The Author's POV
chapter-289

Ever since leaving my parents, two days have passed.

Late into the night, with a full moon hanging in the sky, I pressed onto the gas pedal of a large black eight-passenger SUV.

Having made all the necessary preparations, and pretty much spending every single penny I had, it was now time for me to leave.

Slowly the car sped into the night.

As I was driving, turning my head, and looking at Ryan whose eyes were glued onto his tablet, I asked.

"Ryan, is there a signal coming from my chip?"

"No, nothing yet."

Ryan replied.

His eyes never left the tablet in his hands.

"Alright."

Turning my attention back towards the road, I sighed in relief.

I still had time. This was good.

Good because I still had one thing to do before leaving the human domain, and that was recruit one last guy.

Hein Kraaijenschot.

My meat shield.

If there was a time to recruit him, it was now. The journey I was about to embark on was the perfect chance to create synergy amongst the group members. Not just combat, but outside of that scope as well.

As such, I had to take a little detour to Ironia City, the place where Hein lived.

"Haaa, since did I become a driver?"

Glancing behind me and seeing everyone busy either sleeping or messing with their phones, I sighed and drove the car towards Ironia City.

With the full moon hanging in the sky, the drive was a rather pleasant one.

*

After half a day of non-stop driving, I was beginning to become tired.

Fortunately, when the color of the sky finally changed and the sun fully emerged from the horizon, the outline of a large city filled with liveliness finally appeared at the edge of my vision.

Under the scorching sunlight from the sun, the distant outline of the city slowly started to enlarge.

Glancing behind me, I woke the others up.

"Wake up, we're almost here."

Before long, we arrived at the outskirts of the city.

Although there was no outer wall around the city, the city was heavily protected as guards could be seen patrolling everywhere.

Ironia City was seated on the western region of the human domain.

The spacious large roads that led to and from it caused it to become a place one must pass through in order to head to Dromeda city, one of the four great cities. Also the place I needed to go in order to leave the human border.

The position that it occupied was quite fortunate. If any incident occurred, with Dromeda city next to them, reinforcements could come at any time. That aside, Ironia city was also home to a few platinum graded guilds, so the place was fairly safe.

Woken up by me, Leopold yawned and stretched his arms.

"Huaaam, where are we going now?"

"Let's stop for breakfast."

<script>ChapterMid();</script>

I suggested.

Unfortunately, my suggestions were met with dead-pan eyes as nobody apart from Leopold seemed even remotely interested in the idea of having breakfast.

Taking a look outside of the window, Leopold asked.

"You know any interesting places?"

[Turn right in 100m, after that turn left.]

"Mhm, got just the right place."

With a calm smile on my face, I steered the wheel of the car slightly and followed the GPS device's instructions.

Not long after, pressing onto the breaks of the car, I stopped in front of an old shop with a large sign that said 'Tarquoise Hall'

"This should be it..."

Stepping out of the car and covering my face with my hand to block the sunlight, I glanced at the old shop in the distance. Turning around, I asked.

"Do you guys wanna come in with me to eat breakfast, or are you guys gonna tour the city by yourselves?"

"Tour!"

Ryan excitedly shouted.

"...You're not hungry?"

"No."

Ryan shook his head.

Raising my brow, I looked towards the others.

"What about you guys?"

"Um, no."

"No. I've suddenly lost my appetite."

Ava and Leopold respectively shook their heads.

"Alright, suit yourselves."

I shrugged my shoulders at their response.

It seems like the aesthetics of the place caused the others to not want to have breakfast.

Looking at Smallsnake, I casually said.

"You know what to do."

"...H, huh?"

As expected, he became flustered at my words. With a small smirk on my face, I elaborated.

"Be the babysitter that you are."

Smallsnake was instantly taken aback.

Taking out a stack of papers from his dimensional space he waved them at me.

"Wait, don't you need me to he—"

Snatching the papers from his hand, I waved my hand and shooed him off.

"Just give me the contract and go with them. I'll take care of everything. Have fun with them."

Originally I was supposed to have Smallsnake come with me for the negotiations of Hein's contract, but seeing how tired Smallsnake was, I decided to let him have a tour of the City.

He deserved a little break.

Squinting, Smallsnake skeptically asked.

"Can you really handle it?"

"Yes. Now, I've already taken the contract, so go"

"...Alright, if you say so."

Smiling, I looked towards Leopold.

"What about you? Since you're not having breakfast, gonna tour with them?"

"Nah, I'm gonna go hit the pub, call me when you're done."

Leopold shook his head before heading out. Watching Leopold leave, I looked at Ava.

"Ava?"

Alternating her gaze between Smallsnake and me, Ava weakly pointed at him.

"...I-I will tour with Ryan and Smallsnake."

"Wow, never before did I feel so rejected."

A bitter smile appeared on my face.

Guess everyone detested the idea of having breakfast with me.

Shrugging my shoulders, I looked towards the back of the car where a black cat rested.

"Alright, guess it's just me and you Angelica."

"..."

Without even looking at me, Angelica jumped out of the car and disappeared into the distance.

A cold voice echoed inside of my mind.

[I'll be back in two hours]

"..."

Speechless, I closed the door of the car and headed for the shop.

"Bunch of traitors."

I muttered underneath my breath.

"Welcome."

Entering the building the first person to greet me was an old man in a wheelchair.

Behind him were two four-year-old children who were looking at me with curious eyes.

"Good morning."

I greeted back.

Handing me a small menu, the old man pointed towards the back of the shop where different goods could be seen on display and asked.

"Are you here to buy anything, or would you like to eat something.

"Breakfast please."

"Alright."

The old man nodded his head. With his hand on the joystick of the wheelchair, he soon brought me towards a small table where I sat down. Taking out a pen, and a small piece of paper, he asked.

"What would you like."

Staring at the menu in front of me, and pondering for a couple of seconds, I quickly skimmed through the menu before ordering.

"Hmm, how about an omelet with ham and cheese."

"Omelet with ham and cheese? What about to drink?"

"Orange juice please."

"Anything else?"

"No thank you."

"Perfect." Turning around, the old man shouted towards the back of the shop. "Hein, someone is here. Quickly prepare an omelet with ham and cheese."

"Father, what's going on?"

Coming out of the back of the shop was a youth with curly brown hair and hazel eyes. He had a sturdy build that seemed to be extremely well-developed, and he gave off a momentous aura.

Cleaning his hands on the black apron on him, the youth walked towards his father.

"What is going on father?"

Pointing at me, his father handed him a small piece of paper that had my order in it.

"Hein, we have a customer. Here's the order"

"Ah, a consumer. Alright, I'll go straight to the kitchen."

Finally noticing me, Hein quickly dashed towards the back of the kitchen where he started preparing my breakfast. Bidding goodbye to me, Hein's father went towards the back of the shop to tend his two four-year-old children.

"Omelet with ham and cheese, and orange juice."

Before long, coming out from the kitchen, Hein arrived before me with the food that I ordered.

"Thank you."

Thanking him, I took out a fork and quickly dug onto the omelet before me. As soon as I took a bite of the omelet, I couldn't help but mutter out loud.

"Delicious."

"...Thank you."

Hein shyly responded by the side. Throwing him a glance, I pointed at the seat opposite to me.

"Please have a seat."

"...H, huh?"

Taken aback, Hein became slightly flustered.

"Ah, I'm sorry...It's just that you were the first customer in a while an—"

"Don't worry I won't bite, just wanted to talk to you about something."

Cutting him off again, I pointed at the seat in front of me. Looking into my eyes, Hein eventually nodded his head and pulled the chair back before sitting down.

"...Okay."

"Good."

As he sat down, he introduce himself.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Hein. Hein Hein Kraaijenschot."

"Mhm, I know."

Taking a bit of the omelet I nonchalantly nodded my head.

"You know?"

Hein's eyes instantly became sharp. A wisp of his aura instantly made its way towards me.

Ignoring it, I took another bite of the omelet before I leisurely said.

"I know of a way to heal your father. "

"..."

As soon as I said those words, the atmosphere became quiet. Then, Hein suddenly stood up and smacked the table with both hands.

"What!"

Because the store was empty, no one was present to witness his sudden outburst.

Well, no one apart from his father who hurriedly came out from the back of the shop.

"Hein, is everything okay?"

Realizing his mistake, Hein lowered his head and reassured.

"Everything is okay father, don't worry and go back."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it."

Hein once again reassured.

"Alright, if you say so."

Squinting his eyes, his father eventually relented and headed back to the back of the shop.

Once he could no longer see his father's figure, Hein shot a glare towards my direction as he angrily spat.

"You're not lying, are you? This is not some sick joke that you are trying to pull on me because of my father's conditions?"

"No. I'm not lying."

I truly did know the cure of his father's condition.

Although current human technology couldn't accomplish this. This didn't mean that other races couldn't.

In fact, the elves had this miraculous elixir at their disposal that worked wonders. It was even better than the most expensive potion in the human domain as it could heal injuries related to the head and spine.

...and surprise surprise, I was soon going to make a trip there. What better opportunity to have him join than now?

Glaring at me, Hein carefully asked.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Giving him an odd look, I replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Because I want to recruit you."

Why else? Cause I felt sorry for him? Though I did feel a little sorry for him, it was only a little. What I wanted was for him to join my group.

Nothing else really mattered to me.

"Recruit me?"

Hein cautiously asked.

"Mhm, I want you."

Couldn't leave without my meat shield, could I?

At my response, a bitter smile appeared on Hein's face as he sighed. He then stood up.

"Ha, so you're one of them."

His words made me tilt my head in confusion.

"One of them?"

"Yeah, one of those bastards from the big guilds."

Throwing me a disgusted look, Hein pointed at me and spat.

"You think you were the first one to try this method? At the end of the day, all you guys do is tell me how you can save my father, but in the end, right before I agree to join you, you're suddenly going to impose on me another detail in the contract that will say that my father's treatment will only begin once the technology is advanced enough. Before then, nothing will happen."

"I see."

Listening to Hein's words, I nodded my head in understanding.

In short, Hein had been repeatedly promised things that were not guaranteed. His anger was understandable.

"Yes, and I'm honestly sick of it. So I'm going to say it now, I will n—"

"How about this, will this be enough."

Cutting him off, right before Hein was about to leave, taking out a sheet of paper from my dimensional space I slapped it on the desk.

"I'm sure you'll know if I'm lying or not when you read this."

Furrowing his brows, Hein looked at the desk.

Staring at the paper, Hein was about to once again reject when suddenly he felt small threads of mana lingering on the sheet of paper.

"What are yu..huh? Is that a mana contract?"

"Indeed. Now read, and tell me if the conditions aren't fair."

Taking one last bite of the omelet, I passed the contract to Hein, who, with a skeptical look on his face, took the paper and slowly started reading it.

As he read through it, I couldn't help but take amusement in his gradual change of expression as a look of disbelief soon appeared on his face.

Finally, after reading through the contract for the seventh time, lifting his head, he asked.

"...Is this true?"

Having re-read the contract and seeing no hidden agendas or terms in it, Hein was in total disbelief.

Nonchalantly drinking my orange juice, I asked.

"So? What do you think?"

"This is a mana contract right?"

Hein asked as he flipped the paper around to make sure it wasn't a fake contract.

Rolling my eyes, I took out a pen and placed it on the table.

"Yup, once you signs it, we're both bound to it. If I fail to hold my end of the deal, I will die. Simple as that."

Putting the half-finished orange juice on the table, I looked at Hein straight in the eyes.

"I'm betting my life on you. Is this enough to prove my sincerity?"

—Gulp!

With an audible gulp, Hein once again looked through the contract. After an unknown period of time, taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and asked.

"You promised a couple of million in advanced payment as soon as I sign it, will that be given to me directly or do I have to wait?"

Pointing at the contract, I replied.

"As stated, you will receive the payment immediately."

[As a sign of goodwill, the contractee will get a down payment of 5 million U that will be paid upon the completion of the contract.]

"...Ah-h."

Biting the lower end of the lip, Hein stopped speaking and fell into deep contemplation. Staring at him from the opposite side, I calmly drank my orange juice and waited for his decision.

Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long. Lifting his head and staring at me in the eyes, with hope in his eyes, he asked.

"...Do you really have a way to cure my dad?"

Rolling my eyes, I rebutted.

"You think I would put my life on the line if I didn't?"

If I wasn't confident, I would've never proposed it. Since I was confident, it meant that I could do it.

"huuuu."

Taking a deep breath, Hein took the pen that was on the table. Staring at me in the eyes for a couple of seconds, he swiftly signed the paper.

"...Alright, you've got a deal."

"Good choice."

—Plack!

Smacking the now empty glass of juice on the table, I smiled and shook Hein's hand.

Like that, a meatshield was added to my party.