Reborn As The Minor Villain In A Romance Fantasy Novel - Chapter 240

Chapter 240: New Warehouse [II]
“So this is the place, huh…?”

Lucius stood in front of the warehouse with Luna and Alexia beside him, the wind brushing their clothes as they gazed upward at the colossal structure.

Calling it a warehouse felt insulting… it looked more like a private military fortress welded together with modern tech and arcane engineering.

Even the picture that was on the site that time looked like a budget knockoff compared to the real thing.

It stretched five houses long, occupying nearly an entire corner of Northcrest’s industrial district.

No civilian homes stood nearby; only sparse, abandoned lots and the looming shape of this billion-royal behemoth.

The gates alone were taller than the mansion gates back home.

Timothy, sweaty and slightly out of breath from driving them cleared his throat and tried to sound composed.

“The warehouse walls are enforced by Force Metal,” he said, placing his palm against the wall.

Even when he pushed with all his strength, his hand didn’t truly touch the surface as it was being repelled by compressed sound.

“In the event that an intruder has enough power to resist the Force Metal, the lightning rods on top of the gates will activate and fire bolts ranging from 50,000 to 120,000 joules per strike.”

Luna’s mouth parted slightly in awe and Alexia looked impressed as well.

Lucius on the other hand looked disappointed.

Timothy froze when Lucius tilted his head, staring up at the rods with a frown.

“Can’t we increase their force to vaporize intruders? I don’t want her to be hurt at all.”

Luna’s heart skipped at the casual “her” and she pretended not to be flustered.

Timothy immediately started sweating. “V-Vaporize? Sir, increasing them beyond 120,000 joules… well, it’s… ah… extremely dangerous and illegal in most—”

Lucius raised one eyebrow.

Timothy swallowed loudly.

“…But since it is you buying the property, sir, I’m sure exceptions can be made. I-I’ll have the engineers raise the output to 450,000 joules per bolt before you move in.”

“Good,” Lucius said. “I like the gates. Let’s check the inside.”

The fat man nodded rapidly. His two front-gate guards… Awakened fighters wearing crisp white uniforms with his company emblem straightened instantly.

“Good afternoon, Boss!” they saluted in unison.

“These are your experienced warehouse guards,” Timothy explained nervously. “There are more inside, all C-ranks.”

Lucius studied the two guards calmly. “How much are you being paid to defend this place?”

Both men stiffened again.

“250,000 royals per month, sir!”

Lucius nodded. “I’ll be paying you 400,000 from now on. Your job is simple… make sure no unauthorized intruder gets in.”

Their eyes gleamed like they had just ascended to heaven.

“Yes, sir!!!”

Timothy’s eyelid twitched at losing money, but he forced a polite smile and pressed his palm to the gate’s mana scanner.

The towering metal slabs parted, revealing a reinforced interior passage leading to the main warehouse front.

The moment they stepped inside, the scale hit Luna hard.

“Wow…” she whispered.

The warehouse was massive even from the outside, but standing within its perimeter made it feel like an entirely different world.

It was painted pristine white with minimalistic black lines, the structure radiated authority and money.

Patrol guards in matching uniforms circled the area, all C-rank Awakened radiating stable mana signatures.

The moment they noticed Timothy and Lucius, they snapped into position and saluted sharply.

Luna felt pride swelling inside her chest.

‘He… he’s getting all of this for my business.’

“As we walk,” Timothy started, “please note that the bunker system is too extensive to cover in one tour. If you wish, sir, we can schedule multiple days—”

“No need,” Lucius said without breaking his stride. “I’ve already checked everything.”

Timothy tripped on air.

“You… checked everything already?”

Lucius casually retracted the space that he had spread around from the moment they saw the building.

“Yes. Underground turrets, mana turrets in the walls, golem patrol units at the back, stealth barriers, anti-air grid… impressive setup. The underground bunks are incredibly secure too.”

Timothy’s jaw dropped. “How did you—?”

“I have space,” Lucius said bluntly. “It isn’t hard.”

The receptionist of a voice left Timothy both honored and terrified.

They reached the main entrance door where another guard stood. He opened it with a respectful bow, allowing them into a vast, open chamber.

The Main Room of the warehouse.

It was enormous… easily the size of three football fields combined. Deep-set shelves lined the walls.

Multiple mana-powered cargo lifts hummed softly in standby mode, there were overhead crystal lamps bathed the entire chamber in bright, clean light.

“This,” Timothy said proudly, “is the main storage chamber. One of the most secure rooms in the building. You can keep your main products, drones, and prototypes here. Once the barrier activates, nothing short of an S-rank can break it… and even then, not easily.”

Lucius nodded, but Luna was too amazed to speak.

She walked forward, touching the shelf lightly, feeling the stable mana pulsing inside.

“Are there any additional features apart from the barrier?” Lucius asked.

Timothy nodded vigorously. “Sir, you’re free to test the ground, the walls… anything. This room was designed with self-repair enchantments. Ah, let me demonstrate—”

“No need.”

Lucius lifted his foot and brought it down.

BOOM.

A shockwave rippled through the floor tiles, splitting them cleanly… spiderweb cracks ran outward like an earthquake had struck.

Luna jumped backward in alarm, and Alexia barely held a curse.

Timothy nearly fainted.

But… the damaged tiles glowed faintly, rearranged themselves, and stitched back together.

Within seconds, the room was flawless again.

Luna’s eyes sparkled in admiration.

Timothy finally remembered to breathe. “Y-Yes, exactly! Everything… walls, shelves, conveyors is auto-repair.”

Lucius gave a satisfied smile and turned to him.

“Alright. Give me the place then.”

Timothy froze, starstruck and terrified all at once.

“Yes!”

Luna placed both hands together, holding back the overwhelming gratitude burning inside her chest.

She had planned so many scenarios of how her business could grow, but she never expected something of this scale.

Lucius caught her staring in awe.

“What? You like it?” he asked.

She nodded quickly. “…Yes. It’s perfect.”

His lips moved into a smile. “Good. It’s yours.”

…

“If I may ask… what do you want to use this place for?” Timothy asked cautiously, trying to read Lucius’ expression while wiping sweat off his forehead.

“We are creating and storing drones. Transporting them too,” Luna replied politely, clasping her hands together.

Lucius nodded at her, silently confirming that she should speak for them here.

Timothy’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh, that’s very nice… very lucrative. There’s a big workshop room to the right. Please, follow me.”

They moved together down the polished corridor until they stood before a large reinforced door, almost the size of a small garage entrance.

Timothy placed his hand on the handle.

A chime sounded.

[Biometric Identified… Sir Timothy]

With a soft hiss, the door unlocked and began sliding open.

“Don’t worry, I’ll clear my biometrics after the purchase,” Timothy said with a nervous laugh as he gestured them inside.

What greeted them was a massive workshop room… far larger than anything Luna had ever worked in. Her usual basement workshop felt like a cramped shoebox compared to this.

The ceiling was high, the ventilation system top-grade, and the walls were lined with sleek black panels that housed tool dispensers, mana-channeling workbenches, and automated calibrators.

Lucius could see Luna’s awe immediately.

“It’s… it looks wonderful,” she whispered.

Timothy puffed up proudly. “We operate with the latest technology. Some of these tools haven’t even hit the open market yet. If you ever need upgrades, please let me know. I’ll have them prepared on short notice… free of charge for the first year.”

Luna nodded politely. “Okay. Thank you.”

Her demeanor was gentle, but Timothy felt something treacherous stir in his chest when she smiled.

She was like a quiet angel wrapped in soft light yet one glance at Lucius standing behind her was enough to remind Timothy this angel belonged to a devil who could destroy this building on a whim.

Lucius, unaffected by the man’s emotional spiral, pulled out his phone.

“Do I just pay at once? How much is everything? I want to keep the guards and also change those lightning rods to be more violent.”

Timothy swallowed, tapping rapidly into his business phone. His voice shook as he read the total.

“The total will be about 1,468,000,000 royals, sir.”

Alexia winced at the number while Luna froze.

Then, as Lucius raised his phone to scan the payment code, she jolted into action… grabbing his wrist with both hands.

“Hey! Stop! It’s too cost!” she panicked, tugging his arm. “I thought maybe it was a few millions, not a whole billion! I wanted to pay some too!”

Lucius tilted his head, amused at her frantic reaction. His voice softened, dropping into a romantic tone that made her heartbeat skip.

“Anything for you, love.”

Luna turned red instantly, her breath catching. Even Alexia, who was usually composed and teasing, felt a sharp stab of jealousy.

Lucius placed his free hand atop Luna’s head, gently pulling her against his side as he stroked her hair with deliberate tenderness.

Luna pouted desperately into his shirt, digging her teeth lightly into the fabric as if trying to hide her embarrassment and then he transferred the funds without hesitation.

Timothy almost fainted watching the transaction complete.

“I want the changes done as soon as possible,” Lucius said simply. Then he gave Timothy a smooth, dismissive smile. “You can go now… chop chop.”

The fat man didn’t even bow… he downright sprinted away, terrified of disappointing him further.

Once he was gone, Lucius finally returned his attention to Luna.

Her face was still flushed, her lips in a small pout as she looked up at him with a mix of embarrassment and affection.

“If you really want to pay me back,” Lucius said, pinching her cheek lightly, “you’ll have to work really hard and expand your business.”

Luna’s pout deepened, but there was a glimmer in her eyes… she was determined too.

“Oh right… Alexia, I wanted to ask something.”

“Yes, Boss.” She straightened immediately, hands behind her back.

“Will you come with us? On vacation. We’re going to New Avalon City.”

Luna perked up instantly. “Vacation? You didn’t say anything about this.”

Lucius blinked then laughed.

“Oh right… I forgot. Ouch!”