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Or, in much simpler terms, no random trouble appeared to stand in the way of a successful presentation.

"The device works, as you can all see. And we are prepared to make more and more of them for as long as we have access to necessary resources and parts while enjoying the protection of the city from all kinds of prying eyes."

Most likely sensing my unease, Chihiro stepped forward to take control of the conversation.

"Is this your attempt at getting better terms than what we agreed with?" Clayton asked, taking a step forward to speak for the entirety of his group.

"Change?" Chihiro asked only to smirk and then shake his head. "I\'m perfectly happy with the terms we\'ve agreed on. All I want, however," his smile grew deeper, "is for you guys to stay true to those terms. And from the documents I\'ve received about this place… aren\'t we like two gigawatts short on the electric plan for this place?"

As he finished speaking, Chihiro raised his eyes not to my uncle, but to one of the men hiding behind Clayton\'s shoulder.

"It was a middle ground we found when trying to keep up with all of your demands," even though this nudge wasn\'t even pointed at him, Clayton kept up the pretense of being the leader of his group when he spoke up to reply to Chihiro\'s accusation. "This plant received the standard five gigawatts allowance, just like all the other actual factories in this sector.

If we raised the allowance right from the get-go, it would only draw more attention to this place."

\'Sounds like… a reasonable excuse?\' I thought, perfectly happy to just step back and observe how things went while doing my absolute best not to let my physical exhaustion get to me.

In the end, however, I likely revealed some hints about my current state, prompting Claire to quickly and silently approach my side before wrapping her hands around my arm…

But not in the way she usually did. No, this time, she pushed her shoulder below my armpit while moving my arms across her back, all the way to the point where my elbow hung down from the back of her neck while my hand rested down on her other shoulder.

"Thanks…" I silently mouthed off before resting a portion of my weight on the girl.

It was a rather small thing, a small favor from someone with enough power in their flesh to crack open vaults with her fist… And yet, for me right now, this was the absolutely best favor I could actually ask for.

_emp _yr novels.

"I\'m really sorry things came up to be like that," Claire whispered, just loud enough for me to hear yet too silent for her voice to break through the ongoing conversation between Chihiro and the factory\'s guests. "If only it wasn\'t for the deadlines, I would never allow you to get as tired as you are…"

Rather than replying, I simply looked slightly to the side, at the look of concern painted all over Claire\'s face. It was mixed with guilt, anger, and even some tones of sadness and pity.

"Claire, dearest, I don\'t really mind pushing myself every once in a while. And when the opportunities are so great, wouldn\'t it be a pity to let them go just because of something as silly as exhaustion?"

Raising her head a bit as she listened, Claire then looked away while lowering her eyelids, as if struggling to accept the meaning behind my words.

"I understand that you are not happy with how I am right now. Heck, it would likely make my blood boil if I saw you in the state I\'m in right now… But for today and the next few days, we just need to stretch ourselves as far as we can. Once we\'ve done our best, we will be able to get some proper rest."

Even though I\'ve finished talking, I just couldn\'t turn my eyes away from Claire. Her face, especially with that sweet look of concern born from affection on it, was just too captivating for me to look away!

And it was because of this cute face of hers that it took me a moment to realize that Chihiro\'s conversation with my uncle and his company had come to an end and now the whole group was just silently staring at the two of us with knowing, sympathetic smiles alike to the expression one would make when watching two small puppies or kittens clumsily play around.

"What?" I raised my face and my voice, ready to confront those old lechers who dared to stare at my girl for long enough for me, in any other scenario, to cave their noses in to give them something else to pay attention to. "Are you guys done? I don\'t mean to be rude, but this presentation was merely one element of my schedule for the day, so if you are done here…"

Now that Chihiro had taken over the conversation, there was no point in me remaining extremely polite and civil. In fact, by acting slightly rude and straightforward like I just did, I introduced some much-needed variety to our group, making both the presentation and our very faction quite more… tangible? Real? Memorable?

"Tim!" Chihiro called out in a slightly deeper, louder voice than his usual one. Yet, while that alone hinted at the potential consequences of acting rude… The absolute lack of anger or even annoyance on his face made it seem as if he was simply playing his part, acting like he was going to chastise me later even if he had no actual desire or plans to do so.

"This isn\'t the way for you to be…" Chihiro kept going with the act, only to stop when Clayton suddenly put his hand down on the man\'s shoulder.

"It\'s okay, no one here does mind it. And well…" Clayton\'s voice turned into a mere mutter as he turned his eyes and looked over in my direction. "He\'s reeling to the point he needs his girl to help him stand straight…"

My uncle shook his head while patting Chihiro\'s shoulder only to then remove his hand and look back to his own party.

"We\'ve already seen what we are here to see and we have been nicely excused, so how about we stop imposing on the young couple and let them get some well-deserved rest?"

From there on, things happened rather quickly. In no more than five minutes, Clayton threw me a knowing look before allowing Chihiro to escort him and his group outside of this core location of the factory, likely to some place where they could discuss their business without, as Clayton put it, imposing on me and Claire.

"Finally!" Claire exclaimed as soon as the doors to the core of the factory closed behind the group, leaving us free to drop the act and behave as we would normally do. "I knew this was going to happen, but to see for myself just how long those oldies like to linger…" Claire shook her head before letting go of my arm, only to then catch my hand and pull me down right as she collapsed to her knees.

"Wha…?" before I could even react, my body already crumbled down, heading straight for a direct encounter between my head and the concrete floor of the room, only for Claire to slow down my descent before manipulating both her position and my body so that my head would fall down to her lap instead.

"They are gone, so you can finally get some rest," she announced as if the next few hours of my life had already been decided without my prior knowledge.

"As happy as I am to hear it, we don\'t really have time for it. I still need to assemble all of the…"

"All you need to do is to use my lap for a pillow and go to sleep," Claire explained the reality to me while locking her hands just below my neck only to turn them into chains that bound me down to the floor. "I will try to assemble a few of them while you are resting, so just stop trying to wrestle yourself free and take a break."

"But…"

As enticing as the idea of just going to sleep on Claire\'s soft, warm lap was to my tired ears…

There was simply too much work left to do and way too little time for us to properly take care of it! Assembling all of the Qi conversion devices… It was the biggest task, but not the only one. After all, to prepare the best possible spot for Chihiro to cultivate through his breakthrough, just showering him with QI wasn\'t enough.

And so, within the next few days, this room, the former core of a former factory had to transform into a spiritual garden where the Qi would not only be more than just abundant, but it would also be purified, deprived of any sort of prior intent, and…

"You said you understand how I feel when I see you in the state you are in," Claire pointed out, opening up the lock of her hands, only to then press down on my chest with her left while raising her right one to my face and then using it to cover my ears in a slightly clumsy yet perfectly adorable attempt to shield them from the sharp, electric light of the room.

And so, as darkness took over my vision while soft warmth embraced the back of my head, my will to stay awake… started to crack.

"That\'s right," Claire\'s whisper suddenly assaulted my ears, only for her to slide her hand off my face… only to lean in as if she wanted to cradle my head with the whole of herself before using her chest to completely shield my face from anything that could help me stay awake. "Just be a good boy and go to sleep. And I promise once you wake up…"