Chapter 197 - Negotiating Skill
After that surprising leap of his levels, Sarah finally regained her calm. There was no other absurd change in his status since everything was recorded in his other identity.
Before leaving the temple, Theo asked, "Is it possible to fuse two identities together?"
Recalling the scene where Mister An realized Theo had double identities, Sarah nodded for the answer. "You can contact the other staff or me to combine the identities. If you want your main job to be a Fighter, then you will be dealing with me."
"I understand. Thank you for your help."
"Yes, please call me if you need something else." Sarah tried to be as professional as possible instead of sucking up to him. She knew that people in this line of work would be rich, but only a small portion of them could live their life to the fullest and she didn't want to see it happening before her eyes.
Theo then left the house and called Nart to ask how he could pay the debts, including selling the rest of the Material Cards.
In the end, the two decided to meet in a restaurant during the night as Nart seemed to have another topic to discuss.
Theo arrived at a small family restaurant with no one else inside the store.
He saw Nart on the corner and quickly made his way to him, sitting in the opposite chair. Before saying anything, Theo quickly handed the Material Cards as he transferred the remaining debt.
Nart smiled and congratulated him. "You've done a great job during this competition. I don't have any doubts that you're going to be picked as a participant, so you should prepare yourself for another hardship."
"You don't need to say it. I know." Theo shrugged and asked, "So, what's the thing you want to tell me?"
"I have three to be honest." Nart pointed to his neck with a serious expression. "That pocket watch of yours… It's very important."
"…" Theo quickly rose from the seat as he was uncomfortable discussing it, thinking Nart Eilric wanted to steal it from him.
However, Nart used his Magic Power to stop him from leaving while continuing his explanation. "Listen to me first. I have no intention of getting the pocket watch because it's from someone I know."
"Someone you know?" Theo narrowed his eyes and asked, "Who is it?"
Although Theo had a hunch that the answer was his brother, he still wanted to confirm the identity without giving him any information.
"It's your brother." Nart smiled and said, "My Alea is in danger if I get that pocket watch, you see, so I don't have the intention of getting it."
"You know my brother?"
"Yes. I don't know his whereabouts, but I can assure you that he is living well." He thought for a moment and smiled. "How about this, I will give this information for making my granddaughter reach Hero Rank, but I will tell you more about your brother if you can reach the main stage of the Grand Gaia and make my granddaughter shine. Depending on your achievement, I will tell you anything you want."
Theo closed his eyes for a moment and realized that the agreement actually benefited him since he also planned to make a big name in the competition. If it were the past him, he would have agreed to this condition.
Unfortunately for Nart, Theo had seen his path and this kind of agreement wouldn't satisfy him anymore. Hence, Theo rejected it outright. "No, thanks. I don't think you know anything about my brother. Searching for his name and some information is easy to do in this current era, so I don't see any benefit in this agreement."
Nart didn't get surprised at all. He simply smiled as if he had expected something like this sooner or later. "I know. You seem to have become greedier than before and I don't see any fault in it. That's why I want to know what your demand is."
Seeing Nart didn't act like Radvils, Theo knew that an older man indeed had a calm heart that wasn't easy to sway.
However, he didn't want to drown in the surprise and started thinking about his request.
"Making one's shine is easier said than done, especially in the international competition, so I won't give you any promise. That's why I will be lowering my demands too. I want a few Rank D Skills and two C Rank Spears as my payment… In advance."
Nart chuckled and asked, "My boy, let me tell you one thing. When negotiating, you shouldn't say you can't promise anything. It's one of the things that puts people off. Instead, you should say you have the ability to do it, but it depends on my granddaughter's ability and cooperation.
"This will assure me while shifting the blame to my granddaughter if you can't deliver the promise. You seem to have been improving your negotiating skill, but it's still lacking. All I can give you is 40 points." Nart crossed his arms with a smug smile.
"In that case, thank you for the lecture. I know that I shouldn't promise you anything, so let's put this on hold." Theo calmly continued as if telling him his confidence had been shattered by him.
"What?" Nart finally had a dumbfounded expression and stared at Theo in disbelief. "What did you say again?"
"I said I won't do it." Theo shrugged, acting like a petty person who didn't feel like doing it after the other party gave him a good lecture.
"Wait, wait, I don't remember you being a quitter like this."
"Then you must haven't seen the real me."
"Wait, listen to me. You don't want to show your weakness like this. You need to take a firm stance in your demands."
"I am taking a firm stance. I said I won't do it." Theo shrugged. "Let's continue to the second topic."
"No, no. Let's discuss the condition again. How about this, I will give you your brother's information, including all the stuff you need for the competition like new weapons and skills. In addition, I'm going to give you a house after the competition. The size will depend on the result. I know you need a house."
A smile suddenly appeared on Theo's face as he looked Nart in the eyes, saying, "Since you're so adamant about this, let's continue the negotiation."
"…" Nart blinked his eyes as he realized that Theo used his own lecture and utilized his perception to strike him back in this negotiation.
