I Married Three Calamities (And Got A System For It)

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Where is the money ?

"I am here to resign," Mars said in a calm tone, and watched Aunt Lalie’s face fall apart, as if she’d heard the most absurd thing ever.

It took her a moment longer to register his words, and the only thing she could manage was, "What?" she blurted out, eyes widening. "You’re resigning, Marsy boy?"

"Yes, Aunt Lalie," Mars replied, and glanced briefly around the restaurant.

It was filled with dust; even to untrained eyes, some tables had spider-web cracks, and there were barely any customers, if any at all.

Maybe because of the Local Protectors, or maybe this restaurant was simply reaching its end.

Solaris, at his side, was clearly unsettled by this level of poverty. Mars could feel her disgust and frustration at being here, and it was never a good idea to let Solaris sit in that state for too long.

"But why?" Aunt Lalie asked, her gossiping mind chasing more. "You... you were earning really well, for an unmarried man with no one to take care of."

’...if earning well means minimum wage, and even that only on the good moods of that fat boss, then I pity you.’

How could she even try to keep him here with reasons like that?

Mars didn’t let the conversation head that way. "I’m sorry, Aunt Lalie, but my—" he pulled Solaris closer to him, making her tremble beneath her forced calm, "—girlfriend here is in quite a rush. We have a date, and I don’t want to waste time. Is the boss here?"

"Oh?! Ah, yes, yes, yes! He’s here! In, huh, in his—!"

"In his office, I guess?"

"Yes, Marsy Boy! I’ll call—!"

"Oh, no need," he smiled, took Solaris’s hand, and started walking deeper into the restaurant. "I know the way. I’ll just go myself. And you know how much the boss hates being disturbed during lunch break. So don’t worry. Anyway, thanks, and see you later."

Mars and Solaris were already gone by the time Aunt Lalie caught up with the situation. She stood there, dumbstruck, recalling the woman beside Mars.

"Girlfriend?" Aunt Lalie made a sudden, sad face. "Ah, Marsy Boy was such a good boy! I wanted to set him up with my daughter!" She shook her head in mock sadness.

Then Aunt Lalie smiled and hurried toward the kitchen, unable to hold back the gossip rushing out of her after what she’d just seen.

"Fat Joe would love to hear this! Mars is resigning, hahah! This means more work for us, and so more money! Maybe now I can afford that bag from Zara."

Today was a great day for Aunt Lalie.

...

Mars and Solaris reached his boss’s office door. He gave Solaris one last glance before knocking calmly three times.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Who??" a heavy voice boomed from inside. "Who’s disturbing me? Didn’t I say no one calls me during lunch break, even if the world is ending??"

Mars didn’t respond. Instead, he took hold of the doorknob, twisted it down, and pushed the door open with a creak.

He entered the office with Solaris beside him, still silent, her eyes scanning the room with barely hidden displeasure.

The two of them came face to face with a man. He was rather tall, probably around 6 feet, but extremely broad, with no visible neck.

He was bald, sweat dripping down his face as he ate with ravenous hunger, his mouth greasy, scraps of meat clinging to the corners.

He sat behind an office desk made of black wood, his plate of food spread atop it, along with a drink and countless items like computers and phones.

Behind him was a window that looked out onto an alley, and at the far end of the room stood a huge cabinet.

The fat man’s brown eyes fixed on them. Noticing Mars, he first looked surprised, before anger took over almost immediately.

"Mars, you damn bastard!" he shouted, food spraying out, setting aside his plate of meat. "I’ve called you numerous times and left you messages. You didn’t respond to any of them. Where have you been?! You missed two days of work, little bastard! Two fucking days!"

He was shouting so loudly the walls practically shook. Solaris’s face twisted, her eyes flickering with wisps of fire, deeply irritated by the noise.

Yet the boss wasn’t done.

"At this rate, I’m going to fire your fucking ass, you hear me?" he continued, slamming his meaty hand on the table, sending the items scattered across it jumping, some falling to the ground. "And you’ll see who’ll hire a young, unserious man like you! You should be grateful I took you in and taught you everything about this job! Damn ungrateful bastard. You will work—!"

"Hey, shut your fucking mouth." Solaris finally lost her patience with all this, glaring at the boss with intense, burning eyes. "One more word, and I’ll burn your stinking mouth shut."

The boss was completely flabbergasted by the sudden, brutal interruption. But the surprise lasted only a moment before his fat face twisted monstrously with anger:

"Who is this bitch—!"

"Boss," Mars stepped in directly, taking another step forward while holding Solaris’s hand tightly to calm her, "or rather, should I call you Loris now? That’s your name, if I remember correctly."

"You...what are you—!"

"I’m resigning, Loris," Mars said in a neutral tone. He reached the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down calmly under Loris’s startled gaze.

Solaris followed and sat in the other chair. Mars finally let go of her hand, folding both hands together in front of him on the table.

"But before we do that, I’d like to get the unpaid money you owe me, Loris," Mars continued. "Is that possible?"

Loris let out a cackle, loud and grating. "You must have lost your damn mind," he growled. "You? Mars? Resigning? Is the world ending? Did the Dream World finally swallow us all?!"

He laughed again, as if it were the most absurd thing he’d ever heard in his life.

"Did you forget who you are, Mars?" His face lost all trace of a smile as he glared at Mars with pure disgust and contempt. "You’re nothing but an orphan, boy! A fucking orphan I pitied and took under my wing! And this is how you repay me?"

"I worked for you since I was 12, Loris. I think I’ve given my best for you."

"Your best?" he repeated. "What do you call your best? Missing two days of work? Is that your best?"

"I’m really not here to debate my work performance. Will it be possible to get my money before we end the contract, yes or no?" Mars asked calmly again, trying not to let his feelings rise.

"You’ll get shit from me," Loris spat, brown eyes bulging. "No damn orphan will eat my money. If you want to leave, Mars, get the fuck out of my restaurant and never set foot in it again. I should’ve listened to my wife! You’re nothing but the son of a whore! A whore everyone fucked in this—!"

"I guess the negotiations are over." Mars cut him off in a tone so flat and cold that Solaris snapped her head towards him, wondering if this was still the Mars she knew.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Mars had lost all trace of his smile, his face as blank as a sheet of white paper, as if he were incapable of feeling any emotion at all.

"I tried to keep this reasonable, but I should’ve known better. People like you don’t understand reasonable. I’ve accepted everything you’ve done to me because I needed the money to live, and I had no strength or power," Mars said, and Solaris’s body began to flicker with fire. "I still lack strength, to be honest. But hey," he smiled emptily, devoid of emotion, "I’m not that powerless anymore. And I’m not the same Mars you once knew."

He stood up, and Loris began to sense something deeply wrong with the whole situation.

"So here’s how we’re going to do this from now on," Mars continued. "Take out all the money you have right now, Loris."

Loris immediately knew what was coming. He opened his mouth wide to shout, trying to activate his Gift at the same time, but Solaris was much faster.

She was on him before he could blink, her body glowing with fire, yanking him from the chair and slamming him down hard onto the ground.

Her searing hand pressed over his mouth, her eyes dead cold. "What do you think you’re trying to do now, you fucking pig?"

Loris tried to struggle, squealing like a pig about to be slaughtered, but it was useless against Solaris’s strength, built from daily training and the resources of a Prime family.

A man like him, who’d never bothered to use his Gift properly, could never win.

Mars, meanwhile, stood up calmly. Then he walked to the office door and gently locked it.

The sound sent a jolt of dread through Loris’s body.

As Mars turned back towards Loris and Solaris, he noticed a long steel staff, about a man’s length and partly gilded, leaning against the wall. He reached out and grasped it.

Then he walked around the table towards Loris, rested the steel staff on his shoulder, crouched down in front of him, and spoke:

"We have about 15 minutes before lunch break ends. And you can be sure no one’s coming into this room, thanks to your own rules. So,"

He tilted his head, and Solaris’s hand began to burn with golden fire.

"Where is the money?"

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