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From the expensive yet still convenient plates, through the huge array of various foods that we could pretty much choose whatever we wished from, all the way to a team of three chefs standing behind the huge countertop of the open kitchen, readily preparing more and more snacks for us to choose from…

Every bit of this simple meal spelled luxury, not to even mention Claire in loose loungewear sitting right across the table and giving me quite the show of her cleavage moving while she silently ate…

But on the other hand, it was also the most stressful breakfast I\'ve had in my entire life.

The silence, broken only by the slight noise from the kitchen and the tapping of our silverware against the porcelain was strangely deafening.

And all because of the awkwardness that poisoned the air between the two of us.

It was one thing to wake up when the hormones and emotions from the last night still lingered. But as we got out of bed and dressed up…

The mundane reality of daily life struck us right back, taking in our confidence at being able to easily make this new arrangement work and laughing at us as it proved that reality was often disappointing.

"Could you pass me the salt?" I asked after taking some time to gather my courage.

In reality, I didn\'t have any desire to add salt to my meals. They were all cooked on the spot by chefs who were easily equalized to earn for one day of their work than I could hope to earn for a month back in my part-time.

In a sense, asking for salt with those chefs right by our side was nothing but an insult to their faces…

But in this strange, awkward situation, this was my best bet to start any sort of conversation and put an end to this deafening silence.

"Salt?\' Claire raised her eyes from her plate, only to then turn her face slightly to the side as she sent her glare over to the chefs. She then looked back and grimaced as if she wasn\'t sure if I was joking, unaware of common etiquette to this degree, or maybe outright trying to spark some flames…

"Haaa…" Unable to get a read off my face, Claire sighed before shaking her head. "All those meals are prepared to perfection by the chefs, so why would you need the salt for?" she asked… yet still, she grabbed the small, crystal bottle before passing it over.

"I know… Or rather, I could tell that to be the case but between the awkwardness of acting rude to the chefs and the awkwardness between the two of us…" I shook my head, leaning back to imply I had no plans of reaching out to take the salt from the girl\'s hand.

"I… I see," Claire muttered, lowering her face while pulling her hand back.

Her cheeks grew slightly redder as she shifted somewhat uncomfortably in her seat.

"What would you want to talk about, then?" she asked, trying to do her best and play along with my attempt. And then… "What do you think about today\'s weather?"

I looked up from my plate, allowing a piece of dry-fried paprika to hang off my fork.

Then, a sigh escaped from my lips.

"You don\'t need to try THAT hard, you know?" I suggested before shaking my head and grabbing the cup filled to the inner brim with some thick, extremely rich-flavored juice. "We can\'t speed-run trying to get to know each other better, so how about we just… let it happen naturally?"

At first, Claire stared at me for a bit, a hint of grudge from my comment over her attempt brimming at the bottom of her eyes, only to vanish as she sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

Claire then leaned back in her chair, as if to copy my position, before taking a sip from her own cup.

"What should we talk about, then?" she asked while resting her cup down against her knee as opposed to resting it down on the table.

"I know it\'s bad manners to talk about business while dining, but there\'s quite a lot of stuff that I need to catch up. So, I\'m sorry if it will feel pushy or outright rude, but when can I expect to sign the contract?"

Even though the prize on that contract was great, it still pretty much turned me into the slave of Claire\'s clan. As such, I could pretty much tell what she was thinking when she responded to my question by raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"Are you in a hurry to sign it or something?" she asked. While her words could be taken to be slightly provocative… the genuine surprise on her face proved her intentions were free from such schemes. "Or are you worried that we…"

"I just want to be fair to you… To your clan," I replied with a shake of my head. "You guys saved my life, didn\'t you?"

With the cooks still present and even if they were too busy working to listen in to our conversation… Their mere presence forced me to play around with my words a bit, forced me to craft my sentences around the issue but in a way that would make my intentions obvious to the girl across the table.

"Well…" Claire hesitated a little bit, her cheeks growing just a bit brighter.

Sure, when talking about saving my life, one was likely to think about the kidnapping accident… But between me and Claire, saving my life also had another meaning. A meaning the memory of which was enough to make Claire squirm in her seat.

"The contract is ready whenever you are ready to sign in. As for its stipulations…" Claire\'s face cleared up as a more serious, productive glint appeared in her eyes. "You are still recovering, so it\'s a good idea for you to take a week or two of rest…"

Claire\'s eyes moved upright as she sprung her back against the backrest of her chair and leaned forward over the dining table.

"But if my feeling about you is right, you will want to get right back to work, am I right?"

I smiled a little.

"We might not know each other for long, but for you to be able to predict my thoughts and feelings already…" I spoke only to shake my head in disbelief. "I\'m flattered."

"Oh, spare me the empty drivel," Claire rolled her eyes… but underneath the stiff mask of a serious, work-focused expression, I could see a hint of a smile.

"As for your question, yes, you are right," I admitted as I leaned back in my chair. "Before, it was a necessity that drove me to do my best. But now? With all the tools, means, and opportunities within my reach?"

I shook my head before lowering it as I locked my eyes on my meal and used my fork to roll some beans around the plate.

"It might just be me, but rather than taking it easy, I would much rather keep doing my best," I then smiled before leaning my head just a bit off to the side. "How else can I prove that you guys were right to bet on me?"