RISE OF EROS

The next morning, Oliver and Castor met with Andrew in the office. Oliver having finished the lover's pact with Marie, didn't want to wait until the following week to deal with Johan as they had planned.

Andrew and Castor had no problem with the change of plans, as they only brought forward what they were going to do. Since they didn't want to approach completely hostile, they sent a carrier pigeon to Johan informing them of their visit ahead of time.

When Johan received the message he could not help but put on a bitter expression because he knew that troubling times were ahead, but he did not run away from the situation and simply waited for Andrew to arrive.

Although he did not flee, he did prepare himself as best he could. As ever his tent was swarming with guards and anyone who saw them thought they were preparing for a war due to the fact that they were fully armed and there were a large number of them.

As Andrew and the others wanted to show some status, they took a carriage to visit Johan and when they saw the number of guards, they couldn't help but let out a small derisive laugh.

Although the number was impressive, their strength was not much and so Oliver and Castor were not worried. At the entrance, they were greeted by Johan's butler who greeted them cordially nonetheless.

Andrew responded in kind, while Oliver and Castor just followed him in silence. When they reached the door of Johan's office, the butler turned to them and said, "The gentlemen may wait here, while Master Johan and Mr. Andrew talk business."

None of those present were stupid, so they would not allow Andrew to enter Johan's office alone, but none of them lost their temper. Andrew acted accordingly and said, "If my escorts can't come in, I don't think this meeting is necessary."

Although it seemed like Andrew was acting cowardly, he was actually sending a message. In short, he was telling Johan that he had come today as a courtesy, but if he didn't appreciate it, he would take the hard route.

Johan's butler is a smart man and immediately understood the message and letting out a sigh, he assisted and allowed them entry. The idea of preventing Andrew's bodyguards from going inside was his and although he knew he had little chance of them agreeing, he had to give it a try.

Once they entered the office, they could see Johan and some guards pretending to protect the windows and doors of the office. There were about 10 guards, which seemed excessive for a meeting like this, but no one said anything.

"Mr. Andrew a pleasure to see you again. I am very sorry for the excessive security, but I suffered an attack recently and it is better to be safe than sorry," Johan said in an enthusiastic voice, demonstrating his acting skills.

"No problem Mr. Johan. Safety first," Andrew replied returning the courtesy, though he wasn't buying that story. Although they both knew that relations had broken down and they were practically enemies, they kept up appearances.

Andrew was not particularly fond of this kind of behavior. He was always a straightforward man both in his previous life and in this one, so he preferred to speak things as they were, but he understood that sometimes it was necessary to act as he was doing.

Johan offered Andrew a seat and the butler offered him a cup of tea, which Andrew didn't even look at. Although he didn't think Johan was stupid enough to poison him, Andrew did it as a sign of displeasure.

He wanted to make it clear to Johan that he didn't like his attitude and that there was no way to reconcile. Johan being an old fox, understood immediately and not wanting to drag the meeting out too long started the talk.

"So, Mr. Andrew, to what do I owe the pleasure of the visit?", Andrew only took a few seconds to answer, "Mr. Johan, let's stop with the intrigues and tricks. It's obvious I didn't like your way of dealing with business and I've come to settle that."

Although Johan understood that Andrew came with that objective, he didn't think the young man would cover the subject so directly. Not letting Johan speak Andrew continued, "I think you already know the ins and outs, so it's not a negotiation, but an imposition."

Andrew's overbearing attitude made Johan put on a bitter expression, trying to contain his anger. He never expected a young man like Andrew to treat him this way, but he held it in and let him speak.

"From today onwards you will receive the same amount of products as always and you can trade them as you wish, but there will be no increase in products in the future and our relationship will be limited to just seller and buyer," Andrew said in a serious and deep voice.

At that moment he kept silent and waited for Johan to say something. Only a few seconds passed and Johan spoke, "Has Mr. Andrew found another seller yet?" to which Andrew replied, "I have two quite reliable partners."

Johan narrowed his gaze upon hearing that Andrew had 2 partners. While he didn't clarify who they were, Johan already knew he was referring to Candice and Marquis Valoid.

He immediately understood that it was a threat. Johan gritted his teeth hard and tried to calm down. After he succeeded, he spoke again, "I understand. I accept your terms."

Although Andrew expected Johan to compromise, he thought he would put up more of a fight, but when he understood that Marquis Valoid's weight was enormous, he was not surprised.

As Andrew was about to get up to leave, Johan spoke again, "It's a pity that Mr. Andrew doesn't favor me," to which Andrew replied in disgust, "It's not that I don't favor you, it's just that I don't like dealing with people of low morals."

Without waiting for Johan to say anything, Andrew got up and left. Once Andrew and his companions had left, Johan smashed the teacup in front of him against the wall as he angrily shouted, "You fucking brat!!!".

Andrew didn't know about Johan's outburst and even if he did he wouldn't care. Taking advantage of the fact that he had gone out, he decided to visit Candice before returning to the Heavenly Palace.

Although he had not announced his visit, Candice already knew that Andrew would visit her and Gaston was waiting for them at the entrance to guide them to Candice's office. Like the other times, they were greeted warmly by Gaston and then marched to Candice's office.

This time, however, they were let in immediately. Candice was waiting for them sitting on the couch, sipping some tea. Candice's characteristic smile was nowhere to be seen, only seriousness was on her face.

This was normal, as she was already feeling a lot of pressure from Andrew knowing about Oliver's strength and now Andrew had shown up accompanied by another expert, so she was in trouble.

While she didn't plan on antagonizing Andrew, she also didn't want to be the weakest link, and knowing Andrew's strength, she was definitely much weaker, which bothered her a bit.

It was ironic that when Candice first met him, Andrew was just a small businessman who only generated curiosity in her, but now, that young man had the strength to stand on the same ground as her.

While in terms of money, Andrew was far behind, in the face of absolute strength, money was nothing and that was the current situation. Andrew had grown too fast and Candice was insecure.

"Miss Candice a pleasure to see you again," Andrew greeted with a smile, to which Candice replied, "It is certainly unexpected to see you again so soon. May I know the reason for the sudden visit?".

"Well, I just came from visiting Johan and took the opportunity to visit you," Andrew said casually. Candice already knew that Andrew had visited Johan, as her spies kept tabs on Andrew's movements.

While she hadn't agreed to spy on Andrew for the Marquis, that didn't mean she wasn't aware of his movements. Information is power after all.

"I assume everything went well," Candice said seriously and Andrew replied smiling, "I think he got the message. If he didn't, I'm afraid his family will disappear from this world."

Andrew's strong words, made Gaston and Candice tremble a little, but for different reasons. Gaston was frightened because he just now understood how dangerous Andrew could be.

For her part, Candice felt a strange sense of excitement. Somehow, she was attracted to Andrew's dominant attitude. It wasn't that she had never known powerful, dominant men, but Andrew made her feel different.

They talked about how they would proceed with their business in the future and other relevant topics, such as attacks on beastmen and elves. Nothing complex, just empty talk of what little they knew.

Suddenly Andrew asked, "Well, Miss Candice, when can I have that dinner you promised me?". Andrew's question caught everyone off guard, especially Candice, who even blushed a little.

"I see Mr. Andrew is a little impatient," Candice said hiding her embarrassment, but Andrew didn't back down, "Well, it's a rare opportunity to eat with a beauty."

"Pretty bold for someone with 3 wives," Candice said mockingly, but Andrew was undeterred and replied, "Great characters are not meant to be alone."