Novel's Extra: I Awakened The Strongest Physique From The Start - Chapter 76

Chapter 76: CHAPTER 75 – Thorin Anvilbrow 2.
“What? I needed money, so I’m selling it!”

After not being able to take on the staredown with Alex any longer, Thorin stomped his foot, turning his head away.

“Hm, I didn’t say I had a problem with that; it’s yours after all.” Alex, however, just shrugged nonchalantly.

From the moment they stepped out of the Academy Patrol building, Alex had been constantly staring at Thorin, knowing that he had some time before Zahara, his date, was to arrive, and at one point, even Thorin had turned around and started staring back at Alex, but in the end, he couldn’t go on.

Thorin knew that he was doing the wrong thing, after all.

“Then what do you want?! What did you want to talk to me about?” His voice raised as he looked at Alex’s unbothered behavior.

“You do know that instead of selling your rights to sell the voting board, if you made such board and sold them, it would’ve bought you greater profits—” Alex, not answering Thorin’s question, asked back, making Thorin frown before he growled.

“I know, alright!” Thorin could again feel the same thing—like he was being seen through; like his every move was already predicted by Alex; like nothing he says is not what Alex had expected—making him unable to control his emotions.

“I know that I could profit way more if I worked on it, but I don’t want to. So?” Gritting his teeth, he continued as he clenched the contract in his hand, “You said so yourself, didn’t you? It’s mine, and I can do anything I want with it!”

“You gave—” Thorin, who was about to go on, paused, gritting his teeth as he saw Alex looking at him with the same calm smile. Stomping his foot, he asked, almost yelling, “Just what do you want?!”

He had never asked this before because, at that time, he was only thinking of money. It was the first deal he had with Alex, and he didn’t know much about Alex at that time, but now he does.

Thorin now knew just how big of a deal Alex was, and he knew that if this guy wanted to, he could just take away the contract in his hand and he would be able to do nothing against it.

Thorin was thankful that Alex said that the contract was original and that he was the one who made the voting machine, but that was it. He didn’t want anything more to do with Alex. He didn’t want to get famous like Alex had offered; he just wanted to stay low like he always had.

“I won’t make anything else for you. I don’t want any help from you to get famous. I don’t want to earn more. I just want money right now, and I would do whatever I have—” With his head lowered, Thorin went on, speaking his mind out.

What he didn’t know was that Alex hadn’t done what he did without anything in his mind. Even the moment he accepted that the contract was original when he could’ve just taken it and used it to earn himself a large sum was all because he could see something larger up ahead.

So he interrupted Thorin’s speech.

“Do you think this substantial amount of money you’ll get will be enough to last you for long?” His question made Thorin pause, gritting his teeth harder. “Do you think that after you sell the contract, you will have an easier life? With no backing and no way to protect the money?”

Alex stepped closer to Thorin, his towering height making Thorin feel intimidated.

“You don’t want anything to do with me?” Alex tilted his head, his gaze looking down on Thorin. “I don’t see myself losing anything from that, but do you think you will be fine?”

Although intimidated, this question of Alex made him frown. “What will I lose—”

Before he could even ask the question, Alex answered it. “Did your neighborhood not seem a bit quieter these days? Or are you by any chance missing the thugs who used to beat you up every time they saw you?”

Frozen still with his heartbeats raised, Thorin could do nothing but stare at Alex with his eyes widened, but Alex, with a calm look on his face, held his chin thoughtfully, and went on, “Hmmm, maybe it’s because you weren’t kicked out of your new house—which ‘coincidently’ was way too cheap for the comfort it gave you—even though you haven’t paid the rent for months, that you started to think that your life would be fine with some money.”

Alex nodded continuously as if he had solved a great mystery, but Thorin could do nothing; he just stood frozen in his spot, unable to move as things had finally started to set in. He was slowly realizing that his life had ‘somehow’ turned easier.

“I-It was you—” Thorin stammered, his steps flattering as he raised his head to look into Alex’s eyes with cold sweat covering his temple. He wasn’t dumb enough to not understand what was going on. It wasn’t a coincidence, nor was his luck getting better. It was Alex all along.

“You see, Thorin,” Alex spoke, cutting the guy off again. His hand resting on Thorin’s shoulder as he added with a calm smile on his face, “I have nothing to lose by not having any link with you.”

“…W-Why…?” After a bout of silence, Thorin finally let out that word, stuttering as he realized the weight of his previous words. His demeanor had changed—he wasn’t as eccentric and annoying as before; he had his head straight so he knew when to be what.

“Why I helped you?” Alex raised a brow, stepping back a bit, and seeing Thorin nod, he just chuckled, “You see, when I take someone as my subordinate or a friend, I make sure that they don’t suffer, and the moment you started working for me—a few months ago—was the moment I decided to make you my subordinate, helping you without having a need for you to ask me.”

After those words, what followed was silence—a long silence. Many things were going on in Thorin’s head as the guy had realized many things. He didn’t even know what to do anymore.

“I still don’t have any problem with you selling the contract,” spoke Alex, breaking the silence. “I would’ve even protected you like I always did—of course, if you hadn’t said what you said—but…”

He paused, turning around as he felt a very familiar presence rushing toward him before he added, “I don’t think that money would have been able to save your mother.”

“ALEX!!”

The next second, a voice—cheerful and jolly—was heard by both Thorin and Alex. It was Zahara, and wearing her student council dress with a gold strip on her shoulder, she was rushing straight toward Alex with a wide, infectious smile on her face.

Alex, looking at her smile, couldn’t stop his lips from curving. “Zahara,” he spoke, moving forward.

“W-Wait!” But was soon stopped by a yell from Thorin, who was too shocked to even speak. ‘He knows about mother’s situation?!’ He exclaimed inwardly.

“You would probably want to know how I know about your mother,” Alex began as he turned around, looking into Thorin’s eyes as he continued, “But still, think about my words from before…”

Alex turned back to the front, opening his arms wide and accepting Zahara into them before he smiled, “Hey there.”

“Hehe,” giggled Zahara in response, rubbing her head on his chest, not caring about the shock on the faces of the people in the surroundings. As long as Alex was with her, she didn’t care about anything else.

“If I can do so much about your surroundings, can I not know anything about the only person you live with?” He finally fished his words, making Thorin lower his head in defeat.

“What do you want from me…?” That was all he could ask, and Alex, in response to that question, just chuckled again. “You know very well what I want. Just think about it, and when I meet you again, just have an answer ready.”

With those words, Alex raised his finger, shooting a flare in the sky.

Boom

The moment that flare had blasted was when Alex vanished from the spot along with Zahara, who was looking at Thorin curiously.

It was only when both of them had disappeared from the eyes of the passersby that chaos was set loose.

“Alex Drakathor and Zahara Nemeanor?!”

“Are they together?!”

“Damn! I won’t lose. I will try my best to get senior Alex’s heart as well.”

“And what was that ability? How did they vanish??”

“Yeah, they were literally standing in front of us a second ago.”

One after another, people started to discuss the shocking thing they had just seen. And soon, the news was going to be spread all across the academy, breaking the hearts of many boys and girls while making some of them grow more resolute.

Thorin, amidst all this, was completely ignored as he walked away from there, with a lot of things on his mind to think about.