"So I ask again, Father, how many Mana stones are we talking about?"
"This much, " Peter said, handing the letter over to Orson.
When Orson looked at the contents, he couldn't believe his eyes. When converted, that amount of Mana stones could set his family to lead a comfortable life for the rest of their days, and the funny thing was that, to the people who intended on giving them these bribes, this was basically little.
Orson was sure that there were many ways for this certain family to handle this issue, but he ascertained that this must have been the most effective, taking the cost and the effect into consideration; it wasn't because he was like special or his existence had any gravity.
'I basically know nothing about Peter's past. I've met Mom's parents, and I've seen her siblings and relatives, but as for Peter, I haven't. I haven't seen his parents apart from their pictures; well, they're dead, according to him. I don't know any of his relatives, I don't even know if he has any.
One thing I do know, though, is that he is not as ordinary as he presents himself. I remember the time Mum slipped up a little, and I almost got substantial info on his past. Well, the slip-up on its own was plenty info already.
Just look at today; he was basically in my sight throughout today, but he had already made investigations and gotten information through channels that I am not privy to. I'm going to crack his eggs one of these days, the one shrouding him in mystery, and the one between his trousers for being a jerk'
"Hey father, you also never mentioned the name of the family, " Orson said.
"Oh sorry, slipped my mind. They're the Regalo's, " Peter said.
"Father, who are you really? " Orson asked.
"What do you mean? " Peter asked.
"Well, the way you called the name of that family, I mean, how you refer to them, how you structured your sentence. If I were asked, I would have said something like they are called the Regalo's, or the name of the family is Regalo, but you said they're the Regalo's like you have known them before now like you are close to them, " Orson said.
"Of course, I've known them; I mean, hear about them; they're an affluent family, so what did you expect, " Peter said.
"Right, they have affluence, gotcha, " Orson said.
"So, what are we going to do now? " Peter asked.
Orson was shocked by this development as he couldn't understand why Peter would ask for his opinion on the matter.
"Wait, are you being serious right now? Like, you're seriously asking for my input on the matter, "
"Well, yeah, you are the victim in the whole fiasco, aren't you? And hey, can't someone do a nice thing without you judging? " Peter asked.
"So you admit that you were behaving out of character just now, " Orson said.
"'sigh' What are we going to do now? It's your call, " Peter said.
"Well, not accepting their offer right now will be extra foolish. We have no power to fork more out of them; this offer is already good enough, and not accepting their offer will just make us gain a really powerful enemy," Orson said.
"You know there are people and entities more powerful than the Regalo's right? " Peter asked.
"Well, relative to us, they are a great foe," Orson replied.
"Hey, but wait, how do we contact them? " He asked.
"There's a magic formation at the back of the letter. Just imbue a little bit of Mana, and the rest will fall into place. It's already late now so we'll carry out the exchange tomorrow, at least, let it not seem we're desperate for cash, " Peter said.
"The way you say exchange is creepy. Hope you're not trying to sell me" Orson said.
"I discovered that these days you're always looking for a way to make moments sour. I think I should up my game and make it known to you that you're still a brat in my eyes, barely reaching my shoulder. You misbehave and I'll spank the hell out of your ass, " Peter threatened.
"Ooh, shivers, that's some pretty gay shit don't you think? " Orson said.
"What? Fuck! You take that back right now kid, " Peter said.
"Hahaha! Never knew you were homophobic; I wonder what the king will say about your views when you know fully well that a gay rights bill had been passed not too long ago, " Orson said.
"Hey, lower your voice, I don't want any unnecessary trouble this night. When it comes to any matter concerning that bill, whistleblowing and law enforcement is taken to another whole level, it kind of scares me at times," Peter said.
"So, what do you think about it? " Orson asked.
"Think about what? " Peter asked back.
"Do you think maybe the king is, you know, maybe he swings that way, that's why he created the law? " Orson asked.
"No, he's not" Peter replied.
"Woah, the way you said it with confidence, how sure are you? " Orson asked.
"Well, it's the King's first son, Roland, " Peter said.
"Ok, I'm listening... " Orson said.
"It is because of him the bill was passed. Well, it isn't knowledge to the general public so I don't expect you to know about it. It was kind of a big deal in the Royal Palace, the king's fury, the Queen's snort-filled crying face, the queen's fury, and the King's snort-filled crying face, drama all around, " Peter said.
"So, if they were against it up to that level, what made them change their minds? " Orson asked.
"Well, Roland's contributions to the kingdom are nothing to scoff at. He has done great deeds in battle and in many other areas where the kingdom was lacking. Because of this, a suggestion was made that he gets a wife so that he can produce an heir, and then he can continue to carry out his desires in secret, " Peter said.
"I'm guessing he refused," Orson said.
"Yes, he did... "