Arc 2 - Chapter 5: Trade (1/3)

"Miste~r Larren, right? Yes, yes, Mr. Larren. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Ryuta Yong, very pleased to meet you." said the clown, waving his right hand as he spoke, his left hand in his pocket since he entered the room.

Patrick Larren was the president of the Sea Monsters, the least successful of all the teams in the games played in the arena.

Trying to understand the purpose of the man who spoke strangely, Patrick at first thought he had come to be a mascot. The man, who introduced himself as Ryuta Yong, wore a funny suit, half yellow and half blue. His face and hand were as white as snow. Ryuta Yong's hair and lips were purple like his eyes.

Yet the first thing anyone seeing this remarkable man would think was that he was a clown, so someone like him could only be here to be a mascot.

But making him a mascot would have been a mistake, because Ryuta Yong was one of those clowns that children would be afraid of. Even if he was a mascot, instead of entertaining people, he would make people shudder, especially children cry.

"We don't have to stand, we can sit, it's okay."

The clown spoke quickly while smiling slyly. Without asking permission, he sprawled out on the couch as if the office belonged to him, his violet eyes never leaving Larren's for a moment.

"Why are you here for?" The only impression Ryuta was giving Larren at the moment was that he was uncanny.

"Why did I come for? I came to tell you that I have a business proposition that will benefit both of us."

In his daily life, he was careful about how he dressed and especially how he spoke, as he was careful to make a good impression on people. It was a nightmare for him to have such an awkward way of speaking, but now he was speaking freely and he liked it.

"Please don't waste my time." Patrick tensed every second Ryuta looked into his eyes.

"Why~ so ru~de..." Ryuta pursed his lips and lowered his voice to show his sorrow. "You're being rude by judging me based on my appearance while I'm being polite to you. You broke my hea~rt."

Patrick averted his eyes, unable to withstand Ryuta's gaze, but then re-established eye contact, thinking that the gesture made him look weak. Ryuta chuckled.

"Believe me, I'm a respectable businessman with a very good future for both of us."

"I've never heard of a businessman named Ryuta, and I know the bourgeois society in Rolderhelm."

"Well, well... I'll take it as a compliment that you've never heard of me."

Ryuta chuckled lightly and Patrick was already beginning to think he was part of a bad organization, things were going Ryuta's way.

"Since I am a fair and honest businessman, I will be completely open with you." As Ryuta spoke, he opened the palm of his right hand towards Patrick as if to show that he wasn't hiding anything. "I want your team to be the champion."

The Sea Monsters were clearly the worst team in the arena.

They had terrible performances in the spring and summer seasons, finishing last in the league in both seasons. On top of that, a couple of scandals involving the players had caused a large part of their own fan base to stop supporting them.

The fans who donated to the teams were important, and without them they were struggling to pay the salaries of the team's staff.

The Principality had set a prize of six hundred gold coins for the tournament in honor of Rolderhelm's centenary. The third prize was two hundred gold pieces, and third place would have kept the team going for a while.

But even third place didn't seems possible for the Sea Monsters, which had twice finished last in the league.

"What do you mean?"

Patrick didn't know what to say, or even what to feel. He wanted to kick him out, but he also wanted to hear what he had to say.

"Like I said, I want the Sea Monsters to be champions. I told you I'm an honest and fair businessman, right? So I'll explain to you why I want that too." Patrick was distracted by Ryuta's finger gestures as he spoke. "As you will agree, trade should benefit both sides. You obviously stand to gain from the championship, and I stand to gain from this."

"We don't need to cheat-" Ryuta put his finger close enough to Patrick's lip to feel his breath and silenced him.

"Ssh... Nck, nck... It's ru~de, let's not try to deceive each other with lie~s."

Patrick swallowed his words and gulped when Ryuta suddenly turned serious and squinted his eyes. Patrick had developed a complex because he was a physically weak man and once he was pushed, he accepted the dominance of the other side.

"I will deal with the jury and the referees and make them work in your favor, and in return you will give me two hundred gold prize."

Ryuta, who had stopped mincing words, seemed more evil in Patrick's eyes. Maybe he wasn't even human.

"Why? You could have gone to other teams."

If he wanted a share of the prize, there were seven teams with a better chance of winning than the Sea Monsters. It would have made more sense for him to sign with one of them.

"I cou~ld have, but I didn't, because the two hundred gold coins I'm going to get from you is just a small reward for my efforts. My main source of income will be the be~ts."

"Uh..."

Patrick understood now. Since the Sea Monsters were the team with the least chance of winning, few people put their money on the team, but in return, if the team won, the bookmakers' profits would increase.

Ryuta could have won hundreds, maybe thousands of gold coins on the bet. Two hundred gold coins should have been a pittance compared to his potential earnings.

So why did he want it? Patrick couldn't understand, and Ryuta wasn't going to give him a chance to think about it.

"If your tea~m finishes last in this tournament, you will be out of a job, the team will be disbanded, and you will basically be bankrupt. You know you'd be a fool to refuse the chance I'm handing you on a go~lden platter." Ryuta resumed his strange and cheerful speech.

"If people hear this..."

Even if they were champions, they would still go down when it got out, and it would be a black mark on their name in history.

"I guarantee that if you honor our agreement, it won't get out, and if you don't, the fact that it will get out is the least of your worries."

Patrick immediately understood the threat, it was no surprise that when he was involved in illegal activities he had no security.

"How will you convince the jury and the refurees?"

"That's pa~rt of my job, you don't have to worry about that."

"I, I don't know." Patrick wanted to take the deal, but he still had doubts. "How can you guarantee it won't be overheard?" His weak voice showed that he was ready to give in.

"This way," Ryuta said. He took his left hand out of his pocket, holding a black glove. In the palm of Ryuta's hand was a white orb of light. "We will make our deal with magic, and if either side betrays the other, the deal is that the traitor's soul will be shattered. That person will neither go to heaven nor be reborn; he will be lost forever."

Patrick was not familiar with magic, but he had heard stories from his childhood about people who made pacts with evil wizards and broke them.

Now he was in front of a real wizard, and before his eyes was a concept called magic that he did not understand.

Still, he knew he had to accept the offer. He would accept the offer of the clown, Ryuta Yong.

"I will honor our agreement," he said.

"Give me your hand," Ryuta said, extending his own left hand.

When Patrick held out his hand, their palms touched and the white orb of light disappeared.