23 Prepare to be Amazed! (2/2)

5am, Axel was rudely awakened from his slumber. With a groan, Axel stopped the alarm. He crawled from his new warm and comfortable bed and stretched what remained of his drowsiness out of him.

With a slight yawn, Axel dragged Stella, who blatantly refused to get up, to the bathroom to wash up.

After a freshly made breakfast, Axel packed a small box of food for Iwai and left. The trains were packed again but Axel did everything in his power to protect Stella, even getting slugged in the face by a couple shoulders.

When the train pulled into the station, Axel saw that he had 10 minutes left and hurriedly left to Iwai's shop.

Walking in an alley, Axel sighed in relief as he saw a neon sign that said, 'Unstoppable'. He knocked on the window and said, ”I'm here.”

A second later, the door opened as a voice from inside echoed, ”Hurry up and get in.”

Walking inside the shop, the first thing Axel notice was a couple crates on the front counter. Before he could even ask what was going on, Iwai's voice echoed from the back as he said, ”Axel, could you come back here and help me.”

Axel voiced his agreement and made his way to the back. Once there, he saw 8 other crates that looked just like the 2 up front. Iwai looked over and said, ”See that crate by the door? Could you help me by putting it in the corner with the others?”

With a short nod, Axel easily lifted the crate and set it beside the others. Iwai whistled and said, ”Hell, didn't think you were this strong. That box was loaded with gun models and vests. It was at least 200 kgs but you made it look freaking easy.”

”I'm strong.” Replied Axel.

Chuckling, Iwai smirked and said, ”Guess so.”

After moving all the crates to the corner, Axel and Iwai sat down on the crates, using them as chairs. Suddenly, Axel remembered he packed a box of food for Iwai. He withdrew the food from his inventory and handed it to Iwai as he said, ”Here. I made it this morning.”

Iwai gave him a funny look as he said, ”Why?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Axel said, ”Consider it a thanks for the 10,000 yen.”

Shaking his head, Iwai ignored Axel as the smell of the food lingered on the box and slowly drew him in. With a pop, Iwai took the lid off and gulped. The food inside appeared to shine as the smell alone was enough to think it was cooked by a talented chef. Half the box contained white rice while the other half had an omelette with vegetables and bacon.

Iwai shakily brought some rice to his mouth and swallowed. He froze for a second before a flash of surprise and hunger showed on his face. Suddenly, Iwai started eating like he was starving. Not even a minute had passed when Iwai put the empty box and chopsticks down.

A blissful smile was on Iwai's face as he looked at Axel with gratitude and said, ”Axel, thanks. Really, thanks. That is hands down, one of the greatest things I've ever eaten.”

Axel wryly smiled as he said, ”It's cool. I'm glad you liked it. Even if you did like it a bit too much.”

Iwai chuckled and began telling Axel the plan. He explained that Axel would only have to perform for about four days. Everyday, if he spotted people that looked suspicious, he was to sneakily ring Iwai. In case of an emergency, Axel was to be as flashy as possible so he can distract the police and at the same time, hopefully alert Iwai.

With the game plan discussed, Iwai gave Axel a table with a sign attached and said, ”Here. With this, you can set up. Remember, all you have to do is sit out in front of the alleyway and watch for the cops.”

Nodding, Axel smirked and said, ”Got it. Well, I'll go set up.”

In front of the alleyway, Axel set up his table and put a hat on top of it, just in case people wanted to give him money for his performance. Satisfied with his set up, Axel spread his arms wide and with a confident grin on his face, exclaimed, ”Prepare to be amazed!”