...

Cloe was feeling very troubled since the incident that happened just recently. She really didn't want to drag Shin and the others to the problem that their family was currently facing. She chose to leave her home and head over here so that she could lessen the pressure that her father was getting.

She even took quite a number of flights to make some detours, trying to shake off some of the people that were chasing after her. She was even left by one of her flights during that time which was why she didn't arrive at the designated time to meet up with Shin.

Naturally, they were expecting that there were still some people who would be able to keep up with her which was why her father arranged some of his best men to protect her from the dark.

Cloe was expecting that those people were not going to start moving this early since the security on the Eastern Sea Region was quite tight.

But they had underestimated the other side who were bold enough to take a gamble and make their moves this early.

"What should I do now?" muttered Cloe as she lied on her bed while staring at the ceiling.

She immediately contacted her dad on the same day when the opposing side made their moves. But her father just reassured her that everything was going to be fine for quite some time since the mercenaries failed to abduct her.

In fact, it became a blessing in disguise since she was now on the top list of the people that needed to be protected in the Eastern Sea Region.

Originally, they couldn't drag the military or police forces to this place since their current problem was related to their family business. So, as long as the opposing side was not going to make any reckless move, the forces stationed in the Eastern Sea Region were not going to bother them.

But since the failed attempt of abducting Cloe caused some commotion, the military forces were now able to interfere in this matter. Especially that the hired mercenaries of the other side were now identified by the military.

And since those guys did quite a couple of dreadful deeds in this region, the military was now keeping an eye on them.

The Military Circle on the Souring Continent could be considered as one of the strongest forces around the world but there were still some drawbacks in it. The entire 'circle' was being divided by a couple of parties that were under the control of some Military Families.

Each party had a certain area under their jurisdiction, just like the Springfield Family who were practically controlling the majority of matters in the Main Region.

At the same time, there was a certain rule in the Military Circle that they couldn't interfere with the operations on the territories of the other parties. And they could only station some of their forces on the territories of the other parties after getting approval from the party that was controlling that place.

Or at least, if there were some urgent and important matters in that area – just like what happened with Cloe's case.

And since Shin and the others were involved with that incident, it gave the Springfield Family a reason to mobilize some of their units and stationed them in the Eastern Sea Region without concerning themselves with the context of invading the territory of the other party.

Everything seemed to be going according to the arrangements that her father had made, which gave him the freedom to fully focus on the matters on his side; and without concerning himself about the safety of his children.

But even if that was the case, Cloe was still unable to feel at ease since she knew Shin and the others very well. Now that they were aware of their family matters, she was sure that they were going to get involved, especially that their families were close with each other.

Cloe rolled back and forth on her bed as she was unable to think what she was going to do now. "Should I go with mom's place then, and stay there together with Christian? But I will not be able to attend school if I head over there."

After a few moments of thinking, she suddenly stopped rolling and lied face down on her bed. "At least, Shin and the others are not going to be troubled if that is the case."

She was about to make her decision when she suddenly heard a familiar voice that interrupted her thoughts. "Yeah! If that is the best solution that you can think of, then why not forget about us for the time being and head over to your mom's place."

"Eh!?" Hearing that remark, Cloe immediately raised her head and turned around to look over the source of that voice. "Shin? What are you doing here? And how long have you been there?"

"Yo!" greeted Shin while waving at her. Then he pointed his thumb behind him before replying. "I heard that you still haven't eaten your breakfast so I've brought you some and prepared it downstairs."

After that, he pointed at the opened door while leaning on its jamb. "I keep on knocking on the door earlier while calling out for your name."

"But it seems like you can't hear me since you never respond with my calls, so I decided to check if you are still alive," he added with a joking tone.

Cloe was about to say something when she suddenly noticed that Shin was averting his gaze at her. She stopped herself from talking as she misunderstood those actions as him being mad at her.

But she immediately realized that it wasn't the case when she saw Shin rubbing his index finger under his nose with his ears turning slightly red.

She then turned her head downwards and remembered that she was currently in her pajamas which was showing her body a little due to them being partially see-through. "Kyaa~!"

"Idiot! Why are you entering a girl's room without permission!" shouted Cloe while taking her blanket to cover her body.

"As I said earlier-…" Shin was planning to explain himself but he immediately stopped himself from talking when he saw a flying pillow towards him.

"Hey! Wait! Let me explain!" said Shin with a single breath right after catching the pillow.

But what greeted him was a few more pillows flying towards him and Cloe's loud voice. "Idiot! Get out right now and close the door, you perverted dummy!"

Hearing that, Shin immediately followed her words before running downstairs while shouting. "Be quick and charge. Your breakfast is going to get cold."

Meanwhile, Cloe was left in her room with her entire face blushing bright red and invisible streams coming out above her head. "That idiot! He saw-…"

...…

Downstairs, Shin was currently preparing the food that he had brought while waiting for Cloe.

A few moments later, he heard some footsteps coming from upstairs which meant that Cloe finally walked out of her room. And when he turned his head towards that direction, he immediately saw Cloe walking down the stairs while throwing him some vicious glares.

Seeing that, Shin immediately put up his brightest smile while gesturing to her. "Miss, your breakfast is ready."

Unfortunately, Cloe was unaffected by his charm and continued to give him some cold glares while saying. "Pervert!"

Cough!

The smile on Shin's face suddenly turned stiff when he heard that, not knowing what to do anymore.

"Ahm-…"

He tried to squeeze out a couple of words from his mouth, but Cloe didn't have a plan to listen to his excuses and just walked towards the table with a hmph sound.

Left with no choice, Shin could only shrug his shoulders and sat across her while waiting for her to finish eating the food that he prepared.

An awkward silence surrounded the two as both of them refused to say a single word. And after a few more moments of being in that suffocating atmosphere, Cloe couldn't take it any longer and took the initiative to talk.

"Are you not going to ask me anything?" said Cloe with her head facing down.

"Ask what?" replied Shin almost instantly.

"Anything! About the identity of those people or what is this all about! Or what happened at home!" said Cloe, still refusing to look at Shin.

Seeing that, Shin put up a smile and said. "Silly girl. Have you already forgotten what kind of person I am? I'm not going to ask you anything or demand an answer from you if you are not willing to tell me."

"But-…"

Cloe wanted to say something but Shin immediately cut her words off by patting her head. "If you don't want me to become angry, then stop talking and finish up your food already."

Feeling the warmth of his palm, Cloe could only nod her head before resuming to eat her breakfast silently.

...

After taking care of the dishes, Shin immediately headed towards Cloe and pulled a chair to sit beside her before saying. "Hey! Stop being troubled about it already. I know it is your family matters and I understand that you don't want us to become involved. But you also need to understand that we are also concerned about you."

"What's more, everything is already fine and the adults are dealing with it right now, so you don't need to become too concerned about it anymore. It is their problem in the first place, so why are you stealing their jobs?" he added jokingly.

After that, he placed his palms on each side of her face before turning her head to face him. "Hey, can you do me a favor and stop being so down? I'm starting to miss your cheerful side."

Cloe remained quiet and stared at Shin's eyes silently. A few moments later, she finally came back to her senses and smiled at him. "Thanks."

"Actually, it is quite hard babysitting you," replied Shin with a joking tone.

Hearing that, Cloe started giggling before teasing him. "So, are you done admiring my face?"

Seeing that Cloe came back to being her usual self, Shin finally felt at ease before refuting her. "I should be the one saying those words!"

Cloe started laughing when she saw his actions before saying a word with a sneering tone. "Pervert."

"Hey! I already told you that-…"

Shin wanted to defend himself and prove his innocence but he was immediately silenced by Cloe. "Whatever!"

Then she ran towards her room, not giving him any time to reply.

Seeing that, Shin could only feel a little helpless but also feel relieved at the same time since Cloe became energetic once again.

"Hey! Are you still going to stay in your room? Are you sure you don't want to hang out a little?" shouted Shin.

"Nope! I'm planning to go online in the game. I haven't played since the update, so I'm planning to catch up a little," replied Cloe instantly before quickly adding. "If you want to hang out, then go online too! You've promised to help me with my quest, right?"

Hearing that, Shin thought for a moment before replying to her. "I have some visitors waiting in our house, so I don't know when I will be going online. I'll just contact you later when I go back in the game, okay?"

"Sure!" replied Cloe before closing the door of her room.

At the same time, Shin took the containers that he brought with him before walking out of the house.

And when Cloe heard the locking sound of the main door, she was finally able to stop holding her breath before leaning powerlessly on the door. "That was close!"

She could feel that her heart was pounding her chest rapidly as she remembered the scene of Shin's face being close to hers.

Then she touched her lips before muttering to herself. "I almost did it."

After that, she immediately ran towards her bed and dived on it trying to calm herself down. "Kyaa!"

...