"What? What's going on? Why did she agree so suddenly?"
As an onlooker, Evangeline stared wide-eyed, looking utterly bewildered as she glanced from Luo Shu to Giada, before finally blurting out impatiently:
"Aren't you going to negotiate a bit more?"
"It's already settled!"
Giada leaned back on the sofa as if it were the most natural thing in the world, crossing her legs as she said:
"My future new boss thinks I'm only worth one Top Tier Class, and I agree with that valuation. Is it really so strange that we've reached a deal?"
"What the hell?" Evangeline was taken aback, exclaiming in astonishment: "Aren't you going to consider the premium? It's a seller's market right now!!"
Hearing this, both Luo Shu and Giada couldn't help but chuckle.
Seeing their identical reactions, Evangeline asked, confused: "Did I say something wrong?"
"Not exactly wrong - it is indeed a seller's market."
Luo Shu nodded, acknowledging Evangeline's point.
Meanwhile, Giada added with a laugh:
"Except the commodity being sold is becoming a Top Tier Class Demigod, and I'm making the offer with myself as the price."
Hearing this, Evangeline was stunned, but Krul, who had been watching from the side, saw things clearly:
"Don't bother thinking about it. The initiative hasn't been in our hands since the moment we stepped in here."
At this point, Krul glanced at the still-uncomprehending Evangeline before sighing softly:
"What we call a transaction refers to an exchange of resources between two equal parties."
"But Evangeline, do you really believe we're equals with Luo Shu?"
Having said this, Krul lowered her gaze and continued in a subdued tone:
"This is the Hidden Management Department, not your family's castle."
These words finally jolted Evangeline to awareness.
Yes, where she was now was the headquarters of the Hidden Management Department, the stronghold where numerous Demigods gathered.
To put it bluntly, it was like a nuclear launch site under Luo Shu's control.
What had possessed her to think about haggling over prices with the person holding the button at a nuclear launch site?
Giada had Asagi Aiba infiltrate the Hidden Management Department's servers beforehand precisely to understand the dangers of this place and assess whether to accept Luo Shu's invitation, hadn't she?
Now that they had attacked Japan's official stronghold and came here to avoid being held accountable by Japan or the American Union, it basically meant their lives were in others' hands.
In such circumstances, trying to demand a premium... was indeed quite unreliable.
Thinking this, Evangeline's old face flushed red, feeling that her earlier behaviour had been particularly childish.
Realising this, Evangeline immediately settled down.
Compared to Evangeline, Krul was somewhat curious about what price Luo Shu intended to offer her.
Giada required both her Familia and herself to qualify for the promise of guaranteed promotion to Top Tier Class Demigod, so what was her value in Luo Shu's eyes?
Noticing Krul's gaze, Luo Shu spoke directly before she could ask:
"Aside from Giada's special case, what I can offer you both is a Demigod Class, though you'll need to gather the resources for advancement yourselves. Of course, beyond that, I also promise to provide intelligence support regarding the Apostle domain once you reach the Demigod level."
"This offer seems quite good."
Hearing Luo Shu say this, Krul wasn't dissatisfied at all, even feeling that the terms Luo Shu offered were rather favourable.
With Krul saying this, Evangeline couldn't really object either. For her, after realising Luo Shu possessed the ability to kill her, her top priority had become survival, so she wasn't too resistant to accepting Luo Shu's conditions.
After all, the immortal Miss Evangeline was terribly afraid of death~
Her reason for accepting the conditions of the Union after crossing worlds and becoming one of those so-called Thirteen Apostles was partly to avoid being hunted by the magical community like in her original world.
In her original world, due to the Church, primogenitors like her were genuine targets for extermination. After crossing worlds where the Church didn't exist, she naturally didn't want to be hunted again, especially by a Demigod personally.
With this mindset, Evangeline chose to compromise.
After both had accepted the terms, Luo Shu couldn't help but glance towards Takatsuki Izumi, who was smiling cheerfully, and Shizuka Hio, who maintained a cool expression.
Noticing Luo Shu's gaze, Takatsuki Izumi playfully winked, her smile carrying a hint of mischief.
As a Familia member, Takatsuki Izumi understood Luo Shu's conditions all too well.
Aside from Giada's relatively better terms, Evangeline and Krul's conditions were basically the standard Familia package, hardly anything special.
The price Luo Shu quoted the two was no different from the price he would quote an ordinary person.
Once they became members of his Familia, they would realise they had been tricked.
Of course, to say they were tricked was a bit of an exaggeration. Luo Shu was still very supportive of his Familia. After all, the majority of the Familia's members were not Demigods. If he wanted to support these members, he could not, by nature, show favouritism.
Giada had only received a degree of preferential treatment because of her familiars and the bonus points from the Chaos Zone being a nascent empire.
As for more favourable terms, it was not a matter of whether Luo Shu was willing. Even if he were, his personal coffers would not be, and neither would the Familia.
The Familia was, after all, still in its early stages of development. No one would complain about investing more to nurture its members. Since it benefited everyone and Luo Shu was footing the bill from the Divine Pantheon's funds, no one had any objections.
But if enormous resources were spent cultivating a single member, those below Demigod Rank might not be able to voice their opinions, but the Demigod-rank members of the Familia, and even the fiery-tempered Tenka Yatogami, would not mind giving an imprudent newcomer a taste of what material destruction at the Apostle level felt like.
Under this spontaneous, unspoken agreement, Luo Shu naturally would not break the unwritten rules his Familia had formed on its own, even if he had the power to do so.
"Since we've reached a consensus, let's execute the contract accordingly."
With that, Luo Shu stood up and said to Takatsuki Izumi, "Izumi, you'll be in charge of recruiting for the Familia."
Since they had already verbally agreed to the terms, Luo Shu naturally would not hide the details of the Familia any longer, casually instructing Takatsuki Izumi to make arrangements for the newcomers.
Takatsuki Izumi shrugged, looking at Luo Shu with curiosity. "I don't mind, but Director, are you off to do something?"
At her words, Luo Shu could not help but glance at everyone present before saying expressionlessly, "I'm going to clean up the mess you all made."
Hearing this, no one in the room dared to make a sound.
Attacking an official state institution, assassinating high-ranking officials, and even secretly controlling them.
When all these actions were tallied up, no one could guarantee when that Divine-level Abyss Artefact hidden by the Five Great Powers might strike them down with a bolt of lightning, ending their criminal careers.
Under these circumstances, no one dared to provoke Luo Shu.
After all, he was the one who had to handle the clean-up.
After silencing these lawless individuals with a single sentence, Luo Shu glanced at Megumi Kato, who had been standing by the desk unnoticed by anyone until now. He gave a nod and strode out of the office.