Negotiations : Breakdown

"This is completely unacceptable! You know damn well that Vampire wench belongs to the Perseus Community! How can you allow her to transfer into the possession of another member of Thousand Eyes!?"

A stark contrast to how she behaved in front of Vahn, Shiroyasha was currently seated properly with a serious expression on her face. In reality, she was doing everything in her power to avoid laughing out loud, as, due to the mysterious energy possessed by Vahn, there was a massive bald spot on the side of Laius's head. He was an extremely vain and hedonistic man so it was beyond hilarious to see such a prideful individual flaring up like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

"The Sage Dragon's Hearth is a part of Thousand Eyes. This can't be denied. However, you seem to be forgetting that we are a Trade Community. We don't interfere in the private affairs of our affiliate Communities unless the matter is directly related to a business transaction. Don't expect us to clean up your mess."

"Bullshit! Don't think I don't know you had something to do with Leticia's escape! How else would she get the idea to burn her Divinity in order to break her contract!?"

Shaking her head, Shiroyasha's expression remained unperturbed as she stated, "If your argument was grounded in reality, I wouldn't be sitting here in front of you. Even if the terms of my contract haven't been made public, even children know I'm unable to intervene in matters unrelated to the preservation of the East Side. Only an idiot would think to accuse me of coordinating with Demon Lords to offer one of my former colleagues as a prize in a Gift Game. Use your head, brat."

Gritting his teeth, Laius reached for the pendant around his neck with a fierce look on his face. This caused Shiroyasha to tense slightly, but, at the same time, she was internally daring him to try and do something. If he violated the Laws of the Little Garden and dared to attack her, she would erase him without a thought.

Unfortunately, Laius was many things but suicidal wasn't one of them. He was confident he could destroy Shiroyasha's store, but, in exchange, he would undoubtedly lose his life. There was nothing he valued more than his own existence, so, after squeezing the pendant tightly for several seconds, he reluctantly released it before saying, "As a senior affiliate of Thousand Eyes, I'm using my right to demand arbitration from a Manager. The Pure-Blooded Vampire, Leticia, was legally obtained by my Community after she rampaged three years ago. Now that she had fallen into the hands of another affiliate, we demand an investigation be conducted and proper compensation meted out."

Though she had already seen this coming, Shiroyasha's couldn't help glowering as she asked, "Oh? What, exactly, did you have in mind?"

Touching the side of his head, Laius's expression darkened as he said, "I was originally intending to settle this matter peacefully. Now that the Leader of the Sage Dragon's Hearth has dared to attack me, I demand his Community be expelled from Thousand Eyes and reparations be paid for the pain and suffering he has caused."

Under normal circumstances, Shiroyasha would have been extremely annoyed by Laius's behavior. Even if she listened to his demands and tried to arbitrate the matter, someone as vain and petty as him would only be satisfied when the other party was stripped of everything. After all, in his mind, there was nothing of equivalent value to his own pride and ego.

Unfortunately for Laius, the person he had set his sights on was Vahn. He might be able to pressure others using the tremendous wealth, manpower, and resources he had inherited, but, against Vahn, such things were meaningless. His power wasn't derived from a story, myth, or established concept. He didn't require someone else's authority to wield tremendous power. Instead, he was an anomaly that served as the guarantor of his own strength. Thus, so long as he was outside the 3-Digit Gates, he was practically invincible.

Unable to contain herself, a mischievous grin spread across Shiroyasha's face as she said, "You're in over your head. Out of respect for your father, I will offer you a bit of advice. Let this matter lay. The person you are antagonizing is so far beyond you that you can never hope to defeat him."

"You bitch...!"

Though he knew better than to throw it directly at Shiroyasha, that didn't stop Laius from throwing his teacup past her head, smashing into the wall behind her. He got the distinct impression she was baiting him, but, confident in his Community's ability to crush anyone beneath the 5-Digit Gates, he wasn't going to back down. His father, the legendary Perseus, had left him numerous treasures that would turn heads even in lower-digit Gates. Thus, while he wasn't foolish enough to battle a Pure-Blooded Dragon directly, he was confident in his ability to win in a Gift Game.

As that thought crossed his mind, a sadistic smile developed across Laius's face as he said, "Very well. If you believe this matter cannot be settled through arbitration, we'll do it the old-fashioned way. As an established Community, the Sage Dragon's Hearth must have a Game of Challenge. To avoid an all-out war, we will both send people to clear the other's Gift Game. The first to emerge victoriously will gain ownership of the participating group's members. I believe this is within the scope of the Thousand Eyes Community's rules, is it not?"

Angering Laius further, Shiroyasha exhaled a tired sigh before shaking her head and saying, "Don't say I didn't warn you..."

Clicking his tongue, Laius rose to his feet and said, "One week. If the Sage Dragon's Hearth refuses to accept our terms, the Perseus Community will have no choice but to declare war on them. Also, once this matter has been settled...consider our cooperation over with..."

Despite Shiroyasha's words, Laius believed, without a shadow of a doubt, she had something to do with Leticia's escape. There were too many coincidences for it to be mere happenstance. The most notable among these was the fact that she didn't interfere despite the fact Leticia had illegally fallen into the hands of a Community affiliated with Demon Lords. She could have easily intervened using her authority as a Floor Master yet she refused to reveal any information related to her escape and subsequent capture. The only thing she revealed was that Leticia had been moved to the South so there wasn't anything she could do.

Since Shiroyasha's omniscience was well known throughout the Little Garden, Laius didn't believe she would just remain idle as one of her former allies fell into the hands of a Demon Lord. He knew she had contacts in the South as well since his Community, as the name implied, owed its origins to Greek Mythology. The Greek Factions were among the most powerful on the South Side, so, while his father had relocated him to the East for his protection, Laius was still well informed on matters related to his ancestral home...

Not caring in the slightest about Laius's affiliation with Thousand Eyes, Shiroyasha just shrugged her shoulders with a disinterested look on her face. Internally, however, she was squealing like a little girl, as, despite her vast intellect, it was rare for things to go this well for her. Ever since Vahn had arrived, all her carefully laid plans had been coming to fruition without incident. It was almost scary how reliable he was.

Annoying by Shiroyasha's reaction, Laius's made a point to spit on the ground before exiting with a disgusted look on his face. He had never liked Shiroyasha due to her impish nature and child-like appearance. She also prevented him from hitting on her employees, so, now that he was preparing to cut ties with her, he no longer had any interest in feigning respect. If his father hadn't expressly informed him to never challenge her directly, he would have used his Community to crush her long ago...

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Just as Vahn was contemplating giving the Omnipresent Television a second try, a thin pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders from behind. Immediately thereafter, he felt a small prick on his ear as Shiroyasha playfully nibbled on his lobe with her prominent canines.

"Someone's happy..."

After suckling a small amount of blood from Vahn's ear, Shiroyasha grinned like the demon she was before saying, "You have no idea. That fool actually wants to challenge you to a competition known as the Rite of the Challenger. Starting a week from tomorrow, you'll basically be sending groups to compete in each other's Game of Challenge. The first group to emerge victoriously will basically be able to do whatever they want with the other Community's participating members. I'm guessing he saw Fenrir and Black Rabbit and now wants them for himself..."

Since she couldn't even imagine Vahn losing, Shiroyasha hadn't properly considered her words. As a result, her body tensed as a terrifying aura spontaneously erupted from Vahn's body. He was doing his best to hold it in, but, despite the calm look on his face, Shiroyasha knew she had erred when he coldly replied, "I see..." in a voice that seemed to emanate from the deepest recesses of an abyss.

"Relax...there is no way in hell you'll lose to a brat like that. Besides, he might be a hedonistic fool, but he isn't truly evil. If you kill him, you'll end up making an enemy out of his father and the entire Greek Pantheon. Perseus is a good man. The loss of his one and only son would devastate him..."

Though it was impossible for him to calm down completely, Vahn benefited from the fact that his other two selves were among his children and lounging about with Seraphina. Thus, after several deep breaths, he exhaled a sigh and said, "Sorry..." in a sincere and affectionate tone of voice.

Exhaling a sigh of relief, Shiroyasha planted a kiss on Vahn's cheek before moving around to sit in his lap. This was one of the best things about being small. If she were in her adult form, this kind of intimacy would have been impossible. Now that she was a loli, she could nestle in his lap like a bird preparing to nest. Even better was the fact that Vahn had no inhibitions towards her despite the fact he wasn't a lolicon. He simply appreciated her for who she was, and, no matter what form she took, Shiroyasha was pretty sure he would readily reciprocate her teasing.

Comforted by this knowledge, Shiroyasha guided Vahn's hands to cup her nonexistent breasts as she looked up at him and said, "There is something important we need to discuss..."

Though he was tempted to point out that her words didn't exactly match her actions, Vahn just gave the soft mounds beneath Shiroyasha's dress a squeeze as he asked, "Does it have something to do with the pendant around Laius's neck?"

After blinking in surprise, an impish grin developed across Shiroyasha's face as she asked, "You just couldn't resist, could you?"

Chuckling wryly in response to the accusation, Vahn moved one of his hands to Shiroyasha's belly as he explained, "I don't mind playing fair when the other party demonstrates proper manners and consideration. That man dared to talk about one of my lovers as if they were a possession. He also set his beady little eyes on Black Rabbit. If she hadn't intervened, he would have died at least twice before I kicked his arrogant ass out of my shop..."

Smiling in response to Vahn's words, Shiroyasha guided his hand a bit lower as she said, "I knew it was a good idea to entrust those girls to you. If you had to, I bet you'd go to war against the entire Divine Realm for the people you love. Isn't that right~?"

Though he knew she was alluding to something, Vahn's response got caught in his throat as he felt a familiar sensation against his fingers. This caused a number of alarm bells to echo within his mind, but, like a fly that had been ensnared within a spider's web, he was ostensibly powerless to resist as a sonorous whimper escaped Shiroyasha's lips...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Young Master Peng is so bold!', 'Laius be like, "My father will hear about this...!','Shiroyasha just needs to dye her hair red and keep her eyes squinted and she would be a perfect stand-in for Loki xD...')

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