Chapter 186: Shield of Popularity

“Holy shit, you are desperate.” Luis muttered dejectedly as they stopped before a coffee shop.

Skylar frowned. “No, I am not! As a reporter, my duty is to get close to influential people. Imagine how much we would benefit when Michael’s popularity skyrockets.”

Luis sighed. “You know that aside from the trending video, we hadn’t had much success, right? Even the interview we released was buried under the mountain of reports about the asteroid belt… It didn’t even manage to crack 50k views…”

Disregarding her colleague’s words, Skylar entered the cafe. “Just trust me on this one!”

Inside, the reporter duo instantly spotted Michael, who was calmly seated, quietly sipping on some tea.

“Hello, would it be a problem if my colleague were present in our conversation? Since we usually work together, I hope you can understand.” Skylar explained respectfully.

Michael shrugged. “That’s fine.”

Exchanging glances, the duo sat across from Michael.

“Hello, what would you like to order?” Instantly Ava approached them with a beaming smile. Of course she wasn’t wearing the maid uniform, as she had decided to do so only when she was alone with Michael.

“Wait… Aren’t you Ava?!” Skylar proclaimed. “This feeling… Are you perhaps a Late Master?! What are you doing here working as a waitress? Never mind that, how did you reach the Master realm so fast?!”

“Please don’t bring up my personal life. Here I am a simple waitress.” Ava replied unfazed.

“Now… your order?” She insisted.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Luis ordered.

“Whatever Michael is having.”

Nodding, Ava went back to the kitchen, eager to serve her first customers well.

After recovering from the shock, Skylar glanced at Michael, realizing that he too was in the same realm as Ava.

’When did he? Such a realm at this age is unprecedented! I knew that my womanly intuition was correct!’ Skylar thought.

Finishing his tea, Michael looked at the duo of reporters. “Now what would you like to discuss with me?”

Exchanging glances, the two didn’t waste any time. “Due to the extraordinary feats you have achieved, we wish to form a cooperation.”

“Oh?” Michael was intrigued. “This is the first time I am hearing about reporters forming partnerships with a soldier. What would the deal entail?”

’He is interested!’ Skylar’s eyes began to gleam.

“Your noteworthy accomplishments will be shared exclusively with us… No going to other agencies. In exchange, we’ll give you access to information the public doesn’t have access to and ensure the information you provide is presented in a more favorable way, should you wish to.”

While Skylar and Luis were determined to report on the truth only, that didn’t mean they couldn’t use certain manipulation tactics to present certain information in a positive or negative light, depending on the desired outcome.

Remaining silent for a few seconds, Michael scratched his chin.

“Would you be able to promote this coffee shop in a favorable light? It’s vital that it becomes a popular attraction.”

There were two reasons for Michael’s request.

First it was because he loved his mother. While he could pretty much provide her with all the resources she would need to live lavishly, he knew her very well. She wasn’t a materialistic woman. Her dream was to run a simple coffee shop. And as her son, he felt a strong sense of duty to help her. By boosting the cafe’s popularity, he would essentially make her dream come to fruition.

The second reason was protection. By now, Michael had made enemies, and more would inevitably come. If someone wanted to harm his family, it would be easy to do without attracting attention.

But if the shop became a popular destination, drawing customers from all over the planet, his enemies would have to think twice before taking any public action against his family lest they want negative backlash to follow.

For instance, the confrontation with Samuel would have never happened if the coffee shop had been bustling with customers, as this held the danger of damaging his reputation.

A smirk formed on Skylar’s face. “Making it a popular attraction? Hump! If you work with us, we vow to make it one of the world’s wonders. No cafe in the world would be able to hold a candle to this place!”

Hearing his colleague’s words, Luis paled slightly, anticipating a lengthy work process in the future.

“That, however, will take time and resources… If you wish to discuss it in more detail, you have to form a deal with us.” Skylar added with a wink.

’Considering that they have managed to produce a viral video is testament to their skills. Not to mention that they must have taken great care to find me just to extend the offer.’ Michael mused.

It was also important to consider that when Skylar had expressed her wish to meet up, she hadn’t known that Michael had reached the Late Master realm.

Extending his hand forward, Michael smiled warmly.

“Welcome to the crew.”

“YES!” Abruptly rising from her seat, Skylar shouted in excitement, causing one of the cups to shatter on the ground.

“…”

Instantly her face blushed as she sat back on the seat, taking hold of Michael’s hand.

“S—Sorry about that, I will pay for the cup.”

Luis facepalmed himself. “So embarrassing!”

“This is the second cup we’ve lost in two days.” Michael chuckled in amusement.

After cleaning up, they talked about the best way to pique the interest of the public.

“Oh, there is actually a reason why we don’t have that many customers.” Isabella said, overhearing their conversation.

“There is a rumored gang running amok around the district. Though thankfully they hadn’t caused us any trouble until now.”

“This is it!” Skylar proclaimed, glancing at Michael. “With your realm it wouldn’t be hard to hunt them down. Meanwhile, we would document the entire process and would show you relaxing in the cafe several times during your investigation. Getting the public approval while simultaneously boosting the popularity of the coffee shop! Two birds with one stone!”

Michael nodded thoughtfully. The plan indeed sounded solid and could be implemented in rather short time.

“Though I suggest there are more people than Michael in order to keep things interesting.” Luis suggested.

The man’s words held merit. The reason why movies and novels had different types of characters was to allow the audience to connect with the one they found most entertaining.

“Interesting…” Michael mumbled, the perfect person for the job coming to mind.

Who could fill the role better than a chaotic ex-prisoner that recently attained the status of a Grandmaster?

A smile forming on his face, Michael didn’t hesitate to contact Richard.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep