Succession

The cafeteria wasn't really the best place to talk so the trio finished eating in silence before returning to classes. Leon didn't have to concentrate too much, even without studying too much his notes were rarely under 90%.

That's why he had the luxury of being lost in his thoughts without too much stress. Serah and Maria, it was weird that there was even one person that wanted to play with him but now those two had nearly begged him to join their party. He realized that maybe his view of his surrounding had been a bit too dark until now.

Having someone relying on him made it easier for him to move on from his past. With the Guardian Angel System, he knew that his future was bright but having two new friends almost felt better for him.

' Bit early to call them friends... Especially Maria. Honestly, I don't think I am ready for a relationship like that.'

He just had too much going on at the moment. He didn't really have the mental power to add something else to the mix. The rest of the classes were just as uneventful but the lack of events is what made it weird. Just yesterday he caused Connor to fall face-first on the ground, a bully like him would never forgive Leon for that.

And yet, even after leaving school, Connor was nowhere to be seen. Leon certainly wasn't sad about that, he peacefully went to meet his two new teammates to the side of the school. Just as he turned around the corner he saw Maria and Serah looking straight into each other's eyes while holding hands.

The two of them had weirdly romantic smiles on their faces however the moment they noticed Leon they looked like deer caught in headlights. Leon wasn't much better off. Just a few moments ago he had been thinking of how he was going to reject Maria.

' Seems like I might have been a bit too confident in myself.'

He let out a nervous laugh, not sure what to say in this situation. The two girls were completely red and silent.

" So can you tell me why you are investing so much in a team? What do you have to gain from all of this?"

Leon forcefully came up with something. He tried to make it clear that he was planning on keeping quiet about their relationship however the two girls were still thinking of how to explain things.

" This is... You know..."

Maria was the one that managed to get out some words first but it didn't amount to much. Leon smiled at how nervous she was. Maybe she had faced some hardship related to this before, he could tell that she was afraid of his reaction.

" Don't worry, this won't change my decision. There is nothing wrong with being attracted to women, in fact, I can relate with you two very well on that point."

He tried to make a bad joke, unsure of what else to do. The two girls still didn't seem happy about the situation, as if something was off, but at least Maria managed to talk normally.

" This isn't exactly what you think this is... We will tell you at another time, for now, let's talk about Tales Eternal."

Serah seemed almost sad, she didn't have her usual energy and she didn't utter a single word so Maria was forced to take care of the talking.

"As Serah said, I am from a well-off family."

Maria clearly didn't like bragging, her voice was a bit quiet when she talked about her family.

" If I want my own part of the family's fortune I have to prove myself by creating a successful business. I am planning on making a small studio that will create a TV series from Tales Eternal and I wanted you to be part of the first group along with me and Serah. I know that you are a kind and courageous man, not to mention h-handsome. You are perfect to be the star of those movies."

Maria was shifting from one feet to the other while complimenting Leon, she had never once lifted her gaze from her shoes.

" It wasn't quite what I was expecting but I don't mind. If it's a job like this, I imagine you have a contract ready?"

The moment a contract was mentioned Maria seemed to gain a burst of confidence. She took out a stack of paper from her backpack before handing it to Leon.

" Of course. As a signing bonus, you will receive 5,000 dollars. Your next payment is going to be after we release our first episode. 40% of the profit generated by each episode will be distributed among the actors equally.

For now, I will not count myself as an actor so you would receive 13.3% of the profit if we bring in a fourth person.

Another 20% of the profit will go towards advertising, another 20% for the rest of the employees working on each episode, this leaves me with roughly 20% of the profit. Even if I don't make any profit from it you will still receive a minimum payment of 2,000 dollars per episode.

This means that you are guaranteed a weekly salary of 2,000 dollars as long as you continue providing us with entertaining content. I have the right to refuse any content you provide me with, this means that I decide when we part ways."

Leon stared at the lady with wide eyes. It almost sounded like she said everything in a single breath. He had a feeling he would never get used to this contrast in her personality.

" The investment that Serah mentioned earlier is part of the cost for creating a TV series so it will count as a business expense, cutting into all of our salaries. You can choose any number of items and as long as it is under 10,000 dollars in total I will buy them for you. Feel free to read the contract before signing it."

Leon quickly looked at the small stack of paper, he didn't find anything weird in it. It basically explained everything that Maria told him more formally, it also included what would count as an expense for each episode so there wouldn't be any weird shenanigans with that either.

There were only three requirements for him. First, he would need to provide her with the entirety of his gameplay recording without cutting anything from it however he still had the right to decide if he wanted certain parts out of the show.

Maria would have the commercial rights over all of his game recordings, this meant that Leon couldn't sell his content to another company without her permission.

Second, he was expected to play Tales Eternal at least 30 hours a week and lastly if both the director and Maria agreed on a decision that would make the tale more entertaining he would have to listen to their instruction.

If he failed to meet those three requirements he might be denied his part of the profit for the next episode. It seemed like this was a contract with no special treatment for Leon. It was fair but restrictive at the same time.

' It is technically a job so I can't complain.'

" The contract is only valid for a single year. I have no reason to refuse but I have one question. How is the loot in the game shared?"

Maria gave him a professional smile.

" Each group is free to choose how to distribute items. I wish for the story to be as genuine as possible so I don't want to create any in-game restrictions. The clause that forces you to listen to my instructions was suggested by my lawyer but at the moment I have no plan to use it."

Leon wasn't so sure about that decision. Bad loot distribution could make or break a group, resentment would cause discord which in turn could cause a betrayal.

'... Thinking about it, it could be a pretty good end for a series. She must have thought about that.'

He wasn't the owner and he wasn't a businessman so he couldn't really tell if it was a good or a bad idea.

" I see, I do agree with you but my question was about our group in general. We are going to play together from now on so I need to think about this before signing."

Leon could see Maria's face change in real-time. She went from a confident businesswoman to a red tomato in less than three seconds.

" That is... Together, yeah. We take what we need and we will give you everything else?"

Leon shook his head, this new boss of his wasn't very reliable.

" We each take what we need, if two people both have a use for the same item we simply roll for it. The one that rolls the highest win the item. Anything else that nobody need will be sold and the money will be evenly split. Do you guys have any objection?"

Leon looked at Serah who still had a blank look. It seemed like her world had been shattered, she barely managed to shake her head in response. Maria also shook her head to answer, after which Leon decided to sign the contract.