Chapter 92: 92:Finally An Invitation
After entering the apartment, Nyxara immediately headed to the kitchen and began preparing something. She moved around with surprising familiarity, as though she had spent far more time handling household matters than Reigns ever had. Watching her confidently move around his kitchen made him feel that she seemed far more familiar with this home and these kinds of things than he was.
Meanwhile, Linda sat down on the old sofa and immediately sank slightly into it, causing her expression to become somewhat strange as she adjusted her posture and looked at the furniture beneath her.
The woman stared at the sofa.
Then she looked around the apartment.
Then she stared at Reigns.
A strange expression appeared on her face.
"You really live here?"
Reigns frowned upon hearing that and crossed his arms.
"What’s wrong with it?"
Linda rubbed her forehead before letting out a small sigh.
"Nothing. It’s just that I didn’t expect the Prince of Luther to live here."
"Prince... who, me?"
Reigns pointed at himself while rolling his eyes as if the title sounded completely ridiculous.
"Just because your own identity is useless doesn’t mean the Luther Family is. Do you know the weight that name carries?"
A thoughtful look flashed across Reigns’ face as he subconsciously touched his chin while considering her words.
It certainly carried something.
His bank balance was living proof of that.
Unfortunately, aside from that, he knew almost nothing about the family itself or what kind of influence it truly possessed.
Before he could think further, Nyxara returned carrying cups of tea; a pleasant aroma soon spread through the room.
"How thoughtful of you, Nyx!"
Linda cheered before taking a cup and took a few sips, visibly enjoying it.
"Thanks!"
"I have no problem with where you live."
She glanced around again, slowly taking in the walls, furniture, and the cramped room.
"Except for the fact that the Federation’s future hero is living in a place where I am afraid to even lean too hard against the wall."
Reigns immediately looked offended.
"This apartment isn’t that bad."
Nyxara nodded seriously beside him without hesitation.
"Yes. It isn’t bad."
Then she carefully looked around the room.
"We should buy the entire building."
Linda stared at the two of them.
One looked poor while the other was rich enough to buy the entire street without blinking.
Somehow, they balanced each other out.
After a moment, Linda opened the briefcase she had brought and carefully placed several documents on the table before sliding them forward.
Reigns immediately grew alert.
"What is that?"
Linda smiled.
"The reason I came here."
She pushed the documents toward him.
"The Federation would like to formally invite you to join us."
The room fell silent for a moment.
’An invitation to me... For real?’
’I finally got an invitation!’
"You are really inviting me?"
Linda almost rolled her eyes.
"No, the noodles behind you."
Reigns glanced toward the boiling pot.
"Oh."
A second later, he realized what she meant.
"Oh."
Linda shook her head.
"Yes, you."
She leaned forward slightly.
"Did you really think nobody noticed what happened inside the gate?"
Reigns’ back immediately straightened, and his mood improved considerably.
"I knew it."
His face became smug.
"I knew intelligent people still existed."
Linda’s lips twitched slightly.
Why did this boy seem so different from the rumors she had heard?
According to the reports, he was shy, timid, weak, and even pathetic.
But the one sitting before her was surprisingly hopeful, somewhat shameless, and far more expressive than she had expected.
She cleared her throat and spoke.
"You cleared the gate and survived the mind hex. You killed the boss monster and protected civilians."
"On top of that, you even managed to come back alive."
Linda tapped the table lightly.
"Believe me, we noticed. In fact, everyone with a brain noticed it."
Reigns immediately became emotional.
"Then why the hell was nobody mentioning my name?"
"I was beginning to think society had abandoned me."
Linda coughed.
"That was intentional."
"What?"
"Someone suppressed most of the information."
Reigns froze in shock and immediately demanded, "Who?"
Linda shrugged and subtly pointed with her eyebrows.
Reigns was about to follow her hint when a plate suddenly slammed onto the table with a loud crash.
BANG!
"Yeeks!"
Reigns almost jumped from his seat in fright.
He looked toward Nyxara.
Her eyes had become absolutely cold and ethereal, while a faint chill seemed to spread through the room.
Then she turned toward him.
"Darling, you should be hungry. Here, eat the noodles while they’re still hot."
"Huh? Where is mine?"
"You aren’t getting any, Aunty. I am sure you won’t like all this since you are a fine-dining woman."
Nyxara pressed her lips together and walked back toward the kitchen.
Reigns scratched his head. "So where were we?"
"We were talking about joining?"
His eye twitched as he remembered they had actually been talking about something else.
Linda sighed.
"Listen, Reigns. You have become a hotshot, and that has also brought a lot of trouble onto your plate."
"If your name had become public immediately, every family, organization, cult, criminal group, and talent hunter would have started bothering you."
She pointed toward Nyxara.
"Also, this one would probably have frozen half the city if somebody annoyed you."
Nyxara proudly nodded.
"This is the least I should do for my love."
Linda sighed.
"See?"
Reigns couldn’t even argue about that.
Linda pushed the documents forward again.
"Now let’s talk about benefits."
The moment she said ’benefits’, Reigns’ expression became serious.
Linda almost laughed.
"You really are easy to read."
"Money first."
Reigns immediately nodded.
"Good start."
Linda opened the file.
"You will receive a government salary."
Reigns looked unimpressed, which prompted Linda to continue.
"Plus combat bonuses."
His ears twitched.
"Plus gate-clearing bonuses."
His eyes widened.
"Plus danger compensation."
He leaned forward.
"Plus medical support."
"Plus equipment support."
The corners of Reigns’ lips slowly began to curl upward.
"Plus housing support."
He sat straighter.
"Plus training resources."
His smile grew even further, making Linda pause.
"Can you stop that creepy smile for a second?"
"Ignore that and continue!" Reigns scoffed.
"Plus pension."
Reigns suddenly raised his hand.
"Can I retire whenever I want?"
Linda nearly choked.
"No."
"Tough world."
Linda rubbed her temples.
Then she continued.
"Special accomplishments can also earn additional rewards."
"Such as?"
"Artifacts."
"Oh."
"Rare materials."
"Ohhh."
"Exclusive training opportunities."
"Ohhhh."
"Priority access to resources."
"OHHHHH."
Linda watched his expression change every few seconds. It was honestly amusing.
Then she casually added,
"And we recently proposed increasing salaries."
Reigns immediately grabbed the document.
"Where do I sign?"
Linda laughed.
"At least pretend to think about it."
"I already thought about it."
"When?"
"When you said housing support."
Linda covered her face while Nyxara giggled beside him.
Then Reigns suddenly paused.
"Wait..."
Linda raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Will I finally get a mansion?"
"..."
Linda stared at him for several seconds.
"You aren’t joking, are you?"
Reigns immediately slammed his hand onto the table.
"I shall dedicate my life to the Federation if they give me a huge mansion."
Linda almost burst out laughing.
"Your loyalty is surprisingly affordable."
"It is called having dreams."
Nyxara quietly held Reigns’ arm.
"I can buy you a mansion."
Reigns immediately shook his head.
"No."
Nyxara blinked.
"You don’t want one?"
"I do."
"Then why not?"
Reigns coughed.
"Because earning it myself sounds cooler."
Linda nodded approvingly.
"Good answer."
The three sat there for a moment as the atmosphere became noticeably calmer than before.
Finally, Linda pushed the documents toward him once more.
"Think about it carefully."
Her expression became slightly more serious.
"The Federation needs capable people. We don’t need perfect heroes. We just need people who are willing to stand up when things become difficult."
Reigns looked down at the papers quietly while his earlier playful expression slowly faded. He carefully considered the weight behind her words.
After a moment, he reviewed the details and frowned slightly, wondering why people called this low pay.
"The pay is actually pretty good. Why do people join families instead?’’
Hearing this, Linda’s lips twitched.
’The pay is only good because it’s coming out of your girlfriend’s pocket. Otherwise...’
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