[3K+] A Conference of Executives

In an expansive hall made of fine wood and stone, decorated with an assortment of revealing statues and expensive jewelry nesting behind differently sized display cases, lit only dimly by a few rays of sunshine, were two men sitting by a round table discussing.

Both of them were high-ranking officials of the JTF—the Jinho Trade Federation, and the matters which they were discussing were not that of business or trade. No, in fact, they were talking about one extraordinary, though discommoding man which they had gotten to hear rumors about. This man was apparently always chest-bare, carried no shoes, claimed that he's traveled from the far south, and by some accounts, seemed to possess might beyond reckoning.

"I'm telling you, Mr. Hennes, my men do not lie. He must've truly ripped a tree from its roots and struck down a feisty behemoth with but a single swing!" said a chubby, well-groomed man dressed in a suit. His head was wide and jolly, and once upon a time had more hair than it did now. His name was Arthur, a manager of incoming and outcoming goods in River Valley.

"It can't be true, Arthur, and I don't say that out of neglect or disrespect towards your men's trustworthiness. But a chest-bare man insinuated to be from the Far Lands was already too comical for me to believe in the first place—I mean, it almost sounds as if he's some sort of primal jungle-man who'd swing from vine to vine, howling like some monkey, tussling with apes, or something of the like. I just can't take that seriously," said Mr. Hennes, who was adjusting his unkempt tie. He was not as well-groomed or as well dressed as Arthur was, yet, he was of higher status, and it made him complacent.

"Well, if you shan't hear it you shan't, I won't pester you about it no longer. However, I will bring it up in today's meeting, and then you shall see that you are the one steeped in ignorance. Everyone knows of this man because everyone has felt the effect he has had on their businesses and such." Arthur was sure that his subordinates had not spoken lies, and if word had come to his ears it must've reached others' ears as well. Not to mention: merchandise was suddenly being destroyed at random without care by something, or someone: it had to be this rumored rascal!

Hennes was going to advise him not to but was held up as the doors of the hall carefully swung open. There, stood a fair woman with long ashen hair and red eyes. Her face was sharp, but not pleasant. It could be likened to that of a cat's—an excessively nefarious cat.

"Ah, Miss Jeana of Rama Wisteria, so good that you could make it!" exclaimed Mr. Hennes as he stood up, grinding his hands together like a beggar.

"I bet it must've been a tough journey. Come and take a seat," said Arthur as he also stood up, gesturing over to the nearby empty chairs. "Did you like the penthouse that we had you stay in? It's of the best we have here in old River Valley."

Jeana flicked her hair to the side and entered with a dignified strut, before answering.

"You had me situated in a shabby four-story building in the slum area. I could hear the house groaning whenever some other tenant would move around. I don't care if all proper penthouses here in the Ursula quarters were occupied. Kick some poor sod out of there next time so I can rest somewhere worthy of my presence. Evict someone if you must. I will not excuse you the next time this happens, executive," she complained fiercely, before clicking her heel into the ground and coming to a stop in front of the two. "I guess it was properly cleaned at the very least, and the windows let in a nice breeze. However, it seems commoners are just allowed to stroll right into my quarters as they please, even while I'm in the middle of changing." Her glare froze their necks stiff.

"We're so terribly sorry for our incompetence, Jeana. May you forgive us!" pleaded Mr. Hennes while shooting ill-willed glares at Arthur. "But, if I may ask, what do you mean exactly? There should be no way commoners could enter the penthouse. After all, it is four stories above the ground!" argued Hennes, confused.

"Well, it seems you must make it higher, because some mercenary, one of yours I'd presume, used my room as a passageway: he came dashing through one window and leaped quickly out of another!"

"Oh, he must surely be persecuted for such an act!" said Arthur as he took out a little notebook and a pen to accompany it. "May I take his description? What did he look like?"

"Since he was very quick I only caught a glance. Apart from the rugged look that all mercenaries around here seem to share, his left shoulder was strangely shaped—it was larger, more cumbersome than the rest of his gear. His hair was short and, I think, black in color, and he had a pathetic stubble for facial hair. I also recall him being quite tall."

"Well, I'm sure we'll find him, Miss Jeana," assured Hennes. "Are you done with your description there, Arthur?" he continued as he peered over to look at Arthur's notes, of whose hand had come to a halt.

Under his breath, Arthur cursed, "Soran you scoundrel!" before clearing his throat and pulling his glance back, away from his notebook.

"I needn't know anything else, I know who it is, and I shall make sure he takes responsibility, yet I believe he might not be so willing to do so."

Both Hennes and Jeana raised their brows, waiting for Arthur to explain further.

"The fellow's one of the best mercenaries I know of, but he's a bit cruder, more lonely than most."

"Is that so?" Jeana dragged out her words, making them searing and unbearable. "What is his name?"

"His name is Soran: he's quite famous around here. Everyone knows him," said Arthur, before lowering his head to plead. "I assure you, miss Jeana, he's not a bad man, and I hope you'd be willing to overlook his unforgivable actions, if just this once!"

"We will see," said Jeana coldly, without expressing any exterior emotion, before promptly sitting down.

They continued discussing other topics until all but one chair in the hall had been filled. Then, the meeting was ready to begin, along with an apéritif served by sharply clad butlers and maids.

Fanatical bandits along the rum route passing in Burrow Forest. An increase in late-night assaults outside city walls. Inflation of the price of grains due to drought across parts of the middle lands; these, among other things, were discussed. However, the air had grown stale and bitter, and nobody was neither invested nor seemed to care for the matters discussed. There was something else on everyone's minds. Something that they did not feel like bringing attention to in front of Jeana, the diamond commissioner of the Jinho Trade Federation. However, she in particular was good at reading rooms and therefore picked up on it quite quickly. She was also very direct and to the point, so in turn, Jeana pointed it out bluntly.

"Is there something, 'else', anybody would like to bring to attention this meeting?" Jeana's eyes scanned the room and its occupants, looking for any signs of some truth being hidden from her.

After but a short delay, Arthur, determined to speak regarding this issue, stood up and planted his hands firmly upon the table.

"There is one thing that, to my suspicion, seems to be plaguing each and everyone's thoughts just as much as my own."

Swirling of wines, tapping of desks, adjusting of suits, and clearing of throats. Everyone seemed to know nothing of this particular 'thing', yet, for some reason, everyone also seemed like children who'd just been caught red-handed by their mothers. Arthur continued.

"Four cattle: stolen, killed, and eaten. Nine storages raided of dozens of kilograms of bread and pastries along with the partial or complete destruction of random items varying in worth. Furthermore, according to the testimony of a battalion of local gate guards: a complete refusal to pay border tolls, followed by the improper assault and temporary decommissioning of those guards, and all of this apparently caused by but a single man. I am sure most of you, too, have heard of this by now."

Suddenly, everyone seemed to be in need of clearing their throats simultaneously.

"What is this about?" scoffed Jeana as she scanned the room again. "Is it true? Is it true? Is it true that you've been entirely foiled by one man, who seems to have had his way trampling gleefully over your feet?" She sighed as she planted her cheek into her resting hand, before continuing. "Well, no matter. The losses should only be large proportionally. It does not worry me, but I am utterly disappointed in your lack of competence in dealing with one troublesome individual."

Jeana felt the veins by her temple bulge in frustration when she was further informed by others at the table, who now had decided to take their part of the responsibility.

"Those accounts are only his official crime records, milady," said one smart-looking lad.

"This man has seemingly caused much more havoc than what is recorded," said another, averting his gaze.

Jeana put her hand to her forehead and grit her teeth.

"How much will this cost us?"

"We don't have any accurate numbers, milady, but we have run calculations and come to a rough estimate, but-" said the smart-looking man before being interrupted by a hissing Jeana.

"How. Much?"

"Just short of ten million crowns, milady."

The air grew even staler, and a chill could be felt the moment the word 'million' was spoken.

"Curse you incompetent lot! Why? Why can't you deal with a singular man? One man. It is one, man." Jeana was rubbing her right temple with the tip of her fingers as she berated the whole gathering, demanding to know the reason for their incompetence.

Milius Raghda, the chief administrator of hired mercenaries, stood up and proclaimed.

"We have issued bounties on his head already, but our mercenaries are having a hard time dealing with him as he seems excessively powerful. However, I'm sure they should have gotten a fair bit done by now-"

Milius could feel his weak, fragile body contract and his throat closing in on itself, forcing the air out of his lungs and putting a stop to his explanation. He could feel his head compress, and a pulsating, vein-like pain emitting from inside his brain, hazing his thoughts. His thin glasses broke into pieces, but the shards remained floating in the air.

"Maybe, then, you should have hired more competent people to do your dirty work, administrator," said Jeana, whose hand had tensed into a claw-like form in front of her, wretched and pulsating red.

Milius tried grasping at his throat, but his arms were partially restricted as well. He managed to utter a pathetic "yes, milady", whereafter he was released from Jeana's grasp, falling back into his chair along with the pattering of glass shards, gasping for air.

"It is clear that your sorry mercenaries are not capable of disposing of him, so remove the bounty on his head." Jeana sat upright and braided her fingers upon the table. "If any more economic damage is caused by this man, the redevelopment plan of River Valley shall not come to fruition. I advise that we see to remove this mysterious villain as efficiently as possible. And as quickly as possible."

"We could make an official statement of his exile, that way he can't legally be here-" said one man before being smacked and silenced by the two who sat next to him.

"If we could simply exile him he wouldn't have been able to make his way into town to begin with," noted the smart-looking lad.

Arthur stood up and noted.

"By accounts of my men, the man seems to have some sense in him. And it has been proved that he can be reasoned with. In fact, he protected a group of caravan workers from a raging behemoth. I was told that he uprooted a large oak tree with his bare hands before proceeding to slam the beast with it, killing it in one blow."

Whispers of astonishment and disbelief could be heard but were promptly silenced when Jeana spoke clearly.

"Interesting. And you are not lying, I presume?"

"On the Fair Lady, I assure you that I'm speaking the truth."

"Then I propose-" continued Jeana, raising her head slightly, so as to be able to look down upon the assembly. "-based on the fact that he can be reasoned with, that we promptly, and efficiently, assassinate him."

The room fell into silence for a moment. Nobody wanted to say anything, but their thoughts were united. For, if he could truly kill a behemoth in one hit using an entire tree as his weapon, then how in the seven planes of existence were they going to assassinate him, let alone hurt him? He seemed to be a warrior without equal.

"I can feel your disbelief, and I get that." Jeana's voice was suddenly affirming and understanding. The nefariousness in her face had all but vanished. "However, we shall not go about this assassination directly. This is what shall happen. You will befriend him and invite him for dinner. Then you shall poison his food with the strongest poison we own. You know of what poison I speak."

The assembly started muttering in unison. Their concern was regarding this 'strongest poison' that Jeana had mentioned. That poison was taboo by everyone's moral reasoning. It was a mix of different plants collected from the outer rim of the Far Lands, along with other toxic components such as the rotted intestines of the usher goats. Not only did this poison kill anything that consumed it, but if you were to bury their corpse in the ground, it would poison the earth for miles. Such a terrible weapon was not tempting to use against one single rascal. Not to mention the fact that the concoction was incredibly expensive to create, as the ingredients were terribly difficult to procure. The final step in brewing it was to cast powerful necrotic magic upon it, and for that, you needed a sorcerer of high caliber with skills in necromancy. That was not an easy find. Though, the fact of the matter was that they already had the 'putrescence liquor', as it was called, in stock. After all, they were the Jinho Trade Federation.

"But, if he can be reasoned with, we could ask for him to cooperate and to stop interfering with our business," reasoned Arthur, who didn't think they had to resort to killing him, even if he did singlehandedly cause a major economic catastrophe.

The hall seemed to agree with Arthur, there was even small talk of hiring him as one of their mercenaries. However, they had forgotten about the looming authority before them, but they would be reminded, as she hung over them like a marrow-chilling shadow. Jeana continued.

"He would certainly cause more trouble than we'd be able to deal with. It's best he is dealt with pronto." She stood up, further invoking her authority. "I will not risk any more damage being dealt to this company, but above all, I will not risk the safety of the people of River Valley. Think about the gate guards he ruthlessly beat down and consider what they're feeling. The sacrifice we make is for the good of all."

"But, isn't using the putrescence liquor going too far? Isn't there another way?" asked Hennes, who had come to realize his previous bout of ignorance, and now took the matter seriously.

"If the man is as mighty as you all claim, then we cannot take any risk," insisted Jeana, before crossing her arms. Suddenly, the nefariousness in her face had all but returned. "A lesser evil for a greater good. Do we hereby vote in favor of the assassination of this economic terrorist?"

The hall was divided. Most trusted the words of Jeana as the high diamond commissioner, but many also agreed with Arthur's point of view. However, as Jeana scanned all the executives once more, she took note of the ones with doubt and made sure that they knew their place as she secretively clawed their throats from afar. When the voting came to its conclusion, Arthur remained the only one who had voted against it.

"The wonders of democracy—a majority vote!" exclaimed Jeana as she unfurled her arms in victory. She smiled sneeringly at Arthur, who slumped his composure in defeat.

Just as the decision had been made, from a door in the corner of the hall, two mercenaries came rushing feverishly towards Milius, one with a bounty issue in his hands.

"Administrator Milius, Soran is fighting that guy you told us about!" shouted the one with the issue.

The assembly erupted in a clamor. Most somehow felt surprised that this rumored man was real after all, since nobody there had actually seen him, but those who knew of Soran could only feel worried.

Milius was among those who worried. The mercenaries saw his face turn pale, and it was because Milius could only imagine the havoc that could take place. He hastily took out a pencil and drew a beard onto the sketch, before commanding sternly.

"Take it back there, stop their fight, and tell them it was a misunderstanding. He is no longer on the criminal register. They are not to fight. Make sure of this." Milius slammed the sketch into one of the mercenary's chests before shouting: "Is that clear?"

"But Soran is-"

"No buts."

And with that, the meeting was over. Everyone got up out of their seats and started discussing among themselves.

Arthur, pondering to himself, wondering why he was the only one to remain to vote against the assassination, was approached by one of the butlers. It was, unknown to anyone else, one of his informants. Arthur had many connections and strings he pulled from the shadows, as he was, some would say, the master of trade here in the Valley. The butler leaned in and whispered in Arthur's ear.

"Arthur, sir. Soran Noxia has been reported dealing in illegal weapon parts. Gragas, the quartermaster of that shabby shack towards the eastern parts, sold him out. What do you want me to do?"

"That peeving little-" hissed Arthur as he yet again under his breath. "He just can't seem to keep out of trouble, can he? Well, for now, just sweep it under the rug, we'll let it go."

"Understood."

"And," Arthus continued. "Make sure to keep an eye out on Mr. Soran, and report to me anything out of the ordinary. You may leave."

So did the informant leave, and eventually, the meeting hall had been emptied.

Later that day, while Arthur was sitting in his office, going over paperwork and such things, he heard three knocks on the door, and in response, Arthur called out and said to come in. Who he had least expected to enter, however, was the diamond commissioner herself, Jeana, who quickly darted around his office and inspected it, as if she was determining something to herself.

"Oh, Miss Jeana, I didn't expect you," said Arthur, stumbling on his words. "What brings you here to my lowly office?"

Jeana glanced at him without turning her head before speaking clearly.

"I've spoken to your informant."

"What? My informant?" said Arthur reflexively. His mind did not know how she could have known who his informants were, nor did he know what this was about. Jeana continued speaking.

"He would have come to you, but I told him not to, and that I would go in his stead. You see, it seems like this Soran person you mentioned earlier has now allied with our 'favorite' criminal. And to my understanding, this Soran person is quite the rascal himself."

Arthur started sweating. He didn't want to believe it, but he anticipated what he thought was coming. He imagined that Jeana would propose to assassinate Soran as well.

"You can't mean-" was the only thing that managed to escape Arthur's lips before being interrupted by Jeana as if she had read his mind.

"No, of course we won't kill him. That would be silly: he's just some mercenary."

"Oh, yes, of course," chuckled Arthur in relief, reassuring himself that Jeana wasn't as tyrannical as some may claim.

"I simply wished for you to join the dinner party that will be held later this evening. I think you would enjoy it. But, as you might suspect, I do have a special mission for you," said Jeana as she finally turned her head toward Arthur and approached slowly.

"What mission might this be?" asked Arthur curiously, yet cautiously.

"I simply wish for you to convince Soran to leave their companionship behind, and move toward a better future. This way, we would not need to deal with any difficulties, were he, for example, to try plot revenge after we dispose of his newfound ally."

Arthur pondered for a moment. Soran wasn't the type to listen to others' opinions and take them at face value. Not that he wasn't a man of reason—he was—but if he truly had struck a friendship with the mysterious man, then Arthur reckoned that he might not be able to convince him. Though, Arthur also reckoned that the alternative might be worse.

"I will try, Miss Jeana. I will try."

"Good, good," she said, dragging her words out like venom, before excusing herself and leaving the small office room.

Arthur let out a big sigh as if he had held his breath bated the whole time Jeana had been present. He relaxed for a moment, before putting his paperwork aside and leaving to prepare for this dinner party.