Five minutes later, Al's measurements were being taken by a stylish man wearing a pink suit and long, combed-back blond hair.
He kept tutting and frowning, but Al was hardly paying any attention to the man. He still felt as if all this was happening to someone else, and he was just a spectator watching on, hoping and praying that he was in their place.
He remembered vaguely mumbling his assent to the one who had spoken to him in the ballroom, and smiles had broken out all along the table, making him wonder whether they had mistaken him for someone else. After all, why would the approval of a villain who had only won two initiate odysseys so far be valuable enough to be celebrated?
Helena had nodded to him brusquely and left, indicating that they could talk later, as if this was just something normal that she had done. To him, though, it felt as if the heavens had been brought down to his palm in one go, and as he began to understand that this was all really happening, excitement burst into being in his mind and made his eyes shine.
Suddenly, it felt as if the tailor was taking too long. He hoped that the man would hurry up so that he could find out what products he would be advertising.
'But… I haven't even seen the name of the company, yet! From all the rooms I've passed so far, this is probably only an advertising agency that was contracted by the creators of the tools. I shouldn't hope for too much. Maybe it is just a small company trying out something new, and so, they have a small budget… still, I'm going to get paid!'
Just the idea of earning money made him feel giddy. He couldn't believe that just a few minutes ago, he had set out from his house after deciding to buy just rice. There was enough money to buy more, but he wanted to keep a certain sum always available in case any complications came to the fore in his mother's condition. In such a situation, he would definitely feel devastated if there wasn't enough money to call upon a doctor, so he had convinced himself that rice was tasty, too, even though there would be no meat or vegetables to go with it.
Now… he was here, and even without getting his hopes up, he felt as if the very world was in his grasp. And the one responsible for it all… was the little princes.
'So far, in my life, I've only met those who wanted to take things away for me…but for the first time in a long time, you gave me something, expecting nothing in return. It feels…good. Thank you. I'll say these two words to you when we meet, but they're really not enough to show my gratitude… when I have a chance, someday, I'll definitely repay this debt.'
Swearing this to himself, he impatiently raised his hand so that the tailor could get one last measurement. Finally satisfied, the man motioned toward a door in the room they were in, and without further ado, Al hurried in its direction.
He arrived in another small room, with nothing but a mirror, a long table, and two chairs. He felt disappointed, at first, as he had thought that he would be shown the tools quickly… but he controlled it and waited, knowing that they must be on the way.
There was no one there, so he made himself comfortable on the chair. Then, he recalled everything he knew about this subject, and this happened to be a lot as it had also been one of his primary topics of research.
The full name was lofty, so not many used it. 'Divine Tools', they were called, as they were meant to help heroes and villains in odysseys that were meant, of course, to please those divine beings. They were different from Armaments because they weren't living beings, and they were also different from charms because they weren't consumed when used.
In a way, the voice modulator given to him by his uncle was also a tool, albeit an extremely simple one. This was a highly competitive market whose market valuation ranged in the billions, and even though development was still being carried out furiously behind wraps, there were many rumors about how the best tools created secretly so far all had magical properties.
'I won't be disappointed even if that's not the case! I just hope that they're good…'
As for the gig he had just said yes to, it was one of the most lucrative avenues for heroes and villains to make money. The companies that made the tools needed to have their worth announced to the world, and the best way to do this had been identified to be that they should be shown being used, live, in odysseys.
There were two ways in which this could be done. First, a hero or a villain could be equipped with tools and sent into an odyssey whose recording could be taken from the government. Second—
"I'm sorry, did you have to wait long?"
His thoughts were interrupted when the same door he had come in through opened, and let in the same balding man who had placed the offer in front of him.
With a gracious smile on his face, the man didn't wait for an answer and set down the large briefcase he had brought with him on the table. In his other hand was a sheaf of papers that he pushed in front of Al and said, "Your signature, please. This was the reason behind the delay. The contract needed to be ready."
'It's going to be official! Awesome!'
Rejoicing inwardly, he took the pen offered to him and began to go through the documents.
From the corner of his eye, he spotted a surprised look on the executive's face. He knew, right away, that the man must have assumed that he was like all teenagers, and hence, would just sign without saying anything.
Alas, he knew all too well just how contracts could be used to ruin one's life. There was no way that he would ever sign anything without reading it thoroughly, so he took his time and went through each and every page with painstaking attention.
When he was done, he grinned happily, his mind much more at ease than before.
He wasn't dumb, so he knew that as a newcomer into the industry, he was still being given such a favorable contract due to Ms. Helena.
There were no loopholes, whatsoever. If he succeeded, he would be paid, and if he failed, it just said that he would be bound to them for one more gig, if they asked.
And as for the best part… the base amount they would pay was $ 10,000!
It wasn't a fortune, but it was still 10 times what he had in his account. With so much money… he could eat his fill many times over and not have to worry about feeding the puppy and going hungry.
He signed them with a flourish and handed them back. After checking that everything was in order, the executive smiled to himself and flipped open the briefcase.
Al had been avoiding it until now, knowing that he would be overcome with curiosity if he studied it even a little. He finally stopped controlling himself, now, and waited for the man to reveal the goodies.
The first thing he took out… was a cape.
It was as dark as the night, made of a luxurious material that looked supple and soft. It was shaped so that it would frame one's shoulders and sweep out behind them, and on the surface, it just looked like a piece of clothing.
But then… the executive drummed his fingers on it, and half its length transformed into a sheet of rock-solid metal.
As Al gaped, the man banged his hand on the solidified cape. A sound akin to a heavy steel door being knocked appeared, and with a satisfied grin, he put his hand inside his jacket.
When it emerged holding a gun, Al's surprise went to the next level.
Holding it close to the cape, he fired…and Al shoved himself back, convinced that the dumb executive would kill someone when the bullet ricocheted.
Only…a moment later, a flatted piece of metal fell to the floor, and the solidified cape merely glowed dimly for a few seconds, before turning back into cloth.
"That's…amazing!" Al blurted, but the executive was shaking his head.
"No…I activated the wrong combination. Damn, those patterns are complex! I tried to use the setting where it stays solid until the energy runs out…"
The man was practically mumbling to himself. As if suddenly remembering that he wasn't alone in the room, he snapped his head up and said, "Yes! Pretty amazing, I agree! Anyway, this is the main tool! You should show both how cool it is, and how useful it can be in a pinch. There is one other tool, but you'll be sent into the odyssey with it directly. So…are you ready to go?"
Al had been following along with what the man was saying happily, but that question caught him off-guard.
"Uh…go? Go where?"
The answer made him recall the second manner of advertisement he had been about to think of before being interrupted, and he mused about how the world really was funny, sometimes.
"To the odyssey, of course! Everything has been prepared. It will be telecast, live to thousands of viewers! It's only on an up and coming channel cos you're a newbie…but, hey, you're still gonna be on TV!"