Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 313 Mission: 04-4 Additional Rules
Pest smiled faintly and nodded. "Yes, that's the correct answer. Mr., your reasoning is very brilliant."

"…I am Ren Russell of [Nameless]."

"Okay, I'll remember that."

Then, Pest looked at the others, her expression returning to normal. "Unfortunately, you've only just realized this, but it's too late. We will now decide when to restart the game. Also, as you've probably guessed, the plague's pathogen has already spread."

Through this high-pressure attitude, Pest hinted to the other side that "if we continue like this, we will win without a fight", forcing the contestants to continue to make concessions in order to get a reasonable start time.

At this time, the most inexperienced Sandora broke the silence again: "I... I want to propose this to the judgment controller! They are suspected of deliberately concealing the progress of the game!"

But she was immediately stopped by the others, as this claim was even more unreasonable than the idea that Yugi had concealed the method of sealing Shiroyasha. Spreading the plague was an act that had been carried out during the previous battle between the two sides. At that time, whatever Pest did was justified, and there was no responsibility for her to explain it later.

Continuing to "throw dirty water" like this will only give Pest a greater advantage.

It's time. Pest calmly glanced at the chaotic contestants in front of him and offered them a chance to surrender.

"Well, for the sake of our companions and the other communities participating in the festival, if everyone present is willing to join us, along with Shiroyasha, in the [Grimm Fantasy Grimoire Hamel], and surrender the Sun Sovereignty and the Horn of the Dragon King, we will agree to take back the plague, and the game will be considered a draw. How are these terms?"

Sandra's expression changed, while Ren and Izayoi fell into deep thought.

For them, restarting the game after a month is obviously unacceptable, so the only remaining options are to surrender or negotiate.

But Pest was now in a safe position, and all she had to do was wait for the plague to wipe out everyone. She had no reason to agree to negotiate.

unless……

Thinking of Nero's deliberate holding back before, Izayoi had a guess.

"...I see. Are you, [Grimm Fantasy Grimoire Hamel], a newly formed community?"

"so what?"

"It's an emerging community, so you're eager to get talents like us, is that right?"

"so what?"

Izayoi then revealed a relaxed smile, because he had found a point of entry into the negotiations.

"That way you'll have a reason to back down. If the plague is allowed to spread for a month, all the contestants here will die. A corpse will be of no use to you."

Ren's eyes lit up, and he began to press the issue: "That's right, because 'dead talents are no longer talents', that's why you chose to negotiate at this time. You're actually reluctant to..."

"I said."

Pest's eyes grew cold. "Did you make a mistake?" This was a negotiation, and the key was not to show weakness, not to let the other party know where your bottom line was, and to conceal your purpose. So, at Nero's suggestion, Pest chose to interrupt the other party, disrupt their momentum, and put pressure on them to make the first concession—to make them "give in" first.

In this situation, if you show an expression of "Yes, you are right", you will be at a disadvantage in the negotiation.

"Our goal is the Sun's sovereignty and the Dragon King's remains. Everything else is just incidental. I think you and that person over there are quite smart. You wouldn't think I would give up my advantage just to get you, right?"

This immediately left Ren speechless. However, Izayoi wasn't intimidated by Pest's bluff. Instead, he said confidently, "No, you will give in. Otherwise, you wouldn't have ordered your men to hold back in the previous game. Am I right?"

The conclusion was correct, but the argument was flawed. Although Pest had ordered Veser to hold back, Nero had never received such an order.

"But I also said I must obtain the Sun's sovereignty and the Dragon King's remains," Pest reiterated calmly. "Alright, though. If you're unwilling to surrender, hand over these two items now, and we'll set the start date for twenty days from now."

It might seem like Pest had conceded, but in reality, this outcome was even more unacceptable to the contestants than outright surrender. The existing medical supplies, including those of the 4000000 and 3999999 Outer Gates, wouldn't have lasted for twenty days. A large number of casualties would inevitably result, and thus, surrendering the dragon bones and the sovereignty of the Sun would have been meaningless.

If the end result is just to allow the stronger ones to survive until the end of the game... then why not just surrender?
Pest was still unwilling to give in, which was somewhat beyond Izayoi's expectations. But for the sake of his companions who could not survive the plague, he still worked his brain at full speed, and then an idea came to him -

The image in his mind was fixed on the "contestant victory conditions" of this game.

Why did Pest order his men to hold back? Because if they didn't hold back, the contestants would die.

This is simple logic, but that's precisely the problem. Why do contestants die? This question, which normally no one would consider, is precisely the key reason why Pest's team needs to hold back.

In the rules of this game, "death" is not prohibited.

If they can "not hold back" and thus increase their chances of winning, perhaps they will be willing to give in.

Thinking this, Izayoi straightened up and spoke again.

"Then let's add some rules."

He said, "Since you still want to secure talent, let's add to the rules that 'contestants with certain injuries or illnesses automatically become members of the organizer's team.' This way, you can secure the talent you want and your victory conditions will be easier to achieve. So, as a price, the game will begin in five days."

"Rejected, in ten days." Pest decisively raised the price. "A contestant who will die within ten days is not the talent I need. Such a useless weakling joining is just another mouth to feed."

This reason is also very reasonable from the perspective of the contestants. As the [Demon Lord of Black Death Spots], Pest must be rampant in the Gift Game with her presence. In that case, she really does not need a subordinate who will easily fall in the plague.

However, it is still difficult for the contestants to accept such casualties, especially [Salamanda] - as the [class ruler], if the contestants of the festival died here for this reason, they would be suspected of exchanging the lives of a small community for their own interests.

This kind of stain cannot appear.

(End of this chapter)