Chapter 236: Making A Decision, You’re All Going To Train To Death

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Seeing how her friends were acting so carelessly in front of Riven, a valuable client who could completely change the future of her father’s struggling company, Natalie decided she had to act quickly. She needed to reprimand them before they made the situation any worse and ruined the rare opportunity standing right in front of her.

"Emma! Clair! Stop it!" Natalie barked sharply, smacking both of them lightly on the backs of their heads. "Just shut up and don’t talk if you’re not going to say something nice!"

She then turned back toward Riven and Label with an apologetic expression, her voice softening as she tried to recover the professional tone she had started with. "I’m really sorry about them— Ahem! As I was saying... does this mean that the offer I gave you earlier... are you actually considering it?"

Riven gave a calm nod. "That’s right. I’ve got the recipes, and so does Label. She has the ability to mass-produce incredibly high-quality products using less than half of the required materials. I want her to continue developing her Alchemy without limits, but for that we also need someone reliable to help us secure a steady flow of resources. And while we do that, we also need someone who can properly sell these products on a larger scale. That’s where you come in, Natalie. Your family’s business is struggling, isn’t that right?"

Natalie nodded slowly, a hint of exhaustion flickering across her face. "It is. Claymore Labs’ mass production of potions and their much cheaper prices completely demolished our business in just a few years. We’re hanging on just fine right now, but the statistics already show that we’ll face a sharp decline in profits by the end of the next trimester... The privatization of Gates, which used to be our greatest source of materials, is also becoming a serious problem. Claymore or their affiliates claim almost all of them, cutting short any deals we used to have with those places for materials and ingredients."

"Hm, so that means you don’t have ingredients anymore?" Label wondered aloud, tilting her head slightly. "Then what’s the point of—"

"No, no, we’ve tried to fight back the same way. You know, fight fire with fire and all of that," Natalie sighed, rubbing her temple. "Dad spent over half of our savings buying several Gate areas and Wild Zones where resources still grow naturally, but... yeah, it’s still nothing compared to what Claymore Labs is doing. And because our profits keep declining, it feels like my dad will have to go into debt soon just to keep the company afloat, which will only make everything spiral even worse."

Riven nodded while carefully digesting the current situation. The more he listened, the clearer the pressure on Natalie’s family became. "I see. I understand better now. Has your father been asking you about your projects lately?"

"He has. He’s been pestering me a lot, actually. He’s getting a little desperate for me to finally start providing some real value to the family business," Natalie admitted with another quiet sigh. "My father is... not a bad person. I love him, but he can get a little strict sometimes. He’s always expected a lot from me, and I often feel like I keep failing to meet those expectations..."

"No wonder," Vladimir suddenly spoke up from behind Riven. He was sitting casually on a sofa, swirling a glass of wine in one hand. "If we hadn’t been there, what do you think Richard Sunrise would think if he learned his daughter had been kidnapped by Kobolds and later found dead, dismembered after they feasted on her small little body? You’re only alive because of pure luck. It won’t happen again."

"Ugh..." Natalie visibly felt the cold pressure coming from Vladimir’s words and presence. She forced herself to remain polite. "May I ask who he is?"

"He’s a stupid dog. Don’t listen to him," Riven sighed, waving a hand dismissively. "Go outside, Vladimir."

"Tsk..." Vladimir clicked his tongue in irritation but obeyed. He walked toward the backyard, where he immediately spotted Noir waiting outside. "Oh! Young Master! Look, I’ve grown stronger! Shall we play chase?"

"Woof! Woof!" Noir barked happily and immediately started chasing after Vladimir while the man dropped onto all fours and ran around like an actual dog. Everyone watching realized that he might truly be more dog than human at this point.

Although what Vladimir had said was extremely rude and incredibly bizarre, Natalie couldn’t help but silently agree with the core of his statement. She really could have died back there. Riven had saved her life again. And this time it was clear he no longer wanted to risk that happening a second time.

"I’m glad we can work together," she said after a moment, her voice more sincere. "But I’d like to know what you intend to do with my friends. They have nothing to do with this business arrangement..."

"What?! Of course we do, we’re your friends!" Clair said angrily, crossing her arms.

"Shut up!" Emma screamed at her, clearly embarrassed.

"M-Maybe we should just leave?" Philip wondered nervously, glancing toward the door.

"I’ve brought them here because I’ve decided to handle certain things myself from now on," Riven said while cracking his knuckles, his sharp gaze locking onto the three of them. "If I plan to forge a strong and lasting business bond with your family, Natalie, I’d rather not have these fools constantly risking your life even more than they already have. I also plan to invite all of you into my guild. Not because you’ll suddenly become useful overnight, but because I don’t want any of you dying on me... or worse, putting her life at risk again by being the worst teammates imaginable. You’re supposed to always protect the healer in your party, yet none of you even watch out for her back, do you?"

"Ugh..." Clair let out a long, defeated sigh. Then her eyes widened slightly. "Wait... you’re inviting us to your guild?!"

"Really?!" Philip smiled in pure disbelief, hope flickering across his face.

"Wow..." Emma muttered, clearly stunned.

Knowing how strong Riven truly was from everything they had already witnessed, the three of them felt a sudden surge of excitement. Especially after realizing he had defeated the Kobold King so easily, just as they had suspected.

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