ตอน 43: Speech
__________ POV Ashton__________
Oh, I doubt he's anything important if I don't even remember his face.
He also doesn't seem to want to say why he was listening to my conversation. He's lucky I feel generous today. I would've been a bit more violent otherwise.
Cheadle seemed to nod at my comment too. I guess not a lot of people like this blondie. Even on the stage, I could see the other participants were somewhat hostile towards him.
The green-haired woman seemed to want to keep asking me questions. But my time to give a speech came around.
'Now we would like to invite Ashton to give his speech' I was expecting them to use my fake family name too. But I think I forgot to actually put it in my hunter application...
I walked up the stage in big steps. Not really bothering with the gazes I was receiving. Some were curious, some were hostile. Then there were a few appreciative gazes, like Linne and Cheadle.
When reaching the microphone I almost burst out laughing at how seriously these people were treating this event.
Hell, Netero barely treated anything seriously, the next chairman might become some stuck-up idiot, unfortunately.
Well, maybe it will be a good thing. Maybe having a more serious President will lead the Association to greater heights. Not that the association is of any importance to me.
But I will need a few things from it before departing for the Continent. I will find powerful enemies there, but I shouldn't have much issue with them, as long as I get my hands on the relics.
I looked at the public as I started speaking.
"To be completely honest... I am only here because Netero thought it would be funny to recommend me for the election." I said that with a genuine smile on my face. Which is quite rare for me.
But not suppressing my emotions will help this speech flow better.
"I don't plan on trying to become the president. I am only here to check out what my friend Netero left behind, to see if his legacy needs any help being preserved if you will..." I could hear some gasps.
I didn't even say anything too shocking there. But I guess there's the notion of me being Netero's friend. Some do think he's a man deserving of reverence.
But I think he was a normal person, maybe a few screws loose, just a few. He was a good friend though... On occasion anyway...
"So... Don't bother wasting any votes on me. I am only here to observe the situation. If the one elected isn't to my liking I will act on that, just as to protect Netero's legacy." There were no hostile gazes left.
I even garnered the respect of the other candidates. Just like I planned to. I need to at least have a decent relationship with the President if I want the Association to be helpful to me.
Giving a heartfelt speech as a way of manipulating their emotions works wonders. It didn't make everyone like me, no that would be a foolish assumption.
But it made them less hostile to me, and a bit more familiar with my 'personality'. Which will give them a better degree of trust towards me when we eventually start speaking properly.
It also helped that I was somewhat truthful during the speech. I will certainly interfere if I don't like the one that was chosen. It would directly interfere with my plans.
It's a shame I wasn't able to raise the opinion of everyone.
Still, if I didn't call Linne I would've missed this opportunity entirely. So I should be content with the little I can achieve here. Not like I had a lot of time to plan out this speech either.
And my last comment certainly incensed some people.
"Even if you were Netero's friend... Do you think you can influence the result of the elections?" A person dressed in what I would describe as a cow suit was the one to speak up.
"This election is still sponsored by the board of directors in the Association. I can easily influence a few money-hungry pigs." I said with some resolution.
Again, speaking the truth, the final decision-makers are always the ones up top. And I have many methods of 'influencing' their decisions. Even to the most radical degrees.
Blackmail is the most effective weapon against people with political power. And I happen to have enough blackmail material on politicians around the world to make an island out of paper.
My response seemed to surprise the man in question. He sat down thoughtfully as he pondered something.
The next person to voice their displeasure was a middle-aged man with a red dress. A dragon pattern somewhere on it.
His hairstyle was weird too, his hair being caught in two bundles that looked like flames.
"Doesn't that mean the election doesn't matter at all?!" What a strange question. The answer is obvious.
"Well, it does matter. The only difference is that the elected candidate also has to sway my opinion. To make me believe they are deserving of standing where he stood."
Pulling the sympathy card seems to work wonders with this crowd. The large man with odd hair sat down after hearing my response. Seemingly content with it.
Well some of them anyway. A clown looking fellow only looked somewhat amused by the whole situation. Jeez, I bet he's a transmuter. We are usually like that.
"Well, that concludes my speech. I hope this election goes well for the rest of the contestants. I wish you all good luck." I said with the friendliest smile I could manage.
Quite a few people applauded me. Even the two that asked questions. I walked back to my seat, to find Cheadle looking quite strange.
She seemed to be thinking deeply about something. I didn't really want to bother her so I just took my seat. I don't want to antagonize any of the potential presidents after all.
At least not majorly.
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Here's today's chapter! Hope you like it!
If u want to support me just look up VeganMaster on Patr_eon. The page is called VeganCult tho(totally not suspicious). ( again totally not copy/pasted from the last chap)
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