"Huh?!" Pierce was stunned. The offer was too sudden and too BIG!
"What's wrong? You saved my life Pierce, my boy. Isn't it only natural for me to return in kind? This is even too small considering that you've risked your life to save me."
Pierce was speechless. He still couldn't believe that the grandma offered that. Although it was natural for her to pay back but it was too much. He couldn't bear to accept it.
Pierce shook his head and raised his palm on the air, shaking it. A gesture implying that he couldn't accept the offer. "That should be too big of a favor ma-- I mean, grandma. I can only decline."
"Being my benefactor, I am naturally concerned for your well-being. Please consider it my boy. Besides, there are only a few of us in that house. Adding one would make the place livelier. Aren't you still going to accept my way of paying back?"
The grandma added after she pursed her lips, "Please don't hold yourself, it's a thanks for me."
At the moment, hesitation was still apparent in Pierce's pair of eyes. Although he was in the middle of considering it as the grandma looked saddened by his reaction. But he still kept his lips closed.
The grandma sighed. "Alright, in order to ease your mind. You said you're a gardener right? Then, this old woman will hire you. From now on, you will be my personal gardener. Since you'll be working for me, I will provide you shelter, food and of course, your salary. I would also like to enroll you back to school. In that way, you can help me keep an eye to my granddaughter and in return, I will give your everyday allowance. How is that?"
The old woman smiled and her eyes shone with apparent expectation. "Is this deal better?"
Indeed, that removed some weight of the offer. With that, he wouldn't think of himself as a burden. In that way, it wouldn't appear that he was leeching on the old woman as he would be working for him.
Pierce sighed inwardly. Would he really reject the offer? The grandma made it more favorable on his part.
["Kid, just accept it. Can you bear to look at the old woman being sad? Besides, it's a rare opportunity. It's rarer than a blue moon. You're still lucky after all."]
The system laughed. ["The treasure trove is already coming to you. All you have to do is to stick with it, as much as you can."]
'Please old man. Slowly get rid of that avaricious thoughts. Bring in decent influence since we're going to live with nice people.'
["I won't promise but as long as you agree, trying isn't a bad thing."] The system sounded a chuckle, seemingly satisfied with his host's decision.
The grandma raised her hand and paused it in the mid-air. Pierce knew, she was waiting for his hand. Not wanting to disappoint her, Pierce accepted her hand into a handshake.
"Okay, I agree grandma."
The old woman clasped her hands while a smile was instantly painted on her face.
"Perfect. The food is here." She uttered with delight. She was obviously satisfied with how things turned out.
The food was gradually arrived on the table. There were a lot of delicacies. The number made Pierce wonder. Surely they couldn't finish it with just the two of them as for Pierce, it was a feast.
"Don't worry, I brought someone to help us finish the food."
Not long after, the door to the room opened. There entered a tall and slender woman in a black suit.
"Madam."
"Oh, Minerva, you're just in time." The madam said.
"Good afternoon, auntie." Pierce greeted though he was a little shy as the woman was still wearing her 'oh so serious face'.
But when she saw him, that demeanor had a huge turn. Her aura got amiable as she draw up her lips to its corners. "You're so formal again, Pierce."
Embarrassed, Pierce pinched his nose. He said, "I'm sorry, I'm not that confident in person."
She slightly shook her head and sat next to the madam. "Oh, you shouldn't be."
"It's good that you seemed to have gotten familiar with each other."
The madam added, "Minerva, I have some good news for you."
"What is it, madam?"
The old woman chewed her food first before answering, "Pierce will now live in the house."
Her eyes got a little wide and somewhat lit up. "That's great then, madam."
The old woman sounded satisfied. "Not only that, he is actually a gardener and he will help me liven up my poor garden again."
"You sure are lucky for having such a talented savior madam."
"There is still one more surprised. He will attend school together with Sierra this coming school year."
"Now, I get why madam ordered so much. This really deserves a celebration."
"You're right! We have to eat well for today."
While watching the scene unfold before him, Pierce smiled wryly. He took a deep breath. He actually remained silent but unbeknownst to him, his lips subconsciously turned up to its corners.
There, Pierce enjoyed a sumptuous meal. That he found standing up hard, himself.
When they had finished the meal, the grandma said.
"Now let's go."
"Huh?" A little surprised, Pierce asked.
"We will get your things now."
He smiled wryly. "I, I still am not finished packing. Maybe I could come tomorrow?"
"Alright, I will ask someone to fetch you."
He quickly shook his head. "No, I will just come by~"
This time, the grandma looked sad. "I wouldn't want to receive a no this time. This old woman will be sad if you refuse this trivial thing."
He almost forgot that the grandmother before him wasn't an ordinary woman. She definitely wouldn't receive consecutive no for an answer.
Pierce sighed, a little helpless inwardly. "Okay then. If, if grandma insist."
"That's good." The old woman was obviously happy with his answer this time.
However, Pierce couldn't sit still after receiving so much favor. "But you have to treat me as a normal employee grandma. I understand that you are thankful but anyone could have save you if they were on my place in that situation."
"Ah, how can you be so kind my boy? Someone to save me like you did?"
The old woman pursed her lips. "I think none, if I don't show them money first."
She added after seeing Pierce's troubled face, "Fine then, if that will make you comfortable."
"Thank you grandma."
"Anything for a kind gentleman."
Pierce was delighted by how things turned out today. Even if it started a little off, since he found out that the place he was expecting wasn't actually a healthy neighborhood and the auntie wasn't even so sincerely nice to begin with. But a blessing immediately came on his way after such a disappointment. What a day.
It was a little later before he got home to his place as they still went somewhere.
"A seamstress? Why are we here grandma?"
"They will take your sizes to make your school uniform."
'Isn't it too early for that? Aish, I can't decline as it will sound rude since we're here anyway.'
They also went for a snack after that, that was why the sun was already setting down when he arrived home. To think that it was his last day at his old place.
He only had one bag to bring when he moved out since he didn't have numerous amount of clothes anyway. Probably, he only had 7 pairs of shirts, 6 pairs of pants and a couple of undergarments inside the bag and he disposed of those really worn out ones.
After packing all his stuffs, he lied down comfortably on his bed and entertained his thoughts while staring on the ceiling.
The next thing he noticed, he was smiling out of delightful reasons. There was really a rainbow after the rain. At this point of his life, he began to realize and strongly believe it.
The next day, he was fetch by the madam's personal driver. And when he arrived at the old woman's place, he was amused with its grandiose and elegance.
"Wow." He subconsciously uttered by looking at the grandma's place.
Pierce might not be good on describing a place but he knew that it was a house only designated for those wealthiest of the wealthy.
A house should be the super understatement of the year. It was so huge, so wide and most importantly too luxurious, just to be called as one. It was definitely,
"A mansion. This is a mansion. This is my first time seeing this one so huge and beautiful."
["Hmph, truly an ignorant kid. A number of my masters have way more beautiful castles than this, what a small one in comparison. The view is not even breathtaking from here. Such a waste to erect a so called mansion."]
'Enough of your crap old man. When you're on earth, put your basis on the standards of the earthlings. Don't include those unrealistic stuffs of those worlds we don't care.'
["What an... Hmph!"]
After the system took its silence, Pierce entered the mansion and was then amazed by how spacious, elegant yet cozy its interior was. Although he felt so small with its super high ceiling but he was stunned by its grand chandeliers.
"Welcome, sir Pierce. The madam had an important meeting and she was sorry he couldn't welcome you personally." A woman wearing a maid uniform said.
Pierce was a bit taken aback hearing the word 'sir'. "Ah, please don't call me sir. I am just a normal employee like you."
The maid was a bit hesitant at first but she then followed what he said. "Alright, then Pierce. Follow me to your room."
"Okay." He answered, obviously satisfied.
They went to the second floor and passed through gigantic doors that Pierce thought were rooms. It was surely huge rooms at that.
And Pierce was field with disbelief when they entered one of those gigantic wood doors.
"This is your room, Pierce." The maid that guided him said.
It took him some time before he could respond to the maid as his mind was occupied with questions.
'I thought there will be no VIP treatment? Then, what is this?'
The maid open the wide cabinet on the room. She was a bit startled with his look but then carried on her job. "Ah, Pierce... Here is your additional clothes prepared by ma'am Minerva, herself."
While he was speechless, the maid gradually opened all the cabinets and showed him what those contained.
About what those cabinets contained? To put it simply, it was a complete set of a boy's necessities. From shirts with sleeves and without, jackets, hoods, a variety of pants, chinos, shorts, even watches, sunglasses and different types of shoes and slippers.
Looking at its numbers, it was not only a bunch of them, it was a ton of them. It was accurate to say it was a mega wardrobe. Even Pierce's mind went dizzy just staring at it.
And to top all of it, it seemed really for him. In one glance anyone could tell that those stuffs' sizes seemed to really fit well with him.
After recollecting his thoughts, he couldn't help but smile wryly.
'So the real reason for taking measures of my sizes was not really solely for my uniform.'
Suddenly, he heard the systems loud chunks of good laughs breaking the silence.
["That old woman is really cunning! Now, how could you refuse this things? Good, good woman."]