Return of the Fallen Volume 11 Chapter 99
Samuel was blunt and bold. His words were unapologetic and he said it plainly.
“Lord Viz, people are afraid of you. Your strength, everyone knows about it and if they were unaware you showed them yesterday in the arena. Your strength is one thing but the way you had no concern for three of your peers and acted as if they were trash…It leaves a certain bad taste in one’s mouth. If you are part of the Faction, people will naturally be weary. In the beginning that won’t matter as most of our members will be slaves but later down the road, others will most likely prefer to stay away just because of your fearsome presence and what you may bring along with you.”
“And what would I be bringing with me that would cause people to be reluctant?”
“More enimies. More Gods that we currently do not have the power to handle. With you being part of the business it’s one thing but part of the Faction and it just invites challenge. So we need you to be more of a background character. On the surface you can be the face of the business, when it comes to official business though, that will be my domain. Please try to understand.”
Viz thought for a moment. He had no reason to be a part of their faction in the first place. He just felt slightly wronged that he was unwanted but that quickly passed as he learned the reason for that was because people feared his immense strength.
“Boy, what you say makes sense. In this entire city, I have the most qualification to have my own Faction but I’ve never tried to start one because I already knew what you just explained. In my eyes those type of people who bar me simply because they are afraid of my strength is cowardly. You’re not a coward are you?”
Samuel shook his head.
“A coward, no. Afraid though, yes I am. This fear though will not impact me going forward though. Even if I’m afraid, I won’t let it hold me back. So what does everyone think, will you accept me as Faction leader?”
“Since I’m not a part of it, this leaves me out of the mix.”
Viz leaned back in his chair and sipped his drink while watching curiously.
“I don’t mind but only if Jentson agrees.”
Kazuki set his cup down and looked into Samuel’s eyes. Really he was reading the boy’s soul. He still could sense great determination and confidence.
“There are a few conditions.”
Samuel nodded.
“Of course…name them.”
“It’s simple really. If I think you are making the wrong choice, I will not follow it. I will use my own judgment to determine the correct path and will walk it. If you ever betray me or Marty, then that will be the day you die. Not that I don’t trust you in a certain sense but it’s a just-so-you-know type of deal. Before anyone joins the Faction, I have to personally approve of them first.”
With his soul-reading ability, he could see through anyone at his level and below. As for those stronger, they would have to willingly open their souls to him or he would just not accept them. If he had even the slightest inkling that the person was not a good fit, he would never allow them in.
“Is that all of it?”
“No…Since I have lost a large portion of the business and you can’t just fork over more to me, then I want the lion’s share of the Faction’s profits. Your business side will remain unaffected while I rack in the money on the Faction side. Of course, once I leave the profits will then go to you but before then I want the largest amount. These are my conditions.”
Samuel didn’t hesitate to nod.
“Done. The profits for the most part will belong to you and you alone. Everything else will go to maintenance and our soldier’s cost. Whatever remains shall be reinvested into the Faction, how does this sound?”
“I’ll be fine with that so long as I get priority pick on the loot.”
Even Marty had a condition but this was fine. For Samuel in the grand scheme of things, he was still going to be in the merchant business. Selling his weapons. That’s where he would be making his money. The Faction was mainly for protection. Any money it made, he had no care for so long as the members were paid appropriately.
“If it’s these conditions I can get behind them. Anything else?”
Kazuki and Marty both shook their heads.
“Then it’s a deal. Now let’s go get this taken care of right away. I wish to look at some slaves and make purchases as soon as possible. We don’t know when our enemies will make their next move.”
Kazuki and Marty looked at one another before they smiled.
“Alright then, the kid has got some fire in his belly let’s move little ones.”
Viz was the first to stand. Stuffing a few cookies into his mouth, he lead the way to the guild. It only took a few minutes to process everything. One thing you could say about the Higher Realms, things were much more efficient. Afterward, all they needed to do was pay the fee. 10,000,000 divine crystals.
Seeing so many Divine crystals leave out the door, Samuel felt a trace of bitterness in his chest. After selling all of his wares he could just barely scrap together a few hundred thousand Divine crystals and that much money were equivalent to more than a year’s worth of work at his shop. For him to drain ten million in one go was taxing, to say the least.
He shook it off though as he walked out with a small crystal badge. With it, he could make more and every member of his Faction could have one and it would represent them. His was colored in gold and the image of a shop was placed on it. Usually, a Faction would put the image of something more mercenary-like on the badges. Something like a sword or a fearsome dragon but their badges had a small shop on them.
Samuel was absolutely proud of it but Kazuki and Marty just thought it was childish. While Samuel’s badge was colored in gold, theirs were colored in silver and gold. This showed that they were second and third in charge behind Samuel.
As the four made their way down the street, Samuel, Kazuki, and Marty all received odd stares from passersby. All of the people walking to and fro saw the badges they wore. Many people could feel the trio’s strength and found the badges on their chests confusing and odd. For a kid with little strength to be the leader of a faction with the second in command a 7th stage and the third in command a Demigod, it made absolutely no sense.
Many thought it was a joke and some just thought Samuel was from some stupidly wealthy family that allowed their child to run around throwing away money as if it were trash. Some wondered just how spoiled Samuel was and others wondered if the boy was so wealthy maybe he would be worth robbing.
Some wished to laugh, others had ill intent and some were just confused but none of them dared express any of this as Viz was walking right beside them. No matter who they were. weak or strong, they all knew who Viz was and they all recognized him. None of these people would dare try and do something out of line around Viz. That was just asking for trouble.
Seeing Viz, though, a few people had thought of something else. Some of them had witnessed the battle and the aftermath yesterday involving Kazuki and Viz and the owners of the arena. As soon as they realized it was Viz they put two and two together and knew that Kazuki and his companions were with Viz. Even if they were not a part of a faction or something like that with Viz, just walking side by side lead these outsiders to believe they had a connection and so they chose to steer clear of them.
“It looks like Samuel was right about you Viz. You’re quite popular.”
Kazuki oozed with sarcasm.
“Jentson, do you wish for me to shorten your lifespan right now.”
Kazuki shut his mouth. He still did not have a full grasp of Viz but in the end, he was a God, and even if he was joking right now it was better to be on the safer side. Still, it was annoying how Viz let the boy get away with similar comments but Kazuki wasn’t allowed to without being threatened.
Viz then started laughing.
“Hehehahaha, Jentson, at least you know when to go and when to halt. Relax, I am not so petty that I would kill you for one little comment. Now two comments on the other hand…Hahaha, I’m just messing with you.”
Viz slapped Kazuki on the back and he went flying forward until he fell at the bottom of some steps. As Kazuki looked up at the large building in front of him Viz said.
“Oh, looks like we’ve arrived.”
Comment (0)