"Sigh..." The angel of a woman sighed deeply.

  She lifted her lowered head and met Masa Ed eyes. "Mr Eda, I will be honest with you. That you had an encounter with the spiritual without preparation was our fault, we from Golden order take the blame. That we couldn't protect you a victim after that was also our failure, it is our duty to do that. And right now, that you have to join us to escape the hunt of spiritual practitioners of the spiritual world is also a stain on what we stand for. But I want you to know, we from the Golden order, even if we have failed, find it hard to give up. Admitting you into our faction is the last thing we can do for you. Mr Eda please you have to join us, you have to sign this papers, its the only way out of this predicament..."

  "I get it." Masa Ed with a soft voice and a smile interjected.

  "You guys have the noble mission to protect the mortals, including those unknowingly thrust into the supernatural right?" He questioned.

  "Yes, its the first of our mandate, no mortal must be harmed by the spiritual." The angel of a woman replied with a smile. She thinks Masa Ed is opening up to her and is about to sign the papers in her hands she is holding up towards him.

  Masa Ed, however resumed, he beamed, "So whose mandate is it you protect mortals?"

  "Huh?" The angel of a woman including her two retainers became stunned at Masa Ed unexpected question. Who goes around asking that, they think.

  "You guys don't get it." Masa Ed smiled at them smugly. "You are like the peace keepers of the spiritual world right? The police or whatever you call it?"

  "Mm, yes yes." The angel of a woman nodded emphatically like a rooster.

  Masa Ed loved her response, so he smiled and resumed:

  "So what I am saying is this, who employ you people? And what do you people get from doing your so called noble duties?"

  "Huh?" One of the angel of a woman retainers couldn't hold her surprise; she blurted out, garnering Masa Ed attention. For a fact, she is not the one that gave Masa Ed a contract paper earlier but the other one looking elsewhere from them at the time.

  Its definitely her. Masa Ed beamed after having taking a good look at her face he observed is a tiny bit sharper than that of her identical twin; he judged, the micro difference on her face is because she frowns more than her sister who has a softer face, so the frown details overtime has been etched onto her face, therefore making it a bit sharper on a micro scale, hence a distinguishing feature of the two that might be the only thing someone can detect excluding the subtle difference in their mannerism, posture and presence.

  "So?" Masa Ed returned his attention to the angel of a woman who look thoughtful.

  She responded, "Mr Eda, the great sages of the past out of their overflowing love for all things after they see the sufferings of mortals in the hand of spiritual practitioners created the golden law and the golden order that enforce it. Their mandate since the end of the lost era is what is leading us..."

  "Out of overflowing love. I feel like clapping for them." Masa Ed retorted sarcastically. By turning his sitting posture leftward and hanging his leg over the edge of the bed, he repositioned, now facing the angel of a woman totally. He resumed. "So, I can assume you guys do this because of love and not because you are getting rewarded?"

  "???"

  At his question, the angel of a woman and her retainers paused, looking stunned to varying but little degrees.

  Focusing on her retainer that has a softer face... later, her lips curled into an imperceptible smirk Masa Ed caught at the corner of his eyes.

  She is my type. Beaming, Masa Ed acknowledged her bold and truthful response in his mind, feeling a tingle in his heart after a very long time.

  However, the angel of a woman thinking Masa Ed smile is directed at her, smiled in response before verbally responding.

  "Mr Eda, we do get paid. We spiritual practitioner need a lot of resources for our spiritual journey, so by joining a stable faction, this resources are guaranteed. And in the case of our faction, because of what we do in the spiritual world—maintaining its balance and order—many other factions send us donations and gifts, and its them we reward our members with..."

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Its your major source of funding?" Masa Ed interjected, concluding her speech with an inquiry,

  "Yes, but we have other sources." The angel of a woman replied as she stretched her hand holding the paper contract towards Masa Ed.

  At her subtle gesture, Masa Ed chuckled. He resumed:

  "So, I can assume your faction you want me to join is sponsored by the people you are keeping in line?"

  "Mm-hmm. Yes." The angel of woman replied right away with confidence, but afterwards, she paused, second guessing what is amiss with the implication of her positive answer to Masa Ed statement that he might knows and is the reason he is smiling smugly with his eyes locked onto hers, which somewhere in her heart intimidates her and scares her a tiny bit.

  Then unreconciled even after a moment of silence, the angel of a woman after putting the papers in her hand on the second upholstered stool first scratched her head, looking frustrated, then suddenly catching Masa Ed whose hand is folded across his bare midriff off guard, she jumped him and shamelessly embraced him tightly, throwing all her weight at him.

  "You!" Masa Ed panicked; he almost fell backwards on his back and tumbled over the narrow bed to the other side.

  "Please sign the papers." Meanwhile, the angel of a woman requested in a soft but audible voice. She held tightly onto him like she wouldn't let go, nullifying his effort to break free from her.

  Fuck! she is strong... Masa Ed winced after applying the limit of his strength. Exasperated, he gave up on trying to free himself from her embrace and overpowering might, instead he threatened:

  "If you don't get off me I won't ever sign it."

  "Sign it first."

  In response to Masa Ed threat, the angel of a woman demanded, insisting.

  Fuck this bitch! Masa Ed scowled and then seeking help, he turned to look at her retainers; first the one with the subtly softer face who met his eyes and then smiled imperceptibly at him with a subtle nod, and then the other he judged to frown a lot who glared at him and looked away after meeting his eyes.

  "Tch..." Masa Ed scoffed having received no help. Then he returned his attention to the woman and resumed: "After the count of five if you don't get off, nothing you do or say will make me sign those papers. One, two, three, four..."

  Before Masa Ed mentioned five, the angel of a woman quickly withdraw from his embrace and returned to her seat, looking expressionless and composed like nothing worth cringing over has happened. Then maintaining her look, she picked the papers from the other stool and cleared her throat.

  "Ahem, Mr Eda, I am Margaret Goldy Brown. The chief director of Golden order."

  The angel of a woman like they're meeting for the first time professionally reintroduced herself to Masa Ed who is repositioning on the bed, sitting upright on it with his leg stretched across its length, his earlier posture.

  Then stretching her hand holding the contract papers minus the newspaper at him, she resumed, "This is our invitation to you from our order. I hope you take it and sign it. Its our wish you do not become a prey for spiritual practitioners seeking to capture you."

  Masa Ed scoffed at her after a glance.

  "What actually will happen if I am captured?" He questioned her, and before the angel of a woman who look depressed replied, she lowered her hand stretched towards Masa Ed.

  "Mr Eda you will definitely be tortured to death regardless of which side capture you, and for the worst case scenario, if you were captured by those that think you hold a secret, they won't just inflict physical pain on you, they will torture your spirit and break your mind to get what they want, these people are the scourge of the spiritual world everyone fears, our primary target..."

  "I see." Masa Ed fuppled—he raised his lower lips, pressing it tightly with his upper lips in alignment, looking like he pout. Then he went completely silent.

  Meanwhile, after a faint frown appeared on the face of the retainer of the angel of a woman who has a softer face than her always frowning twin, she turned around and started walking towards the entrance of the room they came from.

  And the angel of a woman, realizing Masa Ed is unmoved by her scary description, she resumed: "Mr Eda. What exactly is stopping you from joining us?"

  Masa Ed glanced at her and smiled, "I hate being part of a group unless I am leading; people—mortal or immortal—are dumb and stupid. If you care about me, you will let me be; its not like there is something worse than death."

  "But there is Mr Eda!!!" The angel of a woman raised her voice, looking frighteningly concerned as she gripped Masa Ed forearms tightly, her golden eyes staring at his side profile, looking teary and pleading. "Mr Eda, spiritual pain is a thousand times more painful than a physical pain; and no matter how much spiritual pain is inflicted on you, you will never die as long as your physical body is unharmed, it can become a never ending suffering, a hell?!"

  "Mm-hmm." Masa Ed chuckled, he went back on the bed with his back—lying on it face-up. He resumed, "If you are talking about spiritual pain, its not like I have not felt something similar before, and who is saying I will let myself be captured. How I will commit suicide right now is what's on my mind, its not like I fear dying..."

  "Hic." The angel of a woman interrupted Masa Ed, seeming like she is crying as she stood up and lie on his chest with her sad face an inch close to his, and her teary-looking eyes staring at his with emotions.

  However, as she was about to resume, she and Masa Ed heard the click of the door that squashed the dead silence between them, followed by a rapid footstep of shoe on metal.

  Meanwhile, an urgent voice only understandable to the angel of a woman whose face twisted from fright at the footsteps reached them.

  "Mistress! High Priest Madeba is walking towards our ship, he is coming with an inquisition squad."