84 Troubled Seller

"Let me formally introduce myself." Ayesha said with a smile. "My name is Ayesha Chase. Nice to meet you Mr. Hayden Emperador. No need to introduce yourself, Mr. Hayden. I've heard so much about you."

Hayden noticed that, in addition to her scent, Ayesha's eyes had that glint of grief. This betrayed her cheerful smile that would melt any man in front of her. Sadly, the man in front of her was the steel-hearted Hayden. At any rate, it was obvious that something was bothering her.

Nevertheless, this wasn't his business at all. He prompted to ignore her sadness as he wasn't going to listen to some girl he doesn't even know rant about things in her life. Though he still found it strange that a girl more or less the same age as him is selling such a sizeable plot of land… And that message…

He threw these matters at the back of his head, maintaining just the right amount of cautiousness. In all honesty, Hayden was more concerned with the sociopathic man that walked in previously.

"You flatter me, Ms. Ayesha." Hayden likewise smiled. "Please, call me Hayden. I insist. I am not one to linger on chitter chatter. Shall we go straight to the matter at hand?"

This sentence of Hayden greatly surprised Ayesha. The level of calmness that Hayden possessed was uncanny. In her view, the maturity and wisdom that Hayden's eyes contained was boundless. It's as if Hayden, at that age, has already experienced the countless vicissitudes of life.

'Is he really 16 years old?' Ayesha couldn't help but think. She tried hard to contain her astonishment as she spoke, "Very well. As you wish. There are two parties that want the land. One of those parties, is of course, you."

Hayden nodded, signaling for Ayesha to continue. "The second party is someone named Angus Concepcion. He's offered me a ton of money for the land."

"How much exactly are we talking about here?" Internally, Hayden's expectations plummeted down. Externally, Hayden was expressionless.

This was land in the City of Stars. 7.5 square kilometers was no joke. That was larger than the base of the Grande Mall they were currently in. He wanted this land so bad that he wouldn't mind buying it at an exorbitant price-land ratio as it would pay for itself in the future anyways.

Besides, Hayden saw the pictures of the land itself. It was fairly flat without blemishes on the land and had incredible measurements, 97.5 meters long and 80 meters wide.

"300 million credits." Hayden's eyeballs would've popped out of their sockets if he hadn't had Divine Perception on. The price he had to beat was absurdly high!

Yet, when he gazed upon Ayesha's face, she did not, in any way whatsoever, looked delighted. On the contrary, her face was full of worry. "I-"

Ayesha wanted to say something but refrained from doing so by biting her lips. Hayden was positive that the thing disquieting her had connections with the land.

He studied her aura, which was astoundingly white. This indicated that Ayesha was pure at heart, or at least in his eyes. This a hard-to-find trait in this cruel world considering that Hayden's own standards for someone that is 'truly good' was astronomical.

"Did they threaten you to sell them the land or something?" Hayden precipitously imposed a question that caught Ayesha off-guard.

"I-" Ayesha's eyes became watery, tilting her head downwards to the table. She struggled to hold back her tears. Hayden definitely struck something. "Please… Help me… They-they took my father and… And they said that if I don't sell them the land…"

"Calm down." Hayden's deep voice was oddly comforting for the distressed Ayesha. Ayesha felt Hayden's right hand touching her own fidgety hands. "Recollect, arrange your story. Tell me in detail. Maybe I can help you."

Ayesha looked at Hayden and met his steel gaze. Those eyes exuded warmth and trustworthiness that invited her in. She had the feeling that as long as she was with Hayden, she'd be safe no matter what happened.

She blinked rapidly, hesitating to trust Hayden or not. A few seconds later, she eventually decided to recount Hayden her story.

…..

January 4, 2058, somewhere in the suburbs area of Quezon City, there was a two-story bigger than normal single-family home. It was modernistic in style, painted mostly in black and white, some stony structures, and clear glass.

In one room on the second floor was Ayesha's room. The room was quite big for a single-person room. The walls were lined of posters of many things, TITANIUM, CHORUS, Filipino singers, and all that.

On one side of the room was a sofa, touching a wall next to an entrance of her balcony. Adjacent to said sofa was a huge stuffed white bunny.

On the opposite side of the room was a high-spec computer, which was the first thing you'll see once you enter the room. Next to that was the door to her walk-in closet.

In the middle of the wall that had the door was a bed that had a black wooden frame. Its sheets were pink and had little rabbit designs. It wasn't obvious that the girl loved rabbits. Overlooking the bed was a flat-screen TV.

Ayesha entered the room with a pout on her face. She donned a white polo, a plain black necktie, black knee-length skirt, and knee-high white socks. It was the standard uniform of all high schools in the Philippines, including the scholar academies.

On her back was a small backpack. This backpack contained merely a few things: a tablet, makeup, hygiene stuff, and a water bottle. Why was this?

With the advancement of technology, the life of students and teachers were made easier. All of the textbook materials were all downloadable, there are dedicated tablets made exclusively for notetaking and taking tests, and all lessons were conducted through smartglass boards that the teacher can use both as a screen and a board to write things with their hand. The world was presently revolving around technology.

You may wonder, why was she at school in January 4 when it was Christmas vacation? Well, students who don't pass, or specifically, students who fail three classes had to take some form of punishment.

Why was the punishment handed out during Christmas vacation? To put the mindset that failing has a dreadful consequence of failure. Such is the present way of the world.

Slamming the door behind her, she walked to her bed and collapsed on it face first. It was palpable that she was tired. She groaned, "I. Hate. School."

As someone who hailed from a rich background that enjoyed a gorgeous face and a stunning bod, she wanted to model as her career paths. Aside from that, her main interests were clothes.

Without moving, she grumbled, "It has been a hell of a long time that the World Government has been established. Why did the education system remain the same!?"

A few minutes passed, Ayesha laid there without twitching a muscle. If anybody was in the same room as her, they'd suspect that she was dead.

An unexpected knock came from her door. She shouted dejectedly, "Come in. The door's open. Not like you like me locking my door."

The door swung open gently. In came a man with a muscular build. His face was handsome and resembled Ayesha in spite of her short boxed beard. He sported blue jeans and a lumberjack plaid polo. It was Ayesha's father, Jeremy Chase.

His plain fashion wouldn't make you think that he's one of the greatest person in his field. However, as his face was memorable, anybody would definitely recognize him as the man who put in jail dozens of people who committed atrocious crimes.

His alias in the world of law was 'Gavel.' It represented of how he 'ruthlessly brings down the hammer of justice to those who deserved it.' Disregarding it being rather funny-sounding, it was an account of his amazing skill.

Even Hayden, who didn't dabble in the field of law, has heard of his name in the news multiple times. Jeremy was akin to a 'local hero.' In truth, he was featured in international news as well.

"Sweetie?" Jeremy's deep voice was alluring. His black eyes were filled with concern for his daughter. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"No, it isn't." Ayesha pushed herself upwards and oriented herself to sit. "Everybody's expecting so much of me… Because you're smart, you're a lawyer, they think I possess the same intelligence as you… It's not that I blame you, it's just…"

Jeremy sat beside his daughter, feeling a little guilty. He patted her in the back. "Don't mind them. I know full well that you have talent when it comes to designing clothes. That's where your genius lies. Just because your talent isn't… 'Mainstream…' Doesn't mean that you don't have talent at all. Your fashion sense is remarkable and your singing voice is good. You're the most beautiful 17-year-old I've seen."

With her father's comforting and sweet words, Ayesha lit up. She hugged him, "I love you so much dad. Thanks for always being there with me."

…..

Hayden, who was listening till this part of the story, was sipping his drink. He resisted the urge to yell 'Go straight to the point woman!' as Ayesha was too emotional. 'I mean, why the hell did she start there? Were all those excruciating details even necessary? Did she really have to describe her own room to me? This isn't some kind of novel, lady!'

Hayden fathomed that sometimes, it was better to let a person tell their story rather than hurry them. Well, that was wrong. He understood its importance, but he didn't care for it. Rather, he was simply expecting some reward for this situation, which is why he endured it.

He took a deep breath. He sighed internally, 'This is going to be one hell of a night…'

In that instance, the man who eyed him earlier sat two tables away from them with an expresso in his hand. He stared directly at them with a grin on his face. Hayden was unnerved by the man's wide grin. Hayden prompted to overlook the man for the meantime because if he's a wielder, he wouldn't dare make a move in public.

Puting Araw's rules in the world of wielders were iron-clad because of Rose, a dual wielder. Hayden understood full well the might of a dual wielder. He himself is one, and he can duke it out with a Level 3 wielder with his puny status as a Level 2 wielder. It shouldn't be said that there's an enormous, and when I say enormous, I say ENORMOUS, gap between a Level 2 and Level 3 wielder.

From this, one can infer that the existence of a Level 4 wielder who had two Abilities were no joke. It was kind of fortunate that Hayden hasn't been found out yet, or so he thought. In the corner of the Itim na Bituin, a man was shrouded in darkness, observing him. It was The Stalker.

Anyhow, nobody will be expecting that a dual wielder would rise in the Philippines again within a century. There was already one, and one was too much.

As Eun-ha said, a dual wielder will occur 1 in 10,000 wielders who awakens with superior compatibility. The odds of that happening is 1 in 1,000. The odds of a dual wielder awakening is 1 in 10,000,000 wielders! There weren't even ten million wielders in the Philippines. Which is why Black Devil didn't believe that Hayden was a dual wielder.

Plus, Kamay ng Lagim themselves don't want any knowledge of wielders going public. As long as Puting Araw and Pangkat Anino was around, they can't afford to become a villain. They understood themselves the might of a dual wielder when they lost their previous leader.

Anyways, this worked in Hayden's favor. Getting his mind out of the gutter, Hayden continued to listen to Ayesha's tiring story. Inopportunely for him, he annoyed Black Devil too much, hence the bounty.

"What followed that was my dad taking me out to Grande Mall." Ayesha had a longing and reminiscing expression. "My mom couldn't be with us as she was with my grandparents. We got out of my grandparents' house to give her and my grandparents some alone time."

…..

Walking in one of the sky gardens in Grande Mall, Ayesha and Jeremy peered out on the railing. Ayesha's eyes glinted, admiring the scenic view of Quezon City.

Hayden was confounded of what Ayesha described as 'scenic.' Grande Mall was similarly surrounded by towering skyscrapers. He didn't voice out his wonder in respect to Ayesha's own tastes. To each their own.

Suddenly, Jeremy's phone rang. The ringtone was the old 1990s OPM (Original Pinoy Music), 'Uso pa ba ang Harana' (Lit: Are Serenades Still Trendy). It was her father's favorite song.

Jeremy looked at the phone and his face lit up. "Stay here for a second. I have to take this call."

Kissing Ayesha on the forehead, Jeremy walked out of earshot of Ayesha. Ayesha didn't think too much into it and simply gazed out onto the 'beautiful' scenery. She relished the powerful winds that hit her face.

She always loved the wind and high places. Unlike regular people, she wasn't scared of falling at all. If she was physically strong enough, she'd probably attempt to do daredevil-ish things. She can literally stare down to the pavement without experiencing vertigo at all.

Soon, her father returned, beaming at her, "Ayesha, sweetie. The land finally has a worthy buyer I can sell to."

Ayesha proceeded to inform Hayden that her father didn't want to sell the land to merely anybody. She didn't know the particular reason for this, nor her father's 'standards.'

"Do you want to come with me? I'm meeting them in their residence." Jeremy had a wide smile that distracted some of the surrounding bystanders. "Maybe you'd meet your 'the one' in there."

"Can't you act like a normal dad?" Ayesha pouted at her dad. "Seriously. What kind of dad desires to give away their daughter instead of protect her?"

"I'm kidding. I hate that useless scion." Jeremy had always been a cool dad. Ayesha was fond of the kind of love her father showered her with.

At the mention of this, Hayden nearly squinted his eyes in derision. 'Can you please, speed up? It's getting progressively agonizing by the second… What's the point of these details?'

Back to the 'flashback.' Jeremy and Ayesha took a tram to the metro railway and travelled to Manila the other end of Quezon City. From there, they took a taxi and arrived at a luxurious residence somewhere in Tondo.

The residence was a modern mansion, riddled with glass, black and white paint, and cobblestones. In the front was a garden filled with trees.

The outer walls were made of stone and black metal. They alighted in front of the gate, which was metal as well. The pillars on the gate had gargoyles that did not bode well with Ayesha. To keep it simple, it was grand.

…..

"Let me ask," Hayden interjected. "What's the address of this mansion you speak of?"

Ayesha gave Hayden the address, which Hayden duly noted down in his mind. Not wanting to aggravate the emotionally unstable Ayesha, he verbalized, "Continue."

…..

The two was 'well-received' by two people. They were both dressed in a black suit and tie. One was fat and bald, his face amicable. One was thin and had a long moth, his hair long and flowing in a punk fashion way.

She kept close with her father. She sensed that the two people behind them were eyeing her with perversion.

"Stop eyeing my daughter, you bunch of rascals." Jeremy reprimanded the two guards. "That's my daughter. Go in front."

For some unknown reason, the two suited-people heeded her father's words. It was odd that they'd done that. She chose to not question her father. She thought that her father maybe had some secrets he wanted to keep to himself.

The two guards led Ayesha and Jeremy into the second floor and into a spacious room chockfull of myriads of men in suits. It terrified Ayesha to a great degree.

"Clear out." A middle-aged man that had gray hair and egg-shaped beard ordered. Laying her eyes on Ayesha, she noticed a fear-inducing twinkle in the man's eyes. "Call in my son as well."

When the room cleared out, Ayesha was dumbfounded of the lavishly decorated chamber. In the middle of the room there were two black sofas facing each other. In the middle of the two sofas was a glass coffee table with an Eternal Insecticide Plant in the center. On both sides of the plant that met the couches were organizers with… All types of candies. Lastly, there was a kettle, a selection of tea laden on the table, and a cup holder with four Japanese-style teacups.

Underneath the coffee table was a tiger fur mat oriented to confront large panels of window and a dark wooden table that had a black executive chair behind it.

Behind the sofa, on the opposite side of where the door was, there was a fireplace that had steel railings. Above that was a bear head. Yes, a growling bear's head, not deer. Not wolf. Not anything else.

From the aura that it radiated, Ayesha was sure that that was no simple bear. She wasn't even sure if that was a bear or something else. Its fangs appeared much sharper than usual such that plainly glancing at it, Ayesha felt stinging pain in her eyes.

On the opposite end was another door and nothing else. All in all, the room intimidated her. It was scarier when no people was inside than when the black-suited people were there. The atmosphere suffocated her.

More so since Ayesha had the vibe that the middle-aged man was some sort of mafia boss. A dangerous mafia boss.

"Sit, please." The middle-aged man implored the two with a knowing smile that made Ayesha's screen crawl. "Make yourself comfortable."

Jeremy sat to the sofa closest to him. Ayesha hesitantly followed suit. The middle-aged man looked at Ayesha straight in the eye and said, "Candy? Or do you want tea?"

"Tea for my daughter." Jeremy's tone was friendly and welcoming. Although Ayesha perceived that there was a hint of… Whether it was fear or reverence, she didn't know. "Angus. Long time no see, my friend."

The middle-aged man named Angus sat and poured tea on the teacups. He replied to Jeremy only when he finished pouring two cups of tea and shoved the two cups to their direction. "Indeed. How long has it been? 10 years?"

Ayesha was perplexed of the two's conversation. Was his dad and this Angus guy old friends? If so, why was he friends with someone this dubious?

Their conversation was interrupted when a youth walked in. The youth was dressed in a black suit with a red necktie. He was very stylish. Ayesha would have liked his rather attractive face if not for the intoxicating arrogant aura that he exuded. It was Titus Concepcion, the one who ordered Daniel to be beat up in the alleyway.