"Aru, y'sure y'don't want yours?" Iris asked with an unusual hint of hope and enthusiasm as she munched on a buttermilk biscuit, sipping on her cup of tea shortly after.

Daru didn't respond and watched for two moments, amused at his training partner's antics.

Iris clearly loved sweets. He didn't.

"Yeah, you can have mine." Daru nodded.

Iris' expression brightened instantly.

She then offered him a sincere bow, slowly dragging his plate of biscuits to her side of the table with a hint of embarrassment.

They'd been waiting in this guest room for half an hour already, and Daru would've long lost his patience had Iris not been quite entertaining to watch.

The moment she finished eating, she stood up, heading over to the claw machines at one corner of the room with unusual familiarity, determination, and a suppressed bounce in her steps.

Iris kept Daru amused for another ten minutes before finally, knocks that were neither too loud nor too soft sounded from the luxurious door.

In the next moment, the door opened, and a bespectacled, pink-haired woman wearing a professional suit entered.

She noticed and turned to look at Iris, who was still at the claw machines, smiling at her before settling her gaze on Daru and offering him a polite half-bow.

Daru was not a mannerless wretch, making sure to stand and offer a half-bow of his own.

Iris realized something and quickly made her way over.

She sat beside Daru, breathing slightly unstable from the light jog.

Hailey whispered something to her bodyguards, ordering them out of the room before walking over to the sofa set and sitting in front of the two, across the black glass table.

She didn't speak for a while.

She couldn't...merely staring at Daru for a few moments, as though she was only learning of his identity now.

All her actions were well-calculated and meticulous, not letting her guard down despite the evident inexperience and naivety in the other party's eyes.

Hailey, with her abilities, could sell Daru and Iris off and make them count the profits for her without them realizing what had happened.

But she didn't.

She chose sincerity, even finding the two rather adorable.

"Daru…Finnley…So you're Onimaru Kunitsuna?" she began, coupling her words with experienced acting and a hint of epiphany in her eyes.

The moment Daru nodded in confirmation, she followed up:

"Yeah…it all makes sense…so your sword isn't really F-tier, is it?"

A hint of displeasure at the inquisitiveness appeared on Daru's face, but he still nodded.

Hailey, too, was probing him subtly.

His reactions — a rough idea of his personality through them.

She was simply way too good, and Daru, who lived for the sword all his life, could never and would never be able to contend.

Hailey had just confirmed that he valued privacy pretty highly, and from what it seemed, way more than riches, though she couldn't deny she was surprised — a bit bewildered, even, when she heard Daru offered to meet her to claim his Heartsoul Gem himself.

Knowing that more probing would only push the young man away, she based her next choice of words around this information:

"I see…thank you for being honest." Hailey nodded with a gentle smile, smoothly transitioning to her next agenda. "Now then, since it seems you're a straightforward one, Daru Finnley, I shall not waste your time further. I'd like to invite you to work for the Neo-Earth World Government."

Daru didn't break away from the older woman's gaze, instead locking in deeper, as though he was trying to see through Hailey's soul.

But only he knew that it was only sincerity he was good at discerning, nothing else.

Her eyes seemed sincere enough.

Also, he liked the fact that the older woman didn't press him for the exact tier of his sword. She didn't even ask about how he managed to evade proper registration all this time.

All his secrets, she respected them, not forcing a pry.

It was as though just knowing his true identity was enough for them.

Daru's eyes finally narrowed a bit.

Too strange, the older woman…

But then, there were also a few hints of his competence — winning the duel event, for example, and defeating the SS-ranker Aetherborn.

Daru acknowledged that he was way too inexperienced to see through Hailey's plans, plus he was overwhelmed by all the thinking.

In the end, he decided to just be honest — disappoint the government if he must, but he would state his conditions.

"I plan to, since it seems like you're sincere in winning me over. However, please note that I value privacy and freedom. I don't want to sign any contracts or have any mandatory tasks."

Iris couldn't help but turn to look at Daru in slight disbelief.

Such a condition…

It couldn't be called working for the government, could it?

But in the next moment, she turned again in even more disbelief, this time at Hailey as the older woman said:

"Sure, sounds good."

Even Daru found it difficult to believe that she agreed to his conditions just like that, though she quickly followed up with another offer:

"Then, how about a mercenary-type of relationship? We'll ask if you can help us in exchange for rewards. You can accept or reject depending on what you want to do, how's that?"

Daru didn't even have to think.

This was exactly what he wanted.

"I'd…like that."

He couldn't deny that he was truly being won over, and it was difficult not to, given that they're giving him everything he wanted — conditions that were too good to be true.

Just what were they planning?

It was then that Hailey finally said something Daru didn't like:

"While I promise not to force you to sign any contracts, can you at least check this one?"

The older woman then placed the brown envelope resting on her lap, pushing it towards Daru, who was now frowning a bit.

Still, he at least gave Hailey's contract a chance, considering how lenient they had been towards him.

Iris knew better than to peek at the contents, sensibly turning to the other side.

The older woman smiled, fully expecting her to do so.

Hailey then quickly shifted her attention back to Daru.

His displeased expression seemed to have eased — a good sign.

There was nothing much to read in the document, and Daru finished checking the contents in less than ten seconds, returning the contract to the envelope.

Strangely, Hailey didn't seem disappointed as he said:

"I'm sorry, Miss Hailey. I'm way too inexperienced to sign something like this. While I'm hearing mostly bad things about them, I'm not one to judge based on rumors, so I can only agree to the mercenary relationship for now."

To his puzzlement, the older woman smiled warmly:

"No worries, Mr Finnley. As long as you keep the contents in mind, you can decide for as long as you'd like, but if possible, can you promise me that you'll answer straightforwardly sometime in the future?"

This time, it was Hailey who was surprised as Daru immediately nodded.

"Sure, Miss Hailey. I promise to give you a direct answer sometime in the future, though I do plan to take as long as I need. If you pressure me into answering, consider the contract rejected."

"I understand, Mr Finnley. That's it from me for today. Please accept my sincere thanks for trusting the government and revealing your true identity to us. As much as I'd like to stay and chat with you two for a while, I still have a lot to do. My subordinate will take over and run you two through the Heartsoul Gem claiming process."

Daru could only watch in a mix of bewilderment and curiosity as the pink-haired woman stood up, bowed, and left just like that.

He had been taking strong and firm stances since earlier, ready for an uphill battle.

Yet, what happened was the exact opposite.

Hailey simply agreed to his conditions one after another like an incompetent agent.

But Daru was certain this wasn't the case.

This matter probably ran deeper than he imagined, especially after reading the contents of the contract he was asked to sign just now.

He formed connections in his mind as to what might be happening behind the scenes.

Unfortunately, he wasn't given a chance to ponder much, as another agent immediately entered.

"Greetings, Mr Finnley, Miss Snowcrest…I shall guide you through the claiming process…"

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