System vs Rebirth

Duke Lorelei invited Tristan's group to his mansion. Sadly, Sandra was still on her way here since she had no choice but to go to another city to call for help.

Tristan and Felicia were a bit tense, knowing what kind of person the duke was.

Meanwhile, Andreas remained calm and even observed him. He couldn't help but remember how fast and powerful the slash he released was. He could barely follow his movements.

'I've seen him a few times during his stay, but the image I have of him is just a warm old man who is curious about a lot of things. To think that he would be so terrifying…' Andreas clenched his fists. Even if Duke Lorelei fought his grandfather, he might not easily be defeated.

"It seems that your teacher wants me to get involved in all this." Duke Lorelei smiled.

"…" Tristan gulped down. He hurriedly replied, "No. Everything was my plan. The teacher didn't plan anything. If the Duke wan—"

Before he finished, Duke Lorelei laughed out loud. "Don't worry, young man. I was just joking. You shouldn't be that tense in a negotiation, or the other party will take advantage of you."

Tristan looked down, feeling embarrassed. As they expected, the Duke was casual enough to give him a good lesson. Tristan took a deep breath before saying, "I apologize for involving you. We had expected that we would be attacked on the way, but the level of the opponent seemed to be stronger than expected. I'll definitely compensate the Duke for all this."

"Indeed. To think that a human would fuse with a demon. From where he actually acquired the demon in its original form." Duke Lorelei let out a long sigh. "It seems that I can't really retire in peace."

"…" Tristan noticed the depressing atmosphere and tried to change the topic. "I've come here to fulfill the agreement. According to the agreement, I'll be drawing runes for two water storage systems as well as their backup. As for the container trucks that you have ordered, it'll take a bit more time because we have to complete the regulation first."

"So, what about the compensation? How are you going to compensate me?" Duke Lorelei suddenly smirked.

"That's…" Tristan opened his mouth, but he had no idea what he should give for compensation. While he was Noel's student, it wasn't like he had anything.

"See?" Duke Lorelei raised five fingers. "You made five mistakes during this entire conversation and still make them now. First of all, you should have made an excuse to delay the negotiation. I'm aware that you are not the one who handles the negotiation. I can see that you have learned a lot, but it's not enough.

"Instead of going with me directly, you should say that you're exhausted or something. Even I have to consider your well-being and agree to meet you after you recover. During that time, you can talk with your representatives and think about the solution."

"That's…" Tristan scratched the back of his head. He didn't think of that. After all, they were supposed to be meeting Roel's children before the Duke. The unexpected situation had forced them to go with him. But as the Duke said, if he said he was tired, the Duke would surely give him time.

"The second mistake is that you are showing everything on your face. I can see that you've been training to keep up with your poker face, but that's not enough.

"This mistake is linked to your third mistake, which is not creating a pace you're comfortable with. It's true that we can drop pleasantries and focus on the important matter.

"But if you somehow slow down your speech or even sip the tea and talk about the taste or other things, you can give yourself precious time to think about the conversation. You won't suddenly stop when you try to offer a conversation."

Tristan had no words to rebuke. It was truly as he said. At the same time, he didn't feel dejected because Duke Lorelei still offered a solution within his harsh words.

"Fourth, don't let the other party take the initiative in the discussion. Don't forget that even if you come here to fulfill the agreement, I'm still the one who needs the technology. In other words, you are still the one who has the upper hand.

"And last but not least, you should at least learn my characters and personalities, as well as investigate the people I've met and what kind of discussion I have. Using that information in the negotiation will give you the initiative."

Tristan closed his eyes for a moment. He nodded his head with a serious expression. "I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Duke."

Duke Lorelei smiled. "I hope that you can take this into your heart and learn from this experience. The other party might not be as good as me, who will offer you some advice and not take advantage of you. Well, just be good to my family once you become a big figure in the future. I'll treat it as compensation."

Tristan felt a bit touched. "Y—!"

"Sixth!" Duke Lorelei raised his voice as if knowing what his reply was going to be. "Don't make any promises that will bind you for a long time. If you end up failing to do it in the future, you won't be able to maintain your integrity, just like your teacher."

Tristan shut his mouth in panic. His heart was beating rapidly.

"This is why your teacher sends you to me first. This is something you have to learn from experience." Duke Lorelei sighed. "You can leave for now and meet me tomorrow. If I don't see any improvement, then don't mind if I take advantage of that weakness."

"Y-Yes!" Tristan nodded furiously. He was definitely crushed by the Duke in this discussion. He had learned etiquette from Charlotte, but she never taught him how to behave in the conversation.

Even Noel made some dumb mistakes during the negotiations in the past. As the Duke said, he had to learn it from experience.

Andreas and Felicia didn't say a single thing during their discussion. They only watched how Tristan became dejected. That was the condition Noel gave after all. Even if Tristan made some mistakes, knowing the Duke's personality, Noel could still pay the price. He just took it as a lesson fee.

Still, Tristan had rather low self-esteem. It was indeed a problem, but this problem actually created an advantage for Tristan. He got over it immediately and tried to improve.