Chapter 407: The Negotiations Continue
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
September 18, x785.
Around two minutes after leaving his old friends at the bar, Goldmine arrived in Ur's office. And as soon as he did, he saw Ur sitting behind her desk and Alfonzo sitting on one of the couches with a notepad in his hands.
"Master Goldmine, how are you enjoying your stay in Magnolia?" Ur asked while smiling pleasantly.
"It's been great." Goldmine replied, returning the small talk. "Just being back has a sense of nostalgia, as well."
"I can imagine." Ur replied. "As one of the old man's teammates, I would assume you spent quite a bit of time in this town."
Like that, Ur and Goldmine exchanged pleasantries for the next few minutes. However, the conversation eventually ended, and Goldmine focused his attention on Alfonzo. And just like with Ooba Babasama, the negotiations did not take all that long. Around two hours in total. Because like Ooba, Goldmine also thought the price Alfonzo offered was fair. So, there was not much in the way of back and forth.
"So, for twelve training chambers, I estimate the work to take about two months." Alfonzo said as the negotiations drew to a close.
"Considering the time frame Ooba mentioned, I was expecting as much." Goldmine replied with a nod. "So, when do you think you'll be able to get started?"
"That depends." Alfonzo said as he laid his notepad on the coffee table. "Do you want yours installed next year, too?"
"That would be preferable." Goldmine replied with a nod.
"*Sigh* I'm gonna be really busy next year, huh?" Alfonzo asked himself while smiling wryly. "I bet Master Bob will request the same thing."
"Good Guess." Goldmine replied with a shrug.
"*Sigh*" Alfonzo could only sigh tiredly. "And I can only imagine what kind of facilities my last client will want."
'That will probably be a big fucking job.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'I mean, it's one thing to install these training chambers in a guild hall. But to install them in and around an entire village will be a shit ton of work.'
"Anyway, we have something just as, if not more, important to talk about, Master Goldmine." Alfonzo said, his lethargic aura being replaced by one that was much sharper.
"*Sigh* I know what you're about to say." Goldmine said, raising his sun glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. "But honestly, I don't know what to do about Bacchus during your trip to our guild. It's not like I---"
"Yeah, I get it." Alfonzo said, cutting off Goldmine's words. "There's no way you can tell him to not show up at the guild while I'm there. But I actually want the opposite, for now."
"What do you mean?" Goldmine asked with his eyebrows furrowing slightly.
Even Ur, after hearing Alfonzo's tone, could not help but frown slightly.
"*Sigh* As much as I think this is a bad idea, Lici said she wanted to come with me on my trip to Quatro Cerberus." Alfonzo said, his sharp aura being replaced with a tired one. "And she won't take no for an answer."
"Absolutely not!" Ur shouted, inserting herself into the conversation. "Does she have any idea what kind of trouble this could cause if things get out of hand?"
"Yeah, that's what I told her, too." Alfonzo replied. "Especially after Guy told me that Bacchus was back on his old dumb shit at the reception yesterday."
"Then, that's even more of a reason for her to not go." Ur said as she stood up explosively from behind her desk. "I guess I need to go have a talk with her."
"Hold on a second, Master Ur." Goldmine said while adjusting his sunglasses. "And why does she want to come with you, Alfonzo?"
"*Sigh* She said she wants to put an end to this shit with Bacchus once and for all." Alfonzo replied, sounding even more tired than before. "And although I agree with her, I get the feeling Bacchus is gonna make me kill him if they talk."
"*Sigh* I can see where you're coming from." Goldmine said, sounding just as tired as Alfonzo. "But this really does need to end... Without the death of my ace, of course."
"Either way, I still think I should have a talk with her." Ur said while shaking her head gently. "At the very least, I need to make sure that she can stop Alfonzo if things get too out of hand."
In response, Alfonzo could only smile wryly since he could not, in good faith, say that he would not let things go that far. Especially if Bacchus started spouting stuff about his wife loving another man. But at least with Elicia there, the chance of Alfonzo stopping before things went too far was higher than if she were not there... Or so he told himself.
"Anyway... back to the matter at hand." Alfonzo said, shaking his head to rid himself of the negativity. "We can schedule the job to start in April, if that's okay with you."
"That's fine with me." goldmine replied.
"Good, that will give me around a month to relax, and maybe even take a quest or two, after I finish at Lamia Scale." Alfonzo said with a smile.
"Great." Goldmine said as he smiled as well. "That means we should expect you to be done around June."
"That's right." Alfonzo replied with a nod.
"Well then, I think we have a deal.' Goldmine said, reaching his hand across the coffee table for a handshake as he did so.
With a smile, Alfonzo reached out and shook Goldmine's hand firmly. Then, once the handshake was done, Goldmine stood up.
"Well, since you need to negotiate with Bob, too, I'll head back downstairs." Goldmine said. "I'm sure you'd rather not have to be stuck in here any longer than necessary."
"Thanks." Alfonzo replied as he stood up as well. Then, alongside Goldmine, he walked towards the elevator.
Like that, Alfonzo pressed the elevator's call button. Then, once Goldmine was in the elevator, he reached inside and pressed the button for the ground floor.
"Now I'm really worried about your trip to Quatro Cerberus." Ur said once she was alone with Alfonzo.
"Actually, I didn't tell Goldmine the whole truth." Alfonzo said with a wry smile.
"What do you mean?" Ur asked curiously.
"Well, this time, it's not me he needs to worry about." Alfonzo said as he returned to his spot on the couch. "Lici's probably more dangerous than I am for Bacchus this time."
"Why would you say that?" Ur asked, standing from her desk as she did so. Then, she made her way over to the liquor cabinet in the corner and took two glasses off the shelf next to it. "Doesn't Lici usually just ignore that moron?"
"Yeah, that's usually the case." Alfonzo replied while watching Ur take a bottle of bourbon out of her liquor cabinet. "But she hasn't met him since that whole mess with Yoruichi. And since then, she's been really afraid of me not trusting her, so..."
"So, she's trying to squash anything that could be an element of mistrust, huh?" Ur asked as she uncorked the bottle.
"Yeah..." Alfonzo replied while smiling wryly. "And even though I take the time to consider her actions after all that shit. I've never questioned her love for me. And I'll be damned if I think she would leave me for some jack ass like Bacchus."
"Yeah, I'll admit that would be a real step down." Ur replied as she filled the two glasses. "Anyway, I get what you mean. Either way, I'm gonna have a talk with her. I really don't want that moron to end up dead."
"Yeah." Alfonzo replied.
After that, Ur gestured for Alfonzo to come over and take one of the glasses of bourbon, which he did. Then, when they both had a glass in hand, Ur raised her glass.
"I know I told you congratulations yesterday, Kid." Ur said. "But I raise this glass to you and Lici. I pray for your happiness together. And I know Bianca and Orlando are smiling down at you from heaven."
Raising his glass as well, Alfonzo gently clinked glasses with Ur before they both took a sip of their drinks.
"Thanks, Aunt Ur." Alfonzo said quietly while starting to tear up. "I really wish they could have been here to see how much we've grown up."
Instead of getting upset that Alfonzo referred to her as "Aunt," Ur set her glass down on her desk before walking around and pulling him into a hug.
Meanwhile, as Alfonzo and Ur shared an emotional moment, an alert appeared on the tablet on Ur's desk. However, neither Alfonzo nor Ur paid it any attention. Instead, they continued to talk about Bianca and Orlando, and how they would have reacted to all the things that happened this year.
"I can only imagine how Bianca would have punished Elicia and Yoruichi for the stunt they pulled back in March." Ur said with a nostalgic smile.
Instead of smiling along with Ur, Alfonzo shuddered violently. He actually imagined Bianca beating up both Elicia and Yoruichi after what they pulled, and his imagination was not pretty.
Meanwhile, down on the first floor, Bob was standing in front of the elevator with a confused expression on his face.
"Did they forget about me?" Bob muttered to himself while waiting for the elevator doors to open.
Eventually, Alfonzo and Ur ended their moment. Then, Ur operated the elevator for Bob. And just like Ooba and Goldmine, the negotiations did not last long.
To Alfonzo's surprise, Bob did not try to poach him... again. But when he glanced at Ur from the corner of his eye, he understood why rather quickly. The promise to freeze Bob solid that was present in Ur's eyes was enough to even make Alfonzo feel sorry for the Blue Pegasus guild master.
"Well, that should be everything, Master Bob." Alfonzo said as he put his notepad on the coffee table. "I'll be there in July to install your training chambers."
"I'll make sure that everything is ready for you to get started when you arrive." Bob replied. Then, he stood up and reached across the coffee table for a hand shake. "A pleasure doing business with you."
Standing up as well, Alfonzo took Bob's hand. However, he slightly recoiled when Bob started rubbing the back of his hand with his thumb.
"Anyway... When you get back downstairs, could you ask Master Tsunade to come up?" Alfonzo asked as he quickly released Bob's hand. "I still have one more negotiation for today. *Sigh* And I'm sure this one won't go as smoothly as my negotiations with you, Master Goldmine, or Master Ooba Babasama."
"Alright." bob said with a smile. "I look forward to your visit."
As he finished his sentence, Bob winked at Alfonzo, causing him to shudder internally. Then, he turned towards the elevators, and while switching his hips, Bob walked into the elevator that Ur had opened remotely.
Then, once Bob was gone, Alfonzo and Ur exchanged glances.
"You know, I genuinely like Master Bob as a guild master." Alfonzo said, breaking the awkward silence. "But he's a little too... eager to have me join his guild."
"Yeah, I know what you mean.' Ur replied with a wry smile.
At that moment, the tablet sounded with an alert.
"Well, it's almost over." Ur said as she operated the tablet to open the elevator door on the ground floor.
"Is it really, though?" Alfonzo asked while smiling wryly. "I bet Master Tsunade will haggle for every Jewel."
"Well, if it's anything like the last time, she probably will." Ur replied.
Less than a minute later, the elevator doors opened. However, instead of Tsunade, Alfonzo and Ur were surprised to see Ritsu and Shizune standing in the elevator.
"Don't take this the wrong way, Master Unohana, Shizune, but I wasn't expecting to see the two of you." Ur said in a confused tone. "Nott that your visit is unwelcomed."
"*Sigh*" Ritsu replied, sighing in exasperation in place of words.
"I'm terribly sorry, Master Ur, Mr. Marcus..." Shizune said with her head lowered after she and Ritsu stepped out of the elevator.
"You can just call me Alfonzo." Alfonzo said, interrupting Shizune mid-speech. "And if it's alright with you, I'll just call you Shizune."
"Uh... Sure. That's fine with me." Shizune replied.
"So, what do you need to apologize for, Shizune?" Ur asked. "Though, for some reason I think I know what it is."
"*Sigh* Unfortunately while waiting to be called, Lady Tsunade... drank too much..." Shizune replied, her voice growing quieter with every word. "And if possible, I'd like to ask if we can reschedule the negotiations for tomorrow?"
*Sigh* x 2
Instead of responding immediately, Alfonzo and Ur could only sigh, having expected something like that.
"If that's a problem, I can make Tsuna sober up and have the negotiations now." Ritsu said with a pleasant smile that leaked so much pressure that both Alfonzo and Ur went on guard.
"If you could, I'd appreciate it." Alfonzo replied with a wry smile. "I've been out of my mind busy since May. And I'd really like the opportunity to relax as soon as possible."
"Understandable." Ritsu said before she spun on her heels. "I'll return with Tsuna momentarily."
At the same time, Ur, not wanting to delay Ritsu after feeling the pressure her gentle smile radiated, quickly opened the elevator doors.
"Lady Tsunade, I want to feel sorry for you." Shizune muttered. "Unfortunately, you brought the coming punishment upon yourself."
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