nk—!
Stepping out of the apartment room, Brandon fixed up his cor.
His hair was well groomed as he adorned his signature white zer.
It was a little over 7:34 PM.
His meeting with Zed was scheduled for 7:30 PM.
Why was hete?
Just to spite him.
"...?"
And just around the same time he left the room, Rachel seemed to have just arrived home.
For some reason, she averted her gaze from him. Yet at the same time, it seemed like she wanted to say something.
And that she did as she spoke in an awkward tone.
"...Brandon."
"Yes?"
He tilted his head.
"Just got home?"
"...Yes."
"Well, go in now. I''ll be going somewhere."
"Okay…"
The conversation was brief. Nodding his head Brandon walked ahead and left.
***
How heartless.
Rachel stared at his departing back with a conflicted expression.
Despite having confessed, it seemed like Brandonpletely dismissed it.
Did he forget?
No.
She shook her head.
There was no way someone would forget a confession.
Was he that uninterested in her?
Was this really the man she hade to like?
A man whopletely disregards others'' feelings?
"Haha."
She stifled a bitterugh.
From the fact that he was all dressed up, it seemed like he was going somewhere.
Was he meeting someone?
A date perhaps?
Then…
Could it be with Amelia?
She bit her lips.
"No."
An image ovepped in her mind, one where Brandon was happily on a date with Amelia.
If that was the case, and if he actually did like her, then he should''ve just rejected her instead.
"Haa…"
She breathed out a sigh.
If he really was about to go on a date with Amelia, then Rachel needed confirmation.
The fact that Brandon had only said he was ''going somewhere'', meant that he probably didn''t want to tell her.
She clenched her fist.
That was unfair.
All she needed was a straight up rejection. Then could she finally drown out her feelings for him.
And with such thoughts…
Rachel decided to follow him.
Just a little peek.
Once she sees who he''s meeting up, if it was a girl…
"If it was Lady Amelia…"
Then she would leave.
That''s it.
Call it stalking, but Rachel didn''t care.
She needed this.
If he didn''t respect her enough topletely disregard her feelings, then a little stalking wouldn''t hurt.
With her thoughts gathered, Rachel quickly put on a cap and some shades.
***
Inside a dimly lit coffee shop, soft light from old sconces lit up the wooden tables.
The smell of fresh coffee, vani, and cinnamon filled the air. People talked quietly, their voices mixing with soft jazz.
A barista in a clean apron meticulously craftedtte art.
The ce was a mix of both fancy and cozy.
And seated in the VIP lounge, two figures sat opposite each other.
Documents were neatly stacked on the table. Brandon found himself curious on its contents.
After sipping on his coffee, Brandon settled his cup down and raised his head to look at Zed.
Shortly after, he opened his mouth.
"So? Why this ce…?"
Brandon turned his head to look around.
"I don''t think it''s a good ce to discuss private matters."
"Why this ce, huh?"
Zed extended his hand towards a circr button on the side of the table.
"Just because."
"Just becau—Ah."
"Yep."
As soon as Zed clicked the button, a sound barrier materialized and isted all the sounding out of their table.
Nodding his head to acknowledge the sound barrier, Zed turned to look at Brandon.
"The barrier will onlyst for five minutes. After that, we''d have to provide it with mana."
Leaning back, Zed rxed himself as he sped his hand behind his head.
"Firstly, take a look at those documents."
Following his instructions, Brandon extended his arms and pulled the documents towards him.
Flipping the pages, Brandon took his time reading its contents.
There were severalpany names on the documents, some of which he was unfamiliar with, while some were well knownpanies. Along with it were thepany''s contributions.
Stopping just at the middle of the document, he raised his head and looked Zed in the eye.
"Is this what I think it is…?"
Companies involved in shady dealings with the syndicate.
"Yes."
"And what am I supposed to do with this information?"
"Just for context. We''ll be interfering with their shipments."
"I see."
That made sense.
With this they could cripple the syndicate''s supplies and finances.
Zed went on to borate.
It was nothing but a small-scale diversion. If it all works out, the heads will host a summit to gather all the top-dogs of the syndicate to address the issue.
With Zed''s appearance, it was a chance to introduce Brandon to the other heads, cementing himself as a potential member.
Since Brandon would have to prove himself first, the heads would have to make use of him to assess his capabilities.
"So if this n seeds, I''d have sessfully infiltrated the syndicate, right?"
"Yes."
At Zed''s confirmation, Brandon continued flipping the documents
Flip—
There were majorpanies, ones that made his eyes widen. Who knewpanies such as those were involved in shady dealings?
It was only until thest page when Brandon was really taken aback. With shaky hands, Brandon''s eyes shot wide open.
There was no way.
Crumple…
Unknowingly, his grip on the paper tightened and he was in a state of disbelief.
"What''s wrong?"
Noticing his unease, Zed asked.
"..."
Yet Brandon didn''t respond.
"Brandon?"
It was only when he was snapped out of it when he noticed Zed calling out to him. Raising his head, he looked at Zed who looked at him back.
"Zed… Is this some kind of mistake?"
"What are you talking about? Of course not. That''s ssified information that only the heads have ess to."
"Then…"
Gritting his teeth, Brandon struggled toprehend just why thispany was listed.
But as heposed himself, he turned the document to show it to Zed. Pointing at a specific spot on the document Brandon spoke with a certain tension.
"Why is Asami Incorporated here?!"
***
The whole time, Rachel followed Brandon, fixing a set distance.
For some reason, she found herself entering sketchy alleyways with shady characters around.
"Where are you going, little boy?"
"Are you lost, boy?"
Due to brushing her hair all the way up her cap, she probably looked like a boy.
But Rachel paid no heed to them as she continued following Brandon.
This persisted until Brandon stopped at some kind of fancy tavern or something.
Cling—
Rachel waited for a few seconds after Brandon entered the ce.
Shortly after, she entered the premises and the chiming sound of a bell rang.
Cling—
Looking around, it seemed like Brandon wasn''t on the first floor.
Since he was most likely on the second floor, Rachel headed the stairs.
But she was soon paused as the barista called up to her.
"That area is for VIP guests only. Either buy a lounge, or secure a VIP card."
VIP?
Just who was Brandon meeting up with?
"How much is the lounge?"
There was no need to buy a card. Despite howvish it was, she couldn''t see herselfing back to this sketchy tavern.
"25 gold coins."
"..."
What in the…
''''Might as well rob me at this point.''
Shaking her head, she dismissed her thoughts. It was something she could manage to afford.
With such thoughts, Rachel walked towards the barista and set her coins on the table.
The barista scanned the coins first, as if making sure it wasn''t counterfeited.
After confirming, the barista ced a card with a number on the table.
[25]
"Table 25."
Nodding her head, Rachel headed up the flight of stairs.
ncing around, Rachel found a lounge with the number 25 on it. Next up was to look for wherever Brandon was.
For some reason…
Her lounge was right behind where Brandon sat.
And as soon as sheid eyes on him, she instinctively fixed her disguise. Looking at the opposite side of Brandon, Rachel breathed out a sigh of relief.
"So it wasn''t Lady Amelia."
Instead, it was an older man with dark onyx hair and green eyes. Rachel had never seen Brandon with the man before.
But the kind of person she was, she didn''t judge Brandon''s friends.
For some reason, Brandon was reading some kind of document.
What is he doing…?
It seemed to be important as Brandon narrowed his eyes while reading.
Trying to look away, she headed for her seat.
She perked her ears up to try and eavesdrop on their conversation.
Yet for some reason, she couldn''t hear them at all.
How was that possible when they were right behind her.
And so she tried to sneak a nce. Peeking from the side of her seat…
"Ah."
There were faint traces of mana around their table. Since it seemed like Brandon was moving his mouth, and yet she couldn''t hear him, it must''ve meant only one thing.
"A sound barrier."
And thus she stopped peeking as she leaned back on her seat.
"Haaa…"
She was disappointed. But this was enough.
For whatever reason why Brandon was in this shady tavern, it was none of her business.
It was only after some minutes when Rachel decided to leave. Standing up, she fixed her disguise first before walking ahead.
But that was when…
"So Asami Incorporated was in this kind of business this whole time…"
"During their early days of operation, the syndicate provided Rafael Asami with—"
"Hm?"
"The barrier."
"..."
The sound barrier had lifted.
They spoke inaudibly. But since Rachel was quite close, she was able to make out some of their words.
Rachel stood frozen, trying to digest what she had just heard.
''That''s a lie…''
It had to be.
In the first ce, why was Brandon even conferring about her father with a stranger that Rachel didn''t even know?
And syndicate?
What the hell was that?
How was her father involved with this syndicate?
There was no way her sweet father was involved in something like this.
But as she gathered her thoughts together, a memory ovepped in her mind.
Her mother and father''s arguments.
Her father having a heated dispute with her grandfather, Aaron Ashfield.
"..."
Did it have anything to do as to why her father rejected the absorption of hispany to the Ashfields?
If this was the reason for their divorce, then Rachel had to get involved.
If this syndicate or whatever it''s called was the one responsible for it, then it was her duty as an Ashfield, and an Asami.
But…
What did it have to do with Brandon and that stranger?
She had to know more.
Turning around, she walked towards the lounge in which Brandon and the man sat.
"...?"
"Can we help you?"
Ignoring them, Rachel removed her disguise.
A sense of familiarity seemed to wash over Brandon. But not just him, but the man as well.
Shortly after, Brandon spoke with wide eyes.
"Rachel? What are you doing he—
"Tell me more."