[BONUS] Chapter for reaching 500 PS this week!
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Leonel immediately checked his phone and found what he was looking for with the hashtag #PoorLira.
In the video, Lira was seen crying at the restaurant, muttering to herself that she was so exhausted from work and all she wanted was to eat and relax. But some stranger shouted at her to get lost from her reserved table, arguing that her table belonged to him.
And since Lira was a good girl, she waited for another hour for an empty table just to avoid conflict. Right next to the video was Roz's picture.
From the video and angle, it appeared that someone was secretly taking a video, and Lira wasn't aware. And some stranger just posted the video on the net, garnering millions of views and millions of hearts and crying emojis for Lira while curses for Roz.
"T-this . . ." Leonel took a step back. "This wasn't what happened."
Suddenly, the space around Leonel seemed like it was dancing. He blinked away his dizziness and swallowed the vomit that threatened to escape his mouth.
He didn't do anything, but it felt like he was a part of why Roz became a subject of hate and lost his job. He was a part of Lira's cult, so he couldn't help but feel responsible.
Leonel wanted to fix things, and he immediately posted on the video's comment section without thinking.
[ShortLeo: That's not what happened! I was there. That Kid didn't do anything wrong. It was just a misunderstanding!]
Leonel was hesitant to spill the details since a part of him was still a Lira fan, but his consciousness wouldn't stand for injustice.
[Lira4ever: Another ass**** who wanted to stain our Lira's good reputation. Haters go to hell!]
[MyLoveLira: Are you calling our Lira a liar?]
[iloveLira: Dude, can't you see the tears? Are you calling them fake?]
[LiraisLife: Poor Lira. She just wanted to eat, and some brat shouted at her to get lost from her reserved table. What's the name of this restaurant and I'll personally sue you for making our goddess cry!]
The image and video were taken at an angle that didn't give the restaurant away. It appeared that it was taken at any other restaurant.
Lira must have taken another video of her in a different restaurant since Gargino prohibited taking photos and videos in theirs.
Leonel felt hopeless when everyone was against him.
"Anyway. Do you know Roz?" the girl finally asked Leonel after her endless rumbling. "Can you give this back to him?"
Leonel opened his mouth, but no words came out. He just looked at the hat in the girl's hands before grabbing it and chasing after Roz.
But he didn't even run five meters when he tripped with his own legs and fell on the sidewalk.
"Darn it!" Leonel grumbled, pushed himself up from the paved sidewalk, and ran after Roz.
Looking at Leonel, the girl slightly shook her head. "Weirdo," she muttered under her breath at Leonel's disappearing silhouette.
Without pausing nor catching his breath, Leonel panted as he chased after Roz. Locking his eyes on the Kid with a duffle bag, he reached out his hand and grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait!"
The Kid looked over his shoulder, and Leonel's expression fell when it wasn't Roz but a kid on a hoodie with orange hair.
"What, Mister?" the Kid asked with a frown.
Leonel immediately retrieved his hands. "Ah . . . sorry. I thought you were someone I knew."
The Kid rolled his eyes before he turned and left Leonel standing alone on the busy sidewalk as people passed by him.
Leonel looked left and right, hoping to spot Roz amidst the crowds. A minute passed, and he was about to search for Roz again when the store just in front of him opened and came out Roz who was holding a plastic bag of ingredients for their supper.
"Agh! There you are!" Leonel was overflowing with relief that he had forgotten his next words.
"You . . . I . . . What . . . ?" Leonel opened his mouth, but no words came out while Roz looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Do you need something?" Roz asked. Then his face darkened. "Don't tell me that you're one of that crazy woman's fans that's going to harass me again?"
"Egh?" Leonel caught his tongue. He was indeed one of Lira's fans, but he wasn't there to harass him.
"No!" Leonel took in a large intake of air to clean his mind and released the stiffness of his paralyze tongue. "My name's Leonel, and the new guy at the convenience store that you just left. The girl working there told me that you just lost your job."
Roz clicked his tongue. "Shirley is such a blabber mouth."
He then faced Leonel, confused. "And what do you want?"
I felt like I was the reason why you lost your job. Leonel wanted to say but didn't have the heart when he looked at Roz's dejected face.
"Shirley wanted me to give this to you."
Leonel gave the hat he was clutching to Roz. His tongue was shaking. His conscience urged him to tell Roz that he was one of Lira's fans and felt that he was responsible for this mess.
Roz's face slightly brightened, although it went gloomy once more when he spoke with a disappointed tone. "Leonel, huh? Yeah. I heard about you. You're supposed to be the new worker. My name's Roz."
He then sighed to the side and bitterly laughed at himself. "I guess we wouldn't be working together since I have been fired from my job, no thanks to that crazy girl who not only stole our table but also stole our livelihood and reputation."
Roz took a large intake of air before he released it through his nose and muttered sadly to himself, "I just wanted to celebrate my mother's birthday in a fancy restaurant . . . heh . . . guess we should have gone to our favorite hot pot on the side of the street. I might have kept my job, and my mother wouldn't have been fired from her job."
Leonel was feeling even guiltier.
He then snatched something inside his jacket and gave it to Roz.
"What's this?" Roz checked the card on his hand.
"It's my ID in a construction site near here. One of the senior workers in there is a friend of my father. Look for Sefin. Just tell him that I couldn't come, and you're my substitute."
Leonel paused and raffled his hair. "What am I saying? Who would believe the words of a kid? I'll call uncle Sefin and tell him that you're substituting for me. The pay isn't much, but it's better than nothing, right?
Leonel then sighed and grumbled. He was frustrated that he couldn't organize his thoughts. "Oh right. There's an age limit. But just tell them you're already eighteen years old."
"I am eighteen years old," Roz said with a monotone voice as he looked at the stranger who was acting weird.
Roz height stayed at 4' 7" and with his baby face and big dark blue eyes, he was often mistaken as a grade-schooler.
Leonel glossed over what Roz said and continued, "I'll call uncle right away and say that you'll substitute for me. Oh, heck, I'm late for my interview at my first job!"
Leonel shifted his eyes at the watch he was wearing and at Roz's confused face.
"I got to go. Don't forget to say that you're eighteen!" Leonel waved at Roz goodbye while he ran back to the convenience store.
He then tripped with his two legs and hugged the floor with his face.
"Darn it!" Leonel grumbled, got up to his feet, and dashed away.
"Don't forget to lie about your age!" he repeated again.
". . ." Roz was dumbfounded. It took him a while to know what just happened before he regained his bearing. He then looked at the card in his hands.
In his situation now, every help was appreciated. There were bills to pay, and food to buy. He also got a call from his mother a while ago saying she got fired because of that video.
Just because of that crazy girl.
Roz gritted his teeth and pocketed the card into his jacket.
Meanwhile, as Leonel was running, he suddenly stopped when a light bulb flashed over his head.
It was like an epiphany that he just realized while he was running.
Mike!
That was right!
Why hadn't he thought of his rich friend who was willing to buy them a pod just to play a particular class? Who could say that he wasn't willing to pay someone who would become a [Chrono Mage] or [Necrolyt] in the game?
What's more, if Roz joined, Mike would pay him monthly, and Roz would also get a monthly allowance from Scar's guild!
Another thing, he could solve Mike's problem, and the latter could finally enter Scar's guild while forgetting everything that happened in the restaurant.
They could finally play together!
They would be back to the way they were!
It was like hitting multiple birds with one stone!
Leonel was so excited that he immediately contacted Mike.
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A/N
Thank you all for the support! 🙏😁🤗
Next chapter will be locked next week I think. So read it while its still free 🤣
A total of 82k or so words before locking. I think that's a fair price . . . i hope 😅
CHEERS!