Since it was a date, Lucas Reeve didn't talk too much with Jessica about work-related matters.
In fact, on Valentine's Day, Jessica had been hesitant for a long time before asking Lucas Reeve if he was free today.
What's more, when Jessica was leaving the house, Ceobe wanted to tag along but was politely refused by Jessica, who bribed her with twenty desserts. Even then, the bribe almost failed. In reality, although Ceobe's head was a bit silly, her nose for certain things was quite sharp.
The human and the soul wandered through the shopping mall's expensive clothing stores, just like the other men and women there. Lucas Reeve and Jessica even witnessed countless 'awkward' confessions. To this day, Lucas Reeve still didn't understand whether these kinds of grand confessions, with flowers arranged all over the mall, were cringey or not.
Anyway, Lucas Reeve found it pretty cringey.
It reminded him of a similarly 'grand' confession he had witnessed back at his university in his past life.
A young man, overflowing with youthful hormones, stood below the girls' dormitory. With the little living expenses he had, he bought a pile of cheap plastic roses and arranged them in a heart shape on the ground. Then, with a guitar borrowed from his roommate, he transformed into a 'master musician,' playing the only song he had painstakingly practiced for a month to express his sincere feelings to the one he loved.
He thought he was being very cool.
In reality, in Lucas Reeve's eyes at the time, he was no different from a clown...
Perhaps it was just him, but it seemed many girls fell for that sort of thing.
Commonly known as romance...
But...
Was it really romantic?
Lucas Reeve didn't think so.
However, these confessions usually failed eight times out of ten. That young man had just played downstairs for a long time, only to get the news that the girl he liked had gone to a hotel with her boyfriend.
Instantly transformed into a literal clown.
Sure enough, just as Lucas Reeve had expected.
Lucas Reeve and Jessica encountered five grand confessions in this largest and most luxurious shopping mall in Columbia. Unfortunately... four of them failed.
Lucas Reeve had no interest in these kinds of boring, self-indulgent confessions.
However, while Lucas Reeve wasn't interested, Jessica was very interested. When her big eyes looked towards the confession spots, they sparkled brightly.
This was the first time Jessica had seen someone confess in person.
Of course, it could only be said that it was the first time she had seen one.
Or rather, the first time she had paid close attention.
In the past, she was as pure as a blank sheet of paper, the type to quickly change the channel if she saw a kissing scene on TV. She had attended the weddings of many descendants of important figures with her parents before, and the scenes at those weddings were far more grand and luxurious than these simple confessions. Back then, Jessica was always too embarrassed to look, feeling a bit ashamed...
But now...
Jessica stared intently.
She fixed her gaze on the confession scene downstairs. Although that young man was far from having Lucas Reeve's kind of charisma, if Lucas Reeve were to do the same for her right now, holding flowers with a look of deep affection...
*Poof~*
Her little face flushed beet red.
Like an overheating machine, white steam continuously puffed out from the top of her head.
!!!
I can't take it anymore!
I have to stop reading the novels and shoujo manga that Senior Franka recommended to me!!
In Jessica's mind, Lucas Reeve's appearance suddenly changed, as if he had transformed into one of those male protagonists from a shoujo manga whose background sparkles wherever they go.
Meanwhile, Lucas Reeve had a completely bewildered look on his face.
Throughout the whole day's "date," Jessica was extremely happy. It wasn't until late at night, after watching a movie together, that they returned to the villa. Although it was a date, from an outsider's perspective, it was basically Jessica eating alone, shopping alone, and watching a movie alone.
When they came back late at night, Ceobe was still awake. As they pushed open the door, she was pacing by the main entrance on the first floor of the villa, seemingly waiting for Lucas Reeve and Jessica to return.
Seeing Jessica return, she rushed over.
It seemed like she was waiting for Jessica to come home before going to sleep.
In reality, she was waiting for the desserts in Jessica's hand, to eat them before going to sleep.
——The Next Day——
The appointment with the person from Rhodes Island was at two in the afternoon.
After finishing lunch at noon, Jessica headed to Raythean Medica's newly built company building early.
Right now, the company didn't have many employees.
Only Silence, Ptilopsis, Shining, Liz, and Nearl—just five people. In the vast company, only five employees and one boss seemed a bit empty.
However, since the company was just starting, and it was Jessica's first time being a boss, many areas had yet to be developed.
Jessica herself didn't even know how to handle many things yet. She needed time to learn, to become familiar. For an ordinary person, capital and time would not allow for any delay. After all, a day's delay meant a day's less profit, and a day's less profit could mean being unable to pay employee salaries, leading to a mass exodus.
But Jessica didn't need to worry about such small problems.
Making money?
Jessica had never thought about making money before starting the company.
Her initial purpose for starting the company was to help treat Ceobe and to share Lucas Reeve's burdens. Otherwise, Jessica would probably still be a mercenary at Blacksteel Worldwide, happily teaming up with Franka and Liskarm.
However, ever since Jessica started the company and was on the verge of leaving Blacksteel Worldwide, she had not participated in a single mission again.
And the Franka-four-person squad, which had been so hard to form, quickly reverted to two people.
After all, Jessica was a wealthy young lady who would never have to worry about anything in her life. Even if this venture failed, she could still start a new one twice, three times, four times... With how her parents doted on her, Jessica could start many businesses.
Franka and Liskarm were not.
Although Jessica also wanted her two seniors to be with her, and even offered salaries several times higher than their best year's income at Blacksteel Worldwide, Franka and Liskarm were proud people.
They knew their worth.
Even as elite operators, they were far from deserving such a high salary. Going there would feel like accepting charity.
Perhaps, when they were a bit older and retired, Franka would consider being a bodyguard for her junior.
As for Liskarm, her initial wish was to earn some money at Blacksteel Worldwide, gain some experience, and then return to her hometown to open a security company. So, their separation was inevitable.
Since this was Jessica's first time meeting and communicating with the head of another pharmaceutical company, she was a little nervous.
She even called Silence from the lab to accompany her.
Although Jessica was the boss of Raythean Medica, she didn't know a single thing about medicine. She was afraid that if the other party said something medical that she couldn't understand, what would she do? So, she brought an expert along.
Just as the minute hand of the wall clock coincided with the twelve, a knock came from Jessica's office door.
A soft *knock, knock, knock* sound.
"Hiss... Are they this punctual?"
Lucas Reeve was also surprised that the other party was so punctual. The appointment was for two o'clock, so they knocked the very instant the clock struck two.
To be honest, this habit instinctively made Lucas Reeve's impression of them better.
Lucas Reeve himself was a stickler for punctuality.
No matter what he did, he had to set a specific time. If he was meeting friends at eight, he would definitely arrive at the agreed place at eight sharp. Therefore, precisely because he was such a stickler for punctuality, Lucas Reeve didn't particularly like people who were often very late.
"Please come in..."
Jessica cleared her throat, trying to make her somewhat soft and milky voice sound a bit more serious.
However, this deliberate attempt at maturity only made Jessica look even cuter, like a child intentionally wearing adult clothes.
Even though Jessica was now eighteen and legally an adult, her appearance and height destined her to be far from mature for the foreseeable future.
"Don't be nervous~"
Lucas Reeve's gentle voice sounded in Jessica's mind.
Upon hearing it, Jessica immediately felt a sense of relief. She had been afraid that Lucas Reeve was with some other girl at this moment. With Lucas Reeve here, Jessica gradually became much more composed.
The office door was gently pushed open.
Two young women walked in from outside.
No...
The moment the office door was pushed open, Lucas Reeve, who was dormant within Jessica's body, frowned slightly.
Because in that instant, he smelled an ancient aura.
Originally, Jessica had assumed that the person entering would be some bald, elderly researcher, which is the stereotype almost everyone has of scientists. And it was true; taking Rhine Lab as an example, basically 90% of their researchers were somewhat bald. Excessive thinking indeed makes fragile hair fall out easily.
However, when Jessica saw that the ones entering were two young women who looked to be only in their twenties, she was also taken aback.
The heads of Rhodes Island were just two young women?
Or... they only sent two young women to negotiate with her?
Although Jessica wasn't old herself, her status was different.
A beautiful white-haired Feline, the same race as Jessica, a cute Feline. But this white-haired Feline before her didn't have a single shred of the Feline race's cuteness. Instead... she had a cold, cat-like face, as if everyone owed her money. Her eyes, which seemed to transcend the mundane world, looked as if they could see through everything. However, at this moment, a peculiar light flickered faintly in her eyes.
Accompanying the Feline girl was a Sarkaz girl with black hair and red eyes, sharp ears, and good looks as well. She wore an oversized white T-shirt, and below it, only her smooth thighs were visible. Unlike the Feline with the cold face, this Sarkaz girl seemed more lively. She had been looking around since she entered, and finally, her curious gaze fell upon Jessica.
"Hello, Ms. Jessica."
The white-haired Feline walked over and nodded slightly at Jessica, who quickly stood up and took the initiative to shake her hand.
"Hello, my name is Kal'tsit. I was the one who contacted you by email the day before yesterday, the current head of Rhodes Island. This is the head of our engineering department at Rhodes Island, Closure."
Holy crap!
So she really is Kal'tsit!
Jessica quickly invited the two to sit on the sofa in the center of the office used for receiving guests, while she and Silence sat on the sofa opposite them.
Jessica's heart was not calm. After all, isn't this age a bit too young...
"Be careful, Jessica. This woman... is a bit old... ahem... she's a bit old. She's far from being as simple as she looks on the surface. Not simple at all..."
Lucas Reeve reminded Jessica.
Jessica, puzzled, asked Lucas Reeve in her mind.
"Old?"
"Mr. Reeve, this Miss Kal'tsit seems to be only in her twenties..."
"Don't be deceived by appearances. How old do I look on the surface..."
I can't believe it's another long-lived one...
Lucas Reeve frowned.
He hadn't expected to have been on Terra for such a short time, yet he had encountered quite a few long-lived beings.
Black Serpent... the High Priest... and this Kal'tsit. The Flame Demon was a god, but strictly speaking, a god could also be considered a long-lived being.
Ancient. Profound.
In Lucas Reeve's spiritual vision, the Kal'tsit before him was not like a person, but more like a history book.
Those cold eyes seemed to have seen through the world.
At least a thousand years... no... at least several thousand years old...
Far longer-lived than even a pure-blooded Wendigo, a long-lived species.
The most crucial point.
On this Feline woman's back... on her spine, something terrifying seemed to be dormant... This monster was currently only in a sleeping state, but if it were to fully awaken, its strength would definitely be no less than that of an Emperor's Blade...
Crap...
Franka used to be the benchmark for combat strength.
Now the benchmark has gradually become the Emperor's Blade.
Conversely, Kal'tsit wasn't very calm at this moment either.
She had originally just heard that a new company called Raythean Medica had recently appeared. Moreover, it seemed a medicine that could alleviate Oripathy had appeared in Chernobog, and it came from this company. Kal'tsit hadn't expected that besides Rhodes Island, there was a second such company in the world. It was truly rare.
It just so happened that she was on a business trip to Columbia recently, so she decided to meet them. If the conversation went well, they could discuss further cooperation.
It was one thing for the company's head to be a young lady who looked like she had just come of age—after all, everyone knew this young lady was the daughter of the chairman of Raythean Industries—but...
Inside this young lady's body!!
What an ancient aura!!
And... there's a hint of divinity!
Kal'tsit was all too familiar with this divinity.
After all, having lived for an unknown number of years, God knows how many species unimaginable to ordinary people she had seen. Naturally, she was also quite sensitive to divinity.
And...
This ancient aura was in no way inferior to her own.
"....."
Inside this young lady's body, an old monster is dormant!!
Kal'tsit had originally thought it would just be a simple discussion with a young person. She never expected!!
It was actually a contest between old monsters.
This... is quite a coincidence...
Some cracks began to appear on her face, which had been cold for decades...
It's like this.
A hundred-year-old man is looking at a newborn baby... then turns around and runs into another person who is the same age as him...
In the shadows, Lucas Reeve and Kal'tsit were mutually suspicious.
Meanwhile, Jessica and Closure were both dumbfounded.
They didn't know what was happening.
"Ahem..."
Kal'tsit coughed.
And got straight to the point.
"Ms. Jessica, this might be a bit impolite, but before we proceed, may I ask you a question?"
"Please, go ahead~"
"Why did you decide to develop a cure for Oripathy? As the daughter of Raythean Industries, I'm sure you're aware that developing such a drug is guaranteed to be a loss, and you might even end up losing everything you invested. Why do you persist?"
Kal'tsit asked slowly.
She wanted to research Oripathy because she deeply understood its suffering, and even the harm Oripathy had once brought to those around her.
But it was completely impossible for Jessica to empathize.
She herself was not an Oripathy patient.
And her family background was incomparably illustrious. It was impossible for her to empathize. It was like the daughter of the world's richest man setting up a stall at a construction site entrance to sell ten-dollar buffet lunches to the workers.
It just felt...
The mismatch between Jessica's identity and what she was currently doing was total.
This was also why Kal'tsit was puzzled.
Could it be...
That the old being inside her made her do it?
Jessica answered without thinking.
"Well... my original intention wasn't that grand..."
"It's just... a good friend of mine, Ceobe, contracted Oripathy, so I wanted to spend some money to open a research facility to help cure my friend...."
"..."
"..."
Jessica's simple sentence immediately plunged the entire office into silence.
Kal'tsit was now completely speechless.
Although her face remained cold, Closure could see the stiffness within that coldness.
Damn...
Kal'tsit actually stopped being cryptic and showed another expression...
Closure was complaining wildly in her heart.
Is this... how a rich young lady thinks...
My friend got sick, so I'll open a company to help treat my friend..
What kind of world's number one rich second-generation is this!!
And..
Kal'tsit had a way of telling if someone was lying.
She could see at a glance that Jessica was not lying at all. That sentence was true!!