Vale was called by the company council to a meeting not long after he ate. It was still the same throne room, but now there's a long table in front of their chairs, and they provided one for him as well, directly opposite them.
Isolde stood just behind his chair.
Vale tried to measure their mood, but he came up short as all of them wore unreadable expressions.
Kaelthorn opened the ground. "Vale Athrimir, you said you want to hire us to fight the Akatsuki."
"That was indeed what I said."
"Are you still standing on this?"
"I am."
"Then we will have to come to an agreement. One, you will leave us alone and we'll not join under you, and you'll release the Akatsuki Rift to us for a duration of twenty years. Second, you'll allow us to create a new company in Akatsuki to carry out such tasks."
Vale frowned immediately and scowled at them. "I'm going to be the new lord of two large territories. Why won't I hold you under me?"
