If anyone asked what Mr. Jonas enjoyed doing, the list would be very long indeed. Spending a leisurely afternoon with Iris, for example, or enjoying a friendly gaming showdown with Celine.
Or meeting Chelsea at night to explore the mysteries of life, or taking a spontaneous journey in pursuit of love with Esnie. Even finding ways to tease Beigong Ling was among the little pleasures he dearly loved.
Likewise, if anyone wanted to discuss the things Mr. Jonas hated, the list would probably be just as long as the things he liked, complex enough to exhaust even the most advanced neural-core processor. At present, however, what Mr. Jonas least wanted to face was the small mountain of documents before him.
Much as he hated to admit it, the Star of Dawn's actions had considerably constrained the Alt Conglomerate's recent plans.
In other words, the work that had piled up while he was searching for Iris had reached the point where he could no longer put it off.
He pulled a document from the little "mountain." The plain paper was pleasing to the eye, with crisp black text printed across it and a faint scent of ink. It was enough to bring to mind those office workers of the classical era, clutching paper documents as they hurried through office buildings. Surely their proudly puffed-out chests had been filled with the same pride in their dedication that he felt.
At the mention of the Alt Conglomerate's present glory, even the beggars in the Alt District would lift their heads with pride.
Driven by that sense of pride, Mr. Jonas picked up the fountain pen beside him and carefully scanned the document, intending to leave his mark upon it.
The pen's slender shadow swayed back and forth across the paper. Several times, its