PHASE 83 - IT’S PAYDAY! PAYDAY! GONNA GET MUCH FOR PAYDAY!

And thus, Key’s mystery arc has ended. Time for some fillers.

It was Sunday in the evening, and we just finished our dinner. Amy called me for a private one-on-one talk in the corner of the living room while everybody is busy minding their own business.

“Here. Take it.” Amy presented a small envelope.

I was ready to drop my rejection line to her in case that the thing inside was a confession letter. But no. It’s not. It’s better than the sweetest love letter written in history.

“S-S-Seventy thousand!?” I exclaimed due to shock. It was real! A seventy thousand check, named to me! I’m hearing the angels sing! Hallelujah!

“That’s your compensation as a member of the Aether Crusade. We finally pinpointed the enemy base. The Black Cross will handle the raid from now on and they will initiate the attack this December.”

“So you’re telling me that the investigation on the New Order has been finished?”

“Yep~” Amy smiled. “Though we can still join the raid for additional compensation.”

I raised the check and displayed it to everyone’s faces. “Woohoo!”I shouted with joy! “I got a 70,000!!!”

Amy keeps elbowing me, telling me to settle down. I failed to control my outburst, so now I have everyone’s attention.

“I-I’m glad for you, Rikkun!” Tiara clasped her hands. “I… Necchan only gave me 60,000.”

“You got 60,000? I only got 30,000!” Kristoff said with his disappointed face.

“Wait, you guys are getting paid?” Heushac scratched his head.

“Hey, Jeannette. You’re being biased here. I thought we’ll get compensation due to our contribution to the investigation. You sent me to investigate five cities, and I even went with you last week.” Kristoff groaned.

“You didn’t contribute that much. You just flirted with Gate Guardians from different cities and forgot your duty as a detective. You went home with empty handed. And you just served as my bodyguard last week.” Amy curled her eyebrows, indicating that she’s furious. “Just be glad that I’m not dismissing you yet.”

“Y-You’re right…” Kristoff smiled while sweating non-stop.

Key suddenly commented in a monotonous voice. “I see. So having a good flirty relationship with your boss will give you a raise, while having an expired romantic relationship with your boss would get you dismissed. Jeannette’s way of giving salaries is like the typical boss of any company.”

“H-Hey!!!” Amy was flustered.

Thanks for the analogy, Key. I now know a great life hack that would save my corporate career in the future.

Amy then pulled another envelope and reached it to Heushac. “Here. It’s the combined efforts of Helena, Key and yours. Spend it wisely.”

I peeked at Heushac’s shoulder as he shakingly opened the envelope. And that thing made me want to complain a lot more like Kristoff.

“500,000!!!” I gasped before fainting.

“T-That’s a lot of burgers and tacos!” Tiara had her mouth drooling.

“You can actually buy a badass brand new car with that.” Kristoff said.

“W-Why is this so big?” Heushac turned to Amy. “I think I don’t deserve it.”

“You do.” Amy smiled. “Helena helped me a lot. That also includes a part of her pension and insurance as a Gate Guardian. You should enjoy your sister’s hard work.”

“So my sister is still supporting me even after her death, huh…” Heushac bowed with a smile. But there is this water droplet crawling on his cheeks. He must have missed his sister a lot.

While Heushac does his drama thing there, I glanced at Amy. “How about you? What’s your salary?”

Amy pulled out a folded check from her pocket and shoved me to my face. It’s only 60,000, the same as Tiara.

“You did almost everything… so why did you cut your own salary?”

“The love of money is a sin, Ric. You should know by now that it will trigger your inner greed.” Amy tilted her head with a smile.

<>

It’s already a quarter to twelve midnight, and I couldn’t sleep. My brain keeps flashing me random things such as embarrassing moments of my life, what to do with my money, and being wary of a living timebomb in this house. So many things have happened already.

I went to the backyard and sat on the bermuda grass. I have hot milk with me as I stared at the night skies which are full of colorful stars. Inhaling some fresh air as I watch the night breeze sway the trees around the house makes me relaxed.

“So… You can’t sleep too, huh?” It was Key, who have this hot cup on her hand. She comfortably sat beside me and stared at the skies. “Tell me, Alaric… Are you scared of me? Are you scared… that I can explode at any moment?”

“No.” I gave her a smile. “Not yet. You still have a lot of months to live.”

“One year is not a lot,” Key said. “But for an artificial human like me, to live this long is already a gift. I’m so grateful that I have made friends with you all. Heushac, Tiara, Jeannette, Kristoff, you, and Helena. You guys are the only ones who acknowledge my existence.”

A brief backstory...

Key is also antisocial, which is obvious. She had ten years of her life living in the Black Cross Orphanage in Myrrh City. She went to grade school as normal people do, but her abnormalities forced her to drop out. Having an IQ of five hundred, she’s considered a genius by many… but also as an abomination to her fellow kids. That’s why she has to quit.

Given that she has superior intellect, silent introvert nature, and speaks like a robot, she became a victim of bullying, in school or even in the orphanage. No one dared to be her friends and worse, she’s always gazed with a judging eye. Most people avoid her because they thought she’ll become a monster like the other test tube babies in that facility.

That is the main reason why the Black Cross Legion assigned her to the Aether Crusade. To be her babysitter, and also to uncover the mysteries around her. They thought that she might make friends with high schoolers since she failed to make acquaintances with her own age bracket. But even though she got lots of IQ, she still has so much to learn.

“Thank you for saving me back then.” Key slightly smiled. She’s trying so hard to put an emotion on her face.

“Don’t mention it.” I returned her twinkle as I patted her head.

I felt her temperature rise and her cheeks reddened. She’s becoming more human right now, and it’s a good progress.

“If possible, I wanted to live longer so that I can spend more time with you guys.”

“Oh, maybe you mean you wanted to spend more time with Heushac?” I smirked. I wanted to trigger her emotions more by teasing her, and I see that it’s working. She’s now a strawberry.

“Y-Yes…” Key bowed to hide her blush, but there is steam coming out from her ears. “Heushac motivated me to keep on living, so I wanted to live a little more to create memories with him.”

“Leave it to me. Changing fate is my jam.” I laughed.

“That’s reassuring, Alaric.” Key gave me this puppy-tear eyes. Seeing her this cute made me pat her head once more.

But then, she started to tackle a weird topic.

“I will help you too.” Key said.

“H-Huh? What are you talking about?” I scratched my head.

“Tiara and Jeannette. They are fighting over you. Both of them likes you, and you like both of them. According to your heart rate and hypothalamus secretions, you wanted them to be your mating partner… I can help you with that.”

“You better revise that ‘mating partner’ part,” I said as I forced a smile. “And how will you help me choose?”

“I will devise an algorithm that would help you win the hearts of the two girls...” Key said in a serious monotone voice. “I will create a Love Algorithm.”