Emilia already understood how Dixie's grandfather worked, and the man didn't refuse them as expected. Despite his attitude, this guy clearly doted on his granddaughter a lot, so how could he refuse three of her look-alikes?
As for ex-officer Justine, she was already quite proficient in combat, though nowhere near the old man's level.
"I can't believe you made me quit my job!"
Even as she whined, Emilia thought that Justine looked quite cute for a young lady in her mid-twenties, with her one-sided black ponytail and dark blue eyes.
Cynthia couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Don't tell me you picked her up because she looked cute…"
Whether or not that was the case, Emilia would never admit it to her partner. 'Don't be stupid, didn't I only notice it just now?'
Even as she argued with her system in her mind, Emilia was already consoling her newly acquired subordinate. "Aren't we paying you much better now? Plus, you only have to take care of a couple of little things, right? And if you do well, of course, you'll be rewarded appropriately."
If Dixie hadn't already moved away to practice with the burly disciple, she would have surely flipped out on hearing about Emilia rewarding anyone else. After all, 'rewards' to her were already synonymous with some very tantalizing 'favors' that should only be given to those who really deserve them.
Of course, Justine would never think this way. Emilia was a big boss whom she couldn't afford to offend, the bane of all police-kind. Even when she had tried her best to avoid her, she had only escaped with her life after losing her job!
But now that she was on the same side, she should be safe, right?
Thinking so, Justine nodded to herself. 'Right, I'm not even a police lady now, so big boss Emilia should let me off, right?'
As for the 'small tasks' that this big boss mentioned, Justine could feel a headache just thinking about it.
==========
Emilia's routine of training with her friends at the dojo every morning had slowly turned from something she did to increase her combat proficiency to something else entirely. It was almost as if her mind was most at peace when she was there. And it wasn't because Dixie's grandfather had stopped being such an unreasonable brat of an old man, oh no, but because the rest of her day had gotten a lot more hectic instead.
And the culprit was, of course, none other than Danielle's father.
Emilia couldn't help but roll her eyes internally. 'Truly, one pig teammate is worse than a hundred clever enemies!'
Cynthia chuckled. "Well, whose idea was it to come up with such a convoluted scheme to teach him a lesson, anyway?"
And Emilia had no answer to that, because she truly wouldn't have to bear with Randy's ramblings and the micromanagement of the school rumor mill if not for her intention to teach Danielle's father an 'unforgettable lesson'.
Despite having his right hand in a cast, Randy's 'enthusiasm' in waving his hands around wasn't reduced at all as he continued recounting his tale of bravery to Emilia. "Of course, I couldn't just stand and watch as the girl was mugged, so I rushed in without a single thought—"
Even though she didn't say it out loud, Emilia couldn't help but think that 'without a single thought' seemed to be a very common theme in most of Randy's 'decisions'.
No wonder Danielle's father chose him as a 'son-in-law' candidate, because they certainly had a 'lot' in common.
Dixie, who had been sourly listening from the side, couldn't help but take a jab at the boy. "I wonder who it was that managed to break the hand of such a mighty hero."
Randy couldn't help but cough in some embarrassment. He truly didn't believe that his bones broke with a slight slap from a girl. Most likely, it was a leftover injury from either hitting Amos or while hiding that he hadn't noticed earlier. But he couldn't really say that either in front of these girls, could he? But he didn't want to lie, either…
The boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I think I might have hurt myself while fighting a few thugs earlier, I'm not invincible, you know, ehehe…"
The dark-haired girl gritted her teeth in fury. 'It was clearly me! Is he calling me a thug? This bastard!'
But seeing how her princess accepted his 'company', the knight could only keep the grievances in her heart. She truly didn't understand why Emilia didn't just tell this annoying little bastard to screw off. After all, if she wanted to listen to make-believe stories, Dixie was sure she could recite hundreds that were far less lame than this guy's.
Had Randy heard her thoughts, he would have surely taken a critical hit to his ego. What make-believe stories?! These were all his life experiences, okay!
==========
Meanwhile, Crystal was gloomily staring at the ever-persistent boy who didn't seem to have learned his 'lesson' at all after his 'visit' to the police station.
Even with his reputation stinking to high heavens, Amos Black seemed to have regained almost all the confidence that he had lost before. Because at the very least, he knew there was someone who believed in him, someone who wanted to see him succeed, and someone who desperately relied on his support to be able to get out of the clasp of that evil whore ex-fiancée of his.
The hero truly did cherish his face greatly, and had always been quick to anger and fly into a rage when things didn't go his way. But he discovered that for the sake of the love of his life, he was willing to bear any humiliation.
Even if he had to temporarily turn away from the gloating eyes of that villainess, Amos was willing to bear it if it was for Crystal.
Because when the love of his life stared at him with such passion, as if imploring him to hurry up and save her, how could he spare any thoughts for something as insignificant as his ego?