CHAPTER 97: CHAPTER 97 - SELL MY LIFE? I DON’T THINK SO!

Running a hand through his hair, Logan smiled wryly as he shook his head.

"Alright," he said, locking eyes with Livia. "What’s the good news?"

Livia looked at him in surprise, not expecting him to take the news so well.

"Aren’t you angry at me?" she asked, her eyes wide open. "This is all my fault, after all."

"Angry? No," Logan said, shaking his head. "Annoyed at the situation? Definitely."

"I’m not worried about the Alvarez family, even if they are supported by the Holy Cross Guild," he continued, smiling confidently.

Livia stared at him, too shocked to speak.

’Why is he so calm about this?’ she thought, her mind blank. ’This should be a huge problem for his recovering company.’

"So," Logan broke the silence. "Are you going to tell me the good news or not?"

Livia quickly nodded, exhaling sharply.

"The Imperial Church wants to support the Mercer company," she said, her face turning red as she continued. "But they have two conditions."

Logan almost wanted to laugh.

"Conditions?" he asked, shaking his head. "Are they aware that they’ll lose all influence within North America if they don’t support us?"

Shame and guilt flushed across Livia’s face, turning it completely red.

Calming down, Logan gestured for Livia to continue, despite the ridiculousness of it all.

"They want you to publicly align yourself with their values," Livia spoke quietly. "And... they want you to work under the Church for at least five years after graduation."

Logan’s eyes widened in disbelief, this time actually starting to laugh.

"You’re kidding," he said, shaking his head. "They really want my loyalty, my brand, and five years of my life... all for what? Some resources?"

Livia looked down.

"You’re not just the Mercer family’s heir anymore, Logan," she said. "After what happened in the dungeon, rumors about your talent started to spread."

"My father and I suspected from the moment we met you that you had an SSS-rank affinity," she continued, her expression complicated. "But after I explained what happened in the dungeon, his faction realized you’re too valuable to leave alone."

Logan let out a quiet sigh, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"I see," he said. "Unfortunately, I’ll refuse the support then."

"And I’ll refuse any future support that requires years of my life."

Livia’s head shot up."You’re refusing... just like that?"

"You expected me to say yes?" Logan asked, tilting his head slightly.

’I don’t get it,’ he thought. ’I still have the upper hand, so why would I bow down and follow their demands?’

Without his help, it would take the Imperial Church a long time to move assets and gain influence in North America.

And by the time they finally gained a little influence, they’d be completely overshadowed by the Holy Cross Guild.

Livia clenched her hands on the table, her eyes conflicted.

"If you don’t accept the Church’s offer, you’ll make significant losses and you might even be killed!"

Raising an eyebrow, Logan stared at her.

"No need to be so hasty," he said, smiling. "I have a counteroffer for the Imperial Church."

Livia’s eyes lit up, quickly nodding.

"I can use my company to promote their name and help them set up faster in North America," Logan said, knowing it wouldn’t cause any issues. "But that’s it."

"My company won’t change its values, and I won’t sign any contract to work for them—not even for a single year."

Paling, Livia shook her head.

"They’re never going to accept that!" she said, almost shouting.

"Well, they better." Logan shrugged.

"This is nothing personal, Livia."

"If the Imperial Church declines, that’s fine," he said, narrowing his eyes as he locked eyes with Livia. "The Holy Cross is eager to keep the Imperial Church’s name out of North America—and I wouldn’t be surprised if they saw me as the perfect means to do it."

It was a gamble—but one meant to plant doubt.

All he needed was for them to consider this possibility.

Livia’s mouth opened and closed again.

"They... sent you an offer?" she asked, dryly.

Logan shook his head, keeping his expression neutral.

’’Not yet,’’ he said. ’’But they will.’’

Livia stared at him in stunned silence.

"You... really would do that?" she whispered.

There was no immediate response.

Slowly looking back at her, Logan let out a sigh.

"I don’t want to," he said lightly. "But they are trying to take advantage of me, which I will not let go."

Lowering her gaze, Livia’s expression changed rapidly from shame to sadness.

"I know their conditions are too ridiculous," she said silently. "But I don’t want anything to happen to you after you saved my life."

Smiling, Logan leaned back. "Then let’s both make sure that doesn’t happen."

Livia stared at him silently, unable to respond.

Standing up, Logan walked towards the door, turning around once.

"I know you’re just delivering the message," he said. "But now it’s their turn to think."

Without waiting for a reply, he stepped out and headed back to his room.

’That was an interesting talk,’ he thought, smiling. ’I’m glad Livia is worried about my safety, but I refuse to become a slave.’

Opening a hologram on his watch, Logan immediately sent messages to both Edric and Silas.

’I’ll let them start preparing so I can comfortably focus on my breakthrough tomorrow.’

Closing his door behind him, Logan sat down on his bed and closed his eyes.

’I’ve hit my absolute limit,’ he thought, glancing at his core.

His core had almost completely turned silver, although it was a much darker silver than a real Silver rank.

Opening his eyes again, Logan double-checked his private bank account.

Over the past few days, he’d taken a total of eight billion dollars from his company’s liquid accounts, to the frustration of the other board members.

"I’ve kept five billion aside for this breakthrough," he mumbled, glancing at his system. "The other three billion dollars have been invested into the fast-food chain."

Logan stood up, walking back to his desk and looked at all the reports pouring back in from multitudes of locations.

"I really need to hire people to manage all of this," he said, hopelessly scrolling through the reports.

He scrolled through reports until midnight before finally heading to bed.

"First thing tomorrow will be my breakthrough," he mumbled, glancing up at his ceiling. "I wonder what affinity I’ll get."