Chapter 270: A Seat at the Table

By Monday morning, Garen Vollbrecht had developed an unreasonable attachment to the Thirteenth Society.

He had attended one gathering, eaten several expensive pastries, and convinced three upper-year students to promise him favors. As far as he was concerned, the organization represented everything admirable about academic life.

"I’ve been thinking," he announced during lunch. "We should join."

Tristan continued eating.

"How ambitious. Have they actually invited you?"

"Not yet."

"Then I admire your confidence."

Ilya had expected this conversation eventually. Garen had spent much of the weekend describing the society’s gathering to anyone willing to listen, although he had carefully avoided revealing its name or location.

That was fortunate. An exclusive organization probably wouldn’t appreciate its newest guest advertising its activities throughout the academy.

"Joining might be useful," Ilya admitted. "They seem to have some interesting connections."

"Exactly!"

"But we should find out what membership actually involves."

Garen considered that reasonable, while Tristan explained that elite student associations frequently imposed obligations beyond ordinary attendance. Some required financial contributions, others expected members to assist with academic projects, and certain aristocratic circles maintained complicated traditions concerning seniority and patronage.

Those arrangements weren’t inherently objectionable.

However, accepting responsibilities without understanding them was foolish.

Ilya had enough obligations already. Between his coursework, magical training, and research at SkyRune, he could barely justify spending another evening arguing with strangers about admission standards.

Still, the society’s first gathering had been entertaining.

He was curious what its organizers intended next.

Their answer arrived that afternoon.

Three envelopes were delivered to the Magic Department’s student correspondence desk.

Ilya and Tristan received ordinary invitations bearing the thirteen-star seal. Garen’s envelope, however, contained a provisional acknowledgment and a request to attend a preliminary interview.

Naturally, Garen celebrated as though he’d received an appointment to the Imperial Cabinet.

Then he read the final paragraph.

"Wait. They’re charging us?"

Ilya examined the notice.

The society required participating candidates to contribute five silver marks toward the next gathering’s expenses. Existing members would cover the remainder, and the contribution was refundable if a candidate declined further participation.

It was a modest amount for most aristocratic students.

For Garen, however, five silver marks represented several days of ordinary expenses.

Tristan offered to cover it.

Garen refused immediately.

"I can afford five silver marks. I’m just wondering why they need money when they’re serving pastries that cost more than my textbooks."

"A reasonable question," Ilya admitted.

The society had access to an expensive venue, catered refreshments, and enough influence to attract exceptionally accomplished students. Its organizers clearly possessed substantial resources.

Yet they insisted on collecting contributions from candidates.

It might simply be a method of assessing commitment.

Or perhaps the organizers wanted members to feel personally invested in their activities.

Either way, Ilya decided to keep the receipt.

He had learned enough from Solenne to understand that wealthy organizations could be remarkably careless with money, especially when nobody expected them to explain where it went.

The second gathering took place on Wednesday evening.

This time, the Old Astronomical Hall had been arranged around a series of smaller tables. Each contained a sealed wooden box, several documents, and a brass marker bearing one of the society’s thirteen stars.

Margarethe von Adlerheim welcomed the returning candidates and explained that the evening’s activity would involve negotiation between competing groups.

Unlike their previous exercise, participants would be permitted to reveal their objectives and form agreements.

However, every group would possess different resources and confidential information.

The challenge was to obtain the greatest possible benefit for their assigned interests before the ninth bell.

Ilya found the arrangement promising.

Tristan seemed equally interested.

Garen was mainly relieved that the society had provided dinner again.

The three were assigned to the same table alongside two unfamiliar candidates. Their fictional organization represented a provincial academy attempting to expand its facilities while managing insufficient funding.

They possessed limited money, several valuable research licenses, and a contract granting preferential access to a local supplier.

Other tables represented competing institutions, merchant associations, and noble patrons.

Their objective was to acquire enough resources to construct a new research facility without surrendering control of the academy.

At first glance, the problem appeared straightforward.

Unfortunately, their starting funds were insufficient.

The group would need outside investment, and the available patrons demanded concessions in exchange for their support.

One candidate immediately suggested selling the research licenses.

Tristan disagreed.

The licenses represented their most valuable long-term assets, and surrendering them would reduce their future bargaining power.

Ilya supported that assessment.

However, simply refusing every unfavorable offer wouldn’t solve their financial problem.

He examined the documents more carefully.

The supplier contract attracted his attention.

It granted their academy preferential access to several materials commonly used in magical engineering, but the agreement contained no obligation to purchase a minimum quantity.

That was unusual.

It meant they could potentially transfer some of their purchasing privileges without sacrificing the contract itself.

Garen noticed the same thing.

"Couldn’t we offer the merchant association part of our allocation? They’d save money buying materials through us."

Tristan considered the suggestion.

"That might violate the agreement."

"Only if we resell the contract," Garen replied. "The documents say we can purchase materials for affiliated research projects."

Ilya checked the relevant clause.

Garen was correct.

Their academy could sponsor collaborative projects and supply materials to participating institutions, provided the purchases were connected to legitimate research.

That created an opportunity.

Rather than selling their licenses or accepting an unfavorable investment, they could establish partnerships with other groups and collect contributions toward the new facility.

The arrangement would require careful negotiation, but it allowed them to preserve their independence.

Ilya proposed splitting their responsibilities.

Tristan would negotiate with the noble patrons, whose representatives were likely to respond favorably to his experience with aristocratic agreements.

Garen would approach the merchant association and identify which materials it needed most urgently.

Ilya would handle the academic institutions and coordinate the resulting arrangements.

The other two candidates would review the contracts and ensure that their agreements didn’t create conflicting obligations.

Everyone accepted the plan.

Their negotiations began immediately.

Tristan secured a preliminary offer from one noble patron, although he refused a clause granting the investor permanent authority over the academy’s research appointments.

The patron’s representative seemed surprised.

Several other groups had apparently accepted similar conditions without objection.

Tristan remained polite.

He explained that the academy would consider financial support in exchange for recognition and limited access to research results, but its academic appointments would remain independent.

The representative eventually agreed to a smaller investment.

Meanwhile, Garen discovered that the merchant association possessed an urgent requirement for stabilized mana crystals.

Their academy’s supplier contract covered those exact materials.

After several minutes of bargaining, he negotiated a collaborative purchasing agreement that would provide the merchant association with a reliable supply while generating additional income for the academy.

It was an excellent arrangement.

Unfortunately, Garen had neglected to confirm whether their fictional academy possessed sufficient storage facilities.

When Ilya discovered the problem, he was forced to renegotiate the delivery schedule.

Garen apologized.

Ilya waved it away.

The mistake was understandable, and they’d identified it before signing anything binding.

Besides, the merchant association had already demonstrated genuine interest.

They could afford to negotiate.

By the eighth bell, their group had secured enough funding to proceed with construction.

They had also preserved their research licenses and retained authority over academic appointments.

However, one problem remained.

Their agreements depended on several partners fulfilling their commitments simultaneously.

If even one withdrew, the entire financing arrangement could collapse.

Ilya was reviewing that weakness when Margarethe approached their table.

"You’re doing well."

"Thank you," Tristan replied.

"Although I wonder whether you’ve considered what happens if your partners decide not to cooperate."

Ilya suspected she already knew the answer.

The society’s organizers had deliberately designed the exercise to encourage agreements that could later become liabilities.

Their group had avoided the most obvious traps, but they hadn’t eliminated every risk.

Margarethe presented an additional document.

A competing institution had offered the merchant association a more attractive purchasing arrangement.

Unless Ilya’s group improved its terms, the association might withdraw.

Garen looked offended.

"They already agreed!"

"Your agreement isn’t final until the ninth bell," Margarethe explained.

That was unfortunate.

Still, Ilya had anticipated something similar.

He examined the competing offer and noticed that it promised lower prices but required the merchant association to purchase considerably larger quantities.

The arrangement was attractive only if the association could reliably sell or utilize those materials.

Otherwise, its apparent savings could become an expensive burden.

Ilya asked Garen to return to the merchant representatives and explain the distinction.

Meanwhile, Tristan approached their noble patron and secured a modest guarantee covering the first delivery.

Their final offer was slightly less profitable, but considerably more reliable.

The merchant association accepted.

When the ninth bell sounded, their agreements remained intact.

Margarethe collected the documents and announced that the results would be evaluated according to financial performance, retained assets, contractual stability, and negotiation.

Several groups had acquired greater immediate funding.

However, most had surrendered valuable rights or accepted obligations that threatened their long-term independence.

Ilya’s group had achieved a more balanced result.

The society’s president personally commended their performance.

He seemed particularly interested in how the three had divided their responsibilities.

"An unusual combination," he remarked. "A Belozersky, a Bellacourt, and a student who wasn’t originally invited."

Garen appeared delighted to be included.

Tristan accepted the observation with his usual dignity.

Ilya wondered whether the president had been watching their negotiations more closely than he’d expected.

The young man congratulated them before extending an invitation to attend a private gathering reserved for candidates who had distinguished themselves during the first two exercises.

It would take place the following weekend.

This time, however, the invitation came with an additional condition.

Participants would be required to accept a temporary obligation to the society, the details of which would be disclosed upon arrival.

Ilya found that wording less appealing.

Agreeing to an unspecified obligation was precisely the sort of arrangement they’d spent the evening avoiding.

Tristan appeared to recognize the contradiction.

Garen, meanwhile, was still celebrating their successful negotiations.

The president assured them that attendance remained voluntary and that they could decline the obligation after hearing its terms.

That made the proposal more reasonable.

Ilya accepted the invitation provisionally.

He was curious what the society expected from its promising candidates.

And after spending the evening negotiating fictional contracts, he thought it would be interesting to see how carefully its own members followed the principles they’d been testing.