Chapter 62: "The Godfather's Offer"

I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse. I'm prepared to offer him an offer he can't possibly refuse."

-- The Godfather

In his previous life, Draco had fantasized about being able to fulfill the conditions of this classic line. For example, after entering the business world, he would be able to shake the world and have already grasped his opponent's bottom line at the negotiation table. Then, he would propose a contract that would force his opponent to submit. Or, after confessing to the girl he liked, he would have worked hard to become the ideal type in her heart and win her over. Of course, these were all just fantasies that were not worth mentioning.

But he would never have thought that he would be able to use this classic line today. Moreover, the target was not a business elite or a goddess in his heart, but a disgusting fairy.

"I can offer you an offer you can't possibly refuse," he said.

"Impossible. A fairy's reputation will not be shaken by a few gold coins."

This was a gloomy room. The intense humidity made it uncomfortable to breathe. A shabby wooden table was placed in the middle of the room. The corners and legs of the table were filled with fine cracks, and on top of it were a few empty wine bottles and a plate of not-so-exquisite desserts.

If someone were to push open the door and enter, the first thing they would see would be a pale-blonde-haired youth sitting on the left side of the table, carrying an unremarkable leather bag. If one were to look carefully, they would see that there was a "person" sitting on the stool opposite the youth.

If this person had some knowledge, they would be able to recognize that this short, ugly-looking "person" with protruding ears and nose was a creature called a fairy.

The fairy continued. "Young master Draco, for you to condescend to work at Gringotts this year, all of our employees are happy for you. However, what you are doing now is no different from committing a crime. Even if you are still underage, I believe that your father would not be willing to see his proud son violate the laws of the Magus World."

The fairy paused for a moment before adding, "I believe that with the Draco family's wealth and your father's love for you, there is almost nothing that you cannot obtain now. Why bother coveting the wealth of others? If you leave now, I can still treat it as if nothing happened."

"Oh, Mr. Ring, a fairy's reputation? You seem to be able to say such things so naturally," Draco feigned surprise as he looked at the fairy named Tab. "But I saw that you weren't so clean in my father's account book."

"He clearly burned those things in front of me!" Tab looked like a stray cat whose tail had been stepped on. The muscles on her face contorted even more, almost covering her already large eyes. There was an indescribable ugliness to her.

"Looks like there really is one," Draco said as he rubbed his chin and looked at the angry Tab with a mocking smile.

"What are you trying to do?" Tab's imposing manner immediately weakened, and the honorifics in his tone were replaced with "you". This meant that he no longer wanted to feign civility. If the Ring Tab from before was trying to please him on the surface, he had no intention of respecting him at all. Now that he had been disrupted, he viewed the boy in front of him as someone worth looking up to.

"I've already said, this is only a transaction. I will give you a condition that you can't refuse," Draco said.

"Oh?" Tab couldn't help but be curious. As an employee of a bank, and a monopolized bank at that, there was no need to talk about the treatment of employees. Furthermore, he had many ways to obtain grey income. Thus, to him, the more gold coins he had, the better. It wasn't a crucial factor that would force him to take risks. Taking unconventional means was fine, but if he crossed the bottom line, he wouldn't be tolerated. If he was discovered, he would probably be fired and lose a ticket to Azkaban.

But because of this, Tab was looking forward to the source of Draco's confidence. He wanted to know what conditions this youth could offer that would make him submit.

"I think you can inspect the goods first," Draco said as he took down the leather bag that was slung across his body and pushed it onto the table, placing it in front of Tab.

To be honest, Tab thought that he had worked in Gringotts for many years and had seen countless wealth and precious magical materials that would make one's heart palpitate. After all, even the Philosopher's Stone was once stored here. He originally thought that he wouldn't lose his composure for any items. But when he opened the leather bag, he couldn't help but hold his breath.

This was Gryffindor's treasured sword!

His red eyes suddenly flashed with a flame that symbolized greed. If he could, Tab wanted to knock the boy in front of him unconscious and take back the priceless treasure left behind by the Fairy's master blacksmith.

The Fairy's silverware could spontaneously repel dust, so even if it hadn't been polished for many years, the treasured sword was still as clean as new, shining with a silver light, as if it was just forged a hundred years ago. The sword hilt was engraved with strange patterns, and at the top was an incomparably large ruby.

The entire dark room suddenly brightened as if it had opened a pair of eyes when the treasured sword was fully drawn. Tab tried to calm down, but he looked agitated. Before he could speak, Draco interrupted him.

"Despicable human Magi," Draco said with a look of contempt. "This treasured sword was obviously rented to you by our ancestors, but you shamelessly took it for yourself. It's time to return it to its rightful owner."

Draco quickly snatched the sword from Tab's hand and put it back in the bag. Tab didn't even have time to react. Then Draco added, "The current Magus society is still dominated by humans. I don't want to admit to the ridiculous 'rental' of the Fairies."

"Can the affairs of scholars be called stealing?" Tab asked. "Can the business of Fairies be sold?"

Tab was left speechless after the treasured sword in his hand was snatched away and he was preemptively attacked.

This made Tab's face turn red with anger. It wasn't because of shame for their tribe's strange customs, but rather, it was a red that symbolized anger. Most of the time, anger comes from feeling helpless to change the current situation.

There was an indescribable silence. After a moment, Tab spoke with a hoarse voice that sounded like a rusty saw cutting through rotten wood with difficulty.

"Fine, what do you want? Whose wealth do you fancy? I can help you cover it up, but you have to be prepared to be found out. I'll share the risk of going to Azkaban with you."

At this moment, Tab had surprisingly calmed down and began to ask for the conditions. In order to get the treasured sword back, he chose to compromise. This was a condition he couldn't refuse.

It wasn't that Tab didn't want to take the treasured sword by force, but before that, he had to weigh his own strength. Years of office life had reduced his combat ability to a low level, and he didn't have the confidence to take the sword by force.

Tab looked at Draco , who was now speaking humbly. Draco laughed again.

"Who told you that I'm interested in those vulgar worldly possessions?" Draco said, staring into Tab's eyes. "My goal … is revenge!"