Layla died of cancer. Lance got rejected by the dead before she could even confess. Yet Lance could not accept such rejection from the dead girl and find the person who made good use of her heart to know the truth from him on what made Layla fell for him.

This is the story of the dead girl and obsessed guy who loved tmhe dead girl.

Reviewer: Alextherex
Proofreader: SetsunaTiger

Gun-Ho came back to Yangju and went back to his work at Bangil Gas again.
Once sales were made, Gun-Ho issued electronic tax invoices and added earnings and expenses to <Daily Earnings and Expenses> table in Excel, and then reported it to the owner.
 
Gun-Ho made sure to collect all receipts of every business expense incurred and attached them with glue to the back of an expense form he had purchased from a stationary store in order to properly document them. If there was a client with an outstanding balance for LP gas, Gun-Ho would make a collection phone call to that client as well. He also ran errands for the owner.
"Years of my life will go by like this?"
Gun-Ho was barely making a living; he felt anxious about getting old without saving money.
"It's Wednesday and I don't hear anything from that company in Asan which I had an interview with."
Gun-Ho was constantly checking his smartphone to see if there was any text message from the company. He increased the ringtone of his phone to make sure he didn't miss any calls. There was no phone call, let alone any text message.
"I don't think I got the job. Let's just move on; it is a lost cause. So many smart people are out there. I can't compete with them with my rubbish work experience and qualification. I just have to appreciate the opportunity for having a job interview with them."
Friday came around after Wednesday and Thursday. Gun-Ho gave up on getting a position in the company in Asan. He once again started looking through the newspaper classified section and WorkNet; however, there was no job advertisement which drew Gun-Ho's attention.
"The companies posting a bookkeeper job opening in a newspaper classified section will hire a female, not me. If they hire a male for the job, that's probably because the position is half bookkeeping and half irrelevant chores."
After work, Gun-Ho usually surfed the internet on his laptop in dim light or he went to the PC room in the neighborhood. He felt like he was falling so much farther behind in life compared to his high school friends, which made him feel depressed.
"Won-Chul Jo who is now married should be doing fine, shouldn't he? Byung-Tae Hwang who is working in a research facility of a startup company in Pangyo is getting married soon. He posted about his wedding on Facebook but didn't personally inform me. He could easily find my phone number by contacting Won-Chul or the others."
Gun-Ho drank soju almost every other day, and that increased his alcohol tolerance.
"I am destined to live in the countryside. My life is f*cked up. I have ShinWangJaeWang fate? ShinWangJaeWang my a*s."
 
It had been more than two weeks since Gun-Ho had a job interview with the company in Asan. The memory of the interview was fading away when he received a phone call from that company, a very unexpected one at that.
"Mr. Gun-Ho Goo? How are you? I am the manager of YS Tech in Asan."
"Oh, hi. This is Gun-Ho Goo."
"I am sorry that we took a long time to contact you. You have been hired as our bookkeeper. Can you start on the 1st of next month?"
Gun-Ho came to his senses by this unexpected and sudden phone call.
"Oh, of course, sure. I… I can."
"You have only five days left until the 1st of next month. Can you manage to quit the current job and start a new job with us within five days?"
"Of course, of course. I can certainly do that!"
"Let me tell you then what to bring on your first day of work. You might want to get a pen and a paper."
"Yes, I am ready."
Gun-Ho was so perplexed that he dropped his cell phone while looking for a pen and a paper, and stumbled over the computer power cord.
"You should bring a resident registration, a resident registration abstract showing the status of your military service duty, your highest school diploma, Consent to Collect and Use Personal Data, Identity Assurance Statement, and a work experience certificate letter from your current employer. I will send the forms for the Consent to Collect and Use Personal Data and Identity Assurance Statement to the email address indicated on your resume."
"Okay. I will prepare all those documents and bring them on my first day of work!"
"You can come by 8 AM on the 1st next month. I will see you then."
"Thank you. Thank you."
Gun-Ho felt so grateful to be hired by this company that he repeated "thank you" twice.
"I got it! I got the job!"
Gun-Ho clapped. He felt like he could fly.
"By the way, why did they call me just now? They said they would contact me by last Wednesday."
Gun-Ho sat on the chair and started thinking.
"I guess that the person they hired decided not to work with them, so they hired me instead as a substitute. Of course, I can't be their first choice. Well, they hired me anyway. Let's move to Asan."
Gun-Ho stopped by the Eunhyeon Township Office to get the resident registration and the resident registration abstract on the way to work after collecting bills.
"I can get my college diploma online, but what about the work experience certificate letter? There is no such thing in Bangil Gas. Well, I can find some samples on the internet and make one for me."
After he returned to the office, Gun-Ho drafted a work experience certificate letter referring to some examples he found on the internet.
"I need the boss' stamp to officially seal this letter… I have his stamp for the tax invoices stamping purpose; should I just use it?"
Gun-Ho thought he still should ask the owner for it.
"When he comes back from the gas pipe repairing work, I will carefully inform him."
A little after five o'clock, the owner came back to the office, looking exhausted.
"A*sholes! They tried to bargain for the repairing cost. I should have just left without fixing their pipes. Sh*t!"
The owner slumped down in his chair, looking really tired. Gun-Ho had to tell the owner that he would quit the job, but he couldn't because the owner seemed very tired.
"Gee, it is already half past five. Goo Jooim, you can go home."
Gun-Ho hesitated and the owner looked at him with a question mark on his face.
"What's the matter? Do you have something you want to tell me?"
"Umm… I am so sorry to tell you that I think I have to move to the city where my parents are."
"Why? Because your father is in the hospital?"
"My parents want me to come, and they are old now…"
"Hmmm…"
The owner looked very uncomfortable.
"I will have to find someone again. I really liked you here."
"Well, I've been thinking, and I think your wife can handle the work. You can save money that way."
"My wife? She doesn't even know how to work with a computer."
"She just needs to get the knack of it. She will become better and faster at the job after one or two months of practice."
"I know I can save money… But she always tries to argue with me whenever she is here in the office. That is the problem."
"Haha. That's because she likes you a lot."
"Well, I will have to think about it."
"I will work until the end of this month then."
"You leave that early?"
"My parents are pressing me."
"Oh well, what can I do about it."
"And once I move to the city where my parents live in, I might need a work experience certificate letter from this company."
"A work experience certificate letter? I've never done it before."
"I already drafted the letter. I just need your stamp. You can use the same stamp we use for tax invoices."
"Really? Then you do what you have to do."
"Thank you."
"Go home before it gets dark."
"Thank you."
Gun-Ho walked out of the office and turned his head to look behind him.
"Bangil Gas. I have so many good memories of this factory. The boss and his wife are good-natured people. Once I become successful, I will come and visit them."
It was getting dark; Gun-Ho drove to the Gwangjeok Township Office area where his room was located. He called the landlord to give him the notice to vacate his room.

This is the story of a poor young man whose poverty even shreds apart their family willing to climb his way through society and into the top. A very realistic novel that moves away from fantasy and sci-fi and focuses solely on the issues of society and life.

3rd person POV:

The air in Yorkshire was inevitably a bit special. For both muggles and the wizards. In a small village in south, there laid numerous fields and tiny, little cottages. The folks who resided there wouldn't let their sheep graze on a full moon. 
They heard many howls. Some of their sheep go missing on every full moon day. The folks were scared and never stepped out in nights during that time. Who didn't know of Mrs. John's sheep? The poor things were torn apart.
Since then, there was this unspoken rule to never come out on a full moon. They recollected nothing at all, what happened. Hence they were a little afraid. Afraid of getting cursed.
And Remus John Lupin cannot be anymore thankful for that. This way, he didn't injure any innocent lives.
He sighed and went to his home. It was a tumbledown, semi-derelict cottage. But this was all he had. And he was fine with it.
Living in poverty was not a problem for Lupin. He was… accustomed to it. He had to. Being a werewolf, he couldn't get good jobs. And due to his sickness after every full moon, those hard earned jobs would lost too.
And it happened once again. He lost his job. Again. He didn't know what to do. There were extremely few places that were willing to hire him. And he was kicked out from almost every one of them. The underground had plenty of offers to him. But he didn't prefer them. He'd rather suffer in poverty than to do something that was against his morals.
He wondered why the fate was so cruel to him.
There was a knock on his cracked windows. It was an owl. The one he didn't recognize. Only few people remembered him. And it was not Christmas either. So a letter to him was rare.
He accepted the letter from the owl. The owl was peculiar. It didn't wait till he read the letter. It just flew away after it had given him the letter.
It was a good thing anyway He didn't have owl treats with him.
He examined the letter. It was a pure white envelope with a golden flower seal he knew nothing about. Quite different from the usual parchment. Curiously, he read the letter.
[
To Remus John Lupin,
The Haunted Cottage, Blue fields, South Yorkshire, England.

Dear Mister Lupin,
It is my pleasure and honour to inform you that you have been recommended to work with Magnolia. 
If you are interested in working with us, please visit your nearest Magnolia branch for the interview by 2nd June, evening.
Further details will be divulged by the supervisor when you reveal this letter. 
Yours Sincerely,
Regina Silvers.
(Head of training and recruitment, Fiore.)
]
Lupin blinked and read the letter again. He checked for any charms on it. There was nothing wrong with it. 
He felt this was all very unreal. Someone recommended him. To work in Magnolia. It felt like a dream.
Because he knew it wasn't likely to happen in reality. But it was true. He could just hope this was not an elaborate prank on him.
If all of this was real, he would need to get this job. Especially if it's from Magnolia. The place he didn't even dare to step in.
Frankly speaking, Magnolia was a store. But not the mundane ones. It's a store which sold nearly everything. From potions to ancient spells, everything could be brought for a price. Except the illegal goods, most probably.
Many people were skeptical but they were soon flabbergasted by it.
Because the store remain a huge mystery. No one knew it's owner(s). But that didn't prevent anyone from going there. It had every single thing they needed. 
There were many rumours about that place. Like how the people who tried to do anything funny were taught a brutal lesson. Like how it had things which didn't exist anywhere else. Like how it even provided many services. Like how it had branches all over the world, etc.
And how it offered 'tickets' to a place called 'Fiore' which was even more magical. It was something that every pureblood sought after.
And Remus got an opportunity to work there. He didn't know what they wanted from him. But he would be regretting it if he didn't give his best shot.

***


Lupin arrived at Leeds. He wore the best set of robes he had. He went towards the Golden Acre Park and sat on a bench with a large Magnolia, similar to the seal on the letter carved on it. And he disappeared from the place and reappeared in front of a store. It was titled MAGNOLIA. It was his first time coming here.
He heard many rumours about this place. But there were no one present.
There was even a closed sign hung on the doors. As he feared, he was played.
As he was about to walk away in disappointment, the letter shone brightly and the lights engulfed him.
Moments later, he was sitting in a nice chair. He noticed there were many people other than him, inside this massive room which contained many chairs. Maybe few thousands.
Few people like him just appeared and the others looked like they've been waiting for a long time.
He decided to wait. After some time, there was a flash next to him. A brunette appeared beside him. She looked comparatively young. She looked at the man and asked awkwardly.
"Um… Hello? Do you have any idea where we are?" She asked with an accent he thought was American.
"Did you receive the Letter?"
"Yeah."
"Then please read it once again. It has some details."
The brunette nodded thankfully and read her letter. It had a note which asked to wait till all the recipients of the letter have arrived.
"Thank you for that."
"Your most welcome."
"Um… I know it sounds meaningless, but are you also here for the interview?"
"Yes. I am."
"Are you, English?"
"From Yorkshire." 
"So you came from England then, huh."
"Yes, I do."
"Oh dear!"
"Anything wrong with that?"
"No… nothing. It's just, I'm from New Jersey, America. I never expected to see an English wizard here."
"You can see all the wizards around the world here."
"Sigh… So the rumours that Magnolia had branches all over the world was true then."
"It seems to be."
There was a strained silence yet again. They both just stayed quiet. They were nervous, too.
Suddenly, there was a table in front of them. It had some food laid on it.
Both of them looked at each other and checked their letters once again. Nothing was there in it.
Instead, there was a little note saying 'Refreshments' on the table.
It was the same with everyone. All had them.
Remus looked at the food on the table. There were some pumpkin pastries, cauldron cakes and his favourite, chocolates.
He grabbed some and started to eat like everyone. The woman beside him too, started eating a serving apple pie.
"What are those?" She asked curiously. 
Remus politely stated all of them, and she did the same. Apparently, they both possessed a sweet tooth. The American Witch introduced herself.
"I'm Chloe Smith. You can call me Chloe."
"Nice to meet you, Chloe. I'm Remus Lupin, call me Remus if you like."
They both chatted for a little. It was uncommon. To meet international wizards or witches unless you have a travel permit.
Chloe was a young witch who worked as an enchanter in New Jersey. She resigned the job and then after sometime, she received the letter too.
They talked about many things. Remus told her about Hogwarts, and she said about Ilvermorny, etc.
After a few hours, the seats were full.
There was an announcement from the centre of the hall.
A huge screen appeared. It revealed the face of a middle aged woman. The woman started speaking.
"I thank all the Wizards and Witches who have come here on our request. I'm Regina Silvers."

"It would be so nice...if we could meet each other once again."
Mia died due to a mistake. It wasn't her fault, not any human's at least.
So as a compensation, she is given the ability of a 'Pancosmic Traveler'
Meaning that she would be reincarnating as she completes her missions...
But is that what she really wants?
Not everyone can leave their past behind.

[the plot is currently in Potterverse.
Mia already completed her missions in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Fairy Tail and Hunger Games]

Note: This is just a fanfic. I do not own Harry Potter or any other works.

In a small town in the southeast of China, the town was doing propaganda work, mobilizing everyone to the Land of Heritage to seek refuge.
"Everyone, listen up. These are the instructions from above. If you enter the arcane realm, your safety is guaranteed; if you remain outside, nobody will take care of you... If you enter the arcane realm, you'll have a job; if you stay outside, you'll lose your job," the mobile propaganda car went back and forth on a short main street of the town.
There was a coal mine nearby. Owing to the exhaustion of the coal mine and the collapse of the ground, most of the people had moved to a housing estate in the town where the development was concentrated. They had abandoned their farming work and changed to other occupations such as opening restaurants and involving in logistics, while young people went to school and worked part-time outside the town, etc...
This also made propaganda work easier. It no longer had to be like before, where it could only be done on the way to the village most of the time from day to night.
The former village and land had collapsed due to coal mining and became a large swamp.
A part of it had been converted into fish ponds and contracted to fishermen. The other part became a local tourist attraction for the townspeople and citizens to enjoy on weekends.
Although the townspeople lived a hard life, they were still comfortable.
Even if the Shenyuan era had started and there was a Dragon God in the sky, the place was remote and there were no demons, devils, spirits or monsters. The townspeople's understanding of the demons and devils was entirely from the Internet and some TV programs on exploration.
The propaganda car's effort was not in vain. Now, most of the townspeople had chosen to follow the long relocation team and go to the provincial capital where there were specialized members of the organization who would organize them to go to the north by car to enter the arcane realm.
All real estates that could not be moved would be estimated and converted into a living fund for them as a basis of survival in the arcane realm.
As for bank deposits, it would also be counted and superimposed on the living funds.
If this was not the case, it would be very difficult for many people to abandon the houses and properties that they had accumulated for six generations.
According to the propaganda car, the prices in the arcane realm were the same as that outside.
The food was still the original price, a pound of rice for $1 and a pound of pork for $10. Of course, the price fluctuation would happen. This was just a rough description.
For the people of China, as long as there was still food, most people would be able to settle down.
However, there were still some people in the town who would not leave. They were mainly old people and their children who did not want to abandon the elderly.
They did not want to live in the arcane realm. They just wanted to die on familiar land.
These people would not move until their very last moment.
In a fish pond outside the town, an old man was looking at the fish pond. His name was no longer remembered by others unless they went to see his identity card or household register.
Everyone only knew that his surname was Wang and they all called him Uncle Wang.
Uncle Wang was more than 70 years old and was a lonely old man.
It was not that he did not want to go to the arcane realm but he wanted to collect this year's fish before going.
After all, this pond of fish could sell for a few $10,000. He was reluctant to leave it like this. Many old people were not willing to throw away even a bowl of leftover rice, let alone a few $10,000 worth fishes that were about to be collected.
'Anyway, I haven't encountered anything in the past few years. Delaying for another ten days to half a month should be fine.'
With such wishful thinking, he still guarded the fish pond every day to prevent the fish from being eaten by some demons who grew sapience, such as that clever crow.
This guy had learned fishing and netting, could you believe it? A crow that could actually fish.
As for big demons who dared to eat people, of course, it did not exist. If it did, it would have been taken away by the Dragon God in the sky.
For this, Uncle Wang was still very grateful. During every festival and New Year, he would lit incense to the Sir Dragon God...
'It would be nice if the crow was taken away too.'
Today, Uncle Wang looked at the few simple fishing nets that appeared in the center of the fish pond and thought gloomily.
This fishing net was obviously not made by a human. The guys who stole fish would not use this kind of low efficient fishing net.
"Caw caw... Old Man Wang, you still won't go away? Everyone is gone. Be careful, you might be dragged away and eaten by some monster today!"
At this moment, a black crow flew from the sky and landed on the tattered fishing net. It picked up a small fish hanging on the net and swallowed it. After that, it flew above Uncle Wang's head and shouted wantonly.
"Awful guy, sooner or later, you'll be taken away by the Dragon God." Uncle Wang's body was weak and the folks were forbidden from having weapons to harm birds so he could not do anything to this newborn demon. He could only scold angrily.
"Caw caw caw, he won't look at a little monster like me. I don't eat people anyway. I just eat some fish and shrimp. What should I be afraid of? Moreover, although the fishes are contracted to you, the water is not yours. Do you think only you can raise fish? I can also raise fish," the crow said with confidence.
While they were arguing, big bubbles suddenly appeared in the fish pond.
"Caw caw caw, the monster is coming!" The crow was brave and was a weirdo that even dared to peck a cat's ass. When it saw this, it just flew higher and then gloated.
Uncle Wang immediately stepped back and picked up the harpoon next to him.
He wanted to run away, but he could not. He could only hope that it would be like last time where a dragon flew across the sky and the monster who ate people was taken away.
However, this time, the dragon came a little slow.
In the pond, a long monster suddenly emerged. Its body was very long, the small part that was out of the water was already four or five meters long. It had a pointed and thin head but there was no face, looking a little strange.
Uncle Wang was so scared that his legs turned to jelly. He had seen a monster before, but last time he passed out...
When he woke up, he saw the Dragon God descended from the sky and killed the monster.
He was not sure if he had such luck this time.
After the monster came out, it did not attack him immediately.
A voice came from the long worm that had no face.
"Submit to the great Shadow King and you shall be pardon!"
Old Man Wang subconsciously looked at the sky but he did not see any signs of the Dragon God flying over.
He slowly moved backward.
"Stupid human, the Shadow Earth Dragon has given you a chance but you don't cherish it." The long worm shot out of the water and slammed into the faltering old man.
Old Man Wang only saw how to avoid monster attacks on TV, how could he use it?
He had an experience before but it did not help too.
At this moment, the crow suddenly shot down.
It peaked somewhere on the worm and flew away quickly.
The worm seemed to have taken a fatal blow and returned to the water at a faster speed.
"A mere mutated earthworm, you think I'll be afraid of you?" The crow said proudly and then wondered in puzzlement, "But it's weird. I thought earthworms can't live in the water?"
Old Man Wang took this opportunity and quickly fled the pond and rode his motorized tricycle.
"Thank you, crow. Next time I'll give you a big fish to eat," he said as he turned the ignition.
"If you really want to thank me, just get out of here quickly and let me contract the fish pond!" The crow did not appreciate his thanks but shouted imprudently.
This time, Old Man Wang did not argue with the other party. He was just about to ride the tricycle and leave.
At this moment, a person suddenly fell from the sky.
"It's Sir Dragon God!" When Old Man Wang saw that, he quickly stopped the motorized car and went over to salute him.
"There was a monster that appeared just now, what did it say?" Vigilante A asked.
Old Man Wang hurriedly told everything that happened earlier respectfully.
He knew that Dragon God had sharp eyes and it was said that he could see what was happening on the ground clearly across thousands of miles.
"Shadow King?" Vigilante A nodded and then looked at the crow in the sky. "Why did you save him just now?"
"Saving people need a reason? This old man has been raising fish for me for four years. I can't just watch him die, right? Anyway, that earthworm monster is a paper tiger. It might seem big but except hitting people, it could not do anything to me because I can fly," the crow waved his wings and said proudly.
"That's rare, you're really a kind-hearted bird. This is a letter of recommendation. You can become Sky Eagle's disciple and learn some cultivation ability for birds," Vigilante A said and threw a handwritten letter to that crow.
The crow held the handwritten letter with its mouth and hurriedly thanked him, "Thank you, Sir Dragon God."
This was a rare opportunity. Although it was very arrogant, it knew that if it can be a disciple of the boss of the bird clan, it would have a smooth future. It might even earn himself the title of "King of Crow".
Now that human beings had withdrawn from Earth, it was conceivable that this land would be filled with demons, spirits, insects, and devils. There would be many opportunities. As the most intelligent crow, it must seize this opportunity.


Procrastinator extraordinaire, Fang Ning, had lost his consciousness after banging his head on a night of celebration. He woke up to a realization that he no longer had control of his body, as a System had taken it over. Will he eventually regain control of his body or will he be trapped in his body forever? How does he maneuver this situation? What's in store for Fang Ning?

It was a lady neighbor who saw her.  

"Are you running away?" The woman eyed the bundle in Sovhona's hand.

"No, just visiting a friend who is giving birth soon. She asked for my help so I came. We'll be staying for a month here and we'll go back. My husband knows." Sovhona clutched the bundle tightly with one of her daughter's hand. Her palm was sweating cold but she tried to show composure.

'I can't stay here or continue to Shaheb Arup's house.' She had to go elsewhere because of this woman. Then Sovhona saw a pregnant woman going into a house by the river bank. She followed in. "Reba? I'm here." 

The woman she called Reba coincidentally looked back. Sovhona took the chance and ran with her children to the pregnant lady's side. The neighbor believed her and went about her business.

Sovhona breathed deep, relieved. 

"Who are you calling, Auntie?" The confused pregnant lady asked her. 

"Sorry, I thought you're the person I'm looking for because she is also pregnant. We're leaving now. Bye." Sovhona scampered after she saw the neighbor was out of sight. As they were about to go further, a man's voice took her attention. "Anything I can do for you?"

It was Ninu. The pregnant lady was standing at his back.

"Oh sorry, for disturbing. I got lost. I thought this was my friend's house."

"No problem," Ninu said. Sovhona saw the man gave the pregnant woman a basket of fruits. The kids eyed the basket as the pregnant lady walked out. She knew they were hungry. 

Sovhona gathered her courage and retraced her steps to the porch were Ninu stood. "Shaheb, can I ask some water for my daughters?"

"Come, let the kids sit here and I'll get you water."

As Ninu came back, Sovhona gathered her courage. "Shaheb, do you have food? My kids are hungry and I don't have money. Please spare some for my daughters."

Ninu looked down at the bundle and the kids' sweating face and dusty feet. "You came from afar?  Where is your husband?"

Sovhona didn't answer the question but lowered her head. She gulped some saliva. "Sorry for disturbing you and your pregnant wife. We'll leave soon but please I beg you for a small portion of rice for my daughters."

Ninu was silent, amused. What wife? He chuckled to himself. "That was a friend taking the fruits I newly harvested. You don't mind if I'll give your kids some fruits? There's plenty but I don't have rice here."

"That's okay, fruits will do. thank you very much." She clasped her hands together and bowed twice.

Ninu gave the kids slices of watermelons. He also saw Sovhona watchful on the rickshaw and cars passing by. 'They might have run away.'

"Is anything wrong? Did you run away?" Ninu asked.

Sovhona panicked but she also wanted to cry and ask for help from this kind man. Ninu caught her expression. "Don't be afraid. Try me."

"Ah … ah … yes, we ran away from my husband's family. They bullied us." She didn't explain more. This was a common thing everywhere in the country. 

Ninu thought for a while. "Do you need a job?"

Sovhona's eyes grew big. This man could be their life-saver. "What kind of job?"

"I need someone to look after my fruit plantation. It won't be much. All you need to do is to look after the trees, help with watering and the harvest, and report to me for pests or for thefts."

"That's all?"

"Yes, that's all. And you have a house you can stay and the pay is good."

"I take it." She didn't hesitate a second. This was the opportunity she needed than running straight to Arup's house. Sovhona was not even certain on what way Arup would accept her statements. She and her kids might be killed if Arup wished. However, this man, for sure, was a good man. The farmhouse would be their sanctuary, their new home.

"Good. Come, so you can settle right away and the kids can rest." Ninu brought her on the way to his farm. It was far from this house. Regardless of the woman's reason, he didn't bother to ask more. He only wished to help. This was the Ninu people knew, the kind-hearted father of Asha.
. . . . .

While Sovhona was talking to Ninu earlier, Rimas checked the road to Arup's mansion but he didn't go in. He left as soon as possible. Then on his way back, the neighbor who saw Sovhona came to his view. The lady also saw him. 

"Aya, Rimas Bhai. Why are you letting Sovhona Bon and the children walk while you are riding a rickshaw?"

"What do you mean?" Rimas faked concern.

"I newly met her. She went to a friend's house with her children. Don't be cruel to her. She is still your wife. Give her some money for such trivial matters."

"Thank you for telling me. I've been looking for them. I actually forgot to give her when she asked this morning. I came to give her the money. Where was this friend's house?"

The lady was skeptical of the truthfulness of his words but pointed the house for him nonetheless. Rimas took the initiative to give her some money to show his thankfulness and left.

Rimas looked closely at the house. "Sovhona, Sovhona. You'll be sorry for running away." He knocked on the door. No one answered. He knocked again, still, no movement inside. 

He went to the back of the house. No one was around. He tried to peek in but the doors and windows were tightly shut.

He decided to come back later.
. . . . .

Ninu showed Sovhona to the house beside his farm. Nothing much yet to be seen out there. Water was scarce but the well he dug nearby would be sufficient for the saplings until rainy season came. There were only three kinds of fruits which could be harvested: banana, lemon, and watermelon.

"Please feel at home. What's your name again?" He pulled some chairs for them.

"Sovhona and my two girls are Aarya and Nayani." Sovhona placed the bundle on the ground and wiped the sweat from her daughter's faces with her shawl. 

Ninu tried to recall anyone with that name he could have known before but nothing popped out.

"Okay, settle down. I'll visit you again tomorrow."

He never perceived he gave haven for the witness he needed to redeem his name and innocence.
. . . . .
Ronjon revisited the ticketing office half a month after, and at last, a piece of good news welcomed him. It was announced on the bulletin board, part of the planes would be given to the nationals via first come first serve basis and the other half was for the expatriates. He expediently wrote their names in the list prepared for those who already had their tickets. They were among those scheduled to leave the country two weeks after.

He was overjoyed that he grabbed a paper and envelope to send a letter to Asha, to tell her the good news. He pocketed the letter for now and went to Harry.

Then Harry told him another good news. The immunity he fought was granted. However, they had to come back not long after independence. If they could be home before independence, which was scheduled the following year, then it would be easier for them.

In Ronjon's mind, regardless of what country they would come back later, he desired nothing else but to be with Asha. His heart felt light after days of restlessness, of seeking a way to go to Asha's side.

Harry also informed Ronjon of his flight, which was scheduled two days ahead of them. After hearing Harry would arrive first, he handed over his letter for Asha.

Ninu also met Harry once and asked the latter to give his letter to his daughter. 
. . . . .

Asha received the letters from her father and Ronjon when Harry arrived in Paris. She now stood outside the airport waiting and excited for Ronjon and her in-laws' to arrive.

Asha is now on the brink of helplessness and despair. Would she let despair to chase her for the rest of her life? Thus, she faces the man who wanted her dead and to stand as a woman in the world of chefs. 

She will create her own dishes and make his father's recipes alive again. Her adventures lead to clues of the real killer of his father and get entangles with love. 

Somehow, when she is face to face with the murderer, will she forgive or not? The Recipe of Love will show her the right decision to make.

This is a story of a girl in her journey to become a lady chef while in life-threatening situations and falls in love. So, don't expect a fast pace cooking battles. It is Asha's journey.

The setting of the story is India before its Independence in 1947. The exact timeline is 1945. However, in the first part of the story, I didn't use during the British occupation since the places/villages I mentioned do not exist in the present country. I used Bangla words since the culture is more on present Bangladesh. 

This is absolutely a fiction story.

If you have questions about the culture, please ask me in the comment and I'll try to explain things to you. I can't write the culture within the story for that will bore you to death. Most are written in the Author's Thoughts.

(This novel won the 2nd place in the writing prompt contest #34: Chef, but got the same prize as the first place. Thanks to all who supported.)

Latest and ongoing book: 
1. The Sorceress' Heir: Blossoming Youth and Power

2. My completed book:
I'm Guilty, My Beauty

The contents of the paper was mostly thanking him for destroying Jose's cannon, as he planned on destroying the whole town with it, but thanks to Adrian, his plans were foiled. It then went on telling him about how a few of the members of the guild were criminals that the council were trying to arrest for a while but couldn't find them, but thanks to Adrian they managed to arrest them all

The end of the letter was what surprised him though, it said 'Due to your actions, and the strength you have shown, the Magic Council have decided to award you with the title of 5th Saint, should you choose to accept'.

[Host, should you accept you shall be rewarded with 50,000 points, as you have will have replaced Jura as he was supposed to take the 5th seat, changing the story]

Adrian: Well, what are we waiting for let's go and accept already. I need all the points that i can get

After informing the master about what the letter had said, Makarov was shocked and practically chased him out the guild, shouting at him saying that he'd better take this job, as it would ease the council with matters involving Fairy Tail, and won't drive him to an early grave. Adrian said that he'd go straight away, unaware of the fact that when he'd return, he would return to a massive party, organised by the master himself

Adrian, while on the road to the Magic Council HQ, was wearing a completely new outfit, it was the outfit that is worn by Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist, which made him look great, and only cost him 500 points

Adrian stood outside the HQ and immediately met with a magic knight who had seen Adrian before, and was then taken in straight away, as he was the talk of the Magic Council for a while now, and was told to keep an eye out for him

When Adrian walked in he was greeted by a woman called Belno, who looked at him coldly, which got Adrian thinking 'she's probably mad since i beat up Gajeel' 

However after a few seconds of glaring at Adrian she sighed and nodded to him which he returned. Looking around he noticed Siegrain, Ultear, Org, Michello, Leiji, and Crawford looking at him with interest, then a short man known as Yajima started speaking

Yajima: Now that our guest has arrived lets get down to business. Young one, we believe that you would be pefect for the role of the 5th Saint, we have been watching you for a while now and how you've been progressing at a very fast rate, already an S class member, and being able to contend against Makarov better an better every time. Everyone here believes that it would be very benficial for both you and us if you were to join, especially with all the trouble that Fairy Tail get into hahaha, so, what do you say? 

Adrian: Thank you very much for this opportunity, i would be more than honoured to accept the role of 5th Saint, i won't let you down

Yajima: Hahaha, theres a good lad, well as everyone here has no objections with you joining, i now pronounce you 5th Saint

Adrian: Thank you all very very much (Adrian said with a small bow)

Adrian was then given the paperwork which was proof of him being the 5th saint, and was already signed by everyone present, so all that was left was for him to sign in himself, which he had done so quickly. Looking around he noticed that everyone had small smiles, it was easy to know that although Belno hated what he did to Gajeel, she knew herself that he deserved what happened, and hoped that he'd learn from his mistakes. Org and Leiji were both giving off genuine smiles, happy that a strong youngster has joined them, wishing that he'd be able to live up to their expectations

However, what Adrian also noticed was the smirk that Crawford, Siegrain and Ultear were all giving. Crawford was thinking 'It will be much easier to control him now, i should inform them and let them know that they'll have a very good soldier coming their way soon, maybe I'll even get rewarded. 

Siegrain on the other hand was thinking 'He is quite the peculiar one, with no magic power he's managed to become a Saint, he will be a very useful pawn in the future

Ultear was currently planning on getting him to join her and Siegrain in their revival plans for Zeref and how she would control him

On his way home from college one day, he was crushed to death by construction beams. 

Now he begins his new life in a place where magic and dragons exist. 

A place where he will become the strongest of them all and take the world by storm

[This is all Fanfiction, i dont own Fairy Tail or any of the other animes that may be included in this story, this is done purely out of the enjoyment i get from anime, and thought it would be fun... enjoy!]

In Twilight City, the fellas from Quan Zhen Sect were already calm. After claiming the entire main city, the fresh adrenaline died down and they went back to do whatever they were doing before. In fact, the new City Lord, Wang Yu, was even running around without any restraint. Currently, there was yet another uprising on the game's forum.
City Lord!!
At this moment, there was no fixed authority to each district yet someone already snatched the title of a City Lord. This was simply outrageous.
"Iron Bull… That Iron Bull again… The one from Quan Zhen Sect, right?"
Ever since the game opened its server, Wang Yu had been on numerous system announcement. Those who had better memories would know the guild he was from.
Quan Zhen Sect had always been the notorious guild in the game. They were more famous for committing the small crimes which everyone couldn't be too bothered with.
It would be logical if a big name guild like Sanguine Alliance took the position of City Lord. Even if everyone knew that Wang Yu was a top expert, it was still unbelievable how a player from such a small guild managed to claim the title of City Lord.
After all, treasuring a jade ring becomes a crime especially for an ordinary man. 
It was true that the weak are prey to the strong in this game. If a small guild dared to be the City Lord, aren't they inviting trouble for themselves?
Therefore, there were all sorts of opinions on the forum. Some were saying how the Quan Zhen Sect had their own backing while others mentioned that the Quan Zhen Sect was simply ignorant. Some of the more arrogant players even expressed their intention to head over to Twilight City to bring down Quan Zhen Sect.
Of course, those who commented something like that were all keyboard warriors… Those with actual abilities would never go around announcing such things.
On the forum, everybody already started treating Twilight City as their imaginary enemy while the City Lord, Wang Yu, was still strolling outside the blacksmith shop.
While the Quan Zhen Sect might be some small guild in the eyes of the other guilds from other cities, the Quan Zhen Sect was a true gang leader in the eyes of the guilds here.
Not too long ago, everyone knew about how the Quan Zhen Sect pulled Choba 345 into their sect. Therefore, the blacksmith job in Twilight City grew extremely popular.
The business at the blacksmith shop also improved tremendously as the entire blacksmith shop was filled with people who all wanted to stand out as an ordinary blacksmith.
One must know that Wang Yu was the number one figure in the entire Twilight City, especially in the blacksmith shop. These commoners were more familiar with Wang Yu than anyone else.
Seeing the arrival of Wang Yu, everyone opened up a path for him to walk through.
"Brother Bull is here again… Are you here to forge another God-grade equipment? You can use my stall! I can support you… Does your Quan Zhen Sect still lack another blacksmith?" A series of questions could be heard as everyone wanted to be a part of the Quan Zhen Sect. 
However, they didn't know that Wang Yu looked up to Choba 345 mainly because he had exceedingly outstanding skills and abilities.
Wang Yu rejected the offer politely as he said, "Thank you, everyone, for your offer but I am not forging anything today. I'm here to complete a quest."
"What quest? We can help you!"
Experts would always be welcomed everywhere they went. This was especially true for down-to-earth experts like Wang Yu. Sensing the good temper of Wang Yu, everyone expressed their willingness to help him with his quest.
"There is no need for that!" Wang Yu wiped his sweat nervously.
Bad news rides fast while good news baits later. This quest involved the family scandal of the previous City Lord so why would Wang Yu go around telling other people about it? 
After squeezing through the crowd, Wang Yu finally arrived in front of Simba.
Simba looked like his usual half-dead self. 
"Hey, teacher," Wang Yu greeted Simba. 
Simba lifted his weary eyes and realised that Wang Yu was the one standing in front of him. He asked, "It's you? What wine did you bring for me?"
Wang Yu was slightly taken aback at how the system NPC would demand bribes now. It seemed like many youngsters were not thoughtful enough that it forced the NPC's IQ to increase to a level as such. Indeed, times are really improving.
"Hehe, I didn't bring any wine this time. However, you have to treat me to some wine," Wang Yu replied pridefully.
Simba didn't even look at Wang Yu as he replied, "Quit the nonsense! You don't have any wine… Eh? Isn't this the letter I gave Ally? Why is it with you?"
Before Simba could finish his sentence, Wang Yu took out the letter Ally gave him to wave it in front of him. Simba cried out moments after noticing the letter.
Oh! To think that this letter was actually a love letter given by Simba to the City Lord's wife. Looking at the degree of flirtatious behaviour in the letter, it seemed like this old blacksmith was a rather passionate lover.
Wang Yu chuckled as he replied, "Hehe! I've exacted revenge for you and I've thrown your love rival off the throne. Don't you think I deserve some kind of reward?"
Simba scratched his beard as he replied, "Rubbish! Why has this got to do with me?"
"Since this is the case, I shall head back first!" Wang Yu kept the letter as he pretended to leave.
Seeing how Wang Yu was about to walk away, Simba held onto Wang Yu's legs before saying, "Eh, eh, eh, don't leave yet. Say, what do you want as a reward?"
Wang Yu smiled as he answered, "How about upgrading my [Magical Refining] to the peak grade? This should be within your capabilities right?"
[Magical Refining] was a hidden secondary job skill. Besides the quests given out by mentors, one had to find ancient notes left behind or something like that before it could be upgraded. Such plaything could only be discovered but not sought. If he didn't make use of this opportunity to request for a reward like this, it might take donkey years for him to upgrade it to peak grade. 
"This… There are restrictions in the system which stops me from giving it out easily."
"Then I shall leave now…" Wang Yu, once again, attempted to leave.
Simba hurriedly called him back, "Don't leave! Don't worry, as long as there is a quest, I will be able to give you the reward that you want."
For intelligent NPCs, the rewards in their hands were all up to them to give it out.
Wang Yu also knew the logic that while humans (NPCs) were acting, the heavens (system) were watching. Some things could not be forced, no matter how one tried. Therefore, Wang Yu was naturally not going to continue acting tough after hearing what Simba said. 
"Alright, I shall accept this simply because of the good relationship we had in the past." Wang Yu smiled happily as he handed the letter to Simba.
"Little brat! Just you wait!" After receiving the letter, Simba's expression changed completely as he glared furiously into Wang Yu's eyes. After that, he took a close look at Ally's letter.
Who knew that as he read the letter, Simba's eyelids grew red as tears started rolling down his cheeks.
"Is this the tears of happiness?" Wang Yu sighed.
However, Simba's expression remained malevolent as both his hands were trembling. He did not look happy at all which made Wang Yu curious about the content of the letter. 
Just when wild thoughts were going through Wang Yu's head, Simba finally finished reading the letter. Infuriated, he crushed the letter into a ball and wanted to throw it out. However, he couldn't bear to do so in the end.
"What was written on it?" Wang Yu could no longer contain his curiosity so he asked.
Simba handed the letter back to Wang Yu before saying, "Take a look at it for yourself!"
"Ohh."
Wang Yu opened the letter hurriedly.
"En, oh!"
After staring at it for a few seconds, Wang Yu said, "I don't recognise these words…"
"…" Simba stared at Wang Yu without saying anything before waving his huge hand over the letter. The weird words on the letter turned into Chinese words.


Catching arrows, running up walls, crushing boulders and bending metal, these are but petty parlour tricks in the eyes of a true martial artist. But where can a martial artist stand in an era of material pursuit?

Join Wang Yu, the greatest martial genius the world has ever seen, as he takes on the gaming world of <<REBIRTH>>, where dragons, demons and immortals are more than just legends.

After that, He Ying asked Lu Zhou a lot of questions on behalf of the audience, and Lu Zhou responded to them one by one.
This included how controllable fusion technology would affect the lives of ordinary people.
And what kind of positive impacts the energy breakthrough would have on the nation's economy.
Also, Lu Zhou's own personal future plans…
Of course, Lu Zhou obviously didn't talk about any sensitive technology topics.
Once they were done with the interview, some people would edit the content of the program before the program would be officially broadcasted. They would edit out those sensitive topics.
Of course, since these things were handled by the professional production team, Lu Zhou didn't have to worry about it.
In the second half of the interview, during the audience interactive session, an 11-year-old girl walked on stage. She stood next to Lu Zhou while holding a large bouquet of clove pinks. 
She stared at Lu Zhou with her big, bright eyes as she handed out the bouquet in her hand.
"My teacher told us that you should put the flowers in a vase, next to your bedside table. This will make you feel better. Grandpa said that you used knowledge to help a lot of people, he wants you to get better. Also, I want to become a scientist like you when I grow up…"
It wasn't easy for the little girl to say all this, especially while holding a large bunch of flowers.
The young girl took a deep breath. She looked absolutely adorable.
"Thank you for your clove pink!"
Lu Zhou smiled and took the flowers from her hand. Even though he knew this was probably arranged by the show production team, he still smiled and said gratuitously, "Smelling the flower is already making me feel a lot better. Remember to tell your teacher I said thank you!"
The little girl blushed and nodded. She then turned around and ran off stage.
The audience erupted in applause.
In the midst of the applause, the show also came to an end.
Lu Zhou left the studio and went into the green room.
After He Ying expressed her gratitude to Lu Zhou on behalf of the production team, she continued to speak, "Professor Lu, are you free later?"
Lu Zhou: "Why, what's up?"
He Ying smiled and said, "Nothing much, I just wanted to grab food with you or something."
"Let's get food another day. I'm afraid Doctor Yan won't let me eat anything before I leave the hospital," Lu Zhou said with a smile.
Yan Yan, who was standing behind him, didn't say anything. However, she obviously agreed.
Even though she didn't have the power to control Lu Zhou's actions, as his personal doctor, she was still responsible for all of his health concerns.
Even though He Ying was a little disappointed, she still smiled. "Okay then, another day it is."
After Lu Zhou left the TV studio, he went back into his car. He was surprised to find out that the 301 Hospital guards that followed him here were gone. Instead, in came Wang Peng, who he hadn't seen for three days.
Lu Zhou was sitting in the back seat. He looked at the familiar face through the rearview mirror and said, "I thought you went home for the holidays."
Wang Peng made a helpless expression.
"No holidays for me, I'll probably lose my end-of-year bonus as well."
Forget about the end-of-year bonus.
If it weren't for his previous excellent record, he would be in even more trouble right now.
He had been constantly berated by the higher-ups over the past few days.
"No end-of-year bonus? Why…" Lu Zhou suddenly realized something and awkwardly said, "It's not because of me, right?"
Wang Peng smiled and didn't say anything.
It was quite difficult for him to answer this question.
Of course, he didn't complain about the punishment. After all, it was his job to protect Lu Zhou. And now, it seemed like he had failed his job.
However, Lu Zhou, who knew the real reason of why he was sick, felt somewhat guilty. After all, he wasn't poisoned or malnourished into a coma or something. It was purely because he leveled up his discipline. His brain couldn't handle the information overload… 
Lu Zhou decided he should do something to compensate for this.
"Oh, I see, I'll write a letter for you and explain the situation to the higher-ups."
Wang Peng was suddenly anxious, and he said, "Oh please don't, please don't do this."
Lu Zhou said, "No, this isn't your fault. It's mainly because I didn't take care of my body…"
Suddenly, Yan Yan interrupted him.
"His department has rules and regulations. If someone said that he made a mistake, then he made a mistake. There's no debate about that… If you really write a letter for him, not only will it not help him, but it will give him more trouble."
She was also punished in the same regard.
The reason why she wasn't fired from her current position was that 301 Hospital couldn't find any evidence of malnourishment.
This was also the reason why Wang Peng was able to get his job back. There was simply no evidence of sabotage.
Even though Yan Yan's father was a veteran, she didn't get any type of special treatment.
And she never expected Lu Zhou to get her out of this trouble.
Lu Zhou began to realize the situations they were in, so he decided not to write the letter.
Even though he still felt kind of guilty, it was what it was.
At most, he would just compensate them later…
Lu Zhou returned to 301 Hospital and was about to go upstairs for his daily medical checkup. However, when he walked into the main building, he saw Academician Wang waiting at the front entrance.
Academician Wang's eyes lit up when he saw Lu Zhou, and he smiled as he walked over.
"How are you? Do you feel better?"
"I feel a lot better." Lu Zhou smiled and said, "It's almost Chinese New Year. Are you not going back to your hometown?"
"I was born and raised in Beijing, where am I supposed to go? My hometown is one metro stop away." When Academician Wang saw that Lu Zhou could walk on his own, he nodded in relief. He said, "I'm relieved that your condition is getting better. You have no idea how many people were worried about you." 
Lu Zhou smiled awkwardly and said, "I feel really bad."
"Don't say that! We're the ones who should be feeling bad." Academician Wang sighed and said, "Controllable fusion isn't an easy thing to accomplish. Especially when it comes to coordinating various research departments. Most of the critical research projects were done by you alone. Honestly… I and the old guys at the Chinese Academy of Sciences feel quite guilty."
"I'm just doing my best, no big deal." Lu Zhou smiled and said, "Plus, my health is getting a lot better now."
Academician Wang sighed and said, "I'm glad you think that way. Also, there's one thing I have to tell you. While you were in a coma, we tried to achieve fusion ignition a couple more times. The STAR-2 demonstration reactor is looking good. The higher-ups personally made demands to implement the grid connection and supply electricity to the 80 million residents in the Jiangsu province!"
Lu Zhou smiled and said, "It's going to be connected? That's fantastic!"
Academician Wang smiled and said, "Yeah, it's really amazing. I didn't expect to live to see this day. But, there's another favor I have to ask you."
Lu Zhou frowned and said, "Is there a problem with the demonstration reactor?"
That's not possible!
Even the system recognized the success of the fusion ignition.
"It's not the demonstration reactor." Academician Wang quickly explained, "It's just that after it's connected to the grid, we can't keep calling it its code name, right? After all, this is the world's first demonstration reactor. The higher-ups asked us for a new name. I don't really care about these kinds of things, so I'm asking you, the chief designer."
Academician Wang smiled and said, "How about you think of a beautiful name for the reactor? If you really can't think of anything, you can use your own name. This is a good opportunity to leave your name in history."
"Let's not use my name. It sounds weird." Lu Zhou coughed and said, "I'll think about it."
Academician Wang said, "Okay then, you think about it. I have a couple of examples here."
Lu Zhou: "What examples do you have?"
"Oh, like Houyi, Jinwu, Daohuozhe, Suiren, etcetera. There's also the more westernized Prometheus. These were all decided through votes by the people in the army department. You can decide which one you like." 
After thinking for a long time, Lu Zhou said, "Let's call it Pangu[1]."
Academician Wang: "Pangu?"
"Yeah." Lu Zhou nodded.
He had actually thought about this for a while.
Not only would the controllable fusion breakthrough revolutionize the energy industry, but it would change the entire world.
In some sense, the birth of this demonstration reactor was the second creation of the world.
"If you think that's a good name, then so be it." Academician Wang smiled and said, "Okay then, I'm not going to stay here for long. I'll submit this name to the higher-ups and you should get some rest. The people at the demonstration reactor site are still waiting for your return. We still haven't hosted a fusion ignition celebration party yet. We've been looking forward to this for the whole of last year."
Lu Zhou smiled and nodded.
"Ok, I promise we'll have the party soon."
[1] Chinese myth, creator of the world.


After suffering from a heat stroke while working under the scorching heat of summer, Lu Zhou, a hardworking but poor university student, somehow becomes the owner of an advanced technological system. With the cheat given by the system, his university life changes overnight. 
  
A Master's degree? Easy. 
  
PhD? Not a problem.   
  
From a nobody, he quickly becomes a huge celebrity in the world of science. With the missions given by the system, he is on his way to winning a Nobel Prize.   

"System, can points be exchanged for money?"
  
"No."
  
"F**k, what use are you then!?"
  
"This system will make you the ultimate scholar, the kind that lords over all of humanity. What use will money be to you?"

On a small road surrounded by a thick forest, a man could be seen walking at a relaxed pase, this scene could be considered normal if you ignored certain factors, like for example, if you look up you could see a cloudy dark sky, from time to time you could spot flashes followed by sounds of thunder, the hour was long past dusk, not exactly the time to go for a walk, not the weather either, you may be thinking that just those two point are not enough to be considered outside the normal range, but what if we add the the wooden signs that are nailed on some of trees along the way, with messages like "Go back" and "Stay away", maybe purposely ignoring such a messages or not being able to read them thanks to the darkness, does not make him "normal". Such a man or rather, young man upon closer inspection, it's walking aimless on this road which is filled with layers of leaves and over grown weeds, clear signs of abandonment or just lack of regular pruning.

"This path is endless, knowing that it would take this long to find the place, I would have departed earlier"

Even though the young man was complaining in his speech, he did not walk faster, it was not until the weather worsened that he started to hurry up. Of course, such a time hardly helped, the clouds could not hold the water any longer and finally, it started to rain, the young man, without an umbrella got drenched in a couple of minutes.

"This weather does not make this easier, I don't think I am lost, I followed this road and there are not forked paths, or maybe I had to turn at some point and the path is is hidden or the wooden sign fell?"

Even knowing all that, he continued going the same way, until he spotted some light far away, finally coming across some sign of civilization he hoped that at least there was a place to cover from the rain.

*********************************************

It was usually a team of two that guarded this section, but due a lack of manpower, today he had to work the night shift on his own, he was called Anthony, and he started a couple of days ago, so he lacked what you would call experience on this field of work, thanks to that, he got the short stick working alone, but he could not complain since he needed the job, they pay was good enough and there was not much to do, this post was facing the middle of nowhere, so there were little chances to do anything at all. Like any other normal night, he sat reading a book, it started to rain, but such a thing hardly affected him since he was immersed into the story, and that may be the reason he did not notice someone getting close to the window until he came knocking.

"Hello there, Mister Guard, do not panic, I am not a suspicious person"

As expected, he was startled, and he was in panic, after all, under normal circumstances you would get startled if someone breaks your focus, now it happened under this situation, and the guy even had the gals to say he was not suspicious, you would not expect something like that.

"Waahh!, Who-o are you-u?"

After expectaculary falling of his chair, he did his best to stand up as fast as possible and get his breathing under control, then he tried to ask the guy his indentity, but his voice still failed him a little.

(I should probably act like I saw nothing, I feel bad for the guy, it was kind of my fault after all)

"I am sorry for coming here without notice, I was looking for a place, but I got lost during my walk and it started to rain, I saw a light and I thought I could take cover here"

To say that Anthony was not feeling this guy was suspicious would be a lie, but he thought that what the guy said made sense, so he used his radio to let the other guards know before answering the guy.

"This place is private property, although I understand your point Sir, this is not a place  you can enter as you please, you could get arrested."

Anthony started to recall a few facts now that his mind started to call down, this place was located ina forest in the middle of nowhere, so the owner of this land had a wire fence around the terrain of property, this helped to keep certain wild animals at bay, this is something that you usually would not cross, so... the guy had to cross that fence to get here, but it did not look like he had a hard time, there are different kinds of wired fences, but the one they had here was rather talk, and barely had space for a hand to pass through it, much less a person, this made him more suspicious.

"Sir, I have a few questions to ask if you don't mind. Would you please state your name, your reason for being here, and lastly how did you exactly get here?"

"I don't mind, but... Could you let me in?, It's rather cold out here..."

*********************************************

The guardroom consisted of a room with a wide window facing the west where I came walking from, in that room you could see a long table with a radio and a small tv, the guardroom also had a small bedroom with one bed, a bathroom, and a kitchen that had a table and two chairs, one on which I was currently taking a seat while I drink a cup of coffee.

"I let you in for two reasons, one is that I can not let you wander around here on your own, the second is that I wish to hear the answer of my previous questions"

"Oh, yes... thank you for the coffee by the way, it helps to keep me warm, sorry for the wet floor"

"It would be troublesome if you were to claim to have gotten sick during my care so I am just doing my job, and stop trying to avoid the questions"

This security guard tries to act tougher than he is, he let a stranger in quite easily and even offered me some coffee, even when he maintains a strict face a voice he seems to still be concerned for my well-being, although he continues to question me , well, he is trying to do his job, may as well answer, since I also have some questions.

"I got here by walking, my reason... well, I have to get to a certain place, but you could call bad luck, I got lost, I recall following the directions just as they told me, but as you can see, I could not find the place"

"There are no many "places" you could go around here, many of these properties are from the same owner, and they do get that many visits, if what you say is true, we could just make a call to ask about it and this incident could past as a simple accident, but that is if it's true though..."

I could only wryly smile at that, I had no signal here so I could not call anyone, and I am still not sure if they would come for me, I took a certain job, and technically I am not the person they "expect", I was just hired to take their place this one time.

"That still leaves to un-answered questions, your name and how you got into this property, this place is surrounded by fences, getting here is not an easy task for a simple and plain lost guy... judging by your clothing I doubt you are hiding the necessary tools, of course you could've just abandoned them"

"About that... the fence had a hole with enough for and adult to pass through, I was just lucky"

"I would not call someone who got lost "lucky" though"

"I guess not"

I could only emit a wry laugh at that, now.. name, I guess I should take over my role starting now, I cannot be certain if this person is related or not to my job.

"Now, as for my name, it is Sid, Sid Grayworth"

"I see, Mr. Grayworth then, I have called for reinforcements a minute ago, they will get here soon enough, while we await for them, I would like to hear about the rough location of your so called "entry" through the fence, we still need to check that"

"Well, If you go..."

**********************************************

About ten minutes was what it took for the other guard to get here. Since I have not a good grasp of the location of their base location, I can not say if they took a while or not, my clothing is wet so I would like if they hurried, but I don't think I am in position to ask for such a thing. Two guards came on a vehicle I could not distinguish thanks to the rain, one of the guards could be described as an old guy, easy to spot due his white hair, he appears to be their superior, although I can not be certain without knowing how their ranking system works, the other guy, or not, the guard was a woman, with short hair, she also seems like the type of person who stays a lot in the gym, I can see that she got quite the muscle, I feel slightly bad for confusing her with a guy just because she stays fit, while I was thinking that it seems the guard that was working into this post, I think he got called "Anthony" by the white haired old man, was filling them with the details, and they were almost done. As they turn to face me, the woman spoke.

"You..."

"I am sorry"

"Why do you apologize?"

That was careless of me, since I was thinking about my previous rides thoughts, the first thing that came to me was to apologize the woman. Now they are are looking with a confused gaze. The lack of dinner and the long walk made my mind somewhat sluggish.

"I mean, I am causing you troubles, so I thought I should express my apologies"

"Enough,  We would like that you cooperated and came with us, if what you told us is true, this situation should be solved with just a call, please come this way, you can hardly get any signal this far in the woods, so e
we will take to a place with working phones"

There is no other choice, I am currently lost, so I will have to go with them, I just hope that the process won't take too long, otherwise I would fail to get in time.

"I don't mind, but I would appreciate a bit haste, my clothing is wet and I may catch a cold if I remain like this for too long"

"Then please come this way"

"Wait a moment please"

As I turn, I face the guard name Anthony.

"Let me apologize once more for the trouble I caused, I also wish to thank you for the coffee, now I have to leave, if you will excuse me"

After that, I finally follow the two guard outside. I noticed a quite odd thing, the white haired has not spoken to me even once, I wonder if he is just cautious or maybe he does not like to talk more than what he needs to. Anyways, I need to get a change of clothes if possible, I would rather not get sick. While I was taken to the vehicle, I could finally notice in what kind of ride they came, it was a Jeep Wrangler, I guess they use this kind of vehicle taking in count the terrain. Hopelly there won't be that many gaps and bumps on the road. As I walk, I can help but mutter.

"I am hungry..."
 *********************************************
 
 As I watch my superiors take the guy with them, I can finally sigh of relief.
 
 "So much for a peaceful night..."
 
 I did not expect any kind of people to suddenly appear out of nowhere today, from what I've heard from my coworkers, this hardly happens, I just had bad luck, I got quite the scare, although it might have not been bad luck, that Sid guy did not try to harm me even when I had not taken notice of his presence, he did not take advantage of it.
 
 "Hopefully, I won't find another person intruding here again"
 
 ********************************************
 
 As soon as I got in the vehicle, the other two took their seats, I was on the back, while they were on the front, the guard woman took the passenger seat and put her seatbealt skillfully quick, I wonder why. At that time, I really should've followed suit.
 
 ********************************************
 
 After getting of the vehicle, I can only say I felt relief, I did not expect that the old guard would like to speed up that much even though it was raining, I really thought we were going to crash along the way, not to mention the countless bumps, we did jump quite a bit too, my head can still feel a slightly pain from me hitting with the Jeep roof. Anyways, I finally arrived the place they were talking about, it's a four story building, with the shape of a huge cube, although I could pay more attention since the Jeep parked in an adjacent to the building garage, we got out, and they lead the way inside, after I got in, I barely saw other people, considering the time, they shift ended, or they lacking people, not that it will change anything, I took the opportunity to ask for a change of clothes, the old guard when upstairs as soon as he got to the building, while I stayed with another young woman and young man, probably receptionists, as for the the guard woman, she went to pick a change of clothes for me, I wonder if it's alright that they left me here alone with these two, the other guards seemed to be armed, but I am not sure if these two carry any weapons, security seems quite lax around here, there are not that many cameras. As I was having iddle thoughts, I got called by the guard who came back.
 
 "We only have this kind of clothes, over there is the males changing room, get changed so we could go to my superiors office to talk, take this bag, put your wet clothing in here, and do not leave any valuable behind"
 
 I could only do as she said, the so called changing room was at the end of the hall. As I changed I was taking a new look at the only things I brought with me; a key chain with my car keys, that reminds me that I left my poor car in the middle of nowhere, a cigarette box, it seems my client smokes, since I have to act as him, I need to carry these, there is also a lighter, the same reason as before for this one, a small lantern, I'm always carrying one of this, there is a small notepad, the same as before with this one, my phone, although it had no signal until recently, I can notice that it is no longer like that, there is finally some signal, and lastly, an envelope, luckily I kept the envelope dry, it could complicate my job if it were to be damaged, the invitation my client received is inside.
 
 ********************************************
 
I am currently wearing a guards spare uniform, it's a size bigger, but at least I am warming up, after I finished getting change they took me to an office on the second floor, the white haired guard was there, and for the looks of things, it's his office. He was sitting behind his desk, I took the seat in front and as I did, for the first time since we met he spoke to me.

"I heard the story, we have not verified about the hole in the fence, but that would have to wait, you had mentioned you got lost by looking for a place, Could you describe the place, or tell us the name?"

Finally, I have been waiting for a chance to ask about this.

"I received an invitation from, Mr. Raymond Kingwood, from the invitation letter I looked for the address, the place should be nearby, asking people they told me to follow an old road, but as you can see, it lead to me getting lost"

When he heard about the letter, or maybe the name of the person, he reacted by raising his left eyebrow, the biggest change of expression I saw since I met the guy. As I thought of that he asked.

"Could I perhaps see that letter?"

"Yes, I have it right here"

I took the letter and gave it to him. While he read the letter I could read that he almost seemed to smile, but as soon as it appeared it was gone. When he finish reading he put down the letter on his desk and told me this.

"You certainly had quite adventure, as I read the address for the place you are looking for, I seem to recall, an abandoned road that was located west of this property, it looks like you took the long route, young man"

For the way he talks, I really seem to have taken the long road, but at least I...

"For the look on your face, you arrived at the answer, you came to the right place, this is the property of Mr. Raymond Kingwood, as one of his workers, I, welcome you, Mr. Sid Grayworth.

As he said that I could see a small smirk on his face, I am not sure why, but I feel like it appeared when he said my "name", it's been only an hour since I got here but I already feel tired, really, this job seems like it will be a lot tougher.

I hope to write different stories, or as the title points out, tales. I am a total amateur at writing, and I am not that good at English, that's why I would like to apologize for any misspell, and I would also like to ask for any kind opinion regarding my stories.

Chapter 42. The Secret Of The Hourglass, Part III

Translator: Khan
Editor: SootyOwl


'Even if it takes half of my life, I can't afford to miss this opportunity. I will use the hourglass over and over to destroy Mielle thoroughly. If you are insulted daily, you will not be able to live in your right mind. And taking away your precious things would be very easy. I will turn the hourglass over, and take away your father, your loved one, and those who follow you. In the end, as you made me poison your tea in the past, I will make you do it yourself, and then, it'll be off with your head.'

"... Haha."

The mere imagination alone made her burst with laughter. When she did so in the middle of class, Mrs. White smiled softly and asked why she was laughing, "Did something good happen for you?"

"Yes, something very good has happened."

Aria glanced at the hourglass, which was within reach of her. Since she hadn't used to it yet, she thought it wouldn't be too bad to use it on Mrs. White.

"What good things have happened to you? I'm curious."

"Do you want to know?"

"Yes, they say that sharing good things makes your joy doubled. I want to share in what good thing has happened to Lady Aria."

She was quite a nuisance. Since her teaching skills were poor, her classes were useless. In addition, she normally bothered Aria by expressing her intentions as she urged Aria to meet her son, Aphon, displaying her insidious, innermost thoughts.

'In the past, you took him, who was pretty hung up to me, away heartlessly.'

Aria still remembered Mrs. White, who had turned up very chilly for her son, who had gotten drunk, after judging that Aria had outer beauty, but that there was nothing to be gained from her. She had left with her son while leaving these words behind: "Do not hang out with such a vulgar girl."

"I met an old fox."

"An old fox?"

"Yes. A very old and ugly fox."

"Is that a good thing?" the very old fox, the viscountess, asked, cocking her head.

"Sure. The fox is very cute. She doesn't know who she is and looks around for anything to gain. It's worth watching her. I'm going to play with her until all of her bones are crushed."

The viscountess's face hardened immediately. It seemed difficult to answer to that statement. That was because the story had been a little horrible and cruel to have come out of the mouth of such a young girl.

"... You must have a cute pet. I really want to see it too."

Nevertheless, she had to agree with Aria because she wanted something.

A fox was not a pet, and she wondered why Aria was raising an old fox, but she did not say such a negative thing.

Aria responded with a smile as fresh as a flower and said to Mrs. White, "You can meet her without even trying."

After her gaze went through the viscountess, it headed to the mirror near the dressing room. It meant that the viscountess could meet her if looked in the mirror. However, it was inevitable that she would have to explain it in a slightly more straightforward manner, as the viscountess didn't understand what she was saying.

"Sometimes, I get irritated. She keeps asking me to see her boy, who has nothing to see. She seems to want to raise her status somehow. She doesn't even know who she is."

Aria wanted Mrs. White not to bother her anymore. She would meet her son eventually and make full use of him. 'Don't you know this makes me want to throw you away?'

It was only then that Mrs. White realized that the old fox was not a pet, and her face froze. That was because Aria, who had always been nice and gentle, had changed. Still, she did not realize that the old fox was herself. She had never thought Aria to be mean to her, so she wasn't seeing what was suddenly in front of her face since they had gotten along well so far.

"Well, who is it? … How did she offend such a kind and loving lady?"

"That's right. I am very sorry to see her trying to please me without knowing it's her," Aria replied, smiling softly and taking a sip of the cold tea. 

At last, she realized that the old fox was her, so she dropped the book she held in her hand. Her hands shook, as if she were deeply embarrassed, and she was unable to say anything back.

Aria watched her ugly appearance for a moment. She imagined Mrs. White might try to do something wrong, but she didn't think she would. No, she seemed shocked enough not to think of it.

'How naive did you think me to be? ... Shall I stop now?' 

Aria hadn't found it funny, and she shouldn't use the hourglass for such a trifle.

She guessed that it had been about five minutes, so she reached out and grabbed the hourglass. 

Aria, who turned it over without regret, said to the viscountess, who was back to her old self with her pretentiously soft expression, "Your class is always fun and enjoyable!"

The friendly class continued.

* * *

It was a week before her servant was able to give Oscar the gift in return for the dress. As it happened, the servant could not visit the academy on weekdays, and Oscar was busy on weekends, perhaps because the semester was nearly over. Therefore, Oscar received it without checking its contents. He didn't know what would be in it and he was stupid. 

The servant bowed apologetically, saying that he hadn't received any messages from Oscar.

"I'm so sorry, miss… I tried to get a message from him, but he turned around coldly..."

"It's OK. You did a good job. Go back and rest now. Take the rest of the day off."

"... Yeah?"

The servant, who had been expecting her to scold him, had no choice but to raise his head and look at Aria at her sudden declaration that he take a day break.

Her expression was full of mercy and composure, contrary to his expectation of her being vile. She looked like a little angel, so he was mesmerized by her.

Even as he gazed at her rudely, Aria smiled at him without punishing him.

"Is there anything else you need to say?"

"Oh, no! Thank you!"

"If you're done with your work, leave the room."

When the servant realized his fault, he hurried out of Aria's room. Jessie, who had been watching from the back, measured Aria's complexion and temper, but she still looked well.

'I thought he might turn it down right away, on the spot, but I'm glad he didn't.'

The fact that he had taken the gift would make Oscar have to do something after later confirming how expensive the brooch was. He could not send back a gift he had already accepted through her servant, so he would either come to her himself or send something as a thanks again.

If fate was willing to make them connect, then so it would be. A completely unrelated man and woman would never exchange gifts and letters again.

She wondered if she could take his heart someday if she built up a friendship this way. Of course, if things became complicated, she was confident she could make use of the hourglass.

'Look forward to it, Mielle. I'll make you pay for taking my life.'

* * *

It was about two weeks before Oscar's reply arrived.

She was so nervous that she couldn't sleep properly. She couldn't help but scream as soon as the letter from him arrived.

Aria opened the letter with trembling hands. The neat and elegant handwriting added heat to her heart.

[Dear Aria Roscent,
Thank you for your gift. I'd like to meet you in person, so I'd appreciate it if you would send me a date and time when you can.
Oscar Frederik.]

She was a little disappointed because the length of the letter was shorter than she had expected. Just like Aria's letter, it was not too long, but it was filled with important points. The letter seemed to give her no space for a close relationship, and it left her with no room to carry on the exchange.

But, it was enough to get his reply letter. It was a little early to be disappointed because her plan was to start building that relationship from scratch anyway. With the mysterious hourglass, she could turn time back at any moment and somehow manage to steal his heart.

To beat a villainess, you must be even more evil than them.

Aria is killed unjustly by her sister but along with the turn of a illusory hourglass, she is reincarnated 5 years into the past.

She will now live for revenge, revenge against those who drove her into her death. This is the new life she has chosen.

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