’I still feel like there’s something seriously off about his mana.’
Jason felt that same discomfort he had felt before coming back to him as he looked at Rubik, and the feeling became stronger now that he was in front of the Overlord like this! Jason tried to feel the Magic Essence of all the Machina, and he could tell that they were all similar! Even Rubik’s Essence was that of a Machina, but that uncomfortable feeling was still there.
"Stand and greet the Overlord properly, swine."
Jason’s eyes trailed towards the Emissary on the right-hand side of the Overlord when he said this, and Jason just levelled him with a blank stare without bothering to respond. Jason wasn’t going to give any form of respect to any of them because Jason knew that they weren’t planning to show him any respect in return! Besides, if Jason was going to be labelled as an Enigma soon, then all these fuckers would be his enemies anyway. What was the point in kissing up to them then?
The Emissary suddenly raised his mechanical hand, and a blue glow shone from the centre of his palm as he prepared to attack Jason!
"I said—!"
Rubik raised his hand calmly, and the Emissary immediately went silent as he looked up at him. Rubik’s eyes were fixed on Jason with a robotic emotionlessness, and Jason couldn’t tell what was going through Rubik’s mind at all since his entire face was just one metal mask! Rubik finally spoke up.
"Your pride is reminiscent of your race. It is one of the more defining traits of the Avaran, and also the trait that led them to their demise. Your disrespect has been noted, and I hope you will be capable of accepting the consequences of this act."
Jason simply kept his impassive gaze on Rubik. Jason wasn’t capable of showing respect to someone he had no respect for, and that was how things were. If Rubik wanted to punish him for it, then so be it! Jason took in a breath and sighed calmly before he spoke.
"Let’s just get down to business. Tell us what you really want. Because we all know that you don’t really want money from us. You’ve been the ruler of a significant portion of the Primordial Expanse for centuries, so I doubt ten billion Gold Coins will even make a dent in your treasury. Isn’t that right?"
Jason placed his elbows on the table and looked up at Rubik, and the room was silent for a few seconds as Rubik simply stared back at Jason impassively. At the side, Riyala bit her bottom lip as she felt an intense nervousness fill her heart! What in the world did Jason think he was doing!? Riyala knew that they had already gotten on Rubik’s nerves by demanding this trial in the first place, so there was no way Rubik was going to go easy on them in this meeting, but the fact that Jason was so confrontational was only going to make things worse! This was the Overlord of this entire Domain! If Jason really got on his nerves, he could make things very hard for them in the future! Riyala was torn at that moment between apologising to Rubik and trying to salvage the meeting, or trusting that her lover knew what he was doing! Riyala tightened her joined hands together, and she was about to speak up to try and calm the situation down, but she was surprised when Rubik spoke.
"It appears you’ve inherited more than just your race’s pride. Your daring nature is admirable, Jason Marc of Earth. But I did not come here to negotiate with you. I have more important matters to attend to. You will be left in the care of my trusted aide, and you will show him the respect that is due to him."
Rubik moved to leave the room calmly, and Jason turned his attention towards the Emissary standing at the side. Riyala had a surprised look on her face as she watched Rubik leaving, and once Rubik was gone, she turned to the Emissary as well.
"It appears you are at my mercy once again, peasants."
The Emissary’s first words immediately grated on Jason’s nerves, and Jason let out a small sigh as he decided to let it go. There was no point in getting angry right now. They just had to listen to what he had to say first before anything else. The Emissary smiled when Jason didn’t say anything, and he moved to sit down opposite Jason with Freya sitting beside him. Riyala sat down as well, and Jason put a hand on her thigh to tell her to relax when he noticed that she was still tense. Riyala let out a calming breath with a muttered ’thank you’ just as the Emissary spoke in a prideful tone.
"My next words are those of the Overlord himself, so treat them as such: ’I am not one who is easily swayed by emotions, but the actions of your two worlds over the past few weeks have managed to draw my anger. You have insulted my title as Overlord by bringing this matter before the council, and you, Jason Marc, have challenged my authority before the council with your words. But I am a benevolent being, and therefore I am willing to overlook these transgressions this one time. I am here to present you with an opportunity to spare your people from the price they have to pay. Radagan is home to various rare mineral deposits of Dragonstone, a mineral that possesses high affinity for magic, and a vigorous conductivity for heat that has never been seen on any other mineral. The Machina are currently in the process of building various new machinery for our army, and it appears we have a need for such a mineral. From our research, we found that the Yellow Ash Mountains on the Eastern Plains of Radagan contain sufficient minerals to match our required supply. Therefore, I am willing to overlook the payment of ten billion Gold coins in exchange for a ten-year contract that gives us exclusive mining rights in the area surrounding the Yellow Ash Mountains.’ That is the Overlord’s offer."
You could’ve heard a pin drop in the room. Jason and Riyala could only stare at the Emissary in surprise when he was done laying out the offer, and Jason narrowed his eyes and asked.
"Does that mean Radagan will inherit Earth’s debt?"
The Emissary shrugged with a sneer.
"Yes. You two will be free to come to any agreement regarding the repayment of the debt after we have secured the Yellow Ash Mountains. You should be grateful for this opportunity, because the Overlord has looked favourably on you. Most worlds that dared to stand against their Overlord suffered great penalties and sanctions for their act, but Lord Rubik is far too kind. This is a great honour."
Jason turned away with a scoff! They should be grateful? That was absolute bullshit! It was obvious that this had been Rubik’s plan from the start! Jason already knew that there would be another angle to all this, and Jason wondered if it was even legal for an Overlord to use such underhanded methods to gain control of the natural resources of another world!
[The deal suggested by Rubik is perfectly legal under the ’Equivalent Exchange’ laws of the treaty.]
’Of course it fucking is.’
Jason released an irritated sigh. Jason didn’t like this at all. This sort of deal was never straightforward, and the fact that Rubik was bringing it up didn’t sit right with Jason. They wanted to use Dragonstones to build machines? What sort of machines? And why did Jason feel like the Overlord was almost desperate for this?
’I don’t know why, but I just don’t like this. Everything about this smells wrong to me.’