Mary went on to explain that she had originally come to the station to see off her fellow researchers, who were departing on a six month expedition into Grimmyth. Before returning, she decided to visit a friend on the station's on-duty Grimlock medic. Through that friend, she learned about me, my contract ceremony outside of Grimmyth, and the fact that I was temporarily housed at the station to meet the city leaders.
Then, when her friend received my medical assistance request, she couldn't resist her curiosity as a researcher. She bribed her friend, who was supposed to respond, and came in their place instead.
However, when she found me greeting her in a loose bathrobe with nothing underneath, she displayed neither the professional ethics nor the patience of a medic, which made sense, since she was never one to begin with. Rather than conversing with her patient, she simply doused me with her ability and vanished in a hurry, putting a stain on the reputation of Grimlock medics.
"How do I know you are from the city's research institute and not some stalker disguised as one, planning to kidnap me and vent your insane sexual fetish and who knows what?" I asked, knowing that many people out there now saw me as a commodity. Though Crayon was not academically strong, he was quite a looker. That was why he could secure multiple gigs despite his lack of education and experience. I didn't want to take unnecessary risks knowing there was no bottom to the dark side of this Earth.
At my words, Mary's eyes widened as she blurted out in exaggerated disbelief, "Me, rape you? Have you lost your damn mind—"
I slammed the door shut, startled by her outburst. The action only fueled her anger. She began cursing loudly from the other side, hurling insults I would rather forget. As I summoned my Grim Web card to call for help, I noticed a grimmail notification blinking into existence. It was a grimmail sent from the official Skyox Grimmyth Research Institute account on Grim Web.
I had turned off my notification functions when banks and online creditors began spamming me with their various "lucrative" loan offers, all boasting their supposedly reasonable interest rates.
Back to the matter at hand, it turned out Mary was exactly who she claimed to be.
When I opened the door, Mary immediately braced herself, clearly assuming I had come out to retaliate. Instead, she froze when I stepped aside and invited her in.
"I'm sorry. It was a misunderstanding," I said. "I just read the mail from the institute. Please, come in."
"How do I know it was really a misunderstanding?" Mary shot back. "What if you were just buying time to set a trap in your room so you could capture me and rape me?" Her words made it clear how petty and vindictive she could be.
"How about this," I said, proposing a compromise. "I'll share my contract ceremony experience and the city leaders' thoughts on it with you. And we'll call it even." She was my liaison, after all, and I needed her cooperation if I wanted a peaceful stay at the city's research institute for as long as they would have me.
"Sure," Mary agreed without hesitation. She brushed past me and entered the room without waiting for another invitation, leaving behind a trail of a refreshing, woody fragrance. For a fleeting second, it felt as though I had stepped into the wild.
...
"So, you were simply in the right place at the right time, and there's nothing more to it," Mary said after finishing my G-book.
I nodded, seated at the far end of the couch from her, quietly awaiting her response. Her reaction was hardly surprising, and I accepted it as such. The meter and sensor readings were difficult to refute. Especially for a learned researcher like her. I bit the bullet and asked, "How was the G-book? What did you think?"
Mary immediately turned to meet my gaze. A small, playful grin formed on her lips before she replied, "Although it was short, it perfectly answered and satisfied the reader's curiosity about your contract ceremony outside of Grimmyth. It will certainly be a bigger hit than Norlin Lynn's G-book recounting her take on your ceremony. Even after the hype surrounding your contract ceremony fades, it should remain relevant and maintain decent sales. That said, without proper PR, it will be difficult for you to fully capitalize on the hype. However, I can help you with that."
"How exactly can you help?" I asked, careful not to agree to anything prematurely.
"How about featuring your G-book in our research institute's daily newsletter, podcasts, and other Grimmyth awareness programs?" Mary said with a wide grin. "That way, you can easily extract the most value from the hype."
I thought it over, and she was right. Most importantly, being featured in the Skyox Grimmyth Research Institute's newsletter would lend my G-book a sense of legitimacy. It would show people that I wasn't merely spouting nonsense the way Norlin Lynn had in her own G-book. The public was already tearing her work apart on social media, yet that didn't change the fact that she had still made a considerable fortune from it.
"So, what's this going to cost me?" I asked, fully aware that nothing came for free. Mary Lou would not be this enthusiastic about helping me unless there was something in it for her as well.
"Two things. First, you will donate twenty percent of your total earnings from your G-book sales to the Skyox Research Institute, instead of following the standard seventy–thirty revenue split. That way, you save tons of money and secure a substantial tax write-off. Second, in return for making all of this possible, I want to be the one to administer your gioncore card and gion circuit card creation. I want my name recorded in history as the person who helped you, the one who became a grimlock outside of Grimmyth, craft your gioncore card," Mary Lou stated, laying out her demands without beating around the bush.
Both conditions were not only reasonable but entirely agreeable, especially considering how much money and effort she would be saving me.
"All right. When do we begin?" I asked.
Mary nodded, clearly pleased. "Great. I'll make all the arrangements on that front by this evening. Now, let's discuss your move to the research institute's campus."
"Director Hawthorne has offered you a six-month internship bond with a decent stipend, along with on-campus housing and meals. In exchange, all you need to do is attend a few assemblies and social gatherings for our higher-ups and most generous donors. He believes that by then, the world will have lost interest in you, and you can return to your normal life," Mary explained.
I immediately understood why Director Hawthorne was being so considerate. He wanted to parade me in front of his superiors and patrons to secure more funding. I was nothing more than a prop for him to fuel his ambitions. Strangely, realizing this put me at ease about moving to the research institute.
"Simple, right?" Mary continued. "Is there anything you didn't understand, or anything you want to add? Speak now, because once you sign the bond, there's nothing I can do to help you."
"I want to know whether the bond requires me to participate in any research or experiments. I'm making this clear right now. I will not be your test subject," I asserted. It was better to be blunt now than regret it later.
"No. Your only obligation to the institute is to attend social events and entertain the guests," Mary explained patiently. "And by entertain, I mean converse with them and satisfy their curiosity about you. Nothing more, nothing less."
"I want to add clauses to the contract ensuring the confidentiality of my cypher card, as well as granting me unrestricted access to the institute's library, databases, and educational workshops," I stated firmly. This was one of the primary reasons I was moving to the research institute. The knowledge housed within the city's research institute was worth more to me than anything else it could offer, pertaining to the old proverb: give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.
"You want to study? Then who are we to stop you? Done. Anything else?" Mary Lou accepted my demands without the slightest pushback.
That caught me a little off guard, but it also made me view Mary and the city's research institute in a new light.
"Is there something else I should ask for? Did I miss anything?" I asked bluntly, hoping she would help me squeeze the most out of this deal. Normally, negotiations didn't unfold like this, but I was new to this world, and Crayon had very little exposure to how things worked here. All I could do was place my hopes in Mary's goodwill.
"Mmm. Technically, you aren't the same as a traditional intern the institute recruits with a five-year long bond, but you're still entitled to a joining package," Mary Lou said thoughtfully. "It's basically a collection of institute goodies, along with an Engram Enhancer card that sharpens one's memory. However, you'll need to request it before signing the contract." She finished with a knowing smile.
"I will also require the joining package," I said immediately.
"That's certainly possible, Mr. Wyatt. You seem well-informed about our internship program. If there's nothing else, shall we proceed with the signing?" Mary Lou asked as she shared the contract with my Grim Web card.