Chapter 391: Deal [15]

The silence stretched between the two... three of us, as I waited for Diana’s response.

I had put forth my pitch, while avoiding it from being a desperate one.

Now it was up to Diana, whether she wanted to take the deal, or reject it.

Either outcome was acceptable... though I hoped for the former.

"X... never heard of him."

Diana didn’t outright accept anything, but her question was proof enough of her interest in allying with us.

"He has never revealed himself before the world, though I think... you might have known him in the past."

Maybe... I was indeed a good actor as the words flowed from my mouth without any interruptions whatsoever.

Diana raised a brow in return, as if thinking about any such identity during her era.

"I will have to meet him, and then see for myself—"

"His Eminence will meet you when he deems it fit. Until then, you will have to work with us... that is if you indeed end up accepting our cooperation."

I mean... X still had quite some time before he could grow strong enough to portray the best image of himself.

It would be embarrassing if the parasite found out that X was still a Gold 3.

Another round of silence ensued as Diana thought to herself.

I briefly glanced at Arthur, who in return was quick to meet my gaze.

We didn’t exchange any words, but the message was clearly communicated through my eyes, as Arthur slightly shifted in his place, ready to engage in a new round of combat at a moment’s notice.

"So... what you mean to say is that my enemies would ultimately become your enemies as well, and that gives us a reason to partner with each other and for me to join your... organization."

Diana uttered the words with a hint of uncertainty in her voice, though I nodded my head with confidence.

"But why would you want my help, if you have someone like Nemur protecting you."

Sigh.

Diana had hit the very mark that I had wanted to avoid, but it wasn’t like I was unprepared.

"The headmaster has a genuine concern for me, but that doesn’t mean he is on my side."

I decided to be partially honest in my answer.

And well... being my guardian, it was only right for me to flex my close relation with him.

"He doesn’t know about your organization."

Diana spoke the words in general as if talking to the air around her, but I could feel the not-so-hidden threat in them.

"He doesn’t, but... it won’t make a difference even if he knows."

I clarified myself before Diana could interpret my silence as some leverage against me.

And it wasn’t like I was bluffing either.

Even if the headmaster knew that I was part of some organization, I didn’t think he would go out of his way to immediately kill me or something.

At least that was what I had inferred from all of my meetings with him so far.

He could very well use the information to corner me, and make me reveal all the details regarding my mana control, or he could make me do his dirty work... turning me into his slave of sorts.

He may decide to reveal my existence to the world as well, and pass the judgment of justice and morality upon me.

There were several possibilities, but that didn’t mean that I would allow Diana to use them as some sort of weakness against me, and blackmail me or do anything of the sorts.

Even if the world got to know about my real identity, which I for obvious reasons wanted to hide... still, it wasn’t like I would be completely helpless either.

I would just have to adapt to the situation and change my approach.

"You sure are good at psychological warfare, but rest assured, kid... I wasn’t trying to threaten you."

"..."

"I may have the arrogance of a Divine, but I am in no way a fool. If cooperating with you will genuinely yield me decent returns, then there is no real need for me to play games with my... potential allies."

Diana’s attitude for some reason had suddenly taken a dramatic shift from her earlier cold indifference.

"Fighting against the kid has given me a fair understanding of his strength, and well... it’s a little embarrassing for me to accept it, but yes... I have no interest in ruining my plans due to him."

Diana pointed towards Arthur before taking a step forward in our direction.

That single movement was enough to make Arthur tense, though he didn’t react on impulse and stayed put in his place without moving an inch.

"Your friend is quite the strong one, and... speaking honestly, even if I go all out, I don’t think I would be able to kill him."

The more Diana spoke, the more wary I became, because the parasite was not only speaking her mind, but the things that she was saying could have been kept secret by her to get a dominating edge in the negotiations—

Because neither I nor Arthur had any real understanding of the true extent of her powers.

Two possibilities sprouted in my mind upon hearing Diana’s words, with one being that the girl had already decided to kill us and was trying to lower our guard.

The second being that... the parasite was genuine in its words, and was really interested in forming an alliance with us.

I hoped that it was the latter, still, the wariness in my eyes couldn’t be hidden as Diana moved closer to me.

"Considering that our enemies might very well overlap with each other, I think... it is only reasonable for us to cooperate with each other, but—"

Diana raised her index finger while taking a short pause, which only went on to deepen the strange silence in the world around me.

"I have a condition of my own."

"..."

"..."

It wasn’t like I hadn’t expected Diana to put forth a condition of her own, but hearing it in real time only went on to increase the price that I had to pay to gain the parasite as my new... tool.

Sigh.

Well, it should have been a given for me to increase my expenditure with regards to upgrading my toolkit, or else my profession might really suffer due to a lack of equipment to work with.

"Go ahead."

Seeing Diana wait for my reply, I uttered the words with a firm determination in my voice.

As things had come till here, I wasn’t one to back down.

"My current body... it clearly has limitations of its own. At first I was going to stay hidden in this body till the little girl reached the Immortal rank so that I would have been able to use my real strength with a greater degree of freedom, but now that I have the option to use your support... I was thinking of getting a good body for me to return to the peak of my powers."

Completing her sentence, Diana moved even closer to me, reducing the distance between us to a mere foot.

"And the body that I want is of a Sovereign... Emerys Elor."