Negotiating

"Now, that's enough pleasantries. What exactly does our fourth prince want to know?"

"I want to make a deal" Ezra replied.

Bard's eyes glinted as he raised his eyebrow and said…

"If you want to ask for a favor, that's all right, but a deal can only be made when two people have an item the other needs. Tell me, what is it that you have that I might need?"

"That's true, let's see, what could I possibly have that you might need. I don't know, hmm…maybe a never before seen alchemy formula?"

Bard inwardly sneered at what he thought to be a child's prank as he replied with a tone laced with ridicule…

"Oh really, and what does your 'never before seen formula' do?"

"Hmm, you don't seem to believe me, do you? Well, I wouldn't have believed myself either, so instead, just give me paper and a mana pen. You'll be begging me soon enough"

Bard briefly felt that maybe he was actually telling the truth, but he quickly wiped away such ridiculous thoughts. Even he, a bona fide master, hadn't created one yet. He had only been able to modify those that already existed.

He was certainly close to doing so, but that was it, close. And now, a five year old boy said that he had already done it? There might not be a bigger joke than this one.

So, without hesitation, he handed a pen and some brown paper to Ezra, who immediately began scribbling. After four minutes…

"Here"

…he handed it to Bard, before crossing his hands and looking on as the Head of Alchemists turned the page as if looking for something.

Bard immediately took out a book, an encyclopedia of sorts. It was a book filled with diagrams of plants and animals he had researched over the years.

With renewed fervor, he began flipping the pages from to left to right and right to left, occasionally stopping at some pages as he let his finger follow the writing while he muttered and ruminated on different things before cross checking Ezra's note.

The culprit, Ezra, had gotten himself comfortable on a recliner at the wall side as he watched Bard occasionally scratch his head with a bewildered expression, which bordered the line of madness.

After ten whole minutes, Bard clasped the book shut and took a seat on a stool nearby to calm his nerves. There were beads of sweat all over his face.

The next moment, he turned his gaze to Ezra, but unlike before, his eyes shone with greed like he had found a unique treasure.

A moment later, he was in front of Ezra with his hair now disheveled and his face holding a mad grin as he directly grabbed Ezra and shook him as he asked…

"Where is the rest of it?"

Yet, Ezra seemingly paid him no mind as he said…

"Mr. Bard, I am a prince of the Empire.It would do you no good if something happened to me.  So, I suggest you control yourself, before doing something that put your career to a stop"

With such words, Bard regained a sense of clarity as he removed his grip, tidied his hair, and regained his former demeanor.

"I am sorry the prince saw such a disgraceful side of me, I humbly ask for forgiveness"

But he got an unexpected response.

"It seems Mr. Bard has misunderstood my intentions. I am not angry at all, as I believe any other alchemist would've done the same, if not worse. I am glad that even in the face of such temptation you are able to control yourself, is that clear?"

"Yes, your highness"

"Now, what about what I said before about making a deal. Do you think I have something someone such as you might need?"

"Without a doubt" Bard replied.

"Good, but first, I want to ask, do you know why I came here instead of going to the vice head, or maybe an elder alchemist? Surely, you must know that I would have been successful with any of them, don't you?"

For the first time, Bard wondered if he was really speaking with a child. Nevertheless, he quickly gave a reply, after all, he could do nothing if Ezra decided to go somewhere else.

"Because I'm the head alchemist. I have more resources, more connections and, if do I say so myself, far more authority than any of those you just mentioned"

Ezra nodded as he said…

"It's good that you know your worth, but here's another question, what do you think I, a prince of the empire, need from you? Because, like you said, deals can only be made when you have something the other party needs. And, oh yes, I do remember a rumor about something between you and your vice"

Bard furrowed his brows as he replied…

"I do not know what your highness needs, only you know. As for the other question, as you said, they are but rumors, no more"

Ezra cracked a smile, this guy was good. The first question had been targeted as triggering his greed.

What Ezra said meant "bring out something of equal worth to an alchemy formula" and there was no way a head alchemist wouldn't have treasures even Ezra would get greedy for. Yet, he simply said "I don't know what you want, you have to tell me what it is".

This made sure that he didn't reveal a treasure unknown to Ezra and, at the same time, judged if Ezra actually knew the value of the formula, covered up any weaknesses Ezra might exploit to get the upper hand in the negotiation.

But Ezra had certainly done his investigation. So, he just stood up and said…

"Is that so? I guess the vice head won't mind helping me then"

…before heading for the door.

"Wait!" Bard, who stood expressionless before, quickly arrived in front of him as he continued,...

"You don't have to be so hasty. Why don't you sit down and let us talk this out like gentlemen?"

"There's nothing more to discuss. I'm sure the vice also has connections, resources and authority second only to you, am I right?"

At this point, Bard's expression had taken a nosedive. His poker face had completely crumbled as he clenched his fists hard and said…

"Just tell me what it is you want and I'm sure we can work out a deal"

Ezra looked at him from head to toe before clicking his lips…

"Tch, tch, you still don't get it, do you? I'm the one with the reins in this negotiation, so show me items worth my time or I'm going to meet the vice, and I'm sure he'll be a lot more welcoming. So what will it be? You have thirty seconds to decide"

At this moment, Bard knew he had completely lost in this negotiation. The best thing he could do would be to bring out items and hope Ezra wouldn't be able to distinguish trash from treasure.

"All right, I get it. Just sit there while I get my items out"

Within minutes, a flurry of items were neatly arranged on the floor as Ezra looked at Bard. He had already understood the current farce, yet, he didn't object to it because the man would have never imagined that Ezra had an ability called Mana Vision. Instead, he laid out the rules-

"Make sure to bring out all your items. I'll be picking only ten, with the condition that you'll have to do ten things for me"

Bard could only nod, because, like Ezra said, the vice head was currently trying to take away his position on account that he hadn't created any new formulas in the last ten years.

What he didn't know was that Ezra wasn't as knowledgeable as he seemed.

He knew that something was going on between the head and the vice head, but he didn't know exactly what it was. It was Bard's reaction that gave him away unknowingly.

But there was no use crying over spilled milk now, was there? He could only empty all his cupboards and place every item on the floor for Ezra to pick, not forgetting to clean everything till they were all shining so as to confuse Ezra even more.

But, at the end of this day, he would find himself feeling very depressed despite having gained the formula he was so much in need of.

Once he was done, he moved to the side, before pulling out a shining gold scroll, an item Ezra recognized even without mana vision. It was a soul scroll, one of Gold-rank. Bard scribbled on it, before hastily handing it to Ezra, who looked surprised and said…

"I'm surprised that you would bring a scroll of such quality for our deal"

"I'm only showing the sincerity I should have shown from the start" Bard replied.

Ezra only nodded, before taking the Gold scroll and slowly reading through its contents. He was surprised to find no sign of Bard trying to outsmart him. The written text was crystal clear and he even went to the extent of writing that severe torture of the soul would be applied to the party that breached the contract.

It baffled Ezra at first, but he realized something. Bard was more desperate for the formula than he let show. And so, he hastily wrote the contract before Ezra could change his mind once again.

Too bad for him as Ezra saw right through his ruse and changed it from ten conditions to fifteen conditions. And, as he thought, Bard was desperate, because he could only grit his teeth and sign.

Ezra briefly thought of increasing it once more, but he didn't want to test his luck. Pushing a man against the wall would have more counterproductive effects than productive ones. So he signed it and the contract turned into particles, binding both souls.

For the next few minutes, both parties stood unmoving as they digested the reality of what had just taken place. And, without Bard saying anything, Ezra took the paper where he wrote the first half of the formula and hastily scribbled the remaining half onto it, before handing it back to Bard.

As for whether Bard would leak the events that just transpired? There was no possibility of such, because he had included that neither he nor Ezra could tell another soul about today's event and that Ezra could never share the formula with another soul.

After all, Bard intended to make himself the known creator of the formula. What would happen if one day it was discovered that it was a lie? His reputation being buried in the ground would be the least of his problems.

This also meant Ezra could never attribute himself as the creator of the formula, but in truth, he never was. He learned it in the Empire where he was later betrayed.

He considered it to be a small part of his revenge.

Now that it was done, It was time to reap the gains.