Chapter 146 - 146: Connections & Intimidation
Eric didn\'t care in the least what the crowd thought of him, as he was just trying to understand as much as he could and learn as much as he could about them, and the high society.
He felt himself like a secret agent trying to get as much information as he could from the people surrounding him, and at the same time select his targets.
Of course, the people who come and greet him, or had the importance to be introduced to him by Master Takeshiba were all the cream of the crops.
Each and any one of these people were a connection that Eric might have to use in the future. So even though it was boring and tiring beyond belief, Eric still kept the same attitude until the end.
Even though the biggest part of the crowd was just trying to learn more about him, and enter his good books, either by fawning upon him, or badmouthing those who left, or had gloomy faces.
Amongst his most memorable meetings were the Masters, and the people from the big families, as they were clearly looking at him with despise, and loathing.
Eric on the other hand wasn\'t bothered by their looks, or high and mighty attitudes, as he already expected them.
But now he was able to understand how it was possible that all the big families disappeared after the S-day.
These guys had clearly gathered too much hate towards themselves, and they were doing the same thing this time.
Surely that shouldn\'t be the only reason, but it didn\'t really matter to him, as this time they were just going to have to taste their end sooner.
He didn\'t know why, but these people loved to enter his blacklist, as they didn\'t even bother to disguise their killing intents.
Still, the most important meeting of the night was the meeting he had with Master Yoshida. When he shacked his hand, he could feel that his death laws got a little shaken, and improved.
If only a small handshake was able to cause something like that, what would happen if he had this guy around for a day or more.
When they met, Master Yoshida more than looking at him was observing him as if trying to find something out, or see deep inside his soul.
Who would blame him though, he had acted all this time like he was sick and close to the grave, and this was the first time he had attracted someone\'s attention.
But he was able to perfectly hide this inside him, as he approached Eric with a gentle, and warm attitude, he didn\'t seem to mind the fact that Eric was a poor nobody, differently from the others.
Even Master Yuuto, who was known to be someone who didn\'t like to show his feelings much, and liked a life of quiet, and calm, had a weird and complex look on his face.
The night ended on a high note, as Eric even kissed his fiancé in front of the crowd, proving to all of them that she was his woman.
This gained him a few more malicious looks and killing intents, but he didn\'t care about them, each and any one of them was welcomed to try his luck.
He was confident that he could protect himself, and if he couldn\'t, he would just run away and escape. With the help of his Escape Talismans, he was uncatchable.
Still, he was able to note each and any one of them on a new list inside his mind. They would all be part of the grey list, and their end depended on their upcoming actions.
After the long party, Master Takeshiba even held a family meeting, warning all the others to be careful with how they acted with him.
Eric from that night was part of their family, whether they accepted him or not didn\'t matter, as this was already set in stone.
It would be for the best if they didn\'t try anything funny against him, otherwise, they would face his fury.
Of course, there were unsatisfied people with this action of Master Takeshiba, as they thought that it was unreasonable for their father to talk like that, but they couldn\'t do anything about it.
As for the rest of the Takeshiba family, like Master Takeshiba\'s brothers, and their descendants didn\'t dare to speak.
Master Takeshiba had total control over his family, and no one dared to question his actions or decisions. What happened earlier with his eldest son, was a first for him.
But not all of them were looking at Eric with hate and loathing, there was one that looked at him with curiosity, his mother-in-law, and a playful one, his sister-in-law.
Of course, Eric didn\'t show many emotions either, he seemed to be there just because of Master Takeshiba, and Takeshiba Aika, as for the rest they were just \'there\'.
His attitude was taken as normal from Master Takeshiba, but for the rest of the family, he looked like a presumptuous and arrogant kid.
In their thoughts, not only was this guy a toad that had succeeded in eating swan meat, which should be his death wish, but he also acted like the opposite was happening.
As for Takeshiba Aika, she seemed to not care about that in the least, as she acted like a teenage girl in love, and she didn\'t seem to be faking it either.
After that episode, he and Master Takeshiba walked towards the exit together, as Master Takeshiba warned him about the perils that were waiting for him.
He even offered him protection, and help if he needed it, as he even briefly advised him to change his address.
Not only because of their status, and social standing, but mostly for his safety. The apartment he lived in until now was unsafe for him to continue leaving there, especially after tonight.
In fact, Eric had already considered this, and he knew that what he was saying was correct, but more than for his safety, he wanted the place for his peace and calm.
So, he accepted Master Takeshiba\'s kind intentions as he received from him the card for the Real Estate Agency he could go to.
Of course, money wasn\'t a problem, as it would be a simple gift from his father-in-law for the engagement.
Since it had happened suddenly, he hadn\'t been able to buy them a gift, so this new home would be his gift for them.
After the agreement with the government about the potions, and the manuals, Eric had a lot of money on his bank account, more than enough to buy a new house.
But since Master Takeshiba was offering he didn\'t turn him down, in fact, he welcomed the intentions, since every penny extra he got would be extremely valuable to him.
To conclude the night, they set an appointment for two days later, as they both had important topics to discuss.
After taking care of all this, Eric had a short meeting with Takeshiba Aika, as he gave her a few instructions and a good night kiss, and then started walking towards the exit of the mansion.
As soon as he reached there, he could sense that a lot of people were concentrated at the Entrance, waiting for him to come out.
The majority of them were just to enjoy the show, as only a few had come with the intention to have a bout.
Master Takeshiba had even offered him protection once, and some people and a car to accompany him, but he had refused them and said that he didn\'t them in the least.
And even now that he was coming out of the entrance he was completely calm, and carefree, like all these people waiting for him were just buzzing flies.
With that calm and carefree attitude, he started walking away from the Takeshiba Residence, and just as he was around 50-100 meters away from it, a black car stopped in front of him.
In fact, it would be more precise to say that the car stopped in front of his legs. He could feel that the guy behind the wheels was just trying to scare him off, so he didn\'t move from his position.
The car had black windshields, which would make it impossible for someone to see who was inside the car, but Eric wasn\'t a normal person.
It took him only a few seconds to understand who was in front of him, as he said with a confident voice,
"Young Master Shiba don\'t you think you are too old to make this kind of jokes? Or perhaps your confidence has risen now that you have Young Master Yuzuriha by your side?"
His words clearly startled the people inside the car as they hadn\'t expected him to identify them, as they were even planning to make a grand entrance for all the people watching from the sides.
Yet their grand entrance had been completely spoiled, as they could only get out of the car, as Young Master Yuzuriha said with an intimidating voice,
"How dare you say our names like that, you little nobody? Don\'t you know that you should wash your mouth with soap when you talk to us?"
Eric heard those words without making any expression, as he turned towards Young Master Shiba and said with a carefree attitude,
"What about you? Aren\'t you supposed to say some big words like your friend in here, and try to intimidate me? After all, you wouldn\'t want to disappoint the people looking at us now, would you?"
Young Master Shiba had just been waiting his turn, as he was about to do exactly that, but hearing Eric say those words, he was stopped in his tracks.
Eric not only wasn\'t intimidated by them but was even mocking them. He was smart enough to understand this, as he looked at him with a mocking expression and said,
"What, now that you are the groom of the Takeshiba family you think you are untouchable or something? I am sure my dear uncle won\'t give a damn if you die tonight!"
Contrary to his expectations….