They had been away from the supermarket for quite a while.
Stella still had not fully recovered.
She rarely saw Imperial Scale get angry.
Maybe it followed the law of emotional conservation. Since Imperial Scale was usually so cold and aloof, she simply got angry less often. Or maybe it was just hard to tell when she was angry?!
"Rebel King, you really got that mad over one dollar...?"
Stella looked at Imperial Scale in astonishment.
In this day and age, what could one dollar even buy?
Pork cost forty or fifty dollars a pound, beef was over a hundred, and a bottle of soda was seven hundred dollars. One dollar was not even enough for a pack of spicy strips. At most, it could buy a piece of gum. And all of those were things humans needed. When it came to Mecha Girl expenses, one dollar mattered even less.
Imperial Scale paused, but did not look back.
Her voice was quiet. "That is one thirty-millionth."
Back then, Derek Su had only made her wait so long at the exhibition and auction because he had no money. Sometimes, money really could decide a great many things.
She could quietly wait at the exhibition and auction for Derek Su to come.
But opportunities would not.
Opportunities only came to those who were prepared.
That was why every single cent mattered.
Even if it was only one dollar, it was still part of the foundation for thirty million.
She did not want Derek Su to one day miss out on an opportunity because of money. ... Stella scratched her head, not understanding what Imperial Scale meant.
Maybe Imperial Scale wanted to get the auction money sooner?
But judging from the way she usually acted, that did not seem right either.
[Sigh, Rebel King is so hard to understand~]
Stella looked at Imperial Scale's tall, graceful figure from behind and sighed inwardly.
[Maybe she became the Rebel King precisely because no one can see through her?]
Looking back through history, which of those ambitious rulers had ever been someone you could understand at a glance?
Maybe one day, her Pineapple Kingdom would be completely conquered by Imperial Scale and transformed into the Kingdom of Pink Piggy Plushies. Just imagining that sky-collapsing scene sent a chill down Stella's spine.
Stay alert!
She had to stay alert!
The two of them returned to the club. Stella took the mustard and chili oil, let out a sneaky little laugh, and headed straight for the warehouse. Imperial Scale carried some daily necessities with her, and when she passed by the meeting hall, she happened to hear Derek Su and Absolute Shadow discussing how to use the sixteen million.
"...Boss, I don't think we should give it all away. The club is still recruiting, and we'll have to pay salaries to our members in the future. We need some backup funds in reserve."
"But wouldn't that be unfair to Imperial Scale?"
"You're the club boss now. When you think about things, you need to consider the bigger picture." Absolute Shadow did not say it outright, but as the club manager, she had to do her job from the club's perspective.
From that standpoint, keeping the money as reserve funds for the club was definitely the most suitable choice. As for Imperial Scale, they could repay her slowly. There was no need to rush.
Derek Su was still a little hesitant.
Just then, the meeting room door suddenly opened.
Imperial Scale walked in with a plastic bag.
Derek Su and Absolute Shadow both froze.
"Imperial Scale, why are you..." Derek Su looked at Imperial Scale. He remembered that Imperial Scale and Stella had gone shopping at the supermarket. He had not expected them to be back so soon.
Imperial Scale said nothing.
She simply sat down across from Derek Su.
Absolute Shadow was seated right beside Imperial Scale and felt a little awkward. After all, they had just been discussing Imperial Scale's business. From Imperial Scale's personal perspective, giving her all the money was obviously the better option.
"You came at just the right time." Derek Su pushed the bank card toward Imperial Scale. He had made up his mind. Giving all sixteen million to Imperial Scale was fine. The club still had several million in its account, which was basically enough.
"Don't I still owe you thirty million from the auction? I'll pay you back half for now. There's six million here, and I'll go withdraw another ten million later."
Imperial Scale looked at the bank card on the table.
She pressed her lips together.
"Master, are you trying to drive me away?"
Absolute Shadow: ???
"Huh?" Derek Su froze too, then hurriedly said, "Why would you think that?"
Imperial Scale stared into Derek Su's eyes, as if carefully searching for the emotions hidden inside them. After a long moment, her lips moved. "Core Contract."
"Core... Core Contract?" Derek Su truly could not understand why Imperial Scale was suddenly bringing this up.
"We haven't signed a Core Contract." Imperial Scale lowered her head and looked away. Two faint blushes rose across her fair, coolly beautiful face. Her lovely eyes were quiet and faintly lonely beneath her bangs.
"No contract, yet you're rushing to pay me back..."
"Doesn't that mean you want us to settle everything, so I can leave at any time?"
Imperial Scale's cool voice slipped into Derek Su's ears and nearly fried his brain. What kind of thought process could possibly lead to that conclusion?!
He quickly waved his hands and explained, "Imperial Scale, I think you misunderstood... First, I've never once thought about making you leave. Stella Club will always be your home. Second, the reason I never brought up the Core Contract was because I was afraid you'd refuse. After all, I still owe you thirty million, don't I?"
Imperial Scale was silent for a moment.
Then she looked up. "Is it only because of the thirty million?"
"Yes."
"No other reason?"
"No."
"Not because I acted too fierce during Maratela?"
"No."
Imperial Scale pouted her red lips. "So Master also thinks I'm fierce, right?"
"No! Absolutely not!" Derek Su wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and shook his head like crazy. "Imperial Scale is a gentle, wonderful Mecha Girl. I remember that!"
The corners of Imperial Scale's lips lifted slightly.
She had thought "Father" did not like her.
Apparently, Stella and Derek Su had signed a Core Contract on the very first day they met. But she had known Derek Su for so long, and she was still only under a Mind-Imprint Contract. It made her feel like she was not valued much.
Recently, she had occasionally been troubled by this.
She had not expected the reason to be this.
She pressed her lips together and reached into her chest, taking out the IOU.
Under Derek Su and Absolute Shadow's stunned gazes, her fingers moved.
"Rip!"
She tore it in half.
"Thirty million..." Imperial Scale narrowed her eyes with a smile as the scraps of paper fell onto the table. "Gone now~"
With the thirty million obstacle removed, Master should sign a Core Contract with her now.
Derek Su was not completely dense either. Imperial Scale had already laid so much groundwork with all those questions. If he still could not figure out her hidden little thoughts, he might as well start over.
Under Absolute Shadow's gossip-loving gaze, he was just about to propose a Core Contract to Imperial Scale.
But out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tall figure in military uniform standing outside Stella Club's huge floor-to-ceiling window.
Judging from her aura, she was a Mecha Girl.
Her uniform was so distinctive that she looked very similar to Imperial Scale. However, Imperial Scale's eyes were the color of red roses, vivid and fiery, while this Mecha Girl's eyes were a cold, deep blue, like a blooming blue rose. There was also a tear mole at the corner of her right eye.
At that moment, she was pressed tightly against the glass, her face squashed out of shape.
Those eyes were glaring at Derek Su.
She looked like a husband who had gone out, only to suddenly come home and catch his wife fooling around with another man.
Caught in the act!!
...
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