Klaus and Justin sat at the long table in the meeting room. It was empty, just the two of them and the silence that pervaded the air. Justin, with his formal attire and neatly combed hair, couldn't stop tapping his fingers on the table.
Sitting next to him, Klaus knew that his subordinate was nervous, but he let him be because he had a lot of things on his mind too.
"If they come, what should I say, Klaus?"
"Just keep quiet. Let me do the talking. Your job is to sign, that's all," Klaus replied in a cold tone.
Currently, they were waiting for a representative from the House of Blacksmith guild.
After receiving information that the money from the sale of arcana could not be disbursed immediately, Klaus reluctantly loaned out some awakener on the transfer market.
Awakener loan was when a guild rented out its members to another guild for a certain period of time, usually three months or six months.
In a loan scenario, an awakener remained under contract with their home guild, but the loaning guild paid the awakener's salary during the loan period.
The home guild usually retained the right to recall the awakener midway through the loan period if they needed the player's services again.
They usually did this to increase the awakener's experience by participating in other guilds or simply to save the guild's finances.
But in Klaus' case, he needed to loan the awakener for an important event in the future.
While they were waiting, there was a knock on the door, and a female staff member stood in the doorway.
"Sir, there is a guest who would like to see you."
Klaus told the staff to let the guest into the meeting room.
Nudging Justin with an elbow, Klaus whispered, "Look stern in this meeting. Throw away your friendly demeanor."
"Okay, okay. I know," Justin replied with a sigh.
As they smiled to greet their guest, a girl with blonde hair and emerald-green eyes walked into the room. She smiled widely and waved her hands in the air.
Recognizing her, his smile disappeared instantly.
"Klaus!"
Justin twisted his face in confusion and looked at Klaus with a wondering gaze. He was sure that the girl was not the guest they were waiting for.
"Joanna, why are you here?" Klaus exclaimed in annoyance.
Joanna clicked her tongue. "Why are you talking like that? Just because you've become a big boss, you forgot about your own sister, huh."
Burying his face in his hands, Klaus hid his annoyance. He was in a serious situation, but his sister made things worse. Furthermore, he couldn't get mad at her.
And Justin could only frown after learning the facts about this haphazard girl. "This is your brother Klaus?"
Klaus held his sister's shoulders, staring at her seriously. "I'm not in the mood for jokes, Jonna. I have an important meeting coming up. Why are you here?"
Instead of feeling guilty, Joanna smiled. "I guess you didn't know. I am a certified awakener now."
Klaus was surprised. "What? How? Aren't you afraid of mom getting mad at you?"
"Of course, I am. But there is one who supports me."
Naturally, Klaus frowned.
Two days after the dungeon break incident in Chinatown, Joanna underwent several weeks of trauma rehabilitation. Later, she confessed to Steve and Anna that she wanted to become a professional awakener.
Without a second thought, Anna flatly rejected Joanna's dream and was furious, especially after she learned that her daughter was secretly training with the family's head bodyguard, Luis. Anna had enough of Klaus being an awakener; she didn't want any more of her kids getting into danger.
However, the father was the opposite. Steve supported Joanna in her goal to become a professional awakener. It was even he who encouraged Joanna to complete the certification test.
"After that, the house was chaotic. They didn't talk for a few weeks. I honestly felt a bit guilty," said Joanna, glumly. "But I'm a certified awakener now!" And her face turned cheerful not long after.
Hearing her story, Klaus was speechless. Even more so after he learned that the person who sent Joanna here was Steve.
But at the same time, Klaus understood his father's reasons. He had the same attitude as Steve, being an opportunist. As long as there was an opportunity in front of their eyes, they would make the most of it.
Joanna was an A-class awakener after all. Not using her potential was a waste.
A sigh escaped from his mouth. "Joanna, it's a miracle that our parents haven't divorced until now."
His younger sister squinted. "Hey! Don't say it as if it's my fault!
When the two siblings were arguing, suddenly a man in a long black coat stood in the doorway. The man smiled as sincere as the gaze in his blue-eyes.
"Excuse me, but is this the meeting room? Sorry to bother you; I'm from the House of Blacksmith. The staff said I should come here."
Justin quickly smiled in a friendly manner. "Yes, that's right. We were waiting for you."
While the Guild Master invited Benjamin to come in, Klaus told Joanna to sit on the chair, telling his sister to be quiet throughout the meeting.
"Don't screw up," Klaus whispered.
"I know right!" Joanna pouted.
Before starting the meeting's discussion, the guest introduced himself. The man was Benjamin Preston, an awakener guild manager from the House of Blacksmith. He was in charge of arranging Awakener loan deals.
"Alright, Mr. Justin Law. This is the file, and please read it before you sign."
Justin smiled kindly as he received the agreement letter. Flipping through the pages, Justin pretended to read it. "What do you think, Klaus?" And then he handed it over to the real boss.
Joanna silently glanced at Klaus as he carefully read the agreement letter. Not long after, a sigh escaped Klaus.
"We hired them for one month. Paying them 2 million dollars, I think this is too much." Klaus threw the letter of agreement onto the table.
"Your guild rented three A-Class awakeners. That's a very cheap price compared to other guilds."
"The problem is that they lack experience; their raid hours are too low. Not to mention, your guild's specialization is blacksmithing."
House of Blacksmith was a major guild in the US, though they were not part of the Five Pillars. This guild focused its operations on forging weapons or armor for the awakeners. However, they also had some powerful awakeners for dungeon raids.
The reason why Klaus chose them was because they offered awakeners loans at low prices. Klaus thought he could bargain their price even lower in this meeting.
"I'm sure you guys want to use us to give them experience. 1 million dollars is a good price."
Benjamin giggled. "Indeed, we are not a guild that specializes in raiding, Mr. Klaus. But I find 1 million dollars is unreasonable. Two million dollars is a fair price."
Klaus continued to bargain and cite good reasons why they should lower the price, but the man named Benjamin was able to remain firm in his opinion.
Rays of Hope currently only had 2 million, but Klaus didn't want to pay them. He didn't want to spend all of his funds; he needed them in case of unforeseen situations.
After tough negotiations, Klaus could not lower the price of the awakeners' salaries. Benjamin knew that Klaus was in a financial crisis.
"Sorry, gentlemen." Benjamin closed the letter of agreement. "I don't think we can reach an agreement. Allow me to take my leave. Hopefully, you will find another guild that is willing to loan you awakeners in accordance with your offer."
The guild master remained silent, realizing that he had no negotiation skills. And Joanna did the same. They knew that the deal had failed.
However, Klaus did not give up.
As Benjamin was about to leave, Klaus stopped him. He thought of an idea to win this negotiation.
"How about this, I will pay you 1 million dollars, and the rest will follow."
Benjamin raised one of his eyebrows. "That is actually possible. But we need a guarantee in case you cannot pay the salaries of our awakeners. Not to put you down, but it seems like your guild's financial condition is not good."
Klaus grinned; he knew it was coming. Taking a deep breath, he held his little sister's shoulders. Naturally, Joanna was surprised.
"She is Joanna Lee, a healer. She's our greatest asset right now. Although she lacks experience, she's an A-Class awakener. If Rays of Hope is unable to repay the debt, we will transfer her to your guild."
Everyone in the room was instantly surprised. Especially Joanna.
The girl knew nothing but suddenly she was dragged into these thorny negotiations. Of course, she didn't want it, but Klaus squeezed her shoulder when she was about to complain. And Justin just tried to stay calm, though he was shocked inside.
After hearing Klaus' offer, Benjamin Preston raised his eyebrows; the smile on his face said the man was very interested.
Klaus then told Joanna to show her information to Benjamin via smartlink. The man nodded his head a few times as he saw the words "A-Class" on the hologram screen.
"Well, it looks like we have to change some of the terms of our agreement," Benjamin said.
Klaus smiled. "Yes, Mr. Preston."
After they crossed out the price and changed the terms, Justin signed the loan agreement. And then the two stood up and shook hands.
"Nice working with you."
That was what Benjamin said before he left.
Now, there were only three people in the room.
"Klaus! Why are you doing this? You think I don't know what you just did!" Joanna was angry.
The girl shook her older brother by his collar, and Klaus let her do it. And Justin could only shake his head at the sight of the two siblings.
"You really are nuts, Klaus. After deceiving the Awakener Association Director, now you're selling your own sister," Justin quipped.
"I didn't sell her. I just made her collateral."
"Same thing! You idiot," Joanna snapped.
Justin asked, "You know the risks, right?"
Klaus certainly knew the risks of his choice. If he defaulted on the loan and Joanna was not proven to be part of the guild, the House of Blacksmiths could file charges against his guild. The worst-case scenario was that Rays of Hope disbanded.
Despite knowing that fact, he still made this choice. For him, it's better to risk than regret.
