I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 288: Duty and Luxury
Carter looks at Hawk in disbelief.
"Dude, come on! Are you serious?!" Carter snaps. Hawk’s grin gives him the answer.
"Theodora Montrose is sixteen! Sixteen, bro! She’s a minor!" Carter continues.
"Chill, Carter," Hawk says. He understands where Carter is coming from. Carter had a younger sister who died after being SA’ed. She was sixteen. So Hawk understands completely.
"I’m not going to chill! Men like you need to be wiped out! Disgusting!" Carter spits at Hawk.
Hawk instantly grabs Carter by the neck.
Carter is not a small man. He’s around 182 cm tall, but Hawk is even taller and larger.
He’s around 196 cm and full of muscle.
Grabbing Carter and squeezing him is very easy for Hawk.
But Carter doesn’t back down.
In each of his palms, two fireballs suddenly appear, ready to be launched at Hawk. At the same time, he grabs Hawk’s arm that is holding him by the neck and burns it.
"Jesus, Carter!" Hawk exclaims, but he doesn’t let go.
Hawk uses his other hand to put out the fire on his arm. Once it’s out, he reaches up and burns Carter’s cheek in return. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
"Ow!" Carter yells.
"What the hell is going on?!" Ethan, who has just entered the gym, is shocked to see two of his men fighting with magic in public.
"You two, stop it right now!" Ethan says. He quickly scans the area, relieved to see no one else is around.
He looks back at the two men and barks in a cold voice, "That’s an order!"
Hawk glares at Carter and keeps his palm on Carter’s cheek for a second longer. Then he releases Carter’s neck and lifts his hand away from the cheek at the same time.
"Take a step back, both of you!" another order comes from Ethan.
Both of them obediently take a step back, even though they keep glaring at each other.
"Well?" Ethan waits for an explanation.
Carter touches his cheek. It stings.
He glances at the nearby mirror and sees that his cheek is now red and inflamed, but it won’t scar.
He turns to glare at Hawk again.
Hawk just looks down at him, jaw clenched. It’s clear he is holding back his anger.
He indicates with his chin. "Go on, boy."
He tilts his head. "Explain it."
Carter glares at Hawk.
He takes a deep breath.
Then he turns to Ethan.
"He couldn’t sleep well last night, and by his own admission, it was because he was thinking about Ms. Montrose." He swallows.
Carter sighs. "I guess I snapped and spat at him."
Ethan exhales slowly. He also knows about Carter’s sister. Carter agreed to join the Hunters because he wanted to earn heartstones for his remaining younger siblings. After his sister died, no one was left to take care of the other four, who are between four and ten years old.
As a security guard at a bank in Highcrest, his salary wasn’t enough.
Now, he can afford to send them to school and hire a full-time nanny for them.
Ethan slowly turns his head toward Hawk.
Hawk knows Ethan is waiting for an explanation.
He says, "What the boy said is correct. I’m not denying that. But I want to make one thing clear. I couldn’t sleep not because I was busy fantasizing. I couldn’t sleep because I know she’s a minor. And that is disturbing to me too."
Ethan nods faintly. He believes Hawk.
Even though Hawk is crass, abrasive, rude, and sometimes a ladies’ man, he has never crossed that line.
Not when it comes to minors. Hawk has zero tolerance for it. It doesn’t matter how beautiful, attractive, or cute the other person is.
A minor is a minor.
In fact, Hawk was dishonorably discharged from the military because he beat up a guy who assaulted a minor, almost to death.
Carter looks down.
He forgot about that.
He snapped because he saw his late sister in Thea.
Carter exhales shakily.
"I’m sorry. I snapped," he says.
"I’m sorry I didn’t explain it more clearly," Hawk says.
Ethan smiles faintly.
"Alright, alright. Enough. This matter is closed. End of it. No more."
He takes a deep breath.
"Now go shower. Both of you. You two stink. We need to be at the meeting place in two hours. I want to scout the area first. I don’t want any surprises."
Ethan then turns around and leaves the gym.
Carter and Hawk follow silently behind him.
Each busy with his own thoughts.
------------------------------
Solarys DEU erupts in cheers when they see Alicia.
It is very obvious that she is well liked.
Captain Chambers comes running and almost bear-hugs Alicia, but he stops when he sees her glare.
Instead, he shakes her hand so hard her whole body moves.
Then Lt. Cole comes next, hugging Alicia while crying.
Lt. Kerr only salutes Alicia when welcoming her, but it is clear he is holding back tears.
"I thought Chief Montrose didn’t allow you to come back before you were fully rested?" Alicia asks.
Lt. Kerr can only nod.
"Then what are you doing here?" Alicia asks, looking at Arthur.
"Ms. Lutherford is correct. What are you doing here?" Arthur asks, his voice and tone both all business.
Lt. Kerr clumsily reaches into his pocket and takes out a crumpled envelope. He pales when he sees its condition and quickly tries to smooth it out before handing it to Arthur.
Arthur opens it and reads.
His eyebrow shoots up in disbelief.
"You’re cleared by the doctor?"
Lt. Kerr nods.
Arthur looks at Alicia and hands the letter to her.
She reads it and sighs.
"Yeah, it says here he’s cleared."
She returns the letter to Arthur and says, "But if you don’t believe it, or if you think Lieutenant Kerr is still not ready, it is fully within your authority to send him home to rest."
Before Arthur can respond, Lt. Kerr quickly interjects, "Please don’t send me home, Chief." It is not clear which "Chief" he is addressing.
"I promise I won’t force myself. I can’t stay home and rest, because at home, I keep thinking about the DEU, so I end up not resting. There’s no point in sending me home. I sleep better here."
Solarys DEU provides three sleeping rooms for its officers, and apparently, Lt. Kerr has been sleeping there.
Arthur looks at the young man in front of him.
Lt. Kerr has dark circles under his eyes and looks tired.
Arthur also knows he can’t force him to go home, where he clearly won’t rest.
He sighs faintly.
"Fine, I won’t send you home, but I’m cutting your working hours to five hours only. Anything more than that, and I’ll send you home for two weeks," he adds as a threat.
Lt. Kerr visibly swallows. He salutes Arthur. "Thank you, Chief. I’ll work diligently for five hours only."
"You’re not allowed to do anything else except bring people their drinks and help the receptionist," Arthur adds.
Lt. Kerr is stunned. He knows Arthur is practically assigning him to do nothing.
Alicia is also stunned. She never thought Arthur would give such an order. Another layer of appreciation rises in her heart.
Arthur doesn’t say anything else. He simply continues walking to his office. Rhaenas follows him.
Alicia stays where she is, since so many officers want to talk to her.
She stops them all and says, "I have something I need to do first before I can chat with you. So let me take care of it first, then I’ll come back."
Then she heads to the H&R Department under everyone’s disbelieving gazes.
Alicia sighs. She knows she has some explaining to do.
------------------------------
The Baroness steps out of her luxurious car.
Today, she is wearing a black and white high-neck gown tailored close through the bodice and waist, with sharp structured shoulders and long fitted sleeves. A wide belt cinches her waist, while the skirt falls in dramatic folds, shorter in the front and longer at the back, revealing a glimpse of her legs with each measured step. Paired with black heels, the entire look is elegant, severe, and unmistakably aristocratic.
The Baroness is a regular patron of the Stravale Grand Hotel and Residences. Most of the hotel and apartment staff know her.
The hotel entrance is held open for her. She glides elegantly into the lobby and heads straight to where her lunch meeting will take place: Astravale Lounge, the finest fine dining establishment in Solarys.
The Royal Guild of Culinary & Hospitality Arts has created a ranking system for the entire planet of Altheon, awarding crowns to restaurants that meet its standards. So far, the highest rating ever given by the RGCHA is six crowns.
There are only nine dining establishments in all of Altheon that have received six crowns, and Concordia has two of them.
One is Opaline Terrace in Arvion, where the Baroness is also a regular.
The other is Astravale Lounge in Solarys.
Even though both places hold six crowns, compared to Astravale Lounge, Opaline Terrace is like the younger sister who is always trying to catch up, but never succeeds.
The color tones of both places are exactly the same: dark wood and broken white, with gold accents and iridescent glass.
But while everything in Opaline Terrace is rounded, everything in Astravale is sharply lined, making the whole place look sleek and strong.
Just like me.
The Baroness scans the room, satisfied.
"Good afternoon, Your Ladyship," the maître d’ greets her politely.
"Your usual table is ready, Your Ladyship." He bows and kisses the back of her hand.
"I will not be dining at my usual table. I require a private table for six," the Baroness says in her low, velvety voice.
