One must know the result of the negotiation before it begins. Probing each other point of compromise on the spot is the worst possible pattern in a negotiation. But, if you don’t have to think about the relationship between the two sides, the side that initiates the negotiation will win unilaterally. That is the essence of the negotiation technique.
Negotiations in which the initiator side loses are, undoubtedly, the wrong negotiation method. Imagine being the one who initiates the negotiation but fails due to a lack of preparation and misjudgment. Besides, only an amateur initiates a negotiation even though they know there is a possibility of failure.
That’s Hizumi’s opinion about negotiations.
Normally, negotiations would end in a win-win solution for both sides. However, it was only because the two companies had to think about the future, so they had to build a relationship between their companies… This time, there was no need to think about that, and our side had an overwhelming advantage.
In front of me, Chris Esse Eisbert was like completely naked. Everything is transparent. I can see the result of this negotiation due to knowing how to shake her to even read every move she could choose. Simply put, Chris was caught off guard this time.
She must have never imagined that a lowly 0-scorer like me would attack first. The weak man whose ribs she broke, the coward who crawls around on the ground, and the small mob she never paid attention to the other day suddenly appeared in front of her, shook his arms, and tried to strangle her neck.
Having always stood on top, she is not used to being attacked by someone below her. Imagine the trash she had trampled like a foundation suddenly stretching his demonic hand and pulling her feet. Her feet couldn’t help but wobbly and shaking.
A man who shouldn’t have appeared in front of her shook her mind by using the wad of bills in the attaché case, and finally, she followed my order and sat down on the sofa with her eyes wavering.
That was precisely what she was feeling right now.
–What is this man?
In her short life, for the first time, she was underestimated by a man.
Knowing that, with my legs still crossed, I showed my advantage with gestures. Because sometimes actions carry more meaning than words. That is why I continued to grin in front of the wad of bills.
“What’s wrong, getting quiet all of a sudden? Did you change your religion after breaking someone’s ribs? Even though you were looking down at me with your legs crossed just a while ago… Ah, is it because our positions are totally reversed with me being the top and you being the bottom right now? That is just a meaningless scene, though. Are you satisfied by just looking at something like that?”
“I am the top, and you are the bottom one! Know your position, you trash!”
The enraged Chris stood up, and I smiled wryly.
“It is really fun chatting with a lovely young lady. So emotional and charming. Shall I toast your cloudy eyes with a wad of banknotes? ‘Know your position’ ah how it will remain resonated in my heart in the future.”
“Bastard! Are you going to threaten someone with money because you can’t win with magic? Coward! Let’s fight fair and square!”
“Don’t make me laugh, you rotten lady.”
I looked at her from ‘above’.
“Who had been suppressing people with money, huh…? Don’t think you won’t get hit back after hitting someone… I said I’ll fight fair and square with money… So, sit down now…”
I glared at her to pressure her, and her eyes shook as if flinched.
Groaning, she slowly sat down.
“Allow me to ask straight to the point.”
I whispered to her.
“Why did you fire the maids who served you sincerely?”
“…”
“Answer me.”
“Because they were nuisances.”
Laughing, she muttered.
“I just pushed the obstacle in my way of supremacy aside. What’s wrong with that? I am Chris Esse Eisbert. What’s wrong with me kicking a worthless stone? Although they didn’t particularly do anything bad, they didn’t contribute anything to me either. What’s wrong with removing unnecessary items? If you don’t occasionally change the air in the room, the air will just be stale. It’s like, if you decide that I am a hindrance, you will stop me, and if I know that I am a hindrance, it is logical to step aside. That’s the reason, nothing more, nothing less.”
“Then what about your sister?”
At that moment, Chris’s expression was filled with dark emotions.
“I can’t stand the fact that she exists in the Eisbert family. She is just a failure at the bottom of society, trash even below those maids. I hate that trash below the level of servants calls herself a member of the Eisbert family and lives their lives happily.”
“You’re quite an honest one. I’ve come to like you a little bit.”
“Did you think I would be happy to be liked by someone like you?”
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I smiled bitterly.
“But what you did is against my justice. The maids who lost their way due to your peculiarities shed tears because you hurt their pride, and they blame themselves for it. The skills they spent their entire lives acquiring have also lost their meaning. Some maids even lost their loved ones because of that. Besides them, Mulle Esse Eisbert has also done her best repeatedly just to be liked by her beloved sisters, only to find her expectation to be always betrayed. Even so, she chooses to keep laughing and earnestly live in the present.”
I stared straight at her.
“From your point of view, they may be just pebbles that get in your way… But, from their point of view, you are one of the obstacles blocking their way. Have you ever asked yourself where the pebbles you kicked flew to?”
“…”
“I know this because I saw it,”
In front of her, I, who is also a pebble for her, smiled.
“Mulle is a hundred of millions of times stronger than you.”
“Don’t screw with me…”
“…”
“Don’t screw with me! That piece of crap? The failure that can’t use single magic? Can beat me? Based on what?”
“Didn’t I just tell you?”
I laughed.
“I’ve already seen it.”
“Lunatic…!”
“You better look forward to the time Mulle Esse Eisbert shines. Someday, you will see it.”
Saying that, I stared at her.
“The time will surely come when the faker surpasses the real thing.”
“…”
“My bad, I just can’t help but talk about that to you. Let’s get to the point, shall we?”
Hizumi handed out a contract to Chris.
“… What is this?”
“A4 paper.”
As she stared at me with eyes that seemed capable to kill, I raised both hands and banzai-ed.
“It is, of course, a contract. I will hire you.”
With her eyes wide open, Chris instantly filled with bloodlust and tried to reach out to her magic device– but, I grabbed her arm.
“Uggh…!”
“Oi, oi, stop it. The current me can’t win against you. If you kill me in a place like this, even an honor student like you will be punished, you know? Also, it hasn’t been long since we met. Although it is nice to hold hands like this and deepen our friendship, let’s look forward to this in the future, okay?”