"Okay, let me get this straight," I sigh into my phone. Thomas asked me to do a not-so-problematic favor for him—just babysit Nora for a day—but the circumstances on why are…sketchy at best.

"So… You're stuck in a meeting with your board of directors," I start.

"Yes, things have been heated lately; especially since the whole Nazi donation thing. Profits and public relations are dividing the company, and I fear that I may have a replica of the caning of Charles Sumner on my hands."

"I- I don't know what that is…"

"It's this thing before the Civil War where— Actually, just know that people in here are armed, and we have medics on standby." I don't even know how to respond to that one.

"Then Sophia's obviously not doing so well, and Aria is…running diagnostics on the Dysonic reactors."

"Yeah. We need to keep those things working, for various reasons. Plus, if they do explode, while the water pressure would contain the explosion, the fission materials would pollute the water. You care about the Earth, don't you?" He asks in a mocking tone.

He sounds just like those ads that try and guilt-trip people into donating. It kinda grinds on my nerves. Just a little.

I sigh…again. "Fine. I'll watch over Nora tomorrow."

"Great," Thomas cheers, more energy filling his voice. "Nora needs to be at school by seven, so you should wake her up a lot earlier than that. Six works bests. I'll have one of the Arthurs make a breakfast for the both of you."

Huh?

"Why can't the Arthurs do this?" I seethe and drum my fingers on the desk. Damn. Wish I had my rubber balls.

"If Nora gets into trouble, then they can't do much. They aren't strong nor resilient."

I scoff. "What? You think Nora will get into trouble?"

"It's- Just in case, okay? My gut is telling me something's wrong, and I'd rather have someone I trust watching her."

"Fine."

————————————————————————————————————

"Nora?" I knock on the door. "It's time to get up~." Slowly pushing the door open, I'm greeted with a pile of those craft-store mason jars. "What the…"

*Rumble* I trail off as the pile of jars filled with…red stuff shiver and topple over. Two horns poke out, followed by the rest of the girl wrapped like a burrito in her blankets. "Iisit time?" She yawns.

"What was that?"

"Is it time?" She asks. Oh, she's grouchy. Heh, what a weird word.

"Yes," I say, picking her up with ease. I do have an interest in what the jars are for, but I also think it's best if I stay out of it. Most things are like that—none of my business.

"…It's the jelly isn't it," she mumbles into my chest.

I keep moving towards the kitchen without pause, a minimal bounce as I carry the dragonewt in my arms. "It crossed my mind." However, I don't know if it's one of those weird skills that people are afraid of. The reason why people are discriminatory over Succubi having sex when they're just as proficient in retail.

Social stigma and all that. It's better to just let sleeping dragons lie. Though, in my case, I'm waking one up for a different reason.

"It's my hoard," she says as I sit her down. I open the fridge, pull out the spicy sausages left on the shelf, and ignite Thomas's gas grill. I wonder if magic is used to make the gas.

"Hoard?"

"Mmm," she hums. She continues while the sausage sizzles, "Dragons, dragonewts, and greed demons get stat bonuses from being hoarders. Demons get them based on the stuff's monetary value. Dragons and newts get them from personal value and size."

"Is that why you guys are so aggressive around your stuff?"

"Yep! We have a built-in pride for our strength. Taking stuff is spitting on us by making us weaker. Receiving a piece of a hoard is a good sign of trust, though." I pull out some plates and utensils, placing the sausage on them, and sit next to Nora with the plates.

I push the plate in front of her as we dig in. Nothing is said for the next several minutes as we chew our food. The spices tingle on my sensitive tongue. Some find it too strong for them, but I enjoy the burning feeling from it.

"Acwully," Nora says with her mouth full, chews, then continues, "Actually, there was a dragonewt that tried to hoard atoms."

"Really? How did that go?"

"Got very little out of it. He cared little for atoms, which gave him little, and the skill adjusted. Trying to get billions of points for little effort is looked down upon…heavily. Pride and all that jazz." Sometimes I forget that this girl is older than she looks…and smarter.

"That's interesting and all, but…" I gaze down at her empty plate. "Let's get you ready for school."

"Okay!" Oh, to enjoy going to school—the folly of youth.

————————————————————————————————————

"Have a nice day, Nora," I say as the girl walks through the the gates of her school. It's one of those private schools where they teach kindergartners through high school seniors. At least, their brochure says so.

So when my passive mind probing picks up hints of lust, I thought nothing of it. Hormonal teenagers will be horny. It's a fact of life. Hell, I can smell the girl sucking off a guy in the closet from here! It's seven in the morning!

BUT! Upon closer inspection, the lustful feeling I sense is coming from the principal greeting the students coming into the school. The same feeling I get from passerby's on the train—one where they plan on doing…untoward things if I don't comply.

Thoughts like that should be nowhere near a school; especially from a balding, middle-aged man.

I can't do much, though. Well, I have the power to arrest, but I have no grounds to do so. Intent is not the same as action, and without proof, I can't do a thing. Maybe call in an anonymous tip to the school board, but even that'll be wrapped up in red tape.

Evidence obtained illegally is also out. If I managed to get into the school somehow…then maybe, just maybe, I could do some investigating. If they allow me in, then it removes a large portion of bureaucracy.

————————————————————————————————————

"I'm sorry; this was unexpected. Can you give me a second to find the form?"

"Of course," I answer the dragon who nods in response.

After I dropped Nora off at school, I made a mad dash towards the Heroes' Guild. It is possible to use psychic probes as evidence in cases; however, it requires that I get licensed.

So! Off to Reginald's office I went, and now, I wait. Amidst the oscillating towers of paper. I wonder if his hoard is paperwork…

"Here we are," Reginald announces. "One form to become a licensed psychic. Magically-binding, too." He places down a small, yellowed sheet on the table. I don't know if it's for aesthetic, but this paper looks a lot more like parchment.

It's a relatively short contract. In essence, I promise that I have a psychic skill and plan to use it for the good of the people. Somehow, and I don't have a clue why, but they managed to make that sentence split across three paragraphs.

I sign the dotted line with the pen provided. Right as I finish, a small runic circle glows on the top-right corner of the page. I don't know any runes, but I do know that some contracts pull on ambient magic to tie a person to certain conditions.

Several laws restricting their properties were shortly passed after their inception.

If I remember correctly, this one should just check if I meet the skill requirements for the license.

"Good," Reginald nods. "If you could just hand me your card, then we can get you on your way." I pass my card to him, and he places it in a…thing. A press maybe? Anyway, when he hands my card back to me a new title is added to it: Certified Psychic. Along with Hero's Disciple and Rank D Adventurer. And…

[ Titles: Rank D Adventurer, Hero's Disciple, Void-touched, Certified Psychic ]

Yep, and except for Void-touched, these are titles in population recognition alone. No skills to be had, again, except Void-touched. No fanfare. No messages. Just…there.

Unless I get stronger.

————————————————————————————————————

"He's ready to see you now," the receptionist drones. I can feel her absolute apathy for the school. Digging deeper, I sense even malicious intent. Not towards me, no, but towards her boss and coworkers.

"Thank you," I say, feeling her mood lighten a little, then I walk into the principal's office. Or would he be a headmaster since this is a private school?

Walking into the office in my hero garb, I find the principal sitting at his desk, furiously dabbing at his sweaty forehead with a damp handkerchief.

I sit down in the chair opposite his desk, cross my arms and legs, and do my best to look haughty. If this man is like I think he is, then someone who dances to the tune of cash will be exactly what he's looking for.

"So- So, you would like to apply to be a part-time Student Resource Officer?" The SRO's: law enforcement officers in charge of safety and crime prevention in schools. I never saw them when I needed them back in high school, even with my mother's abuse of power.

"Yes. I've been training as a hero, and I think I would gain more experience helping the younger generation," I say, giving the textbook answer. It would likely be more convincing if I had been an actually licensed and not a disciple.

"He- Well, we already have two officers serving here…" He trails off under the stare of my mask. He can't see my face, but is constantly unnerved by the smooth mask.

On that thought, I don't really like the biker style my outfit has. Maybe Thomas and I can work together on a redesign.

"Ahh… But! They're restricted to the powers given to them, even what they can do is the same on the street. I, as a hero, have slight federal powers." I absolutely hate abuse of power like this, but it's always a question of safety or rights. I'm tempting him with the ability to get away with…things; however, I'm using it to collect dirt.

Then contact the school board…and the local police…and maybe Rose for bad and anyone else that can help with this.

"And," I tack on, "I can use magic." Not going to tell him about my other abilities. That would probably set off alarm bells in his head.

"Hmm," he hums as he drums his fingers on his desk. He swivels in his chair to look at the wall, acting as though he's thinking about my offer. However, he's already made up his mind. "Perhaps…we can come to an accord."

"Oh?"

"If I hire you, unofficially—" Oh boy. "—and give you a…slightly higher than average salary of our teachers, then you could…lend me your services?"

"Hm. Why not?" He extends his arm out for a handshake to which I reciprocate. This is going to be fun. Definitely crossing the border between hero and villain, though. I'll probably get an earful from…Thomas later.

[ Through repeated actions you have unlocked the skill: Acting(Minimum, Passive) ]

[ Acting — Allows the user to take upon a different persona, convincing others that the user is of a different personality. Even acting like another person comes with ease. ]

Oh. I expected diplomacy or lying or something…