Chapter 53

Sam was sitting with Power in some fancy restaurant. He was ordering as much as he could, the most expensive. "More caviar, please," he said.

Power had a somewhat nervous smile on her face as she watched him eat. "Sam, I know you think I'm rich, but I'm not that rich."

Sam looked at Power and smiled, remembering the old days. "Remember when you used to spend most of our allowance on your meals?"

Power nervously chuckled. "I know you think it's nostalgic, but I've already spent most of my wealth on my house, and I don't think you know that sales drop a bit after the first few months."

Sam shrugged. "Doesn't sound like a problem."

"But…" Power lowered her head, seeming to hold back her urge to yell.

"You've changed," Sam said, showing a hint of disappointment in his voice. "The Power I know would eat today and say 'screw tomorrow.'"

Despite saying that, deep inside, Sam was happy.

She's grown into a person who can rely on herself.

The old her, he wouldn't trust even to cook a meal, let alone expect her to be responsible about expenses.

It seemed that his death had affected her in some way.

"You're right," Power took Sam's plate and started eating it. "Man, since you're here, you're going to take care of it anyway, so why would I worry!"

"Hold on," Sam narrowed his eyebrows. "Me taking care of you?"

"That's your job in the first place. You got yourself a house and debts paid in exchange for taking care of me. I just help hunt devils," Power replied. She then brought her face close to him and whispered, "This is Japan. What would people think about a man like you forcing a woman to pay."

Sam smiled and closed his eyes. "Nobody would have to say anything if I ran away before you could make a scene."

"That's my human," Power gave him a thumbs up while stuffing her mouth with food.

"Don't say it as if I'm your pet," Sam reached for his pocket. "Besides, I didn't invite you to pay."

"Hehe," she giggled, looking genuinely happy. "Happy to see that you never changed."

Noticing some leftovers on the side of her lip, Sam wiped it away with his thumb before putting it in his mouth.

"Enjoy your meal. There's a bigger surprise later," Sam said.

"What is it?" Power said, then she shook her head. "Don't tell me." Then she started asking for more.

If there was something Sam loved, it was bragging.

And now he had earned a lot of money from underground jobs, especially from tricking Reze. He was thrilled to see Power's reaction when she found out that he was more successful than her.

Power was just a fake who would try to mimic him and scam people. He was the real deal.

"Let's have more drinks," Sam said.

-x-X-x-

Sam was carrying Power on his back. She'd gotten so drunk that she almost passed out. As for Sam, his insane metabolism didn't allow him to get drunk for too long. To him, it was more like an orgasm.

A message appeared on Tony's phone. He picked it up. It was from Reze.

["Bastard. Why are you ignoring my calls?"]

["Pick up, you son of a bitch."]

["You didn't complete your last job. Come back and kidnap Sam."]

Sam sighed and typed a message back. ["I'm still expecting the rest of my payment. Don't do it, and I'll report this to the higher council."]

["So you're not dead, Tony. Glad you messaged me back. Where are you? You've just disappeared."]

["I was busy."]

["So when will you come back and complete your job."]

["It's not my fault that he managed to escape. No, he kicked your ass."]

["Tony, let's not be enemies."]

["I'm no Thorin Fan."]

["???"]

Sam put his phone back into his pocket, walked back to Power's house, placed her on her bed, and then went to his room and lay down.

He started thinking about his next steps.

"What should I do? Last I recalled, I and Makima took over the National Security Council. I should ask what happened."

He picked up his phone and called Makima.

She picked up immediately.

"Finally deciding to call me?" Makima said.

"Yep," Sap replied.

"Did you miss me?" Makima asked.

"It hasn't even been a week," Sam replied.

"So you didn't?" Makima teased.

"You'll never know," Sam said.

"Anyway, what are you doing?" Makima inquired.

"Nothing. You?" Sam asked.

"Finishing some papers," Makima answered.

"By the way, what happened with NSCJ?" Sam asked.

"They are behaving well, like puppies. I got a promotion to enter the council, and when things seem less suspicious, I'll take it over," Makima explained.

So she had a plan that would take time. But if she gained a high position in the NJSC, she could have more power to control more people in power, even over civilians. Let's not forget her power to force others to sign contracts. And apparently, people in higher positions, such as the Prime Minister, could even donate the lifespan of civilians to devils.

Sam sighed, thinking it would be useless to dwell on things that may happen but probably wouldn't. "Who knows? If you continue this way, you may end up becoming the Prime Minister."

"I don't want to," Makima replied.

That was interesting. The Control Devil didn't want more power. "Then what do you want?"

"Can you guess?" she asked.

Sarcastically, Sam replied, "Cuddling, maybe. Have a nice dinner, walk dogs together?"

"That's a part of it. Swing by my office later," Makima said. "I'm quite busy for now."

"Should I bring something?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Makima replied.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Just bring whatever comes to your mind," she said.

"Take care," Sam said as he hung up the call, scratching the side of his head. "Since when did Makima learn to act like a human girl? If she were a human, I would have decision paralysis about what to pick."

["A mission triggered: International attack wave."]

The notification wiped the innocent smile from his face.

["Many assassins are coming to Japan. Stop them from taking down the Chainsaw man."]

["Failing condition: Denji's heart taken away."]

["Reward: 14 million experience. Legendary tier item."]

Hold up a second. Sam had to take a moment to realize what was going on.

International assassins. The system never offered such an absurd amount of experience. It must be a difficult mission. It reminded him about the time when Makima told Sam that a lesbian could defeat him even with all of his powers.

"Give me a break. I had a fight with a bomber just the other day."