Once I got downstairs, I saw the three men standing close to the door. They were discussing amongst themselves, and I was sure that they were trying to decide how to come and convince me to come with them again.
"Sir Gaia already sent us back once," one of the men said, he was an old man with greying black hair and narrowed eyes, "We can't go back empty-handed again. He'll fire us."
"You shouldn't have told him that the boy refused," another man said, "We should have just said that we didn't find him, and then we would be able to come back later to look for him."
"Do you think it will be smart to lie to the patriarch?" the old man frowned
"It is better than incurring his wrath because he was refused. If not for Madam Frey, we wouldn't have gotten a second chance at all."
The three men shuddered together and I finally made myself known o them as I walked out from the hotel doors with my hands in my pocket. Once the men saw me, they just stared at me, shocked.
"Well?" I asked once they didn't say anything for a long time, "Arent we going to meet the patriarch?"
"R-Really!?" the old man asked in surprise, and once I nodded they came closer and began ushering me into a carriage that was on the side of the street. It was already dark outside and so there were many mana-powered lights along the streets illuminating the path. I got into the carriage and we drove quickly towards the Gaiaclan estate.
The Gaiaclan estate was larger than any other estate I have ever seen, both in this life and in my last life. As we got closer, the large metal gates opened up to allow us into the wide road. There was a forest of trees on our left and statues of the former patriarchs along the right side of the street. It took more than thirty minutes just for us to go from the front gate to the main door.
But even all of that paled in comparison to what the house itself looked like.
The main door was solid gold.
Even in the darkness, I could still make out the yellow glow of the door as it creaked open. Many men would kill their mothers just to get their hands on this much money. How can someone waste that much gold on a door?
"Tell the patriarch that I need an audience with him," I said to the two men in the carriage once it stopped. The third man was driving ad he looked into the carriage from the front once I spoke.
The three looked at each other curiously before one of them finally spoke up, "You would need another appointment with the patriarch if it is something business-related," the man said, "The patriarch hates to mix business with his family matters. This dinner will not have anything business related."
'Did the patriarch really make a rule like that?' I wondered, 'He is more of a family man than I thought.'
The patriarch died very early in my last life, and his brother Teran took over the business shortly after. But Teran didn't last long as he was killed by one of the others a year later and the rest of the Gaiaclan followed the patriarch to the other side.
I never even got a chance to interact with them once before, so there was no way for me to know what sort of personality the Patriarch has. I could only depend on what I heard from others in the future. And the only thing I learned about his family from the future is that his relationship with his daughters is strained. I didn't think that he would treat his family dinner like this. Is he really not a family man?
"Just tell the patriarch that it is related to Gentrix. He'll understand what I mean."
The men looked confused, but I knew that they would deliver my message so I was satisfied. I got down from the carriage and I was allowed into the mansion. I surveyed the mansion habitually, and I noticed that there were many guards around the mansion. I could count thirty, but there might be more in hiding. I noticed three spots where I could escape from in case of an emergency and five places that would be ideal for a drawn-out battle against such a large number.
The habits from my last life just wouldn't leave me. I was already used to life on the battlefield, so there was just no way I wouldn't analyze my surrounding like that.
"The matriarch, Freya Gaia, and the second daughter, Terra Gaia," a man announced from the top of some long, elaborate stairwell, and I looked up to see Freya and Terra coming down the stairs. They were both wearing long evening gowns, and I wondered if this wasn't too much for a simple dinner. Once Terra saw me, she waved with a wide smile and I smiled back at her.
"It's a pleasure to have you here, Mr. Black," Freya said as she came down the stairs and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I smiled at her and bowed. There must've been a messenger that came ahead of my carriage to tell them that I was on my way, "I didn't think that you would join us," Freya continued, "When the messengers came back to tell us that you refused, I was stunned."
"Yes, I had something to take care of," I said, "But I finished early and I decided to honor the invitation after all. Where is the patriarch?"
"Hmm?" Freya hummed as she looked around with her hand on her chin, "In truth, I have no idea. Maybe he shall join us at the dinner table. Please, come."
"Yeah," Terra said as she suddenly grabbed my hand and began dragging me along," Come on. You've got to tell me what you've been up to." She was so excitable, and I wondered if this is how she will be when we meet outside. I know the Gaiaclan are all very proud and they will never show a side like this to the public, so will Terra change the way she acts when she isn't inside her house? "Did you go into another dungeon?" Terra asked, "You better not have gone without me!"
"Jason Black," a commanding voice called from behind me, and Terra froze. I turned around to see a tall man with dark skin and piercing green eyes looking at me, "Come into my study." He said before he turned and walked away.
I slowly took Terra's hand away from mine before I followed after the patriarch. The room that we entered was dimly lit by a fireplace at one side of the room, keeping the place warm. The patriarch pointed to a couch at the side, "Seat," he said as he walked towards his own chair behind a large table and took a seat as well. I sat down and waited for him to speak, "Who are you?" he asked.
"Jason Black," I responded
"Not that nonsense," the patriarch frowned, "What do you know about Gentrix?"
"I know that they have been fucking you over and sideways for the past few months on the tenth floor," I said while leaning back and I saw the Patriarch narrow his eyes, "Am I wrong?" I asked with a raised brow.
"If you weren't my daughter's savior, that would have been enough to make you my enemy." The patriarch said, and I shrugged. We both knew that what I said was true. The Gentrix company was a new company that emerged on the tenth floor last year. They were focused on the purchasing and distribution of magic crystals ā the same business that the Gaiaclan is famous for ā and lately, they have been getting more business than the Gaiaclan from the higher floors. A company like that was impossible to create without very powerful backers, so it is hard for the Gaiaclan to attack them when they don't yet know who is behind them, but if they don't do anything, at this rate, it was obvious that the Gaaclan would lose a lot of their business.
The patriarch leaned forward and pierced me with his gaze, "What else do you know about Gentrix?"
"You've run into a problem with them," I said, "There has been a sudden drop in the number of purchase requests from higher floors, and you don't understand how Gentrix is stealing your loyal customers. And you also don't know who is backing them. Am I right?"
The patriarch narrowed his eyes into a glare. He was trying to understand how I knew all of this. There hasn't been any news about it released to the public, and Gentrix is still not large enough for people to know this much about it. But my words couldn't be ignored and now he knew it, "Go on," he said, "What is it that you are offering?"
"Before that," I rose my hand, "I'll need something from you in return."
"What is it?"
"Firstly, I need you to swear that you will listen to me from start to finish regardless of what you will hear," the patriarch silently thought about this for a while before he nodded, "And secondly, I need your word that you will grant my request at least once. It will be within reason, of course."