It took a while to really convince Percy that this idea was for the best. But the deciding factor was when Valerie told him, after taking him into the next room to talk in private, about the impending future.

She left out his role in that future, because she was still doubtful that it would even come true with Future boys track record and also because she was sure it would just upset him and cause even more unnecessary issues.

But other than that, she made sure to tell him every detail of the monsters that would soon overrun the earth and that they would need to have a considerable fighting force if they were going to fight back against it.

Besides, they couldn’t just leave a secret organisation like this unsupervised after discovering that they existed. Who knows what type of secrets stashed away, or how they could benefit from this organisation in the long run.

So Percy reluctantly served as the position of the inside man. A mind set that Percival the Third shared, as he insisted on sending Valerie home with one of his men as her ’escort’ aka, babysitter and spy.

He insisted it was an apology for hacking Jinu, who Valerie ended up ruining in self defence. But none of them were dumb enough to believe such an altruistic reason from this man. Not even Percy.

With that set up, however, There was just one worry that Valerie had.

"Are you sure that you can handle Lox by yourself? You don’t need me to stay here any defend you from her advances?" Valerie asked with a nervous smile. Partly joking, and partly serious.

She was well aware that since the Golden Prince guild, at least the top members, were going to be brought here to train in real magic, that it included their newest member. He would be alone, in a remote location, with that crazy b-word for god knows how long. It would disturb anyone, but it gave Valerie an especially queasy feeling in her stomach whenever she thought about it.

A feeling she unfortunately recognised and reluctantly admitted to herself, as Jealousy.

"Don’t worry Ray. You’re not the only badass amongst us. I’ll be fine. Honestly this might be the best place for it." Percy answered with a laugh.

"No camera’s, no fans, no public. No one for her to play up for, which means no one that I have to pretend for either. I can treat her however I want, and not have to worry about that stupid fake relationship.

Honestly convincing the management of a team retreat to an unknown location is going to be harder, but I’m sure my father is already taking care of that. As much as I hate it, the family name has a lot of power."

Valerie nodded softly, accepting his explanation in her mind, but it did nothing to solve the feeling in her stomach. Although that might have been also because of hunger. Even after that massive meal, she was still strangely hungry.

She put that out of her mind though, and looked back at Percy with a smile.

"Alright then, I’ll trust you to look after yourself like a big boy then. You don’t need me hanging around...

I would say I would make sure to visit, but I still have no idea where we are." She said with a bashful, half hearted laugh.

"And it will stay that way." Percival butted in, glaring at the two of them as they were whispering to each other. A petite woman in a form-fitting black business suit, with sunglasses covering her eyes stood behind him.

Her hands were clasped behind her back and her black hair was kept up in a tight ponytail. Although Valerie didn’t recognise her face, she could recognise her simply by how difficult it was to focus on her appearance and how well this woman blended into the background.

This was no doubt the stealthful would-be assassin that had been pushing her around earlier.

"This is Bai Yin." He said, gesturing to the woman. "She will accompany you back home and act as your assistant for the foreseeable future. Which means that it is time for you to leave."

Bai Yin moved at his word, removing a black bag from behind her back and strode over to Valerie.

"Wait..." She insisted, holding up a hand to stop the woman which surprisingly worked. She turned back to Percy and gestured for him to come closer. He frowned slightly, giving her a strange smile as he complied.

Leaning closer to her until their faces were nearly touching. He was sure that she was about to whisper something to him, but she chose different.

Darting her eyes back and forth between his, Valerie’s heart palpated in her chest. Her mouth felt so dry and her hands felt so sweaty, as she shifted in her chair. She quickly, and subtly, wiped her hand on her leg before reaching up and touching Percy’s cheek.

He froze at her touch, which perfectly allowed her to lean in and place a gentle kiss on his handsome and oh so stupid face.

It only lasted a split second, but when Valerie pulled away she saw that Percy’s face was stuck in an expression somewhere between overwhelming joy and complete, mind shattering shock.

That left him with wide eyes and a goofy smile that she couldn’t help but laugh at.

"Stay safe Princess." She whispered, before Bai Yin placed the bag over her head and plunged her into darkness, leaving her with just the image of that idiots face in her mind to keep her company.

She didn’t mind that too much.

Percy was completely frozen in place. Even when Bai Yin wheeled Valerie away, he still stared at the empty space which she had occupied. His mind filled with dozens of different things to think and say, but none of them felt right.

When he finally found the perfect words, and finally blinked as he came back to reality, Percy looked around only to realise that he was completely alone in the room.

He chuckled to himself, shaking his head and running his fingers through his hair before letting out a contented sigh.

"Next time Percy. Next time..." He muttered to himself, as he headed towards the door. Licking his lips slightly as he could still feel the pillowy softness of Valerie’s lips against his, and her hand against his cheek, even when nothing was there. He replayed the image of her face in his mind, going over every detail that he could recall, before frowning slightly.

’Hmm... I always thought her eyes were just green. I never noticed the red in there.’ He thought to himself, before shrugging it off and leaving the room. He had to go mentally prepare himself for the wicked demon that was about to infest his life. Gods help him.