"So…. Boy? How did your meeting with the merchant work out?" Ben asked excitedly as Leo returned back to the motel after meeting Shane.
"I'm not sure…that guy doesn't show much emotion, his personality is solid" Leo said, shrugging his shoulders as Ben frowned at this response.
Ben was quite excited to hear how Leo's meeting worked out and was silently having dreams of becoming a millionaire and living that rich noble life.
With him already being accomplished in his profession, Ben had no real motivation to get any stronger than he already was, however, this new life as a trader and administrator felt like an exciting new challenge for him.
With him having no real knowledge about the trade world or how to become a noble, Ben was inquisitive and curious about everything, which made his time spent with Leo that much more enjoyable as their relationship developed from that of a master-student to two friends who were figuring life out together.
"Well, he must have said something? Did he not make an offer for any product? There should be something that he is interested in?" Ben asked, as Leo shook his head in dismay.
"He took the samples for everything and asked me to meet him in two days time, after he tests out the efficiency of the products.
I guess he gets offers like these daily, so he's not interested in things until it's proven to be useful" Leo said, as Ben nodded in understanding.
"Well we are not lying about the efficiency of the products so I guess we have nothing to worry about.
In two days time he will find out that we were telling the truth" Ben said, as he stroked his chin and remained hopeful that this deal should work out.
"Yep. I'm thinking about taking you with me to the next meeting.
I'm thinking that now that you're a free man, having you with me in any negotiation room should give me a big psychological advantage.
Your name is enough for some of Shane's underlings to pass out in fear" Leo said, as he chuckled recalling how Shane's executives passed out during his product presentation for some reason.
"Oh? I can come?" Ben asked, sounding surprised before realizing that he was now a free man.
Since he was still not used to the whole concept of being free, he forgot that he could take part in such activities legally without fearing an arrest.
"Right, Right, I can come now, I'm a free man, hahaha…. This is the best!" Ben said, chuckling out loud as he couldn't be more happy at being a free man again.
"Yeah, just don't call me 'boy' or 'my disciple' there. In Front of the merchants my identity is Leo Skyshard, so just call me Leo when I'm not wearing a mask" Leo reminded as Ben nodded in understanding.
"So I'm to call you Jin Mu in front of that girl and Leo in front of the merchants" said Ben, as Leo gave him a thumbs up sign.
***********
( Meanwhile Julien )
"Exterminate the Night Guild! Absolutely obliterate the organization under Ben Faulkner and force him to commit a crime.
We absolutely cannot let Ben Faulkner roam as a free citizen and although I've pardoned his past crimes, we need to make him an outlaw as soon as possible again" Julien instructed the head of the Virex Corps as he could not stand the fact that he had been forced to pardon Ben Faulkner.
If Ben became a free citizen and started to spread rumors about how the current Emperor was actually his first client, then it would be Julien who would lose his carefully crafted image in front of the public.
For him to live with a peace of mind, it was important that anything coming out of the mouth of Ben Faulkner was treated like a lie and that his reputation remained as that of a dirty criminal.
Over the years, Julien had tried to kill Ben several times, however, the man was just too strong for his underlings to capture and kill, which was why Julien carefully destroyed his credibility by branding him as a rebel.
Now that he was a free man again, Julien felt uneasy all over again and hence instructed his Virex Corps to deal with the Night Guild as soon as possible, so that Ben Faulkner would be forced to come into action and save his faction.
**********
( Meanwhile Dem Paltrow )
Dem Paltrow had hit the lowest of lows in his life.
Sitting in his safe underground bunker with nothing but soft candle light to illuminate the room, Dem felt suffocated and angry as it had been 7 days now since he last saw the sun.
With the Virex Corps relentlessly hunting his organization members, the situation was deteriorating everyday and to top it all off, Lin Mu had even failed to get the guild an imperial pardon by losing to some Royal Knight in the semi-finals.
However, as if this was not enough bad news, a day later Dem received the news that Ben's disciple had won the Grand Tournament and as his reward he asked for Ben Faulkner to be pardoned of all his past sins.
While Dem was still sane until Lin Mu's failure, Ben's unexpected gains sent his jealousy through the roof as he lost control of his emotions.
As if the legend of Ben Faulkner wasn't large enough already, his image was elevated after the Grand Tournament to even greater heights as he was started to be hailed as not only a great fighter but also a great teacher, who had raised a prodigy.
"It should've been me…. That kid should've been my disciple. That glory should have been mine…. Everything he enjoys today should be mine!
Damn it…. Damn you Ben Faulkner, Damn you Lin Mu and Damn you Ben's Disciple!
Even if The Night Guild ends, even if my life's work comes undone because of the Virex Corps, I will never go down without exacting my revenge on you three…..
This much I promise" Dem swore ominously as he resolved to exact his pound of flesh from these three, even if it was the last thing that he did.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the PS target, good job everyone! ///