"..."

    "...What?"

    Feeling confident that the young man in front of them would say yes to their request, it was no surprise that both Vynar and Anton were left speechless after hearing the exact opposite leave Valyr''s mouth.

    Glancing at each other for a bit, the two of them briefly thought back to the various offers they made in exchange for the request, being reminded that some of them were even unplanned due to Aster''s own offers.

    Because of that, the two deluded themselves into thinking that they''d just misheard him, prompting Anton to look at the young man once more as he asked with a slightly forced smile, "Could you... could you repeat what you just said?"

    At those words, Aster briefly looked at the man before softly shaking his head in disapproval.

    "As I''ve said it before..." Feeling the same way Aster did towards how the other two reacted to his words, Valyr made sure to not show it on the outside as he responded in a calm tone.

    "I''ll have to say no on your offers."

    With Valyr''s words telling them that they hadn''t misheard him earlier, both Vynar and Anton looked at each other once more before looking back at the young man as if they were wronged.

    "Are our offers not enough for you?" asked Vynar, his tone and his body language showing the young man that he wasn''t taking no for an answer.

    "It''s not that." Valyr shook his head in response, briefly noticing that the disappointment on Aster''s face deepened at Vynar''s actions.

    "Then why did you say no to our offers?" asked Anton after Valyr''s response, a bit of anger beginning to seep into his tone.

    "...I just felt like it," replied the young man after a bit of silence, even though the thoughts going on in his mind at that moment said that his response wasn''t as spontaneous as it seemed.

    Even though the rewards the nobles planned on giving him if he were to become representative were considerably better compared to the rewards the Mage Guild gave him to become their representative, Valyr decided to decline their offer in the end because of one reason.

    The strings that came attached with each one.

    Although all the Mage Guild had to offer in exchange for him becoming their representative were perks related to his position in the guild and the like, there were no strings attached to it.

    Considering that all they wanted from him were the rewards that would be given to the organization affiliated to the winner, the young man felt as if he and Dalton made an equivalent exchange.

    "...Enough." Feeling like the two had already crossed a certain line in his mind, Aster took it upon himself to flare his aura out in its entirety, causing both Vynar and Anton to stop what they were doing as they were reminded of who they were accompanying.

    "It''s a shame that the Fimbul and the Ullvayne clan brought the two of you out as their clan''s representatives," said the man, his authoritative tone making the two bow their heads down at him in embarrassment.

    "Just because Ataraxia here didn''t want to accept our offer, you two felt that it was right to resort to coercion?"

    "But the head told us to pull him over to our side no matter what..." murmured Vynar in response, which unsurprisingly piqued Valyr''s interest.

    "If your head knew any better, then he wouldn''t have made you their representative," said Aster in response, only to shift his gaze towards Anton after that.

    "I suppose you also have something to say?"

    "...Not at all." Anton quickly shook his head and kept his mouth shut, feeling both fear and terror as Aster''s aura continued to envelop their bodies.

    Feeling like he''d finally knocked the two down a couple of pegs, it was only then did Aster retract his aura, allowing the two to take in a deep breath filled with relief.

    However, that relief didn''t last long as the man soon gave them an order they couldn''t refuse.

    "With this meeting over, I want you two to head back to your respective clans and tell your heads at all costs that Ataraxia rejected our offer."

    "Now, if they have something to say about it, and I''m sure they will, then just tell them that I''ll remove their slots from the dungeon if they decide to retaliate."

    "Understood?"

    "Y-Yes, sir!" replied the two simultaneously as both fear and panic were evident in their expressions.

    With Aster''s words weighing down on their minds, the two did not hesitate to leave the plaza after that, leaving only Valyr and Aster in the gazebo after a bit of time had passed.

    "...Well then." Letting out a relieved sigh after making sure the two were gone, Aster gave the young man a knowing smile.

    "Now that they''re out of the way..."

    "Shall we discuss about my actual offer?"