There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 198 - 192. The List

Chapter 198: Chapter 192. The List

"Here, just need your endorsement," Zein put the list he made on the desk in front of Radia, before taking a seat.

"Is this a candidate list?" Radia took the folder and swept his gaze over the names.

"Yeah," Zein shook his head at the secretary to stop her from bringing him drinks. "I might revise it depending on how they’ll react during the announcement. There’s still room for improvement too in the next few months."

At first, they had planned to take everyone from the strike division to the Deathzone. But that might leave the guild in a precarious situation. The success of the system prompted them to reevaluate the plan, because the division needed to be continued, not treated as a one-time-used concept for solely clearing the Deathzone. So they needed to leave a few here, in case the worst happened. So they decided to only take ten and employed the borderland unit’s guides instead.

"You left Nadine here," Radia commented, the crimson eyes flicked to the guide. "So you’ve chosen your successor."

"Calling it succession made it seems like I’m leaving to die or something," Zein chuckled.

Radia arched his brow slightly before stretching his lips in satisfaction. "Well, once we cleared the place, you’ll stay there anyway."

"A seaside district, huh," Zein smirked. "Doesn’t sound too bad."

So he could even say something about the future now, Radia chuckled inwardly. He started to wonder what had happened during that weekend to make Zein change this much.

Or perhaps the man didn’t change. He just found himself again, which had been buried so deep in pain and regret before.

"Alright," Radia nodded and put down his signature at the bottom of the list.

"Do you know Abel’s getting married?" Zein asked out of nowhere.

"Of course. Guild members need to inform HR about things like that," Radia shoved the folder back to the guide, and stared at the blue eyes with a teasing smile on his lips. "Why? Do you want to get married too? Aren’t you going too fast?"

"Yeah, right." Zein rolled his eyes. He could barely step foot into a romantic relationship. Who was he to be thinking about something that sacred? "I was thinking about Shin actually, since he’s engaged and all."

"Ah, they want to wait until Reina succeeds the company, so his father can’t say shit," Radia replied with a smirk.

Zein was taken aback. For some reason, he had been thinking of Radia as Bassena and Han Shin’s guardian that he was forgetting the healer actually had a living father. Not to mention a whole older brother.

Speaking about that...

"And what about you?" Zein asked, brow arched and lips curled cheekily.

The crimson glinted in an eerie light. "You’re walking on a thin line, Luzein."

"Fine, geez--so sensitive..." Zein raised his palms in defeat, although his lighthearted tone couldn’t mask his delight. Now he understood why Han Shin liked teasing Bassena--it was quite fun, especially since he was the only one who could do it, who knew about them.

"You’re in a good mood now that you’re accepting your feeling?"

Zein shrugged, a relaxed smile on his face was enough for the answer. Radia sighed, before taking out something from his drawer. "Good, it seems like you can at least receive this now."

Zein took the file that Radia gave him with a raised brow and intrigued gaze. "What--"

But his words die down when he saw what was written in the file. It was a list, much like what he just gave to Radia a few minutes ago. A list of inheritance.

His inheritance.

* * *

"Good evening, Sir."

Zein took the hand for a handshake, observing the man in front of him. The man reminded him of Lex, Bassena’s assistant, with how meticulous he looked, even after hours; neat suit without any crease, combed hair, clean shoes, and tidy table. The coffee cup, the tablet, and the small notebook was arranged in meticulous order.

Radia called the man Logan, a member of his legal team. When Zein heard Radia would send a lawyer to the Templar, he thought it would just be a junior. But Bassena told him Logan was one of Radia’s main attorneys, so he was quite surprised. And by the look of it, Logan did have a good impression.

"Can I call you Logan?" Zein asked as he took a seat. It was his first time coming to Mortix’s legal department’s floor, but it didn’t differ much from the lab; clean, minimalistic, white.

"Certainly," the man nodded, only a subtle smile came out of his otherwise nonexistent expression. He didn’t waste time on glib or useless chatter, straightly asking in a serious tone and gaze. "Have you made a decision, or would you like me to tell you about how the meeting with them went?"

Zein started to think that Radia really knew what kind of people would vibe well with him. "Not yet. I want you to explain this list to me first."

"I understand," the man nodded and sat down again, back straight and formal. "The main thing you would like to know is probably about the company."

Zein nodded. He didn’t know much about it, but the other items on the list were just things like keepsakes and something similar. Zein didn’t mind taking a wedding picture and such, but the company--the factory and the house he visited last time--was a different case.

"The name of the company is Iron Shield," Logan turned his tablet so it faced Zein, and the screen already showed the company’s profile, as if he already expected Zein to ask him about it. "In the paper, the company was founded and owned by Boden Kovac,"

"The Elder," Zein muttered.

Logan nodded and continued. "That being said, the management only owned four percent of the company. Ninety-six percent of the company’s shares belonged to an unnamed person--at least to the public."

This time, Logan swept the screen which showed a scan of what looked like a will. "This is the written will signed by the last patriarch of House Ishtera; Alrick Ishtera," he paused a bit while looking at Zein. "Your grandfather."

Zein looked briefly at the tablet, noticing that the date of the signature was seventeen years ago.

"The land, the factory, and all the building belong to House Ishtera, while the company is co-owned. Based on the will, fifty percent of the profit gained by House Ishtera will be converted as funds to maintain the Templar of Arms Master," Logan took out a thick folder this time and put it on the table. "I have checked their ledgers as your appointed attorney, and everything had been done exactly as the will stated."

Zein glanced at the thick document, and didn’t think he would understand even if he check it now. "And the rest of the fifty percent?"

"Every year, they sent the forty-three percent of the dividend to a managed trust fund for the missing inheritor. It had been done meticulously for the last seventeen years, along with the initial inheritance money from Alrick Ishtera that was supposed to be inherited by Alteroan Ishtera. The amount had been included in the list that I made for you."

Zein recalled the account listed on the second page of the report, and the number was unexpectedly high. But now that he heard Logan’s explanation, it was not that surprising. After all, it was equivalent to the amount used to maintain an organization for seventeen years, and then more.

"When..." Zein paused, tapping on the armrest as he stared at the tablet screen with mixed emotions. "Until when..."

"The stipulated time is based on the average lifespan of a male guide seventeen years ago, which is ninety-three years, counted since the year of your birth," Logan replied readily, without Zein needing to articulate his question clearly. "There are sixty-six years left before the Will become obsolete."

Zein leaned back and closed his eyes. An assistant came to deliver a cup of coffee and Zein used his time to slowly savor the warm drink while thinking about what he should do about this matter.

"They are very honest and...loyal," Logan suddenly said. The man was leaning back slightly, hands intertwined above his crossed knee. When the blue eyes shifted to look at him, he continued. "There’s no one left that could condemn them, so, if they want to bury the will, they could. They have all the documents and certificates regarding the land and the factory, and the company is listed under the Elder’s name. If they wanted to take everything for themselves, no one could stop them."

Yeah, Zein knew how loyal they were. After all, they were still looking for him after twenty-eight years. He just didn’t think he deserve such dedication and loyalty, and moreover, he knew that loyalty was given to his father instead of him. Taking the money which he had no part in producing felt uncomfortable, but he knew refusing it would seem like he didn’t acknowledge the Ishtera’s legacy.

And that might be the most disrespectful thing to do in regard to his father’s memory. Not to mention the fact that the whole company was Roan’s idea.

He put the cup down and massaged his temple. He agreed to this meeting because he thought he was well enough to face this, but while it was true, the complicated things didn’t go away

Well, at least he didn’t feel sick anymore when he thought about his father. But that didn’t make him suddenly want to be part of this...family. It was still painful for him to think about his parents, and the only difference was that he had a better coping mechanism now.

"Would it be possible to change the terms of that will?" Zein asked after a stretch of silence.

Logan put his cold coffee down and shifted to lean into the table and put his business face back on. "There is, but...it might be more dangerous than just accepting it as it is."

Zein arched his brow, but before he could ask about it, they heard another voice first; husky and strained. "What’s this about dangerous?"

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