"Nope. I think I’ll take my business somewhere else," I said, trying to shrug Arnar’s hands off my shoulders, only to feel them pressed down harder before Arnar whispered in my ears, "Do you have a deathwish? Not only did you trick me into agreeing to help you acquire the Summoner class free of cost while using me as a shield against Reinfield, now, you want to back out."
I knew it. She was pissed that I had tricked her and had been passive-aggressively showing it this whole time. I had completely misunderstood her seething remarks as playful banter. Honestly, I blamed myself for falling for her friendly act and showing her the Hindinberg documents in the first place. All women hold grudges over the tiniest details, and it looked like Arnar was no different.
"Blame the redhead. She called me an asshole. My generosity has limits."
Taking the hint, Arnar released my shoulders and turned her gaze toward Grace, who suddenly looked as though she were about to cry.
I didn’t fall for her act and continued to threaten her.
"If she doesn’t compensate me properly for my emotional damage, I won’t hesitate to take my business elsewhere."
"Grace, you have my full support. I don’t think the professor will blame you for this. We’ll continue with the original plan."
Arnar’s brilliant assist made me forgive her passive-aggressiveness from earlier. She was a good brother, mood swings and all.
"No, it’s my mistake. I’ll take responsibility for it. But I don’t know how to compensate you, Mr..."
Grace said it innocently, even though she clearly knew what was going on. She probably didn’t dare call us out, knowing we’d only bully her further.
"Crispin Chase, but you can call me Cris."
"Ah! I’m feeling light-headed from all this emotional damage. If only there were somewhere I could rest my head."
As I spoke, I blatantly looked at Grace’s chest. My intentions couldn’t have been more obvious.
Surely, these two smart women would get the message, right?
"That’s it? I thought you’d ask her to take you on a date or something. You’re letting this prude off easy," Arnar said.
Before either of us could react, she shoved my head from behind, sending it straight into Grace’s chest. My nose landed perfectly in her cleavage, while my cheeks pressed against her soft, ample chest. Her skin was slightly sweaty, yet somehow fragrant.
Before I could identify the scent, Grace let out a high-pitched scream and shoved us away with incredible force, sending my head tumbling onto Arnar’s chest.
Before I could enjoy the double bliss, I noticed Grace had her eyes squeezed shut as she swung her right hand.
I quickly loosened my knees and slipped downward, just in time to watch her palm smack squarely into Arnar’s ample chest and watch them sway. Both gals were free styling today.
"Bitch, watch where you’re swinging those sausage fingers!"
"You started it."
"Mmh... salty vanilla," I muttered as I got back on my feet.
Both women turned toward me at the same time. Grace looked utterly disgusted, while Arnar looked thoroughly amused.
"Huh?" Grace’s eyes slowly widen before she hastily buttoning up her blouse, including the collar.
"You’re a professional," Arnar remarked with an impressed nod.
Without either of them stating it specifically, I knew I’d gotten it right.
Grace’s gaze shifted between us, the two shameless shelves, before she let out a short sigh.
"Arnar, you can’t waste an entire raid to help him acquire a class. The original team will still undertake the raid as planned. You two can replace two of the research assistants. Once inside, you can split up from the team and go do your thing."
"Are you sure the team will be fine despite being short two assistants?" Arnar asked, knowing they couldn’t afford a mistake with only three days left before their demonstration.
Grace nodded reassuringly. "They’ve performed this exact raid a hundred times already. I’m sure that, if necessary, one of the Hunters can fill in."
A lot of preparation, calculation, and planning went into raiding a monster gate, with numerous variables having to be taken into account. One of those variables was the loot.
Over the years, Hunters had determined that the number of Hunters raiding a gate could affect the quality, quantity, or both, of the loot dropped. As a result, after repeatedly raiding the same gate through countless trials, they could determine the most efficient way to clear it while maximizing the rewards.
With enough experience, an experienced Hunter could identify those optimal methods with little to no trial and error. That was why guilds were willing to pay top denars for experienced Hunters and gate researchers.
The A-rank Torcano Monster Gate was almost half a decade old, and Valorant Guild knew it inside and out. They didn’t need researchers to guide them through the raid. They needed them for their experiment.
From everything I was seeing and hearing, I was certain Avery’s hunch was right. Valorant Guild and Chimera Chemicals had entered into a joint venture and were gearing up to turn the A-rank Torcano Monster Gate into an A-rank Monster Farm.
If not for Avery’s information, I would have ignored all these hints and cues just like any other ordinary citizen.
"Alright, then. We’ll join the team in fifteen to twenty minutes depending upon how long his hunter registration process takes," Arnar agreed to Grace’s plan.
"Okay, I’ll update the team." Grace affirmed, then, before turning to leave, gave me a subtle nod. "Pleasure meeting you, Mr. Chase."
"Pleasure meeting you?" Arnar growled, eyeing Grace as though something was seriously wrong with her. "He basically molested you. What’s wrong with you weirdo?"
Grace shot Arnar an embarrassed glare before turning and practically running away. She simply didn’t want to risk displeasing the rich asshole again, but Arnar’s words made it sound as though she were some kind of weirdo who got off on freaky shit.
"Wow, rich men really do get away with a lot, huh?" I remarked, watching her retreating figure, only to discover that she was just as blessed from behind as she was from the front.
Arnar couldn’t help but give me a long side-eye.