While Ajay, otherwise known as Root, stood perplexed in his room, Oliver wrote down the basic contract terms on his phone. The contract would not be signed that day, so he took down notes to prepare it.
Then, he left the study room with Sathyamoorthi. While walking through the hallway, he noticed the little munchkin running around just as energetically as he had initially seen. Like all kids, she was imrsed in her world, playing gas with her pet husky.
"Then see you another day. I will contact you when the Thunder Emperor or soone from his side is willing to et."
Oliver said and lifted his hand for a handshake.
Sathyamoorthi obliged by shaking his hand.
"Yes. And I hope I can show you the schematics for the prototype before then."
After that, they walked towards the door. There was nothing else to do anymore. Oliver had set in motion his plan to protect Root’s family, develop a business based on their research, and recruit Root through a single visit. He just had to wait and see what happened next.
Driving down all his thoughts, Oliver relaxed his mind and casually walked out of the large suburban house.
"It was nice eting you, sir." Oliver politely.
"Likewise, it was a pleasure."
Sathyamoorthi nodded. The thin man looked a little more energetic when he said that. Oliver’s offer seed to have improved his condition. He didn’t look as stressed as before.
Oliver smiled seeing that and walked down the driveway, alone, to the luxury sedan parked nearby.
Then, glancing up at the house one last ti, he opened the door and entered. The driver was in the car. He didn’t even have to say anything as the car moved out of the driveway, onto the public road.
Soon, Oliver disappeared from the inner city residential area.
—
Back at ho, the sll of sothing delicious being prepared greeted Oliver. He opened the door with one hand and walked in.
The aroma of at, spices, and a blend of herbs was too much to go unnoticed. He breathed in the air and walked towards the kitchen.
"Mom! What are you making?"
Oliver asked when he saw the figure of his mother wearing an apron walking around the kitchen.
"Hm..."
Maya turned around when she heard the voice of her son.
"It’s biriyani." She replied shortly after.
"That’s the sll of spices."
Biriyani is a rice dish prepared in conjunction with a at-based dish. Both are mixed and stead before serving. The blended aroma of spices that Oliver recognized was coming from the steam rising from the well-cooked rice.
Then he noticed another pot filled with cooked at. The large chunks of at were coated in thick gravy filled with spices to the brim.
Oliver took in the sight, delighted.
"What at is it?" He asked after a slight pause.
"Don’t know. So kind of mana beast at your brother bought."
"Arin bought it?"
"Hm... He helped tenderise the at too."
"How did that happen?" Oliver was shocked that his brother used his pocket money to buy food for everyone. Although the kid was a good one, he was not that sensible.
Suddenly, Oliver thought of sothing and asked;
"Does he need sothing?"
Oliver’s voice was laced with doubt.
"I thought so too...but no. Apparently, he worked part-ti for the past few weeks and was paid today. So, he wanted to treat us."
"Oh! My baby brother has grown up." Oliver muttered.
Maya gave a side eye when Oliver said that.
"Anyway, wait for a while. It’s almost done."
Maya kicked Oliver out of the kitchen.
Oliver was thrilled to eat without doing any work. He left the kitchen with a smile and went to his room.
The living conditions of his family had improved greatly in the last few months. Although the city went through so tough tis due to the gate break and other less problematic, but still considerably bad incidents, they flourished. All their needs were t, and they didn’t have to struggle to live anymore.
Above all else, Oliver had successfully protected his family. He saved them from their imminent death and broke their twisted fate. From now on, he was free to do whatever he wanted.
Oliver took out his phone after a small delay and placed them on his table.
His room was small and cozy as usual. His eyes glanced around to find his tracksuit. The formal dress he was wearing was suffocating and a little itchy. He wished to change it as soon as he could.
So, he walked to the small cabinet in his room. He didn’t have to open it to find the tracksuit. It was already placed outside, hanging from the cabinet handle.
Oliver took the tracksuit pants and walked to his computer table. Then he gave a funny smile to the webcam attached to it before turning it around.
Then he quickly changed his clothes.
Now that Root was in the picture, it was not easy for him to trust any digital device. Until he decides to join the guild, he has to be wary of everything and everyone.
"Hey, if you are hearing this, just know that you are allowed to hack any and all my devices. But don’t make the mistake of hacking into my family’s." Oliver muttered.
He had just turned away the webcam, so the built-in mic should have captured his voice just fine.
"...And I know that you are not the kind to harm anyone. That’s why I am allowing you to hack into my devices. After all, we need to be honest with each other to work together."
Oliver added while putting on his pants.
After wearing the tracksuit, he felt like he could breathe again. He would prefer wearing it over anything else, all the ti.
"Hm. Anyway, dig into my background as much as you want. I have laid enough clues for you to understand your predicant. It’s better if you find it on your own. I, explaining it to you, would do no good since you consider not trustworthy, now."
Oliver walked out of the room after saying that.
Soon, his computer, which was in sleep mode, lit up. The fans in it spun into action as power flowed through them. Then, a while later, it went back to sleep mode. As Oliver had expected, Root was in it even before he could reach ho.
—-
The next day, evening.
Oliver sat in a cafe, gazing at the horizon. The extrely mana-rich environnt of Second Earth filled his body with more energy than caffeine.
Since activating the Golden Armour and upgrading his mana sensitivity, he could feel the presence of mana around him much more clearly.
Instead of the vague feeling, nowadays, he could accurately gauge the mana present in his surroundings just by closing his eyes and feeling around.
"Even the coffee has plenty of mana."
Oliver sipped his coffee, rich with cream and sugar. Despite being a villain accustod to bitter pills, he had no fondness for bitterness. In fact, he preferred sothing sweet and delicious.
"Bitterness is the taste of death. It’s a sense we developed to identify poison in our food. While not all bitter things are poisonous, if you taste bitterness in sothing unexpected, you should think twice before swallowing it. Sweet, on the other hand, is sothing that kills you slowly. The only thing you have to be worried about when over-consuming sugar is diabetes. But for people like us, it doesn’t matter. So, always choose sweet over bitter food."
Oliver said and advised the person sitting in front of him.
Achara gave him a blank stare.
She was called into the cafe, saying he had sothing important to say. And yet, he was talking about bitter and sweet tastes.
She ground her teeth and waited.
"Achara, have so coffee."
"Sigh. Thank you." Burying her annoyance in her mind, she replied.
It had been almost an hour since they sat down at the coffee table, and yet he was talking nonsense.
After a short pause, she asked, staring directly into Oliver’s eyes. "Hm...Why did you bring here?"
Achara was a striking woman. Dressed in tight-fitting pants and a shirt that subtly accentuated her figure, she exuded an effortless grace. Once out of her military uniform, she seed to transform, instantly capturing everyone’s attention in the cafe. The curious, lingering glances directed her way, however, were difficult to bear.
Added to the fact that she was well-known, this made her situation even more troubleso. Thus, she longed to swiftly conclude the conversation and depart.
"Wait a few more minutes. I want to check sothing."
"What do you want to check?"
"Sothing," Oliver muttered and looked to the west.
The sun was slowly sinking down. It was almost covered by the city wall, far away. The darkness was about to descend.
Oliver gazed at the plaza in front of them.
If his mory serves him right, two people would suddenly walk into the crowd, and they would bump shoulders and fall.
Oliver focused his eyes on the centre of the plaza.
As expected, he saw two familiar faces.
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