“Allright, then our conversation is over." Richard got up from his seat. He had explained what he needed to explain to them, and he thought they understood what he had said so far. He could see that they accepted the deal he gave them. Richard turned to his right side. "Ask them to wait in this place until their contracts are prepared and signed." "Yes, sir." The man turned around and met them there, waiting for them until Richard had done what he had said. In between, Lidya looked at Richard and chased after him. "Wait a minute, sir." She intercepted Richard right near the now-open exit. Richard stopped right in front of the woman and looked at her calmly. "What's wrong? Do you still have something to talk to me about?" She nodded her head." Yes, sir. I hope you will keep our agreement. The agreement about sponsoring the places where our funds go." Richard had a more relaxed look with less stiffness, though he didn't smile. "Of course, I will keep my word. As long as you d
The night turned into day, and Richard woke up refreshed. He didn't even hear the sound of his cell phone ringing because of his father's call. He just checked it after taking a shower and called him back, telling him that he came to the party his father threw, only to return before he could meet his father because his head hurt. He wasn't entirely lying about that. He was indeed sick, more like he didn't have the energy to be there any longer. That, too, could be categorized as an illness, right? He was sure it was. After reporting it to his father, Richard left the inn and walked towards the open-air restaurant. His eyes looked up at the sky. Then, he slowly took a deep breath. "The air is completely different from the air in the city." He took a deep breath of the fresh air in that place until it filled his lungs, then stepped back into the natural surroundings humans had touched but retained the scenery around it. He was in that place unaccompanied by anyone, including Smith
"Yes, I will stay here for the time being. I'll let you know when I'm going home." Richard disconnected the phone between him and Smith, putting the phone back in his pocket. He exited his room, opened the door, and looked around, taking in the scenery that never bored him. He then decided to leave his room. Breathing in the air from the air conditioner in that place was like doing herself a disservice when she could freely enjoy the view and the much cooler and more refreshing air. He smiled as his feet hit the road again. "Father did the right thing by insisting on getting this place for his business. At least from that boring casino, there's an interesting place like this that can relieve my boredom." He decided to take a walk around the place with her simple appearance. He walked down the downhill path of the hill while casting his eyes to his left and right, seeing the wilderness on the next unexplored cliff. He became interested in the place, too, but he heard it was about t
Edmund looked at him fiercely, originally he disliked Richard because the man was noticed by Eve, but now he disliked him even more because the man had an arrogant attitude.He then snorted. "Huh, what do you think I'm going to be afraid of?"Richard replied with a flat look. "You should be if you still have your wits about you and realize your mistake."What did you say?!" Edmund clenched his hands tightly, his ego burned by what Richard had said. "What an asshole!" He then swung his hand tightly and aimed it at Richard.The body moved forward, in sync with the movement of his hand, as Richard reflexively dodged Edmund quickly, which ended up making Edmund almost lose his balance as he dodged him."Damn it!" He cursed harshly, turning towards Richard and glaring at him sharply. "You! Just watch. I'll teach you a lesson.""Stop Edmund!" Eve yelled at him, having previously been flabbergasted at what Edmund was doing again by going to hit Richard when he had just almost put Richard in
Richard looked at Eve and noticed the woman's agitated look. He remembered that she was the girl who politely asked for his phone number, but Richard refused, and she didn't seem to mind at all.He regretted that a woman like her met and befriended such people. "You'd better find someone else to be friends with. Being friends with them will only bring bad things to you. Look at what they do." He tried to remind Eve of that.Richard himself saw the incompatibility between them. As Eve tried to make them realize that their actions were wrong, especially Edmund. But the man stuck to his ego and retaliated as if Eve was the one doing the wrong thing in their eyes.Some of them wouldn't listen to her when she advised them that what they were doing was wrong. Others didn't really care; they thought Eve was too innocent and naive. They felt that such mischief was standard and could still be understood, considering they were still straightforward, and at that age, it was time to have fun.Edm
Richard aimed his punching hand at Edmund, but the man was unable to parry it, which made him fall back quite hard."Argh, damn it! Damn man, how dare you do this to me!" His emotions peaked, and he turned around and charged towards Richard with quick steps.Richard's body was pushed away, but Edmund's punch, which had no clear focus, did not manage to hit him. Instead, it created a distance that made it easier for Richard to reverse the attack.Richard, who was already furious, no longer wanted to hold back. He then lifted his leg and kicked Edmund in the stomach, which made the man bounce hard and far away."Hey, you!" Steve and Bill exclaimed in unison when they saw their friend's body bounce.They knew they realised that Edmund was wrong. But they couldn't let Richard harm Edmund with that kind of attack. They then went to Edmund and ran towards him as fast as they could. He came up to the man, who coughed with a face of pain as the pain in his stomach completely immobilised him f
"What? No way." Edmund denied that. He stared fixedly at Darwin, who was still there with an unchanged expression.The man showed the same serious expression as when he met his father on the day Edmund accompanied his father to inspect the place, but his demeanour was much sterner, and his gaze was also sharper than usual."Are you kidding me?" He still could not accept the fact that what Darwin said was the truth.Darwin remained firm. He, who originally came to save Edmund from what his staff told him, also did not expect that the one dealing with Edmund was Richard. He also had no choice but to prioritise Richard and ignore Edmund, who meant nothing compared to Richard.Richard was her main priority at the moment. She had to make sure Richard's comfort was the thing she had to prioritise over others. Edmund, on the other hand, did not need to be paid much attention to because that one plague had already caused him more trouble by dealing with Richard."No. I am telling the truth, s
"You stay there for a while and keep in touch with me while I'm still here to do some work." He sat in the garden chair outside his room and looked at the morning sky.He still hadn't left the inn as he wanted to keep a close eye on the progress of the team he had created to monitor the Casino's security from cheaters. Brian had informed him about those who had signed and agreed to all the terms. But to see what their work was like, Richard wanted to judge for himself."Yes, sir. I'll do as you say." He replied on the other end of their phone line.After Richard ended their call, he took a sip of the tea in his cup, accompanied by a sweet piece of cake that matched the tea's slightly bitter and bland taste. He enjoyed his quiet and peaceful morning for a while there until he returned to his room.Richard placed his phone near the table and then undressed and cleaned himself in the bathroom. As soon as he woke up this morning, he immediately went to the front of his room and sunbathed
One evening, after a few hours, more than one helicopter landed in the village area, and the whole village became crowded because of this.They did not expect that the missing person who had been searched for by the strangers who came to the village was still alive. To them, it was quite impossible; considering what the storm was like that day and the ocean was a fierce place, they did not think that the missing person was still safe and intact."Mr. Richard." Smith got off first and came to him hurriedly.The 45-year-old man hugged Richard so tightly and emotionally that he had almost given up hope in his quest to find Richard. He himself had even stopped hoping that the possibility of Richard being alive and somewhere was such a great miracle. He was alive and found somewhere.Smith released his embrace and looked at Richard with happiness mixed with emotion. "I'm glad you're okay, sir."After Smith let go, James, who was led by Rachel, hugged him tightly. "I trust you are doing wel
"Alright, then. Tomorrow, we will go to look for your family's whereabouts." Alexa made the choice; Richard looked at her, who seemed confused.Richard didn't understand why Alexa seemed so serious when they had never discussed it with obvious effort before. "Why all of a sudden?" he wondered if perhaps they no longer wanted him there. Is it possible that my presence is becoming inconvenient?"Alexa smiled with a shaded face, her head shook, and her hand rubbed lightly over the back of Richard's hand, trying to get his attention. "No, it's not. Your existence is not inconvenient at all; quite the opposite. I'm honestly grateful to have you here." Alexa pursed her lips tightly and turned her attention to stare straight back ahead.She stared at the vast and calm expanse of the sea. Her feelings about letting go of Richard were still quite reluctant. She had a great desire to keep Richard there, but she also didn't want to be selfish."Today my friend came to tell me that in the village
After finishing cleaning up, Richard went to Alexa, who also seemed to be cleaning up the glasses in their house's living room.Richard's eyes scanned the place, looking for the whereabouts of the guest whose voice had been heard earlier when he entered through the back door. "Has the guest gone home?" he glanced over and helped Alexa.Without hesitation, Richard's hand took over the tray Alexa was carrying and placed it in the kitchen. At the same time, Alexa followed suit, carrying the snack container. "Yes, they're home." She replied flatly, without any expression that sounded cheerful from her answer.Richard watched her, noticing something a little different about Alexa's demeanour compared to usual. He thought maybe the guests had affected her mood, or maybe something else was to blame. He wasn't sure exactly, but even he didn't want to ask if Alexa didn't seem to want to explain. "Who are the guests who came?" She made small talk while walking towards the dining table.Approach
"Jacob, where are you going?" one of the villagers greeted Richard, who seemed to be walking with an axe in his hand. "Are you heading to the forest?" he asked enthusiastically because he was happy to see Richard, one of the new residents there.Richard, who had just managed to turn around and look for who was talking to him, smiled and nodded. "Morning, Mr. Jack." He politely greeted the old man whom he recognized as Sam's friend."Yes, morning, young man." He smiled kindly in response to Richard's greeting. "If you have time, come to the house. You promised to help me yesterday when you were free."Richard nodded. "Later, when I am free, I will try to drop by, sir. " He selflessly helped some nearby neighbours who needed his help.It had been a month since he had been in that place, and now he was living a very normal life there. Just like everyone else, Richard also had his own activities. Sometimes, he joined some men to go fishing at sea, without him knowing that he used to be a
Sitting in his private room, James looked anxiously at the picture frame containing Richard's picture. For days, he had been waiting for news of Richard and conducted a massive search. But the search was ultimately fruitless. There were still no reports of Richard's whereabouts or any signs of him being stranded somewhere.Her worries grew as time passed. The first 24 hours after Richard disappeared were the golden hour to find his whereabouts and determine whether he was in good or bad condition.But a week had passed since then, and there was still no further news of his whereabouts."Is there still no sign of Richard's whereabouts?" James asked Smith in the room.His anxiety was rife with other things, his heart was in turmoil, and his feelings had become chaotic since Richard's whereabouts were declared missing.The news of Richard's disappearance made him not stop thinking about where Richard was and what the situation was like. His condition, which he continues to worry about, c
"What took you so long to come back?" Alexa, who was waiting there, turned her head and noticed Richard, who had just returned, walking over to her.Richard nodded his head. "In line." he took over the groceries held by Alexa.Telling her about what he experienced while inside earlier, for him, Alexa didn't need to know that the Baron was still bothering him. Apart from not wanting to make the woman anxious, he also didn't want Alexa to have a particular view of his attitude that could be considered rude by her.He smiled at the woman. "Do we have anything else to do? Or do you want us to go home?"Alexa helped Richard carry a few easy things to take to not burden Richard too much. "Let's just go home; it's too late. Tomorrow, I have to get up early to store breakfast because Dad will be leaving early in the morning." She started to leave the place, followed by Richard, who walked beside her."Tomorrow morning? Where is Sam going?""Dad said there is someone he needs to help. One of t
Alexa glanced at Richard with a gaze that stared strangely at him."Why are you looking at me like that?" Richard, who realized her gaze, then asked.Alexa headed back to stare straight ahead. "I was just wondering. How could you do that? When you did it earlier, I looked so expert. Unlike someone who just tried, your posture and then the techniques you used seemed to clearly show that you were an expert." She looked back at Richard in confusion. "Tell me, how did you do it?"Richard looked at her in silence for a while. Like Alexa, he was confused by what had been done. He did not expect that his ability was that great.The more he thought about it, the more astonished he became. He obviously didn't remember anything at all., but strangely, he could do it all so well. "I don't know., Richard shook his head as he replied. "I'm not sure myself what I'm doing and how I'm doing it so well. All I feel is that my body knows how to do it." He explained the confusion to Alexa.After hearing
"No, it can't be like that. I disagree that I should stay away from her." Baron rejected their agreement, which he agreed to without thinking.Obviously, Baron rejected Richard's request to limit his interaction with Alexa. He dared challenge Richard and felt hateful and annoyed at him because Alex was the reason. He didn't want any other man or Richard to get close to him.Baron has liked Alexa for a long time, and Jack, from their teenage stuff, has always followed and been attracted to her. But his feelings were unrequited because Alexa didn't show any interest in him at all.The Baron knew that. He knew that Alexa didn't like him, but he still tried to get close to her, hoping that someday Alexa would change her mind. He kept trying and never gave up because he thought that maybe his efforts would be rewarded with what he hoped for someday.But if he couldn't get close to her in the end just because he lost the bet, then his efforts all this time were futile and ridiculous.He sho
The two of them were now in their respective positions, wearing a set of arrows and getting ready in place. He arrows where they were. They were surrounded by people who wanted to witness the showdown between the two.On one side, Richard only came along with Alexa, who was currently so nervous and anxious about the possibility of Richard's condition getting a bad name with this challenge.On the other hand, Baron was surrounded by friends who were eager to see Richard defeated. The young men of the village clearly disliked Richard's existence and the way Richard behaved towards them.Specifically, they didn't need a reason to dislike Richard because even just looking at him could immediately make them dislike him and want to look down on him."Shouldn't you undo your intentions, Jacob?" Alexa approached him again and spoke in a worried tone.She was distraught, having promised her father that she would look after Richard. She would take Richard there with the insight that maybe from