Emma's generosity left me stunned. I had not expected her to not only accept Theo, but to also offer him to come with them.
The offer sounded almost too suspicious for anyone to hear. After all, who offers such a good deal to someone they just met?
But maybe because Emma and Ben had been so good to me up until now, I did not doubt that they were genuine.
"Hey kid, what do you say? You come work for us and we will take care of you in the meantime. You will also get to stay with Kyle for now until your memory returns."
Ben proposed, trying to lighten the situation for Theo.
Theo finally showed hesitation as he looked at the pair in front of him and slowly, his grip on me loosened as he decided he could trust them both.
"I will get to stay with Kyle?"
Theo asked in a small and hesitant voice. But his eyes remained sharp the whole time.
Ben let out a loud laugh as soon as he heard Theo's question.
"Of course you will. Don't worry too much about all this, kid. I have a feeling your face will more than make up for the cost of us taking you in."
Ben was just joking, but Theo did not seem to like his joke. He tightened his grip around my middle once more and buried his face in-between my shoulders to hide it.
Even I could tell that Ben was just joking around, but it did not seem as if Theo knew.
"Theo, it's alright. Ben was just joking. You don't have to show your face most of the time. There is other work around the café for you to do where you don't have to appear in front of other people."
I assured, and only then did Theo calm down.
"I'll go and pay for the remaining discharge fee and then we can leave. I'll make it quick. I don't know how long the others can hold the PC café crowd down."
Emma stood up and left the room, and Ben followed.
I patted Theo's arms for him to let me go, and he reluctantly let go of me.
"Don't worry too much about Ben's jokes. He's a good person and he won't harm you. For now, you should change into fresh clothes the hospital provided you with so that we can head out."
Theo nodded, but he seemed to have no intention of letting me go. He also pulled me back when I tried to go.
It was a hassle to get him to change and get ready, but by the time Emma and Ben came back, I somehow managed to do that.
The drive back was silent, but we did stop to buy Theo a few pairs of everyday clothes before we returned to the café.
For the first time, I realized one thing I had never thought about—Emma and Ben were loaded and the café was likely a passion project for them.
I had asked them how they even had the money to pay for all of Theo's expenses on top of mine, and Emma had just told me to not worry about it as she took out her black card.
Not only that, but the fact that she had a PC café in front of the biggest guild in the world spoke volumes about her money and connections.
'I should make sure to not get on Emma and Ben's bad side. My civilian self won't survive against them.'
As a top S-class hunter someone like Emma won't be a problem, but since I was pretending to be a normal person, she was much too intimidating. It was no wonder she got me those identity papers so quickly.
Once we reached back, we saw that the café was packed and the workers were having a tough time handling all of these customers. I immediately went to help, and Theo, like the puppy he was, followed after me.
Finally, the crowd lessened and I was able to take a break. Emma and Ben also decided it was the right time to show Theo to his room.
"Theo, come with me. I will show you your room. The sooner you get settled in, the sooner you can come back and be with Kyle."
Emma assured, and that was the only thing that made Theo change his mind and let go of me to head inside the private area.
I waved him off before I got back to work.
About five minutes later, someone else entered the café, but I did not pay attention. That was a mistake, as familiar alpha pheromones touched my nose.
"Hey, so you are back? How was your trip to the dungeon? I heard that you got swept away by one of our team and ended up in danger. How about a date with me to make up for it?"
The self-centric alpha who spoke was none other than Lynn, the current no. 1 hunter and someone I would rather not meet.
I desperately wanted to ignore him, but as a service worker currently working in a café, what freedom did I have to do that?
"What do you want? Please order your stuff and wait for it to be prepared."
I ignored everything he said prior to this and asked him for his order.
The alpha just laughed out loud before he reached for my wrist to hold.
"Hey, so are you on the menu? Because I find you intoxicating and… you smell like another alpha. Did you get bitten by one? Let me see—!"
Lynn reacted within seconds. His hand that was touching my wrist reached for my face to tug my chin aside and see more of my neck.
The low light in the café room at that time, along with loud noises from the remaining customers, made it such that no one noticed.
But I felt angry at being manhandled like this, and I smacked his hand away.
"Stop it—! I am not bit. And also, it is none of your business if I have another alpha's scent on me. Now get out and stop harassing me right now."
I made sure my voice was low enough to not cause an incident. I also glared the alpha right in the eyes as I said that.
Lynn's eyes darkened and his smile vanished from his face and eyes completely. Instead, a dark and dangerous monster stared back at me, and for the first time, my instincts told me to be careful.
"Are you doing this on purpose? Why would you let another alpha mark you with their scent like this? Don't you know how irritating it feels for me—? Ugh, fuck—! I found you first—!"
The alpha complained without explaining himself. He looked mortified the more he spoke, and something like realization sparked in his eyes.
As for what he had realized and what he wanted to say, I cared for none of it.
"I don't care what you have to say, but you don't have control over my life or who I spend time with. Now, would you like to order again, or do I need to call Ben?"
I asked in a calm voice.