Four years ago...
"You useless bastard, why don't you just get out of my house?"
Irene Capitol, Nick's grandaunt, raged at the door of the bathroom while Nick himself sat on the toilet. Nick complained while his emotions surged:
"What the hell are you doing, close the damn door?"
Irene looked at Nick with disdain and replied:
"I do not want you to use this bathroom while I and your sisters are in the house. Every morning you do a poor job in cleaning the yard and you don't even bother to greet me or your sisters when we are present in the house. I don't want to use the same bathroom as a lazy bastard like you."
Nick's emotions became so turbulent after he heard that, that he got up from the toilet and pushed Irene away from the door. She hit the wall about two feet behind her and slumped down, moaning in slight pain. Nick's younger sister, Tracy Capitol, came running along when she heard their grandaunt moan, asking:
"What happened?"
Irene softly muttered in reply:
"Nick pushed me down."
Nick ignored the rest of their conversation and simply locked the door to finish his business in the bathroom.
When he had done his business and cleaned himself up, Nick left the bathroom and noticed quickly that Irene was no longer in the house but Tracy could be seen in her room, paying attention to her smartphone.
Nick had a feeling generated from past experience that Irene would do something outrageous in response to their confrontation so he went to his room and got dressed in a pair of his faded blue jeans pants and shrunken cotton polo shirt. Nick had a pair of old wireless head phones and so he decided to use it to listen to the motivational speeches on his old cell phone.
About an hour later, Nick heard a stern voice at the door of his room:
"Nick Capitol, answer me clearly, boy! Did you push your grandaunt to the floor?"
Nick placed his headphones around his neck and turned his attention to the door. A police man dressed in his uniform consisting of a buttoned up, short sleeved shirt and a pair of black pants looked at him as if he was not a normal young man but a violent offender that needed to be put in chains.
Nick answered honestly while getting up from the old metal chair that he was sitting on:
"I suppose I did."
The police man squinted his eyes and replied:
"Then you'll have to come with me to the police station, young man. Your grandaunt has made a report against you."
Nick then silently walked out of his room. He saw his grandaunt standing some distance away with a somber and grudging expression. Tracy was peeking out from the corner, curiously watching the outcome of the situation. Seeing that Nick's gaze came upon her, Tracy tauntingly poked out her tongue for a short time, then went back to her room.
Nick retracted his gaze and went outside with the police man following behind him who kept one foot of distance between them. Nick walked up to the patrol car parked on the lawn, at which point a police woman exited the car and opened the door leading to the backseats, signalling for Nick to go inside.
Nick went inside the vehicle and both police officers followed suit with the police man sitting at the driver's seat and the police woman sitting in the front left passenger's seat; the car drove off smoothly. The police woman soon began berating Nick for his actions that resulted in this situation:
"How could you push down your grandaunt? What if you had actually hurt her?"
Nick replied with a flat, uninterested tone:
"She provoked me by cursing at me and watching me while I was on the toilet."
The police woman paused for a moment, an awkward expression appearing on her face and the police man creased his brows but the police woman then soon continued with her admonishment:
"That doesn't matter. You shouldn't put your hands on a woman no matter what, it's illegal."
Nick replied:
"I believe that the law allows for mitigating circumstances to be considered."
The police woman slightly raised her voice in response to Nick's back talk:
"Shut up! I'll tell you what the law is..."
The police woman went on to spew many arguments, not all rational, with the aim of condemning any violence against women no matter how justified. The police man just listened silently as he drove. He would occasionally say a few words in order to back up his partner's arguments but gave no opinions of his own.
Nick remained quiet since he realized that they had no interest in the motive behind his actions. They seemed to be committed to condemning him no matter what. When the three finally reached the police station, the police man opened the door closest to Nick which was at the left side of the car.
When Nick stepped outside, the police man held him by the rear of his pant's waist and instructed him:
"This is to make sure that you don't run. Walk inside."
At this point, Nick realized that the police man's goal was to humiliate him.
(I never showed any intentions of running which would be futile, being so close to the police station. It looks like this police man is planning to make a show of my circumstances...so that's what this is. If he was going to arrest me, I would have already been put in cuffs.)
Nick was taken to meet the desk sergeant to whom Irene had apparently made the complaint against him. The desk sergeant was a white, middle aged man with a head full of short, black hair and he sported a slightly greyed beard. The sergeant listlessly looked at the two police officers that brought Nick to the station, then at Nick himself. He ordered:
"Just leave him on one of the chairs near to the administrative offices."
The police man took Nick to a set of chairs near an office with a large glass window next to its door and was left there to sit. The police man and police woman then left the station, pretending like Nick didn't even exist. Nick looked around himself and his emotions went into turmoil but he tried to hide it by maintaining an indifferent expression, however, the expression occasionally crumbled to one of extreme sadness as his memories of the incident that caused this situation played out in his head, repeating itself over and over again.
(Why am I being treated like this? What did I ever do to deserve any of this?)
While Nick was going through a fit of feeling sorry for himself, a relatively young police officer came by his position and asked:
"What is someone so young like yourself doing here?"
Nick was so upset and his emotions so out of sorts that he narrated the events that resulted in him being brought to the station without holding anything back or even thinking about how pathetic he must have sounded to the man in front of him.
The young police man sighed and looked at Nick like a disappointing brother, saying:
"Listen, I won't pretend like I understand your pain and I am not going to try. What you've been through is probably quite a bit of unfair and unjustified mixed up into one but you have to admit that this is your fault."
Nick tried to defend himself:
"But..."
The police man softly interrupted Nick's rebuttal:
"No buts. Young man, the world is unfair and there are always consequences for our actions whether good or bad. You could have prevented this situation if you had simply done as your grandaunt had wanted and ignored her offensive words. Yes, it would have hurt, yes it would have left you humiliated but bad feelings can't harm you long term or kill you. Resisting her the way you did, however, has put you in a passive state where other people can decide your future for you. Are you satisfied with this?"
Nick looked around and a tear fell from his right eye. He replied to the man:
"No, sir."
The man nodded his head once and said:
"Then next time when you are confronted with injustice, I want you to wisely endure so that you have a real chance of rising from your circumstances blameless and clean. Doing the right thing may not always feel right in the moment but no one is going to come and save you if you let your emotions get the best of you when you face troubles. Are you a person of any particular faith?"
Nick shook his head slowly, replying:
"No."
The police man smiled lightly and said:
"Then let me quote you a few words that I found useful to memorize: 'Blessed is the one that perseveres under trial. Having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life.'. Having said that, even the young David ran away when King Saul tried to impale him with a spear. I'm trying to say this, being in a difficult situation is different from being in a situation that forces you to take extreme measures for your survival. Don't act rash during trials that won't end you or your ambitions."
The police man left after giving Nick that advice, following which the desk sergeant called Nick over to his desk and told him:
"You can leave now."
Nick asked suspiciously:
"Just like that."
The desk sergeant looked at Nick, thinking:
(There is something about that woman's story that seemed ridiculous to me but since she only wanted us to shame the boy a little bit for pushing her, I will not look too much into it.)
The desk sergeant instructed Nick with a bored expression:
"Get out of here, boy. Next time, be smarter than the people trying to bait you."
****************************************************************
Nick looked at the gold ring being held by Carla's left hand with suspicion. He asked:
"How do I know that you haven't done anything to that ring that will harm me?"
Carla replied with seriousness plastered on her face:
"It was I who took responsibility for bringing you out of Richter Order Academy. If it was discovered that I harmed you or used the opportunity to forcefully enchant you, then I would probably be hunted and executed even if I am a strong Magician. The academy's rules are not just writings on the walls."
(Not to mention that I suspect that this young man has a strong supporter behind him. How else would he be able to develop himself so well while having practically no background.)
Nick did not fully believe Carla's explanation but had reason to believe that her intentions were sincere.
(If she's making an offer based on my ability to invent magical items and my potential to become a strong Magician, it is unlikely that she would do anything that might alter my mental faculties or influence me with laws that might have an impact on my development.)
Nick asked other questions:
"What do I get exactly in return for taking you up on your offer? What is your offer anyway, I need it said clearly?"
Carla was getting a little annoyed with Nick's stalling and his seemingly endless questions but considering the nature of her plans, she had no choice but to be patient with him.
"My offer is that you and I become engaged with a marriage date postponed until you graduate from the academy. This way, you will basically be tied to the same boat as myself, becoming the Jenner family's son-in-law, which would put me in a position to trust you thoroughly while conducting business with you. In exchange, I will support you wholeheartedly but make no mistake, I expect results from you in terms of the financial results that you produce and your magical development."
Nick was still a little doubtful as to Carla's reasons for making him this offer.
"There are probably scores of men with talent like mine and the ability to generate resources and they would actually have a decent background. Why do you want me?"
Carla didn't say anything for a few seconds but then spoke when the car hit a bump in the road:
"Let's call it...intuition. I believe that you are special and that is enough for me to act. My patience has grown thin, Nick. Do you accept my offer or not?"
Nick looked at the ring that Carla intended to give him, then asked another question while appearing slightly flushed:
"Do I have to bed you for this deal to work?"
Carla snorted and replied:
"I won't force you to do that nor do I intend to seduce you; I simply want a committed ally. But make no mistake, if you were to embarrass me by bedding other women, I would likely have you castrated."
Magician society was ruthless and agreements reached with other Magicians often had deadly consequences for the naive and unprepared. When a great amount of benefits were to be gained, an equally great amount of risk usually followed. Carla wanted to mitigate that risk as much as possible.
(A contract with the Ministry of Magic's military division for selling soul healing scrolls will likely be profitable for decades and worth hundreds of billions of pounds. Not to mention the contacts that I would gain and the influence I would wield by being in charge of the supplying company. Assuming that I can't make Nick my loyal servant, marrying him is the only way that I can absolutely prevent him from turning my plans into ashes and benefiting just himself in the process. I've seen too much benefits go up into smoke because of betrayals and too many Magicians die without a corpse because they brought their associates too close but never properly did so with chains and consequence.)
Nick felt that he could no longer stall and that he had to make a decision. He asked one final question:
"What will you do if I refuse? You can't possibly kill me while I'm attending the academy, right?"
Carla looked at Nick in the eyes for a few moments, then said:
"If you refuse, I will withdraw my aid from you permanently. I will also create obstacles for you during your attendance at the academy and after you graduate. I shouldn't have to tell you that a rank 4 Magician doesn't need to act directly in order to get rid of you."
When Carla said the consequences out loud, many negative emotions spiraled within Nick's mind and his thoughts grew grim:
(I will definitely kill this bitch someday. That being said, since she isn't forcing me to sleep with her, her offer actually isn't that bad. The reward for her is the benefits involved concerning our business and the future benefits that can be gained through my becoming a stronger Magician. Hmph! She's assuming that she will always remain the stronger Magician, how else would she have the guts to make this sort of deal. My hedge is that she can't harm me openly until I graduate from the academy even if she and I became engaged because the well being of all students attending a magical academy is monitored and so if she does anything bad to me that results in my future being ruined or my death, the results will be traced back to her and she will face consequences. I can make use of her but I have to be smart.)
Nick slowly reached out his left hand towards Carla, eventually taking hold of the gold ring clutched by her left hand. Nick sighed inwardly three times, feeling a great amount of bitterness but still put the gold ring onto his right index finger, saying:
"I will accept your offer."
Carla seriously nodded, then proceeded to put the remaining gold ring in her right hand onto her right index finger. She said sternly afterward:
"Don't betray me, Nick honey, and I am sure that you will do great things someday."
Nick's expression remained indifferent even though he just became engaged to a beautiful woman. He slumped down in his seat, waiting for them to reach their destination. Carla did not intend to badger him since she already got what she wanted.
Carla did not bother returning to her original seat and sat silently beside Nick for most of the remainder of their journey. Nick looked out the window and watched as they left the city limits to venture into the more rural parts of the country. About an hour later, Carla and Nick finally arrived at the Jenner family estate, going through the gate and parking at he entrance of a mansion.
Nick had already been to this estate so he was not overwhelmed by the extravagances seen on the estate such as ponds with fountains, fields of neatly cut and decorated grass and even exotic fruit trees found growing alongside the mansion. Before they exited the car, Carla spoke to him:
"Only members of my father's and uncle's faction will be in attendance today so don't be too stiff. I will inform my uncle and father of our engagement and my uncle will likely want to have a word with you. Don't embarrass me, Nick."
Nick replied:
"Let's just get this over with."
Nick seemed to be in a bad mood and Carla could understand but she would not tolerate a negative attitude towards herself. She was still a rank 4 Magician. She instructed:
"Remember what I said about kindness and respect, Nick honey. Show it."
Nick instantly felt troubled as he sensed Carla releasing some of her magic energy. He sighed internally before making a move. He immediately moved in close to Carla and held her at her lower back with his right hand and said:
"That was my bad, Carla. Let's go inside."
Carla didn't mind Nick's touch now that he and her had made an agreement about their relationship but she warned:
"Make sure that your hand doesn't accidentally go lower."
Nick sighed again and followed Carla as she walked into the mansion. He let go of her lower back just before entering. Carla was spotted by her relatives as soon as she entered the mansion and they began to speak with each other energetically, ignoring Nick who seemed to become like a decoration stuck to the floor.
Nick followed Carla along for over two hours as she greeted and chat with her relatives, some even asking:
"Who is that young man, Carla?"
She answered with variations of:
"Nick here is very important to my business ventures and I brought him here just to show his face."
Her relatives accepted that without any follow up questions, after all, as far as Nick could tell, they were all at least rank 3 Magicians and so the presence of a rank 2 like him held no weight.
Seeing how Carla interacted with her relatives and how evidently popular she was, Nick almost forgot that this woman schemed against him, luring him here so that she could ambush him with a marriage proposal that he could hardly refuse.
(You really can't trust anyone in this world.)
Slade remarked in response to Nick's thoughts:
[You're finally getting it now, huh? But a perspective like that is only one part of the whole truth.]
(What do you mean, Slade?)
Slade gave Nick no response and remained silent so Nick had no choice but to have his question go unanswered. About two hours into their arrival, Carla brought Nick to a large dining hall where there were three polished wooden tables stationed there. Two tables were placed parallel to each other while one table faced those two tables horizontally from a raised platform.
Upon seeing the set up, Nick realized that the lunch would take the form of a large gathering, separated by these three tables with the lowest ranked family members sitting at the two parallel tables and the highest ranked members sitting at the table on the raised platform. Nick already saw some of Carla's relatives taking their seats and so he asked:
"Where will our seats be?"
Carla lightly smiled at Nick and replied with a question of her own:
"Do you even have to ask?"
Carla led Nick to the table on the raised platform that seemed to have nine chairs with the chair at the center being bigger and better decorated than all the others. Carla sat at the second chair to the left of the center chair and made Nick sit beside her to her immediate left. They waited silently for the room to be filled with people which gave Nick the time to properly observe the surroundings.
The walls were apparently made of fine, polished stone, there were various stone statues and sets of medieval armor propped up and placed at different points along the walls and the floor was completely made from hard, brown wood with images carved into it at various places.
(This is like one of those dining halls that you see in medieval themed dramas. Is this how wealthy families carry on normally?)
Soon, many more of Carla's relatives arrived and took their seats. Most of them looked towards Nick with some amount of confusion, probably wondering why a rank 2 Magician had a better place to sit than themselves but all the sitting positions were preassigned and so they could hardly argue while Carla was present beside Nick.
Things changed, however, when eight people walked into the room with Vaughn Jenner, who Nick had seen before, taking the lead. Everyone seated at the two parallel tables stood up in greeting in response to their arrival but Carla remained seated and she motioned for Nick to do the same.
Vaughn Jenner walked to his seat from the right end of the table and happily greeted his niece:
"Glad to see you Carla and..."
Vaughn seemed a bit confused at seeing Nick sit beside Carla and quickly looked over the chairs present at the table. After realizing something, he looked at Carla for a few moments, then dismissed his current thoughts on the matter, taking his seat and waiting for the others to do the same. The other members of the entourage took their assigned seats except for one who stood behind Nick's chair, fuming. Nick softly muttered her name:
"Alicia Jenner."
Nick had already met Alicia Jenner, the head secretary for the Jenner family. He knew that she was unreasonable and quick to attack others without warning. She looked at Carla and complained:
"Big Sis, you had me arrange an extra seat at this table but I thought that it was for one of our family members. Why is this unrelated rank 2 Magician sitting in my chair?"
Carla acted nonchalantly in the face of Alicia's questioning, replying while turning her face towards Alicia:
"Oh, you mean Nick. You two have met before, right? Yes, he is rank 2 but his importance to me warrants him getting this seat and he is not unrelated."
Carla raised her right hand, making the gold ring visible to all present. She then announced:
"Nick at I will be be getting married after he graduates the academy so he is actually your brother-in-law, Alicia."
Alicia gasped when she heard the news, unable to believe it. Carla's other relatives that were still standing went into an uproar at hearing her announcement:
"What? Carla is going to marry a no name rank 2 Magician?"
"What nonsense is this? I know for a fact that she has been proposed to by countless members of prominent families. Where did that young man come from?"
"Has Carla started robbing the cradle? That man is clearly young enough to be her son."
...
When the uproar became too annoying, Vaughn Jenner spoke without raising his deep voice but the roomed quietened down immediately:
"If the news is indeed true, then so be it. It is always good for new blood to enter the family. Alicia, take your seat beside your new brother."
Nick felt weird with how Vaughn accepted the news so easily but their family politics was none of his business. Alicia put on an expression that made it seem like she had been wronged but under the pressure of her uncle, she had no choice but to take a seat next to Nick. Everyone else also took a seat, many now staring at Nick like a zoo animal.
Vaughn stood up once again and spoke to the entire room:
"I am glad that you are all here as it is always pleasant to be with family no matter our quarrels with each other. Our faction is as strong as ever and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. My apparently gaining a new nephew-in-law is only proof of that. Let us eat."
Most of the people sitting at the main table with Nick kept quiet even after Vaughn finished speaking. The two men sitting to the immediate left and right of Vaughn seemed to be in no mood for speaking. The family servants brought out the food prepared for the event soon after and everyone was given portions of food to eat.
Nick obtained several servings of different meats but he did not recognize a single one; he could, however, feel the feint magic energy present within them. He muttered softly:
"This is magic beast meat."
Alicia, who sat beside Nick, used the chance to jeer at him:
"Of course it is. Did you expect us to dine on chicken nuggets and pig tails? Where did you come from..."
Just as Alicia was getting ready to throw insults, Carla leaned over to Nick and kissed him on the right cheek, then used his fork that was resting on the table to place a piece of the meat into his mouth. Nick was sure that Carla had a point to her actions so he complied by receiving and chewing on the meat.
Alicia was forced to swallow her unspoken insults but she did so with obvious displeasure on her face. In Magician society, family hierarchy was very important and was often based on strength and your closeness to the established members of the family.
Carla was rank 4, an entire rank above Alicia and was very close to their father and uncle, especially since she brought many financial benefits to the family. While Alicia had her place and was greatly valued, Carla's own value eclipsed hers. If Nick and Carla were truly going to be married, then Carla's value would spilled over to Nick as well. Carla's actions were intended to give one clear message:
"Don't you dare think of embarrassing my man or else!"
The rest of the lunch went on without a hitch. Many people stood up and told stories of their latest adventures or misadventures, conveyed meaningful news or simply made jokes. Despite the status of the people involved, in Nick's eyes, these people really did seem like a well functioning family. Vaughn did not say much during the lunch and neither did Carla.
At around 6 pm, the 'lunch' ended and Vaughn dismissed everyone, then he told Carla that he wanted to speak with Nick alone in his office. Carla whispered into Nick's ear:
"Be good to me and I will be good to you. Meet me in the first meeting room on the first floor when you are done."
Nick followed Vaughn silently as both men walked to and entered his large office that had wooden and glass doors at the entrance. The office seemed to be located at the rear of the mansion on the ground floor. Vaughn moved to sit at this office desk and faced Nick who stood a few feet away in front of him. He asked:
"Do you love Carla?"
Nick replied while trying to maintain his indifferent expression in front of this Regular Magician:
"Is that important?"
Vaughn lightly smiled in response to Nick's question and then spoke:
"I am already aware of how much Carla has benefited from working with you, Nick. Whatever arrangement that you have with her, so long as it is to our benefit, I will take no issue. That being said, Carla is my beloved niece and I would be neglectful if I did not say this. Make her happy and you will do well with us."
Nick nodded his head once in understanding. Vaughn carried on:
"It is good that you understand. Now, about your marriage arrangement, I will have Carla fill me in on the details later but I will tell you what I expect if you are going to join this family. I don't care that Carla is currently stronger than you, you are the man and if I find that ultimately, you cannot lead her or carry your own weight, I will be forced to intervene for the sake of my bloodline. Carla has ignored my urging to get married before, so your engagement to her is a good thing but let me make it clear that if she is trying to use you as a cover or fill in, that won't work. After you graduate from your academy, I expect children from your union and I expect you to at least be on your way to rank 3. Have I made myself clear enough?"
Nick plainly replied:
"Crystal, sir."
Vaughn's smile became even more pronounced. He was an obviously middle aged man with light wrinkles on his face but he only seemed to have a good nature so far. He continued:
"Carla's father would be too ill to meet you so let me say this on his behalf. Welcome to the Jenner family, Nick Capitol."
**************************************************************************
Nick walked to the meeting room on the first floor that Carla told him about. As soon as he opened the door, he caught sight of Carla sitting opposite to two other people in the center of the room. Nick recognized these people from the lunch as they had sat at one of the two parallel tables together. Carla greeted Nick:
"Nick, since you've arrived, you can just take the seat beside me."
There was a single padded chair positioned at Carla's left side so Nick quickly sat down beside her and faced the two men. Both seemed to be in their late thirties to early forties, one had a shaved head and a full beard of black hair and wore a brown and white three-piece suite while the other had a head full of short, neatly trimmed red hair with no facial hair and wore and full black three-piece suit; they both wore black, leather dress shoes.
Carla soon spoke:
"Donny and Randolph, let me introduce you to my partner, Nick Capitol. He is the inventor of the soul healing scrolls and my fiance. He will also be holder of a 5% share interest in the Magic Scroll Company once the deal is settled."
The bald man, Donny, spoke to Nick without any formality in his tone:
"Kid, tell me how you did it. To get Princess Carla here to bend over..."
Carla instantly frowned as Donny spoke and her magic immediately generated an intense pressure in the room. A bead of sweat fell from Donny's face and he adjusted his words:
"...To get Carla to agree to a marriage proposal must have been difficult. We should talk about the ladies sometime."
The man beside Donny, Randolph Jenner shook his head, reveling in Donny's awkwardness. Randolph addressed Nick more politely than Donny despite being a rank 3 Magician:
"Nick, Carla already informed us of the terms of the deal and both Donny and I can intuit the benefits involved so we are on board but only under one condition."
Carla's frown grew deeper. She had been discussing with them for almost an hour and had already worked out the deal. This was the first time that she heard about a single condition aimed at Nick.
Randolph continued:
"Since you are going to be family, shouldn't you have your name changed to Jenner already?"
Randolph was a very careful man and had the same concerns as Carla had initially and would rather this deal be done with only members of the family and Nick still remained unrelated to them at this time. Carla intervened on Nick's behalf:
"Randolph, Nick is still attending an academy and so our marriage will have to wait until he has graduated. That is only proper so that he is not targeted before he becomes a licensed Magician. What are you trying to do by insisting otherwise?"
Randolph gave an eye signal to Donny who then spoke, siding with Randolph:
"That sounds like bullshit to me, Carla. A marriage is as simple as getting some minister to witness you handing over a document to the government's registrar office. What's the real reason for the hold up?"
Carla was getting annoyed at this point.
"Listen, you two..."
Before she could finish her words, Nick boldly placed his hand on her left thigh, signalling for her to stop speaking. He looked indifferently at the two men, who were probably far more powerful than himself, in the eyes. His thoughts were:
(These two are trying to make things difficult in order to negotiate more benefits, using me as the weak link in order to trip Carla up. Hmph! No one messes with my money. Not even rank 3 Magicians and with my rank 4 fiance here, I only need a bit of bravado.)
Nick spoke with no sign of compromise in his tone:
"If either of you speak anymore bullshit, then you can leave and Carla and I will simply do this deal without you."
Randolph frowned and replied:
"What?"
Donny raised his two eyebrows in response to Nick's 'balls'. Nick continued:
"I had initially brought this deal to Carla in order to obtain money for cultivation resources but if your goal is to use the situation to gain greater benefits than we are willing to give you, then you can forget about it. Carla is set to be my wife, my family and thus I have no problem just delaying my cultivation and handing her the rights to the soul healing scrolls for free. I DON'T NEED EITHER OF YOU. Carla, did you already discuss terms with them?"
Carla looked at Nick, amused by her little fiance. She replied sweetly:
"Yes honey, I did."
Nick then cursed while keeping his eyes on Donny and Randolph:
"Then you can either accept the terms as they are or fuck off."
A vein bulged on Donny's forehead when he heard that and his magic energy immediately erupted from his body. Just as it was about to move towards Nick in order to pressure him, Carla's magic energy already enveloped Donny's and suppressed his.
A rank 4 Magician in action.
Nick knew that in front of Carla, the power of these two did not amount to much.
(If the difference between rank 2 and rank 3 is like a hill and a mountain, the difference between rank 3 and rank 4 is like earth and heaven. There is no real comparison to be made. Going against Carla openly is suicide which is why I folded to her threat in the first place. These two can't cope with her power either, so once their politics fail, then they have no alternative moves to make.)
Randolph smiled amidst the tense situation and spoke with sudden eagerness:
"Let's get the lawyers in here already."
***********************************************************************
Nick and Carla left the mansion and entered Carla's town car. Carla sat closely to Nick's side and said:
"You did well in the meeting with my two clumsy relatives. Donny and Randolph have great business talents but too often, they think that everything is up for negotiation. When you get home, remember to reread the terms of the contract so that your experience is not lacking."
Nick replied simply with no change in his expression:
"Will do."
Although Nick acted calm, his nerves were actually in a mess.
(I actually stood up to two rank 3 Magicians and left the room alive. Damn. That was the most stressful situation I've been in since the last mid year exam.)
Carla could tell what Nick was feeling even if he didn't say it, after all, she was an enterprising young Magician once too. She leaned in close to him and kissed him on the right cheek, then retracted her lips, saying:
"Now that the contracts are signed, I can work on developing the business infrastructure and negotiating with the military and our other customers. When will you give me the methods of production?"
Nick still felt a little weird about Carla kissing him so freely but the ring on his right hand reminded him that she had her justification. Nick replied:
"I'll give you the methods of production within the next three days, after some fine tuning. Most of the business stuff, you will have to do on your own since I will be cultivating non-stop during the next few months."
The methods of production for the soul healing and beast capture scrolls were relatively uncomplicated but Nick had to take out parts that were specific to himself and add parts that anyone with magic power could perform. He would also have to alter the laws of both scrolls to include some kind of encryption so that others would not be able to easily replicate the scroll's finished laws.
(With my soul path scholar attainment and my still nameless mystical language, the latter part is completely possible. The encryption only requires me to place soul path laws at many points within the laws used to create both scrolls that alter the meaning of the laws written visibly on the scroll while the laws essential to the real meanings persist while being imperceptible. No one with an inferior skill level will be able to overcome the encryption. The only problem is that Carla won't be able to do any research on the scrolls but she shouldn't have a problem with that.)
Carla was satisfied with that arrangement and so she asked:
"Since we've sorted that out, we have another serious discussion to have."
Nick was honestly tired of having discussions for today. He asked listlessly:
"What is it?"
Carla put on a serious expression and said:
"You and I need to discuss the terms of our relationship going forward. Since you will be my husband in a few years, I will have to require that we talk and meet more often..."
Carla bombarded Nick with her wants all the way back to his commercial building. Nick's mood became bitter after hearing all that Carla expected of him but the good thing was that most of those expectations did not apply until he graduated from the academy.
When he arrived at his building, Nick exited the car, following which it drove off and he breathed in deeply, then out. He spoke out loud with his energy renewed:
"Nothing is going to stop me from moving forward."