Richard sat down in front of Kyla Kain, he wanted to know the whole story of how she got here but Cindy, as always just gave him a quick TLDR of the events which was simply-

>Richard is busy training

>Cindy and the Goddess had nothing to do

>Hana was being a bitch and tried to escape

>Cindy and the Goddess kidnaps Kyla to be Hana’s friend and resolve the matter with the brass knuckles

A quick four part story that could be summarized to- "we got bored so we did this".

Richard didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the crazy antics the two women were up to.

Moreover, he was told that the Goddess had plans for Hana, he thought Hana was a co-conspirator not a "willing victim".

"I had no choice! The Goddess already marked me! She could find me wherever I go!"

An image of a certain blonde ninja appeared in Richard’s mind.

"I have to ask- Goddess, do you have a flee on sight order"

<I know what you are referring to but no, while few Gods could do the same, I’m just special, that’s all you need to know>

Since he can’t get anything out of the Goddess Richard turned his attention to Kyla who was surprisingly calm despite the shit she was likely put through.

Seeing that Richard was focusing his attention towards her direction, she calmly put down the cup of coffee in her hands as she answered him without waiting for his question.

"I was shocked when they appeared in my room in the middle of the night-"

Her first words left little to the imagination- well, Richard did think a bit about how she likely "looked" at that time but he turned his emotions into apprehension while turning towards the two women who did the magical home invasion.

<Don’t look at us like that, you would have loved to be with us there I’m sure, after all, Kyla’s one of those people who sleeps naked>

"I have my underwear on!"

"Braless cami top with things"

Richard instinctively pictured Kyla in such clothes as his eyes sneaked a peak at her chest-

<Want a photo?>

"Thank you"

Richard did not answer the Goddess and only said two words but his reply immediately got shot down by Kyla who immediately screamed.

"No! And when did you take a photo? You didn’t!"

She remembered that moment clearly and the two women may have entered her home secretly but they DID NOT have any recording devices. That she was sure of yet the answer to her words was a demonstration in the form of a projected image.

<Magic~>

The goddess said in a comical tone with her hands doing the classic meme hand movements. But unlike fake magicians, the goddess was able to create a projection of her memories. Fortunately, it was an image of Kyla dressed.

Seeing the projection, Kyla immediately panicked and it also didn’t help that Richard declared loudly-

"Man I love magic"

Kyla didn’t know how to react now, but as if understanding her worries, Cindy patted her shoulder as she said.

"Don’t worry, Richard may be a pervert but he’s a virgin pussy. It seems he believes that rumor about a virgin 30 year old turning into a wizard. Though he already has magic, he probably thinks he could get stronger by protecting his virginity till he turns 30"

"Hey!"

"Bleh"

Kyla watched as Cindy and Richard acted like a pair of children.

She didn’t know how to react now, after all, she was told that Richard was the infamous Damien Dixon but that his "crimes" were false charges and his previous lover was framing him to get all his money and that the FBI was in on it.

As a lawyer herself, Kyla was well aware of how twisted the justice system was.

Hell, the very first thing she learned on the job was that the law was purposely made to be twisted. That was the reason why laws were made as vague as possible.

Anyone could be anything and could do everything but still be nothing.

Being a lawyer was not as law school described or what was seen in TV shows or public hearings.

Real courtroom discussions always had a crazy person just being crazy. Sometimes you get people who are guilty even before a trial and then there are times when cases are just dropped because of a settlement done outside the court.

The reality was, waiting for your designated hearing for months would lead to you forgetting and just settling or forgetting and just getting jailed.

You could commit a crime in January and the hearing would take place in November after you spend one night to a month behind bars.

Few cases end up like the one seen in dramas and the rich clients who go through the cases people expect have an army of lawyers not a single genius female lawyer who memorized every single law, statute and whatever article they can use to defend their client.

Not to mention, high profile clients always settle silently unless their opponent is the government.

What do lawyers do then?

In Kyla’s case, she was just a pretty face doing standard accounting tasks in the law firm.

They said it was an "easy job" but she was forced to spend nine hours a day going through files with the occasional flirting with her scumbag boss who is already married whenever he passes by her cubicle.

But the job and the mismatch of her expectations vs reality were not the reasons why she decided to quit her job and accept the job offer Cindy and the Goddess gave her.

The reason she willingly escaped her city life and high paying job was to escape her boss whose harassment was already reaching a dangerous level.

She already got a whole week of overtime and her boss would spend that time sitting in his office just watching her!

Workplace harassment?

Filing a lawsuit would lead her nowhere, the man endangering her is a lawyer himself and one who’s been in the industry for over a decade! If that weren’t enough the bastard had contacts within the police station and politics.

Harassment? If she dares to speak out, no one would believe her!

She would just get quietly erased, best case scenario is getting fired and having all her opportunities within the big apple destroyed as she gets blacklisted from the whole industry.

Worst case? She gets kidnapped and disappears into a dark dungeon accessible only to a few elite people.

That’s the reason why she chose to escape with Cindy!

But why did she have to end up working for a guy like Richard?

<You don’t need to worry, Richard’s just messing with you>

The Goddess assured Kyla as if reading her mind- no, she may very well be reading her mind but she couldn’t prove it.

Still, putting aside the Goddess who could read minds, seeing Richard act the way he did... Kyla felt it hard to match him to Damien Dixon.

"He’s different from what I know of him..."

The cold and calculating monsters, the man who went from rags to riches in a decade.

It was the classic billionaire story that everyone wants to live in.

Moreover, the recent news stories about his "secret life" came at the perfect time. The country had yet to get over the "files" that showed a secret ring of abuse done by powerful people.

A rich man doing bad things?

That’s the type of news any politician would love to play on repeat!

Yet, instead of a bastard who viewed people as tools, Dami- Richard looked just like an average man in his mid twenties enjoying life...

<Building an empire within a generation does not come without sacrifice. Losing it all broke him and now he’s reformed but not completely healed. He needs to go through a few more challenges and new experiences>

"... is that what I’m here for?"

<Merlin’s blood- no... I should say his spirit runs through Richard’s veins. The awakening of his soul gave him a chance to redo his life. He doesn’t know it but his current state is nothing more than a reflection of his own mind>

Kyla turned to the Goddess, her expression filled with confusion as she asked.

"Should I know of this information?"

And the answer the Goddess gave her was a smile as she pulled Hana who tried to hide herself next to her.

<You and Hana are the keys to this endeavor, Cindy already made her mark. Even now, she’s working hard to obtain her desires. Now, what do you want?>

Kyla went silent, she was already informed of her father and mother’s state.

But the Goddess did not let her meet them, instead, she had to go through Richard.

The thought of seeing her parents off one last time made her hesitate.

If they could still live... even if they weren’t really "alive"... why would she let them go?

But-

<That is what makes you human, your hesitation, your struggle. You need not move, you simply need to wait for Richard to reach a decision. How you act- by that point, it will be all up to you>

Kyla didn’t know how to respond, she simply stood silently as she watched the Goddess walk towards Cindy and Richard who had already started a magical battle in the distance.

"Don’t think too hard about it, the more you think, the worse it gets. Trust me, the world of magic and mystery is one where thinking too much is what gets you killed"

Hana spoke with a certain air of experience, her weak attitude vanished the moment the Goddess turned her back and made some distance between them.

"Still can’t deal with her huh? For a witch, you’re quite the coward"

"Shut it bitch! You’re lucky you can’t see the shit I see"

The two had such an exchange, they were both in the same situation but that didn’t really make them buddies. But their rather casual banter, although a bit aggressive and confrontational... In some ways, it was like a breath of fresh air that calmed them both.

"I hate this Mystical Reality", Kyla muttered under her breath and unexpectedly-

"Ditto"

Hana answered her, despite being born into such a world, even she had such a thought. Sometimes, what others see as a desirable dream is nothing more than a curse to those that live it. Yet people could only live through the dice they rolled- even if it was rolled for them.