"Sigh... what a day..." I muttered quietly, sinking into the taxi's back row seat, slightly worn-out leather pressing against me.
I looked through the blurry side of the taxi's window, and by the quiet street outside, it was most likely already nearing midnight.
I had finally managed to escape from the persistent men-in-black, the subordinates of the Guild Master.
For reasons beyond my understanding, they had continued to chase after me, even though I was certain I had made it clear that the Guild Master and I were on neutral ground, with no hostility whatsoever.
Did she fail to inform her men? Then again, I had rushed out and escaped from her honey trap all the sudden, so perhaps she wasn't too keen on that part.
A taxi just so happened to pass by the front entrance of the Adventurer's Guild, and I immediately barged into the poor old driver's cab without warning, even going so far as to shout at him to step on the gas.
I had to apologize once we got away from the men-in-black... but, again, for some unknown reason, it had been quite easy to lose them.
Too easy...
It felt like they had given up the chase. I hadn't seen any of their familiar black vehicles on our way out of the Dungeon Center area.
Did this taxi manage to escape too quickly for them to catch up? Were we just lucky enough to evade them? Or... did they not bother to chase us at all?
Well... either way, I was now on my way home to my apartment, with this taxi as my envoy.
"Sigh..." I let out another sigh, the exhaustion of the day weighing heavily on me. All these wild and random events had occurred in just a single day, and I was utterly drained.
"Rough day, young man?" the senior driver asked sympathetically, glancing at me through the rear-view mirror.
"Yeah... rough day..." I echoed, my eyelids growing heavy as I struggled to stay awake.
"I see..." the senior driver nodded in understanding, before turning his focus back to the road. He seemed to respect my need for privacy... or perhaps he simply didn't want to get involved in my problems.
Either way... it was a comfortable ride.
< | X | >
Ding!
The elevator doors slid open, and I stepped out, finally back at my apartment. I was in one piece, no less. That alone felt like a small victory.
The same old dull light gray corridor walls blended seamlessly with the equally same old gray carpet beneath my feet. As I walked down the quiet hallway, my steps echoed softly in the narrow space.
It was quiet, alright, since it was already past midnight at this point. I couldn't tell anymore, honestly, because I was tired as hell, and my smartphone—the only thing I use to check for anything these days—was cracked beyond use...
I turned right at the corner, where my apartment was located... but stopped in my tracks.
"What the...?" I muttered, surprised and taken aback by the sight before me.
Someone was sitting and leaning against my apartment entrance... sleeping.
And that someone was none other than my caring superior... Maya.
"Boss Maya...?!"
I quickly approached my sleeping superior, crouching down to check on her condition.
"Boss Maya... Hey, are you okay?" I asked softly, gently shaking her shoulder to try and wake her up. "C'mon, wake up..."
Dread was slowly creeping through me once more, fearing the worst had happened to the one person who had been taking care of me over the past few years as an office worker—!
"Uhm... Isaac...?"
"Boss...!"
But my fear was unfounded as I saw my superior stirring and slowly waking up from her sleep. She slowly opened her eyes... and met mine.
"Isaac...?!" she exclaimed in surprise, her eyes wide open as if she was seeing a ghost. "You're alive!"
"What...?"
Wait... did she assume I was dead?
Well... it wouldn't scratch off that notion, given that I'd encountered a few deadly situations from morning till midnight, especially with the encounter with that mischievous Guild Master and her feisty 'snake's eyes' subordinate...
Still, I saw how Boss Maya's surprised expression... turned into joy, seemingly upon knowing that I was alive.
"Uh, yeah, I'm alive and all, I guess," I said, sheepishly scratching my head as I tried to reassure her in this awkward situation that I'd found her in. "Uh, more importantly... what are you doing in front of my apartment anyway, boss?"
"Huh?" She muttered, confusion etched all over her beautiful visage. "What are you talking about?"
"... Seriously?"
She didn't even realize? How the hell did she even get here in the first place?
But still... I wasn't exactly mad at her. Quite the opposite, honestly. Maybe she had been concerned about me and came over to my apartment to check up on me, only to find that I wasn't home yet...
"Well, alright then..." I muttered in resignation.
No point in making things more stressful than they already were.
I then offered her my hand, wanting to help her stand up from the cold, rough carpet of this hallway.
"You wanna get inside and have a drink or something, boss?"
"Eh?"
< | X | >
"So... that was pretty much how my evening went..."
"Isaac..."
I had just told her about the whole story of me getting "abducted" so that I could meet with The Titan's Descent Branch Guild Master, and how said Guild Master herself had explained to me about relics and their supposed origin...
And also how they were riddled with curses.
Boss Maya had been quite shocked and then worried about me when I told her about the curse. She even forced me to admit what kind of curse I'd gotten myself branded with... only for her to blush like a high school girl upon hearing what it was.
I wouldn't lie, her flushed expression was quite the endearing sight for my tired eyes.
After that, I'd also told her about the Guild Master offering herself to be my mentor and all, but I rejected her offer because I wanted to go adventuring with my own terms.
Though I didn't say anything about the Guild Master also offering to "mitigate" my curse. That wouldn't be appropriate to spread around, nor would it really be important in the matter anyway...
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
I took a few good chugs of the chilled can of beer in my hand, feeling the warm alcohol settle in my throat.
"Ah... what a day, right, boss?" I asked Boss Maya, trying to shift the conversation. The boss herself... had turned pretty quiet after hearing all of my recounting, holding and fiddling with her can of beer in her hands.
"Isaac...?"
"Yeah, boss?"
"Are you leaving your job at the company?" She asked, her voice trembling slightly as she looked toward me... with a rather solemn expression.
I was taken aback by the sudden serious question, not expecting to be asked like that. I paused for a moment, contemplating her question...
"Well... yeah," I finally answered, "I'm leaving the company, ma'am..."