The Matter of Freya X
As the discussion came to an end in the Twilight Manor however, another was about to start in the halls of Folkvangr.
"What!?" Allen made his outrage known once Horn put the contracts on the table after explaining how the meeting between them and Nox went.
"Considering all you said, even securing any form of assistance is nothing short of a miracle. I known I would not provide any in his place. Considering Freya-sama's current state, I think we should take the deal, it's only a bit of extra work for a year after all." Hedin, former king of the white elves and often the begrudging voice of reason amongst Freya Familia executives stated.
Hogni, a dark elf and one always keen to avoid human interaction to the extreme whenever possible, gave his silent agreement to his rival's statement.
The four Gulliver Brothers on the other hand, were of the exact opposite opinion and though they had no love for any of their fellow executives, Allen included, they did share his opinion.
"We should we sign such an unfair contract just to have that little bastard take a walk here?" The four of them spoke in turn to complete the sentence.
"Because your goddess needs you to do so, even if you consider the price to be unfair." Horn snapped and the four pallum clammed up.
She, despite being rather important to Freya, was not in fact, an actual familia executive and as she was not a battle focused member, she lacked a contract with Nox, thus excluding her from the conversation. She could advise but her vote ultimately did not matter.
In the end, it was Ottar, Hedin and Hogni in favor. Allen and the Gulliver brothers against the decision. Technically, they had the majority, being five to three but the other side had Ottar.
In the Freya Familia where power based rankings were even more harshly imposed due to the fierce internal competition, Ottar's word was much heavier since he could probably take all of the other executives on by himself.
Allen wanted to argue his point more but his thoughts suddenly turned.
'Wait a minute. A magical contract only ensures no dishonest dealing are carried out in secret by informing the victim of any breakage of contract terms by the other party . . . So why not just agree, have that bastard Lyros come here and then ignore the contract?'
'It's not like he can argue and since his part of the deal will already be done there will be no take backs. If he comes after me, I'm sure some of the others would be willing to set a trap for him too.' Allen felt like he was a genius.
Soon after, the Gulliver brothers reached the very same conclusion as him after and internal discussion and gave their "reluctant" agreement, signing their contracts.
Alas, they heavily underestimated Nox's means.
'Looks like the contracts have been signed.' He immediately felt.
'If they follow through then good, I love when deals go smoothly. If they don't however, then even better, my little insurance will kick in and give me a lot more than some simple materials.' Nox smirked as he thought.
"What are you smirking about?" Riveria who was cuddling with him after the funding meeting was done asked.
"They've signed the contracts. I'm just wondering if any of them will actually try to break the terms." Nox replied.
"They can't be that stupid. The consequences of doing so are far worse than the terms if they do not have some special means to avoid it." Riveria responded.
"Veria, my dear. They have only ever used the contracts I sell to the public which merely inform the affected party of any infractions. The ones I gave them however, are my special ones and I might have neglected to mention the consequences of breaking the terms." Nox innocently shared.
". . ." Riveria silently looked at her lover with a judging stare, clearly blaming him for his predatory business practices.
"Just admit it. That was your goal all along wasn't it?" She questioned.
"To be honest, not at all. Only after our guest left did I realize I gave them contracts from my personal stash but still, it's all good. Not like those arrogant bastards don't deserve it." Nox shrugged.
"Fair enough. They've already forgotten favors given. If some of them actually try to break the contract too then they only have themselves to blame for their punishment." Riveria acquiesced.
"Well then, time to go to work." Nox declared as he got up.
"I want to try out my new dramatic entrance too." He said, making the high elfess look at his strangely.
"I've recently had a breakthrough with my spacetime magic. Though I can't use on others and it it his far too inefficient for the moment, the shock value will most definitely be worth it this time." Nox explained.
Riveria just shook her head and waved him off, knowing better than to try and "fix" some of Nox's quirks. It was all part of his sometimes annoying charm after all.
After the exchange was over, pace itself seemed to bend, forming a transparent bubble around Nox, fully encasing his body as Riveria watched in awe, her eyes twinkling at the masterful display of magic she had never even dreamed of before meeting him.
The spatial bubble then shrank until it vanished, Nox vanishing along with it as everything turned back to normal.
Far from the Twilight Manor, in the core of Folkvangr, in the very room where all the Freya Familia executives and Horn had just finished signing their contracts, a space bent once more as a tiny marble sized bubble formed.
All the adventurers present took their distance out of instinct as the bubble of space expanded, causing reality itself to twist around it until it burst, revealing a smirking Nox.
"As promised, here I am, seconds after you've signed. Aren't you all going to thank me for my instant response?"
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P.a.t.r.e.o.n is officially up!
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You'll get to read up to FOUR weeks ahead, a full month, but I'll still post here.
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