8 Qualifications for Negotiating Terms?

"Encountered a sorrowful mermaid princess in the alien prison; high attack, thick health, strong as a monster, tried my best but couldn't defeat her!"

[?]

"Disciple is incompetent, I beg the Ancestor to assist me!"

[?]

"Immortal, save me! Give me a hand! Why are you just watching, Immortal!"

[?]

The Evil God seemed taken aback by Herbert's reaction. After sending three question marks in a row and a long moment of hesitation, the entity finally replied.

[...Speak like a human.]

"Please act normal, you're scaring me a little. It's so hard to find someone to talk to, why are you like this?"

Herbert curled his lip but ultimately decided not to keep up the charade—even though it was quite entertaining.

"Oh, what I mean is, I met a legendary siren today. She tried to control my mind, but guess what?"

"Hey! Not only was I unaffected by her singing, but she was also incredibly friendly to me—she wanted to give me a loving hug! Amazing, right?"

"So, do you have any clues regarding this matter?"

[You noticed?]

The text became more ornate, and one could vaguely sense the pleasure of the one behind it.

"Of course. It was so obvious; I'm not an idiot, it's hard not to notice."

[Hmph, it seems you have finally realized my greatness.]

"Understood, perfectly understood."

Herbert gritted his teeth, veins bulging at his temples, his face a mask of grim determination.

It was too damn dark.

Making posing cow-taurs and female goblins charge at me... That kind of dream is absolutely not something a human could conjure up! It was too twisted.

Although the Evil God had shown a sliver of mercy and didn't follow through to the end—sparing Herbert from true collapse—it had still left irreversible damage on his psyche.

His mind was tainted! Deep within the layered folds of his brain, it was now stuffed with memory fragments akin to Old One corruption.

Herbert shook his head, took a deep breath, and forced his attention elsewhere.

[As long as you understand, hehehehe...]

[With my protection, a mere legendary siren is nothing at all~]

Reaching a point of pride, the Evil God even drew a smug stick-figure expression on the paper.

[However, her charm power not working doesn't really have much to do with me~ You might want to consider what other blessings you possess.]

Other blessings... Oh!

As Herbert pondered, he realized it was the "Blessing of Purity" he had been so dismissive of. A clean heart, immune to all bewitchment.

Herbert had assumed this ability merely granted him higher resistance to charms, but he hadn't expected it to function as a direct antitoxin. Immunity to charms!

That explained why the upper echelons of the monastery dared to let him manage the prison alone. With the "Vow of Purity" blessing, as long as Herbert didn't intentionally break his vow, he would not be seduced by anyone, nor could he be toyed with by the monster girls in the cells.

So, just like a corporate slave who drinks three cups of black coffee and carries emergency heart medication to work overtime, were all true "tools" equipped with their own resistances?

[Correct. While I look down upon Her, as long as this stigmata blessing remains, all charm powers will be ineffective against you.]

"But that's not right, is it? Last night, wasn't I bewitched by you?" I was almost tricked into leaving my room by you!

[You compare them to me? How little do you think of me?]

"Oh..."

Fine. You're the Evil God, you're the boss.

Herbert’s mouth twitched, barely suppressing the urge to retort: *If you're so powerful, why can you only come online after midnight? Is it because you don't want to? Or does your mother not let you play with your phone, so you have to sneak on at night?*

The two sparred for a while longer, but Herbert eventually broke the cycle, writing earnestly: "Look, let's stop with the nonsense. Shouldn't we talk about business now?"

[Oh ho? And what do you want to talk about?]

"Your objectives, what you need me to do, and the rewards you can provide."

[Are you threatening me?]

"Not yet. At this stage, it's just a negotiation. If I were really going to threaten you, that would be for after the talks fell through."

With business on the table, Herbert's lethargy vanished. His expression was calm, indifferent to the fact that he was bargaining with such an entity.

One had to realize that even if the Evil God belonged to the domain of evil, no one could ignore that this was a deity looking down upon the mortal realm. The natives of this world might fear such an existence from the bottom of their hearts, believing the entity to be irresistible. But for Herbert, a transmigrator, such "mental shackles" didn't exist; his attitude toward them was one of fear, but not reverence.

[You are very confident~ Are you so certain that I will proceed according to your wishes?]

Herbert's left hand trembled. A drop of ink fell from the nib, spreading rapidly across the paper and automatically coalescing into a grotesque, eerie line of text.

[Do you truly believe you have the qualifications to negotiate?]

*Do you really think that you, a mere mortal, have the qualifications to bargain with a god?*

The Evil God made no effort to hide its contempt, questioning the arrogance of mortals.

And the mortal... was entirely unbothered.

"Pfft!"

He even let out a scoff.

"Of course."

Herbert's expression didn't change much. He stopped the "Ouija board" game of writing letters and spoke calmly: "Because the one asking for help isn't me—it's you."

He leaned back, tilting his chair onto its two front legs, rocking leisurely.

"Don't be in a hurry to refute. Let me help you sort this out."

"You were the one who came uninvited, you were the one dragging me along to play this boring game, and the one who is sealed and trapped... is also you."

The room was silent, save for the echo of his own voice.

"Furthermore, today has confirmed one thing for me—you are much weaker than I imagined."

"Do you really think I spent all day doing nothing, just hiding in some corner trembling?"

"Here's a little hint: guess why I asked you about the siren at the very beginning?"

The youth curled his lip in disdain, mirroring the way the Evil God had previously looked down upon mortals, scoffing at the stupidity and arrogance of a deity.

"Did you really think I was just bored?"

*Hum—*

A faint buzzing sound rang in his ears, as if the wrath of some entity were interfering with reality.

But Herbert ignored it, continuing to mutter to himself.

"Your reaction gave me the answer. You are not an omniscient or omnipotent being."

"You don't know about my encounter with the siren, you don't know what happened, and you don't know what we talked about... which means, you actually have no way of knowing what I am thinking."

"Even if you really are an Evil God, you aren't as terrifying or as insurmountable as I first imagined."

"Am I right, my dear Evil God?"

*Click.*

"Now..."

The chair legs dropped to the floor, and the youth crossed his right leg, asking leisurely:

"Do I have the qualifications to negotiate with you now?"