Negotiations And Preparations

"If you had let us know in advance that you planned to visit us today, Mr. Blackshaw, then we would have prepared a lavish banquet in your honour. For now, please have a seat. Would you like to have something to drink?"

Despite having been caught unawares, Valeric didn't let this pleasant surprise show on his face, politely welcoming Isaac into his office. Because he was an early riser, he had been awake for about two hours already, so when one of the embassy's servants had reported that the most important talent that they were hoping to successfully form a connection with had arrived at their doorstep without prior notice, he had been able to adjust almost immediately.

With a slight, polite smile adorning his lips, Isaac sat down on the chair facing Valeric's desk and shook his head, waving his hand in an abashed manner.

"Thank you for the offer, Mr. Dulhim, but there is no need. I've had something to drink as well as a delicious breakfast before setting out."

Nodding in acknowledgement, the Empire's most capable diplomat got straight to the heart of the matter now that the initial niceties were out of the way.

"As you've surely already been informed of, the Empire is highly impressed by the talent that you've displayed. Now that a couple of days have gone by and you've evidently recovered significantly, I hope it won't be too early to ask you about whether or not you'd like to work together with us."

Raising an eyebrow ever so slightly whilst keeping an amiable expression, Orario's rising star showed some interest, failing to conceal his emotional fluctuations.

"Work together, you say? What kind of collaboration are we talking about exactly?"

Seeming a bit apologetic and helpless, a sigh escaped Valeric's mouth. He knew best just how thick-skinned someone would have to be to make a request of this kind, but an order was ultimately an order. He had to follow it, whether he wanted to or not.

"To be honest, the Empire would like to inquire if you would consider formally joining our ranks. This would require switching familias, but don't worry, our side will bear all of the resulting burdens that we can."

A hint of displeasure emerged on his guest's features, just like Valeric had feared. Thankfully, the recruitment's target was mature enough not to blow his top at what he had just heard.

"I see. I'm sorry, I'll have to disappoint you, then. Under no circumstances will I ever consider joining another familia."

Obviously having somewhat hoped for and expected such a response, the diplomat nodded, completely unfazed. Before anything undesirable could occur, he quickly followed up on what he had said earlier.

"That's unfortunate, but alright. I've been asked to present a few alternative offers to you, in case you reject the first one. Would you like to hear them?"

As if he hadn't anticipated that there would be anything else, Isaac's eyes widened ever so slightly in amazement. Someone else might not have caught it, but Valeric was an expert at reading people, so this couldn't escape his keen gaze. Internally, he smiled brightly.

'He might be the talent of the century, or even exceed that category, but in the end, he's still just a young man. I'm glad that he isn't too arrogant, and still genuine in his affection for his comrades. It appears that interacting with him won't be too much of a headache.'

At the same time as he was evaluating him, Isaac seemed to have made up his mind.

"... Go ahead."

Having been given the okay, Valeric cleared his throat and elaborated.

"The first offer would be for the Empire to hire you as a mercenary. We won't ask you to leave your familia, and you'll be requested to help us deal with any issues that require someone of your caliber to act. Additionally, we will be providing you with unlimited access to our greatest training grounds, which aren't that much worse than the dungeon. In an ideal scenario, after working together and getting along for some time, the Empire might ask you to act as a bridge between it and the Loki Familia, as we'd like to collaborate with your companions as well."

To let his words sink in, the diplomat paused for a moment before continuing to speak.

"Our second offer would skip that 'trial period'. We'd like to ask the entire Loki Familia to work with us. I am aware that you aren't qualified to make such a monumental decision yourself, but if you'd be so inclined, you can report this offer to your Captain, Finn Deimne. The terms and benefits for all members of your Familia would be very similar to the ones that we would like to offer you, but depending on their talent, we might not be able to provide all members with the very best growth environment at all times. In the end, we have limited resources - a.k.a. Monsters - to work with, after all."

Having said his piece, Valeric silently waited for his guest to weigh the options that he had been presented with. He didn't have to be patient for long, though, because very quickly, an indecipherable smile played across the young man's lips. It was a shame that, to Valeric, it looked the exact same as before.

"I will definitely let my familia know about your second offer. However, regarding myself, I would like to present an alternative. Is that okay?"

"But of course. What do you have in mind, Mr. Blackshaw?"

Not particularly surprised about this turn of events but instead rather appreciative of the sudden negotiation, Valeric steeled himself for what might be about to come. No matter how highly he thought of someone, he always had to be prepared for the worst that he could think of.

"After dealing with some issues here in Orario that need to be sorted out post-haste, in at most a month, I plan to start travelling all across the Lower World. On my journey, I will definitely stop by the Empire. As long as what I'm requested to do won't go against my conscience or harm those that I care about, I don't mind collaborating for a time - for the right price, of course. I also intend to pay the Dragon Valley a visit. That place has long since been a thorn in the Empire's side, has it not?"

Initially a bit taken aback, but supportive of what Isaac had put forth, Valeric's expression changed out of nowhere. Anger and worry were evident in his normally impeccably controlled features.

"Hold up, Mr. Blackshaw! You might not be aware of this because you've grown up very far away from that deathtrap, but even the most powerful of all will fall in Dragon Valley. Half a century ago, multiple Level 7's from the Empire ventured into its depths… and none of them ever came back! I highly advise you against going there. You'll only be throwing your life away!!"

A bit overwhelmed by the strong concern that Valeric was suddenly showering him with, Isaac scratched his cheek awkwardly and nodded, but a bit of unwillingness remained in his eyes.

"I understand, I understand! Calm down, Mr. Dulhim. Why would I want to go to the most treacherous areas of the Dragon Valley? I merely intended to scout its fringes to take a look. One of my students originally lived close to the area, so I wanted to see what dangers her hometown had faced back in the day, and if there is any part of it that's still remaining. My primary intention was to broaden my horizons, not killing myself!"

Only after having been reassured in this way did Valeric heave a sigh of relief. Still, he couldn't help but shake his head a little.

'He is still too hot-headed… But oh well, this is already good enough. I can agree to his terms for now and let my superiors deal with him when he arrives in the Empire. They'll surely be able to talk him out of going to Dragon Valley.'

"That's acceptable, then. Forgive my slight outburst just now, I was only distressed by the prospect of you walking into such perilous danger unprepared. If you'd like, we can work out a contract for now? Although we've already agreed on many things, the details will still have to be put on paper."

Relieved that his proposal had been accepted, Isaac hurriedly agreed.

"Sure!"

In the next hour or so, the two of them discussed every detail that they could think of. They were accompanied by one of the embassy's servants who was responsible for drawing up the contract. Only after both sides were satisfied and had made some compromises did they finally sign the freshly-created cooperation agreement.

Watching the polite, friendly youngster leave his office, Valeric allowed himself to adopt a more relaxed position on his chair, his mood bright and positive. Everything had gone more or less as he had hoped. Their evaluation of Isaac seemed to be mostly on point, except for a couple of minor details regarding his personality.

Little did the diplomat know that he had been played like a fiddle from the very beginning, only seeing exactly what he was supposed to.

-----

Some normalcy had finally returned to the daily schedule of Isaac's students and subordinates. After they came back from the dungeon at around 2:30 p.m., they rested for a while before their training session started.

Next to the not-yet-built base where they would be residing in the future, one of the training courtyards bordering it had already been completed by Barca. It was even bigger than the greatest stadiums from Isaac's past world, so they didn't feel as constrained as back on the Twilight Manor's grounds. Additionally, their teacher could always restore anything that they damaged, so going all out with no holds barred was heavily encouraged.

Participating in a spar against Isaac for the first time, Esja and Gugalanna were astonished by how much progress they could make within a mere ten minutes! Of course, they couldn't instantly put all of his advice into practice, but even merely having been shown the optimal path of improvement was an extremely enviable benefit!

Although he stood on the same starting line as them, Ivan didn't let any wonderment show on his face. He behaved as if he had been on the receiving end of Isaac's guidance for years on end. Any flaw that was pointed out disappeared the moment after - his progress was unbelievably fast!

Of course, this wasn't because he was some sort of 'genius'. Rather, he was just too terrified of this new master of his to allow himself to potentially not live up to his expectations. His mind and body were constantly exceeding their limits in an unfathomable manner, somehow turning something that should have been almost impossible into something that was, well, possible.

By the time their spar had concluded, Ivan fainted on the spot, leaving Isaac with a system notification that caused an amused smile to steal itself on his lips.

[ Ivan's Dread has increased by 25. ]

The rest of his afternoon plus early evening was spent sparring with his students and subordinates, as well as presiding over his regular magic lesson.

It had been quite a while since anyone had managed to add the first drop to their mana flow, but today, three people succeeded one after the other: Averin, Quinn and Ray.

Both Quinn and Ray had been somewhat expected by the lessons' attendees.

Five days ago, the cat boy had already managed to spy on his mental layer. Now that an additional massive burden had been lifted from his shoulders after the Knossos raid, even though he was following directly in Isaac's footsteps and taking the most difficult path, he finally took that excruciating first step!

As for the Siren, she had been utilizing her mana via her Siren's Voice Skill for quite a number of years, so after she had acquired her first Magic from the grimoire that had been gifted to her, it didn't take her too long to figure out what to do. She had exclusively relied upon her instincts, but somehow… she had made it.

Averin, however… nobody had thought that he would suddenly turn out to be the dark horse and steal the spotlight. He wasn't even two months old yet! Additionally, he had only gotten his Magic recently, at the same time as the other kids, and had never handled any mana prior to that point. How in Tartarus did he suddenly surpass all of them!?

While everyone else was flabbergasted to varying degrees, some even beyond belief, Isaac showed an intrigued smile. Apparently, the rooster's past life as a crown prince had given him a considerable foundation, one that even Averin didn't know that he had.

Seeing no need to expose such a thing, Isaac praised him for his achievement, causing him to become more cocky than ever. However, his arrogant state didn't last for long, because Mina wrapped him in a celebratory hug and juggled him in the air soon after, eliciting a look of faux despairing resignation from the young bird.

-----

Very late in the evening, a certain god wearing a feathered hat snuck into the Twilight Manor under the cover of darkness. The magical formation that guarded the grounds didn't offer up any resistance, and none of the various eyes and ears placed around the area that were meant to spy on the Loki Familia's home picked up on anything strange.

Even when Hermes left at close to midnight, he slipped right past them without any obstruction. Once he finally arrived back at his own familia's home, he showed an exhausted but excited expression. To pull off what he had just done, he had needed to make use of one of his Arcanums, which had drained him of a certain portion of his Divine Energy. It would take him a few weeks to recover fully, but considering what had just been discussed, he judged this to be a worthwhile sacrifice.

It would have been possible to converse via the Occulus that he possessed, but accounting for the extremely unlikely case that someone unwelcome was listening in, they had to chat in person this time.

-----

Ever since they had accepted Isaac's deal and had started to live in his private world, the two Filvis' had never been called upon at all. For now, their new 'landlord' was apparently busy with some other research, so he had no time to inspect them closely. Of course, this state of things delighted the two of them.

When they had first arrived and had yet to be allocated a residence of their own, they had explored this relatively compact world. In all honesty, there were not too many interesting sights to take a look at yet, except for the void outside and the various building sites dotting the landscape.

Therefore, what quickly caught their attention were the other inhabitants, which they watched from a distance most of the time. Occasionally, they would also interact with some of them - primarily the Demi Spirit sisters or the adorable Chienthrope girl who stopped by very often, dragging a raccoon girl along with her.

Yesterday, they had had their first opportunity to observe Isaac's regular as well as magic training sessions, which had caused both of them to grow a little tempted. Would it be possible for them to join as well? It shouldn't be out of the question, right? After all, that Vidar Familia girl, Esja, had somehow done so as well.

For the time being, however, the two of them hadn't been able to convince themselves to bite the bullet yet. There was still a considerable amount of pride remaining within their bones, and they also had to consider that they might end up becoming Isaac's enemies in the future once more.

While the two were still in deep thought about this matter and had been preparing to go out to be training session spectators again, a knock resounded on their door. An as of yet unfamiliar, red-haired enchantress stood on their porch, with a slightly sheepish but resolute look on her face.

Because they wouldn't just turn someone who could live in this world away at the door, as they had to consider those beings' relationships with their landlord, the Filvis' allowed the young woman inside.

After introductions were out of the way and Valenoa had explained what had brought her here, a dark, depressed aura enveloped the two identical Elves for a considerable while. The one to snap out of it first, as usual, was the rational Filvis.

The topic of the two's transformation into Creatures had always been a sore spot in their hearts. Although the two of them had overplayed the intensity of how much that harrowing event had mentally impacted them, that day was still pretty much a nightmare to them. They had been on the verge of death all throughout!

"I'm afraid that I have very bad news for you. Lita was most definitely already dead when her body underwent the transformation. We were present at the time, and Revis was created during one of Lord Dionysus' experiments. A number of corpses that he had collected were made to consume contaminated magic stones… but only one of them rose again. That was Lita, who had become Revis at that point."

The more cool-headed Filvis' blunt words caused Valenoa to uncontrollably shed tears, no matter how hard she tried to suppress them. She nodded at the two Elves with a forced but thankful smile and intended to bid her farewell, as she didn't want to intrude upon them any longer, especially not in her current state… but the emotional Filvis stopped her. She shot a stern, accusatory glare at her other half, before speaking to the hurt girl in a calm and understanding, empathetic manner.

Although the 'culprit' that hadn't presented the news in a nicer way rolled her eyes, she went to the kitchen and got some drinks, which she then offered to their guest.

Before the three women knew it, it was already late in the evening, but they were still talking. Well, two of them were. The rational Filvis was just listening in from the side, while her 'weaker' half had ended up making Valenoa spill the beans about pretty much everything that had recently happened to her and had resulted in her finding herself in her current situation - including her crush on Kalin.

Perhaps it was because the two Elves were also head over heels in love with someone, but somewhere in the back of their minds, they genuinely began to feel as if they had found a comrade in these trying times. Obviously, only one of the two Filvis' was fully embracing this sensation, growing very close to the young spy who had found herself confined behind what could be considered 'enemy lines', but the other one wasn't too opposed to this development either.

Tacitly, a friendship had begun to blossom.

-----

[ Cooldown until 'Ais' Past' can be converted into Memory Journey format has finished.

Would you like to proceed with the conversion? ]

Ever so slightly hesitant and embarrassed, Ais read the notification that was hovering in front of her eyes, then she gave the system her permission. For a fraction of a second, she felt an odd lightheadedness overcome her, but it didn't last long enough to impact her in any meaningful way.

Glancing over at Isaac, who she was lying in bed with and already snuggled close to, clear signs of joy and anticipation glimmered in her eyes. She had borne witness to his entire life first, so it was only fair that he got the opportunity to do the same. She felt a bit shy at 'baring it all' like this, but even more so, she genuinely wanted him to know all about her. This would undoubtedly bring the two of them far closer together, so her heart began to beat faster and faster…

'Was this how he felt whenever I was about to delve into his past?'

Whilst Ais was busying herself with thoughts like these, Isaac scrolled through the system store until he found what he had been looking for.

[ Product - Cost ]

[ … - … ]

[ Ais' Past - 30,000 AP ]

[ … - … ]

Despite the substantial price tag, he didn't even blink at the expense and immediately bought it.

Contrary to Ais', his mind had long since far surpassed anything or anyone that could even remotely be considered 'human', which was why he didn't need to experience her past in small snippets. Even if his mind was to spend a nigh-infinite number of years somewhere else before returning to this exact point in time, he wouldn't feel any noticeable burden because of it or need to adapt for long.

Ais already knew about this, which was why she felt almost the exact same way as he did exactly one week ago, when her time experiencing his past was about to come to an end. After this literal trip down memory lane… many things would change.

Lying on his side, his right arm had been appropriated into the golden-haired beauty's pillow. After stroking her cheek with his left hand for a while, he stopped hesitating and planted a deep kiss on her delicate lips, savouring this sensual fruit of their love for a minute or two.

Gently gazing directly into her eyes one more time after their lips parted, he closed his eyes and welcomed the blindingly bright light that was enveloping him.