floyd grinned. "You are currently under the protection of the Relesha family. If I eliminate you, I’m going to be eliminated as well by the Relesha family. I’m not so foolish as to fall for such an obvious trap.
"I told you earlier that whether I want to marry her or not, the answer is yes. However, I didn’t mention the fact that I don’t like her. I mean, I like her, but not in that kind of way.
"I’m a playboy, all right? Do you think I will marry her alone and let many women cry? No!"
Auric’s eyebrows twitched. What the hell was he saying? Auric couldn’t even understand what in the world this guy was thinking.
"That’s why I have been investigating you. Auric Elfe. A person who failed to awaken his avatar during the awakening ceremony, yet somehow managed to use multiple elements, not to mention becoming a silver-grade evolution master."
"!!!" This time, the information surprised Auric. If people investigated his background hard enough, they would probably find out that he possessed no avatar.
However, they shouldn’t know about his identity as a silver-grade evolution master.
"I can understand your concern. Well, listen to me first." He raised a finger. "I don’t think you know my family. My family owns the Heflex Group. We are not based in the capital city, but we have the confidence that we’re currently the best group in our field."
"Heflex Group..." Auric frowned. He instantly recognized the name. "You mean..."
"Yep. We’re the ones creating the current air transportation. Meanwhile, the Astler Group has a lot of businesses. Ellia, in particular, focuses on banks, hotels, shopping malls... those kinds of things that have a strong cash flow. Surely, you can understand what it means to marry her, right?"
"So, you’re trying to convince me to stay away from her?" Auric asked.
"That’s what I’m going to explain right now. Why do I want to marry her? I can sleep with a lot of models whose bodies are no less attractive than hers, so why? The reason is simple. Money. It will bring me money. Isn’t that what a political marriage is all about?"
"..." Auric had to agree, but he still didn’t understand where the conversation was going.
"And that’s where you come in." Floyd pointed at Auric. "If I want money, I can just work with you instead of marrying her. This way, I can still live with my babies without having the annoying elders from the Astler family nag me. It’s basically fulfilling both of my goals simultaneously."
"!!!" Auric certainly didn’t expect this conversation. He certainly had a screw loose, but Floyd was definitely not a fool. He avoided the Astler family’s trap and even identified a possible target. "So..."
"After investigating you, I have come to a certain topic. My family is focused on research, so it’s obvious that I know about the conference. Last night, I was notified about a certain topic. Your topic."
Auric narrowed his eyes. If Floyd thought that he could get what he had, then he was wrong. Auric didn’t intend to negotiate with an enemy.
"Your research can actually lead to a breakthrough that will benefit my family, which means more money. So, if I can get you, I don’t have to marry Ellia and handle those annoying pests from the Astler family. I can get the money without the headache."
"Do you think I will just hand over my research to you?"
"Of course not. You don’t have to treat me like an enemy, because I’m not intending to have you as family. Being able to become a silver-grade evolution master at your age, not to mention having such research so quickly, you are bound to become someone important. Why would I turn you into my enemy?
"This is a business proposal. I know what you’re currently going through." Floyd smirked. "Your reputation is being destroyed by Trevor’s family."
"It will be fixed soon."
"I know. However, the Astler family sent another message, telling me to marry Ellia. Looking at this situation, I realized that Ellia had lost a portion of her power in the family. It didn’t take too long for me to know who was the cause."
"..." It was definitely himself. Auric knew it.
"As such, this is my proposal. I want the exclusive right to use your research. There will be a new company that will take care of the development of this technology. Since you are the one who developed the research, I will give you 20% of the shares."
Auric was stunned. He could give these shares to Ellia as compensation for his mistake.
Lindwurm said, "Don’t accept it. Instead, propose a new contract that will benefit you and suit your situation."
Lindwurm suddenly stopped him, preventing him from making a hasty decision. Of course, he tried to suggest an option to Auric, which made Auric think twice about the proposal.
"I know you don’t trust me, so we can sign a formal contract for this."
Auric’s expression turned serious. "I can’t give you the exclusive rights."
"!!!" Floyd was startled. He thought Auric was desperate, but had he judged him wrong?
"Instead, you won’t have to give me the shares. You just need to pay me royalties. I can lower it from the usual rate. Let’s see, how about 2%? This way, even if you sell your shares, you won’t have to worry about me interfering with management rights."
Floyd definitely didn’t expect this new condition. "What do you want?"
"Pay back the Astler family."
Floyd suddenly grinned. "Hahahaha. You are definitely amusing. I really like you."
Floyd raised two fingers. "How about this? I will get back the company that Ellia returned to her family and hand it to you. What you do with it is not my problem. In addition, I will get one more company from them and transfer it to you. It’s not mine, so I don’t care."
"You can do something like that?" Auric frowned.
"I can. Well, the Astler family almost doomed me with their request, so I want a little payback as well. They’re having an internal fight right now, so I’m just going to swoop in. With your research, my own family won’t exactly blame me."
Auric never thought that Floyd was so bold. Then again, it seemed he had indeed planned everything carefully this time.
Lindwurm even said, "He’s indeed not a fool. This is what you should expect from the capital city."
Auric could repay Ellia with this. If he became dissatisfied with the royalty, he hadn’t granted the exclusive right, so he could allow someone else to use the research.
Of course, Floyd had to add a condition. "However, you can’t give this right to a rival company. The contract needs to be at least 30 years for this."
Thirty years was a long time. At that time, he believed he had grown strong enough not to fear anyone. So he could make his decision at that time.
It would probably take a few years before he saw any royalties, but it would be nice to have additional income like this.
Hence, Auric nodded. "Sure. Let’s go with that."
"Hahahaha!" Floyd laughed and looked at the woman. "See, Grace? All we need to do is talk! That’s what an alpha male is all about!"
He definitely had a screw loose, Auric thought.
