Chapter 22: Sign Here, Please

Summer casually waved at Mio as the guards dragged him away, which only made him even angrier.

Unfortunately for him, the guards had already put a muzzle over his mouth. They even sedated him this time, making sure there would be no second dramatic escape attempt.

Summer watched him disappear through the cafeteria doors with satisfaction.

Before she could say anything, Archer opened another teleportation portal beside them.

"Let’s have dinner somewhere else," he said. "This place is a mess."

Summer looked around at the overturned chairs, broken plates, spilled drinks, and shattered window. Then she casually shrugged as if she had absolutely nothing to do with any of it. "Sure. Fine by me."

Archer gave her a look but chose not to say anything. Meanwhile, Summer quickly followed him through the portal.

The moment she stepped out on the other side, the messy cafeteria disappeared behind her. Instead, she found herself standing in front of a buffet restaurant in the downtown area of the Safe Zone 87.

Summer immediately looked around. She had seen parts of the safe zone through the original body’s memories before, but she still couldn’t help feeling impressed now that she was seeing it with her own eyes, especially when she compared it to the polluted zones outside the protective walls.

The difference was almost unbelievable.

The safe zone looked just like an ordinary modern city. Tall buildings covered in bright lights stood along clean streets, stores and restaurants filled the sidewalks, and people walked around without having to worry about mutated creatures suddenly jumping out of nowhere.

If it weren’t for the massive metal walls standing in the distance, people might even forget that they were living in the middle of an apocalypse.

"Come on. We still have to sign the agreement," Archer said before walking into the restaurant.

Summer quickly followed him inside. Unsurprisingly, the moment Archer stepped through the door, several waiters recognized him.

His face had appeared in the media countless times before, and after recently, he had become the number one topic on BeastNet livestream. At this point, it would probably be harder to find someone who didn’t recognize Archer Reed.

The waiters did not even wait for him to say anything. One of them immediately approached and politely led Archer and Summer upstairs to a private table on the second floor, far away from the other customers.

Summer thought that would be the end of their special treatment, but she was wrong.

They did not even have to walk around the buffet and get their own food. Instead, the waiters began bringing dish after dish directly to their table.

Summer stared at the growing amount of food in front of her.

Well.

Being famous certainly had its benefits.

"Please enjoy your food."

"Thank you!"

Summer did not need to be told twice. The moment the waiter stepped away, she immediately picked up her fork and started eating. After losing her first dinner to a certain annoying A-Rank Sentinel, she was starving.

The first bite almost made her ears stand straight up.

Good.

It was actually so good!

Summer quickly took another bite, then another. For the next few minutes, she completely forgot about Mio, the cafeteria, and even the agreement she was supposed to sign.

Archer sat across from her and quietly watched as more and more food disappeared from the table. "You were hungry."

"I lost my first dinner in battle."

"You were the one who used the tray as a weapon."

Summer lifted her head, lifting one of her eyebrows. "And?"

Archer decided not to argue with her. Instead, he reached into his coat and pulled out the agreement he had written earlier. He placed it on the table and pushed it toward Summer.

"Read it before you sign," he said.

Summer glanced at the paper while chewing. Archer’s handwriting was surprisingly neat, making it easy for her to read even while she continued eating.

The first part was about payment. Just as they had discussed before, Archer would give her a place to live in Zone 0 as his first payment. Any guiding she provided after that would also be properly paid for.

Summer nodded. Good.

The next part was about consent. Any guiding, physical contact, or anything else related to their bond had to happen with Summer’s agreement. Archer was not allowed to use their compatibility or the soul binding as an excuse to force her into doing something she did not want.

Summer nodded again. Very good.

She then read the last line, and her rabbit ears immediately stood up straight. She read it several times just to make sure she had read it correctly.

Finally, she lowered her fork and asked, "Archer."

"Yes?"

Summer turned the agreement around and pointed at the last part. "What the hell is this?"

Archer glanced down at the sentence she was pointing at.

His expression did not change when Summer read it aloud. "’If Archer Reed ever forces himself on Summer Beaumont without her consent, his head will immediately blow off.’"

Summer looked straight into his eyes. "You actually wrote it."

Archer nodded. "Yes."

"You wrote that your head will blow off," she asked once more.

"Yes."

Summer opened her mouth, ready to say something, but then she closed it again. What was she even supposed to say anyway?

This kind of punishment was ridiculously extreme. They were going to connect this agreement to their soul binding, which meant these were not just empty words written on a piece of paper.

It was... extreme, but well, maybe that was for the best?

As long as Archer never tried to force himself on her, his head would remain perfectly attached to his body, right?

Problem solved, indeed.

In the end, Summer shrugged her shoulders and held out her hand toward Archer. "Pen."

Archer handed it over without a word. Summer took it, leaned over the agreement, and signed her name at the bottom without another moment of hesitation.

Not long after, Archer also signed the agreement after making sure Summer had no objections to anything he had written.

"Now what?" Summer asked.

Archer did not answer immediately. Instead, he picked up the agreement from the table and held it between his fingers.

Then, to Summer’s surprise, he suddenly crushed the paper in his hand. Before she could ask what he was doing, Archer held the paper over the candle flame, letting it slowly burn to ashes.

"It’s done," Archer said. "The agreement is active. Now we’re officially Sentinel and Guide, as well as mates."