"What do you say?"

It was such a simple question... And yet, even something as little as nodding my head proved to be the challenge. And it wasn't only because the number behind this question was so mind-numbing, but also...

'Those minor details,' I thought, looking back at what Chihiro said while releasing a small, short sigh, 'why does it feel like those minor details are the teeth of the trap he's trying to close on me?'

But...

But I've already tried to protest once, only for Chihiro to remove my doubts before I could even voice them out. And now, trying to once again seek fault with the deal just because it felt too great to be true...

Wasn't this the typical case of a self-fulfilling prophecy? A situation where my repeating doubt of Claire and Chihiro's sincerity would lead to the deal falling through?

And the worst part of it, now that I tried to voice my doubts before... I just couldn't bring myself to even try voicing them again! Once again, especially when all the things I caught to be potentially hazardous, Chihrio rushed to answer and explain.

'Isn't this doubt of mine... just more of the same?' I thought, eager to rationalize my social inability to judge the correct move in the negotiations with such massive stakes.

Then again, speaking out against this deal would not only expose some of my cards but, what was my greatest concern for the moment, it could be taken as my lack of faith in the other party, proof of missing sincerity on my end!

"Well, I would have to be stupid to refuse such an offer," I said before heaving a long, deep sigh.

Somehow, just uttering those few words was enough to let a wave of calm wash up through my entire soul, as if I just overcome the hurdle on the level of my former inability to meditate.

"So," with the decision already made, speaking up turned out to be a lot easier than before. "When do we sign the written contract?"

Speaking out was so much easier now... that I've managed to sneak in an important piece I wouldn't leave this room satisfied without.

A double-signed contract solid enough to be admissible to a court.

This was the only way in which a mere peasant like me could stand my ground against this rich and powerful clan.

"I've just made some changes on the spot, so how about you give my lawyer an hour or two?" Chihiro's smile only widened as he rose up from his seat and spread his right arm out as if to point at everything around him. "Feel free to tour this entire place as you wish in the meantime."

It was an offer... I simply couldn't refuse.

Yet, rather than standing awkwardly in this Vip section where I clearly didn't belong, I hurriedly moved all the way back to the elevator before riding all the way down to the bottom floor.

If I were to wait around for quite a while, how would I relax by sitting around in a place way too fancy for my standards? Just breathing the air in that place felt like committing a sacrilege.

Once at the bottom, I left the elevator and hurried down the main passage of this mall-like area, only to take a quick stop at the single-use vape vending machine.

Smoking was an addiction I rid myself of five years prior when I decided to do every tiniest thing I could to raise my odds of entering the meditative state. An addiction I never thought I would so easily return to...

But in all honesty, if this wasn't just the right moment to take a smoke, then I couldn't tell what else would be a fitting one.

Then, with just slightly hurried steps, I walked outside and then to one of the few designated smoking areas, hurriedly unpacking the device as I went all the way to the point where I put it to my lips and took in a long, deep breath.

The feeling of inhaling the flavored vapor...

Was actually hella disgusting.

'What the fuck?' I thought, looking down at the small pen in my hand only to see the simple reason.

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In my rush to get myself something to smoke to help me calm down, I didn't really pay much attention to what flavor I'd picked. And as my luck would have it, I ended up with the kind I hated to the bone, dessert-kind, milky coffee one.

'Well, I've paid for it, so I might as well...'

Trying my best to ignore the annoying taste, I took another puff, allowing the smoke to gradually fill my lungs, allowing them to absorb the nicotine.

A cheap, artificial sense of calm soon washed over my mind, sweeping aside all my thoughts, worries, and concerns.

Still, rather than vaping or outright smoking, just by the factor of standing at the foot of the Pearl Tower, I somehow felt all posh and fancy, as if I was inhaling some high-class drug instead.

It took only a few moments, a few precious moments that I happily dedicated to abusing my old addiction to calm myself down, before Claire followed me down and then to the outside, all the way to finding me within the smoking area.

'Is she a stalker or what?' I thought, gritting my teeth when I first saw her face only to then act as if I didn't see her, enjoying the last few moments of peace I would get as we all waited for Chihiro's lawyer to solve the issues with the contract.

I clearly expected Claire to be the harbinger of more trouble or, at the very least, some bad news. Yet, as she approached she just... brought out a stack of papers before pushing them against my chest.

"Here, it's pretty much the whole thing, save for the numbers that they are reprinting the entire thing from scratch to have them fixed..." Claire explained right as she noticed my startled and slightly confused look.

For just one more moment, I just kept staring at her with the surprise written not only in my eyes but all over my face. Then, rather than wasting my spit on some useless small talk, I conveyed my gratitude with a nod of my head before looking down into the papers.

Bit by bit, I went through it all. And just like Claire mentioned... the entire thing was perfectly aligned with what we discussed on the sixty-fifth floor of the Pearl Tower, save for the much smaller numbers when it came to initial founding and much less preferential treatment when it came to the division of profits or treatment of vetoed items.

When it came to the small details that Chihiro offhandedly mentioned, however...

"We are going to live together?" I muttered a question as I gave the girl a side-eye.

While not stated directly in the contract, it was the obvious conclusion anyone would arrive at when connecting the dots scattered all over the whole contract.

From how my living would now be secured by the company, how it was to be attached to my crafting spot and shop, how it had to be outfitted with a training area for Claire to help me out with my cultivation...

The lawyer of Claire's father who wrote this contract clearly knew what he was doing, for it was only after looking at the thing as a whole one would be able to arrive at this conclusion.

"What?" Claire jumped a little in response to my question. "I'm to be your manager, teacher, secretary, and a damned dietician," she mentioned, bringing up all sorts of functions the contract attributed her with. "There isn't enough time in a day for me to get all of this done if I have to cram commute into my daily schedule!"

Claire's reasoning was perfectly solid... Just as it was outright naive.

After all, anyone could tell that it wasn't her tasks that were the source of the problem, but a man and a woman of perfectly reproductive age living in constant, close proximity to each other, especially with everything that the two of us went through so far...

I looked over to the side and took a closer look at the girl.

Claire was... blushing a bit, most likely perfectly aware of the whole issue and just using reason to avoid taking responsibility for it at this moment.

'Maybe she doesn't want to discuss it here, out in the open?' I thought as I gave her a long stare, not missing a single detail of just how sexy and elegant she looked in her fancy dress.

Even now, with a simple jacket thrown over her back and her shoulders, her fairy-like beauty was still enough to draw stares from everyone around us... Stares that soon mixed with looks of hostility when people noticed me by her side.

Thankfully, the solid physique I've built over the years of doing nothing but training my body and throwing the same punch over and over again was enough to keep those onlookers from trying their luck with Claire.

'If I get to live with a damn fairy, why do I even seek problems with it?' I asked myself, as I realized the founding reason behind my last question.

It was just my innocent self growing extremely wary of this girl who already did and was likely to continue to threaten my innocence, making it hard to accept the idea of living with her... as full of great sights and possible pleasures as this kind of cohabitation would bring.

With my thoughts torn, I reached up with my hand to take another puff... Only to then act out as if I suddenly forgot how to handle my smoke as I started to cough all over.

"Why the hell did I think going back would be a good idea?" I asked myself out loud before passing the papers back to Claire and turning around. "I'm going to toss it so just wait a second."

For some reason... Just holding the vape made me feel improper in the moment. Yet, with my poor person mindset... I still needed a proper justification to throw it out so soon after buying it!

Claire didn't protest as I walked off to the slightly distant edge of the smoking area where, right by the road, I spotted some communal bins.

'Hmm?'

As I approached the bin, a black, elegant car came to a sudden stop nearby, only for a man in a suit to walk out from the seat by the driver's side and move to the car's back door.

'A vip of some sort?' I thought as I took one last smoke before tossing the vape into the bin.

As expected, upon reaching the car's rear doors, the man in the suit kept a perfectly straight back as he opened the door...

But there was no one in the back seat of the car to get out...?

'Hmm?' I glanced over, baffled by the sudden twist to the scenario that I came up with, only to feel a presence behind me. And as I turned over...

Two more men reached out, and grabbed my shoulders before tossing me with all their might, through the open doors and into the back of the black car!