Ach!"
"Ach!"
"Bless you."
"...Thank you."
Hawk, who was in the small auditorium listening to a public lecture by the Professor of Physics with Gwen, pinched his slightly itchy nose, automatically ignoring the gaze from Lorna not far away, and lowered his head: "How is George doing lately?"
Gwen, sitting next to him, smiled slightly and nodded: "The Doctor said he's fine now."
"That's good."
"Thank you."
"..."
Hawk was slightly taken aback and looked at Gwen: "Thank me for what?"
Gwen smiled slightly: "Thank you for staying by my side these past two weeks."
Hawk smiled faintly: "It's what I should do, isn't it?"
Two weeks had passed since George and Arthur were shot. In these two weeks, because Helen needed to take care of George, most of the household chores were left to Gwen, including the daily routines of the two young Stacys.
Because the two Stacys, one older and one younger, went to different schools, if Gwen had to rely on herself, she would probably be late for as many days as she dropped off her two younger brothers.
Therefore, in these two weeks, Hawk also helped in the mornings by dropping off one Stacy at the elementary school he attended.
Coincidentally, Hawk hadn't received a single order these two weeks.
Don't ask.
If you ask, it's the aftermath of the last order.
As Yekaterina put it, it was because Hawk had twisted off the employer's head, which directly caused Hawk's rating in the Killer market to drop to 4.9.
Hawk felt very wronged about this.
What did she mean by he twisted off the employer's head? He had already completed the assassination mission at that time. Strictly speaking, Alex Wylanck was no longer his employer.
But...
That's what he said, but obviously, the market didn't react that way.
Thankfully.
Yekaterina was very optimistic about this, telling Hawk that this was just a natural market fluctuation in the short term, and after a while, when the market stabilized, Hawk's rating would go back up. Although George and Arthur were successfully rescued, the fact remained.
Killer King was able to directly infiltrate the police station in broad daylight, brazenly kill the target, and then leave unharmed. Although the outcome was that the target was saved, this incident, from any perspective, was a bonus for a Killer.
Hawk's starting price should be adjusted once again.
At least a guaranteed 800,000 U.S. dollars.
Yekaterina said that it was a good opportunity, taking advantage of the short-term market fluctuation, to raise Killer King's minimum starting price for accepting orders. When the market reacted and the rating returned to normal, this price would not seem so abrupt.
It was also because he listened to Yekaterina's reassurance that even though he hadn't received any new orders for two consecutive weeks, Hawk wasn't anxious. Instead, he maintained a fresh sense of anticipation for the next order.
With orders starting at 800,000 U.S. dollars, his success rate of earning a small goal would be even higher.
"Hawk."
At lunchtime in the school cafeteria, Lorna, holding her tray, sat opposite Hawk. Thinking about the movements and scene of her brother interacting with Gwen in class just now, her long hair subtly showing signs of turning green, she said very seriously: "You and Gwen are in love."
"No."
"Really?"
Lorna looked very suspicious, staring at Hawk who shook his head without even thinking: "I don't believe it."
Just by that expression, those actions.
Lorna would even believe it if they said they had already secretly gone to bed.
Why?
This is my brother, I was first.
But...
This was Hawk's honest truth.
Originally, that night, judging by the direction of the date, if Hawk and Gwen had finished watching "Chemical Romance" that night, then they should have confirmed their relationship on the way home.
But didn't something happen that night?
In addition, George and Arthur were hospitalized. With these two things combined, although Hawk felt that his relationship with Gwen had warmed up in these two weeks, that window paper had not yet been broken through.
Hawk originally thought that since he was a male, he should be more proactive, but then he thought about it, Gwen's father was still in the hospital, and if he confessed to Gwen, he always felt like he was taking advantage of someone's misfortune.
So...
Hawk decided to wait a bit longer, at least until George was discharged from the hospital, and then after a stable transition period of ten days to half a month. By that time, confessing would not seem so opportunistic.
This was also the reason why Hawk had just asked about George's recent condition in class.
In the afternoon.
Hawk packed his books into his backpack, intending to tidy up and leave school to meet with Yekaterina.
Yekaterina had just sent him a text message saying she needed to see him about something.
Hawk's first reaction was the market fluctuation news, that the first order with a guaranteed 800,000 U.S. dollars after the price increase had finally arrived.
Just then.
"Just a moment, everyone."
Mrs. Fula, sitting at the podium, looked at the students below who were chatting and packing their things, took off her glasses, and said: "Starting tomorrow, two new transfer students will be joining us for classes."
Many students stopped what they were doing and looked at Mrs. Fula on the stage.
Hawk also looked at Mrs. Fula at the podium.
However...
"Two?"
Hawk looked at Gwen next to him: "Wasn't it just one?"
The one who lived in Star Tower, Lauren Strucker, whom he had met once.
Hawk first heard about Lauren Strucker transferring schools from Zoe Benson, but it was truly confirmed by Gwen.
Gwen was the twelfth-grade student assistant, so she would basically be the first to know about matters concerning twelfth-grade students, which naturally included transfer students.
However, this time, Gwen also seemed to be hearing about it for the first time: "I don't know, the information I received at noon was only about one transfer student."
As she spoke.
Two transfer students walked into the classroom.
Both were female.
One of them was Lauren Strucker, whom Hawk had met once.
As for the other.
"Dragon Queen!"
"...What?"
"Nothing."
Hawk snapped back to reality, shook his head, and then looked at the podium, at the woman standing beside Lauren Strucker, who looked strikingly similar to Daenerys Targaryen, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, and Mother of Dragons. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Gwen, next to him, caught Hawk's gaze, frowned, and also focused her attention on the woman at the podium.
Mrs. Fula clapped her hands and looked at the two: "Please introduce yourselves."
Lauren Strucker, whom Hawk had met once, smiled and said: "Hello everyone, I'm Lauren, Lauren Strucker."
The woman standing next to her, who resembled the Dragon Queen, also spoke:
"Amelia."
"Amelia Targaryen!"
"..."