'Here we go.'
Sekiro stood up after him, his head lowered under his hat, and sighed his frustration away, feeling like an idiot for expecting a different result.
Lady Iris looked at Felix, disbelief etched across her face. She was not accustomed to being turned down.
There was a moment of stunned silence before Madam Arabella broke it, her voice quite enticing, "What if I told you we can remove the blacklist order on you and provide resources you could only dream of?"
"What do I have to give in return?" Felix asked, giving them a chance.In his eyes, if he could get rid of this irritating blacklist order from his back and also receive the support of the big lords in the city, why not? As long as the payment was something he could live with.
"I speak for myself when I say that I want you to win the tournament or at least qualify for the heavenly plane's tournament." Lady Iris shared, "This is the minimum requirement. If you managed to win this tournament, I will be getting 40% of the winnings in addition to having you promote my company's name and products in each opportunity presented to you."
Felix shook his head and looked at the other two, seemingly leading them to propose their counteroffers.
"20% of the winnings, but a ten years ambassador contract to my company." Boss Gideon said.
"35% of the winnings, but a ten-year-long committed partnership in all tournaments." Madam Arabella offered.
All of those offers might sound a bit too steep or harsh, but Sekiro wanted nothing more but for Felix to bite on any one of them.
After all, his master would be getting the support of an authoritative figure in the city, which ensured that he wouldn't get blacklisted again.
The payments were nothing in comparison to the rewards.
Alas, Felix wasn't interested in such a low-quality subordinate partnership, especially when he was confident in his capabilities to break new heights in the tournaments.
The end rewards could reach up to half a million Lumus and that was an amount even those rich lords would salivate for.
"This is my one and only counteroffer, the first to take it will be considered as my partner not sponsor." Before those executives could react, Felix disclosed, "In terms of earnings, you will get 50% from this tournament and 20% from the heavenly plane's tournament. This is non-negotiable. In addition, you will invest at least one hundred thousand Lumus of resources to help me boost my spiritual prowess. I will act as the ambassador for your products, but I will get paid at least 5% of the profit in case of the sales increase due to me."
"Last but not least, this deal would end the moment I get accepted into a governmental position." Felix concluded, "Those are my terms."
As Felix concluded his counteroffer, the room fell into a tense silence. The representatives of Astralia's leading companies, once smug and confident, were now thrown off-balance, their expressions ranging from surprise to mild annoyance.
"I must say, this is a first," commented Boss Gideon, his lips curling into a mirthless smile. His eyes, however, were sharp and assessing as they bore into Felix.
Lady Iris exchanged a quick glance with Madam Arabella who responded with a slight shake of her head, clearly disapproving of the turn of events.
"There's a reason we don't usually do things this way," retorted Lady Iris, her voice containing an edge that wasn't present earlier. "We provide the sponsorship, you fight and bring in the Lumus. But your situation is much more exceptional as you are a blacklisted fighter and representing you means going against the Red Fangs' wishes."
"We are doing you a massive favor by just giving you an opportunity considering your dire situation."
Felix merely nodded, not backing down. "I understand, but my conditions stand."
There was a murmur of discontentment among the sponsors, their displeasure evident. They were not used to such terms being dictated by the fighters, it was always the other way around.
Felix watched them, unfazed by their collective annoyance.
He knew what he was worth, and he was not going to let anyone underestimate him...As for the blacklist order? While it was annoying, he had many plans to go around it.
Just as Lady Iris tried to change his mind, a sharp, discordant chime of a communicator was heard in the restaurant.
Lady Iris reached into the pocket of her elaborate gown, retrieving a slim, glowing device, resembling an ancient smartphone but made out of crystals.
A holographic message unfolded in the air, casting shifting shadows across her face. As she read through, her emerald eyes widened in surprise, and then deep concern.
'Read this,' she murmured, projecting the message to her peers.
The news detailed how Karra had been blacklisted, tied to an influential noble, and the initial reason for Felix's run-in with Red Fangs.
As the implications became clearer, a deep hush enveloped the room. The powerful people who controlled vast aspects of Astralia's economy felt the weight of their vulnerability in the face of nobility...Especially, when they knew the name of the noble.
Boss Gideon, who had been previously in a relaxed posture, stiffened. 'This is not just a simple blacklist. This is a message. If we align ourselves with this spirit, we will be putting ourselves in deep trouble.'
Madam Arabella's face turned a shade paler. 'That bastard Alves kept such information to himself, wanting to set us up.'
'I don't think he thought that far, he probably just pissed about us not respecting his blacklist order and wanted to punish us.'
Lady Iris sighed, closing the holographic message, her usual calm composure broken.
There was a pause, the gravity of the situation dawning upon them all.
They had entered this restaurant, expecting to sign a rising star, a potential gold mine. But now, the risks associated with Felix were too great...The danger of retaliation from an ethereal elder was a cost none were willing to pay.
Felix, sensing the shift in the restaurant, realized he had lost any prospective alliance he might have hoped to gain from this meeting.
The sponsors, once eager to sign him, were now eager to distance themselves.
'As expected.'
Honestly, he wasn't surprised in the slightest as he expected as much...A noble's authority was simply above all in the heavenly plane.
Without another word, Lady Iris and her peers turned around and left the restaurant, not bothering to interact with Felix for another second, fearing that the duke's wrath would befall them.
"Well...At least we didn't make any new enemies." Sekiro chuckled in derision, finding some positivity from their situation.
"I would rather have them leave now than sign us and separate us when they find out," Felix replied, sipping from a cup of tea without an ounce of bother in his tone.
He was a contract expert and knew that those companies would put a clause to keep him imprisoned contractily if things went south.
In other words, he wouldn't be able to do much but at the same time, he wouldn't lose much. In the case of Felix, he would be losing an entire decade of his time here, which was unacceptable.
"You better eat, we will be leaving in the streets for a while and I doubt any restaurant will serve us again." Felix uttered casually as he began feasting on the dishes before him.
"How can you even eat in such situation..." Sekiro rubbed his eyelids to ease his wariness and started eating too.
Meanwhile, Karra operated based on orders from Felix, and the moment he uttered to eat, she started eating without a single complaint.
While the three black homeless sheep were feasting on their last meal at such a nice place, they had no clue that two pairs of golden eyes were watching them carefully from the window...
'Calculating, intelligent, fearless, and has plenty of room for development...I guess I finally found a worthy assistant to my agency - Kikikiki....'
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel