Ares was led into the room and the scenery changed quite drastically from what is what like outside. Back in the corridor everything resembled a carrier ship with plain grey metal paint and various tubes lining the walls heading off into myriad directions. It was rather claustrophobic as all the pathways were narrow, cramped, and a little dark actually. Sure there were lights but they were mostly weak and gave off a strange red glow. In here though? In here things were cosy! The walls were made of wood, so it was in stark contrast to the rest of the ship, and had a rather warm and homely feel to it. It was almost like stumbling across a cabin in the woods with the fireplace still running and s''mores being roasted over it. There was a desk near the back and the rest of the room sort of expanded out from it, allowing whoever sat behind it to take in the full view of everyone and everything before them. The walls were lined with a few pictures here and there but they were too artsy for Ares to make out any specific details. To him, they just sort of looked like blobs of paint but to a masterful eye!... They were still just blobs of paint but pretending otherwise earned them kudos and so they got all philosophical about it. In turn, that led to absurd prices and rich folk like the man in this room lapping it up.


    A con, basically.


    Ares couldn''t say what ''real'' art was supposed to be with any sort of confidence but, whatever it was, it definitely was not anything lining the walls of this room. That being said, they added a splash of colour so it''s not like they were ruining the atmosphere in here or anything, rather uplifting it instead. Though the person here seemed prone to buying luxuries, and needlessly expensive items, he had good taste at least... In terms of aesthetics, definitely not artworks. There were various other bits of furniture here and there but the one that mattered, and the one that the C.E.O was walking towards from around his desk, was a table in the centre of the room that was presumably used for negotiating. A seat at the table was gestured to by the guard so Ares took the hint and sat down in front of three items that the C.E.O offered to Ares in turn to show some ''hospitality''. One was a bunch of sweets, the second appeared to be a mug with some transparent green liquid in it, and the third was a weird scroll of some kind...


    "Treats? Tea? Treaty?" The C.E.O was a tall man with an amiable enough smile on his face but Ares could tell there was something lurking deeper. Not evil, just conniving like any good businessman. It was a kind of look Ares could see in Onno sometimes and the two were somewhat similar in terms of their looks. Ares was tempted to make a guess that this guy was one of Onno''s brothers, the resemblance was that close, but he shied away from it because he could very well be wrong and that might have consequences. Not everyone liked Onno''s family, most detested it, so revealing an affiliation to them early would be silly. Hell even if this guy was one of Onno''s brothers, even though he wasn''t, then that could still wind up being a problem as not all the brothers even liked each other! In short, it was best not to mention the similar facial structure and focus on other aspects of him instead.


    The C.E.O was being generous to Ares off the rip and offering him some bonbons and tea... Although that was honestly almost definitely so he could make the ''treaty'' pun... And that was what truly mattered here, the treaty. Did this guy seriously believe Ares was here as a representative for the other business!? All he''d done was walk in to their shop and buy crap. This was an exaggerated overreaction but Ares had a hunch this guy wasn''t the type to make such a bizarre choice. Ares didn''t know much about this guy but, as an occasional fellow pun maker, Ares was convinced this guy had to have some smarts in him! He had ties to the higher ups of the Federation and ran one of the bigger businesses in this country so he had to be at least somewhat talented in something. To that end, Ares wasn''t sure where to go from here... The most pressing issue was that if Ares agreed to sign the treaty, even if it meant nothing as the other shop wouldn''t abide by it, Ares would be admitting culpability for spying. It would make the problem go away but he''d likely have to pay a price of some kind as an apology. Alternatively, If he denied it, however, then he would still need to prove himself which put the ball firmly in the C.E.O''s court. It was a clever move to kick things off with but this guy was about to get a rude awakening if he thought Ares would just take this lying down.


    Ares picked up the scroll and started reading it but, before he could even get two lines in, the thing randomly evaporated! It seemed like Ares had accidentally-on-purpose disintegrated the thing! Oh no! "Whoopsie! I appear to have destroyed the treaty... And just when it was getting to the good part too... I don''t suppose you have another finely crafted and immaculately curated treaty, that you drafted up in the last five minutes, up your sleeve do you?" Of course he wouldn''t! Unless the guy had a photocopier or something... But the point here was that the treaty must have only been created the second the C.E.O caught wind of Ares entering the other shop. There was no way in hell he had the foresight to create two at once! point in case, the smile on the C.E.O cracked a little but he continued on in the face of adversity.


    "No... I do not... But I do remember its contents and I would be more than happy to read them out loud to you from memory."


    "Quietus Edict."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Though the C.E.O tried to speak, he simply could not make any noise whatsoever as Ares smiled politely at him from across the table. This was a whole lot less subtle than his previous charade but it''s not like Ares was trying to be subtle to begin with! He ate some bonbons while the C.E.O sat deep in thought about where to go from here. Ares did eventually remove the sound nullifying art as it looked like the C.E.O had gotten the message loud and clear! Or not... There was no sound after all... "So, uh, can I go now?" Ares pointed towards the exit as he stood up but before he could get a response he was forced to dive to the side of the room as a giant fist of wind came barrelling through the walls. Apparently the C.E.O''s office was also not a safe zone and, even here, he was liable to be attacked whenever. The location was pretty deep in the ship but that didn''t mean stronger, or luckier, arts couldn''t come crashing on through. A well enough aimed attack, provided it was packing sufficient firepower, could very well just end the feud by assassinating the C.E.O. Alas, this had not happened as of yet so they were still just chucking arts at each other like monkeys flinging poop.


    The C.E.O sighed to himself, as he''d much rather deal with Ares in peace, but still stood up and decided to take measures into his own hand temporarily. "Thunder Strike, Mistral Shrapnel, Shove Earth." A rapid combination of arts, each of which served a different purpose. The Thunder Strike was retaliation and, as far as Ares could tell, smacked the wind pillar cultivator, who launched the previous fist art, in the head striking him dead on the spot. The Mistral Shrapnel was aimed at a few of the stationary artillery devices over on the other ship and collided squarely with the area they were congregated, freezing all of them solid and making it hard to use those weapons again for quite some time. Finally, the Shove Earth was aimed at the C.E.O''s own ship as he was creatin a new, sturdier replacement wall to keep the breeze out. He was doing this solely for Ares'' benefit as, normally, whenever this happened, he would take up post in the broken wall and fire pot shots at the other C.E.O''s office.


    In this manner, the two big guns of the shops would fight one another at range with their underlings providing assistance but nothing major had ever really happened. The one time either C.E.O suffered a considerable injury there had been staff waiting beside them to administer healing resources and medicines until they were back in tip top ship shop shape again. Honestly, Ares thought this whole thing was pointless. Yes they were doing damage to one another''s ships, and yes they might even hit each other occasionally, but they really didn''t seem to have any meaningful way of actually ending this farce. They were serious about the fighting but not actually very good at it. They were clearly businessmen, not warlords, otherwise surely one of the two would have been dead by now. Look, all Ares was thinking was that, if this were him? Either he or the other guy would have been dead a few days into the battle, not a few years down the line! Ares didn''t know how these lot could live with life or death enemies basically across the street from them without taking proper measures to off them at the soonest possible convenience. Ares wanted to see all out war! Not that he''d be getting it. At least not here anyway, Neo Gear was the place for that.


    Anyway, the conversation resumed from where it left off with Ares being blunt and getting to the important topic. "So what do you really want out of me? It''s clear you''re not dumb enough to think I''m actually a spy and you definitely know who I am; so you just used this all as a pretence to speak to me about something else, right? You aren''t going to go into that discussion, whatever it may be, with any advantages from this spy accusation nonsense so drop it and speak plainly or there''ll be a much bigger hole in this room and it won''t be those other guys who blew it open." Ares'' threat was simple and to the point so, naturally, the C.E.O.''s next response was as well.


    "I want in on the Red Sun ascension to Vraizon. I want to continue cultivating but have been stuck in this shop for some time now. I believe I''m in a similar position to your current sect master, Yulo, and I want out. That being said I cannot simply leave my post or entrust it to someone else so throwing this business at Red Sun is the best solution I can come up with to get the best of both worlds."


    "And so you wanted to do the spy hoopla to put me in a position where I felt like I had to say yes and accommodate you?"


    "Pretty much. I didn''t have much else planned if Im honest and, really, how could I? Given your status, and how strong you are, you aren''t someone I can bully on a spur of the moment decision. I''ll be completely honest, if you were even a little weaker I would trample all over you if I could." The C.E.O shrugged but Ares wasn''t surprised by his response or his nonchalance. If anything, Ares would find it weird if this wasn''t the kind of attitude a person like this had. Or even most cultivators, really, as this was all completely normal and he was just being honest about it compared to your average expert cultivator.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "So why talk to me? It''s public knowledge that unless you know me personally it would be better for you to discuss such things with Hans or Windsor back in Red Sun."


    "Well yes but this way is much faster as you actually happen to be present aboard the Federation right now. A messenger bird would take a long while to reach Red Sun and return so I figured this was for the best. Also, I can offer you gifts in return for allowing me into Red Sun this way. I imagine anyone looking to bribe you would have to go through Hans first and I don''t think he''d much care about relaying those offers to you." He was right as Hans was definitely more well-oriented in terms of resisting the urge to accept bribes or even interact with them in any way. He wouldn''t take them nor would he notify Ares of them as he viewed it as being better left ignored. If what you brought to the table wasn''t enough to earn a spot in Red Sun then c''est la vie mon ami. Hans cared deeply about Red Sun in his own way and so he wasn''t taking half measures here or being fast and loose with his permission to hitch a ride just because of personal favours that were up for offer.


    "So... What are you gonna offer me then? I can tell how much this means to you but your plight means nothing to me and I have no real need for you. You''ll be just another business, even if slightly bigger than most others, but I wouldn''t be beside myself if I left this room now and never spoke to you about this matter again."


    "Money is the only real solution here I think. I have various treasures and what not on some of the shop floors but I''ve already perused then and none of them will likely strike your fancy. You don''t seem like the type to be interested in rare or priceless antiques either so what can I offer you if not money? I''ll admit I''m desperate here so I would rather you pick and choose what you want out of me than expect me to come up with something. I''ve never been the creative or negotiating type, I just have good business sense is all. Such a talent isn''t uncommon, I just have it in spades compared to some others. I''m lucky to be here but, funnily enough, I don''t even really want to stay here. I have a passion for cultivation. That''s it. No lofty ambitions, no grand goals, no plans for the future. I just want to cultivate so hit me with your best shot as I''m sure whatever you ask of me will be worthwhile for me to hand over to you if it can get me closer to my goal."


    "Hm... Well money itself is a tricky thing. Sure I could just ask you for a lump sum of stardust but who''s to say that will be relevant forever? As I understand it, the higher up you go in the domain ladder the more stardust everyone owns and, in turn, the more expensive everything becomes. A large sum from you now might be considered chump change in three or four domains'' time. I would much rather have something concrete so... I don''t know if this will end up being cheaper or more expensive for you in the long run, but how about this... You buy me something at the upcoming auction. I don''t what they will be selling, I don''t know if they''ll even have anything I want, but as long as you accompany me and bid for one item, or none if you''re lucky and I''m not interested in what they''re selling, I''ll recommend you to Hans which should get you what you want. The chunk of stardust you were willing to give me originally might cover an item I want from the auction, and leave me with some left over, or it might not have been enough at all. In short, it''s impossible to tell if this avenue of bribery will be more or less expensive for you than a lump sum but I really don''t want your money and I would rather have a guarantee that what you offer me will be useful. Completely random is the result of this exchange! Will you get lucky as I choose something cheap, or will you have to fork over a considerable sum?... Are you willing to take that bet?" If someone offered Ares this deal he would tell the person to get lost as betting on something with such impossible to determine odds was a no go for him. Still, that was partly because Ares had options whereas this man did not. It wasn''t a bad gamble to make, necessarily, it was just one that could potentially go horribly wrong if there just so happened to be a special item on sale at this particular auction that Ares really wanted. On the flip side, if Ares just wanted some cheap, 100 high grade alchemy ingredient, or whatever, then this C.E.O would make off like a bandit and spend basically nothing while still getting his reward.


    "On one condition."


    "You aren''t really in a position to be asking anything of me but I''ll hear you out at least." Ares gestured to indicate that the floor was all his and the C.E.O could state his ''demand''. Of course whether Ares abided by it or not was entirely dependant on how reasonable what he said was.


    "I''ll agree provided you don''t just buy something expensive for the sake of buying it. I want a valid explanation for why you want or need whatever you want me to bid on. Something like a rare resource or treasure I''ll understand but if you want a treasure map, or something random for seemingly no reason, I''ll ask and expect a good response. I''m not going to throw my life''s savings away for your amusement just so you can make use of our deal without it not benefitting you, I want to know that there''s potentially a chance for me to pay nothing too."


    Ares rolled his eyes. "I know I can be a douche sometimes but even I wouldn''t go that far. You have my word that I will only be keeping an eye out for anything that will actually be of use to me in one way or another." This was good for Ares! He''d previously just assumed he would attend the auction and watch the rich folk steal away everything but now he had an in-road to buying something via someone who could snag an item for him! Win! And all it took was getting one prospering business into Red Sun? Double win! Ares had undersold this guy''s shop, and the value of such a thing to Red Sun at large, pretty hard but the truth was that it was most welcome. Ares just wanted a bit extra out of this arrangement so he pushed for it while telling a bit of a white lie. "Ok, so now that that''s settled, you should still send a Hans a letter to inform him of the discussion we''ve had here. And though he doesn''t appreciate bribes you should be honest with him and tell him about everything we agreed upon because he cares more about dishonesty than what you''re offering me. He''ll be understanding, even if not appreciative, and I''ll be telling him about this even if you don''t. As for this shop... I''ll come and whisk it away after I''m done in Neo Gear. There''s another shop waiting for me to do the same (Barb''s alchemy shop), so I''ll do both at the same time. Keep an ear out for news of me heading over to Neo Gear and then make the appropriate preparations. Hans might be able to help you find staff and stock if needed but I''m, assuming that won''t be necessary for a business of this calibre. If anything, you might be able to help some others in Red Sun so if Hans asks, don''t be stingy about it and support your new community."


    The C.E.O gave a quick nod. "That''s fair enough..." He looked over to the wall that had been broken earlier with a complicated look in his eyes... "I wonder how the other C.E.O will take this. He''ll be happy to see me gone but jealous of the opportunity, I''m sure. Funnily enough, he''d probably been planning on doing the exact same thing I did, I was just lucky enough to have you enter my shop second so the spy accusation could have even a slither of merit to it... Whatever, I''ll send him a letter indicating that I want the hostilities to cease. There''s no point in doing this anymore now that one of us will be departing. Of course we still want each other dead but I don''t think that''s going to happen before I head off so he''ll just give up on that plan. As for the auction, I''ll meet you outside the building on the day thereof. I have standards, though, so if you''re late I will just leave and expect you to still follow through on your end of the deal regardless!"


    Ares nodded because he had no reason to be late... Unless the Firestarters just so happened to attack that one restaurant on that day and at that time specifically. It was unlikely though as these auctions were attended by far too many people. That was relevant because, although it could make actually committing the arson easier, it was less likely to result in the deaths of the people they really wanted long gone. If the rich people that screwed them over were all congregated in one place, and you attacked another, the casualty rate would be abysmal if not flat out zero! Most restaurants were shut on auction day too because they also attended the auction so, unless the Firestarters were willing to burn an empty building for no apparent reason, they would likely pick a different day. It was a kind of assurance that Ares was free to ignore it during that time period and not keep staking the place out. He''d already narrowed down when they were likely to strike and this narrowed it down even further thankfully. Ares was about to get up and leave when the guard from earlier, who''d been standing outside this whole time, came hurriedly thorough the door with purpose in his long and fast strides. He wasn''t panicking, per se, but there was a look of urgency on his face that implied something was going wrong and a frown that sealed the deal.


    "Sir... The ''Fins'' are coming..."


    Ares raised an eyebrow because he assumed this was the name of the pirate group that occasionally terrorised the Federation. They were ''sharkin''... Shark kin... Not exactly the greatest name ever but the point got across to people pretty consistently with it so who cared? Anyway, these lot had superior movement underwater to most cultivators and could freely approach the Federation from any angle while retreating equally as fast, leading to a hit and run style assault on merchant ships to steal their goods. Of course the armadas would step in and do something but it was generally better for everyone to be alert during this time as they looked for openings to attack just about anyone and everything. Even passing-by civilians would be robbed of their jewellery by a highwayman-esque stand and deliver out the blue. No really, out the blue as the sharkin would leap out of the water and land directly in front of you while holding you up with a sword or musket.


    Anyway, point being, they were annoying, and came in great numbers, so were hard to repel thanks to their speed and ability to relocate rapidly. By the time defences were mobilised in one spot, they would have already found a quick route underwater to another place which was part of why Ares hadn''t given props to the Federation for their layout regarding military strategy. This was a major flaw but oh well, it just meant that Ares could make some money off dealing with them! He had incentives to as well because his new C.E.O friend here would inevitably be a victim of the attack too. Given the scale of the shop, his warehouses must have been ginormous and at considerable risk. To that end, not even an armada could protect it all as they would be far too busy casting a wide net to give preference to just one business, that wasn''t how they operated. Ares was going to deal with as many sharkin as he could but he would definitely prioritise the ones attacking what was technically one of his own newly acquired businesses as it would reside in his Red Sun realm shortly enough! No thieving allowed!... Unless your name was Aejaz, in which case some thieving allowed! He''d already stolen a clock on the wall from the C.E.O who''d yet to notice... This guy...