A man and a woman in suits entered the room alongside Prince Celus Pendragon, who was somehow too busy to even attend his niece's important matches. Obviously, Leah was surprised by his appearance and yelped immediately, "Uncle? What are you doing here?"
Celus greeted both of them with a wide smile, "Hey Leah. Hello Azrael. Sorry for crashing on your privacy but this is important."
This Prince of Camelot wasn't a stranger to Azzy, although not close enough to greet informally. He could only stand on his feet and bow slightly. "Hello, it's been a while."
After greeting him, Azzy then looked at the other two. The man looked like he is in his late sixties, considering his soul realm is only at 2-star, it is safe to assume that his age is appropriate.
As for the young woman with a pretty face and hot figure, she is a mortal, and Azzy guessed that she's more likely an assistant judging by how she stands a step behind him while holding a file.
Without apologizing or congratulating either of them, Celus proceeds with the introductions, "This is Charlie and she's his assistant. Mr. Charlie is an old acquaintance of mine and he wishes to talk to both of you regarding the upcoming finals."
Before Leah or Azzy reacted to him, the man named Charlie opened his mouth, "I'll be quick and direct with the both of you. I want your team to lose the finals by any means necessary.
The winner of the tournament will receive an armor set that becomes equivalent to Earth when wore the four pieces of the set (torso armor, bracers, boots, and helmet) and 5 billion credits.
If you agree to this deal, we will pay double i.e. 10 billion credits and two armor sets of earth grade. Well, if you aren't interested in money, we can also provide earth-grade weapons with atleast 90% mithril and 2-3% adamantine. From swords to spears, all types of major traditional weapons are available to us.
Along with that, you will receive runner-up rewards from WAMO. So, losing will benefit you more than winning.
Take your time and come to the decision before the finals. We're staying at 712. So, it is easy for you to contact us. Just say the word and we will even hand over complete payment in advance."
After proposing the deal, the stranger didn't wait for a reply. He turned around to leave in a hurry as if he has some other engagements.
Just as he was about to leave, Leah stopped them with a surprising question, "How much money is involved in the whole?"
"Hmm?" Charlie turns around once again to face Leah, who then said, "I need that answer before we even start thinking about it."
After a brief amount of silence, Charlie replied, "Total amount involved in the betting is confidential and I don't have the authority to reveal it but I will tell you this. There are far more people bet on your team so far and it won't change anything even until the end of the day."
"I see." Leah nodded in understanding then said, "I need to discuss this with my partner and we'll give you our reply."
"Sure. Now, if you excuse me… I have a few other appointments to attend to."
Charlie and his assistant left the room, leaving behind a puzzled Celus at the doorstep. Once they were gone out of his sight, he said, "I thought you will reject the deal."
"Well, our team doesn't only contain me, uncle." Leah reminded him about Azzy, who was just standing there in silence.
Celus suddenly remembered Azzy's background. Even if he is a foster son of Oakley Night and a disciple of Barton Everglade, he is still a financially dependent teenager. Even if Leah wasn't tempted by the deal, Azzy might be.
"So, what do you think, Azrael?" asked the prince of Camelot.
Azzy gave a nonchalant shrug as he replied, "I don't care. Leah will make the decisions for our team. Any weapon that isn't made out of adamantine cannot handle my corruptive energy. Those earth-grade weapons are useless to me. I don't seek glory and neither am I interested in wealth. So, whether I win the tournament or not, it won't change anything.
However, if we chose to lose, then, I would prefer not to attend the finals. I will never purposely lose a fight against strangers. You have my opinion. The rest lies in Leah's hands."
"Leah?" Celus turned his head toward his niece. He looked like a person who had all of his stamina drained in just a second.
And Leah surely disappointed him.
Now that she confirmed Azzy's opinion, she doesn't have any reason to hold back her opinion. She gave her answer to her uncle without any hesitation, "You should have already known what my answer is going to be. I won't yield the gold medal now that it is within my reach."
"Can't you think once more?" Celus didn't completely give up on convincing her. He attempted to change her decision by speaking about the deal he was offered. "Mr. Charlie is an executive director at 247 Holdings, which has dozens of subsidiary companies under it. If you agree to this deal, he promised that the company will invest atleast 100 billion credits in Camelot over the next decade.
Think about how many jobs will be generated for our people. Think about how much revenue Camelot will earn from the taxes, later. It will only benefit our people."
Celus tried his best to drag the people of the kingdom into the conversation but unfortunately for him, Leah was unmoved. After patiently listening to all of his nonsense, she simply said, "No."
"Alright, I will inform them in your place, I guess." Celus excused himself and exited the room without talking about anything else.
Leah walked forward to the door. Azzy thought that she would look outside, feeling bad for her uncle, but instead, she just slammed the door and locked it before turning around. "Azrael, shall we continue?"
While both of them continued to discuss the battle strategy, Celus caught up to Charlie who was on his way to meet other final contestants.
He stopped them and informed him of everything that his niece told him. However, Charlie was unsurprised. The old man in the suit nodded calmly, "I expected that much. It is useless to offer money or some earth-grade weapons to the heiress of your Camelot. So, we should work from Azrael's side."
"But, Azrael clearly said that Leah will be the one that will make the decisions. And if you intended to use force, then, I should warn you that he is as powerful as a legendary realm expert," replied the prince of Camelot in a serious tone.
Charlie then let out a smile, not taking his warning seriously, "We just need to make sure that he will be absent during the finals. That will automatically do the job. And I have the method to do it but I need your assistance that doesn't involve any battle. And those rewards I promised to your niece and her partner, I will just give it to you as a token of appreciation."
"Sure, I will do whatever you say." Celus didn't hesitate to agree to his plan even before hearing it. He further said, "That brat brought his girlfriend and her sister to our Camelot and broke my sister's marriage. This can be considered a minor payback for that incident."
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om