Mercenary Harem in Murim Novel

"What are you doing, Chiaki?"

Leo asked as he approached.

Hearing his voice, the girl perked up and turned around. Her melancholy expression disappeared instantly and was replaced with a stoic face.

"Leader. What’s the matter?"

"Nothing. I was just curious about what you did. It’s been a week since I last saw you. Well, you can say that I am a bit worried about you."

"A week? Time sure flies quickly." She laughed sheepishly before taking another sip of alcohol and letting out a long sigh, "I am researching something new. The information that I’ve collected so far is incomplete, but I hope it will be useful later on."

The information... It was about her research on Qi. Since she was an expert in this field, Leo didn’t doubt that she had progressed further than what she said.

"Did you finish it?"

"Not yet. But I have an idea of what kind of direction I should take. There are still missing information, but I think I can manage."

While Leo knew one or two things about biology, his knowledge couldn’t be compared to Chiaki. He sat next to her and patted her head.

"Good job. If you need something, don’t hesitate to tell me."

"Yes..." She gave him a gentle smile before looking back at the cup in her hand, "Thank you, Leader."

"No problem." He waved his hand, dismissing her thanks before asking another question, "Do you know where everyone is? Ah, except Anya. She is in my room right now."

"How envio- I mean… Jessica and Jack went to do their usual job scouting around town and socializing. Shui is with Astrid to take back all her assets and liquidate them. That’s what I know."

"I see."

Liquidating Astrid... Peng Li-Yue’s asset, huh?

’That’s not going to be easy.’

With her changing her identity, making all her assets into Gold would be difficult. She would have to be secretive, erasing any trace of herself as she transfers them away from anyone’s knowledge. Even then, it could still be traced back to her if someone is persistent enough.

Everyone was still busy, so no work could be done. In that case...

"Want to take a walk with me, Chiaki? I haven’t gotten the chance to go outside this week."

The girl paused briefly as if considering his offer before nodding her head with a smile, "Okay."

It was a beautiful twilight outside. The sun was slowly setting behind the horizon, casting orange rays of light across the sky as they walked side by side down the street.

A cool breeze blew past them, bringing with it the scent of autumn leaves and flowers.

Chiaki, surprised by the sudden invitation, had her face dyed red from embarrassment. Never in her life did she imagine that Leo would invite her out, just the two of them.

’W-W-W-What should I do?!! This is... unexpected! A-A date with Leader?!’’

Leo’s handsome face entered her vision as she stared at him intently. She noticed how his broad shoulders filled out his suit perfectly, giving him an air of confidence while making him look powerful at the same time. The soft smile he had when looking around was picturesque.

And especially...

’He smells so good...’

She loved his musky scent. It made her feel comfortable and warm inside. She wanted to wrap herself around him and enjoy it forever, but she knew that would make her look weird in front of him.

When it came to men, everyone looked so ugly to Chiaki. They were monkeys with horny thoughts every day, but Leo was different.

Maybe it was because of his status as the leader, or maybe it was due to his looks, but whatever it was, she could not take her eyes off of him as they walked side by side under the starry night sky. As if a filter was placed on him, everything about him looked perfect in her eyes.

Everything about Leo made Chiaki feel warm and safe whenever she looked at him.

’I should talk to him. This is a chance when these troublemakers aren’t here. A date! Just the two of us!’

Nodding to herself with a stoic expression, Chiaki gathered her courage and opened her mouth to speak. But before she could get any words out, Leo suddenly turned to her and spoke first.

"About Astrid," He began with a serious tone. "Do you agree with my decision to make her join our group?"

Hearing that question, Chiaki hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly without saying anything else.

"I see." Leo chuckled lightly as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

He knew that Chiaki wasn’t so happy with his decision, as proven by her hesitation earlier. Usually, she would nod without a beat when he asked. So this was pretty clear what she thought about Astrid.

"Sorry about making that selfish decision."

"N-No, that’s not what I mean. I know why you did it, but... Well... I guess you’re right to do it."

Chiaki stuttered nervously while averting her gaze away from him shyly, trying her best not to stare at his handsome face too much. She moved her Nanites inside her body to control her emotion, and it worked wonderfully. A perfect poker face replaced her flushed one almost immediately.

"While we need to discover Qi, we also need to discover whether we can safely put Nanites inside a martial artist’s body. Peng Li-Yue... Astrid is a perfect person to undergo Nanites surgery. Based on the quick scan, her body compatibility with Nanites is 72%. With the initial surgery, we can increase it-"

"That’s not why I invited Astrid to our group." Leo interrupted Chiaki’s explanation by shaking his head.

"I took Astrid because we need a native resident of this world. Maybe she didn’t look like it, but she’s a smart girl with vast knowledge. Of course, I would ask you to do her Nanites surgery in the future, but that’s after making sure that everything is safe."

Just as Leo had expected, Chiaki would misunderstand his intention. She always thinks rationally and logically about everything, including his actions. And with the condition of his group where everyone was a foreigner who transmigrated, she was driven to find ways to adapt.

However, this time it was different.

"She will be a gate as well as a reminder that we’re in a different world. Her opinion would matter in my decision in the future, just like yours and Jessica." He explained in an easy way.

"But don’t worry. Among all else, she’s still the newest member. I won’t treat her the same way I treat you. I will be biased and trust you more than her. So, don’t be jealous and support her just like how I support you. Alright?"

"...Leader." The girl widened her eyes at him before lowering her head sadly and nodded weakly. "I understand."