"I see. It's understandable…"
Upon hearing Ralyks' response, they bowed thier heads in appreciation.
"Thank you for your understanding."
Ralyks shrugged, and while the tension was still quite high, Adonis took the opportunity to simply blurt out the words that were difficult to say.
"We hope you will continue to be our ally, Sir Ralyks. We've been able to advance so much thanks to you. We do not want to lose your help."
There were a bunch of questions regarding Ralyks, but none of them asked them at this moment.
Questions like; "Why isn't he fighting in the war against the Dragons" or "Where has he been all this time?"
They were irrelevant at the moment.
Ralyks must have had his reasons for not showing up until now, and for not joing the front lines to defeat the ones who threatened all of their lives.
It wasn't in their place to judge him—especially after his contribution to the cause.
All they could do was request for more help.
"Rest assured. I am indeed on the side of humanity. I won't do anything to the detriment of the people."
The audience beamed as soon as he said this. It was more than just a promise. It was an assurance given by the most powerful man in the world.
That was more than enough for the Royal Council to be satisfied.
"Thank you… for being an ally of humanity." Conrad rose to his feet and shook Ralyks' hand. Aterwards, the other two took their turn to do the same.
"We are most grateful, Sir Ralyks."
*********
Once Ralyks left, Vida was the first to plop to the couch, her lips bursting with a loud sigh of relief.
"Haaa… that went super well!" She beamed.
Not only nad Ralyks not requested for any reward, but he also confirmed to be on their side. This was most certainly the best-case scenario.
"Indeed. However, you shouldn't rejoice too much." Conrad's voice caused the two in the room to look at him with slight confusion.
"Sir Ralyks said he is on humanity's side, and he wouldn't do anything to harm the people. He never specifically said anything about us, the Royal Council."
Of course, it would be assumed that the Royal Council existed for the sake of humanity, and every action they took would be for the people's benefits, but both sides were not the same.
"In any instance where Sir Ralyks believes our actions are against the interest of humanity… he'll most likely eliminate us." As he added this, Vida's expression turned a bit more sullen.
For a few seconds, no one said anything. Then—
"Isn't that perfect, though?" Adonis spoke as he gently sat down on the couch.
"Right now, the Royal Council wields a lot of power and resources. There's the possibility of corruption arising as a result of that. Sir Ralyks acts as a perfect check to the power we possess."
Conrad and Vida nodded as soon as Adonis addressed the issue.
"The Hero is right. This should only serve as motivation for us to do more."
"Indeed!" Vida beamed at the words of her colleague.
"Let's give it our all!"
**********
'It's a relief everything went well with the Royal Council…'
As Rey closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, he remembered the events clearly and smiled.
'Now then, on to the next issue.' He opened his eyes, feeling the embrace of the mask that covered his face.
Three people sat in front of him in an exquisitely furnished room. Although it wasn't as glamorous as the Royal Estate's Grand Reception Area, it was still incredibly decent.
At the very least, that was what Rey thought.
The three who were in front of him were former Black Market members who had turned a new leaf and were in their final phase to join the mainstream market.
Rebal, Asher, and Kara.
"So, have you decided on what you'll do now that the Verte Group has officially been dissolved?" He asked the latter, using his staple Ralyks tone.
The girl with glasses nodded instantly, her green hair swaying as she bobbed her head.
"I'll be joining Sir Rebal and Sir Asher in their new establishment. All the remaining resources of the Verte Group will be merged with the Blanc Goup's resources, which will grant me a certain percentage of the total shares, as stipulated in the contract that we agreed on. Plus…"
Kara went on, rambling on and on about the technicalities of the contract, and her new responsibilities in the company. Rey found it so exhausting to listen to, especially since he couldn't understand all of it.
'Why all this? I only asked what you decided to do…' He slightly rejected his choice, but there was no way he could take them back now.
He only had to wait patiently, while nodding as if he understood everything perfectly well.
"... And that's about it." By the time Kara was done, Rey felt like he had become a bit smarter in many regards.
He was happy that he managed to pay attention to what was being said. While he was still lost on some aspects of the business structure, he understood the bascis.
At first, he thought he was the only dummy in the group, but after staring at Asher for a bit and noticing how his own expression changed from collected to confused, Rey knew that he wasn't alone in the puzzlment.
It wasn't that he was dumb.'
'This girl is just really smart. I'm sure she'll be a good addition to the team.' He beamed internally.
"We have all the resources necessary to run a legitimate business, and we're through with all the paperwork and intricacies necessary before joining the mainstream market."
Now that they had taken all the necessary precautions, they could finally begin proper business.
"Have you decided on the name of your company?" Rey asked.
He knew they couldn't go by any of their previous names since that would be a slight on the reputation of the new company. Plus, it would tie them to the underworld in some way.
They needed to have a fresh start.
"Indeed we do." Rebal replied with a smile.
And then, as if they had all practiced beforehand, all three of them said the name at the same time.
"The Reaper Group."