Chapter 46: Negotiations with a Final Boss 2

"These candies are a drug designed by the Gentlemen's Club, they cannot be analyzed with conventional means since they are alchemical products, they have the effect of clouding rationality and increasing lust, making the person who consumes them becomes a manipulable puppet guided by his wishes "- I put the candy jar on the table. - "The Gentlemen's Club has been making me eat this for several years and recently I managed to overcome my addiction"

Gan'an took some kind of remote control out of his pocket and pressed a button.

A few seconds later the door opened, allowing two butlers and two maids to enter.

Gan'an pointed to the maids. - "Eat a sweet from the jar"

The two maids had an imperturbable expression, they approached the table, opened the jar, and ate a candy each without hesitation.

Within seconds the serene expressions of both maids crumbled, their breaths becoming ragged as their faces flushed.

"Interesting, they are trained to resist any kind of aphrodisiac" - Gan'an stopped looking at the maids. - "How long does the effect last and how is it removed?"

This man must have already made plans to use these candies, now he feels like I'm selling weapons to the devil...

"The effect of a candy can last from a week to a month depending on the level of magic resistance, there is no antidote and the effect can only be reversed through withdrawal, although that can have side effects on the mind ranging from loss memory, mental retardation or falling into a coma, side effects can be reduced with Clarity Potions, but they are hard to come by. "- I mentioned what Enma told me when researching the candies.

Enma actually discovered a cure with no side effects, but if I'm going to sell a bioweapon I'll keep the antidote for myself.

Does this count as thinking like a villain? I hope not.

"I see" - Gan'an nodded, his face was almost impossible to read as he only showed calm. Then he gestured towards the two butlers as he pointed to the two maids in heat. - "Get rid of them"

My stomach churned, I must stay calm, don't be mad, stay calm.

"I find it a waste to get rid of those maids. How about I buy both of you in exchange for the rest of the candy? " - I originally planned to sell the candies to Gan'an to start negotiations, but since I don't lack money it is better to use them to save two lives.

Gan'an exhaled his cigar smoke and nodded. - "Okay, to avoid accidents I'll pack them and so you can take them with you later"

Do rich people in this world only see other people as objects?

I know it is wrong to generalize, but it seems so. This world depresses me.

I sighed internally and nodded. - "Seem right"

One butler dragged the two maids out of the room and the other butler took the candy jar.

"I think I understand your idea to negotiate" - Gan'an remained calm as a mountain unmoved by winds and storms ... Damn it, I already speak as a cultivator. - "But there is a problem, what you offer is the same that the Gentlemen's Club has offered me, magical artifacts"

I smiled because I already expected this. - "And what did they ask you in return?"

Gan'an frowned for the first time. - "First I would like to know what you want from me"

"I can guess..." - I didn't answer what he wanted. - "They wanted you to sign a magical contract, in exchange for power you would not only renounce your freedom, but you would lose what you value most, your authority"

Supernatural beings offer power through Contracts and the beings specialized in this are the demons of the Underworld.

If you're not careful, you could get a video game console in exchange for selling your soul, body, and even your family.

Enma and Kiara have been teaching me about Contracts as there are not only small print, sometimes they use confusing sentences or false rules so one wrong step and you could become the bitch of a minotaur.

The worst thing is that this is not exclusive to demons, magical girls obtain their powers in exchange for contracts with magical entities that are restricted by the Will of the World as is the case with one of my bodyguards, the magical girl Elena.

I wouldn't even be surprised anymore if I found out that Kyubey exists in this world.

"..." - Gan'an put out his cigar in an ashtray and showed he took a posture of interest leaning forward. - "What do you want in exchange for magical artifacts? I will only negotiate if you can offer mid-level artifacts. "

Like magic, magical artifacts are divided into low, medium, and high level. The criteria for classifying them are the extent of their power and restrictions.

A high-level artifact usually has high restrictions and only specific people can use them, they are something like the Noble Phantasm from Fate or the Zanpakuto from Bleach.

Mid-level gadgets can be used by anyone as long as enough power is provided. Depending on the type of device, some can be more dangerous than a high-level device such as a magical biological bomb.

Finally, low-level magical artifacts can be used by ordinary people and are usually disposable items such as the magical communication sphere in my office that I sometimes contact Enma with whenever she goes out on a mission.

Obviously, magical artifacts are useful and powerful, but most of them cannot be used in the human world as the Will of the World blocks most magic to prevent magical beings from exterminating or dominating humanity.

Although the Underworld has some items that can be used against common humans, they are low-level. Since I can offer mid-tier artifacts I'm automatically a better business partner, and the only reason I can't take full advantage of this business advantage is that using too many magical artifacts will make the Will of the World see me as a threat.

"I can offer them" - I smiled and took out 3 medium-level artifacts. - "This talisman can block the impact of a missile every time you charge it, if you are not a medium level magician you can use magic cores to charge it, it cannot block magic attacks and is limited to physical attacks, and although it is expensive to use you can see it as three additional lives "

The runes on Rinka's dress are stronger than this talisman, but that is a trade secret.

Then I took out a classy-looking masculine bracelet that was made of black leather. - "This artifact can block any mind control spell of medium and lower level, but it only works 3 times a week and needs a constant recharge of energy"

Among the low-quality artifacts that Enma mass-produces for fun, this is one of her best products as artifacts that protect from mental attacks are rare to come by as materials extracted from succubi are needed.

As part of the contract signed by the demihuman community living in my residential area, they will provide alchemy materials as long as this is not harmful to them.

Hair, nails, drops of blood, or saliva, all of this is useful for an alchemist like Enma. She joked that I now have a magical materials farm and even if I dislike that comment, she is right.

Gan'an made no secret of his desire for magical artifacts, but he was able to keep his cool. - "I see what you offer, now I want to hear what you want"

"It's simple" - I smiled at the thought that this man is as expressionless as an ice cube. - "I want to change the laws on the property of the Doors a little, I wish that the Doors could become private property instead of being owned by the government"

Although what I said was similar to requesting the privatization of the air to put a tax on breathing, Gan'an showed no surprise. - "What you are looking for is something complicated to do"

I shrugged my shoulders. - "Complicated, but not impossible"

Gan'an nodded. - "You are right, however, it would be necessary to speak with many important people, and even if such a law is passed in Japan, it will cause conflicts with the governments of other countries"

"Not necessarily, the government can be the official owner of the Gates while the right to explore the worlds behind the Gates as well as the extraction of resources will be exclusive to the buyer" - I explained with a smile.

It was a simple business model that took advantage of the loopholes in property rights, a method similar to that used to exploit natural resources in government-protected areas.

The area is still owned by the government and civilians cannot use the land, but the big companies can extract all the resources they want since they have permission to excavate without infringing on government property.

"Doing that will make the government able to confiscate the extracted resources at any time since they will continue to be the owners of the Gates" - Gan'an seemed interested, but still saw the problems in my idea.

"It's true, and that's why I need your cooperation" - I nodded with a smile.

On the surface, the Shinomiya family goes into business without getting into politics, but the truth is that there are several high-ranking officials who belong to the branches of the Shinomiya family and have been indoctrinated to be loyal to the family practically since were born.

Gan'an relighting his cigar and began to smoke. - "You have a good information network"

I smiled cheekily. - "With enough resources, even an idiot can become a prodigy"

Actually that information was given to me by Black Label, I only have the knowledge of the animes that I saw in my past life and a bit of information extracted from the spies in my academy.

"A good perspective" - ​​Gan'an nodded. - "A prodigy that cannot be used is comparable to garbage, in that case, it is better to get a brainless man and mold him into a genius"

I didn't understand what this man was talking about, but I nodded anyway. - "Prodigies or idiots, in the end, the talent does not matter if the person does not make the best effort of it"

Personally, I believe that talent creates genius, but true wonders are born from the effort.

Maybe it's because I watched a lot of anime that use the power of friendship argument, but I think that with enough motivation and effort people can get ahead, and even if not everyone can become celebrities or millionaires, they should at least be able to find some happiness in this hell called being alive.

Sure, there are people in extreme situations beyond any control that does not give room to have a better life such as being born as a slave in a diamond mine or being turned into a sex slave almost from birth, but there is always hope, even if that hope consists of committing suicide to be happy in the next life...

Gan'an showed the first facial expression of the night, a subtle smile. - "I agree with you, someone who does not make an effort has no value"

I had a feeling that I pressed a button that should not be touched, but I did not know why.

I pushed that strange feeling out of my mind and showed a business smile. - "So we have a deal?"

Gan'an looked at the magical artifacts on the table. - "I want a supply of two medium-level and ten low-level artifacts per month, I also want 25% of the resources you get from the Doors, finally, you will help me to finance a new political party to reduce the influence of the Club of Gentlemen, in return, I will get you the monopoly of a minimum of 2 Doors per year, I will also look for some partners to help us get rid of our common enemy"

The deal sounded good to me. Enma mentioned that her future apprentices will also learn alchemy so she will be able to do mass production of disposable magic artifacts which will help me search for resources in other worlds.

On the other hand, giving up 25% of resources did not matter to me since my priority is to find allies and if necessary I can buy back the resources with my almighty wallet.

Maybe if Rinka were here she could think about how to improve this deal to increase my profits, but for me, this was fine to be my first business experience, who knows, they say that you learn from mistakes and my life itself is a mistake.

"Sounds good to me, I'll come in a couple of days for someone to draft a magical contract for greater security" - I smiled happily with myself for not ruining this.

Gan'an nodded. - "A good idea"

I heard that doing favors and giving gifts was common during these types of negotiations so I took out a space storage device, it was a silver ring that simulated a snake, something suitable for a villain.

"This is a show of goodwill for our cooperation" - I put the ring on the table as the idea of ​​putting a ring on a man gave me the creeps.

Gan'an took the ring and began to look at it with interest.

It took me two days to understand how to use a space artifact without spilling all the objects on the ground every time I want to take something out, but Gan'an learned how to use the space ring in a matter of seconds which made me feel depressed by my low intellect.

Gan'an nodded in satisfaction and stood up. - "It is late and it would be a lack of courtesy to let you go without showing you the hospitality of the Shinomiya residence, allow me to invite you to dinner"

Oh at least give me flowers first since it's our first date...

Joking aside, I nodded as the business talk whetted my appetite, and eating something that wasn't prepared by me is nice from time to time.

"Let's go then." -Gan'an led me into the dining room as he gestured for a butler to come over. - "Call Kaguya and our guests to come to dinner"

The butler nodded and left.

I am curious to try the food that a wealthy family tends to enjoy, maybe I can get some ideas for new dishes.

My stomach is excited.

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Author's Note:

I'm back!

I managed to get out of a small problem called "I have a migraine and a creative block please kill me AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH", in short, my mental health managed to stabilize <3

I'm sorry to disappear for so long but I will return to upload chapters of No Otaku and Ugly normally, thank you very much for the power stones and the comments in this time that I was not present, the reason why I was able to overcome my problems was thanks to the support shown for you my readers, I love you very much <3

Also, a special thanks to Abbys for joining Pa-Tre-On <3 you are a beautiful person <3

With that said, I have thought of some ideas for other projects but I don't want what happens to other authors of uploading 100 novels and abandoning them in chapter 20 so I only have drafts that I will upload in Pa-Tre-On (cheeky publicity, heh)

Anyway, a hug to all of you my beloved readers, it is thanks to you that I can write what I like and express my ideas, I love you very much <3