Chapter 221: Negotiations & Double-agent

"You see kid, I think it would be a great opportunity for you to join me if you know what is good for you!"

These were the words that Eric was hearing for the third time straight, as Takeshiba Shindo seemed to be having the same thoughts as his two predecessors to the meeting.

All three of them were treating him like he was just some kind of easy to subdue idiot, as each one of them seemed to be gifting him with an opportunity to stay in the high society.

The gist of it was the same for all three of them, they would help him stay in the family, and consolidate his position, as long as he became their 'servant'!

All these guys knew was that Eric was either strong himself, or had someone strong by his side, that had taken care of the assassins they had sent his way.

While they were surprised that Eric had managed to survive their paid assassins, they still didn't think highly of him.

After all, he had just taken care of some crappy assassins, but that was all he did. They were a family with a deep foundation, and their strength was incomparable to those assassins.

They just thought that he would be a good pawn for them, and use him a little bit before throwing him away.

Since the hard way didn't work, they had decided to use the soft way. Surely this kid would understand what was good for him at the moment.

"Well, I wouldn't mind entering your shadow, Master Takeshiba Shindo, it's just that I am in a terrible crossroads right now, as Master Tomoya, and Master Inosuke just made the same deal.

I am in a terrible junction and I will have to choose between you three, but I don't want to incur the wrath of those two either!

So, can you offer me protection from those two, Master Shindo!?"

What Eric was saying was simple, he was clearly stating that he was on Shindo's side, and asking him for protection from the other two.

But how could a man like Shindo lose such an opportunity, as he said,

"Are you sure of your choice!? If you think of fooling me or betraying me I will have you killed do you understand!?"

"Yes, yes I am Master Shindo! Taking into consideration my situation I think that you would be the best choice!

After all, I truly believe that expression, behind a successful man there is always a diligent woman!"

Hearing those words, Takeshiba Shindo became immediately agitated, as he grabbed Eric by the neck, and said in a dangerous, and threatening voice,

"What do you mean brat!?"

"So, my doubts were real I see, my aunt-in-law is truly the one pulling the strings! Then I am even more willing to join your side!"

Eric wasn't afraid of this trash, he was just a stupid scum who thought to be smart, and strong, when in fact he was nothing more than a cuckolded idiot.

This guy had allowed the woman he loved to go marry some other guy, fu*ck, and have descendants, just to have a chance to be the future head of the Takeshiba family.

All this without even understanding that the one who was truly pulling the strings behind him, was that woman herself.

He was even worse than the other two, at least they had their strength in their own hands, while this guy was just a broker.

On the other hand, Takeshiba Shindo understood that he had just let the cat out of the bag himself, and there was no way he could fix this up, so he was left with two choices.

Either kill Eric or believe he would be on his side! Certainly, killing him wasn't difficult but really troublesome, as he would be inviting trouble from that demon Takeshiba Tomiyasu.

So, he was left with only one real choice truly, Eric needed to be on his side! So, he decided to bait him out!

"Sigh~! I made a blunder right now, didn't I? Well, there is nothing I can do about it right now, so there are only two choices in front of you, either join us or die!"

Eric looked at him with a troubled, and confused look, but in fact, he was deeply thinking, if this guy was just that big of an idiot, as he said,

"I just said that I am willing to join your side earlier, didn't I!? But there is one thing I want before totally joining, I want to meet my aunt-in-law!"

"That's impossible, there is no way for you to meet her!"

"Oh really!? Do you truly not want to meet me aunt-in-law!? I am pretty sure seeing me through the camera is nice and all, but I assure you I am better-looking face to face!"

It looked like he was a mental guy talking to the air, or more exactly to Takeshiba Shindo's suit, but Takeshiba Shindo didn't seem to think the same.

This guy was dangerous! He was able to discover that he was having a bug camera on him, as his beloved was watching the meeting.

This certainly was out of his expectations, but he managed to stay calm, as he once again grabbed Eric by the neck, and said,

"What are you…"

But he wasn't able to continue as his Smartphone rang, and he immediately picked it up, only for his already scary face to become scarier.

Still, he didn't explode this time, as he said,

"Tonight, at Regency Hotel, room 1401! Make sure you aren't followed!"

With that said, he just turned towards the door and left. There was nothing more for him to do anyway, and that was also the order he had received.

The two previous meetings had ended up a bit differently, but the general view was the same, after some talking and discussing, Eric had agreed to go under their wing, as he spied on the others.

He would be a double agent of sorts, for each of the two previous idiots. But this third one was a bit different and special.

Since behind this idiot was that woman, he couldn't make the same deal with him. There was no way she hadn't received the rumor from the Council of Five, so she had an idea of his made-up background.

She would certainly not believe him if he agreed to the same terms. For that reason, they had to meet up and discuss a 'real deal'.

Furthermore, she would be a great middle person for him to deal with the Shiba family and the general situation at hand.

Things were getting more and more complicated, more and more messed up, but there was nothing he could do about it.

With this guy out of the way, three of the five big families had contacted him, so there were only two others left, the Yuuto's, and the Yoshida's.

But there was also one more he was expecting, and he was assured that they were on their way here, as he could feel the connection with Shiro growing stronger, that's right, the Yakuza!

While these guys weren't a big family, their position was nonetheless high, and they could even rival more than a few of these families.

It was clear that the current situation of the big families was really bad, as they were infighting, and couldn't find unity.

But, even then, the Yakuza had been able to survive the attacks from the 5 big families and were throwing their own weight around.

Even though they didn't have the definition of a big power inside Japan, they nonetheless were a power not to be trifled with.

Now that such an opportunity was in their sight, an opportunity to grow stronger, they couldn't let it slide away, could they!?

Furthermore, if they let this opportunity slide away, then most probably they would end up getting wrecked by the tide, as the balance was sure to get broken in the meantime.

So, he was quite expectant of what the Yakuza would offer him, for him to give them that opportunity.

It seemed like the Council of Five was thinking to obstruct his path, and throw him in danger, but in fact, were providing him with such a good opportunity.

Still, he didn't dare to be calm, and happy as each and everyone one of these guys that were offering him opportunities were poisonous snakes.

None of them was wearing their true faces as they came and bid their offers, and Eric could tell them with just one look.

So, while he appreciated the opportunity, he didn't lose his calm and reason! Still, this didn't mean he was going to give up on the opportunities though!

As soon as Master Takeshiba Shindo left the private box he had reserved at the Fragrance Hall, Kirigaya Kaito appeared by his side and said,

"Master give me the order and I will crush that bug tonight!"

"No, that bug isn't worth the attention for the moment, and his death would be just extra trouble! Rather than that, go outside and receive the next guest from the back.

Make sure no one sees them!"

"As you wish Master!"

With that said Kirigaya Kaito disappeared from the room once again, as Eric was left alone in there. Hilda and the other two ladies were on the next box.

There were some things that they weren't allowed to see yet, otherwise, it would cause too much trouble and annoyance.

Still, things were proceeding rather quickly, and getting even more troublesome. He had to proceed with 'that' plan as soon as possible, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to deal with all of this.

As he thought like this, someone knocked on the door. His guests had arrived!