After their arrival at Maya's house, there was a middle-aged man standing before them. He was none other than Maya's father, Bernard Hamilton.
"Wele to my humble abode." Bernard smiled and looked at Theo and the others. "It's truly shocking to see Theodore Griffith standing side by side with the most beautiful woman, Agata Mota."
"…" Theo and Agata didn't have a change of expression when they heard it.
"Whatever. It's not like I'm going to expose you or anything." Bernard shrugged. "Anyway, let's talk inside. My wife decided to cook for today's dinner, so you should have dinner first. The servants will bring your luggage to your own room."
"Then, we will take your offer." Theo nodded in agreement.
He and Agata then walked together with Maya, following Bernard to the dining room.
It was very quiet to the point Bernard couldn't stand it.
He even turned around and jokingly said, "e on. Why are you so stiff? Is it because of me that you can't talk with your peers?"
"It's because you're pushing all the matter to me." Maya glared at him. "I need to settle all the work in my pany within two days. I think you have heard that or should I make an additional hole near your ears so you can listen to my words?"
"Oh, e on. The 'hole' joke is already overused." Bernard waved his hand nonchalantly.
"Then, can I assume you prefer to experience a serious one? Maybe, I should have cut you off from my life for a year or so."
"Alright. This is my first time hearing the 'hole' joke. Don't make a hole near my ears please."
"…" Maya's eyebrows twitched as she chose to not reply to him.
On the other hand, Theo asked, "There is one thing that I want to ask you…"
"Hmm? Sure, ask away?" Bernard's face became serious.
Somehow Maya was surprised by his reaction. If it was the normal him, Bernard would ask jokingly, 'Her hand in marriage?'
Theo wouldn't react to that kind of joke and simply continued the conversation. But it was still surprising that Bernard didn't even react like he was supposed to.
"Is it possible to meet…" Theo abruptly stopped and shook his head. "Sorry. Never mind."
"Oh, you want to talk with my father? Well, it's normal to be curious with my father because he's known to be an eccentric guy, especially in the pany." Bernard shook his head. "Sadly, you can't. Ever since he's retired, he has been living in seclusion.
"What I mean by seclusion is that… he's living on the other side, making a small tree house or something. And he often moves places when he doesn't like the area anymore.
"So, even for me, it's nearly impossible to meet him. For an outsider, he will find you, not the other way around.
"It's true that I can help you meet him, but you need to pay a hefty price. And it's impossible for this International Mission to pay for that." Bernard declined with an explanation.
"I see." Theo nodded in understanding. "Treat it as if I never ask anything then."
"Alright. Anyway, let's eat." They reached the dining room as Bernard pushed open the doors, revealing a long dining table that was able to hold at least thirty people.
There was various food on the table as a blonde-haired woman came in from another door bringing a hot pot. She had long blonde hair with the same hairstyle as Maya.
It was clear who she was with the apron she wore alone.
"Ah, wele, wele." She made a gentle smile as she put down the pot on the table. "I just finished everything. Let me bring everything out first. Please sit down."
She hurriedly returned to the kitchen and brought a few more plates.
Meanwhile, Bernard showed them their seats.
Before her mother returned, Maya moved closer to Bernard and whispered, 'Why did you bee serious earlier? And also, he's planning to have that Simulation Room for two.'
'e on. You should know that he hates that kind of joke. There's no way I'm going to do that. I have a conscience.' Bernard replied before showing a smug smile.
"…" Maya was staring at him in shock as if she didn't know Bernard anymore.
"Why are you looking at me like I'm a fool?" Bernard rolled his eyes. He ended up turning to Theo and said, "Anyway, do you want to train in the Simulation Room?"
Theo nodded with a serious expression. "Anything that can make me stronger faster."
"Well, we created this Simulation Room three years ago. And there were so many tests that needed to be done, so we didn't have time to mass-produce them.
"For now, we only have a total of 50 Simulation Rooms divided into three categories: Awareness, Breathing and Control, and Technique.
"These three are different. The Awareness Simulation Room will be a simulation of battle. It's like many monsters will sneak around you to kill you. This will improve your reaction speed. And depending on your focus, you will be able to improve your Awareness.
"Then, Breathing and Control… In this room, we manage to stimulate the Magic Power and make you visualize that with naked eyes. This way, you will understand a bit more about Magic Power. Though, there are still many errors in this one because it's hard to visualize the Magic Power through the machine.
"Last but not least, the Technique… This is just a simulation battle where you can use techniques. The room will be able to replicate your movements, allowing you to watch the replay in real time to see what kind of improvement is needed.
"Of course, if you're going to enter one of these rooms, you need to give your consent that we will get the record of your training for more data to improve the Simulation Room. If you think this is alright, which room do you want to use?"
"Awareness," Theo answered without hesitation. This answer also reflected his consent.
He then glanced at Agata.
"I will use Breathing and Control."
"Well, since you're fine to be recorded, I will allow you to use it. However, each training session won't be more than eight hours each day for safety purposes. And how long you can use these rooms will depend on your contribution. Maya will assess you in this regard. Sounds good to you?"
"Yes. I agree." Theo nodded after thinking for a moment.
"Great… We have a deal."
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