Marius' Sweet Chapter 03-06

Marius' Sweet Chapter 03-05

Marius' Sweet Chapter 03-06

Story Stage

Marius' Sweet Chapter 03-07

Overview

• Stage Cost: None
• First Clear Rewards: None

Guide

• Hover to view spoiler content.

Script

Obscure Fog

Themis Law Firm
Themis Law Firm 2F

Go to the Law Firm and wait

You've taken time off after your lunch break every day recently to stay on top of how Marius is doing.

But today, due to Darius Morgan being here, you're able to make it back to the firm before the break ends.

Kiki Bennet: Huh? What are you doing back here? Everything okay at home?

You: Yeah, it's finally starting to look better.

Kiki Bennet: That's great to hear... But things really are getting chaotic out there.

Kiki Bennet: I just heard the seniors saying, "If we don't sue the pharmaceutical industrial park to the ground, no one will be able to find proper medical treatment."

You: The pharmaceutical industrial park? Did something happen to them?

Last month, after Pax sued the factories, the counterfeit pharmaceutical products became the topic that everyone was talking about at the firm.

But someone brought it up again today. Did something happen with the industrial park?

Kiki tells you to wait as she gets up and goes through the public files area. She soon returns with a file.

Kiki Bennet: This is it... We didn't actually take this case - Baldr Legal Office did.

Kiki Bennet: However, the client sent over this information and said they have other cases they'd like to discuss in a few days.

You: Let me take a look at the files first... Huh? Troy Canes!?

The name "Troy Canes" written as the defendant immediately catches your attention.

You: They're suing him for trademark infringement, design infringement, creative infringement... Why are there so many infringement accusations? And also...

You take a look at the number of documents. In terms of an infringement case, the number of documents provided here isn't even sufficient for a single infringement accusation.

You: There's too little material in here. We won't be able to go to court with this.

Kiki Bennet: That's what the senior members said. The plaintiff seems to be more interested in... harassment than actually going to court.

You: (If it's purely for harassment, this method seems to be much less crafty than what Troy Canes would do...)

You flip to the first page of the file and carefully read the name of the plaintiff.

You: Joseph Brightwood...? Kiki, do you have any recollection of this person?

Kiki Bennet: No, he's never been to the law firm before. However, I heard that he's in the pharmaceutical field and has a lot of influence.

You: (He's also related to pharmaceuticals... Could he be one of Troy Canes' competitors?)

You want to find out more, but the amount of materials is much more limited than you imagined.

However, since Themis didn't take the case, Joseph Brightwood will no longer be sending any additional evidence.

You: (Seems like there is only limited information here... I should give the files back to Kiki and find another way to handle this.)

You: Kiki, I've looked over the materials. Do I need to return it to the file room?

Kiki doesn't respond. Instead, she shows you her phone with the newest trending topics notification on it.

You: What is that... Huh!?

The tenth trending topic says that Pax has decided to work with various vendors for the manufacturing of their second-generation products.

On top of that, two of the companies included are ones that Pax sued previously.

Kiki Bennet: What's going on? What is Pax doing?

You: I don't know...

Is this the plan that Darius Morgan and Marius came up with after their lengthy conversation...?

You quickly take out your phone and call Marius.

Call script

Marius: Hello?

You: Marius, what's going on with the trending topics? You and Darius... What did you guys end up deciding to do?

Marius: Oh? You already know? Good. I was worried that the message wouldn't be able to spread fast enough.

You: Hurry and tell me what's going on...

Marius: Don't worry, I've spoken to the police about everything that we're doing. These are decisions that I've made after thoroughly thinking them through.

Marius: However, it might be better if I explained it to you in person...

Marius: Can you come over right now? I'll wait for you at home. I can fill you in on all the details.

You: Okay, I'm on my way.

Start of the Counterattack (1)

Von Hagen Estate
The von Hagen Living Room

Talk with Marius

You: Marius!

Darius Morgan had already left by the time you got back to the von Hagen estate. Marius is waiting for you in the living room.

Marius: You look flustered. Come on, sit down and I'll pour you a glass of hot water.

You: No... That's not important.

You try to control your heavy breathing after rushing here and look at Marius with urgency.

You: I know that you must've gone through this with Captain Morgan... But what's the purpose of doing this?

You: Pax working with counterfeit factories that it sued before... Wouldn't that make the public opinion of Pax even worse than what it is right now?

Marius: Miss... Slow down, you need to breathe.

You: ...

Marius: I know you're worried about me, but allow me to slowly break it down for you.

Marius pushes you toward the sofa and makes you sit down. He then gives you a glass of warm water and tells you to have a drink first.

You have no choice but to take a sip of the warm water. Although your throat is feeling better, the worries still remain.

Marius: First, let me tell you a semi-confidential piece of information. The manufacturing pressure that Pax is facing regarding the Xbone II is actually pretty severe.

Marius: It just so happens that the factories we recently sued are equipped with sufficient manufacturing power. All that's missing is our authorization.

Marius: On top of that, they're facing incredible cash flow pressure. So, working with them will be able to resolve the immediate fires that both of us are facing.

You: But... aren't they factories that produce inferior products?

Marius: The ones I've contacted have never produced any inferior products.

Marius: The materials and designs that they use match the specifications. All that's missing is Pax's authorization. So, when we went after them, it was actually about copyright infringement.

Marius: Working with them in the short term to relieve our current situation is an option. After all...

Marius pushes a file on the coffee table toward you.

Marius: We can't let Troy Canes succeed in running the entire industrial park, can we?

Marius: The best-case scenario is to be able to have some of his supporters side with us instead.

You: This is... information on the factories Pax is going to be working with?

You take a detailed look at the files. None of the factories' lawsuit files contain anything regarding secondary damage cases.

It's also as Marius says - they do have sufficient manufacturing power.

If they can work together in manufacturing the second-generation products, their experience with producing the first generation will definitely also come in handy.

Most importantly, if they only work with Troy Canes, they will only ever be able to make money off knockoff products.

And if they choose to lean Pax's way, they will be given more opportunities.

You: I see... So you're planning on using this investment to court the factories that were previously under Troy Cane's management?

You: By doing that, not only is there a possibility of the executives at those factories siding with you...

You: But if everyone knows Pax is in immediate opposition to Troy Canes and isn't planning on going after anyone except him...

You: Then maybe Pax will win over even more support to fight against Troy Canes.

Marius: Yep, that's my plan. And... everything seems to be going quite smoothly right now.

Marius: People may think that the hardest part of this is for me to check my ego and work with these smaller manufacturers.

Marius: However, our goal is to solve problems and do a good job. I honestly don't care about any of that.

You: That's true, but...

You're still worried as you think about what Troy Canes is capable of.

You: This is a huge risk... What if Troy Canes goes after you again? What if he sends people to attack you again?

Marius: Don't worry. The police will provide protection for me in this plan.

Marius: We might even get someone who will surprise our opponents and come to our aid.

And with that, Marius' phone vibrates as a call comes in.

Marius looks at the caller's number and chuckles.

Marius: Speak of the devil.

You: Who is it?

Marius: It's a new "lobbyist" that we're working with. As for what we're going to be working on this time... Well, it'll be related to getting rid of Troy Canes.

Marius picks up the phone and puts it on speaker mode.

Marius: Hello? Are you looking to talk about a partnership...? Mr. Joseph Brightwood?

You: (Joseph Brightwood!?)

Start of the Counterattack (2)

Von Hagen Estate
The von Hagen Living Room

Talk with Marius

The result of the phone call is a meeting between Marius and Joseph Brightwood in North Stellis two hours later.

You seem to have an idea of Joseph Brightwood's agenda through what he said during the phone call.

You: Sounds like he was hoping to threaten you with his cooperation in arresting Troy Canes and make you agree to a verbal agreement over the phone.

You: Good thing you didn't leave any weak spots in what you said.

Marius: Yup. I've heard a little about this Joseph Brightwood character.

Marius: He's now in control of more resources than Troy Canes. Brightwood has the ability to completely get rid of Troy Canes.

Marius: However, Joseph Brightwood feels that taking down a leader of the pharmaceutical industrial park would be even more profitable.

Marius: So... making a fortune by working with Pax would be the best choice for him in a time like this. I'll naturally have to keep my guard up against him.

You: I also went through a ton of materials regarding Joseph Brightwood's attempts to sue Troy Canes at the firm today.

You: I was curious why he would go after Troy Canes in such a tedious way... But now I understand.

You: He's just waiting for the highest bidder to make an offer for the evidence he has.

Marius: Hahaha, you're amazing. You nearly saw through all of Joseph Brightwood's plans from just a few prosecution documents.

Marius: But as for whether the evidence is sufficient to be beneficial to both me and Joseph Brightwood, we'll have to see how the meeting goes.

After that, Marius gets up and prepares to leave.

You bite down on your lip as you look at the location of his injury on the back of his head.

You: Marius, let me go with you this time...

You: Even though the police are there to protect you... it still makes me worried...

You: Besides, it's a negotiation, right? You'll need an attorney there to help you if there are a ton of clauses to go through.

Marius: I know... That's why I planned on taking you with me from the start.

You: Hmm?

After Marius gathers everything he needs, he reaches out his hand toward you as if to invite you to accompany him.

Marius: You said before that running a company is my specialty, and going to court is yours.

Marius: What I'm walking into now is a combination of the two. I...

His tone suddenly deepens. This isn't the usual tone he speaks in when he's joking around with you.

Every word he speaks at this moment is filled with trust and reliance.

Marius: I really need you right now.

He gently places his forehead on your shoulder as his arms hang onto your waist.

Due to his straightforwardness, all you can feel in this moment that should've been filled with intimacy is the warmth the two of you are trying to pass on to one another.

You: ...

You: I know. I really hope this will put an end to it all.

Start of the Counterattack (3)

North Stellis
North Stellis Street

Talk with Marius

Marius: Okay... I've sent the location and details to Captain Morgan.

After he sends the last message to the police, Marius places the cell phone back in his pocket and prepares to venture even deeper into the crisis with you by his side.

The streets of North Stellis are desolate as usual. You look around and can't help but raise your head to ask a question.

You: Didn't the police say they'll be protecting you? Why does it feel like you and I are the only people here...?

Marius: This was also part of the plan.

Marius: With Joseph Brightwood's abilities, he would've definitely done his homework prior to such an important and secretive meeting.

Marius: At the very least, the police wouldn't have been able to pretend to be my assistant or secretary. Otherwise, the courtesy of the negotiation would've been trampled upon.

You: So...

You speak with a quieter voice and pose the question by nearly just moving your lips.

You: How will the police confirm the details of the negotiation process?

Marius doesn't respond and gently squeezes the corner of his shirt.

You immediately understand... A listening device is probably hidden inside the corner of his shirt.

Marius: With my understanding of Joseph Brightwood, he'll definitely be quick about showing me their contract in an attempt to turn the tables on me.

Marius: I'll be giving the contract to you. All you need to do is glance over the area regarding profit sharing. I need you to see if they're asking for more than twenty percent.

Marius: If it's over twenty percent, then I'll be able to negotiate.

You: Oh, okay... Hey, wait... Shouldn't you be the one who looks over anything that has to do with profit sharing?

As an attorney, your job is to assist him in confirming the contents of each clause in the contract. Profit sharing is more of a business-related thing...

Marius: Because I'm almost one hundred percent certain that he'll try to make a fortune off Pax through this deal.

Marius: So, all you need to do is slam the contract back on the table and act super cool, and I'll take care of the rest.

You: I see... So what you're trying to do is to have me play along to look cool.

Marius: No, I'm the one who's supposed to look cool. But after some thought, you slamming the table in the courtroom is just too mesmerizing.

You: Marius!!

Marius: Okay, okay. I was just joking. It's just that you looked nervous, so I was afraid you'd break character later.

Marius: Don't worry - Joseph Brightwood won't become hostile at the negotiation table. We'll definitely be safe.

Marius: I really need you to do it. It's about creating a stronger presence at the negotiation.

Marius: To be honest, that old man still does have seniority over me.

Marius: If we don't establish a strong presence, I'll be at a disadvantage from here on out.

You: That's true. Having a strong presence at negotiations is something we find very important as well.

Marius: Well then, I leave myself in your hands.

You: I understand. Just leave that part to me.

Character(s)

Marius von Hagen

Kiki Bennet