[Lucy's POV: ]
As he curled up in her lap, he said,<Okay, nya. I will be your exclusive dimensional merchant. I believe you so... keep your promise.> and then proceeded to lick her hand.
She was sad from remembering her little kitty's sad past that she considered her fault but still started caressing his little neck.
"Raz," she said and kissed his small head
His black eyes were fixed on me, and his confident white face remained impassive despite turning pink from her kiss.
"Ok then. The terms will be that we sell you every material and treasure we find throughout our lifetime at market price. As you already know, the amount of information we hold is far superior to what you can think so, you are in profit here."
I was the better actor and negotiating expert between us.
The terms I proposed to him were exceptional, but I had more to offer.
"Additionally, El will provide you with three secret recipes for cat food, catnip, and golden river salmon. Furthermore, you will have to open the secret shop whenever we ask."
This was necessary for our plans and I knew even he wouldn't have expected we knew about the secret shop.
<Nya! I know you won't tell me again how you know all that but this is too much loss for me, nya!>
He responded with typical merchant dismay at the potential loss, but his shining eyes after hearing about the secret recipes were that of a child.
This fella was hundreds of years old. Nevertheless, he received no form of love, making him a master of the dark.
The reason he was loving her smooth touch so much right now was also that it was gentle and filled with love and care.
This was his first time feeling this, and he just wanted a little bit more of it.
But the business was business.
<We will negotiate the selling prices at the time of selling, nya. As for the secret shop, you can only access it once a month and can only purchase one item each with your low authority.>
He paused for a bit and looked up at her.
<However, before we proceed further, I implore you to divulge the details of your secret recipe. If it fails to meet my expectations, we may need to reconsid-> he was saying something, but she cut him off mid-sentence and started speaking in a unique tone.
"Picture succulent catfish caught from the shimmering, golden waters of the distant Worldline #243ZX. Now imagine that same fish, perfectly fried in the purest elven oil of nature, and smothered in a secret, heavenly red sauce that could only come from the celestial comet eatery. And let's not forget about the blend of mouth-watering, tantalizing spices that transform this dish into an irresistible delicacy, but those spices... well, only I know." she smiled down at the kitten with a dripping mouth and got even more excited.
Just hearing these things and imagining the process of the fish being cooked in a pan and eaten with that special sauce was something... divine.
<Where is it? Give me, right now...> He asked me while still looking at her, still partially lost in his world, eating that fish, enjoying that fantastical moment.
He was in a trance and she had just stopped mid-sentence so there was no way he could hold back his primordial instincts in this situation.
"Here." Holding the already written contract with our sign before him, I shook my head at the cute white kitten who sure looked way better than in his truly angry state.
And without even looking at the unique pages cut from the contract scroll, he placed his palm on the exact places that required his signatures as I turned those fifteen pages.
This was a system-designed contract format and the way he signed it without even looking at it showed his experience with these things and just how many contracts he had signed.
A system contract was something of a life-bonding oath.
If some normal person defied it, the system would punish them with exaggerated punishments.
This was an exclusive contract, meaning he won't be able to sell any of his specialty items to anyone other than us.
He was someone that ruled dark, and it was evident that he would have many specialties aside from his own.
Though he had many contracts aside from this one with many people, he won't be able to make another exclusive contract with anyone.
We were now his priority customers and actually speaking, it was a bit more than that.
We were now somewhat business partners.
He had a motive of his own and we would help him achieve it to achieve our own ultimate goals.
Well, there was one more thing in all of this.
'Making this little kitten part of our family.'
But... that was a long-term goal.
[Ding!]
[An exclusive contract has been signed with a dimensional merchant.]
[Congratulations! You are the youngest being in Worldline #321CF to have signed an exclusive contract with a dimensional merchant.]
[< Worldline has detected a special achievement in your actions. >]
[<Voice of the world> has received the achievement data.]
[<Voice of the world> will increase the rewards for achievement as per the Worldline's guidance. ]
[Congratulations! You have received two {Summoning Crystals} as base rewards.]
<Have you bribed the Worldline or something, nya? Never in my life have I seen it giving such generous achievement gifts.>
"It's because you were the one we signed a contract with," El said and patted his head in excitement.
Her eyes were glowing as she saw the square translucent crystals materialize before us and the strange cosmic light visible inside it was also mesmerizing.
The voice of the world had failed to recognize the level of this achievement of signing an exclusive contract with Raz, so the worldline instructed it herself.
This was a rare occurrence, but it was understandable as there was no reason for the voice of the world of some small unknown planet like this, to know someone like Raz.
In fact, even the Worldline wouldn't have much information on him.
Though there were things that the worldline knew, and they were most of them, things that happened outside the observation of the central brain were actually a thing here.
And he was involved in many of them.
They were the highest level of crimes.
'Like causing a war between worldlines...'
But, that was only according to the system.
Sometimes these things helped some other creatures, while sometimes, they exposed many secrets of the world.
Even as creators, we had little idea about these dark things so, there was no need to think too deeply about them just yet.
This cutie was just a famous kitten who never signed an exclusive contract, and we were the first, as well as the youngest, to have done just that.
It was evident that the system would acknowledge these feet and give us something that was a treasure in itself.
"Nice~~!"
A summoning crystal was something that one could only use once in a person's entire life and... there were lots of restrictions on using it so, we can think about it later.
A silver box also materialized with them but, she took them and put them away in her storage space.
"Ok then. Now that everything is done, Raz, open the shop, please." She requested with her sudden, unexpected, out-of-the-blue, demonic smile and made the little kitten flinch.
<W-what happened to her, nya?> he asked with a dumbfounded expression.
A caring owner just took 180 turns and became someone with visible blood thrust? It was no way in hell something natural so as her trustworthy exclusive dimensional merchant, he was worried.
This was something weird and as our future family member, he had full right to know our predicament and the reason for her sudden mood swing.
So I slowly explained everything to him while she was in deep thinking of things she would need for her special torture, contemplating what unique methods she would use to rip a living hell out of him.
And as I explained it to him, the little cat also turned angry. And though it wasn't that much, considering the person he was, the reaction was strong.
<How dare that pig bastard do something like this to my contractors!> he shouted and slammed his small paw on the floor.
"Hehe-hahahaha!"
"Don't worry. Today is his last day." I answered, and she laughed devilishly at the back.
<Yes! Torture that pig! I will give you a 10% discount so cut his fingers!> He shouted again as the most familiar system interface opened before our eyes.
This was the last part of our preparation and soon, there will be a red chapter for those who have a strong heart...