Ch 10: The Meeting

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Felix's POV

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It has been a week now, and the Summer Vacations finally started.

The whole week I just used 'Compel' on Rolo to train him. By the end of the week, he was potty-trained and knew how to respond to commands like, roll, sit, stand, handshake, etc.

Needless to say, Mom and Melena were very impressed and thought that Rolo was just exceptionally intelligent.

Of course, that was just on the surface. I had already made Rolo memorize every 'friendly' person and made it so that he would bite any stranger when given the command 'attack'. Right now, he was just a puppy, but later on he would become a fearsome watchdog for my family.

I had also subtly instilled loyalty to my family in the neighborhood guards and the guys in the policemen that often patrol around my neighborhood.

My Mana pool had also increased by about 6 times because of this and I could use 'Compel' a few times without passing out. As my Mana pool increased, my Mana-regen also became a tiny bit more efficient, creating a positive cycle.

But the downside was that the calorie bars had a quarter of it depleted by this point. The consumption of 'normal food' was just too much.

Mom and Dad had also brought Melena and me to the toy store. I had bought all kinds of toy weapons from the shop to train in the name of playing fantasy. Dad had already commissioned some wood workers to create training weapons of all kinds for me. The toy weapons were just a front so that Dad could have an excuse to give me those weapons later on.

As for Melena, she didn't know what to decide. In the end Mom bought all the toys she deemed were of good quality for her.

I couldn't train Melena right now as it would take at least 2-3 weeks for her ribs to fully heal. Though the good thing was that her bruises were non-existent at this point.

And most importantly, Aunty Martha just had her surgery and thankfully it was successful. We were given a specific time to visit her by her husband and we were doing just that.

We maneuvered through the hallways and finally arrived at her private ward.

Mr. Ranford greeted us at the door amiably and we walked into the room.

"Hello guys, I'm sorry I can't move to greet you all properly."

Aunty Martha greeted us in a croaky voice.

"Don't fuss about it Martha and stop talking. You just had a surgery on your neck. "

Mr. Ranford also nodded at Mom's reprimand.

Aunty Martha just puckered her lips in response. She was in her patient's gown. Her neck had a pretty complicated looking support collar on it and she had an IV drip attached to her.

"Harry, how's she doing?"

Dad asked from the side.

"Thanks to the surgeon you referred to us, her surgery was very successful. Even the incisions that were made were absolutely minimal. The doctors said she'll completely recover in a month, give or take. I can't thank you all enough for supporting us."

"Hey, how long have we known each other now? Eleven years? And you still have the gal to thank us for such a small thing. Anyway, how's little Irene doing?"

Dad just patted Mr. Ranford's shoulder and spoke heartily.

"She is still with her grandparents and will come back after a week."

"That's probably for the best. "

And so the adults discussed.

Aunty Martha beckoned me with her hand that didn't have the IV drip attached, and I came over to her. She ruffled my hair and had a warm smile on her face. She beckoned me to come even closer and when I did so, she whispered to me…

"Jenna told me about your little love quarrel with Irene. If she agrees, then I will send her to your home to be homeschooled together. *Wink*"

My gaze shot towards Mom, eyes threatening to pop out.

'I wanted to get homeschooled to escape the kids in the school. Now I have to deal with the biggest 'kid' in the whole school.'

As if reading me like a book, Mom just mischievously smirked at me.

Melena stood at the side and wondered what happened.

The visit came to an end. We gave them gifts and wished her a safe recovery.

After we all sat back in the car and fastened our belts, Mom threw another jab at me.

"Hohoho~ Now the lovebirds will be together again~"

Melena's eyes shot open. She looked at Mom and then at me.

Mom seems to have noticed that too, as she put a hand on her mouth and laughed.

I had a headache coming over. I wasn't an idiot. I knew what was going in Melena's and Irene's minds, just couldn't be bothered with it. They were just kids, and it was all just possessiveness in the end.

"Alright now, Jenna, don't tease the kids too much~"

Thankfully, Dad intervened and ended the little drama. He knew who I was inside and knew I'd be disgusted at the notion.

We safely went back home and had dinner. After dinner, Dad called me out to the side.

"We'll be having a meeting with the surrogates tomorrow. How sure are you about your powers? Do you need more time?"

" How many will there be? "

"Four of them. "

"Hmm, I won't have much leeway, but it can be done. "

" Alright, go back to sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be a big day. "

I nodded and went back to my room.

On the way, I felt a gaze on me. I turned back and saw Melena staring at me. She quickly averted her gaze and pretended to do something else.

'Well, at least she has become proactive enough to pretend…she's heading in a good direction to recovery, I guess.'

I shrugged and left for my room.

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"Ah~ My baby boy looks so handsome~ It's probably because of my genes,"

Mom chirped, and Melena also nodded from the side.

Mom was helping me dress up. I was wearing a satin gray waistcoat and trousers on top of a white shirt and a black bowtie. I had shiny black shoes as my footwear.

I looked like those child models who get photographed pretending to be businessmen. I always found those photos quite creepy.

(A/N: I'm a guy who wears a Metallica shirt and a random short, and calls it a day. Don't look for me for fashion advice. I don't know jack shit about it.)

Dad told her that he wants to introduce me to his friends at a formal men's party. Mom bought it and helped me dress up for the occasion.

After getting ready, Dad and I got in the car and drove away. The meeting was in a high-end restaurant's private room.

We parked the car and got out.

"Are you ready, son?"

"Eveready."

"Hahaha, that's what I like to hear."

We entered the restaurant and had a waitress lead us to our room.

As we entered the room, we heard hearty but fake laughter.

There were four men in suits sharing pleasantries with each other.

Through my talent, I sensed that they reeked of deception and slyness. Though I didn't need my talent for that, as a former merchant guild member, dealing with these kinds of people was everyday business for me. I didn't change my expressions and greeted them with my dad.

"Richard! You're finally here! Who's this young man?"

"Haha, greetings everyone! This is my son. I thought I should teach him the ways of the world, so I brought him here."

"*Sigh* If only my son was that filial… "

"Yeah, right, right."

They showered us with fake compliments as we took our seats. Looking at them, they seemed a bit pissed that Dad had brought a kid with him.

Dad introduced them to me. One of the guys, Ronald Dorman, was a higher-up in special forces and the rest were politicians.

I wanted to get this over with, so I started to subtly use 'compel' on them.

'You think that Richard and his family are innocent and should be out of this business after getting your information. Then you can get all the credit for this operation.'

I had learned through trial and error that subtly 'Compelling' by adding their own motives to the mix works best or at least most Mana-efficiently. Then when I'm satisfied with their mind set, I can hammer in a hard 'Compel' on them.

And so the pleasantries continued for a few minutes. Their mindsets were also slowly changing as they talked.

The pleasantries ended, and they got to the main topic at hand. Dad took out a stack of files from his briefcase and handed it to them. It had all the information I had memories of in an orderly form.

After reading the files, their mindsets finally fell into my rhythm. Their goals were aligned with my initial 'Compel' and their mental guards loosened. They became extremely vulnerable to my final attack.

'You will do anything in your power to leave the Hudson Household anonymous. You will feel indebted and loyal to the Hudson Household. You will never question how we got this information. '

I had taken out all my mana for the final attack. I felt dizzy, but I carried on. The men's eyes glazed over for a bit, then became normal again.

"Haha, Brother Richard, you have done a massive favor on us. We always wanted that bastard Anthony to be put down from his mayor's pedestal. Now with this information, we can finally make plans to do it and put down that vile man! Don't worry, we know you are from a normal family and wouldn't want to be in the crossfire. I swear I'll only charge in this operation after all data connected to you is wiped. That is my promise!"

"Yeah, mine too. "

" You can count on me for that, too."

"Haha, gentlemen, I'm touched by your consideration for my family. Here, Cheers for your success!"

"Haha, well said! Cheers! "

"Cheers!"X3

I was feeling dizzy, but I still concentrated on their conversation. I honestly wanted to forget what I heard, curse this memory of mine. They just pulled out an anime style compassionate speech out of nowhere.

'This 'Compel' was scarier than I thought.'

The sappy atmosphere of the room was making me even more dizzy. Luckily, the food started to come in after one of the men pushed a button on the wall.

I ate to my heart's content, feeling a bit better. Their initial contempt for me changed into affection, which gave me the chills.

After some time, the meeting finally ended. We made our way to the car and sat down.

"Son, are you alright?"

"Dad, please bring the calorie bars from the back."

"Alright son."

After eating my fill, I finally felt alive. I had exerted myself way beyond my limit this time. I could feel my Mana pool expanding quite a bit and my mana being at least 20 times higher than when I initially regressed.

I was lucky this time. This type of exertion can be fatal if one's not careful. I didn't wanna gamble my life ever again.

"Son, you did great. I'm proud of you!"

I gave him a smirk and then closed my eyes. Before I fell asleep, I spoke with my eyes still closed.

"Dad, the employee brainwashing plan might be doable now."

"Just sleep for now, son. We'll talk about it later,"

I nodded and entered the dreamlands.

(A/N: Thank You all for reading this chapter!!! )