Chapter 122- Heroines Meet

Chapter 122: Chapter 122- Heroines Meet

Chapter 122- Heroines Meet

"No?" Fate raised an eyebrow. He didn’t understand why Rize refused for a second there, but he still didn’t lose his composure as he looked at the mysterious young man with sharp eyes. "And why do you refuse such an offer, Rize?"

"Well, I don’t like taking offers so willy-nilly." Rize shrugged. "As I said, I’m doing my own thing. It’s his bad luck that got him in my path."

Rize truly believed that coming across the protagonist so randomly was akin to the world itself telling him to choose. Would you rather let the protagonist grow and flourish into whatever monstrosity he will become? Or would you pull the problem out of its roots and end it right there and then, before it comes and bites you back in the ass?

Rize chose the latter; he didn’t want more trouble in the future. Especially when he knew how utterly powerful Kaizer would get with enough time to train his powers. That would be a huge disaster waiting for him in the future.

Even if he was certain things wouldn’t be the same since the story had changed, he still didn’t want to give it a chance. Kaizer will have to disappear so he can survive and have peace of mind.

"I see." Fate smiled. "You’re really very strict, Rize. I think that is a commendable trait to have. But, come on, I’m sure we can reach some sort of deal. How about 30 badges in exchange?" He said.

"No," Rize replied.

"50?"

"You will keep throwing numbers, and I’m saying now. I don’t want to exchange any of the badges I have."

Rose watched the scene with a curious look on her face. She was trying to understand Rize’s logic by refusing that offer, but she couldn’t. Why would one badge matter more than 30? Why was he so stubborn about it?

It didn’t make sense to her. However, at the same time, it only made Rize appear more intriguing in her eyes.

"Sigh, why would you do such a thing, Rize? Why make it harder for both of us?" He asked. "I am trying to help candidates who didn’t have people they could rely on and give them a place that feels like home in this distant land. Why wouldn’t you be kind and help me out with that?"

"I’m sorry, I’m not as benevolent as you," Rize said as he turned around to leave.

"Leader..." Kaizer muttered with a desperate look on his face. He could see the bag where his badge was, and yet he couldn’t get it.

"Let’s go, Miss Rose," Rize said as he moved toward the stairs. Rose shrugged and walked after him silently.

Fate looked at them silently for a second before he spoke. "How about... 100 badges?"

Those words echoed through the entire floor as everyone fell into cold silence. Nobody could believe their ears. Even the people in Fate’s team stared at him with wide eyes. Kaizer himself froze in place as if he had heard the most absurd thing ever.

Rize and Rose stopped and looked over their shoulders.

"100?" Rize asked as he frowned. He tried to keep a composed look on his face, but it was simply hard to do that. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely," Fate replied. "100 Badges for his badge. What do you think?"

"..."

’Now this is... This is getting out of hand. No matter what this guy is aiming for. There is simply no way that piece of filth is worth 100 badges. Did Fate lose his mind because I turned him down or something? This is ridiculous.’

For the first time since he walked into that floor, Rize truly felt hesitant. On the one hand, he knew that giving that badge back could cause problems in the future. But at the same time, 100 badges were such a huge number. It would basically guarantee him all the points he wanted and more.

Rize felt like if he turned it down, not only would it make him appear even more suspicious, but it could threaten to antagonize Fate even more than this.

’Fate, in a sense, is as much of a threat as Kaizer is. If anything, at least Kaizer is a damn idiot for the better part of the story, so I could outsmart him. But Fate... This bastard isn’t someone you would really want to antagonize...’

Each option felt like it had its upsides and downsides. Rize had to choose between antagonizing Fate or threatening to create a monster in Kaizer.

’Dammit, I didn’t even think he would go this far for the badge. Why are you making it so hard for me?’

Rize clenched his teeth subtly before he sighed.

"On one condition," Rize said.

"State it."

"You keep every single person on your team away from me," Rize said. "And that includes him."

He pointed at Kaizer before he sighed. Kaizer’s eyes lit up with excitement and hope as he heard those words.

"Deal."

"Do we have a deal then?"

"Yeah, we do," Rize said as he put the bag down and started rummaging through it for the badge. The group watched him with speechless expressions. They were simply unable to understand why the leader would do such a thing.

But at the same time, they trusted his judgement. After all, he was the reason they were even in that privileged position. So, even if they felt like 100 badges was such a huge loss, they couldn’t really speak.

"Here," Rize said as he pulled the badge out. "This is the one, right?"

"Yeah," Fate said as he looked over his shoulder and signaled for one of his subordinates to get the badges. The latter ran quickly without thinking twice. A minute of tense silence passed just like that. Each side stared at the other with cold, wary eyes. It felt as if one single trigger could turn it all into a brutal fight.

Eventually, the boy came back with a bag full of badges.

"Did you count them?" He asked.

"Yes. 100..." He said. "Are you certain, leader?"

"Yeah, give it to him."

"..." The boy pursed his lips and walked to Rize as he handed him the bag with a wary look on his face. Rize checked it for a second before he nodded and threw the badge to Kaizer. "There. You get to live another day."

Kaizer gulped as he held the badge close to him, in fear of losing it again. He was so terrified of failing this test that he actually thought it was all over. Yet, it seemed fate wanted something different for him... In more ways than one.

"It was good doing business with you, Rize. I am glad you could find some kindness in your heart to help." Fate said. "I’m sure we will have other such exchanges in the future. You’re a brilliant individual after all."

For a second, Rize saw Fate’s eyes flash with a cold glint. A glint that nobody else seemed to notice except for Rize.

’I really hope I don’t regret this choice. At least I am certain Fate won’t bother me for a while. One trait that not many know about him is that if he deems you useful or interesting, he won’t try to directly harm you. It messes with his twisted enjoyment of unique things.’

In the end, Rize had to choose between a threatening psychopathic genius who would kill for fun and the protagonist of the story. So, he chose what he knew he could handle at least.

"Well, if you will excuse me now," Rize said as he turned around to leave. But just as he was about to walk, he suddenly heard a voice pierce through the entire place.

"Rize."

He turned around quickly as he heard a familiar voice. There, standing near the stairs, was Venera with her eyes wide open. When Rize saw her, his eyes lit up as he smiled.

"There you are." He whispered as he walked to her in a hurry. "I’ve been looking for you for a while now."

"Yeah, the same for me. Are you ok?" She asked.

"Yeah, I’m fine. As you can see, I gathered quite a few badges." He said. "What about you?"

"Yeah, I didn’t face that much trouble." She said. "But..."

Looking over his shoulder, she saw Fate and the rest of the group. Then, her eyes shifted to Rose, and her eyes squinted.

"What is going on here?" She asked.

"It’s a really... really long story." He said. "But, for now, we should get out of here. I don’t think it’s good to stay in this building when he is here."

"When I heard that Rize was with Her Highness of all people, I couldn’t believe my ears. Yet, it turned out to be true."

Rose approached the two casually.

"It has been a while, Your Highness." She said.

Venera stared at her before she nodded. "It has been a while indeed, Miss Rose. I see you found Rize..."

"Yeah, I actually found him by coincidence. But we do go way back. Isn’t that right, Rize?"