"No!"
"No?"
"No!"
He said firmly.
That's good. Rose didn't want to be his girlfriend and bodyguard. That would be a hectic schedule.
Asher leaned back and looked at her with a question in his eyes.
"Why would you think I want you to be my girlfriend?"
Rose felt that he didn't understand what he said.
"You said it like that. I mean, being your companion and not going anywhere else, meeting you for events, that's essentially what your girlfriend would do."
He seemed thinking.
"Nah. I don't want to be in any kind of relationship. But hey, you would be a great person to date."
"Yes, I know right." Rose felt that she was awesome.
"Okay, go and prepare expense reports and crosscheck with the ones you get from department heads."
"Yes, boss."
Rose ran away with the work in mind.
Asher looked at her leaving the room and he was feeling complicated.
Did he want to date her? No, right? Like, when he first had a crush when he was a teenager, he had butterflies in his stomach and he was really nervous when his crush talked to him.
That didn't happen with Rose. So he didn't have a crush on her. Phew. For a moment he thought he subconsciously liked her.
Rose had left this topic behind.
She was concentrating on working because the sooner she worked, the sooner she got home to eat cake.
Oh, yeah, She was supposed to meet Klint too. But where?
She sent him a message on the phone like he did.
Where are we meeting?
She got an instant reply.
I'll be at your home.
That's good. No need for her to go somewhere.
So, after dropping Asher at his home, she went home. His part of the housing community was awesome. Made hers look like a box.
Rose was surprised by the guest on her sofa eating her cake and watching the finale of the show she never saw. Spoilers everywhere.
"Klint, how could you do this?"
She turned off the TV and her cake, her cake had only a slice left.
And who cut the cake like that?
"You ate everything?"
"Rose, I tell you, there's nothing tasty at my place. I mean, this is so tasty. Wonderful."
"Why? Can't you ask someone to buy you some?"
Klint stuffed the last piece in his mouth and then answered.
"No, the food they send me has no taste. I didn't know that humans make such great food. What else have you got?"
Rose felt even more irritable.
"You got money?"
So, now she was shopping for junk food. And it wasn't for her. It was for Klint.
Shouldn't it be the mentor who took her shopping? Why was it the other way with her?
Looking at how happy he was, she paid for it too.
Her first salary, she was hoping to pool and rent a place near the company, but, now, she had to wait.
Anyway, seeing him happy was worth it.
She also got flour and vegetables so she could make some food by watching a tutorial. She could ask her wand to do it. The wand was like an automatic helper.
She sat down while the wand cooked.
"You are good now? Happy?"
Klint was eating a chocobar and seemed happy.
"Then what about the spell? Did you find who sent it?"
Klint nodded.
"There's an illegal magic product ring in this human world. They don't make anything that's really big. But small spells. Yeah, yours was the biggest one. Like the one that caused the biggest damage," he stopped and licked the chocolate for a while and paused his narration.
"I turned them in and found that a lady ordered a hit on you. And because these people use primitive methods, I couldn't find the identity of the lady."
Rose understood. A lady ordered a hit. There was only one lady who was so angry that she would want to humiliate her.
Claudia.
Wow, she really wanted to hurt her.
"Okay, so these spells, who is making those?"
"I think you can guess."
Yeah, she could. Only those people would do such stuff.
"You know, you could live with me?"
Rose turned to look at him with questioning eyes.
"Of course, you will pay me rent. But, the neighborhood is great there. And there's added security too."
Rose was moved. But yeah, She couldn't move anywhere that was not approved by the Magic Office. Perks of being in protection.
"Uh, no. I'm good here."
Klint nodded.
"I'm leaving then."
He got up.
"Hey, you left your bag."
Rose handed him his bag.
Klint took it and disappeared.
Rose bolted her door and magic-proofed her house. So, no one could come and surprise her.
The cooking was done by the wand. And it was delicious.
Rose had no form of entertainment but since she got a phone from the company, she scrolled short videos and read comics.
The comics were very informative. Like how to identify a spy and a fake friend.
Rose took notes of that. It's pretty great.
And then saw the message from Asher he sent yesterday.
Oh!
Was it okay to reply now?
Rose: yes, boss. I'm studying right now
She wasn't studying but hey, he couldn't know.
It was great relaxing like this. Her wand floated up to her and acted like a baby. She patted it and it turned to a ring on her index finger.
The wand took so many forms but as they were bonded, she could feel it closely.
Asher: great, keep learning. You will get the bonus soon.
Rose looked at it and liked the thought of getting a bonus.
Rose: I have news about the mis-spell
Asher replied instantly.
Asher: who?
Rose: I'm guessing it's Lydia
She wanted to see if he would do something.
Asher: Ah, I see. I'll deal with it. Don't worry
Rose:Okay
She put her phone away when she didn't get any reply from him.
Somehow, she couldn't help but revisit the past.
Like the trial where she was judged to be a criminal!