Chapter 36
"Since you don't have anything to buy and the group had already left some time ago, so you're safe to leave," Aakesh commented.
Maria was disappointed at first, but when she remembered her past, all the disappointments she had disappeared. "Okay! Thanks for saving me!" She spoke and turned around to leave.
With every step she took, the differences between Aakesh and her emerged in her mind. "How can a girl like me expect someone powerful like the store owner to like me?" This thought surfaced in her mind and deepened as she took forward steps.
When she reached the door, she sighed disappointedly and took the step outside. What she saw outside the door made her reflexively took the step back. She subconsciously turned around and rushed at Aakesh. She then grabbed his arm while Aakesh confusedly looked at her actions.
"Store owner, there is a crowd outside the store," She said, clutching Aakesh's arm while trying to catch her breath.
"So!" He expressionlessly responded.
"They're coming with their weapons, store owner. That bastard Ben is leading them," Maria said with concern as she looked into his expressionless eyes.
"Okay, I'll handle it, now leave my arm."
Maria's face turned red as she released Aakesh's arm. Her eyes then scanned his arm in an attempt to see if her hands had left a mark, but his arm was as it was before.
Aakesh never cared about the crowd as he was doing them a favor by not killing them right away. According to the system's rules, a store owner can't be the aggressor, but he can defend himself if there is even a hint of killing intent in the customer's actions.
He has never fought anyone, so he stood there with excitement, waiting for them to come forward when suddenly Lily had an idea and explained it to him.
He only had to wait for a few seconds when Ben entered the store with a crowd following him. There were four people among the mob who stood out since they were Nascent Soul experts.
Aakesh expressionlessly looked at the crowd while Maria stood right next to him. She decided to fight instead of hiding against her mortal enemy. Ben had a grin on his face as he was confident in killing the store owner with four Nascent Soul experts.
"Lord, are you sure you want us all to fight him at the same time?" One of the four experts asked out loud while pointing at Aakesh.
"If I wouldn't want that, why would I call so many of you?" Ben scoffed in response.
"But, Lord, he's only an early Nascent Soul cultivator," The same expert responded.
The expert said it out loud, so Maria could also hear it. Her eyes went wide open when she heard it. She herself saw the store owner manipulating space. How can a Nascent Soul cultivator even control the element of space? She thought in her heart.
Even Ben was taken aback by this as he saw how he forced his two guards to release Maria without even saying anything. "Are you sure?" He asked and then told the experts about the morning situation.
"Yes, Lord, we're sure. He's only an early Nascent Soul expert," The expert responded with a determined expression as if he would kill himself if proven wrong.
"He must be a talented cultivator to force two peak Soul Formation cultivators to release somebody. But you don't have to worry, Lord. We have three peak experts and one late expert," Another expert commented after learning about the situation while gesturing of cutting Aakesh's neck.
As the experts, Ben brought affirmed that they could kill Aakesh with ease, he too nodded his approval.
Maria stood there in horror, listening to Ben and the group. She also started believing the group after seeing the look of confidence on their faces. As for Aakesh, his expression remained the same, regardless of what the group discussed. It was Lily's idea to fake his cultivation level so that when they die, they'll get shocked first and then die.
Currently, he can kill the group anytime he wants since they entered the store with their weapons in hand and are openly discussing killing him. The group has already become the aggressor, and he is the defender.
"Wait! I am ready to go with you, please don't attack the owner," Maria suddenly stepped out and announced.
Ben started laughing in response to Maria's actions, and the crowd followed him. For a few seconds, laughter echoed in the store.
"Who the fuck do you think you are? Your value is even less than the dirt beneath my feet," He said, laughing out loud.
Maria had an expressionless face, but she didn't back down and glared at Ben. He stopped laughing as the look in her eyes irritated him.
Suddenly a smirk appeared on his face, and he said, "Okay, I'll not destroy the store or kill the store owner if you kiss my feet in front of everybody."
"Okay, but you've to follow your promise," She responded straight away. Initially surprised by her prompt response, a grin spread across Ben's face the next moment.
"Don't tell me you like him," He grinningly said while pointing at Aakesh. Aakesh was confusedly looking at the sudden situation. He never expected Maria to step forward and readily agree to kiss Ben's feet.
He decided to intervene, but the next moment, he stopped. Maria turned around and requested him not to intervene with pleading eyes.
"What has that got to do with you? I'll do anything as long as you promise not to do anything harmful to the owner," She turned around and bluntly responded.
Maria decided not to hide anymore. Her family had already died due to her. She can't let anything happen to Aakesh due to her. It's better for her to act as a slave rather than see another death. She also believed that he would never reciprocate her feelings due to her past, so why not sacrifice herself.
It's true when people say, 'Love turns even the sharpest person into stupidest.