Chapter 80 - 79: Bills

Chapter 80: Chapter 79: Bills

While Caesar and her brothers were still in the concert venue, laughing and dancing together with the music booming, Rai spoke to Caesar.

"This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time! Thanks, sis!"

"Me, too! Concerts are so fun!" Eyo said to Caesar, "Thank you, Caesar!"

"Oh, you think this is fun? Wait for tomorrow!" Caesar replied her brothers with a smile, "I’m gonna blow you away!"

During their conversation, AJ Zero, who was wearing a deep blue long sleeve top with blue jeans and black shoes, spotted Caesar among the people in the concert.

Caesar for a split second glanced at AJ’s direction only to quickly turn again and saw AJ among the crowd, waving his hand at her while smiling with closed eyes.

"Great... Just great." Caesar said in her mind with a blank face.

Rai noted Caesar staring at a certain direction which left him confused.

AJ walked up towards Caesar and grinned.

"Hi." AJ said to Caesar.

"Hey..." Caesar said with a grumpy expression.

"W-what a coincidence, huh? I... Uh... Didn’t expect to see you here." AJ nervously said while rubbing the back of his neck with an open smile.

"Believe me, I didn’t ’expect’ to see you." Caesar replied.

Rai and Eyo sensing the awkward tension between Caesar and AJ, stared at the two in confusion.

"Uh... Sis... Do you know him?" Rai asked.

"Yes." AJ answered.

"No." Caesar quickly answered Rai as she turned her face away.

"We are kind of coworkers." AJ said to the boys.

"Kind of." Caesar said as she crossed her arms.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Eyo asked.

"What?! No!" Caesar answered as she turned to Eyo.

"We ... Are friends and kind of coworkers... As we said earlier." AJ answered Eyo.

"What are you doing here?" Caesar asked AJ.

"Uhm... I came here to get something then I just... Coincidentally bumped into you?" AJ replied.

"Then coincidentally walk out of here." Caesar said as a vein pulsed under her left eyelid.

While Caesar was glaring daggers at AJ, Rai slightly became entranced and saw a giant white wolf hovering over Caesar and growling, which led Rai to chuckle nervously.

"Sis looks like she’s three seconds away from blowing a fuse." Rai said in his mind.

Later as Rai and Eyo were sitting across each other, eating food, Caesar stayed a bit far from her brothers and leaned against the wall with both arms crossed while AJ was standing beside her with his back also leaned against the wall.

AJ took notice of Caesar’s face still being grumpy which made him nervously chuckle.

"Uhm... Sorry?" AJ said to Caesar.

Caesar slowly shifted her gaze to AJ and narrowed her eyes, leading AJ to turn his face away.

AJ’s eyes then slowly moved back to Caesar and he grinned nervously.

"Humph." Caesar said as she turned her face away.

Caesar stayed silent for a time then spoke.

"I came here and planned this day to spend alone time with my family without any of the EBW crap getting involved, and yet somehow in some way, ’you’ show up." Caesar said, "I wanted nothing of EBW to come in neither did I want to think about it.

My peaceful moments all in shambles."

"Uh... I am... Sorry?" AJ said.

"You apologized before." Caesar replied without looking at AJ, "You said you came here to get something then you by coincidence bumped into me. Did you really come to get something or are you just using that as an excuse to see me?"

"I did come to get something." AJ replied, "You know... Like buy some Black Sunday merchandises for my little step sisters, and... Uh... Send it to them before I travel tomorrow."

"Travel tomorrow?" Caesar asked.

"Yeah. I wrestle on Wednesday, remember? So I have to travel to a new city to have my match." AJ answered.

"I see." Caesar said.

The duo kept quiet for a while until AJ spoke again.

"Uhm... Caesar... Can I ask for some advice?"

"Huh?" Caesar said as she turned towards AJ.

"I have a big issue in EBW and I don’t know how to go about it." AJ said.

"You’re asking the wrong person, pal." Caesar replied.

"I... You know my victory over Magoi? The unsanctioned match where I barely won and barely survived... Literally...?" AJ asked.

"The one against the loan shark in the match where whatever happens, the authorities washes their hands? What of it?" Caesar asked.

"Uhm... When I beat Magoi... Even though she barely put any effort, my victory did a lot for me." AJ said, "My status was elevated, I was getting hot and I was being called the slayer; I had a lot of momentum... But I learnt that victory and elevation... Also put a bullseye on my back."

"Hm?" Caesar said with an arched brow.

"Beating the loan shark in an unsanctioned was supposed to be a huge thing in my career so far especially since I’m a rookie, but that victory turned out to be a huge curse because many ero-wrestlers backstage want a piece of me." AJ said as he tilted his head down.

"For revenge?" Caesar asked.

"No, not revenge. It’s to take my momentum." AJ answered, "According to the aces of spades Sol Quinn, she told me that as much as my win has and is doing a lot for me, it has made me a marked man.

Right now as I’m one of the ’hottest’ guys in the market, the wrestlers backstage believe that if they beat me... The guy who beat Magoi in her playground, they will become a hot topic."

"Funny enough, the one who alerted me about this, made it clear that she came to be first in line... And she beat me to the ground." AJ continued as he gently rubbed his arm.

Caesar stayed silent for a time before she turned her face away.

"I see. Well, it was inevitable." Caesar said.

"Huh?!" AJ said as he glanced at her, "W-what do you mean inevitable?"

"With everything you said, it makes sense." Caesar replied, "If you understand the majority of people EBW compromises of, then you would have seen this kind of thing coming.

A company filled with desperate people. People who are ready to give up their pride and dignity just to provide for the ones they care about or to put food on their tables. Do you think if they see any small opportunities, they wouldn’t take them?"

"It’s just as Cedric said about them smelling blood in the water and zeroing in." Caesar continued as AJ turned his face away, "I won’t be surprised if you get jumped backstage."

"But... I just... I’m just doing this to provide..." AJ said.

"So are they. Your reason isn’t special from theirs." Caesar responded, "You’re trying to provide for your little sisters and pay for your comatose parents hospital bills.

You’re working numerous job and still doing this ero-wrestling just to ensure the money comes in... But I can guess many of them are also doing the same thing.

The only difference is that you’re nineteen... That you’re a year younger than me and you’re a nervous wreck."

"Wait, you’re twenty?" AJ asked Caesar in shock.

"Irrelevant." Caesar replied, "Honestly... Cedric is right. You are a strong predator magnet.

Magoi has even admitted that there is something mesmerizing about hurting you both physically and erotically, and she cannot wait for you to cross her path again. Now you got many people backstage who want a piece of you just to become bigger or relevant in the market."

"And to be honest... If I was an an ero-wrestler without the whole Mizukai thingie... I’d join the fray, too." Caesar continued as she shrugged her shoulders, "You should just quit."

"That... That’s not helping." AJ said.

"Just saying.... You’re not built for this level of violence." Caesar said, "Cedric said you’re talented but you sucked in the ero-aspects and your mindset is holding you back. You’ve worked on the ero part but what is now holding you back is your mindset.

You don’t seem to be a bad person, but in a company filled with cutthroats and monsters, that makes you seem like an easy target."

"It’s funny how you have been here longer but I seem to understand this place better." Caesar continued as AJ’s eyes rolled towards her.

AJ stared at Caesar shortly before he turned his face away.

"It’s from this company that most of the money comes from." AJ said, "I even dropped out of university just to support my parents and sisters. I don’t think I can quit right now.

I just wanted to money make for them. I wasn’t interested in being the best or growing in fame especially in a company like this.

Sol told me that if it wasn’t for the fact that EBW’s standard matches are intergender, I’d also have the guys lining up as well."

"I never imagined I’d be hunted like this ... Over a match I barely won... A match I barely left alive." AJ continued speaking as he gripped his bicep, "This... This isn’t right. I’m still trying to get over the trauma of Magoi, now this?"

"You wanna talk about right? The world isn’t right. The company itself ain’t right. That’s just reality for you." Caesar said as she tilted her head up, "There is a bullseye on my back because of how I got in and I made it worse with that interview on Friday.

I know I’m gonna get jumped one day, and I’ve accepted that. I’ve accepted that terrible things are gonna come in my way from the others.

If you are going to stay, then you need to accept yours."

"This is your situation here: if you quit, you get peace but you also get less money, less help with your parents and a harder life for your sisters." Caesar said as she shifted her sight to Rai and Eyo who were talking and laughing with each other, "But if you stay, you get money and momentum but more danger, trauma and escalation."

"You have an upcoming match against Sol Quinn tomorrow, right?" Caesar asked as AJ turned towards her, "Right now with how hot you are in the market, if you lose the match, your momentum instantly ceases.

Your marketability drops and you go back to square one or even worse.

Many will discredit your victory over Magoi and say you can’t survive a real test when someone truly puts in the effort... After all, before you beat Magoi, you were just a rookie with an 0-3 win record."

Hearing those words, AJ softly turned his face away.

"Right now with how hot you are, if you lose to Quinn tomorrow, everything about you will take a huge hit." Caesar continued, "Your reputation... Everything. What should have been seen as your breakthrough, will be seen as a fluke. Your career might not recover from that. You’ll simply fade away.

But the real question of your match tomorrow isn’t if you can beat her... it’s how many fights can you survive before the stress, threats, attacks and injuries finally break you? Because that’s what is gonna happen. Whether it’s mentally or physically."

Caesar then exhaled and continued talking.

"Though it’s not in my place to say this since I’m just a rookie, but a part of me feels Sol is wrong about something."

"And what is that?" AJ asked.

"The fact that she said you only have to worry about the female ero-wrestlers since EBW standard matches are intergender. ’That’ in my opinion is wrong." Caesar answered, "Standard matches are intergender but what about multi-man matches or mixed tags? Do you think the guys there won’t look for an opportunity to make this happen just to be bigger or relevant?"

"You’ll definitely be hunted by both sides." Caesar said as AJ’s eyes widened in shock and horror, "You’ve become an unofficial yardstick that the others would want to beat just to prove themselves and it’s not gonna stop."

"So there is the bill. Decide how you wanna pay it." Caesar said with both eyes closed as she removed her back from the wall, "But if you choose to stay then you’re solely responsible for what happens on your head."

"Best of luck... Slayer." Caesar continued as she walked towards her brothers.

After Caesar had left, AJ’s right hand shook but he tightened his fist just to subdue it.