The Martial Unity

Rui departed that day without commencing his training. He had already spent a lot of energy and skipped sleep in pursuit of convincing the domain Master to accept him as a pupil. They would begin their training at a later date.

Rui also had an appointment to tend to.

His meeting with Princess Rafia was due the next day. She had invited him to a business conference with a lot of prospective patrons whom she hoped to reel over into her faction. Rui wasn't sure what to expect from her, although he did have a very basic understanding of what kind of person she was from the intelligence he purchased from both the Beggar's Sect and the Martial Union.

Soon enough, the day arrived.

He quickly prepared himself, donning the custom-tailored formal Martial Art attire that he had worn to the reception that Prince Raemina had prepared for her patrons and prospects.

Rui found it interesting that Princess Rafia was not nearly as inclined to go for a formal social event as opposed to a formal business event.

The exorbitantly clad invite that he had received specified that it was a business event and not simply a social meeting. Meaning she would most likely be formally making some sort of business proposition to the members of the business conference.

Rui wasn't sure what he was going to do there. He had no business history or involvement, barring that of Esosale Suppliers, but that company was dead and empty, absolutely worthless at the moment.

Furthermore, he recalled what Master Vericita had told him.

Something about a controversial proposition for Rui specifically: he wasn't sure what that was about either.

Still, he was obligated to hear the princess out. Not doing at least that much could be considered a sign of hostility, a sign that he had no intention of conveying to a Royal Princess of the nation.

It wasn't long before he had prepared himself, having dawned his formal attire before taking off for the skies. He avoided going too fast, using a breathing technique to prevent drag and wind from disheveling his hair.

Thankfully, the business conference was in the Town of Hajin, which made sense given that it was a commercial trade hub. Princess Rafia was very much in her element in the town, which was all the more good for her.

Regardless, he reached the location of the business convention swiftly.

[Rafia Consortium]

Rui raised an eyebrow as he beheld a large corporate complex in one of the inner districts of Hajin. This was the Hajin branch of the Rafia Consortium, one of the largest consortiums in East Panama.

Like all consortiums, this consortium was simply an association between many commercial entities with a common agenda. In this particular Consortium's case, it was essentially a lobby group for commercial and economic reform as far as laws and regulations went, something that was mostly under the Emperor's power alone.

By pooling their economic might together, they gained purchasing power and bargaining power that was on par with nations. Many of these organizations were powerhouses inside and outside Kandria, after all. Even for the ruler of Kandria, it was neither easy nor wise to simply dismiss their growing demands for even greater liberalization of the economy than it currently was.

It was something that didn't affect Rui in any way, which is why he had never heard of it before he purchased information on Princess Rafia among the other six.

In addition to lobbying for a more liberalized economy, it also was essentially the headquarters of the Rafia Faction. She purchased a twenty-percent stake in all commercial publicly traded organizations, firmly gaining a solid grasp on the company's decision-making. Given how large these corporations were, Rui couldn't even imagine how much wealth it took, but as a member of the Royal family, she was entitled to a small minute portion of Royal treasury. Combined with intelligent investing, she had managed to build immense capital, support, and control.

It was said that she owned hundreds of billions of gold worth of stake, which she utilized to further her agenda of a libertarian economy.

Philosophically and politically, she was aligned exactly in opposition to the Communist Princess. He had no doubt that there was a fierce competition that went on between the two of them that he wanted no part in.

Around the corporate complex was a line of motorized carriages pulling in. He felt strangely out of place when he looked at all the distinguished conglomerates and business tycoons exiting their carriages one after the other. They were accompanied by Martial Squire and Senior bodyguards.

To a certain extent, the Realm of their bodyguards was a testament to their wealth and economic stature. There weren't even two thousand Martial Seniors in the Kandrian Empire, and most of them were firmly with the Martial Union. Maintaining active partnerships came with many benefits that simply could not be found anywhere else, in addition to high revenue. Only the most loaded corporates had the ability to lure away Martial Seniors with even more lucrative deals.

"Invitation," The security vetting entrants turned towards him.

Rui made his way through after producing the invitation that Master Vericita had provided him, heading towards the convention hall.

The internal architecture of the convention hall had a rather modern edge to it; it was of advanced civil engineering and esoteric technology, yet its design leaned towards practicality rather than aesthetics, in sharp contrast to the exorbitant reception hall he had been invited by Princess Raemina.

He had already begun drawing a few glances from the various businessmen and businesswomen who had gathered at the business convention once he entered the convention hall. His features were pretty identifiable, of course. Yet he was grateful that they were too self-conscious of their image and dignity to display any reaction at his arrival.

Except for one fellow.

"Senior Quarrier!" A strapping young man who was about as old as him walked up to Rui, calling out to him. Behind him were two Martial Seniors who, for some reason, glared at him openly.

The young man had facial features that seemed familiar to Rui for some reason. Rui was curious why he would openly try to reach out to Rui in such a loud fashion.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Senior Rui Quarrier," The man smiled confidently, stretching out a hand to Rui.

For some reason, Rui could feel everybody's eyes on the pair. This particular meeting was special for some reason.

"And you, Mister…?" Rui asked, shaking his hand.

"Ah, my name is Decker Byrnes," The young man smirked. "I am the new chairman and owner of Deacon Industries."