Chapter 300 Stranded - 01
After everything was finished and the fire extinguished, Daniel let out a sigh and sat on the ground.
"Ugh… with such a simple task taking this long. How inconvenient for a mage not to be able to use mana. Now I start to know why Lucian is so pissed and desperate when I seal his mana," Daniel carefreely uttered.
Then Daniel turned his attention toward the two women. Now that he had time to take a good look at them, the first one is a delicate-looking girl with light blue hair. She seems to be in her late teens, around 19-20, with a delicate nature. When unconscious like this, she looks like a dedicated sculpture by the greatest artist, as her beauty is not even lesser than Envy, who is a top-notch beauty among the people that Daniel knows.
As for the mature and stern-looking woman lying beside the girl, she looks like a normal, beautiful businesswoman one could see in everyday life. She's undoubtedly attractive, but it's a beauty born from carefully taking care of herself and various beauty programs to which she must have dedicated herself.
In conclusion, it's a normal kind of beauty that he can easily find when walking in his company building, not the kind as if dedicatedly sculpted by the god of art like the light blue-haired girl.
Daniel didn't know when these two ladies would wake up. If he could still use magic, he could immediately rouse them, but it seemed they wouldn't awaken anytime soon.
He had no choice but to prepare an additional shelter from plane scraps and materials he could find. During this time, he also buried the three unlucky people who died in the crash.
Daniel then went to check and salvage the remains of the plane, looking for food, water, or any documents that could tell him more about these people.
Among the documents, Daniel discovered that, aside from the three unfortunate individuals who had already perished, the two ladies were from the Aldenmere family, the founders of the world's second-largest conglomerate: Aldenmere Holdings.
The conglomerate primarily focused on banking and pharmaceuticals, with subsidiaries like Aldenmere Bank and AldenPharm Solutions.
This company, recognized as the Aldenmere Conglomerate, engaged in a fierce rivalry with the Golden Empire Group owned by Greed. Despite the Golden Empire facing challenges or downturns, the Aldenmere Conglomerate never managed to secure the top spot.
Having a history dating back to the Renaissance era, the Aldenmere Conglomerate was initially founded by a British noble. However, even with such a long-standing legacy, the conglomerate struggled to surpass the Golden Empire Group, a relative newcomer in the business field.
"Heh… So much history, but still not able to win against them. Maybe it's precisely because it's too ancient, too bloated to adapt well enough to technology." Daniel uttered in disdain after learning basic information about the two ladies.
Daniel harbored some petty grievances against the Aldenmere Conglomerate, particularly because one of the publishers that rejected him in his earlier days as a designer was under the Aldenmere umbrella.
Later, he discovered that the company had shifted from the gaming and entertainment industry to fintech, opting for more lucrative and stable ventures such as creating third-rate banking apps for third-rate banks in the Thessia Kingdom.
Daniel glanced at the two ladies who were still soundly sleeping. The delicate blue-haired lady was Seraphina Aldenmere, the sole daughter of the current patriarch of the Aldenmere family, Count Reginald Aldenmere. The mature lady was her secretary, Emma Turner—an elite employee any company would desire, having graduated from Cambridge and boasting a successful career.
Currently, Daniel prepared food for himself and the two ladies, barbecuing two chickens salvaged from the plane's refrigerator. As the delicious aroma of the barbecue sauce wafted through the air, it seemed to work its magic, as the two ladies began to wake up.
As Seraphina stirred awake, her delicate features were accentuated by the flickering light of the campfire, revealing an unfamiliar environment. Her gaze darted between the not-too-distant wreckage of the plane and the mysterious man, Daniel, who sat nearby, diligently grilling two chickens.
On the other hand, Emma, her secretary, regained consciousness with alertness. She surveyed the surroundings, her eyes narrowing as they landed on Daniel. Her posture exuded strength and determination as she assessed the situation.
Emma's voice cut through the air, sharp and decisive. "Where are we? And who are you?" Her eyes bore into Daniel, searching for answers.
Daniel observed that the two seemed unfamiliar with him, which was understandable. His face was generally known to people in the Curtained world, particularly those with significant authority within the Hightower.
However, in business circles and among ordinary people, he typically operated through Aryan, his representative. The only instance when his face was widely seen was during the live broadcast of the ceremony when he purchased Sector Alpha City from the Tessia Royal family.
Since these two ladies didn't recognize him by name, it indicated that they were not connected to the Curtained world or, at the very least, lacked sufficient authority to be aware of him. Moreover, the live program broadcasting the ceremony was limited to Tessia Kingdom, suggesting that these VVIPs shouldn't have any knowledge of him.
Unfazed by their suspicion, Daniel continued his task. "We're on a small island around the south of Japan… I think. Your plane crashed, but you're safe now. I pulled both of you out."
Emma's skepticism lingered as she assessed Daniel's response, and she couldn't help but notice his unusual calmness. "Then… who are you? How do I know you're not lying? And you are the one who brought our plane down."
"Excuse me, lady? Your plane was brought down by a storm! Do I look like a guy who can command the weather?" Daniel retorted with annoyance.
Well, actually, he could, but that's not information he should be sharing with strangers.
"Besides, I'm also a victim to this damn weather, just like you. I've been stuck on this island for just one day longer than you," Daniel added, the frustration evident in his voice.
Seraphina remained silent, her wide eyes flickering between Emma and Daniel, absorbing the unfolding situation with a mixture of fear and uncertainty.
"Then who are you?" Emma asked again.
Daniel looked at the two people before him, then let out a short sigh. "Manners… Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking other people their identity?"
He glanced at Emma's face, which remained stoic in response to his sarcastic remark, while the blue-haired lady seemed to become even more nervous. She was about to speak, but he decided to cut her off.
"Heh… fine, I never thought I would expect any manners from people like you anyway. Since I already know who you two ladies are, I'll introduce myself." Daniel said, then pulled out one of the chicken drumsticks from one of the two chickens and started munching on it.
"The name's Danny, and that's all you'll get from me," Daniel said, smirking and provoking Emma, who felt the urge to punch that smirking face.
At this time, Emma noticed the documents and passports about their identity lying nearby Daniel. She felt angry that Daniel breached their privacy.
"Ah… Nice to meet you, Mr. Danny. My name is Seraphina Aldenmere," the delicate blue-haired lady introduced herself with good manners, smiling sincerely, and maintaining a genuine posture.
"Nice to meet you, Sera… Don't mind me calling you that, right?" Daniel asked with a teasing smile.
Emma's stern expression deepened, her eyes narrowing at Daniel's casual attitude. "Mr. Danny, your behavior is rather brutish. I must insist that you show more respect, especially to Lady Seraphina. Your informal and overly friendly demeanor is inappropriate."
Daniel, still munching on the chicken drumstick, raised an eyebrow. "Brutish, huh? I just helped you two out of the wreckage, and now I'm even cooking for you. I'm not your servant, so I need to politely call you your highness or something. Are you perhaps confused that you're not in your fancy manor?"
Emma, unyielding, continued, "And why are you doing all this? Are you trying to gain something from us? Some ulterior motive, perhaps?"
Daniel, now finishing the drumstick, his face showing a sigh of annoyance. He sighed. "Look, lady, I helped you out of humanitarian and kindness. If you can't trust that and think I'm doing this for some future gain, this is the last time I'll lift a finger to help you. You're free to fend for yourselves on this island."
"You can take these two chickens as your dinner. Goodbye." He then stood up and walked toward the plane wreckage.
"Where are you going!?" Emma shouted, asking Daniel who went toward their plane wreckage.
Daniel didn't answer; he wanted to salvage some of the electronics and communication equipment from the plane and use it to try to contact the outside world.
But then, when Emma saw that Daniel went straight toward their plane wreckage, she was startled.
"Hey! What are you going to do?" She asked again; this time, she followed him.
Daniel immediately turned his head back, glaring at Emma. "None of your business!"
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