Valentine's eyes widened. Of course!!! He had known long ago that a true Rizzmaster was exceptional, not only in the arts of communication and rapport-building, but also in matters of finance and business.
It had started back with the canteen deal and the founding of the Become-A-Hero Co. in Chapter 3. Bob was clearly already a natural back then, but now there was an opportunity for him to learn the "Art of Bizz" in more detail!
He recalled Bob's first revelation in Chapter 10...
"What good was it to be strong… if you were broke?!"
Scroogeux was certainly a wealthy man… and it was clear that this would be an invaluable training and learning opportunity.
Bob through Valentine cupped his hands and bowed his head in acknowledgement of the honour he was being given.
"Thanks. Valentine thanks and greets the venerable Master. I am but a vessel… so I hope you could be patient with your disciple..."
"Hah! No need for such formality with me. I don't watch Animu, nor do I read Xianxia novels..."
Scroogeux dismissed the tropes with a wave of his hand.
"So yes. We're willing to support your Future of Humanity Project… but in exchange, you need to diligently study the "Art of Bizz" in order to pass it on to a worthy successor in the future. How about it?"
"Uh… What exactly is the downside here?!"
"Well ok, I guess nothing comes free… but I want to see results, old boy."
Scroogeux tossed the manual, entitled "The Art of Bizz, Part 1" into Valentine's hands.
"Take it. Treat this as an early investment for now."
Valentine caught the folio with care. "Thanks Scroogeux. Appreciate that!"
"Ok, so now that's settled… we will celebrate our partnership the Australién way - with a good ol' BBQ!!!!
"Come this way, mate!"
Bob gasped. Was he finally being given the opportunity to experience the legendary … Surf and Turf BBQ?!?!
Surf and Turf was an absolute classic staple of Australién cuisine, combining seafood - the Surf element - as well as Turf - referring to animals that roamed on the ground such as beef, lamb, chicken and so on, and all normally washed down with your beer of choice.
Indeed. Soon, the Australién-style BBQ was in full swing!
Buttered prawns with their shells steeped full of flavour matured on the grill alongside succulent sausages and specially seasoned beef, lamb and chicken, caramelised onions, and several different types of wood chips including oak, apple, cherry and a touch of hickory were being artfully utilized to imbue the various kinds of meats with a glorious depth of flavour and a heavenly aroma that permeated through the air!!!
There were also an array of delicious mixed salads, vibrant with colours and overflowing with nutrients, including ingredients such as mango, avocado, baby cos lettuce, thinly sliced red and yellow capsicum, sliced eggs, seafood, pomegranate, dragonfruit, star fruit, you name it, it was there, all drizzled and tossed with homemade artisan dressings, providing a refreshing contrast to the rich flavours of the magnificent mixed grill, and to top it all off, lots of ice cold beer!!!
Lucy also came out to join them and Valentine found himself enjoying her lively, kind of innocent and kind presence.
"Well that's it, isn't it!"
Hearing the good news that her father and Valentine had come to an agreement (since they were both essentially high level Rizzmasters, one at Grandmaster level and the other clearly on the way there, it was probably the smoothest business talk ever)
Lucy was all vibrancy and smiles, her hair glowed in the sun, and Valentine found himself increasingly drawn to and appreciating her feminine presence and energy, which was definitely uplifting and adding to the enjoyment of the delicious meal!
On her side of things, Lucy was in admiration of the man who had clearly won her father's approval and interest, he had his life together, was handsome, visionary, and kind… what wasn't there to like…
Ukan Trustmi being a trustworthy guy and basically part of the family of course also enjoyed the meal together with them. He had in fact been assigned a secret mission which he was going to execute shortly… but that is a story for a later chapter…
As they clinked their beers and enjoyed the BBQ, it was definitely a great time to be alive!
___
"Awww… how lovely."
Itvasme meanwhile was sneering outwardly at Zhang Lu's attempts to proclaim his affection for her through poetry, which he had posted on various servers and forums online:
Excerpt from Zhang Lu's Poetry as seen on his Author's Blog.
"Hidden Beauty"
She wears a mask upon her face
A Beauty that flows with inner grace
Pushing away, she's all alone
Resolving herself with a heart of stone
Desperately I find myself drawn near
Despite it all I'll face my fear
You don't need saving let's make that clear
But I want to be the one that gives you cheer
So take my hand please for a while
Since I want to see you smile
Take off the mask and just let be~
Together with me for Eternity~
168✨ 520❤️ 88🔥
Ok, so she wasn't totally immune to his… cute and earnest affections, but she wasn't going to give it to him that easily… she didn't want her heart broken… what if he was just another guy with a fetish like all the other guys?
Humph. Actually Zhang hadn't told her about posting the poems which made it even cuter.
But whatever. She was still a Grand Dark Rizzard at the end of the day, and she had a job to do.
Her plans were still the same - after the disaster at the World Ball, they had decided to focus more on the soft influence angle, and so she was going to have to convince Zhang Lu to commit to his task.
She did briefly consider seducing him, but since she didn't like being vulnerable like that if she could help it, and it seemed like it was overkill, this would only be as a last resort.
Accordingly, she gave him a mask of his own and a new identity… in addition to writing about Hairy Pee, the formerly chained Zhang Lu was now going to officially become her slave - *ahem* - apprentice!
It was well known that all Masters needed disciples, and the Dark Rizzard Alliance was no exception.
Why, some of the most promising Dark Rizzards had been trained up in this way, Hugo Heartbreak being but one glowing example… of radioactive toxicity.
Accordingly, within the Dark Rizzard Alliance, the word soon spread - that Itvasme had taken in a new apprentice, his name - and Itvasme had giggled as she gave it to him - Henry Thai, or as she preferred to call him privately... Hen for short.