Chapter 64: The Emperor heard of your feat… and would like to meet you

"I already made reservations for you at a 5-Star hotel. I know you would’ve preferred to buy a penthouse, but that might take some time," President Hunter said as soon as they alighted the jet after landing in Stronghold 1.

Kaelen was taken aback hearing the President’s words. "What made you think I’d want to buy a penthouse here?"

Why would he even want to buy a house here when he didn’t plan on staying longer than he should? Not after he went through with his plan.

It was President Hunter’s turn to be surprised. "Oh? I thought you liked living in luxury."

"What?"

Kaelen indeed loved the comfortable lifestyle, but not once had he purchased something he didn’t have a need for.

He had enough money to buy all the houses in his neighborhood and have an exotic collection of limited-edition sports cars, but still settled for one each.

The private jet was only to transport himself to Stronghold 1. Otherwise, Kaelen wouldn’t bother purchasing one.

Now why would the President think that of him?

Kaelen shook his head and chose not to dwell on it when President Hunter spoke again.

"Should I... also call off the women?"

"... W-What?!"

Kaelen was in utter disbelief.

If the President hadn’t mentioned it, Kaelen wouldn’t have remembered just now that he had never actually been with a woman before and was still green behind the ears.

He coughed once in embarrassment, his face slightly flushed. "Call everything off."

"Does that include your room reservation?"

"Yes. Everything. I’ll tour the city for a bit and settle down at the nearest hotel," Kaelen said and turned around without waiting for the President’s reply.

When he saw two figures entering the hangar, and on spotting him, Cindra sprinted forward excitedly and jumped on him.

"You actually made it."

"I don’t remember us being this close, Vice Captain Cindra."

"What do you mean~?" Cindra said as she pulled back. "We shared a sandwich at your crib, and you drove me back to my place like a real gentleman."

"That never happened."

"Don’t pretend like you didn’t eat my sandwich after I left and called someone to drop me off with your car. If that doesn’t mean anything to you, then I don’t know what will," the woman said as she slapped his shoulder with a teasing smile before winking at him.

Kaelen was spooked. He didn’t know what to say to the woman who was openly assaulting him. He turned to look at Black Rose, who’d been silent all along, before taking out his phone to check the time and raising the display for her to see.

"It’s only been 23 hours since I called. I believe we have a deal," he said with a faint smile.

Black Rose stared at him for a moment, her expression turning cold.

"Is that all you care about?"

"...Huh?"

"You’re willing to risk your life like that over a stupid game?

"Without caring if you have someone worrying and stressing over your own safety?

"Is that how you behave?" Black Rose said angrily.

Kaelen was taken aback. "I think I forgot to mention it to you, but... I’m an orphan."

"What?" Black Rose blurted out.

"Yeah. So you don’t have to worry about any of my relatives having a heart attack over my actions," Kaelen said innocently and turned to look at President Hunter, who, for some reason, had his hand clasped over his mouth with his face red, like he was either crying or laughing so hard he couldn’t keep it in. Or both.

Black Rose looked stunned for a moment before she scoffed in disbelief and brushed past him, walking away.

Kaelen was even more confused and turned to Cindra for help, but the woman wasn’t faring any better.

"Can you remind me again why she was yelling at me?" He asked her.

Cindra looked thoughtful for a moment before she shook her head. "I don’t know. She’s been acting strangely lately—"

"Pffft..."

Kaelen and Cindra turned to look at President Hunter simultaneously, who had made the strange sound.

"Did you say something, President Hunter?" Kaelen asked, but the man quickly shook his head.

They still looked at the man suspiciously when a loud noise suddenly broke out from the entrance, and they all turned to see Black Rose standing before the hangar’s door, as multiple flashlights distorted her form.

The trio didn’t need to ask before they knew who was behind them.

"Oh no. Rose is not supposed to be exposed to bright flashes." Cindra immediately called out and ran towards her friend.

"How did this happen?" Kaelen asked with a frown.

"I forgot to mention it earlier, but the entire stronghold witnessed your prowess in the wastland from here. So it’s only normal for the press to latch onto you. It’s no different here from Stronghold 5," President Hunter said seriously.

Kaelen turned to look at the guild captain, who was struggling with blocking her face from the bright flashes but was too frozen to think she had to take a step back and shut the gate. She was suddenly knocked back by the crowd outside, who were forcing their way in, and she tripped over her foot and stumbled backwards.

Kaelen turned to look at Cindra, who was still halfway there, and back at the press, halfway through the gateway, before deciding. He slightly pressed his knees forward, and a powerful burst of wind exploded from the now-empty spot as Kaelen appeared before the gate in an instant and spread his hands before clapping once towards the press.

Swoosh—

A powerful shockwave exploded from his palms, knocking the press over several feet back, before Kaelen finally lowered his hand to catch the still-falling guild captain around her lower back and pulled her up in one swift motion.

He ran his eyes through the men and women writhing on the floor as some of them twisted an ankle or had few gashes on their arms, before saying, "President Hunter would take care of your hospital bills and damaged equipment."

"Me?" The President asked in surprise.

Kaelen ignored him as he turned to look at Black Rose, who was now standing close to him, with their faces only a few centimetres apart. His hand still wrapped around her waist.

She was staring at him in a daze, and Kaelen stared back in confusion, wondering if she was still suffering from the effects of the bright flashes. So he moved a finger between her eyes, watching carefully to know if her pupils would react to it.

Black Rose suddenly slapped his hand away from her face and knocked the arm around her waist away.

"I saved you twice now and fulfilled my end of the bargain. I think I deserve that invitation now," Kaelen said.

Her lips parted like she wanted to say something, but she shut them back and turned around, walking away once more without another word.

Kaelen turned to Cindra. "Was that yes or no?"

She spread her arms with a shrug and quickly ran after her friend. Not before mouthing a ’thank you’ to him.

Kaelen sighed in exasperation as he watched the two women walk away, when President Hunter walked up behind him.

"You don’t have to worry about that."

Kaelen turned to look at him. "What do you mean?"

President Hunter took out a sleek red envelope with a lion’s seal on it, holding it out to Kaelen.

"The Emperor heard of your feat, and on learning about your connection with his daughter, he offered you an invitation to the expedition... and would like to meet you."