The atmosphere fell silent... Kaela paused, stared at Nic, and then ignored him.
"No need," Kaela said, and immediately continued working.
Nic stood frozen, still extending his hand.
"Ugh, so cold..." Nic said, then ended up pulling weeds because his extended hand was rejected.
Nic followed Kaela, who was about to hit a rock with a hammer.
Kaela noticed him and stopped, then looked at him while raising her hammer. "Hey, what are you doing? I'm tired, don't make things complicated! Shoo, shoo!"
Nic flinched because this was the first time he had been shooed away.
"Ahem, are you seriously not wanting help?" Nic asked one more time.
Kaela mercilessly swung her hammer in front of Nic, shattering the ground.
"Do you know my answer?" Kaela looked at him sharply.
Nic was silent, then smiled, finally gave up, and left.
Kaela, feeling Nic was gone, finally calmed down and continued her work.
But Nic didn't really leave. He only went around to see the other side of the building that others were working on.
Nic asked one of the builders what this was being built for.
The builder who saw Nic turned out to be quite friendly and said they were building a clothing store.
Nic had an idea, then asked where the person who owned this construction project was. The builder answered that the owner happened to be at the food stall across the street.
Nic immediately headed to the food stall across the street and only saw one customer, an old man.
He seemed to be drinking tea alone while reading a newspaper. Nic approached him.
"Excuse me, sir... may I sit here?" Nic said.
The old man lowered his newspaper and looked at Nic. "Hmm? Oh my, it's rare for someone to ask me to talk... You can sit there, please."
Nic sat down and ordered food, and they chatted casually until Nic finally brought up the main topic...
"Uhm, by the way, grandpa, is the clothing store building project yours or for an acquaintance of yours?" Nic asked.
Hearing that, the old man was confused. "What do you mean, young man? What project? Grandpa doesn't understand."
"Eh? Grandpa is not the owner of the construction project across the street?" Nic asked, confused.
The old man shook his head.
Nic's passive anti-lying skill wasn't active, meaning the old man was honest. Nic felt embarrassed and tried to make small talk to leave, but suddenly...
"Huh? Grandpa, who are you sitting with?" a woman's voice was heard.
It turned out she had just come out of the restroom.
Nic turned around, and he was no longer disappointed.
The girl approached her grandfather and looked at Nic suspiciously. "Who are you? I've never seen you before."
Nic sat back down and introduced himself casually. "Oh, nice to meet you, I'm Nic... a new resident in the South!"
"Oh? And? What business do you have talking to my grandpa? Trying to trick him?" the girl said.
Nic raised his hands and shook his head. "Relax, I'm not a bad person. I just want to chat casually, and yes, I do have business."
The girl was curious and didn't mind too much, finally sitting with them.
Nic started the conversation. "So first, may I introduce yourself? So we can know each other."
"My name is Kinna," Kinna answered simply.
And Nic immediately got straight to the point about his reason for being there. "So, are you the one who owns the clothing store project over there?"
"That's right, that's my project... after a long time, I can finally have my own store," Kinna replied.
"Approximately how much is your construction project cost?" Nic asked again.
"Hmm, around 300 million," Kinna replied.
Then her grandfather was a bit shocked. "Good heavens, seriously, Kinna? You're making such a large project? Is it alright?"
The grandfather was clearly worried, but Kinna explained that she was confident her store would yield good results and break even.
Nic immediately started his action. "Can I buy your project? But don't worry, I will still give you the project. Everything is still yours; I only buy the right as the Boss but won't take any of the profits."
Hearing that, all Kinna could say was, "Huh?" She didn't understand what Nic was saying.
Nic explained it as simply as possible.
Nic buys the project at a higher price. The ownership and income of the store still belong to Kinna. However, the name of the project owner is Nic.
"Do you understand? So I'm just borrowing the name as the owner. I can pay much more for your capital if the business doesn't go smoothly. I won't take even one percent of the profit. Interested?" Nic said.
Kinna was confused because this didn't make sense. "Why would you do that? It wouldn't benefit you..."
Nic smiled. "I just want to help you, and just think of me as a weird person who likes to splurge, hehe."
While Kinna was still doubtful and uncomfortable, her grandfather laughed and patted Nic's shoulder.
"Ahahaha, young man, you are so funny... you remind Grandpa of a very arrogant rich kid... but he was very kind and liked to do things like this... Kinna, my granddaughter, Grandpa knows this person is kind, so the choice is yours."
Kinna saw her grandfather laughing again, then looked at Nic seriously. "Are you serious... how much do you want to buy this project for?"
"I have decided. For you to break even, an extra because you trust a stranger, and an extra for your grandfather. So, the total I will spend to buy your project is... 1 Billion!"
Kinna was immediately shocked, as was her grandfather.
"B-but isn't that too much!? Even 300 million is enough... because you said I still receive income and ownership, right?" Kinna said.
"I told you, didn't I? An extra for things I like, and if you think it's strange, then think of it that way because I am strange, Haha... I will transfer the money now." Nic said.
Kinna finally relented, and the transfer was successful. Kinna, who was initially very happy to get 300 million from her savings, now received 1 Billion from someone she had just met.
"Thank you... what do I need to do?" Kinna asked.
Nic smiled maliciously. "Tell the builders you hired to say that the owner of this project has changed to you. Explain my characteristics and my name, Nic, but exclude one female builder... easy, right?"
"A female builder? Ah, I think I saw her; she's the only girl. Alright, I will exclude her. Is that all?" Kinna said.
"Yup, that's all... Bye-bye," Nic said, then left after paying for his order.
After a while, Kinna came to the construction site and informed everyone one by one without Kaela knowing. However, it was easy because the others were resting, while Kaela was still doing her job.
On the other side, Kaela looked very sweaty and exhausted; her vision was starting to blur, and she hadn't eaten. Suddenly, she fell backward, but fortunately, Nic was there to support her.
"You don't have to act so strong... you need rest," Nic said.
But because Kaela's stamina and endurance were naturally high, she regained consciousness and pushed Nic away.
"Ugh... no need... I can manage myself." Kaela stubbornly rejected Nic.
Kaela immediately pointed at Nic. "Besides, what are you still doing here, huh? Did that jerk builder send you to deliberately bother me?"
"I'm sorry, but I own this project..." Nic said.
"Huh? Don't talk nonsense! The owner of this project is a young woman named Kinna!" Kaela said.
Then Nic clapped his hands, and the friendly male builder from earlier appeared and told Kaela that Nic was indeed the new boss who bought the project.
Kaela was silent and didn't believe it, but Nic showed proof that made her speechless. "Akh, fine, whatever! The point is, I have to work first."
Nic told the friendly builder to go back, and Nic again approached the stubborn Kaela.
"Someone like this really needs to be shot first..." Nic muttered inwardly.
Nic activated Cupid Arsenal > Pistol and shot her when Kaela was facing away.
[ Ding! Congratulations! Kaela is 100% loyal and in love with Master Nic! ]
* [ Ding! Hearth Claim active! Kaela has been added to the girlfriend list! ]
* [ Ding! Skill Transfer active! Congratulations, Master Nic gains a new skill: God of Builder (Master Nic can build anything if you have the blueprint) ]
"Let's see if she can still be cold towards me, hehe..." Nic thought to himself.
To be continued...