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"Ha ha ha."
The old man Carlos walked out of the house where the children had been "transferred" to, happy with how things had turned out—especially that sharp, angry look from that child, Steven.
Heh, he had finally managed to move the two children out of that rundown, dangerous neighborhood and that small house with crumbling walls.
When he first offered the nine-year-old Steven the new house, he was met with a firm refusal. Heh, but that only made him more determined. However, the child's defenses were strong, and he couldn't force him. He needed a reason to push him.
And now that reason had come to him on a silver platter. There was no way he would waste it.
As for that little girl, he would assign someone to watch her. Heh, of course, he wouldn't let her roam freely with the children if she posed any danger to them.
Even if Steven told him she wouldn't hurt them, he still had to expect the worst possibilities—especially since Steven himself was Black Crow.
If his identity were exposed, countless demons, and maybe even humans, would chase him. His life would become chaotic, threatened, and restricted, and that wasn't what Steven wanted.
He was trying as much as possible to make Steven enter the academy for several reasons: first, to keep him away from danger and trouble, and second, to give this child some normal memories in the academy and form friendships with people his age.
Steven was always trying to fight monsters, improve himself, and train constantly—as if a giant beast were chasing him.
Perhaps the only normal time he had was when he ate with Mark, and sometimes they went out together for walks when Mark forced him to.
Knowing them, those two brothers had built a huge wall separating themselves from the world—one that couldn't easily be torn down.
His shock was indescribable when he first found a little child sneaking into his guild. He ignored the little intruder for a while out of curiosity, and when he investigated, he found nothing except that he lived with another child in a poor and dangerous neighborhood.
Since Steven was a child with great talent, he secretly protected them. He sighed when he saw that the boy didn't even know the basics of sword handling, so he taught him—"without forcing him"—the sword's fundamentals. It was a good time.
After Steven discovered that the old man knew about his disguise during sword training, he was shocked and wary of Carlos.
After several days of tension, Steven gave up. Heh, if this old man wanted to do something, Steven wouldn't have been able to resist anyway.
But the old man began to grow fond of the child in front of him over time, so he tried to get closer—but failed.
Still, who cares about a few failed attempts? Carlos wasn't the type to give up. So, he tried to get closer to the younger brother as well, but...
That younger one was even harder to approach than Steven.
But now, it seemed his efforts weren't in vain—the two children were beginning to show signs of acceptance.
.....
In the unfamiliar house that Steven had been dragged into, Steven and Mark stood looking at Alyssa.
Steven spoke coldly,
"You, I don't know why you're so insistent on living with us, but since things turned out like this..."
"You can live here, but you must not interfere or dig into our personal matters."
Alyssa looked at them for a moment, then spoke calmly,
"Are you two also from that laboratory?"
"..."
"...."
Both were silent. Steven looked at Mark, sighed, and spoke coldly,
"That's none of your concern."
He turned toward Mark.
"Mark, pick a comfortable room for yourself and move your things there. Since it's late, don't bother arranging it—just sleep. Tomorrow we'll organize the place properly."
Mark looked at Steven nervously and with a bit of guilt. Of course he felt guilty—his brother had worked so hard to keep the old man Carlos from helping them with anything.
And this girl, Alyssa... she seemed to have drawn attention to herself during the academy's test. His brother was trying not to attract attention—what if she caused him problems there?
"Ah... yes, brother."
A soft voice interrupted them.
"...I'm also from that laboratory. When I thought there was no escape, and that death was better than staying there... when pain devoured me and drained all my will... suddenly a light of hope appeared before me. The door to the room I was locked in opened—not to a disgusting, familiar face, but to a strange one telling me I was free. His covered face wasn't clear, but it looked amazing to me."
"...He's my hero."
An awkward silence filled the room. Steven looked at Mark and saw his face had turned completely red.
Mark stammered,
"Y-you... you're..."
Alyssa continued,
"And now I've found you. Why don't you admit you're my hero?"
Mark grew flustered and raised his voice,
"T-that's annoying! Don't say things like that!"
He quickly turned and fled the room.
Steven stared in disbelief at the spot where Mark had vanished, then shifted his gaze toward Alyssa, who was frowning at the place Mark had disappeared to.
He sighed, shook his head, and spoke to Alyssa,
"...You can choose a room for yourself too."
The house the old man had forced them to move into was far from something you could call a "house." It looked more like a huge mansion.
Steven sighed as he walked away to enter the nearest room and sleep. It had been such a long day. He just wanted to rest. What happened had happened—what could he do about it now?
The next day, Steven woke up early as usual, but not in his small, familiar room.
He sighed. He had to accept reality now.
At least the old man hadn't filled the mansion—which was about 500 square meters—with servants.
Steven wandered around the place, then went to prepare breakfast in the kitchen.
Unusually, he had to prepare breakfast for three people.
After finishing the three dishes and placing them on the dining table, all that was left was to call the others.
As he was about to go call them, the door opened and Alyssa entered.
The two looked at each other silently for a few seconds before Steven broke the silence,
"I've prepared breakfast. I'll go call Mark."
He stepped forward to leave, but Alyssa's voice stopped him.
"Guild Leader of the Star Guild, Carlos, said yesterday that this place is closer to the academy. That means one or both of you will be entering the academy."
Steven looked at Alyssa coldly.
'Her observation skills are sharp... and that's annoying.'
Alyssa continued,
"You— I remembered you from the academy test. I met you near the open area when Kai intervened before I attacked you.
Almost all the students were inside that open area. I can confirm I didn't see any student with half-black, half-white hair. So, most likely, Mark is younger than you—maybe by a year or two at most. Or perhaps you're the same age, and Mark just didn't want to join the academy."
Steven was silent for a moment, then spoke quietly,
"You talk too much, it's strange. But it's better for you not to meddle in our affairs, me and Mark. Since you're smart, you should know your limits."
Steven noticed Alyssa's silence.
"The food will get cold. I'll go call Mark."
When he opened the door and was about to leave, he was met by Mark, who looked surprised to see him coming out.
Mark spoke nervously,
"Ah, brother, I just got here."
Steven looked at Mark calmly, then smiled gently,
"That's good. We can eat now."
The three sat down and ate in an awkward atmosphere.
After they finished, Steven spoke,
"Mark, I'm leaving now. There's a good training room here. The old man has prepared a lot of equipment—you can train with them."
Mark nodded and spoke with slight disappointment,
"When will you come back?"
Steven glanced at Alyssa for a second, then looked away calmly,
"I won't be long."
Steven left, leaving the two behind.
Mark looked coldly at Alyssa and said,
"I didn't save you. I only wanted to destroy that cursed lab. So you don't need to feel grateful to me."
Alyssa was silent for a second, then spoke,
"Why wouldn't I need to? Even if you didn't want to save me or anyone else, you still did. And feelings—my feelings—belong to me. So I have the right to feel however I want."
Mark felt strange... and impressed.
She had the right to feel what she wanted?
Who told her to restrain her feelings?
It was strange hearing that from someone who had barged into their home yesterday and started living with them!
"..."
He sighed and spoke,
"Then how do you plan to repay the favor of being saved?"
Alyssa's eyes sparkled slightly as she replied,
"I'll give you myself."
Mark's eyes widened, his mouth open in shock.
"What?!"
Alyssa continued,
"Yes, I can give you myself. Izzy told me I'll become a powerful Awakened of S rank in the future. So I'll help you with my strength."
Realization dawned on Mark.
"Oh."
Well, Mark didn't need strong people to help him. Of course, he had his reliable brother beside him, so he didn't need anything else. But...
This girl—she was really persistent. How was Mark supposed to deal with her?
.....
Over the next three months, things were lively—especially for Mark and Alyssa. Alyssa was truly something else. She kept sticking to Mark, and it seemed he got used to it over time.
It even became strange if he didn't see Alyssa nearby for a whole hour.
He also increased his training time because he was surprised by Alyssa's fast growth and development.
Mark didn't want to be weaker than her, so he put extra effort into training.
As for Steven, he never tried to get close to Alyssa. The girl was too observant, so he avoided her as much as possible—which annoyed Mark, as it reduced the time he spent with his brother.
During the first month, Steven kept going on guild missions. There weren't many, so he increased his training time—of course, away from the house where Alyssa was.
After his break started, Steven felt a great emptiness. What was he supposed to do with all this free time?
He wasn't used to doing nothing. He kept training himself, but there were limits to that.
Anyway, he finally decided to do nothing but train and develop his Shadow Art skills and others. The best place for training was the Mist Forest—especially near the fog, where the monsters were stronger.
There were also some events—conflicts between the Star Guild and the Light Guild—after they discovered that their talented girl was living in a house with two boys under the protection of Star Guild's leader, Carlos.
Even though they didn't know who the boys were, they knew they were under Carlos's protection.
They were afraid of having their talented girl, Alyssa, "stolen."
Of course, Steven didn't interfere—he let the Star Guild handle the problem themselves.
Jens faced some pressure, but he handled it skillfully.
As for Byron...
He sometimes disappeared and sometimes returned.
Steven discovered that he could summon Byron, and he would return immediately.
When Steven asked where he went, Byron said he was just exploring the human world out of curiosity.
Even though Steven felt there was something mysterious about it, he didn't press further.
And so, the three months passed—and there was only one day left before the academy began...
....