Chapter 76: The Mechanics Of Apology
"Hey! It’s my time to take shifts, go and eat." One of the security guards walked towards the gate, a smile on his face.
"You seem happy today, don’t tell me you are still eyeing those beautiful maids." His colleague asked with a smirk, leaning against the reinforced steel of the guardhouse.
"You can’t call them beautiful before the Madams, but those girls sure have good bodies." He answered with a smile, stopping before the gate. In a world ruled by Awakened gods and monsters, ordinary humans like them had to find joy in the mundane, safe behind the towering walls of an employer who paid on time.
"Anyway, our cook has prepared the food, you must be hungry."
"Yup, I haven’t eaten for two hours now." The guy said, rubbing his stomach.
"You know, if someone told me one week ago that I will be working here, and receiving one hundred thousand as my salary, I would surely laugh at their face... This is just too surreal." He said, placing both arms at the back of his neck. The massive influx of wealth Asher had secured wasn’t just changing his life; it was actively elevating the lives of those who served him, creating a micro-economy within the Aetheldawn estate.
"You are right, we are just ordinary people, but thanks to the Boss and Mr Tang for choosing us, we are here."
"Huh?!" The guard guarding the gate was stunned, pointing his finger at the Villa’s towering exterior.
"Isn’t that the Boss?"
"What?! Why is the Boss climbing his own house?!" The second asked in shock, eyes wide.
"Wait, that balcony, isn’t that the Second Madam’s room? Why would the Boss climb through the window when there is a door inside?" He asked himself, completely lost.
"Maybe he wants to experience sneaking around, or maybe the second Madam is angry and shut herself inside the room." The second said, slowly nodding his head, trying to apply mortal logic to immortal beings.
"Oh, that must be it." The guy started walking away.
"The Boss wants to experience sneaking around, wow, we common folks can never understand how the rich and powerful think." The guy said, walking away, attributing Asher’s desperate apology mission to the eccentric boredom of the ultra-wealthy.
"....?!"
The second guard blinked, stunned by his colleague’s way of thinking; although he said the two reasons, any smart person will go with the second.
’Forget it.’ He shook his head, entering the guard post, deciding it was best not to pry into the affairs of a man who could likely level the entire estate with a single punch.
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TAP!
Asher landed on the balcony, a small frown on his face. His Agility made the sheer vertical ascent effortless, but it highlighted a glaring flaw in his rapid progression.
’I thought once I reach SSS-RANK, I will be able to fly, but it seems there is a trick or secret behind flying... The only one around me who could help with this information is Sara.’
He turned to the door, staring at Sara, who walked out of the bathroom, cleaning her lips with a handkerchief. Thanks to his shadow gaze, he could clearly see the blood on the handkerchief. The damage from her shattered core was acting up again.
Sara was silently suffering, hiding her pain from everyone, and always kept a composed expression, but he just had to offend her, only thinking of rewards. The guilt hit him like a physical blow. He was conquering dungeons and crippling families, yet he had carelessly stomped on the pride of his own wife.
He clenched his fist, watching as she walked towards the bed, and sat down, picking up her book, and started reading.
’I wonder what is written in that book.’ He thought, staring at her; the light in the room only made her white hair glow brightly like gems, stunning him in place.
Sensing something, Sara raised her head from her book, and turned to the window, her eyes locking with Asher’s, watching as he nervously pulled out the notebook, and placed it on the closed window, gesturing to the words written on it.
Sara placed her book on the bed, stood up, and walked towards the window, her expression flat as always. The impenetrable wall of her silence was far more intimidating than any boss monster’s aura.
Asher held his breath, watching as she stopped before him, stared at the words written on the notebook, then looked up at him again, her gaze still expressionless.
["I don’t know what I did wrong, I am very sorry if I offended you in any way... About the equipment I placed out there, I was about to ask you to help me search for the ones more suited for me, as for the rest, I planned to hand some over to Juliana, and sell the rest... I know your situation, I won’t hand such a thing to you, not until I fully cured you three... Truthfully, it was also my mistake bringing those things out like that, I am sorry."]
Most of the words were true, and the other half were lies. Asher truly hated lying to his wives, but the situations were always against him. If he comes up here and apologized for giving her the equipment, it would mean he actually forgot about her situation, and also didn’t care about her feelings. Although he did ignore these things because of the rewards, saying the truth would make Sara hate him more. His time in the Starfire family had taught him that raw honesty often led to ruin; sometimes, survival required a meticulously crafted narrative.
But saying he wanted her advice about the equipment, which was why he brought it out... That shows he didn’t overlook her feelings and situations, and was asking for advice. Which he actually planned to ask after dinner... Asher believed this explanation would work because, one; Sara knew he was a newbie, that he knew nothing about the Awakened system, and two; putting on wrong elemental equipment would greatly reduce one’s strength. System synergy was a complex science, and framing her as his necessary mentor returned the agency and respect she had been stripped of.
He stared at her like a baby pleading for candy, dropping his terrifying SSS-Rank persona entirely. And after a whole tense minute, Sara finally opened the window.
{Wife Sara: +10% Affection.}
{Current Affection: 50%.}
{Loyalty: +10%.}
{Current Loyalty: 50%.}