"Good morning, Mr. Victor, Your Majesty." Malfoy, surrounded by two bug-like demons in suits, saluted the ruler of Grunt Grove. The demon doesn't seem to be bothered by the fact that those around him are turned into gems.
"Hi, Malfy!" Victor waved back, inviting them to sit around a table that Mort had conjured up in the central square. The boss glared at them from the other side, his bottle between them.
"Minion, I admit I have mixed feelings about this situation," Winkle complained, his entire body buried under a pile of gems next to the table. Only his head and wagging tail stick out. "I hate the elf's tricks, but I'm in a better position than my treasure."
"Why don't you run away?" Victor asked. Since Mort can't kill, Fankle would probably run away if he wanted to. Or so he hoped. Concerned about the elves' malicious behavior, the vizier sent Rollo to look after the town's stranded citizens, before this wish put them in danger.
"That fairy is the biggest demon I've seen since Freebon, and I can't do that without melting or trampling the gems," Winkle answered, knowing his priorities. "It's the perfect trap for a dragon."
"Based on our lobbying activity, we will handle this matter on behalf of Empire," Malfi said in introducing his attorneys. "This is Mr. Nick and this is his partner Sc
Mr. atch. They defend innocent people, like the Wicked Witch of the West, Dracula and Fa
As respectable as tômas. In Jesus v. Judas they obtained a dismissal in absentia. "
"Self-defense," one of the lawyers said. "The key is always self-defense."
"Well, let me explain the situation again, here," Victor pointed at the guy, "no matter how hard I try to express it, it doesn't grant wishes, but it distorts them. It's him who caused the chaos here, He wanted me to make it clear that he would be freed in exchange for Zawen's return to normal. However, if he was let go, he could kill as he pleased, and of course, he intended to betray us."
"Ah, I see," said Mr. Nick, the first lawyer. "You want to draft an agreement that preserves all the benefits of the previous wish, removes the negatives, and ensures there are no consequences."
“I want to keep all my statues,” Winkle said.
"Standard Faustian case law," the other lawyer replied, their jargon unintelligible to Victor. The demon opened a briefcase full of documents. "We have prepared a first draft based on your request."
"Can I trust you not to ruin us with the wording of your wish?" Victor asked, just in case. He had already mapped out his strategy with Malfoy before arranging this meeting, but they remained friends.
"Mr. Victor, I take illegal elf competition taking place in our core business very seriously." "Mr. Mott has also disrupted our plans and bottom line by petrifying chocolate. This is a corporate war."
Victor almost thought about breaking his promise not to let the chocolate bother him, but he gave up those thoughts.
“If I can’t exact my revenge on this country, I’ll make every first-born child die,” he declared with mock kindness.
"First, we insist that you sign a confidentiality agreement before negotiations begin." The devil handed Mort a document.
"He turned people for miles around into gems, and you still want a confidentiality agreement?" Victor frowned.
"Dear client, I assure you that this is part of a carefully planned strategy," the lawyer responded, rather than conjuring a feather and signing a nondisclosure agreement in frozen blood. "We'll take care of it."
"Can it be done by tonight?" Victor asked. "Then I have a very important date."
"Do you think I'm less important than a nasty woman?" His pride was hurt. "Maybe I should turn you into a monster at nightfall so you never get any rest."
"I'm sorry, but I've died twice, once after being impaled by a fairy crazier than you," Victor replied. "After that, every threat was a letdown. And, here, you're kidding me."
"I will never speak of Friend Victor again," Winkle repeated. "I almost died from a stroke last time."
"This will be sorted out in time for your date with the Chocolate Lady."
"I specifically point out that 'free from the bottle' should not be understood as 'free from life,' as Article 13.5 implies," Mott said, pointing to the second paragraph on page 87. "I would like a side note that I will not be moved to another container after my wish is fulfilled."
"Minions, I don't get it," Fankle complained, while friends edited articles in response. "Did we win?"
"I don't know," Victor replied, but the lawyers' frustration didn't seem to be a good thing for him. "how are things?"
"His laws are strong," the first lawyer admitted, keeping his voice low so that Mo wouldn't hear. "Very strong. But we can do better."
"I'm going to do what mortals call a pro-lawyer move," his diabolical partner said, dramatically cutting out one word and writing another.
"I changed my opening line from 'I hope you do' to 'I hope you should'."
“But that changes the meaning of the entire article!” was a very apt protest.
"You have the right to remain silent," the lawyer replied, and the demons around the table burst into demonic laughter. Victor gloated at their terrible sense of humor.
"This Agreement does not permit, under any circumstances, the designation of Mort, henceforth the 'Wish Granter', torture, negative influence, killing..."
"Slave!"
Vitality check successful! (Sleep) disease eliminated.
"Ah!" Victor suddenly opened his eyes before he fell asleep.
"Stop being lazy!" Vai
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explain. "We're almost done!"
"Who are we?" This fierce legal, intellectual, editorial and contractual wordplay battle raged for hours until the sun went down. While Victor struggles to stay awake, the dragon has the fortitude to follow the negotiations.
"We have reached a satisfactory compromise agreement of four hundred pages," one of the lawyers said, handing a stack of documents to Victor. Mort was looking at a copy. "We are currently reviewing its terms."
"The gist of it is that the negative effects of the wish will be removed, while the positive effects, such as your newfound intact treasury and statue of the Emperor, will remain," Malfoy explained. "He will be released but will not do anything harmful to V&V members, allies and subjects for the next fifty years."
"You can live, but your kind will experience death and pain."
"But can I still kill the fairy?" Winkle asked, eager for revenge.
"Doing so would invalidate the agreement," the lawyer warned, while Fankel and Mott booed each other. "I suggest you make peace and forget about this failed joint venture. Win-win."
"I don't think letting him kill everyone else in the world and leaving us alone is a fair deal," Victor protested disingenuously for his plan.
"Isn't it?" Malfoy asked, genuinely confused.
"I'd rather kill you too, Manling." "But this is the best you can get. I wouldn't compromise on anything else."
Winkle said angrily: "I agree with my chief of staff, the result of not killing the fairy cannot satisfy me." "I am a dragon. My people won the battle of the dragon fairy, and I must defend my of honor.”
"What did you say?" Mort's empty eyes turned into blazing stars. "You dragons didn't win, we gave you gold so you wouldn't bother us anymore!"
"After your shameful failure, you gave us a golden tribute!" Winkle replied angrily, and he and the fairy began to argue over which statement was true.
"Could you add an addendum that would allow His Majesty the King to duel with the fairies without invalidating the entire agreement?" Victor suggested to the lawyers, then turned to Winkle. It wouldn't be necessary if everything went according to his design, but it's better to be safe than sorry. "Is this okay?"
"Yes!" the dragon nodded. "Once the gem is safely away, nothing can stop me from feasting on his bones!"
"Great!" Mott growled back as the lawyers edited the contract. "If you will join the ranks of the dead, Waikr, I'll do it!"
"Okay." Malfoy said, handing the final draft of the agreement to Victor and Mort. "If you are satisfied, Mr. Victor, can you make a wish?"
Victor pretended to read the front page, focusing on the spaces between sentences. "Sounds good," the minister said, and Mort nodded. "Venquill will beat you to death, elf."
"It seems like that." The Djinn replied. "Fifty years is a blink of an eye for a man, Victor. Your time will come."
"So, Mort," Victor read the first sentence of the contract. "I hope you can fulfill this contract to the letter."
"Finally, I've been waiting for so long!" Mott couldn't restrain his joy. He raised a hand and snapped his fingers for the last time. "Your wish and my freedom come true!"
With a snap, he released a burst of magic that covered the entire Merven. The energy pulse is much stronger than the first one. Victor watched in amazement as the chaos around him ended as suddenly as it had begun. The petrified citizens turned back to flesh and bone, and the mountain of gems that trapped Winkle split in two, just as Moses did with the sea.
Even more worryingly, Mott's spine escaped from the bottle, dragging its lower half with it. The skinny fairy stood on two legs and danced with her feet. "Free, free!" said the animal happily, unaware of Victor's trap. "Free at last!"
"You are free to look at my intestines!" Winkle replied, and the red dragon spread its wings and let out a terrifying roar.
"If you like gold so much, dragon, you will turn into gold!" Mo snapped his fingers.
． ..
Nothing happened.
Winkle glanced down at his paws, just in case his transformation was gradual, then looked up triumphantly. "Ha! Fairy, I don't even need an attribute check to ignore your attack!"
"I told you you'd be gold!" Mo snapped his fingers a second time, and then a third time. "Why don't you work?"
"Because your magic is no match for me." Vacker replied arrogantly.
"Actually, Mr. Victor did it," Malfi replied, and the lawyers nodded.
"What about you?" The chief of staff couldn't help but smile slyly as Mott glared at him. "How? I checked every loophole in the text!"
"I know," Victor replied, and Winkle stopped threatening and went to observe the scene, "While I hope our lawyers will be successful, wording alone won't fool someone as experienced as you. Best The situation is that they will tie you to a compromise we can live with. But I know that, being the cunning, paranoid elf that you are, you will become obsessed with finding intricate holes in the text and miss the pitfalls on the front page. Let You believe you can resolve the consequences with a fight, which is not my plan... but it could be a good backup plan."
The elf immediately picked up his copy of the contract and examined the small print on the first page for any loopholes.
"I noticed something, in the tomb," Victor explained, as the elf didn't notice. "You can't see Fankle because he's wearing an invisibility ring. It makes me wonder if, despite your immense power, you also have limits. Because fairies in fairy tales are always bound by some vague rules, I doubt fo
o
s is no exception. You will definitely end up trapped in a bottle. "
"What do you mean?" he asked angrily.
"You can't read the invisible words."
To emphasize his statement, Malfoy cast a spell on the contract. "Invisible cleaning."
Something appeared between the lines, a hidden wish that the fairy had unintentionally fulfilled. "After fulfilling the wish detailed in this contract, the wisher will lose all of his abilities," the elf read aloud, shaking with rage, "unless the penalty clause is invoked."
For a few blissful seconds, Mott was speechless in shock and rage...and Wacker laughed.
"But...but..." the boy screamed in frustration.
"Vizil Strategy 54," Victor said. "You can't deceive someone more powerful than you. Instead, you set things up so they can screw themselves up."
"I didn't agree to do this!"
I hope you can fulfill the contract to the letter. It's not our fault if you didn't question those small invisible prints. As you said yourself...you can't go back on your word. "
"Oh, don't worry, we've been putting fine print in our contracts ever since Elysium became independent from Heaven," one of the lawyers said with triumphant disdain. "You lost to the best."
"This is fraud! This is fraud!"
"I guess we'll have to ask the authorities to investigate your claims." Malfoy turned to the Chief of Staff with a gloating look. "Am I right, Mr. Victor?"
"Case dismissed," the minister shrugged. "We're the government. If we do that, it's not fraud."
"I was fooled!" Winkle laughed at the guy, finding it too funny to attack him. "Just like my smug chief of staff expected!"
Mo screamed angrily, threw the table aside, and attempted to kill Victor with his bare hands. With surprising speed, Fankle raised a hand to crush the fairy, but he didn't need to.
Trapped by his own magical letter, and finally sucked back into his bottle. In less than a second, he disappeared from the room, this time forever. "Oh, the hidden penalty clause," the first lawyer commented. "I didn't expect him to use it so quickly."
"He should have read the small print," Victor said, picking up the bottle. "Now he can never get out."
Unsurprisingly, he was hamstrung by his powers.
"I'm surprised it worked," Fuliben said from his scythe after observing the plan from start to finish. "I thought a fairy wouldn't be bound by words she didn't notice."
"I'm surprised you didn't betray us in exchange for your freedom," his bearer admitted.
“Believing in fairies is as clever as turning a dragon’s treasure into lead.”
"I'm glad you learned."
"Well done, Manlin Victor." Winkel congratulated him sincerely. "Now we can send the bottle away from my eyes and keep the gems."
Kia will be the least happy. She missed another battle.
Congratulations! Because the Dragon Master on your behalf cleverly deceived a monster, you gained two levels in [Monster Knight (Red Dragon)]! You gained the [Master's Shield] career buff.
[Master's Shield]: As long as you are within 50 feet of the Master, Vai
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K
ightsba
e will enjoy the benefits of the [reply] status.
60 hp, +20 sp, +2 st
, +2 vit, +2 ski, +1 agi, +2 i
t, +2 cha, +2 lack!
When you reach level 20 in [Monster Knight (Red Dragon)], your career has reached its limit! You can no longer level up, but you gain the capstone skill [Fright Knight].
[Dread Knight]: Skill, 50 SP. You exude a menacing aura for 5 minutes, forcing anyone who detects you to pass a moderately difficult Charisma check or be afflicted with the [Fear] disease, and causing them to have reduced Strength and Charisma Level one. A successful save removes only the [horrible] disease.
good. Now that they've defeated this enemy, Victor faces an even more formidable foe.
Chocolate is waiting.
