Chapter 9: A Strange World Part 5

Lady Noir shyly turned toward Don before saying, "Please enjoy the tour, Predator. I'll meet up with you very soon. I won't be long." 

'How fast does she want to craft that world domination plan?' Don wondered to himself. But on the surface, he gave her a small smile and tried to make her calm down. "You don't need to hurry. I'm in no rush." 

Don's attempt at trying to put it lightly and make her take more time immediately fell through as she shook her head. "Don't worry, Predator. I have formed countless plans for many scenarios just like this. I just need to find the drives with the presentations."

'Drives? Presentations? Countless scenarios?' To say Don was shocked would have been an understatement. 

It was like the more he found out, the more absurd things around him were becoming. His face almost looked frozen for a moment because he knew if he tried to make any facial movement, it would likely give away how he was feeling. 

So, he quickly turned around to face the panoramic view and gave a nod while trying to sound not at all surprised. "As expected of you, Lady Noir. You thought of everything. I'm beyond impressed," he complimented, now realizing that it was the best way to get through conversations with her given the borderline obsession she possessed for him.

Lady Noir's entire face almost seemed to flush red when she heard those words. She raised her head and looked at Don with an incredibly wide, closed-lipped smile. "Oh, it's nothing, Predator. Just doing my part as your sidekick. You don't have to thank me," she shyly replied in a stuttering tone before quickly turning to leave.

Gary watched her leave with a warm smile on his face, seemingly just happy that she was also happy. 

Once her figure disappeared behind the transportation sphere doors, he maintained his smile and turned in Don's direction and proceeded to start walking toward him. 

Hearing the approaching steps, Don felt a bit nervous as he thought, 'I hope he doesn't see through me. No, no, it's fine. I'm just overthinking things,' Don reassured himself before taking a deep breath and straightening his face.

Gary soon arrived next to him and stood with a similar posture as he also looked at the panoramic view as well, commenting, "Isn't it beautiful, sir?"

Don turned his head upon hearing the question, but Gary maintained his gaze on the panoramic view and simply elaborated, "The base. Isn't it wonderful?"

"Oh, the base. Yes, I'm still speechless."

Gary let out an aged laugh. "So was I when I first heard the young madam's plan. I thought it was absolutely preposterous, impossible to achieve, but she remained insistent. And I am sworn to help her in whatever endeavor she chooses to pursue. It wasn't easy to bring this into fruition, sir. The young madam suffered countless setbacks but never once did she waver, motivated only by the few good memories you gave her as a child, for which I'm still thankful."

As Gary said this, he wore a rather strict expression before soon turning his head toward Don. 'Is he mad? Considering how he put it, it really does make the old Don sound like an insensitive asshole for just running away without saying a word.' 

Don felt incredibly anxious, but in the next moment, Gary bowed his head deeply with his arms tightly at his sides. "I beg you, Predator, though it may be a selfish request. Please do not abandon the madam again. I cannot bear to watch her suffer anymore. It ma-."

Before Gary could continue speaking, Don cut him off by suddenly saying, "I won't."

This caused Gary to slightly raise his head with his eyes wide. However Don only proceeded to further reaffirm his words. "I won't abandon her again. I may not be the perfect Predator she thinks I am, nor can I promise that I will be, but I promise I'll try and won't abandon her."

Gary, momentarily wide-eyed, shifted into a warm smile as he looked at the expression with which Don spoke, which looked very much sincere. And he was because. 

Though he definitely wasn't the Don Lady Noir once knew, nor did he think he could become him, Don wasn't about to abandon her—not for an underlying reason like fear or greed, but genuinely from the spur of the moment.

The world was already a dangerous place, and this one more so because he knew so little about it. So who better to tackle such a world with than a woman who never stopped believing in him despite how little he had achieved in life and how badly he treated her.

"Thank you, sir. Throughout my time serving the young madam, I have many times doubted her, and each time she proved me wrong. But the one aspect that I was never sure of was you. But looking at you now, I see that her actions have moved your heart in the same way they moved mine. And I'm glad to see that I was wrong. I do look forward to seeing what the two of you can achieve together."

The anxiousness Don felt finally receded, and he finally felt he could relax. He showed Gary a smile as well before giving him a nod. "So do I." As Don replied with this, Gary seemed to look more energetic as he broadened his shoulders and turned away from the glass wall. 

"Brilliant. Now then, shall we begin the tour? I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised to truly see what this base has to offer."

Don welcomed the offer. "Sure, lead the way."

Saying nothing more, Gary began walking over toward the entrance to the transportation sphere, and Don followed behind, feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and that he could finally just be more of himself. And although easier said than done, he felt that with time, he could definitely adjust to this new life of his.

'Well, let's see what this strange new world has to offer.'