[1% LIFESTEAL] Chapter 205 - Entrenched

Soul damage was weird.

If Freddy had to compare it to something, it would be like being a little deaf, but for everything. Unless happenings were “loud enough,” so to say, he barely registered that anything happened.

In this analogy, the sudden appearance of an angry Overlord in his apartment was kind of like blasting an overcharged air horn straight into his ears.

He had felt a five-star presence before, but man, it just wasn’t something he could get used to. The sheer weight of the guy just being there was akin to carrying a mountain on his back. Freddy broke into a cold sweat, all while struggling to stay on his feet. 

And then, just like that, the man’s presence retracted. Then, he broke into laughter. “I’m just messing with you, young man. Relax.”

Oh great. One of those types. 

Freddy resisted the urge to sigh.

After all, judging by the urgency behind the glare Emily was shooting at him, he was probably still half a wrong move away from an early departure to the afterlife. 

This wasn’t the time to be stupid or rash. It was time to think.

The man lounging on his couch was an Overlord. It was safe to assume that anything he did was done with intent.

He’d broken into Freddy’s apartment. He’d dragged his daughter with him. He’d gone out of his way to scare the shit out of Freddy with that “joke.”

The man was here to negotiate. And it wasn’t hard to guess what.

A big part of Freddy was pissed at being played around with like this, but what was he going to do about it? He’d fucked himself over enough times by reacting poorly to people stepping on his toes, and he wanted to believe he was past that.

Overlords were usually pretty damn busy. For him to come to Repentawa in person, there had to be a very good reason. Either it was something Freddy wasn’t privy to, or he was simply here to get his daughter. If it was the latter, that was a sign he valued her greatly. Doubly so if he set time aside to come negotiate on her behalf.

If Freddy’s generosity wasn’t being hindered by his soul damage, he would venture that the man had to really love his daughter to do something like this. His cynical side argued he probably just thought of her as a valueable tool.

Still, this situation revealed some interesting information.

Freddy had been under the impression that she was gunning for an engagement with him as a political move against her family. In his mind, this had included her father, but it seemed that the two of them were on the same side here.

That was a little troubling. Because that meant that there were multiple factions in the Umbra family, and the Overlord didn’t have an absolute grip over the internal politics.

Now, Freddy couldn’t say he was the biggest fan of getting kidnapped and tortured in basements. And this was the kind of bullshit that got people like Freddy kidnapped and tortured in a basement.

“Hello?” The Overlord waved a hand. “Did I scare you silly?”

“Oh, sorry, I zoned out,” Freddy said. “Soul damage.”

“Ah. Yes, I’ve heard.” The man scowled. “I was under the impression it couldn’t be that bad, given you’re still alive. I appear to have been wrong.” He leaned back, squinting at Freddy. “Is this a bad time? You’re dissociating pretty hard, and I’d prefer you to be present.”

“I think I can squeeze another twenty minutes of focus out.”

“Well, what are you waiting for then?” The man gestured at the couch. “Feel free to sit down.”

A smirk snuck its way on Freddy’s lips,and he afforded himself a bit of snark. “This is my apartment, you know?” He didn’t want to look like a total pushover, after all.

The Overlord returned a smirk of his own. “You sure? Because you aren’t acting like it.”

“Fair enough.”

Freddy sat down, trying to make himself an appropriate amount of comfortable. “Emily,” he greeted, nodding her way. “Nice to see you.”

“What happened to your face?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “When the hell did you have plastic surgery?”

“That’s… a long story. Let’s just say it has something to do with my talent.”

“Hm. Okay, then. By the way, sorry for the sudden intrusion,” she offered, sneaking an annoyed glance at her father, 

For his part, the man gaped in abject shock. “My daughter… apologized?” He turned to face Freddy with mock awe. “What are you?”

Emily rolled her eyes. “Father, please. I think it would be for the best if we stopped wasting time.”

“Right.” The man chuckled, meeting Freddy’s gaze. “You refused my daughter’s proposal. What’s gonna change your mind?”

Freddy couldn’t contain his sigh. Rather than respond immediately, he took a moment to think about it.

This whole thing no longer sat well with him. It was one thing for Emily herself to come with the offer. But with her father being there, it suddenly felt ridiculously awkward, and kind of disrespectful. Was this even her idea in the first place? 

Not that Freddy believed there would ever be any kind of romance between the two of them. From what she’d told him, this position was purely political. As her “fiancé,” Freddy was just there to warm the seat and stop her family from trying to shove another pair of buttcheeks into it.

Frankly, the offer was pretty good, even without an Overlord personally trying to sweeten the deal. Sure, getting involved with such a powerful family’s politics sounded like a headache—and there was, indeed, a non-zero chance of him finding himself in someone’s dungeon—but protection from other sources of danger made it well worth it. 

There were already a number of people who wanted Freddy in a torture dungeon. Such as Basilisk, for example. Jacob’s dad also came to mind. Given his track record, he had a hunch that list would only grow with time. And given that the empire would likely look for a way to get him politically entrenched, choosing his own poison wasn’t a bad idea.

It was definitely better than getting shipped to the frontlines somewhere, that was for sure.

If he was being honest with himself, his mind was already made up. But, well… he wasn’t going to say no to something a lil’ extra. 

But… 

What the hell did he actually want? 

Freddy was rich. 

Turbo rich. 

And he would only get richer. He needed a soul elixir, but he could just buy that himself once he was back in the empire. No. What he really wanted was something that money couldn’t buy on its own. “I want a decade.”

The Overlord frowned. “A decade of what?”

“Of being left alone. Being her fiancé will come with a lot of politics. I want a ten-year grace period before you start dragging me around.”

“I can’t accept that.” The Overlord took a sip of his drink. “You are correct to assume you’ll be put to work. That’s exactly why you’re getting this offer in the first place. If you’re AWOL for a decade, you’ll leave your fiancée open to ridicule.”

Freddy’s jaw tightened. “If you allow me to be blunt for a moment—I’ve had a rough couple of years. My soul is battered and I’m mentally unstable. I need a damn vacation. As I am now, If I have to mingle with people targeting me to undermine Emily, I will end up murdering someone.”

Overlord Umbra barked out a laugh. “Who says that’s a dealbreaker?” He shot Freddy a wolfish grin. “If anything, that’s exactly what I want you to do.”

“You want me to go around slaughtering your family members?"

“You assume you could actually kill an Umbra of import. I’ve heard of your accomplishments against Nahar Kraven, but career assassins aren’t wild dogs who’ll recklessly charge at you until they’re put down. That being said, I agree you could use some time, especially if you want to heal from that soul damage. You can have five years.”

“Wait, hold up.” Freddy raised a hand. “What do you mean I’ll need time to heal my soul damage?”

The man looked taken aback. “I’m unsure what you’re confused about.”

“Can’t I just drink an elixir and be done with it?”

“If you’re a lunatic, sure.” The man laughed. His laughter died down as he saw Freddy’s expression darken. “Oh, dear. You don’t know the first thing about soul damage, do you?”

“Apparently not. Care to elaborate?”

“No. It would be for the best if you didn’t let anyone paint your perception of what needs to be done before you can talk to a professional. But I’ll add just in case—for the love of everything you hold dear, don’t jump to soul elixirs. If the damage is as bad as I think it is, you’ll sorely regret it.”

“Why?”

“Just talk to a professional. That’s all I’ll say on this topic.”

This was pretty close to the bottom of the list of things Freddy wanted to hear. “Well that sucks. It isn’t going to take me five years, though, is it?”

The man shrugged. “That depends.”

“Fuck my life.” Freddy buried his face in his hands. “Can I have seven years?”

“Five is already two more than I’d give you if it weren’t for the soul damage. Don’t push it.”

“Damn. I don’t suppose I have time to think about the offer?”

“If you’ve talked to the adjudicator, you should already know this proposal isn’t to be taken lightly. You’ve already rejected it once, and the only reason you’re getting the offer a second time is because you’ve helped my daughter secure a four-star kill. Your potential makes you desirable, but not nearly enough for me to sacrifice my pride. Make your choice.”

Freddy sighed. A stubborn part of him rebelled against the notion, but he pushed it down. He needed political protection, doubly so if it would take time to heal his soul.

There was just one more thing he wanted to know. It was something of great importance to him. But…

He glanced up at the Overlord and his daughter, who was sitting right next to him.

What were the odds this question would get him killed?

Well, it was a fair thing to ask. And depending on the answer, it was an issue that might very well be a dealbreaker. Swallowing heavily, Freddy risked his neck to ask the most awkward question of his entire life. “Just one more thing… What exactly is our relationship going to look like?”

The Overlord, to his credit, simply nodded. “That is up to my daughter. Emily?”

“I will beat you within an inch of your life if you ever even imagine us getting intimate in any way.”

“Well, there you have it.” 

It seemed that they misunderstood his question somewhat. “No, I mean… I already expected that much…”

The Overlord’s expression darkened. “What exactly are you asking? Please speak clearly.”

“Well, this relationship is basically fake, right? Does… that mean…. you expect me to… be celibate?”

Emily snorted, before breaking into uproarious laughter.

The Overlord’s expression went blank. “Emily… The boy is asking a perfectly fair question.” He shook his head. “The short answer is that this is also up to Emily. But it's not entirely straightforward.”

Once she finally caught her breath, she wiped a tear off her eye and straightened her posture. “My father is right. I personally couldn’t care less what you do, but the family will be watching your every move, and if you do things that reflect poorly on me, I’m not going to be happy about it. Luckily for you, a bit of infidelity is par for the course with stuff like this, so that won’t be an issue on its own. But there are limits.

“Needless to say, keep your hands off political enemies and rivals. God help you if you touch another Umbra, and obviously, don’t expect to be having any kind of serious relationship any time soon. Other than that, you should just have some common sense.”

“Fair enough, I guess.” Freddy released some of the tension he’d built up. “There’s another thing I’d like to clear up. We’re gonna be engaged… but are we ever actually going to get married?”

“Maybe,” Overlord Umbra said. “That depends entirely on whether you ever decide to hold a position of leadership, be it within or without the Umbra clan. If you wish to permanently tie yourself to us by then, you two will get married. If you don’t, you always have the choice to cut ties with us and go your own way.”

“Just like that?” he asked. “No hard feelings?”

“No more than between an employer and a former employee,” Emily said, shrugging. “The empire frowns on taking these things too far, and nobody wants heads to start flying over a fake marriage or two.”

“It is exactly as my daughter says. Now, do you have any more questions? I have other things to do.”

Freddy thought long and hard, which was getting increasingly more difficult. He asked about his deal with Georgie—not a problem, according to them. She was a neutral party, and Freddy was allowed to have his own dealings independent of the clan’s demands. 

He asked about his ties with Madame, and again, those wouldn’t pose a problem. In fact, Overlord Umbra seemed keen on it, claiming that only positive things could come from staying on the woman’s good side.

He thought it prudent to disclose that he may or may not be a wanted man, given his… altercation with Jacob and his goons. That also didn’t seem to be a problem. He, of course, asserted his innocence, but they had a pretty lax attitude towards it. People dying in such petty fights was common, it seemed. Expected, almost.

And finally, there was the snake in the room.

Overlord Umbra grumbled. “Are you planning on killing Basilisk?”

“Yes,” Freddy openly admitted. 

The man sighed. “Then I should give you a little warning. Countless people have tried to kill that man. Do you know why he is still alive?”

“Because he’s a shitty bastard who is willing to do anything to get out of trouble?”

“Yes, but it's worse than you might think. He has made countless deals over the years, and many of them involve chaos in the event of his death. There are many individuals and factions who would be very troubled should he die, and he has put no small number of them in a situation where they will be forced to avenge him.”

Freddy scowled. “How?”

“By building entire supply chains that will grind to a halt as long as his killer is still alive, for example.”

“How the hell is that legal?”

“Everything is legal if you spend enough money on lawyers,” the Overlord said darkly. “While I won’t stop you from putting that bastard down, I will warn you; in the event of his death, you’d be in a lot of trouble, and we can only protect you from some of it.”

Freddy sighed. “God damn it. Well, thanks for the warning, at least.”

“Now, is there anything else you want to know?”

He thought for a moment. “No. That’s about it.”

“Now… I would like to hear your final answer.

“Freddy Stern—are you willing to enter an engagement with my daughter?”