CH 63

Chapter 63. Shots Fired, Angellus

On the day of negotiations with the Angellus Merchant Corps.

“I am the wizard Elby,” I said matter-of-factly. “And you are my assistant. Do you understand?”

“I don’t know…….” Isis muttered.

“We’ll figure it out together from now on.”

It’s not like we’re in a one-day relationship; we’ll figure it out as time passes.

And Isis, who looked like an innocent child, wasn’t really reliable for these business dealings, so he couldn’t help but comply.

I was playing the role of Elby, a wizard whose job is to create magical things. I dressed in the robes of a mage, reaching down to my toes, and pulled my hood tightly over my face to hide my physical features, except for my height.

Greed chuckled and mocked my appearance within the sealing stone.

[Strange. You’re short too, so why are you, Elby?]

‘What! I’m still growing, aren’t I?’

[Ridiculous. You’ll be an adult soon, right?]

‘Unless you want to be sealed in a sealing stone forever–’

[Hap……. sleepy. Need to sleep. Grow–]

Finally, Greed went silent.

I tightly clutched the voice-modulation tool that we were using to conceal my gender as Isis and I stepped into the main tower drawing room.

There was a human there, the deputy director of the Angellus Merchant Company.

He opened his mouth before we could take our seats.

“Are you the wizard Elby?”

It wasn’t Isis at the end of the line of sight, but me. Isis, who came to about my waist, didn’t look like a wizard who invented magic tools.

I nodded, not wanting to make as much of a sound as possible.

“You’re a reticent man.”

“…….”

“It’s a waste of time, so let’s get straight to the point, Wizard Elby.”

I nodded in agreement, having no intention of greeting him with useless chatter.

Then the deputy director chuckled and presented the terms he’d been working on.

“I’ll give you seven percent, and I’ll give you the best rate in the business. I don’t think there’s anyone else in the business who’ll give you a higher rate.”

Seven percent.

Sure, the average exclusive distribution deal is 6%, so it was a high rate.

If they were really offering this rate, I would seriously consider it.

‘What’s going on with Angellus?’

Angellus had a bad reputation for a long time. I’d heard of them aggressively entering every market for every industry, creating monopolies, and threatening the livelihoods of small businesses.

I hadn’t investigated their treatment of contracted mages, but I hadn’t expected them to offer such a high price.

‘No, they must have something up their sleeve.’

If the offer was really good, there was no way it wouldn’t be rumored. Everyone would have wanted to get a deal with the Angellus Merchant group.

They recognized the value of the wizard Elby’s tools, and so they offered a percentage. Therefore, I wouldn’t mind dragging out the negotiations for a while longer.

Isis poked me in the forearm and whispered in my ear.

“Isn’t seven percent too high?”

“They wouldn’t do that.”

“Really? I’ll take your word for it.”

Isis was probably a millionaire anyway, so he left it up to my own judgment.

I let out a small huff and activated the tool.

“Seven percent. Are you sure?”

An eerily familiar male voice came out of my mouth. It sounded so natural that I was momentarily surprised, even though I’d already tested it.

“Of course.”

“I’m at quite an advantage with those terms.”

“Then the contract will be–”

I cut the deputy director off mid-sentence, who obviously thought it was a done deal, and stated my case.

“But first, I’d like to take a look at the provisional contract before making a decision.”

I explained that contracts should be signed carefully.

The deputy director’s expression hardened for a moment, as if he was annoyed that I interrupted him.

“Of course. It’s ready. Feel free to take a look.”

He smiled a crooked, convert smile and pushed the contract in front of us.

“As you can see, the first page lists the percentages we were offering. I don’t think anyone can deny that those are the best rates in the business, and…….”

Blah blah.

I didn’t even ask, but the deputy director started rambling on and on about how special and amazing the rates they were offering were.

It was so loud that I couldn’t concentrate on the contract. By normal people’s standards, of course.

But I was a sophomore who remembered studying for my SATs in one of those noisy classrooms.

‘Noise, hush, hush.’

With the deputy director’s voice in the background, I calmly scanned the contract.

The first page clearly stated the percentages, just as the man had said. The second page specified the distribution of the tools – in other words, where in the world they would be sold – and the third page detailed when and how they would be paid.

So far, so good.

I was about to flip to the fourth page when I heard a voice.

“Hey, Wizard Elby?”

The deputy director suddenly called out to me.

I looked up from flipping through the contract and saw the deputy director looking at me with a solemn, stern, and serious face.

“This is the first time we’ve ever invested this much in a new wizard, and we don’t know when you’ll change your mind.”

What? An investment?

‘This is not an investment, but a contract.’

I didn’t bother to point it out, just to see what he was saying.

When I tilted my head as if to ask for more, the deputy director added, still in a serious tone, “I think it’s best that you make a decision as soon as possible, just in case the terms change when you hear from the boss…….”

He gently took the contract from my hand and flipped it back to the first page. He then placed a quill pen on it.

I watched the sequence of events carefully.

I paused.

‘What, are you playing tricks?’

This guy…. Obviously there was more in the back, but he was just trying to get me to sign.

There must be a clause on page three that would work against them if I read it.

“Still, you have to be careful with contracts.”

Refreshingly ignoring his warning, I put the quill away and opened the contract again.

As I glanced at it, the deputy director’s expression hardened.

Needless to say, I flipped straight to the fourth page.

“This is a condition not offered by the other companies. If you miss it, you’ll regret it–”

Stubborn until the end, the deputy director insisted that I sign right away.

Let’s see, what kind of clause is there that they don’t even want me to read it?

[A will provide B with the schematics for the ‘Temperature Maintaining Magic Tool’].

Here, A is the wizard Elby, and B is the merchant.

Only then did I understand what the deputy director was trying to do.

As I slowly turned my head to ask for clarification, he smiled leisurely and said, “We’re offering you a special, three-year exclusive contract, which includes your designs for making magic tools.”

“……?”

The brazenness of his attitude, as if he’d stated the terms from the beginning, was unbearable. I was flabbergasted.

He’s going to take away the designs?

‘Are you out of your mind?’

But it was clearly in the contract, so their demands were in fact valid.

I glanced at the deputy director’s face to see if he was up to something, but the man’s face was as serious as ever.

~ Translation by Lurelia | Editing by Valpal | Read only at rainofsnow.com ~

Hmm. I decided he was out of his mind.

When I didn’t say anything, he added, as if he was being pushed.

“In exchange for the designs you make, we’ll give you a much shorter contract, and at the end of it, you’ll be able to sign with another merchant, so it’s a pretty good deal.”

“Oh, I see, that’s a really good deal.”

Bullshit. You mean you’re just going to suck up my production secrets for a short period of time and then dump me?

But I continued to peruse the contract, admiring it like a hawk. On the back page was an even worse clause.

‘A non-disclosure clause? These guys are f*cking evil!’

So, the mages under contract to Angellus Merchant Group were not allowed to say anything about their atrocities.

They wouldn’t be able to ask anyone for help either, as it was a magical contract, and there would be consequences for breaking it.

“Have you made up your mind?”

“Yes.”

Isis, who had been listening to our conversation, poked me in the forearm and whispered.

“You’re going to sign him? He’s got a strange way about him.”

“Don’t worry, Isis. I’ll get him off your back, Angellus is my area of expertise.”

“You’re very reliable. You must have a plan.”

With Isis’s full faith in me, I picked up the quill and brought it to the signature line.

And just before I signed–

“Whoops.”

The inkwell beside me spilled over the contract.

“Oops, that contract is dirty.”

I clicked my tongue in frustration and then tossed the contract into the bin next to the couch, demanding.

“Can I have a new contract, please?”

“Oh, yes.”

The deputy pulled a spare contract out of his bag and set it down in front of me.

“Our merchant group is the best on the continent, Wizard Elby. You won’t regret it.”

The deputy director smiled with that characteristic arrogant smile, as if a deal had been sealed.

I smiled back, too, although it probably wasn’t visible through my robe anyway.

Then I said firmly.

“I don’t want to sign it – the contract.”

“What?”

“I’m not doing it.”

With the deal on the brink of being canceled, the mood quickly sank.

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”

“I just don’t want to do it.”

“……What?”

“I’m not a cheap person who signs for a percentage, and please don’t disrespect my great masterpiece. It’s my baby, and it’s priceless.”

Just for the record, Isis, who was beside me, nodded in agreement.

The contract fell to the ground, and the deputy director hastily tried to clean it up.

“I didn’t mean to–”

“In any case, the way you write contracts should be reconsidered,” I said with finality.

“Think it over.”

“Well, okay. I’ll think about it again.”

And three seconds later.

“Mmm, I’ve thought about it again, I’m not going to do it.”

No matter how many times he tried to convince me otherwise, he finally gave up.

I thought I had shaken off the persistent Angellus, but no.

In the end, the deputy director took a final shot at me.

“It just so happens that a wizard of the South Tower, who is also sponsored by Angellus, has been working on temperature maintenance and amplifying magic tools, so we were looking forward to combining them with the wizard Elby’s magic tool technology…… Too bad.”

This was not a comment to be taken lightly.

I fired a series of questions at the deputy director.

“There’s a wizard from the South Tower?”

“Oh …….there is.”

“What’s his name? And how many?”

“You probably wouldn’t know if I told you.”

“That’s because you don’t know. I have a lot of friends there. Tell me, which one?”

“I don’t know exactly which one.”

That bastard is lying. I doubted the wizards of the South Tower were even working on such a tool. Predictably, this was laying the groundwork in advance.

If a tool similar to the one invented by the wizard Elby were to be released in the future, I would not be able to say anything.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.”

I said firmly, and the deputy director frowned.

“If you want to release magic tools in the future, it would be better to maintain an amicable relationship with our merchant group…”

What? Threats now?

Not one to be intimidated, I fired back.

“In the future, if you want to trade with the West Magic Tower, you’d better maintain an amicable relationship with me.”

Because the real Elby is actually the Magic Tower Master.

The deputy director looked at me in disbelief.

“What?”

“Oh, I’m talking to myself, aren’t I? Have a safe trip home, then.”

Having gained nothing from my greeting, the deputy director left the reception room with a frown on his face.

When the door closed and his footsteps faded, I quickly handed the ink-spilled contract to Isis.

“This can be used as evidence of an unfair contract, can’t it?”

“There’s no better proof than a contract, so did you spill the ink on purpose?”

“Of course!”

I deliberately caught him off guard by pretending to sign the contract and then spilling the ink.

He must have forgotten about the contract in my hand, because after that I announced my intention not to sign.

‘Angellus, you are now in the hands of the master.’

But to really get them going, I needed to build up their hostility.

I turned to Isis, who seemed unconcerned.

“But Isis.”

“Speak.”

“Didn’t you hear that Angellus is going to plagiarize your tools?”

Sparks flew from Isis’s eyes.

“What, those rotten bastards?”

I said a silent prayer to the merchant group of Angellus. Especially the deputy director.

‘May you go to a bad place in the afterlife…….’

It was more like a curse than a prayer.