Johan sat across from Lucas in the storage room because of the reporters outside. They couldn’t have another meeting on the roof. And he didn’t exactly feel safe in his room at the moment.

  So, a quick setup of plastic chairs, boxes of rations serving at the table between them, he guided the two high-level hunters into the storage room.

  Johan felt his stomach twisting.

  Lucas had come in a very flashy outfit once again. Blue baseball jacket and jeans ripped near the knees. Truly an outgoing person.

  With Adrian in the back, looking as calm and professional as ever.

  It wasn’t that their presence bothered him; it was the reason for the visit. It felt weird, but he could sense it. Maybe because of the skill he got. Something felt off and dangerous.

  As he had guessed, Lucas started with a light talk. Passing over thank yous and praises for the potions. He also admitted to releasing a little info about the mart. It stung Johan, but he couldn’t really say anything back.

  It was inevitable, considering the buzz, Johan concluded. Then, after all the small talk, the reason for his stomachache arrived.

  “Please, have a look through this.” Adrian handed him two things: one single sheet of paper, and the other a stack as thick as his head.

  “Is this a contract?” Nervous, he looked at them, eyes bouncing between the papers.

  “In a nutshell, yes.” Lucas didn’t mince his words; he only pointed at the single sheet of paper.

  Johan read the 5 points written on it. Salary, protection, housing, increments, and status. He would’ve fainted at the salary itself, but the housing and increments jolted him awake.

  Not to mention the status. Lucas wanted to make Johan the chief alchemist of the Agni Clan, a position that other alchemists in the country would kill for. However, as with all things in this capitalist world, everything came at a cost.

  Namely, the protection clause. He didn’t even have to look into the thick stack to understand the implications.

  “Would you stop me from selling my potions to other guilds?” Johan asked the only point that mattered to him.

  “It’s no—” Adrian started, but Lucas raised his hand.

  “We will allow it under specific conditions.” He leaned forward, supporting his chin with his left hand.

  “Conditions? Like, whether they are close to your clan or not?” Johan had already placed the papers on the makeshift table.

  “More than that, it is for your protection. If it were up to me, I’d keep you safe in some basement. But that is not a good option considering how you are.” Lucas removed his shades, a smile tugging on his lips.

  “People may not know who you are right now, but they’ll find out soon. You have no powerful allies. I know you are a childhood friend of Yuna Lee, but you haven’t told her anything, have you?” It stung how easily Lucas had found that out, but that was the world they lived in. “Why didn’t you tell her? How do you make those potions? How have you stayed under the radar till now, none of those really matter to me.”

  “I am simply a businessman looking to invest,” Lucas added. “And I want to make good on my investment, that’s why I’ll treat you with respect. So, what is your answer?”

  Even though he sat in front of Lucas, Johan didn’t feel any aura or pressure. There was no coercion, just as Lucas had said; this was a business deal where both parties were on equal terms. There was enough money on the table for Johan to live carefreely, but that didn’t matter.

  He closed his eyes, remembering the day of awakening. He felt so disappointed that he had gained the class Tower Farmer. After Morgan left, he cried in the hospital that day, even though he had tried to put up a brave front.

  But he also decided something.

  There was no doubt that Lucas and Adrian meant well. He could say that with certainty today. But Johan had decided to use the class to its full potential.

  “Sorry.” Johan started, pushing the papers back to Lucas. “This is not the offer I am looking for.”

  “For real?” Lucas blinked.

  “For real, real.” Johan nodded.

  Lucas raised his hand. Johan flinched a little, but soon realized it was aimed towards Adrian. The man, as tough as stone, clicked his tongue for the first time.

  “Gimme gimme.” Lucas continued to wave his hand with his snarky tone.

  “You won.” Adrian handed over what seemed like a Pokémon card.

  Johan happened to see the words on the case 2000 Pokemon Charizard Base II Holographic #4/130 Graded PSA 9 Mint. He had no idea what it meant, but Lucas was over the moon.

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  It took him a solid minute to look back at Johan. Adrian had already collected the papers, disgruntled.

  “By the way, I want to place an order for twenty healing potions. Is that possible?” Lucas said, almost as if that was the side quest. Maybe for the Clan head of Agni, it was one?

  “I’ll have them ready by the end of the week.” Johan showed his business smile.

  Lucas paid half in advance and left, a new spring in his steps. Watching the rolls Royce move out, ignoring the flashing cameras, Johan let out a sigh and collapsed in the chair in his room.

  He had half expected to get kidnapped when he refused, but Lucas was a good sport about it. Recalling the salary, a pang of pain shot through his chest. The zeros alone made his mind go in circles. But Johan believed he could make more.

  Not to mention other problems that would come with the contract. The excessive protection was one thing, but they wouldn’t let him continue his work at the Mart. The foot he had wrenched into the door of the potion market would be for naught. And he didn’t want to leave without paying back Morgan and Eugene.

  But a mansion in Sector H, the most luxurious area in the capital. Johan almost called Lucas back. Good thing he held back.

  It’s not that I don’t want to settle down; I need an understanding partner. Johan twisted in his bed, now facing the poster of his friend Yuna Lee.

  He should’ve told her. Her number in his phone stared at him. But he hesitated to press the call button. Maybe she had changed her number. She most likely did.

  “I’ll tell her,” Johan vowed, “when I meet her.”

  When would that meeting happen? Johan didn’t know. What he did know was that he had an order to complete.

  “Time to earn my keep.” He said, going to the basement as the bank notification popped up.

  ***

  On the way back to the Agni Clan, Lucas sat in the backseat alone. He had a lot on his mind. But for the time being, he felt content just looking at the Charizard card in his hand.

  Adrian seemed less than pleased with the situation, glancing back at him at fixed intervals. But the side eyes won’t get him the card; Lucas had his eye on it for a while. He had no plans of letting it go, especially not out of pity or generosity.

  It wasn’t until another thirty minutes had passed that Adrian spoke.

  “How did you know?”

  “About what?” Lucas tilted his head, pointing at the Pokémon card. “This?”

  “About Johan,” Adrian spoke through his clenched jaw. “How did you know he’d refuse?”

  “Oh, that?” Lucas leaned back into the heated seat. From the moment Adrian had started drafting the contract, he knew Johan wouldn’t agree.

  It wasn’t that the contract had a fault. Adrian was as meticulous as they came, even more than top-tier lawyers in the Hunter field. And he only had good intentions for Johan; there wasn’t a single trap or loophole in the contract, unless Johan’s life was in danger. All in all, it was a contract that would have anyone else in the country drool.

  “Did you see it?” Adrian asked, and they came to a halt as the traffic lights turned red.

  “More like felt it.” Lucas yawned, pocketing the card. “I already felt that he wouldn’t agree to join our clan the first time I met him.”

  “Why?” The creases on Adrian’s forehead deepened; it was a small wonder why this troubled him so much. “Does he not know how valuable he is?”

  “Oh, he knows.” Lucas chuckled. “That guy knows his value well. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have tried to reach Agni Clan through Cara.”

  “If that wasn’t enough, you can see the moves he pulled into the lower bracket of the potion market.” He could only laugh when he read about it. “That’s a guy who knows what he is capable of and is aware of it. He knows exactly how he is affecting the market, even the dangers that come with it.”

  “If he knows that much, why won’t he sign with us?” Adrian turned to face him; he didn’t care if the lights had turned green.

  “Because he doesn’t want to.” Lucas shrugged at the blank face Adrian gave him. “If I have to put it in simpler words…”

  “He knows his role, he has somewhat accepted it, and he knows he can do well in that role.” Lucas looked at the tinted window with a slight smile. “He just doesn’t want to admit it yet.”

  “Sounds like another person I know.” Adrian shook his head, grasping the steering wheel again.

  “Pray tell, who is this magnificent man?” Lucas leaned forward, stuck to the driver's seat. “Come on, tell me.”

  “Clan Leader, please show some decorum.” Adrian cleared his throat as they rolled into the parking lot of the Clan building.

  “Such a mood killer.” Lucas fell back to his seat, crossing his arms.

  Though he had to admit, the arrow had struck true. His eyes landed on the cloak to his left. A rough-spun crimson cloak with a golden border, one that Sae, Adrian, Selena, Brima, and he made from the scraps.

  On the surface, it was a basic cloak without much value, but to the Agni Clan, it was the symbol of the clan leader. The old man used to wear it with pride, as shabby as it was. Now, Lucas had to wear it.

  Maybe Johan was also waiting for that moment. Waiting for the point where he had no other choice but to admit his role.

  As the car settled into the parking space, Lucas picked the cloak up and turned to Adrian.

  “Increase the surveillance around him, just follow the usual codes.” He yawned, stepping out under the dull light of the parking lot.

  “You aren’t leaving him alone?” Adrian raised his brow, checking the locked car door.

  “It was never for him to decide if he had joined the Agni clan. If I say he is a part of our clan, he is.” Lucas threw his shades on. “Jokes aside, he is still an important business partner; we can’t lose him.”

  “And I’d be damned if I make the same mistake as the idiots from the Round Table.” Lucas walked to the elevator coolly, at least he wanted to. But his phone started to ring.

  “Oh my…” Lucas stopped after reading the name.

  “Who is it?” Adrian caught up.

  “The witch, who else?” Lucas turned the phone towards him.

  “You aren’t gonna answer that?” Adrian began to sweat as the ring went off a few more times.

  “Imma send her to voicemail.”

  “Lucas, that’s the Association President, you don’t send the Association president, who controls all the Hunters in the country, to voicemail.” Adrian’s voice cracked.

  “Watch me.” Lucas sent her to voicemail.

  “Today is such a beautiful day.”

  Carrying the cloak in his hands and leaving behind a terrified Adrian, Lucas walked away in his usual swagger.

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