Chapter 370: Offer rejected

Kyle sighed when he saw who was calling him. He had explicitly instructed Amanda and Veronica not to contact him until he reached out to them himself. The surveillance department would undoubtedly be monitoring their communications, and even an innocent conversation could give the wrong people a reason to become suspicious.

Yet Veronica was calling him now.

Shaking his head, Kyle accepted the call. "Ma’am?"

{I... yeah, I just left the island. I hope everything is going well for you.}

Thankfully, Veronica remained in character. To anyone listening, she was simply the officer who had brought him here, checking on someone under her responsibility to make sure he was settling in properly.

Still, contacting him now, after he had already been settled into the base, was risky. It could easily suggest that their relationship was deeper than what they had allowed others to believe.

’Well, forget it.’

There was little point in overthinking it now. Kyle simply played along. "I am fine, ma’am. These people have provided me with everything I need."

{Glad to hear that. Well, take care of yourself and leave everything else to me.}

Kyle gave a wry smile.

’Not exactly discreet with that.’

He chose not to prolong the conversation. Every additional second increased the possibility of someone noticing something unusual, and, more importantly, he had just noticed someone approaching from nearby.

Disconnecting the call, Kyle turned around.

A man stood a short distance away.

His head was completely shaved, his sharp yellow eyes carried an almost predatory gleam, and a jagged scar cut diagonally upward across his left brow. A wide grin stretched across his face, giving him an unsettlingly carefree appearance.

There was no one else around.

Kyle could hardly pretend the man had been approaching someone else.

"Do you need something from me?" he asked calmly.

The man tilted his head, his grin widening.

"Was that your chick?"

Kyle sighed. "No. Just the officer who brought me here."

"Heh~ Look at this gorgeous night, and you’re wasting your time talking to such boring peeps?"

The man suddenly closed the distance between them and casually draped an arm over Kyle’s shoulder.

"Say, don’t you want to get your cherry popped tonight? You see, the woman I share my room with is quite the thirsty one. What do you say? Wanna swap rooms for just one night?"

Kyle stared at him.

For a fleeting moment, an amusing thought crossed his mind.

’What if Amanda heard this?’

The very imagination of the chaos was enough to make him almost smile.

Still, he quickly dismissed the thought. There was no reason to linger on the man’s proposition, especially when doing so might give him the impression that Kyle was genuinely considering it.

Kyle simply removed the man’s arm from his shoulder and stepped away.

"No. I’m fine where I am."

The man, however, seemed incapable of taking rejection as a final answer.

"Then you definitely don’t know the temperament of that fiery bitch. I tell you, these Klaus asswipes think of themselves as apex predators. That woman needs someone who can dominate her into submission."

His grin turned mocking as he looked Kyle up and down.

"And you, my friend, don’t look up for the job."

Kyle hummed thoughtfully.

"If you wish to dominate her, I’ll give you some advice."

The man’s grin faltered slightly.

Kyle turned to face him fully. His golden eyes caught the light, startling Rey for the briefest moment.

"Speak to her face, not behind her back. Maybe that will elevate your reputation in her eyes enough for her to consider submitting to you."

Rey froze.

The words immediately reminded him of the remarks he had made during the briefing, and for several seconds he simply stared at Kyle as though trying to determine whether the young man had deliberately chosen those words.

Whatever conclusion he reached, his expression soon shifted into an amused smile.

"Heard you. Great advice."

Kyle gave a small nod and wordlessly stepped past him.

Thankfully, Rey did not stop him again.

Kyle continued toward his room, leaving the strange encounter behind him.

....

Returning to the room, Kyle found Elena lying on her bed, casually tossing something into the air and catching it again. Upon taking a closer look, he realized it was a small crystal ball.

He walked toward his own bed, intending to remove his shoes and spend some time focusing on his inner channels, when Elena’s voice suddenly reached him.

"So? What were you offered?"

Kyle hummed. "Are you talking about Rey?"

The woman nodded. "I’m sure he must have told you to swap rooms. In return, he would probably let you fuck his girl or something."

The casual way she said it told Kyle that this was hardly the first time Rey had tried something like this. Yet beneath Elena’s detached tone was a faint trace of irritation, enough to reveal what she actually thought about Rey’s obsession with her.

Kyle exhaled softly and sat down on the edge of his bed.

After removing his shoes, he answered, "Well, I declined his offer."

Elena paused.

The crystal ball came down directly onto her face.

"Ow."

Wincing, she slowly sat upright, rubbing her face as she stared at him.

"You did? Or is this some kind of trick you’re playing to gain my trust before betraying me later?"

Kyle looked directly into her eyes.

"See, I don’t know you, and I don’t know him either. I’m here to learn more about myself. So don’t give yourself too much importance. As far as I’m concerned, you’re nothing more than a stranger."

Elena’s expression shifted slightly.

Kyle usually preferred not to talk more than necessary, but if he was going to spend some time in this place, he would rather make his position clear from the beginning. Whatever history existed between Elena and Rey had nothing to do with him, and he had no intention of becoming another participant in their drama.

Elena remained silent for a few moments before she huffed and folded her legs beneath herself.

"Who cares about your opinion..."

She continued stealing glances at him, watching as Kyle had already moved on and returned to whatever he had been doing. Seeing that he had apparently dismissed the conversation without giving it another thought, she hurriedly added, "Though, thank you for not giving in to his offer. I appreciate it."

Kyle paused for a moment before looking at her and giving a small nod.

That was all.

Elena could only watch the young man, genuinely nonchalant about everything around him. There was no curiosity in his eyes, no attempt to pry into her affairs, and certainly no interest in involving himself in the complicated relationship between her and Rey.

It was almost as if nothing around him appealed to him enough to hold his attention for more than a moment. And the look in his eyes made one thing particularly clear to Elena. Given the choice, he would much rather be alone than spend time with someone who constantly yapped in his ear.

She couldn’t help but smile faintly at the realization.

’Reminds me of a certain girl.’

The thought lingered for a moment before Elena shook her head and pushed it aside. She lay back down on the bed, closed her eyes, and allowed the room to fall quiet once more.

Tomorrow would be their first actual sparring session.