“So, boss, since that store right there is the best one, no doubt you are targeting it, right?” Feeling proud of his intelligence, Archibald concluded the obvious.
“No, follow me.” Denying his assumption with a wave of his arm, Virus sauntered far into the district. The deeper they walked into the district, however, the more lost the four felt.
That was because according to Virus himself, with each step they took deeper into the district, the customer potential also decreased by that much. According to them, Virus was acting completely irrational right now.
Nevertheless, Virus continued on foot until he reached the most distant shop, which based upon Virus’ claim itself, was the worst one in the entire district itself.
“We’ll rent this one.” He mouthed casually as if he was stating the most obvious fact in existence.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“Huh?” Utterly speechless, the four’s jaws only remained wide open until Archibald asked tongue-tied. “B-but boss, you said it yourself! This is the most inferior point! Isn’t it natural to pick the best place instead of the worst one? Or have I gone senile without realizing it myself?”
That question, unfortunately, only incurred in a somewhat disappointed sigh from Virus who merely replied with, “Just rent the damn shop, you’ll understand when the time is right.”
Simultaneously, a notion flickered through his brain, ‘I miss the goddamn CEO ugly… that bastard would’ve guessed my whole plan the instant I’d notified him I wanna open a store… heck, he would’ve come up with everything himself while I enjoy a cup of tea!’
Now that he had picked the shop he wanted, there wasn’t really anything else for Virus to achieve around here, hence, turning around, he left the district and returned to the Decent Inn alone.
Meanwhile, Archibald and the other three remained in the district as they went ahead to find the owner of the chosen shop before going through and signing the contract beside other miscellaneous chores.
On the other hand, entering the inn, Virus was faced with the sole presence of the wife, Pira, who was sitting behind the counter with no one else to receive Virus’ return.
The instant she caught sight of him, Pira jumped on her feet before beaming a warm and welcoming smile at Virus. “Welcome back, Mr…?”
“Everyone calls me Vee.” Expressionless, Virus introduced himself.
“Oh my, Vee.” Gazing at his face left and right, a shade of red was clear over Pira’s cheeks as she complimented him. “Your name is just as dashing as your face.”
A coy smile was apparent over Pira’s profile.
“Thank you. I would like a cup of tea to be brought over to my room.” Not in the mood to entertain this woman, Virus requested before moving toward the stairs.
Meanwhile, Pira’s delighted voice traversed from behind. “Alright, just wait a moment please, I’ll personally brew our best tea and bring it to you in a few minutes.”
Afterward, going up to his room, Virus collapsed over the chair in the balcony that was facing the view of the ancient city in front of him.
The buildings and the overall architecture of the city were oddly similar to that of ancient Greek with pillars and beautiful designs with a variety of innovative sculptures here and there.
Taking out the pill case of the Absolute Liberation Leveling, Virus decided, “I’ll ingest it after enjoying a cup of tea.” Since Virus wasn’t sure how long the process will be, he wanted to at least drink a glass of tea.
Knock! Knock!
“Come in.”
Subsequently, the door to his room was pushed open as Pira brought over a cup of freshly brewed tea.
Ambling to the location of his seat, however, Pira bent over right in front of Virus while placing the tea on the small tea table beside him. What was interesting about this situation though, was the fact that Pira was bending over while adjusting the angle in a way so her cleavage and her bare nipples beneath her dress were right in Virus’ line of sight.
“I prepared the tea myself using a special recipe, I’m sure you’ll like it, Vee.” Opening her mouth with the tip of her tongue showing on the side, Pira maintained that position.
“Okay.” Picking up the tea, Virus was about to gently take a sip of it, when he realized Pira was still standing in front of him while continuing to smile. ‘What the fuck’s wrong with this thot?’
“Hmm? Is there anything else?” Frowning, Virus queried.
“Ah! N-no, then I’ll leave you alone.” Exclaiming that, Pira finally left the room after much hesitation. Even while walking to the door, she kept sneaking a peek back at him.
Alone, at last, Virus took his time to drink his tea. Unfortunately, the second the taste of the tea hit his tongue, he cursed out loud, “Fuck, this tastes like shit! I miss my Lil Belle’s tea so fucking much!”
Putting the tea aside immediately, Virus had a change of mind and was resolved to consume the pill instead of torturing himself with the shitty tea.
Therefore, sitting cross-legged, Virus opened the case at long last ensuing the revelation of a purple pill that was shortly put on display.
‘Ah, if I only had the tech to analyze it before eating it.’ If there was one thing Virus regretted about taking the Absolute Liberation Leveling pill right away, it was the fact that he could not study it thoroughly enough.
“Now…” Grabbing the pill, after a brief hesitation, Virus went ahead and swallowed it. ‘Well, there’s no helping it, my survival matters the most.’
Gulp!
Closing his eyelids next, Virus sank into a meditative state while focusing every bit of his concentration inside his internal world.
For a few minutes at least, there was no reaction whatsoever until his stomach started heating up while waves after waves of warmness traveled through his organs until they came to a halt on his eighth pathway that was only one or two percent synthesized.
