『 "Grrrr..." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Whose motorcycle is trying to start?
〘March 7th〙: You can tell Sushang is really reluctant.
....
『 "Grrrrrrrr..." Stelle looked at Sushang and started imitating her.
Sushang got even angrier after hearing that.
"Grrrrrrrrrrrr..."
The Little Secretary felt sorry for not being able to get a word in.
"My mom told me, as long as I hone my skills, others will be able to reason with me… Looks like my skills aren't enough yet." Sushang sighed.
The Little Secretary saw that the two had been unable to out-argue Skott earlier, so she decided to teach them how to argue… Ah, no debate, and then they took them to find the Chairman. 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: You let it slip.
〘March 7th〙: The Little Secretary is really down-to-earth, haha.
〘Belle〙: Well, considering Skott's behavior and attitude earlier, it was basically just an argument.
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: Hmph, if he appeared in front of me, I'd immediately turn him into a honeycomb with my dual pistols!
....
『 The Chairman signaled his subordinate, Lianyan, to teach the two negotiation techniques.
Then Lianyan stated the first rule: prepare your trump cards in advance. After saying this, she handed the materials she had collected to Stelle.
Stelle took the materials and looked through them. The first one was an income and expenditure record of a worker, likely A-Feng, the one at the scene. He had recently received credit points wired by the IPC in multiple installments.
"How did you get this expenditure record?" Stelle looked at Lianyan, puzzled.
"The Chairman has his ways," Lianyan said.
But if the Chairman had these ways, why bother solving this crisis through her?
Stelle scratched her head, unable to figure it out, then shook the thoughts out of her brain. Forget it. If you can't figure it out, don't think about it. Recovering the lost ground is what's important now.
Then Stelle looked at the second piece of information: a photo of a courier box. Lianyan explained that this was the courier box containing the golden toad from the pier farce earlier. The sender's name and contact information had been deliberately crossed out, but Heron Express Logistics had a record: the sender was A-Feng.
Stelle nodded, indicating all the materials were confirmed.
Lianyan then explained the second rule: play your cards at the right time.
To help Stelle better understand how to use these two rules, Lianyan called A-Feng over to act as Stelle's practice partner. 』
『 ....』
〘Skott〙: Not cool, buddy. I spent so much money, and this is how sloppily you do things?
〘Stelle〙: Lol, keep being arrogant, keep laughing. Why aren't you laughing? Are you naturally joyless?
〘Hanabi〙: Time for some fun~
....
『 Stelle used the two pieces of evidence to win the debate against A-Feng. A-Feng had done some dirty work entrusted to him by the company; he believed that handing Aurum Alley over to the company's management was the right thing to do, and that it was pedantic people like the Little Secretary who were holding everyone back from making money.
"Mr. A-Feng… the Chamber of Commerce's goal is to promote the revival of Aurum Alley. How could that be holding everyone back?" The Little Secretary looked at A-Feng, confused and somewhat dejected, as her hard work was being dismissed like this.
"Keep lying to yourself. This Aurum Alley will turn into a giant company warehouse sooner or later!" A-Feng looked at the Little Secretary excitedly after hearing this.
"The pier is thriving right now," Stelle said.
"Even if you can pay the pier's rent, what about the funds to bid for Aurum Alley? Do you have them?" A-Feng crossed his arms and asked.
"It seems the truth has come to light. Please accept Master A-Feng's testimony; you might find it useful." Lianyan immediately changed the subject.
Then the Little Secretary indicated that the rent for the pier had also been prepared, waiting for Stelle's negotiation.
Stelle nodded and brought Sushang to the pier.
On the way, the Little Secretary explained that the negotiation target was still Skott, and the notary was Ms. Xikui from the Sky-Faring Commission, whom she had called.
After checking her materials one more time, Stelle pulled Sushang to the negotiation table.
Seeing both parties had arrived, Xikui nodded and said: "I represent the Sky-Faring Commission to mediate the rent dispute between the Interastral Peace Corporation and the Aurum Alley Merchants' Guild."
"Does this even need mediation? Let me be blunt—the Guild should have been kicked out of Aurum Alley a long time ago," Skott spread his hands, acting as if it were obvious.
"Can't the company send a normal person to negotiate?" Sushang complained, looking at Skott across from her.
"Ha—? Speak louder, I can't hear you clearly."
"I SAID: THE — IPC — SHOULD — SEND — SOMEONE — ELSE!!" Sushang shouted word by word, her voice cracking by the end. 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Good! Very spirited!
〘Hanabi〙: Good! Very spirited!
〘Belle〙: Good! Very spirited!
....
『 "Goodness! There's no need to shout, little miss feisty — my ears are ringing!" Skott hurriedly covered his ears.
Then, seeing Sushang finish shouting, she let out a breath and said, "Phew, I hope when you apologize to me in public later, you'll be just as loud!"
"As the company's business representative, my attendance at this negotiation is legal, reasonable, and fair! Who does your Aurum Alley Merchants' Guild plan to send? A passing Cloud Knight? The cowardly Chairman who's hiding somewhere?…"
"Or this little miss feisty, who was pulled in temporarily and looks like someone owes her fifty credits?"
Skott pointed at Stelle across from him. 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: That's too low.
〘March 7th〙: Way too low, at least 10k, or he owes her a trash can.
〘Stelle〙: You get me~
....
『 Xikui couldn't take it anymore and interrupted: "Enough, Representative Skott. Please state the company's demands."
Afterward, Skott's points were refuted one by one by Stelle using the materials, until eventually, even his bribery of the pier workers was proven.
Upon seeing the testimony from A-Feng in Stelle's hand, Skott was shocked and recoiled.
"W-what?! That old antique… don't the Xianzhou people always preach about loyalty? I gave him so much money, and he sold me out in the blink of an eye! Damn it—" 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Satisfying.
〘Hanabi〙: That's satisfying? There's more big stuff coming later.
....
『 Xikui looked at Stelle and said, "If the evidence you've provided is true."
Then she looked at Skott and continued: "Mr. Skott, this is an improper business practice. The Sky-Faring Commission will continue the investigation."
"How could this happen? Which step went wrong…" Skott still couldn't believe he had lost, looking at his subordinates behind him.
The subordinates hurriedly shook their heads, indicating they didn't know.
"Hey, don't forget our bet. You have to apologize to me in front of everyone!" Sushang looked at Skott, reminding him.
"I won't! Why should I apologize to you!" Skott made his final struggle.
"Just because you trampled on other people's hard work! Just because you used dirty tricks!"
After finishing, Sushang looked at the crowd in Aurum Alley and said: "If my apology can keep the people who love Aurum Alley from feeling cold-hearted, I would apologize a hundred, a thousand times!"
"But right now, you are the one who needs to apologize!"
"…" Skott was rendered speechless by the retort, then emitted a sound as small as a mosquito.
"I, apologize to Aurum Alley…"
"Ha—? I can't hear you, speak louder." Stelle imitated Skott's earlier behavior. 』
『 ....』
〘Silver Wolf〙: Satisfying!
〘Hanabi〙: That's barely anything. He hasn't barked like a dog yet.
....
『 "You…" Skott looked at the insatiable Stelle across from him, but after glancing at the surrounding crowd of Aurum Alley, he could only grit his teeth and continue apologizing.
"I, I want to apologize to the folks of Aurum Alley—"
"I am an idiot with eyes but no vision! Ignorant of the heights of the world, only capable of yapping like a dog!"
"You haven't barked like a dog yet?" Stelle looked at the finished Skott and reminded him.
"Ah? Do I really have to do that?" Sushang asked.
The onlookers nod in unison: "Yeah, yeah!"
"Ugh — enough!" Skott screamed in a breakdown, then began his vocal performance.
"Woof! Woof woof woof woof! Woof—"
The subordinates behind him looked at their crazy boss in front of them and immediately retreated in fear.
"Woof woof arf arf woo—"
Sushang covered her mouth in shock, while Stelle clutched her head, her brain aching from the noise. 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Good grief, I'm afraid he'll rush over and bite me. By the way, do I need to get a rabies shot if I get bitten?
〘March 7th〙: Probably not…
〘Asta〙: Arlan! Hurry and stop Peppy, it's scared!
〘Hanabi〙: Even the dog is scared, which goes to show Skott has a real talent for this.
〘Topaz〙: Not just the dog, Numby was eating earlier, and after hearing his voice, it teleported away immediately…
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: It gave me goosebumps. By the way, why did he add a 'woo' at the end?
〘March 7th〙: Could it be because he's a lone wolf? Even like this, he has to add his own flair?
{Skott's debut is over. Next, let's…}
〘Sunday〙: Isn't it time to show the follow-up for Penacony?
....
{As you wish, you sis-con.}
{Next, let's continue our exciting and thrilling journey through Penacony!}