Author's Note: The land slide victory for Cielle in last chapter's poll was something... I expected. Apparently, everyone just loves crazy... I wonder what would happen if I made a, "Which girl do you hate the most?" poll...
One Sided Negotiations
Early in the morning, just as the first rays of sunlight began leaking into the windows, I got up and prepared to leave. I had decided yesterday to make a sort of “deal” with the cafeteria group.
While eating some of the leftover food from last night, the first thing I did was move over towards the raw meat and inspect that damage from last night. It had been sitting out here, for over 9 hours, so I feared a bit whether that was enough time for meat to spoil.
I confirmed that a slight odor permeated from it, but otherwise, the meat looked fine. A nice, red-pinkish tone was present while the raw muscle gleamed in the morning sun. Be it a combination of the night’s cold weather, or the fact that monster meat lasts longer, but the promised food was still in good condition.
I nodded in satisfaction to myself just as I caught sight of some stirring from the corner of my eye.
Turning around, I noticed that my earlier, trepid movements awoke the others.
Glancing at the corner of room with the two beds pulled close to each other, I could see all three girls groaning as they lifted themselves up into an upright seating position. The tiredness and usual morning fatigue was present in their sluggish movements.
Cielle, whose messy hair now stood up on ends, glanced around the room. Her gaze momentarily paused on me before the landed onto the pot of pan cooked meat. Without a hint of hesitation, she immediately walked over towards that pot, an orchestra of grumbling stomach following her wake. Cher also soon arrived at the pot momentarily after Cielle did.
“Are you preparing to leave?” Hina asked, still in bed, while rubbing one eye in an attempt to shoo away the sleepiness. Her clothes were wrinkled and messy, revealing a fair amount of skin which she didn’t seem to notice in her stupor.
“Ah, yeah.” I replied. “If we wait any longer, the meat might spoil.”
Hearing this, Hina paused, before she nodded slowly. An affirmative murmur followed as she slowly raised from her position.
The first thing I noticed was that Hina wasn’t wearing any pants, nor a skirt. I found this odd, considering last night in particular was pretty cold, and wearing nothing but panties isn’t really going to help that. Although in retrospect, a skirt over panties doesn’t really make much of a difference when it comes to conserving body heat.
Anyways, despite her embarrassing attire, Hina didn’t seem to notice as she too walked over to where her sister and Cher were currently at. Eating peacefully alongside the others, Hina was unaware that she was exposing a fair amount of skin for me to see. Well, it wasn’t like I purposely looked, but neither did I go out of my way to avoid seeing it either.
The first to point it out was Cher. While chewing on a piece of meat, she nonchalantly looked out before stating in mild surprise, “Ah, Hina, what happened to your skirt?”
“Skirt?” Hina tilted her head while maintaining sleep induced droopy eyes. As the word “skirt” registered in her mind, she blankly looked down, only to later express a face of confusion before that ultimately shifted into one of late understanding.
Hina realized what was going on, and just as quickly as her mind was snapped into alertness, her face reddened with haste. She shot a glance my way, while simultaneously covering her midriff with her hands.
In response, I simply shrugged, and floated a question towards everybody present. “I’m going to need help bringing the meat to the library. Anybody willing to come along?”
I posed this question, because I needed a look out while I lugged the supplies around. Stray survivors or wandering monsters would prove problematic if they discovered what I had to offer.
In the face of my question, both Cielle and Cher exchanged quick glances. Hina, who had a complicated expression due to my lack of reaction, walked over towards the beds in order to retrieve her skirt.
As she dressed herself, I directly asked her, “Hina? How about you? Do you want to come with me?”
Hina’s current mood lately has been rather complicated. How she felt of the current situation, whether she wanted to run back into the open arms of the president… I wasn’t sure. While I stayed unassuming regarding the human condition, at the very least, I presumed that Hina wanted to at least see that guy again.
In response, she paused momentarily. She mulled my question over while looking squarely at the door, before she replied in a way I hadn’t expected. “No…I don’t think- I think it might be better if I didn’t go…”
She had on another indecipherable expression which held many emotions. Most of those emotions I could not interpret, but I at least recognized the longing that was present.
Upon my rejection, I merely shrugged nonchalantly and turned back over to the other two. “Then… maybe Cielle?”
I said while I shot a quick glance towards the raven haired girl, making brief eye contact with her. As she held my gaze, she chewed on her lower lip. An agonized expression took hold, as if she was torn between what to do. In the end, having apparently given up, she let loose an uncharacteristic sigh. “No can do…” She regretfully said. “... I wanted to go with Hide… but… no…”
Her shoulders dropped and she made pouted rather cutely. While maintaining that same expression, she lethargically continued to eat.
“Well, if that’s the case, then there’s no other choice, I guess…” I laxly spoke, while gripping the ropes which connected to the makeshift sleigh/table. “Let’s go Cher.”
“Ah, um… I-I also don’t want to go.” She quietly uttered while maintaining a rather cramped smile.
“Eh, what are you saying?” I dubiously asked while my eyes widened. “You don’t have a choice.”
“Wait-what’s with that…” She spoke dejectedly. “Everyone else got to choose…”
“That’s just the way it works. Hurry up.” I urged nonchalantly, while I began to move, pulling the table along the tiled floor.
“W-what’s with this feeling of inferiority…” She mumbled sadly. “This is definitely preferential treatment! Preferential treatment, I tell you!”
“Geh- for a slave, you sure complain a lot… Enough, just hurry up.”
I ordered with a rather irritated voice as I left the classroom, a still weary and dejected Cher behind me.
***
We arrived at the library entrance 45 minutes later. In truth, the walk over from the english classroom, to the library wasn’t all that long, but lugging around a 200 something pound pile of meat slowed us down.
Currently, we were in the library, in an archive room next to the 2nd floor set of stairs that connected to the 1st floor. The lump of meat was currently masked by white sheet, which, unsurprisingly, was stained by a mixture of red splotches. Cher sat next to me. From the expression on her face, it was easy to tell that she was bored.
Right now, we were waiting. I knew full well that the president used the library as an intermediary whenever he left the cafeteria. Seeing as how I couldn’t easily just walk in there, all I could do was simply sit and wait for the other party to stumble along.
I waited which such blithe hope for another 30 minutes before I finally heard the 1st floor door open. After such a long time, even I couldn’t help but jump to my feet in mild excitement.
“He’s here…” I quietly hissed under my breath. This warranted a reaction from Cher, who has almost fallen asleep in the midst of waiting. She bolted upright, as her face began perspiring with sweat. It seemed as if the trauma and nervousness from our past meeting still affected her.
Wordlessly, I motioned for Cher to follow me out the room. We left the archive room, and stood a couple feet away from the stairs. Our positions were that I stood in front while Cher timidly kept her distance from behind.
I quietly waited, listening on each individual footstep they made as they drew closer. The sound of foot against stairs filled my ear, and soon enough, the top of the President’s head came into vision as he climbed upwards.
Soon, he too noticed my solemn figure, standing- almost blocking his way further. He widened his eyes in mild surprise before squinting them back. Below him, the rest of the scouting party also followed close behind.
In a somewhat lax voice, he questioned, “I checked back yesterday to find you guys gone… and now I see you're back again?” His tone held a bit of mock derision in it, but it was clear to see he had other intentions. For one, his eyes restlessly scanned the vicinity, as if looking for someone.
“If you’re looking for the other two, then I’m sorry to disappoint but they’re not here right now.” I said, as if reading his mind.
His eyes widened once more, before his face switched over into a friendly smile. “I see…”
Meanwhile, the rest of his party which by now, had all caught up, were all redirecting interchanging glares between Cher and I.
“What do you want then?” His “friendly” smile vanished, just as he donned on a mask of indifference. Behind that mask, it was clear that a somewhat heavy sense of hostility was present.
Hearing him ask, I couldn’t help but part my lips in a soft smile. “What do I want?” I repeated, mostly to myself. “I just want to make a deal?”
****
We sat at the same table as last time. This time around, only Cher sat besides me, holding a small backpack tightly in her arms. On the other side, was the usual set up involving the President’s scouting party.
Whether its because the other two members of my respective party were missing or not, but it seemed as if the scouting party were much more hostile than before. Even their leader, while maintaining a smiling poker face, had somewhat less enthusiasm than yesterday. It was almost as if he were in a bad mood.
“So what’s the deal about?” He was the first to speak. Cutting aside all trivialities, he jumped right to the point.
“Food.” I lightly responded.
The single word, brought on a series of reactions from the opposing group. The most prevalent reaction though was them grasping at their stomachs as their faces irked in both desire and despair.
Only the president was unfazed, blithfully laughing. “Food, you say? Did you happen to stumble upon some sort of underground bomb shelter or something? We’ve already scoured the majority of the school, there’s no way you have-”
“I didn’t find it.” I quickly interrupted. “I hunted it. You know, you told me last time, the thing about the boars.”
I flashed a light smile, which contrasted to the President’s crumbling expression. At the mention of the boars, he grew silent. As if pondering over it, he remained his silence. Eventually, he spoke simply, a mix of assurance and confident bravado in his words. “You’re lying.”
The rest of his party, all murmured in agreement, as if the very idea of hunting down a boar was a simple pipe dream to the them. An understandable conclusion. If I had been a normal person without any teammates, upon seeing that herd of smart car sized monstrosities, I too would have buckled under their sheer presence.
Upon his denial, my smile grew only wider. “I am not lying” I reassured. “It was quite a pain, you know, hunting down one of those things… to call all my efforts a mere lie, that makes me sad.”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
My reassuring words only further increased the president’s squint. “There’s no way you could have- Even we couldn’t-”
“Cher.” I called out, interrupting him once more.
In response, the silent girl who sat besides me, reached for her bag. With slightly shaky arms she unzipped the bag, and, following through with the motions we rehearsed, dumped the bag’s contents onto the table.
What resulted was a simple mess. The contents of the bag spilled over. Slabs of cooked meat, oozing with slightly heated fat. The scene was rather messy, but to the eyes of the starving, this was a picturesque scene straight from a dream.
The opposing group had expected answers. Their eyes locked onto the contents on the floor, while a small trickle of saliva began oozing out from their agape mouths. Even the Prez, who had tried earnestly to maintain a stern and serious expression was reacting with widened eyes of disbelief.
After a while, he spoke out once more. Amidst the murmurs of his fellow friends, the President stated, “You… are you trying to poison us?”
Like a douse of cold water, the scouting party reacted to those words. I could only imagine that they were recalling the event with the slime, as their faces cooled and they recovered from their over excitement.
I laughed sarcastically at his words. It was rather ironic actually, he had the same worries I shared last night. “Don’t worry, it’s not poisonous. After all, I’ve already tried it out myself. If you want an example, then- Cher.”
I nudged at the girl besides me, who reacted with a small jump in her seat. Catching herself, she began ripping off a piece of the meat with her hands as she slowly and deliberately placed the sole piece into her mouth and chewed.
This set of actions caused a simultaneous gulp to resound from within the group. They all stared listlessly as that piece of meat floated through the air and enter Cher’s soft lips.
As if further inciting them, I made a grandiose motion, and said, “Try them. A little heads up- they taste sort of like pork and beef.”
Like a key to a locked cage, at my words their inhibitions unhinged, as they jumped at the meal before their eyes. Devouring it like crazed hyenas, they stuffed every last piece of meat down their fat guzzling throats. Things like poise and manners were out of the question right now, as they practically inhaled what I offered to them.
Even the president, who showed mild resistance at first, was in on the carnage. After seeing his fellow teammates greedily eating, something stirred within him as he too joined the fray.
I watched this scene with cold and calculating eyes. A somewhat dark smile plastered on my face, as I remained seating. Besides me, Cher was taken aback at their sudden change. She had a rather cramped expression on as she reeled back onto her chair.
Just as the last piece of meat entered their throats, I chose this time to interject once more. “Now, I’m sure you’ve confirmed the authenticity to what I have to offer.”
The president bit back his lip, as if he had just realized what he had just done at the spur of the moment. He had on a small scowl, as he held back his tongue. On the contrary, the attitude of his team mates had 180’d. They nodded vigorously, ecstatically bobbing their heads up and down. It was easy to tell that they were eager for more.
And more I had.
“You know, there’s more where that came from.” A resounding gulp came in response to my words.
A round of murmurs from their group reassured me of the current power which I held.
Finally, the President spoke up once more. “You… Hide, you don’t exactly seem like the good natured type of guy who shares… Why exactly do you…”
“Don’t get me wrong now. This isn’t a freebie.” I coldly spoke, glaring at each and every one of them, which in turn, caused them to shrink back into their chairs. “Think of it as equivalent exchange. I get something, you get something.”
“...” A wordless respond at first, before the President apparently attained his second wind and spoke up once more. “what do you want?”
I shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, for one thing, I need a freezer. Killing just one of those things nets me at least about 200 pounds. Preserving that much meat is quite troublesome…”
My light words were met with heavy shock. From the teacher next to the President, I could hear him take in a brief intake of oxygen. “2-200 pounds… th-that much is just…”
Once again the President’s eyes widened. He had on a somewhat dark expression which masked a fair bit amount of negativity, before he tiredly shook his head as if he couldn’t believe what was going on. “How exactly did you hunt down such a thing…”
In response, I simply smiled. While wagging my index finger in front of me, I replied. “Ah, ah, ah- That’s on a need to know basis only, and I’m afraid you don’t need to know.”
Hearing this, the President broke off into an awkward laugh. Those next to him exchanged glances, before the President’s expression once again shifted, turning dark and foreboding in an instant. The small bubble of hostility from before seemingly exploded as he glared daggers at me.
“And what makes you think we won’t just take it by force.” He threatened. “With our combined strength-”
“Stop.” I interrupted. Crossing my arms, as I leaned back onto my chair, the President followed my every movement. Just as tension rose to unapproachable levels, I continued to speak. “First of all, let me just say this once so you don’t develop any misunderstandings, but I am stronger than all of you.”
A cold, indifferent glare reassured them that I held absolute confidence in my statement.
“And second, and probably the most important reason for you all- Even if it's 200 pounds, for a group as big as yours, you won’t last long.”
As if doused in cold water, the scouting party hung their heads at this sudden realization. Even the president bit down on his lip harsh enough for it to start bleeding.
I continued. “The important thing here is, I can hunt, and you guys can’t. I can provide an indefinite amount of food, and you guys can’t.”
I allowed my words to sink in, almost forcing the library into a natural stillness. For a while, for a long while, nobody talked. The scouting group sat motionless, their eyes firmly rooted to the ground. Their leader, held on a darker expression. Oddly enough, his expression did not express anger or desire but rather unexpectedly- regret. A regretful expression during such a great offer… it was weird indeed.
As if finally having given up, the President breathed out a long bated breath. He looked up at me with weary- aged eyes. His smile was twisted into self mockery as he spoke. “Very well then. I would be lying if I were to say your offer wasn’t… tantalizing. Then, since you be so willing, let these blood stained hands of mine accept your generosity…”
While his statement was sort of worded weirdly, I payed it no particular heed. Although as expected, the President was one to catch on quick, as he further elaborated. “Although, you’re giving us such a valuable commodity, to think the only thing you desire is refrigeration… While we can certainly do that, I doubt that’s all you want in return.”
Hearing this, I smiled slightly. Seeing my smile, the President, while maintaining that same, bitter, regretful expression, lightly smiled. “Enough playing around. State your conditions already.”
“Okay then…” I began. “Simple really, I have only a few things I want in return. First, there shall be absolutely no mention of my existence to the rest of your group. Not a word is to be spoken about me, even when the others ask you how you managed to get the food. Lie if you must, but leave my name out of it.
Second, I want cooked food. While, I may have brought fully cooked meat with me today, I’m afraid that won’t continue to become a regular pattern. After all, cooking itself is troublesome, so in exchange for my cooperation, I expect about 10 or so pounds of cooked meat ready for us each and every morning.
Third, the assured cooperation of the Cafeteria group during the final boss dungeon raid. Any sort of interaction before such an event is prohibited.
Lastly, potions. Any type of potions- be they health, mana, or stamina potions, I would like to have them.
I will bring freshly hunted meat once every 2 to 3 days, most likely in the mornings. In exchange, I want the complete obedience of all the agreed upon conditions. Sounds good?”
I left the additional goal of misdirection out of my initial demands for obvious reasons. That type of subterfuge was not something you openly declared to those you wished to deceive.
At the end of my demands, I heard a heavy sigh coming from the president. With a sort of tired expression on his face, he dejectedly replied back. “It’s not like we have much of a choice, now do we?”
Hearing this, my smile widened. “No, no you don’t. Although I may have said I came to you because I needed the functional freezer your group has, truthfully, finding a way to preserve the food is easy. In this regard, I hold full control of the negotiations.”
Hearing my final words, the President once again let loose a tired sigh. He lowered his head, and muttered incoherently to himself, occasionally he’d shoot a pleading glance back at his friends, but in the end, they all shared equally defeated expressions.
The president was a naturally cautious man. Normally, I could tell that he was the type who would bargain and argue until he reached favorable conclusions. But when I held practically all the pieces in my hand, the natural course of actions would be to concede
Finally, with a heavy sense of loss floating above his head, he nodded unwillingly. “You know, if you only came sooner, then maybe I wouldn’t have-” He started, but quickly cut himself off with a shake of his head. With another regretful expression, he looked back up at me. “I agree to your conditions. As long as you supply the meat, we will listen.”
As if in response to his words, the rest of the scouting party, all nodded their heads.
“While the first three conditions are easy to meet, as for the last one…” He muttered. “Truthfully, I’ve never once seen a potion before. Considering the whole rpg-esque scenario of this whole apocalypse, I had an inkling as to their existence, but I haven’t personally gotten the pleasure to find one.”
Hearing these, words, all I could do was nod. “Well, if you find any make sure to bring it to me. As for our deal, I’ll hold up my end as long as you keep yours. The moment you break it, not only will our deal end, but at that time, you will earn a new enemy…”
I nonchalantly threatened while I began rising to my feet. Cher, who had been quiet this whole time, had a strangely flushed face as she too began to rise. I looked over the president and his scouting group once more, before I began walking away. “The rest of the meat is in that archive room, over there.”
As I pointed at the room we had secretly hidden in earlier, I began walking away while Cher followed close behind.
I left the library with those simple parting words, leaving behind a group of expressionless survivors in my wake.
****
Author's Note:Thanks for reading. If you liked this chapter, or this story in general, please rate or review. I really appreciate the feed back.