The Red Head (II)

Klaus crossed his arms. "Why did she come here?"

"I don't know, boss. But she wanted to talk to you directly. It seems she's in trouble."

"Tell her to leave. I'm busy."

Klaus did not want to meet the person who had rejected his offer twice.

He then went back to his office. As he was just sitting at his desk, a red-head woman barged into his room.

"Mr. Klaus, I'd like to talk to you for a moment! Please listen for a moment!"

Sheila showed up next. "Sorry boss, she barged in!"

Not long after, three security guards appeared and arrested the woman. She struggled as they dragged her out of the office.

And Klaus was just stunned, wondering how she could find his office room. This room was on the 30th floor, and there were even more rooms and twists and turns.

A deep sigh escaped him. Klaus gestured to the security guards to let her go and told them to leave. Klaus asked Sylvia to sit down and told her to tell him why she came here.

"Thank you, Mr. Klaus. I'm sorry—"

"Get to the point," Klaus retorted. "I'm busy right now."

Silent for a moment, Sylvia caught her breath. "I want to ask you a favor."

Two days ago, on the same day that Klaus foiled Sylvia's kidnapping, it turned out that the men in black had also kidnapped her younger brother.

She told him there was an organization in Manhattan that was very interested in recruiting her.

However, Sylvia refused their invitation. She knew that they were a criminal syndicate. Once she got involved, she would never get out.

The name of the organization was Black Bulls, a group of criminals that operated on arcana theft and fencing.

Unfortunately, refusing their offer did not allow Sylvia to live freely. They continued to try to recruit her by offering various things. Starting from fantastic amounts of money to elite positions in the organization. None of their offers caught Sylvia's attention.

In the end, they began to resort to violent means. They terrorized and attacked her home, and Sylvia was even forced to change jobs to a small bar and move from place to place. 

So far, they had only focused on Sylvia, but recently they had started targeting her only family, her younger brother. They culminated in a kidnapping two days ago.

She realized that she didn't have enough power to fight them. The Black Bulls consisted of high-ranked awakeners. Even if Sylvia could rewind the time, she could not use it continuously. Besides, she only used it to escape from their pursuit.

Therefore, Sylvia asked Klaus to help her, considering that Klaus was the one who saved her from being kidnapped.

"I beg you, Mr. Klaus. Please help me. I know our first meeting was unpleasant. But I promise to repay all your kindness."

Hoping that the man before her would grant her request, Sylvia looked at him with a sad gaze.

However, Klaus was not a man who was easily compassionate.

"Sorry, I can't help you."

Disappointment was painted on her face as Klaus gave her an unwanted answer.

"Listen," Klaus continued. "I'm an ordinary office employee. If you have a problem with a criminal organization, you should go to the police. I have no authority to deal with criminals."

Of course, that was just an excuse. He had nothing to gain by getting involved in other people's problems. He had also recovered the [Eye of Laplace], so he got no reason to help Sylvia.

"They can't," Sylvia replied in despair. "I reported it to the police once, but they wouldn't process it because there was no evidence. The police turn a blind eye when it comes to awakeners."

"Still. I can't help you. I'm nobody, and I don't even have superpowers to fight them."

"But your secretary said that you defeated eight awakeners by yourself."

Naturally, Sheila quickly looked away as Klaus stared at her.

Klaus sighed. "Look, Sylvia. One month earlier I offered you to join this company, and you turned it down. Then, yesterday I also made you an offer, but you turned it down before you even listened to it. Honestly, now I have no reason why I should help you after those two rejections."

Sylvia was instantly speechless. She bowed her head, hiding her tears. The woman couldn't help but feel saddened by her carelessness. She should have known that they would target her family.

"Mister Klaus, please. I may have made a mistake, but he's the only family I have. The reason why I still want to live my life. I don't know what will happen to me if my brother dies."

Klaus sighed in exasperation. He hated it the most when someone used pity to get something, though he knew that what happened to Sylvia was a tragedy.

"Laplace," Klaus thought, talking to the arcana spirit through his mind. "Check the power of the woman before me against the benchmark of earth power. Use the smartlink on my wrist as a reference."

<Yes, my liege.>

Not long after, a golden screen similar to the smartlink interface appeared in front of him. Only Klaus could see it.

<Profile Information>

[Name: Sylvia Brown]

[Age: 20]

[Role: Fighter (possibly)]

[Talent: Time Rewind]

[Elemental Affinity: Light (Very Strong)]

[Battle Power: 610,234]

[Rank: B-Class (possibly)]

[Status: Uncertified]

After seeing Sylvia's status, Klaus was a little surprised by her rank. Klaus thought that Sylvia was an S-Class or A-Class with her unique talent. Moreover, Klaus was surprised by her role as a fighter, but she could lose easily against them.

Tapping his fingers on the table, Klaus paused to think of a good reason to help her. Klaus was not a good person. If she did not benefit him, there was no point in helping her.

"Alright, I'll help you beat up that gangster," Klaus said.

Sylvia lifted her head and wiped away the tears running down her face. "Thank you, Mr. Klaus."

"But on one condition."

Klaus opened a drawer and pulled out a paper. The woman seemed to squint her eyes as she saw it.

"This is a contract to join my guild, Rays of Hope. It says the salary and benefits if you become a guild member. I am willing to help you if you are part of the guild."

Sylvia read the contract, and her eyes opened wide instantly. "This is the contract for the F-Class. You will pay me 90,000 dollars per year?"

"Yup. Though you have a unique talent, I don't know what your rank is. You are an uncertified awakener too. I can't risk my money if your skills don't match your price."

The B-Class awakeners earned at least 1 to 5 million USD per year, depending on their quality and track record. Klaus saw an opportunity in Sylvia's fragile state, so he capitalized on it by making her work for the guild at the lowest possible salary.

This was the only benefit of helping Sylvia.

Sylvia squeezed his hand, and then she signed it. "Here."

"Good."

Klaus put the contract in the drawer, and he stood up and put on his coat. "Let's go."

"What? Where?" Sylvia asked back.

"Of course, we're going to rescue your brother. I'm busy, let's get this done as soon as possible."