kscans

Chapter 128 - Negotiating with Bandit

Only the opposing leader and Hayato's group remained in the room.

The man who had guided them had prepared drinks and sweets on the table before leaving the room.

"First, let me introduce myself. I'm Jolt, the leader of Bandit. You don't need any honorifics, so just call me that. Also, I'm not good with formalities, so please don't use polite language. Part of it is that I can't use it myself."

"Uh, understood. Then I'll do that. I'm—"

"No, I know, so it's fine. You're Hayato, right? The man over there is Ash, and the woman is Ren-san, am I correct?"

"How do you know so much?"

"Of course I do. The only clan ours lost to was Daedalus, so it's only natural that we'd look into that clan. Man, you really got us with that one. I never thought you'd have the Demon Lord. And that one hit kill maid. You've gathered some pretty amazing companions."

"Um, what should I say—sorry."

"Don't worry about it. It was just a matter of losing a match that followed the rules. It was frustrating, but I don't want an apology. But I won't lose if there's another Clan War, you know."

"I'll ask you to go easy on us then."

Jolt nodded with a smile and drank his tea. Then his face turned serious, and he looked at Hayato.

"So, about your request for cooperation, what kind of cooperation is it?"

"I'm planning to defeat Agres Berion soon, and I was wondering if you could participate."

"Agres Berion? Ah, I see, you're talking about getting back the treasure fragment. Our investigation team was saying something like that. That there's a possibility of getting it back if you defeat him directly... I see, you have Ash with you. Death Dragon Ash Brandle. Then that means the information was highly credible."

(Investigation team? Could it be that they were skeptical about Agres Berion having the treasure fragment? It's true that I heard this information from Diite-chan and Ash, but—well, if that's the case, then this should be quick.)

"So, with that in mind, what do you think? We've prepared a fair number of people on our side, but the more strong allies we have, the better."

Jolt grinned at Hayato's words.

It wasn't an unpleasant, mocking smile, but it was a slightly irritating way of laughing.

"You don't seem to be denying it, do you? In that case, I don't see any merit for us."

"Merit?"

"You saw this base and its surroundings, right? Our clan and its allies can defeat Agres Berion on our own. There's no merit in lending a hand. It's like you gave us the information for free."

(...I was feeling too good about this and let my guard down, huh.)

It meant he had given away the information without getting anything in return. For Hayato, it was information he didn't mind telling, but there was a high possibility it could have been used in some kind of negotiation. Even if the other party had anticipated it to some extent, he should have played dumb.

Just as he was wondering what to do, he saw that Jolt was trying to hold back a laugh.

"Even in virtual reality, you don't show much on your face, Hayato. But on the other hand, the unnaturalness of it isn't good. I said it in a slightly mean way, but I'd appreciate it if you'd think of it as a joke. But helping you for free is out of the question."

"Does that mean it's okay if I pay you?"

"We can earn money, so we don't need it. What we want is information. Let's see—for example, the manufacturing method for the Dragon Eater Replica. Also, if you know the manufacturing method for the gun that maid had, I'd like you to tell me that too."

Hayato couldn't hide his surprise. It was true that the Dragon Eater Replicas sold at auctions and such were made by Hayato. Since Ash had the real Dragon Eater, not a replica, there was a possibility he had predicted it from that, but it was far too accurate.

Jolt looked at Hayato with a smile still on his face.

"The Dragon Eater Replicas sold at the auction were made by you, right, Hayato? When we investigated the sellers, all of them were members of Ash's mercenary group. And none of those members have the Blacksmithing Skill. Naturally, the only one who could make them would be their mutual acquaintance, Hayato—that's what I think, but what do you say?"

Hanzo thought, he's sharp, while wondering how to answer.

As for the Beelzebub, he didn't know the manufacturing method, so he couldn't answer. As for the Dragon Eater Replica, it wasn't information that would cause much trouble if it got out. Up until now, he had deliberately kept it a secret to make money, but it had spread to a certain number of players, so he was unsure what to do with it.

However, he didn't even know if it was possible to give away the manufacturing method in the first place. Ash could definitely give it away, but he had never tried to see if Hayato himself could give something like that away.

"Not much of a reaction, huh? Could it be that my thinking was wrong?"

"Let's see... well, whatever, it's not something I need to hide, so I'll tell you. First, I don't know how to make the gun, but it's true that I made the Dragon Eater Replica. So of course I know how to make it too. But I don't know if I can teach you that manufacturing method."

"So it's true! Our investigation team is excellent. The information they bring back is always highly accurate—now then, since I got one piece of information, I'll give one back. It wouldn't be fair if I was the only one receiving."

"Give back?"

"As for the manufacturing method, you can teach it by writing down the item you can make and its materials on a piece of paper. This is something our investigation and verification teams looked into and tried, so there's no mistake. I think it's the same for you, Hayato, but you found the paper with the manufacturing method in a dungeon treasure chest, right? In our case, our manufacturing team—the members who produce items—never go to dungeons, so they couldn't learn it. After a lot of trial and error, we found out that you can do that."

"That's the first I've heard of that."

He had learned three things. Not only that he could teach someone, but also that there was a paper in dungeon treasure chests that revealed the manufacturing method for new items. And there was a high possibility that Jolt didn't know the information that you could be taught a manufacturing method by an NPC. For Hayato, that information was far more welcome.

Up until now, Hayato had only been able to increase the number of items he could make through NPCs. But from now on, he could increase the number of items he could make through such methods.

He was starting to think it wouldn't be a bad idea to focus on that after this Stampede event was over. As a self proclaimed production meister, Hayato wanted to be able to make every item.

(The fun has increased. I'm sure Diite-chan would answer me right away if I asked her, but that would be boring in its own way.)

With Diite around, it was no exaggeration to say he had a game guide, but that would also rob him of the fun of discovering things for himself. For Hayato, the fun of a game was in the unknown, so he decided not to ask about such things in the future.

"Now then, what do you say? If you write down the manufacturing method on a piece of paper and teach me, I'll cooperate in the battle against Agres Berion."

Hanzo looked at Ash. He had received this manufacturing method from Ash. That's why he couldn't decide on his own whether it was okay to give it away.

Ash noticed Hayato's gaze, but after thinking for a moment, he spoke to Jolt, saying, "Can I have a word?"

"You can teach me the manufacturing method, but I'd like to do it after we participate in the battle against Agres Berion."

"It's not that I don't trust you, Hayato, but it would be a problem if you didn't teach me after we cooperated."

Hayato remembered having a similar exchange before.

"It's not like we're forcing you to participate either. If you can't accept that, then the negotiations are off."

(That's true, but Ash is being pretty assertive.)

Jolt crossed his arms and thought for a while, but after taking a deep breath, he looked at Ash.

"...I'm beat. I'm losing in negotiations too, huh. Alright, you win. I'll lend you my strength in the subjugation of Agres Berion. In return, you'll teach me the manufacturing method for the Dragon Eater Replica. Is that okay?"

"Is that okay with you too, Hayato?"

"Of course I don't mind. But you gave in surprisingly easily, Jolt. Isn't there some kind of catch?"

"No, no, there's no catch. It's just that I'd like to build a friendly relationship with the Daedalus clan from now on. This is something like a sign of that trust, I guess."

"I see. Then let's continue to cooperate where we can from now on."

Hanzo stood up from his seat and held out his right hand. Jolt also stood up and they shook hands across the table.