We exited the dungeon together, with me walking in the front.
As soon as we came out, we were surrounded by 10 Awakeners from the Association. All of them were wielding weapons and glared at me before looking at Chloe with the same gaze.
Were they crazy? I really thought they were crazy for looking at Chloe like that. Were they confident that she wouldn't kill them because she promised the Association?
The person who led the ten Awakeners was a man with blonde hair. I recognized this man; he was a B-Rank Awakener from the Association, Frank. In the story, he led a team of ten Awakeners; I guess they were the ones behind him.
The crowd had already been dispersed, and there were only us in front of the dungeon.
"Are you the one who entered the dungeon without permission?"
"And?" I asked him with a displeased tone. "Any problem with that?"
"Of course. Your actions made the Hero uncomfortable." Frank said confidently.
I wonder about that. His gaze was darting to Chloe, who stood behind me without saying anything. He was looking at her with a greedy gaze.
This guy really had the nerve to do that. He must be thinking that Chloe would help him. Unfortunately for him, that wouldn't happen.
Chloe took a step forward and stood beside me.
"No." She said to Frank. She then stared at Frank with her sharp eyes. "I quit."
Her words surprised the Awakeners from the Association.
"What do you mean by that, Hero?" Asked Frank.
The Association never called Chloe by her name. They emphasized that she was a Hero; hence they called her Hero even in her daily life from the day they discovered her.
The Association was not wrong in calling her that, but… She was just 14 years old at that time. It was my fault for writing about that, but I just realized how messed up it was when I actually lived in this world.
They were by no means bad. On the contrary, the Association helped a lot of Awakeners. They just… didn't know about a girl's feelings and only focused on training her as a Hero, a savior of the world.
"I will not help the Association anymore." Chloe answered firmly.
"What do you mean by that?" Frank repeated his question, but his tone this time was filled with malice.
Chloe narrowed her eyes as she stared back at Frank. "I will not help the Association anymore.."
"But you had promised us."
"And it's enough."
They knew about Chloe's promise to the Association. They planned to use that to control Chloe.
However, the contract overruled the promise that she made with the Association. Chloe needed to fulfill her contract with me. It was not easy, though.
Chloe's promise to the Association was to help them clear the dungeons to save the world. But, it was limited to clearing the dungeons. Her promise held value.
If her promise with the Association had been valued at 8 points as they asked for her help to clear the dungeons, then her contract with me was valued at 10 points because I needed her help to save the world.
That was why she needed to prioritize her contract with me because it held more value to the world.
"Let's go, Rai." Chloe then pulled my hand to leave the area after she told Frank that it was enough.
"Wai-" Frank tried to stop us, but I glared and warned him.
"If you stop us, then you are our enemy. And if you are our enemy… I don't need to tell you what will happen."
Chloe was ready to pull her spear from her magic bag as she released my hand.
Frank knew what would happen if Chloe marked him as her enemy. He couldn't fight Chloe no matter how much he hated her, as it would put him in a bad spot.
Even though she was like this and the Association tried to use her, she was still the Hero. She was the only one who could kill the Demon King.
If he attacked her, he would be hunted by the Association's dogs.
We then walked away without being stopped by anyone.
"Tsk!" Frank could only click his tongue as he watched us leave.
***
"Leader, is it okay to let them leave like that? Weren't we ordered to punish Rai and force him to join the Association because he entered the dungeon without permission?" Asked one of the Awakeners under Frank.
"Are you a fool?" Frank shouted at him. "He said, OUR enemy. That Rai… he somehow managed to persuade Hero join his side. She even grabbed his hand to pull him away from us! And did you look at the Hero's eyes when we stopped them? She fucking glared at us!"
"But how?" The Awakener was confused. "The Hero is bound by her promise, right? She can't break her promise due to her Trait."
"I don't fucking know about it! Also, report it to the higher-ups. I don't want to deal with it." Frank then walked away while kicking the pebble on the ground.
"…"
The Awakener couldn't say anything more.
He only looked at Frank, who was gritting his teeth in anger as he walked away. Finally, he sighed in his heart and muttered.
"How should I report this to the higher-ups?"
***
[8 April 2023, 05:30 AM]
[Park Injun's Store]
It had been a day since I left with Chloe. We were now in Los Angeles again after I took a flight back with her. She slept when we were on the flight, so she felt refreshed enough to have a small smile on her face.
Because I had skipped going to the Academy yesterday, I needed to attend today if I wanted to stay in the Academy for two more months.
But, there was one problem. I wondered where I should have Chloe stay when I attended the class.
I thought about asking her to stay in the hotel, but that idea was quickly scrapped. When I thought about it, staying in the hotel was not safe as a lot of people recognized her. It would cost me a lot of money.
Besides, I needed a base for my new Mercenary Group. So getting a new house would be preferred.
That was why I visited Park Injun Store again.
I briefly explained it to him, then asked him.
"It's like that, so give me a house which I can use as a base for my Mercenary Group."
"Are you by any chance going crazy after kidnapping the Hero from the Association?" Park Injun looked at me in disbelief. He was not in his disguise even though Chloe was with me. He knew that Hero wouldn't spread his identity.
He trusted her when I explained that she would join me as the first member of my Mercenary Group.
But I was confused by something.
"Huh, kidnapping?"
"Yeah, it's all over the internet." He then showed me his phone.
I looked at it, and my mouth was about to fall from my face. There was news about me pulling Chloe's hand and dragging her away from the Awakeners from the Association, while in truth it was Chloe who pulled my hand.
The image was flipped so that it appeared otherwise. Someone had edited the picture.
Chloe also peeked at the phone from over my shoulder. Her expression turned unpleasant when she read the news.
"It's false."
"Yeah, it's a hoax. It's really troublesome."
That was a problem. A lot of people had seen the news, and they believed it. A lot of comments were badmouthing Rai for being too overconfident with his Talents and such.
If this went on, then my image would be shattered. My Mercenary Group wouldn't get commissions due to its bad image then.
Who spread this fake news? If I ever found the guy, then I would make him apologize after giving him a little gift in the form of pain.
"You need to settle this quickly, you know? Even I believed this news when I saw you entering my store with her." Park Injun grinned at me as he put his phone away.
Chloe stepped aside from me and stood silently beside me, like a hen who was waiting for its mother. She looked at Park Injun curiously but didn't say anything. She was cautious of him, probably because she knew that he was dangerous.
"I know. But, give me a house first. It looks like I need to skip going to the Academy again to settle this case."
"Hahahaha. It sure is hard being a student, huh? Well then, a house that can also serve as the Mercenary Group's base will cost you 50 million USD. This is a picture of the house."
He then showed me the picture of the house. It was enough for the two of us, and there was even an underground training area and warehouse.
However, the amount of money that he asked for was the problem... My money was not that much.
I looked at my phone to check my money, and it was only around two hundred thousand USD.
"Tsk! Can I pay with installments?"
"You can't." Answered Park Injun with his sly smile.
Right… there was no way a money-grubber like him would accept installments.
At the same time, the sleeve of my shirt was pulled. Chloe was looking at me.
"Do you need money?" She asked.
"As embarrassed as I am to say it, yes. I don't have not enough money to buy a house for us."
"Then I will pay for it. 50 million USD?"
"Huh? You will pay for it?"
Chloe nodded her head. "It will be our house, right?"
"Well, that's true, but…"
"Then it's fine. I have a lot of money." Answered Chloe confidently as she puffed her chest.
Of course, she had a lot of money. She had been active as an Awakener and cleared dungeons here and there.
"Then… I will take your offer…"
She nodded her head and talked to Park Injun. She then pulled a phone from her magic bag and transferred the money to him.
He had a big smile on his face as he rose from his seat.
"Well, follow me. I will show you the house."
***
The house was located in the center of Los Angeles. It was a bit far from the Academy and Park Injun's Store, but it served its purpose as a base for the Mercenary Group. Well, even if I said that there were only two of us in our Mercenary Group, I had no plan to add more members.
The house was big; it had a garden in the backyard and a big garage that could fit three cars. The interior was also nice and furnished.
It was a two-story building. The first floor was composed of a living room, a guest room, a recreational room, a kitchen that was combined with the dining room, and a toilet.
There was also a television in the living room, alongside two couches and a table.
The second floor had three bedrooms with a shower and bathroom installed inside each room.
It was better than I thought.
The underground area was locked by a steel door that was secured by a fingerprint lock. We opened the door after registering our fingerprints.
The training area was filled with gym equipment to train our bodies. The warehouse was also big enough to store anything valuable. As it was a place to store something valuable, it had a door that was made to only open to a specific person's Mana.
Park Injun told us how to open it, and we registered our Mana at the door. We set it so that no one would be able to register their mana again, and Park Injun even deleted his own Mana signature so he couldn't open the door again.
"Enjoy your stay~ You can use the house already. All of it is prepared. Also, there is magic that's used to preserve the house's condition!." Park Injun left us after giving us a message.
I sat on the couch in the living room with Chloe; then, we looked at each other.
"I need to deal with something first."
"Yes. I will stay in the house. Do you want something for breakfast? I will make them for you."
I couldn't process what she said for a few seconds.
She asked me what I wanted for breakfast. And she would make them for me?
Chloe, in my novel, didn't act like this. But then, she was chained to the Association with her promise and couldn't live like a normal girl.
So that meant this was her real personality. She was able to express herself better compared to the time she was in the Association.
I knew that she was not someone who didn't know how the world worked after I saw her use her phone to pay Park Injun, but I didn't expect her to ask such questions on the second day after she met me. Did she trust me that much?
However, I was glad that she could quickly adapt to the new life. She must've suffered alone all this time that she was happy by just asking me something like this.
I then smiled at her.
"Scrambled eggs and bacon are enough for me."
She then nodded her head in confirmation. "Take care. Dealing with the media is a pain, so be careful."
I nodded my head. "Yeah, I will. Also, maybe I will need you to attend a press conference with me."
"I know." She answered shortly.
After hearing her answer, I walked away. I stopped when I was about to open the door and turned back to Chloe.
"See you later." I said as I waved my hand.
She smiled happily and waved her hand back.
"See you later."