The place for the workshop has been secured way more easily than I could have hoped for.
Mr.Christopher was a very reliable man in these cases, as he had shown me the old yet stable place to rent on 23rd Street.
Now after the production starts I can later on rent a store or better just buy one.
But right now I looked at the big building in front of me, it had three floors, each empty and well dirty now. It would need to have a thorough cleanup by evening under Elda's watch.
Entering the workshop, I looked at it thoroughly, the ground floor was a mess just as I had thought so. It was an open hall with nothing but large stairs in the middle of the room, the pillars supporting the roof looked worn out as the paint had been chipped off over time. There were cobwebs in the corner, dust had settled everywhere, and there was an odd smell that hinted at neglect and decay. But I saw the potential in it, to make this place better.
Right now, the work would still need to be started slowly. I intend to first renovate this place by the end of the week.
The first floor will be used mainly for clothing manufacturing, the second for the last business I had planned and lastly the third will be used for children's classes and I think some adults might also join it later on.
And maybe I will also use it for my personal affairs later on...
Shaking my head, I let out a small chuckle and touched the corroded steel poles at the sides of the staircase, the cold metallic sensation swept through me in an instant making my hand shiver in cold.
Summer is almost over, it's been more than two months now... from that horrendous night in my village.
Sigh...
Tak—
Tak—
I moved up, and without any second thoughts, my mind started to wander over the recent events. I analyzed what has happened till now and what could have been done to avoid some of them.
During this small introspection of myself I suddenly realized a very big— No, not that big issue, It was much more like a bad habit.
I had recently started to think too deeply of the past, it may not sound like a bad thing but I have almost started to neglect what's in front of me.
The most recent event that I should be worried about was Lady in white now revealed as Heaven's judgment. But I can't do anything related to that. The next issue is regarding my ascension which had stagnated with no clue or any divine intervention....
Thinking like this I glanced outside the window and stared at the sky and pursed my lips.
'Doing nothing will lead to nowhere.'
Sigh...
Shake—!
Shake—!
As such thoughts crossed Asher's mind he suddenly crouched on the ground as the whole building started to shake violently, the window panels creaked, and the door swung open or closed uncontrollably.
'Shit, don't destroy the building I just rented!!'
I cursed inside waiting for the earthquake to settle down, but it didn't.
The ground continued to quake making me lose my balance as I leaned forward putting my hands on the ground for extra support.
After two minutes passed the balance finally returned, and I stood up to check if any damage was done to my surroundings.
Luckily no such thing happened, the buildings these days seem to be sturdy enough to withstand earthquakes of this magnitude.
"Earthquakes are getting stronger every month now..."
I muttered out and sighed, the reasons are unknown but Temple must be aware of it... probably.
*****
"Albert, you are late."
I said looking at the man with dirty blonde hair, wearing a grey shirt walking toward me. He had a sheepish grin on his face as if seeking praise.
"Boss, all the work you gave is done!" He exclaimed in excitement.
"Are the repairs done?"
His proud facade broke, his lips twitched and he said with hesitation.
"It will be done by tomorrow..."
"Pfft—"
"Hey, why are you laughing?!" Albert demanded, as he suddenly found me laughing, he crossed his arms and frowned, his brows climbing up his forehead.
"Your face fell so good, that I couldn't help but laugh." I patted his shoulders with a small smile playing on my lips.
He snorted and turned away from me, my lips curled up even more turning into a full-blown grin by now.
Pushing his back ever so slightly, I said with a cheeky voice.
"Alright–alright, don't pout Albert. I was just kidding, no need to be serious. How about this, after we finish our business I will treat you to ice–cream."
Albert stared at me then sighed heavily, before eyeing me with a small smile of his own.
"Boss, I am not a kid like you. Buy me a beer."
I stared at him with a poker face, not giving him the enjoyment of hitting the sore spot even a little bit.
Sigh...
"Forget it... Hope you keep working till your last breath." Saying those words I moved ahead of him.
"Boss—"
"Lead the way," I said calmly cutting his words mid-way. He gave me a pitiful and looked down.
"Sure."
'Luna trade head is a youngster according to Castor's words, but how young exactly?'
I will find out eventually.
Thinking like this we both continued on our path, with slow steps I looked at the market, many stalls were being renovated and most looked already repaired from the trouble they faced. Those that cannot be repaired must have been thrown away by authorities.
This had made the market appear much bigger and open now, though it was not a bad thing to clean the place in this case we can't simply call it good either.
But my expectations were high, these days my mind couldn't stay calm with all the jabs I kept getting.
Sigh...
"Boss," Albert said as he kept walking ahead of me, hearing his voice I looked toward him and tilted my head in confusion.
"What is it?"
"You have been sighing a lot these days, you okay?"
He gave me a side glance but didn't stop walking either.
Instead of a question filled with concern for his boss, his words sounded more like a way to kill his accumulated boredom.
My thoughts ran wildly trying to come up with a way to get back at him, I could even make him fall on the road right now and no one will find out.
But I am not evil... Really, I am not.
I nodded.
"Boss, are you listening?" Albert asked with his face turned toward me, his face looked... Ah, I get it now.
"Yeah, I am... To tell the truth, I am worried about something Albert."
Albert frowned for a moment, he genuinely looked shocked at my words right now.
"What's worrying you now? We have not even reached the meeting place yet."
I smiled and answered.
"Albert, your face."
"My face, what?" He touched his face, trying to seek answers.
"It looks incredibly stupid!" I said seriously and then quickly added. "I have been worried if we could ever find a girl for you."
Several kinds of emotions flashed through Albert's face one by one, some that I had never even seen before in my life. His mouth hung open after hearing me, he closed then again opened it. Then his face turned red as he bit his lips and murmured.
'Don't punch him, Don't punch him...'
Like a priest praying to his gods, he repeated them again and again.
After cooling down he closed his eyes, his hands shaking then all of a sudden he barked out loud.
"This dogshit of a Boss!"
With a loud huff, he speeds up, leaving me behind.
Blink
"What the heck?"
I was suddenly at a loss for what to say now...
'No, wait I need to follow him!'
Coming out of a daze, I shook my head and ran to follow him. My foot kicked the ground, it seemed like Albert's words were not a lie, after all, he was a good runner.
He effortlessly sped past many pedestrians, avoiding anyone who came in his way he took many curved turns to not collide, and I was left baffled.
This bastard can actually leave an awakener with dust in their mouth and run away. But unlucky for him, I was not someone who could be messed with easily.
Seeing him run I sped up, just my normal speed as an awakened person could have caught up with him in seconds, but what's the fun in that?
I wanted to give him hope that he could run away...
With a grin on his face, he took a sharp turn and vanished from the streets.
"Got you," I muttered and activated Kairosflow, the world around me slowed to a crawl, and my mind which had been a bit faster than normal ran at an astounding speed, making me observe everything in the world of slowness.
With a grin I accelerated, after accumulating enough speed I took a big leap into the sky making the walkers around me widen their eyes at such a notion.
Ignoring them I caught the pole mid-way which joined two places in the air covered in big clothes providing a shed to the passersby.
Then with a small push, I jumped higher, taking a step mid-air I pushed the sky away and leaped from one building to the other side of the street in a single big swoop.
"What—!"
One of the men below shouted as his eyes almost popped out in astonishment.
I was not worried that someone would find my identity or get mad at me. This place was used to deal with gangs and small fights between awakener and awakened alike.
What I did just now in large scale of things was nothing more than an innocent childlike act.
Thud—!
My feet touched the ground with a loud thud over the impact of my fall, I staggered ahead almost losing my balance.
Gritting my teeth I once again repeated the same steps and finally saw Albert stopping from mid-air.
Landing not far away from him, I put one of my hands in my pocket and calmly walked toward his back.
Albert, unlike me, was already tired. He was taking deep breaths, sweat running down his neck and rubbing his chest which seemed to be in pain after his long sprint.
Coming behind him I whispered in his ears.
"Did you lose him?"
"Yeah, maybe— Fuck!"
In a dazed and tired state, he was ignorant of my presence and answered normally. Then suddenly realizing what just happened Albert turned around and threw a jab in my direction reflexively cursing out loud in fear.
The punch, clearly aiming for my jaw was anything but of a novice. If caught off guard an awakener was bound to get hit by this attack, but in this slowed-down world I currently perceive, this attack came at the speed of a snail.
I effortlessly caught it in my left hand.
Pa—!
Albert's face winced in pain then turned pale.
"B–Boss, I didn't mean to—!"
In panic at what he had just done, Albert shouted trying to give excuses.
But there was no need to.
"Impressive, Albert. I had thought of you as a loudmouth, turned out you can put up a fight if needed."
I praised honestly, the way he had run, reacted and well acted right now was impressive as hell. A normal person who is supposed to be powerless can put up a fight if the need arises.
Albert was not the only example of this, Mr.Castellanos was also a prime example. He had fought bravely to protect his family, putting his life on the line.
"R–Really?"
Releasing his fist from my grasp, I let him take a step back and relaxed as well.
"Yeah, it was fun anyway. Oh, but don't tell Elda she will stretch your ears out and it's good till punching but just don't try to stab me."
I told Albert casually swinging my arm around to scare him, his face which had gone pale for a moment returned to its usual color.
He still looked stupid...
"Boss, where did you come from anyway? I didn't see you coming here."
This place was supposed to have a direct road and if someone came from a round of different routes it would take forever to catch up!
Smirk.
I pointed upward with my index finger making Albert's eyes follow it.
"From there."
Albert's face turned red as he looked up, it was the top of a tall building.
This bastard of a Boss has jumped from that height!