Inside the car, silence ruled. Astrea sat behind the passenger seat, just looked at the night scenery outside. Janus just stared straight ahead, in no hurry to speak. The atmosphere inside was so heavy that even Hammond, usually a very steady person, began to feel uncomfortable. He thought to himself, this person sure is a very special person to be able to produce so much pressure, I even feel the urge to get as far away as possible. But he couldn't act on it and just sighed. Hearing this, Astrea began to ease up and asked Janus :
"So, where are you taking me? I hope it's not a weird place."
"Please, worry not. I am just taking you home as a gentleman would."
"Hmph! A gentleman would not look up someone past as you did."
"Haha..." he laughed embarrassedly " I did not mean to do it. But you left me with no choice either. When I wished to talk to you, you coldly refused me..."
"When a stranger suddenly approaches you to talk alone, I don't think any sensible women would just accept. Even more when it's a rich character like you who can make someone disappear in a snap of the fingers."
"..." he had no way to retort against her.
"So Mr. Elpidius, what is your business with me?"
"Please, just call me Janus."
" I'm sorry, but we aren't familiar with each other."
"Sigh, fine. Here is the thing. I want you to work for me."
"Excuse me? Did I hear correctly? You want me to work for you? I am once again sorry as you surely know, I don't have any diploma. I just got lucky to have gotten the position in my previous work. I don't have the qualification to work for you."
"Don't worry. I don't care about things such as qualification. I just know that you are capable of taking care of the job I'm going to give you."
"And what could it be?"
"I want you to work as a school teacher."
"I will repeat myself but EXCUSE ME!? A SCHOOL TEACHER YOU SAY!? From what I know, you need a certificate to be able to teach, which I don't possess !?" said Astrea full of anger. After all, he is asking her something which she knows nothing about. Teaching something she isn't even familiar with is simply impossible for her.
Janus chuckled which made her bring back the horrifying pressure from before. The poor Hammond was so frightened he pushed the accelerator by accident. He quickly let go and glared resentfully at Janus in the rear-view mirror. The latter could only let out a hollow laugh to him and turned back to Astrea.
"I perfectly know that. But what if what I want you to teach isn't something other teachers can normally do?"
"Don't beat around the bush and speak."
"I want you to be an exorcism teacher"
"!?"
"Surprised I know? Of course, you would be. Only you, your fellow disciple, and your teacher are supposed to know."
"How?"
"Your teacher taught in our school, and he told me he had two disciples, a boy, and a girl. The boy was obedient and even though he wasn't really talented, he worked very hard to meet his teacher expectation. On the other hand, the girl ignored him, did nothing to get praised by her teacher, and yet, with only one look, she understood everything he showed her. Their names were respectively Theodore and Astrea. He didn't give any surname but after looking at your information, I could confirm it."
"..." Astrea fell silent. Janus spoke no more and let her think. A few minutes passed when she finally opened her mouth to speak.
"Why me?"
"Well, your teacher power is very unique. No one had a good level to teach but only you two could according to your teacher. We tried to copy them into books but there is no effect unless it's shown directly to their eyes."
"... Yes, it's natural if you can't teach them by books. To be taught, this art needs close contact between the teacher and student so he may bask in his aura. It's not something that can be created and it can only be transmitted. If the student wants to use this power, they also need the talent to be able to absorb it."
"Indeed! And as it's soon the start of a new school year, I urgently need you to choose. Will you work for me until you repay me 1 200 000 credits, or will you refuse and risk your life as a lone exorcist, with the uncertainty of not finding work?"
"..." Astrea pondered. Either she sold her freedom for an undetermined number of years, but her mother will be able to quickly get treated. Or, the second option, but when compared to the first, it was really a bad idea. She made her decision and announced it to him :
"I accept your proposition!"
"Great! Let's not wait anymore! We will sign the contract now!" Out of nowhere appeared two fountain pens and a two contract paper.
She took one of each in her hand and began to read the contract. Then she sighed. The conditions written on the contract sure are good. A monthly wage of 25 000 credits per month. I should be able to pay my debt by around 5 to 6 years. She changed her sight to look at Janus. He understood what she thought and said reassuringly :
"You don't need to worry. Everything on the contract is what you will get. There is no error on them, I swear."
Hearing him say that suddenly made Astrea more relaxed. She looked through one last time before signing her name on it. Next, they exchanged their contract to sign. When she saw his signature, she sighed in admiration. His signature was very beautiful. It could even be exposed in an art museum and it wouldn't look weird. After admiring it, she signed her name on the second contract. After she was done, Astrea gave him back the pen and kept the contract. She suddenly felt lighter and rested her back against the seat. Janus also relaxed and fell silent.
Looking at the rear-view mirror and seeing the deal being done, Hammond sighed in relief in his heart and rejoiced in his heart. Ouf! No more weird tension flying around for now. This transaction is the hardest one the Chairman must have done in his entire existence. Thinking of the identity of his boss, he became impressed at how Astrea managed to restrain him.
Only forty minutes have passed since the beginning of the ride, but it felt like an eternity went by. They arrived before her apartment building in another twenty minutes. Astrea got down the car and bid her goodbye to Janus.
"Thank you for taking me back."
"Don't worry about it. It was only a matter of course."
"Even if I refused?"
"Yes. Even more so. Anyway, you didn't say no, so don't worry about it and just do what you need. You won't be coming back here until the next holidays. Don't forget to tell your mother about it. I will come back to get you in one week. Take care until then!"
After that, only after he saw her enter the building did he go away. Observing this, she whispered: " A true gentleman. Indeed." She took the elevator to the eighth floor and entered her apartment. She put the contract carefully in a drawer inside her bedroom. She took a quick shower and jumped on her bed.
Today sure was an exhausting day. This morning, she got fired. In the afternoon, she took care of a ghost. In the hospital, she met Janus and her mother got an attack. This evening, she drank a lot with her friends. To finish this day, she got a new job. While falling asleep, she hoped it wouldn't be like before, being fired because she refused someone advances... But after having a conversation with Janus, it didn't seem to be the case. She got reassured and finally slept.