After the meeting with Director Logan, Klaus returned to the company and went straight to work on his new project.
As he entered the lab room, the entire team stood up from their seats and stopped their work momentarily, kindly greeting Klaus. Their smiles were so genuine that their lips almost touched their ears. And the one who smiled the widest was Jonathan.
The dark-skinned man quickly came to him the moment he saw Klaus.
"Wow, what is this? Why do I see a happy smile on your face?"
Jonathan laughed awkwardly. "Come on, boss. You knew it." He took a breath through his teeth. "I haven't had a chance to say it yet, but as the head of the research team, I would like to thank you for the vacation."
Klaus waved a hand. "Well, that's nothing. You deserve it."
Since Elemental Gun had successfully penetrated and dominated the weaponry market, Klaus had given a big reward to his subordinates. He sent Jonathan and the entire staff of the Product Development Department on a three-week tropical island vacation.
He had always pushed them to the limit of stress during the production process of Elemental Gun, and they could pull through and even deliver the best results. Their performance was insane, working from sunrise to night.
Klaus always rewarded his employees for their hard work. He needed to make them feel a sense of accomplishment so that they would work even harder.
Paid money for their pains because hard work without a reward was slavery.
"So, what did you come here for, boss?" Jonathan asked. The expression on his face said he knew that Klaus had come with a new job.
"Well, you're sharp, Jonathan. Come with me."
Klaus walked towards the meeting room, and Jonathan followed behind him. When they were inside, Klaus took out a projection device on the table. Not long after, a hologram of the ship's blueprint appeared before them.
Squinting, Jonathan took in the ship's design. He was not an expert in shipping, but if he looked at the framework, he knew this ship's blueprint was a standard design. The only thing that set it apart was an object on the bridge.
"You want to build a ship, Klaus?" asked Jonathan with a furrowed brow.
Klaus shook his head. "Not a ship, but a device for ship systems."
Jonathan squinted. "A ship device? I didn't know you were interested in something like this. But I thought you were only interested in arcana..." The dark-skinned man paused, realizing why Klaus had brought this blueprint. "You want to make an arcana for a ship?"
Klaus smiled. "Yup."
Jonathan dropped his jaw. There were no more appropriate words to describe it.
For the umpteenth time, the dark-skinned man heard an out-of-the-box idea from Klaus. He had never thought of it, let alone the people out there.
So far, arcana has always been synonymous with a weapon. Who would have ever thought an arcana could be applied to a vehicle?
"Another cool idea. Well, I guess I'd like to hear it from you," said Jonathan.
Then, Klaus explained everything to his subordinate about the application and workings of their new product. Jonathan listened carefully to every detail Klaus said to him like a child paying attention to what his parents were saying.
"How? Do you understand, Jonathan?"
The dark-skinned man nodded. "I understand the outline. With a little trial and error, I can finish in a month."
"Nah, Nah." Klaus shook his head. "I want you to finish it in two weeks at the latest."
Naturally, Jonathan was surprised. It was an unreasonable deadline for him. "Two weeks? We don't have much time for that, boss."
"We do. You know what I mean, right?"
Knowing what the boss meant, Jonathan sighed as he lowered his shoulders. "Of course. Overtime."
A wide smile bloomed on Klaus' face.
All the employees working directly under Klaus were familiar with his work style. If there wasn't enough time, sacrifice something else to make up for it.
Some people didn't like him because of it, but at the same time, they couldn't hate him due he worked alongside them.
"Alright. I'll leave everything to you. I'll treat you to wagyu a5 the day after tomorrow."
"Thanks, boss," Jonathan replied in a lackluster tone.
"Come on, don't mope around like that. There's another reward waiting for you if you make it on time." Klaus put an arm around Jonathan's shoulders while the dark-skinned man nodded weakly.
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After assigning the work, Klaus patted Jonathan on the shoulder before he left the meeting room. He also didn't forget to throw a smile at his employees. They didn't know long overtime was waiting for them.
They would be working hard all night, and Klaus as well. He shut himself in after entering his office. He told Alexa not to disturb him if there was no important business.
Since Jonathan would focus on developing new arcana, he did what part of the research team's work he could.
He worked with such focus that the time passed quickly. When he looked out the window, the sky was dark, and the city lights were on.
"Ah, I worked too late."
Klaus cleared his desk, ensuring everything was in order before going home. Then, he realized that his smartphone was not on the desk.
"Where did I put it?" Klaus squinted, and his eyes opened wide not long after. "Looks like I left my smartphone in Justin's office."
After picking up the coat draped over the desk and leaving, Klaus saw Sheila standing in the hallway, neatly dressed.
Of course, seeing that the secretary had yet to go home raised questions.
Klaus squinted. "I don't remember telling you to stay late."
"Ah, yes. I was just waiting for you. Uh... I... Do you want to stop by the restaurant? I'll treat you."
Klaus pursed his lips. He didn't know why Sheila suddenly asked him for dinner; she rarely did. But it wouldn't hurt to have an occasional meal with an employee.
"Alright. But before we stop by the guild, I think I left my smartphone in Justin's office."
"Nice!"
A wide smile bloomed on her face.
Klaus walked first, and Sheila followed close behind. They walked down the dark, silent hallway, broken by their echoing footsteps.
...
Klaus entered the building after arriving in front of the Rays of Hope headquarters. He told Sheila to stay in the car while he retrieved his left smartphone.
Walking down the dark lobby, he heard voices inside the training hall.
"Is someone still practicing at this hour?" Klaus muttered.
Curiosity rose in his chest, telling him to check there.
Walking in the shadows, Klaus gently stepped over, muffling the sound of his footsteps. His eyes widened as he saw a woman practicing in the training hall.
Under the bright lights, Olivia zigzagged in various directions at high speed and swung the wooden sword several times until the air whistled. Her body was covered in sweat, and her clothes were wet; even so, she was still moving vigorously.
Olivia was the last person he would have thought would be training this hard. People said Olivia was a hard worker, but Klaus didn't believe it until he saw it with his own eyes.
Klaus just stood there. Silent and watching the exotic-skinned woman in action in the practice hall.
"You didn't think she would work like this, did you?"
Justin came from behind and stood next to Klaus.
"Yeah," Klaus replied. "Is she always like this?"
"Every day and every night. Usually, she waits for the other members to go home before she practices alone. And she won't stop until she runs out of mana." Justin sighed.
"Have you ever told her to go home? She'll only trouble others if she's exhausted in the dungeon."
Justin chuckled. "Many times, Klaus. I tell Olivia this almost every week, but she's stone-headed." He sighed. "Because of her, I always come home late."
Klaus smiled weakly. "You're a good boss."
"I know, right."
Then, Klaus patted Justin on the shoulder, leaving him without saying anything.
He didn't take his smartphone.
As Klaus reached the front of the car, he knocked on the door glass. Sheila frowned, wondering why Klaus didn't come in.
"What's wrong, Klaus?" She asked.
"It looks like my smartphone isn't here. I can't have dinner with you tonight. You'd better go home first. I'll call a taxi for you."
Hearing the unwanted answer, Sheila frowned. "I can wait. Take your time."
Klaus shook his head. "No, go home. We'll have dinner another time."
Their eyes lingered on each other for a moment as if they were trying to speak through their gaze. Then, Sheila nodded her head. Her face was painted with disappointment.
"Alright," Sheila replied.
And then, Klaus called a taxi for her and kept her company until the driver arrived with his yellow car.
After making sure Sheila left, Klaus quickly got into the car. That night, he didn't go home or to a restaurant but returned to the office.
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