CHAPTER 25: CHAPTER 24: THE OFFER

"Hi, Zaen!" Zoey chirped as soon as he opened the door. "I’m Zoey from—"

"Class, I know. Please... take a seat," Zaen replied, letting her in. "Uncle, could you get us some snacks?"

"Of course, I’ll send a maid over. Just keep the door unlocked. It’ll lessen the hassle." Mack said, still eyeing Zoey.

Had it been before, he wouldn’t have allowed anyone into Zaen’s room just because they said they were his friend. However, ever since the incident, it seemed everyone was distancing themselves from Zaen.

That’s why when Zoey appeared there, he let her in. Even so, he didn’t want to leave them alone, just in case. Hence the demand to keep the door unlocked.

"Will do."

Zaen nodded and sat across from Zoey. Before he could say anything, she took out a package from her bag and slid it across the table.

"I know it isn’t much, but... happy birthday!"

"And... you’ve blown your cover," Zaen chuckled, shaking his head. "It seems your organization isn’t all that concerned with verifying information."

Zoey was taken aback by Zaen’s words. Still, she wanted to hold on to the image of a ’classmate’ and kept pretending. Unfortunately, Zaen wanted nothing to do with that.

"The birthday registered on the official documents isn’t my actual birthday. I turned 18 last week," Zaen informed her. "It’s something everyone in my circle knows about. So... if you were actually the Zoey from class, you’d have known that."

It was true that Zaen’s former class had a girl called Zoey. Although her body shape and stature were very different from the woman sitting before him, a blind man wouldn’t know that.

As for the voice, Zoey wasn’t one to talk, so he didn’t remember what she sounded like.

That’s why the organization thought it would be the best to send Zoey for verification. Yet, their plan backfired.

The all-nighter I pulled was for nothing...

Zoey clicked her tongue, hating Karloff more and more with each second.

"...and yet you pretended to know me?" Zoey asked, dropping all acts. "Why?"

"Why not?" Zaen chuckled. "Since you went through all that trouble to get to me, it’s only right to let you say your piece. Besides, I knew it was only a matter of time before we met... though it was sooner than I’d have liked."

Zoey raised an eyebrow, and a smile formed on her lips. At first, she hadn’t been all that interested in him, but from the way he talked, he didn’t seem like the same guy she had met within the mental institute.

He has changed... a lot. I wonder what brought on that change.

As her curiosity grew, the bolder she got.

"So, you know about us?" she asked.

Zaen nodded.

"And you wanted to meet us?"

"Kind of. Though I didn’t know of a way to contact you people."

"So you killed the anomalies to get our attention?" Zoey frowned. "You’re weird..."

"I get that a lot."

Even though he said that, it was difficult for Zoey to believe him.

Usually, when people learned about the organization, they panicked or even attacked the recruiters, thinking they were there to take them away, but Zaen was as calm as ever. Not to mention, that confidence he had, it’s like everything was going as per his will.

As annoying as it felt, it also intrigued Zoey.

Perhaps our judgment wasn’t on point. Blind or not, he is an asset, like Karloff said.

But before all that, she had to confirm some things.

"Since you already know about us, I’ll get straight to the point," Zoey said, getting all serious. "Are you actually blind?"

"Unfortunately, I am. It was confirmed by the institution as well."

Zoey tilted her head. Usually, she was quick to determine if someone was lying to her, but that process included looking into the person’s eyes. That wasn’t possible at all, so she did what any sane person would do.

"How many fingers am I holding?"

"..."

"So, you weren’t lying," Zoey sat back down. "How did you kill those two last night?"

"I got lucky, I guess."

Zaen felt a gust of wind as Zoey climbed on top of him, holding a blade to his neck.

"How about you drop that attitude of yours and give me a straight answer?"

Even with a blade pressed against his neck, Zaen wasn’t scared in the slightest. Instead, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer.

"Wh-What are you doing!?"

Zoey was startled by such a wild response and froze. That was the moment Zaen had been aiming for, and he used all his strength to shove her aside.

Before she could get up, Zaen had the Boning Sword pressed against her nape while he leaned against her back.

"Hm... I killed them, thinking the organization would send someone to meet me," he whispered. "But I didn’t think you’d be this gullible or weak. How the hell did you people take the Endless down with such measly strength?"

Before the two could continue, the door opened, and a maid saw them.

"...young master?" She quickly turned around, her face flushed. "I-I’ll give you two some privacy!"

Just like that, she slammed the door shut and bolted out of there.

"Get off me!" Zoey exclaimed, pushing Zaen off.

Zaen couldn’t see it, but much like the maid, her face had also turned red. After all, from the maid’s angle, the weapons were hidden behind the backrest of the couch.

She only saw Zoey’s disheveled head above the couch with Zaen ’mounting’ her while both of them were panting. Two young people could only be in such a position under one circumstance.

"...I apologize for lashing out," Zoey said, fixing her top.

"Ah, yes... don’t mind that," Zaen replied, still unsure about what happened.

"That sword... how do you have that?"

"Got it from the chef I eliminated."

"Seriously... how did you kill them? No, let me rephrase that. How can you fight like that when you can’t even see?"

Zaen had another quirky reply ready to shoot, but he decided against it. Teasing her had been fun, but it was time he, too, got serious.

"Have you heard that your body adapts to sensory loss? Something similar happened to me. I don’t understand it myself. I am blind, but it’s like my other sensory organs are compensating for the loss."

"...I see," she said. "We can figure it out later, but first... how do you feel about joining the organization?"