Esper Harem in the Apocalypse Chapter 87 - Priorities

Chapter 87 - Priorities

"Why… are you helping me…?" Reina asked hesitantly.
"Well…" Rudy averted his gaze and glanced at Angelica, hoping she would find a good excuse for him. But she was still shocked after seeing Rudy kiss Reina.
She puffed her cheeks and said, "Why did you kiss her?!"
'I should get used to seeing the jealous version of Angelica. And as for why I kissed Reina… I myself have no idea.'
'I didn't want Reina to even think of selling herself to Scott. I would have hugged her instead, but I had already hugged her once when she had a breakdown. So I… kissed her. But why isn't she asking me that? She is worried about money over the kiss?!'
"Who said I am helping you?" Rudy uttered. "I am just giving you a loan. Now, if you take a loan from a bank, that wouldn't be considered as help, right?"
"Kind of…"
Rudy shrugged his shoulders and said, "That's what I am doing."
"I see…" Reina muttered with a disappointed look on her face.
'She looks disappointed. I mean, I told her the truth, but that's not the only reason I helped her.'
When Rudy kissed Reina, a thought crossed his mind.
What happened to Reina in his previous life?
Even if there was no tunnel, the waterpark still should exist. But there was no apocalypse in his past life, so there are chances that Reina's parents never got sick, and they paid off the debts without destroying Reina and her little sister's future.
But what if they were unable to pay the debt?
Rudy didn't want to think of the possibilities of things ending the same as it was in this life.
Reina shot a quick glance at Rudy and asked, "Why did you kiss me?"
'Here it comes!'
"The truth is… I was trying to hug you, but I kissed you by mistake…" Rudy uttered while averting his gaze.
Reina squinted her eyes at Rudy and said, "If it was someone other than you, I would have reported him for harassment."
"I can see you doing that, yeah…" Rudy nodded.
Suddenly Rudy's eyes widened as he realized something.
"Wait… could it be that it was your first kiss…? Since you have never dated anyone?" Rudy asked reluctantly.
Reina's face flushed as she nodded and said, "Yes."
"..."
"What about you? Was it your first kiss since you said you don't have a girlfriend?" she asked with a curious look on her face.
"No. I have kissed girls before," Rudy replied honestly.
"Girl..s? LIke more than one?" she asked with a baffled expression on her face.
"Yup."
Reina raised her brows and squinted her eyes at Rudy. Then, she asked with a judging look on her face: "Did you also kiss them by mistake while trying to hug them?"
Rudy scoffed softly after hearing that. He shook his head and said, "No."
"Do you regret kissing me by mistake?" she asked in a low voice.
"Come on…" Rudy let out a short sigh and said, "I was joking, obviously."
"Huh?"
"I kissed you on purpose," Rudy uttered with his hands in the air, as though he was showing his fingers to her. Seemingly trying to prove he wasn't lying this time or crossing his fingers.
"Why…?"
"Because your lips look inviting as though they wanted me to suck them," Rudy responded nonchalantly.
"...!" Reina's face turned even more red after hearing that.
After watching Rudy flirting with Reina, Angelica jumped between them. Of course, only Rudy could see that, and that's what she was trying to do.
She looked him into the eyes and asked, "Okay, so can I ask what's going on? And what's with you being all smooth suddenly?"
Rudy wanted to reply to Angelica, but he couldn't do that for obvious reasons.
"So, what should I do now?" Rudy asked Reina. "The lifeguard has returned."
"Well…" Reina looked at the time and said, "There are still a few hours left before the ticket windows open for tomorrow. So if you are busy, then you can go home. I will get the tickets for you. And if you are free…"
After a brief pause, she added, "How about you stay here? You take a dip in the pools if you want to. Or use the slides."
"Hmm…" Rudy started at the wall behind Reina and said, "I will do that then. But before that…"
Rudy cracked his fingers with his thumb and said, "I have unfinished business to take care of."
"Hmm?" Reina looked at Rudy with a confused look on her face.
"I will be right back!"
After saying that, Rudy left Reina's office. And, of course, Angelica followed him. She jumped on Rudy and wrapped her arms around his snake as he ran out of the main area of the water park.
"Where are we going?" she asked curiously.
"Go inside my body. I might do some crazy stuff," Rudy said to Angelica without looking at her.
"Okay…"
Angelica went inside Rudy's body and asked, "I am still curious about Reina, though. How do you know her? I remember seeing her in the hospital after you saved me, but I thought she was simply your friend."
"Uhh... we are not even friends… yet…" Rudy muttered with an awkward smile on his face.
'And you still kissed her…? Wow. Someone is getting too desperate to get a new girl,' Angelica commented.
"It's not like that, Angelica. Some relationships don't have names, but they are deeper than the real relationship," Rudy uttered in a disdainful tone.
'So back to my first question, where are we going?'
"Scott.."
'Hmm? Are you going to give him the money…?' she asked.
"No. I can't use Maria's card or withdraw such a huge amount before asking her. And I can't ask her on the phone. So that will have to wait for the next week when I go to the casino," Rudy responded.
'So why are we looking for Scott then?'
"When I kissed Reina, I heard the sound of a camera shutter. And then I heard Scott's voice say, 'Now, I have evidence'." Rudy sighed and muttered, "I think he will now try to blackmail her. And I have to get rid of that photo before it's too late."
Fortunately, Rudy had used his see-through ability and seen Scott's car number when he left.
After flying above the clouds for a while and using his see-through ability with supervision, Rudy finally found Scott.
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Thanks, @DaoistVtSn8O, for the gift!