In the end, I found myself having lunch with Leona and Izel.
Although the latter kept shooting me sharp glances the entire time, I didn’t really mind... I even enjoyed it a little.
I took a bite of a pizza slice, the familiar taste of sauce and cheese spreading through my mouth.
That stirred some memories in my mind... memories I was no longer sure were real.
After we finished eating, it was time to pay.
Leona moved while pulling out her phone. "Leave this to me."
She said it while looking at me... probably thinking I would object and insist on paying.
I smiled at her, feeling satisfied after eating. "Go ahead, no one’s stopping you."
She blinked at me a few times. "You don’t mind a woman paying in your place?... Aren’t men supposed to show themselves by paying for ladies?"
"No... I actually prefer it that way. After all, I don’t have infinite money," I replied.
It seemed my words didn’t please someone.
"A pathetic man," Izel muttered under her breath.
Leona wasn’t bothered by what I said. She simply lifted her phone, placed it against the device in the waiter’s hand, and paid the bill.
What a wonderful day—having lunch with two beautiful ladies and even getting it for free... Even if I could have paid with my black card, it would still be me paying.
The moment I saw that the bill had been paid, I stood up to leave. "Thank you for the meal."
Leona nodded and waved goodbye. "Let’s do this again another day."
She really was a friendly girl.
Unlike someone.
I glanced at Izel, who ignored me while muttering some inaudible words.
...
I left the restaurant and headed toward the administration building.
It took about twenty minutes before I found myself standing in front of the familiar white building. As soon as I entered, I was greeted by the usual reception desk.
But this time, unfortunately, the receptionist Nola was nowhere to be seen... It would have been fun to tease her a little... though Alicia astra nova told me to stop doing that.
I didn’t care much and headed to the elevator. Once inside, I pressed the button for the third floor as usual, and the elevator began ascending.
It didn’t take long for the doors to open again.
I stepped out and walked down the corridor I had grown accustomed to over the past few weeks. The sound of my footsteps echoed against the marble floor until I reached a familiar door.
I placed my hand on the handle and opened it directly without knocking or asking for permission... Well, she always knew someone was behind the door anyway, so I gave up knocking after a few days of working here.
I stepped inside and closed the door behind me before looking toward the familiar desk and the figure seated behind it.
"Hello, I brought the report you asked for—"
The words died in my mouth, my eyes fixed on her beautiful, flawless face as usual... well, almost.
She looked at me calmly, her composure unshaken.
We stayed like that for a few seconds until Alicia raised an eyebrow. "What’s wrong?"
I thought for a moment before asking, "Did you perhaps eat a piece of cake just before I came in?"
Her face remained expressionless despite my strange question. "And why do you think that?"
For a moment, I almost laughed, but I held myself back... who knew, she might turn me to dust the next second.
I gestured toward her face while choosing my words carefully."You’ve got some cream on the side of your face."
Silence.
An odd silence filled the office as her crimson eyes remained fixed on me... but it didn’t last forever.
She soon picked up a napkin and calmly wiped the cream from her face.
When I saw that, I smiled and walked over to sit on one of the sofas as I continued speaking."You know, there’s nothing wrong with liking cake and eating it in your office without anyone knowing... It’s not like your authority would decrease if someone saw you or anything... After all, you could just erase them from existence if they did."
I felt her gaze sharpen.
"Besides, it’s not like I’d make fun of you if I saw you eating cake... Well, I’m not brave enough to do that anyway."
She didn’t respond.
"So you didn’t need to hide it and pretend you weren’t doing anything."
A chill ran down my spine, so intense that I almost jumped off the sofa.
I hurriedly stopped. "Alright, I’ll shut up."
As soon as I said that, the sense of danger vanished.
Unfortunately, I wanted to joke with her a bit more... but it seemed she didn’t like that.
I decided to ignore it and pulled the report I had written from my ring, placing it on the desk in front of her.
She took it and placed it together with the other pile of documents without even glancing at it.
Instead, she looked at me and spoke the words I had been waiting for eagerly:"All evidence indicates that you and Elliot Sivrax were the ones who contributed to saving the situation and preventing the Relic from being stolen."
"And while you were right... it was Lucas who planned all of this."
She paused briefly before continuing,"I won’t ask how you remained conscious inside the dream, but be careful with what you do in the future... I can’t always exempt you from investigation."
I nodded. "I will."
Then, finally, we reached the part I wanted."The Imperial Family wants to reward both of you."
Of course they would... they would even if they didn’t want to. After all, we had just saved them from a major disaster.
I smiled widely. "So, what kind of reward?"
"You can choose between a Rank 4 Artifact or its equivalent value in essence stones, for each of you."
Oh... I remembered that Elliot received the same reward back then, so the Imperial Family was offering double this time.
That meant I wouldn’t lose anything... or would I?
If Elliot’s unexpected evolution hadn’t happened, would I have taken everything for myself?... Well, there was no point thinking about that now.
"So, what do you choose?" Alicia asked.
A Rank 4 Artifact or its equivalent in essence stones... compared to what we saved, this was just trash.
"If I choose essence stones, how much will I get?"
She thought for a few moments before answering,"Around three thousand mid-grade stones."
Rank 4 Artifacts weren’t impressive... maybe if it were a Relic, things would be different.
I could get a sword or a slightly powerful weapon... but over time, it would become useless.
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t see a Rank 4 Artifact benefiting me much... maybe in the short term, but what about after a few months?
The best choice was to invest in my own strength, so the decision wasn’t difficult.
"Then I choose the essence stones."
She raised an eyebrow. "You know you can take your time to think."
I smiled at her. "No... I don’t need to."
With those words, I stood up and prepared to leave. "Then I’ll be going now."
Alicia tilted her head. "And where do you think you’re going?"
I frowned slightly. "Home, of course." I didn’t like where this was going.
Alicia pointed at the pile of documents on the desk. "You’re not going. You’ll stay here and work."
I raised my eyebrows.
"You know, I’m not supposed to work today."
Alicia tilted her head again. "But I decided that you will."
What was wrong with this woman now?
Was this because of what happened earlier, or what I said?
No... I didn’t think she was that kind of person.
She pointed at the papers again. "Come on, what are you waiting for?"
I clenched my teeth slightly, then let out a sigh and walked toward the pile.
It’s not like she would sit there eating while watching me do her work...
The moment I placed my hand on the stack of documents, something appeared in front of her.
A piece of cake with white cream, placed on a plate, with a small spoon beside it. Half of the cake was missing, clearly showing that someone had already eaten from it.
I looked at her in disbelief that she would really do this... it was a bit out of character for her.
She noticed my gaze. "What’s wrong? Why aren’t you doing your work?"
I opened my mouth to respond, but quickly closed it again without saying anything.
Let’s just ignore it.
I carried the documents to the table in front of the sofa, while Alicia picked up the spoon and took a bite from the cake.
I watched her as she took each spoonful slowly, seeming to savor every moment.
Even her eyes changed slightly, becoming brighter.
That made me wonder just how much she liked cake, because for the first time since I met her, she looked...
Happy.