The door to the cafe was flung open, and from there, a young man quickly ran in, panting, as if he had just run a 10km marathon.
Because of that, Hans had unintentionally drawn all the attention to himself.
Even Kael, who had seen Hans in-game countless times, was caught off guard by how effortlessly captivating he looked in real life.
However, it wasn’t because of Hans Varun’s sudden action, but because of his appearance.
’...Damn, I knew Hans was a handsome man, but who would have thought he could be this handsome in real life?’
His hair was white as snow, neither too long nor too short, gathered high with a vivid red cord that stood out like a splash of flame. A few loose strands slipped free, gently framing his delicate face.
His eyes were crimson, as if they contained a bloody past... and it was true.
Hans was so handsome that even the women in the cafe who already had boyfriends couldn’t take their eyes off him.
After regaining his stamina, he quickly scanned all the customers in the place, then stopped when he saw Kael Draven’s face.
After all, other than Hans, in this cafe, he was the most handsome person.
With steady but not slow steps, he successfully approached Kael, but, before the protagonist could say anything, he was the one who spoke first:
"You’re Hans Varun, right?"
"...Yes, you know me?"
Instead of answering his question, Kael chose to say something completely unrelated:
"Sit down. By the way, would you like something to drink? And of course you’ll pay for your own drinks."
He handed him the menu.
Hans politely took it, but only glanced at it once before putting it away, not intending to order anything.
"...Uhm, are you the one who paid for my mother and sister’s medical treatment? If so, could you tell me your name?"
"I’m Kael Draven, just call me Kael. And yes, I’m the one who paid for your family."
All of his actions, as well as his words, were truly polite.
In front of the main character - Hans Varun, Kael was not allowed to show himself as a bad guy, otherwise the money he spent would be in vain.
That was his entire fortune!
"Sorry, I know this is sudden, but may I ask why you did that? After all, this is just the first time we met, right?"
Faced with such a question, he did not panic.
Simply because he had already thought of a satisfactory answer.
"I have an Ability called [Guiding Star], and when I used it, it told me that I should help a person named Hans Varun."
Hans did not have an Ability that could tell if he was lying or not, after all.
Furthermore, that answer alone was enough to settle most of his doubts.
"Wait, is it okay if you tell me about your Ability like that?"
He gave a gentle smile.
"I don’t think you’re a bad guy who would harm me. Moreover, this Ability of mine is a one-time use type. That means after using it, my [Guiding Star] will disappear."
"Is that so?" He didn’t seem to have any doubts.
That was understandable since [Regressor] was also a one-time use Ability.
"But is that okay, Kael? My mother and sister’s hospital bills are quite a lot of money, right?"
"Don’t worry, I’m rich! That little bit of money is nothing! Hahahaha..."
The truth was, Kael was now poorer than a rat.
If things didn’t work out, he might have to sleep in the park tonight.
Noticing that the conversation between the two was drifting away from the main point, Kael quickly adjusted things:
"Alright, since all your questions have been answered, isn’t it time for us to discuss the repayment?"
"Repayment? What do you want? I don’t have much money, so please don’t expect much from me."
"Haha, I don’t need your money, I just need you to accompany me on the future journey."
Kael said lightly, while Hans’ reaction couldn’t be the same.
"What!?" He shouted, once again attracting the attention of all the people in the cafe.
Yes, being with Hans was all Kael wanted. And to get that chance, throwing away all his possessions was completely worth it.
And yes, this would affect the plot, but the impact it would leave was not that big.
Each floor in the Tower was a separate world, unrelated to each other, and the missions of each floor had no connection whatsoever.
It was set up from the beginning, so no matter what happened, the quests would still be there, and Kael, who had cleared the 100th floor, naturally knew how to clear each of them.
But it seemed like Hans was still a bit hesitant.
’No worries, it’s all in the plan.’
Kael calmly thought, at the same time, took a sip of coffee before continuing:
"If you’re still hesitating, how about this? The 20th floor is about to open, so you just need to be with me to the 23rd floor. And then, we’ll part ways."
That was definitely a lie.
How could he throw away his trump card?
That was why Kael said those words.
In the next 3 floors, he would prove his worth, making Hans Varun believe that he was an important, indispensable person.
With the knowledge Kael had gained as a gamer, doing that was an extremely simple task.
"Ah, but there’s a condition."
"A condition?" Hans asked back.
"Since we will only cooperate when humanity reaches the 23rd floor, during this period of time, I want you to always listen to what I say, and not do anything against it."
He extended a hand towards the protagonist.
"Don’t worry too much, I won’t push you to your death or anything. So after hearing everything, what is your answer?"
"Let me tell you the truth, Kael. At first, I was hesitant about accompanying you forever, because you know, this is the Tower, where anything can happen."
His intentions were obvious.
Hans was afraid that he would be betrayed by him at some point.
"So what about now?" He asked, still maintaining his professional smile.
The protagonist’s hand slowly reached out, and finally grabbed Kael’s.
"I accept, Kael. Let’s cooperate happily."
"...Happy cooperation."
’Welcome into the tiger’s den, Hans! Once you step in, there’s no turning back!’