Chapter 53 - Black-hearted Bastard

"Just two hundred lenix?" Kelly blinked in surprise as she questioned. 

Hecathe chuckled as he shook his head, "You'd be naive to think that I would agree to work for such a cheap amount." 

"Then two thousand lenix?" Kelly questioned once again as a frown could be seen slowly forming on her face. 

Hecathe shook his head and denied it again as he spoke, "That's not it." 

"Then what?" Kelly cautiously asked as she had a foreboding feeling in her stomach. 

Hecathe found the situation a bit familiar and he almost wanted to laugh as he remembered that he had also been guessing it wrong just like this when the landlady told him how much rent he would have to pay in the beginning. 

"Two million," Hecathe spoke with a smirk and he saw the woman's face drop all colors. 

"Two million?!" The man who stood beside Kelly had a bigger reaction and it almost seemed as if his eyes were ready to pop out of his sockets, "Don't joke around! Nobody is desperate enough to pay you that much!" 

Hecathe chuckled as he nodded in understanding, "If nobody is willing, then forget it." 

The two mages from the golden fire guild stood stunned in their places as they heard Heccathe being such a blunt scammer. 

"In that case, I'll be taking my leave first. Just pay me for today and the deal between us is over," Hecathe added calmly as he met Kelly's eyes.

"..." 

"Are you unwilling?" Hecathe straightened his back and raised his head as he asked. His towering height made it seem as if he was looking down on the two mages, which was actually somewhat true. 

Kelly gritted her teeth and clenched her fist as she looked down and seemed to be thinking about it deeply. 

"You're too obnoxious!" The other mage spout as he glared at Hecathe, "Our Golden Fire isn't running low on people. I'd rather go recruit more deserving people!" 

"Then please go right ahead," Hecathe smirked as he calmly responded, "I don't have any bad feelings towards you or your guild. I'm simply stating my own interests. If you want me to join your guild then you should be willing to pay me for it." 

"..." 

"I'm only in it for the profit," Hecathe added as he shrugged his shoulder. He was well-versed in this particular dialogue that he had said multiple times under different situations back when he was still in his real body. 

Raven did nothing and acted as if he was thin air who stood by the side and thoroughly enjoyed this conversation. 

"Such a black-hearted bastard! I don't want to have you in our guild even if you beg to be in it!" The man snapped and it truly looked as if he was serious. 

"Dane, stop it," Kelly finally spoke up as she snapped out of her thoughts. 

The man called Dane turned to look at Kelly with a speechless expression plastered on his face as he guessed what conclusion the woman had come to. 

"So what is it going to be?" Hecathe questioned with a smirk, tilting his head innocently. 

"What about you?" Instead of answering Hecathe's question, Kelly turned to look at Raven as she questioned, "Are you going to join us?" 

"Me?" Raven chuckled as he pointed at himself, "You want me to join your small guild as well?" 

"..." Kelly was a bit surprised as she heard the 'small guild' part. 

Dane scoffed as he commented, "Both of you are apples from the same tree! How can you say our guild is small when it's one of the largest and most influential guilds in Ocasia?!" 

"Because it's small," Raven answered the question as if it was common sense, "The world is so big. A lion that reigns a circus is not the king of the jungle." 

Hecathe blinked in surprise as he side-glanced at the man. He had certainly not expected the man to say something like this and he could have never guessed that he would end up agreeing with what the man had said. 

"Raven, even though it might be small in your eyes, we still respect it and we hope you can do the same," Kelly was more mature as she spoke up and tried to handle the situation, "Would you like to join us?" 

"Hmm.." Raven hummed as he turned to look at Hecathe and a small smirk crept upon his face as he replied, "I would think about joining only if you get this brother over here to join."

"..."

Hecathe chuckled as he heard this but said nothing as a response. 

Kelly nodded her head in understanding as she turned back to face Hecathe and spoke, "You just want us to pay you two million Lenix, right?" 

Hecathe nodded his head as he confirmed it, "Two million should do it for now. I'll happily join your guild if you are ready to pay up, but after I join, I would also like to have the option to get out if I feel like it doesn't suit me." 

"Hey! That makes no sense!" Dane cried out as he interjected the conversation, "How can you take the money and still say that you will leave if you feel like it?!" 

"That's my condition," Hecathe sighed as he responded, "If you don't want to accept it, then there is nothing I can do about it. You are better off forgetting about this whole deal in that case." 

"..." 

"I'll just take the money I earned today and be on my merry own way," Hecathe beamed as he threatened to leave once again. 

Raven snickered as he tried his best to hold in his laughter. 

"Okay," Kelly sighed in defeat. 

"What?!" It was Dane who cried out in shock as he snapped his head at the woman, "Kelly, have you lost it? You can't just say that! It makes our guild lose face!" 

Kelly clicked her tongue as she glared at the man, "Nobody outside this room has to know about it."

"..." 

"How can the guild lose face if nobody ever finds out?"

.