Fifth floor, demon hunter guild. Inside an office space.
—Tap! —Tap!
The rhythmical tapping sound of my fingers echoed across the office space.
Opposite to me was Edward Stern's holographic image. Neither one of us spoke.
"What you proposed is 15% on all profits with no shares, am I correct?"
He was the first to break the silence.
"Mhm, that's my initial proposal"
I nodded my head in confirmation.
"Isn't that a bit too low?"
"I believe fifteen percent is extremely fair. Given that we're just borrowing your name for protection"
Throughout the exchange, neither mine nor Edward's expression changed.
To be a good negotiator one needed to be a good actor. That was what I had learned throughout my life.
If the other party knew about what you were aiming for, things became much easier for them.
Only through deception and indifference could one make a great negotiator.
"That's true, but we'd also be the ones facing the backlash from this situation"
Edward Stern calmly rebutted.
"What might you be referring to?"
Hearing his response, my brows knit for a split second. I then proceeded to feign ignorance. The slight twitch in my brows did not go unnoticed. Edward caught that.
Whether he thought I was acting or not, I did not know.
"Let's not play dumb. We can all tell the potential of this magic card system of yours. However, despite its perks, it also comes with its downsides"
"Like?"
"...Like for example making an enemy of all lower-tiered mages"
"Wouldn't the money you make up for the hate you accumulate?"
I quickly rebutted.
With enough money, what did it matter if the lower-ranked mages left? They could easily replace them.
"We are a guild. We can't just screw over our own members like that. Plus, we also need to talk long-term, what if a competitor pops up on the market? Or what if the cards don't function as well as you presented them to be..."
Edward Stern shook his head at my response. With no emotions on my face, I calmly nodded my head.
"Yes, but I've also offered a discount just for your guild members on all magic cards. Even if you're hated by the lower-tiered mages, you'd make up for it with the cheaper prices for the cards"
"What's the discount? selling at market price?"
In a pinching motion, a small gap appeared between my thumb and index finger.
"Just a tad bit above market price. You know that's already fair. Given the high demand coming from you guys, if we go market price we might make a loss since you'd be taking most of the production"
Edward Stern shook his head.
"That's not good enough. Raise the profit to seventeen percent and we've got a deal"
"Seventeen percent?"
I instantly shook my head.
"No, that's too much"
"I believe it's fair given all the backlash we will receive from this deal."
Adjusting the hologram angle, Edward Stern proceeded to explain.
"Shit, this is a lot worse than expected..."
Staring at the data on the tablet, Edward knew that he had to act fast. He quickly put on his suit and moved to the entrance of the dungeon.
He was going to dive in.
Chapter end
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