“P.E. is so boring when all you can do is sit around like this…”

- Come on! You only feel that way because of that fight. I even saw some footage from it when going through the internet.

- I mean I didn’t know you could do it until Fe’liu showed me the clip. Are you sure you are not holding back when you spar with us?

“I obviously hold back. Or do you want to fight me when I can just switch weapons like that?”

“No.”

- No.

- No.

“See?”

Do I have to make that clear?

But why does school have to continue? I was getting so bored just sitting around like this.

Was this supposed to be that easy? I mean after a fight?

It has only been two hours but I felt uneasy for no good reason. Like it wasn’t the end. But that was most likely because I fell unconscious almost all the time when I was fighting the old man or the principal.

But seeing the yard still not fully repaired even after the principal placed most of the stuff back together, I felt a sense of boredom creeping up from the inside. It wasn’t fully fixed as the cracks were still visible but to be fair, the principal was better at destroying stuff rather than repairing it.

I zoned out for a moment as I sat on a bench with Alyssa next to me. It was… calming to see the world turn back to normal as there was no casualty and no permanently injured person.

The girl with the sprained leg was brought to the infirmary right after I left the building to fight Walter again so her injury was going to heal in about a week.

Thank goodness.

“Laith?”

I do not want to mess around with Big Sis Ange. I don’t want to make a bad impression since she counted on me.

- Earth to Laith?

And besides, I did not want anyone to get seriously hurt because of my mistake. I’d take full responsibility but I am really glad I do not have to less they make me make a prosthetic leg or what else.

“Laith!”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

- What’s wrong with you? You didn’t even respond after a couple of minutes. Something wrong?

Shaken by Alyssa, I came back to myself, leaving the deepest thoughts in my mind. Seeing a slightly worried face on her, I was perplexed for a moment but I recovered just as fast.

There wasn’t any need to think about those things now.

“Nothing is wrong with me. Just dazed off for a moment.”

- thought about that girl you saved? Hehehe~ didn’t take you for a man.

- Brother! What kind of nonse- Give me the phone!

“You didn’t really think about her, right?”

“I did actua- fuck…”

“What. Was. that?”

- You fucked up

- You fucked up

“I fucked up”

“Please repeat that again, Laith. Say. That. Again…”

Oh for the love of every possible prophet out there, please save me from that madwoman before she tries something not funny.

I was almost ready to make a run for it, trying not to die so early when I noticed someone approaching us from the other students as they were still talking about the fight.

Who was that masked person?

He was so strong! Like an anime character!

He even saved Jenise! Prioritising the rescue of a student before the fight where life and death will be decided. Isn’t he like a hero?

He is a hero!

The whole school did not let go of this topic as it was the first time they have ever seen something like this as well as getting rescued by a hero in black.

Maybe that armour was a bit too much, wasn’t it? I wanted to blend easier in the dark and hide my face and voice if I ever have to infiltrate a place or follow someone closely but now I’m being called…

The shadow knight! Guardian of the light while staying in the shadows.

Just kill me already.

I found it laughable that people loved to point out cringe shit before they make something cringe as well.

PINCH

“God damn! Don’t vent your anger out on me! I didn’t even think about her in that context! It was about her health!”

“Maybe I should get myself hurt like a cheap princess to get rescued instead of trying to help you out. Maybe you will think about me a bit more!”

If she wasn’t using her ability on her fingers, that wouldn’t have hurt as much. Do I have to get concerned now that she started to use her ability? An ability that renders my weaponised body useless…

Fucking cheat.

The girl from earlier, Jenise, was approaching us with slow steps as she moved the reserve crutches of the school to get herself towards me all while I had to explain myself to a person that had no right to criticise me.

“I’m… sorry but can I talk to you for a second?”

“Me?”

“No, I meant him…”

The hell? The girl that hated my guts, spreading rumours about me while insulting me right in front of me wanted to talk to me?

Alright, guys! Where are the cameras? You can stop with the prank now.

But unfortunately, with the pleading look on her face and the killing stare of Alyssa, I had to realise that she was serious.

“You do realise that I am not very fond of you.”

“I’m aware of t-”

“And you know that you are the reason why most of the students talk about me like I wanted even more attention by ‘getting plastic surgery’.”

“Yes and I-”

“And that you insulted me right into my face and never even thought of the possibility that maybe, and maybe, he was not the person I told everyone cause I don’t know shit about him.”

“Yes! Yes… I wanted to talk to you knowing that. But please just the two of us.”

This… sighing, I gave up on trying to get her away from me. I mean it’s not like she is the sole reason why people talk badly about me. Even with a glow up, people will talk shit about you if you had a bad history already.

“Haaaah… fine. You! Sit still and don’t cause trouble! Let’s go.”

“Wait, what the hell was th-”

“Don’t mind that and just follow me.”

I put my hands into my pockets as I took the lead, going all the way to the classroom. If it wasn’t empty, just an empty hallway should be fine. Even if I can’t scan my surroundings as Gramps could, I can still hear the breathing of people even if they were about thirty metres away.

So I walked all the way while staying silent. Jenise walked right behind me. Or rather jogged as I most likely walked too fast for her to keep up with just walking. But I really just wanted to get this over with.

“So? What is it that you wanted to talk about, Jenise?”

My tone was quite judgemental as I looked her right in the eye. She was way shorter than I was, making me look down at her with annoyance written all over my face.

“Are you sure no one is going to hear us in the classroom?”

“What is so important that you want it to only be heard from me?”

“I know you are the shadow knight!”

FUCK! This is bad!

Like so bad, I'm about to pass out!

She called me the shadow knight! Hearing that sentence made me almost cough out blood!

I was just recently healed from my inner wounds! I don’t need any more of them!

But exhaling, I calmed myself down before she could notice anything. I had to lie skillfully. Or else, having a mask was all for nothing.

“Pfft! Yeah right! And you are the princess that got carried by that knight. If that is why you wanted to call me out, then sucks to be you but you are wrong.”

“But I know that it was you! The moment that hood got off, I could see your hair and only you have green and gold strands in your hair!”

“Still no reason to think it was me. I mean I am weak.”

“You have the best muscles in the whole school, how can you call yourself weak?”

“Plastic surgery.”

“I know that’s not true.”

“Then why were you spreading such lies around?”

I could feel a vein pop on my forehead as this conversation got to this point. If you knew it was a lie, then why spread it!

“Because I am too petty but this is not what this is about.”

“So you accept that, huh. Feels good?”

“I saw your hair during the fight.”

“I thought I saw your hair during a Victoria's Secret Fashion Show but remembered that your ugly ass can’t be there.”

“And you returned to the class right the moment the fight was over.”

“I was hiding inside the toilets out of fear.”

“Yet everyone else says they could not move because of something pressuring their bodies. How were you able to move?”

“Because I’m used to hiding inside the toilet after getting beaten by the boys in our school. It just became a reflexive response.”

“Yet it didn’t when you hit James right on his face. Don’t take me for a fool and let me really get to the point.”

Seriously, I may have fucked up there. The last person in this school after James that should know that I am…

…The shadow knight… is Jenise.

Fuck… Did I really have to have her know the truth?

“You do understand this is pointless. And besides, why does it really matter that I am the shadow knight? Do you want to tell the whole school now that the superhero, responsible for saving everyone's asses, is in fact the leech Laith Arslan? You'll only drag down the reputation of the shadow knight, which is not fair at all for what he has done."

I may have vented quite a bit. I may have messed up all my lies by venting out all my thoughts inside my head but I was sick of it. I just wanted to go now.

"I was going to apologise, okay? I was going to apologise for insulting you, spreading rumours about you and for never trying to at least know the truth."

Why? Why was she apologising to me out of nowhere? Did she feel scared after knowing that I have the power to kill almost everyone inside the school?

"Why did you apologise? You are way too stubborn and petty to do that."

"But you opened my eyes. I treated you so miserably but not only did you not get back at me before but you also rescued me when you clearly had the chance not to."

"Wasn't me."

"I understand that you have done that for other reasons but if I was you, I'd have left myself there on the spot."

"Way to go! You finally understood that you are not worth the save! Applause!"

"But you didn't and that's why I want to apologise. You don't have to accept it nor do I expect to start from the beginning but I just wanted to say this to you. I'm sorry."

Well, someone got a personality change! Even if I'm not even remotely thinking about accepting that apology, I'll at least let it go for now. If this apology wasn't to save her own skin, then after a bit of time, accepting the apology may be possible.

But man… can't even convince her that I'm not the knight…

At least don’t call me that…

"Don't tell anyone about what we talked about here."

"So you accept it?"

"Is there any other way now that you are so stubborn with it. If I didn't, you'd go around and ask for more information, arousing the attention of more people. Haaaah… all I wanted was a peaceful school life…"

I was done. If I really didn't accept her claims, she would have asked around, getting the attention of more and more people until it got to the ears of the Peltro family.

I can't let that happen. At least until I find a good backing for myself.

But I was finally through this conversation. I just wanted to leave her here, going back to my friends but the next thing she said threw me off a little bit.

"So… am I free to go now?"

"Yes… thanks for at least listening."

"Aha…"

I walked off as I didn’t even look back at her. She was safe and might have learned something but that wasn’t a reason to show respect to her. For what she did just because of something trivial made me repulsed to the idea of showing her respect until she deserves it.

But I may have taken my sweet time walking back. Because the moment I came back, all I saw was an angry Alyssa. It wasn’t pouting or something cute that she would try to do to get my attention.

It was genuine anger.

I could almost feel her anger the moment I left the building. How interesting. To be able to condense such strong emotions that it makes the people around you feel them as well.

A side effect of her ability? Or maybe because of her affinity? Or mayb-

“Come here right now.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

What the hell! I did what you say so why are your emotions only getting stronger? What did I do wrong? Was it my salute?

“Sit before I’ll make you sit. And you don’t want that.”

“I don’t want that.”

“What did you say right now?”

“Nothing!”

She is scary! I’m supposed to be the stronger one but she is really scary! I can’t fight against that! That would only be a death sentence.

- Dude… I’m sorry but you have to go through that alone.

- It’s his fault so he has to take responsibility!

“But what did I do wro-AH!”

“Everything, Laith! I’ll make you understand truly what you did wrong, you lust-driven fool! And I’ll talk to you two later.”

"Aren't you the one that's driven by lust all the ti-AH!"

- Alright! Have fun you two!

- I pray for your well being, dude.

BEEP

And just like that, they hung up. What a great friendship! Support your friend a bit mor-

AH! Stop pulling on my ear! For fucks sake, why do I feel so powerless? Just let me go already! I had enough!

“Please! I didn’t even like to be with her alone!”

“Then why?”

“She found out.”

“Huh?”

Ah! Thank the heavens! I can feel no pain in my ear! She thankfully stopped pulling, making me able to explain the whole conversation.

And after what felt like an eternity with the sole reason being her emotions fluctuating like the raging sea during the time I explained everything to her. I could absolutely not concentrate during that time.

Sometimes it felt like I was choking.

Sometimes it felt like I was pressured by all sides.

I didn't want to repeat such an event again. I just hope Alyssa will calm down more in the future. But now, I just had to escape death.

And thankfully in one way or another, I escaped death.

By the form of a woman.

"Laith Arslan, you'll have to come with me for a second. Mr Weinmann is calling you."

She wore a suit like an office worker with round glasses sitting right on her nose. I did recognise her and now I knew why she was here.

"The physics teacher? Is something wrong?"

"He told me to call you over so please come with me."

"Alright… See you, Alyssa."

"I'll be waiting for you, my dear."

"Alyssa, no."

I got up as I warned Alyssa. I thought we were going to be very subtle about our current relationship as senior and junior but here she is, being so blatant about it right after my fight with Walter. If it wasn't for the fact that the whole school was talking about it Nonstop, I'd be standing out the most.

So after saying my goodbye, that in the end saved my life, I followed the woman all the way up to the third floor. The teacher's office was on the second floor but I wasn't really confused about why we were there.

She was just a reason to give me a more understandable Alibi. If someone knew that I was going to the principal right after he declared he is the principal with his Will surging, they would surely understand that I am special as well.

So I stood in front of the door for a second time. Why were both times so nerve-racking? It's not like I knew someone was going to make me unconscious.

CREAK

The door was quite loud as I pushed the handle down and opened the door. I entered the oh so familiar office followed by the woman that brought me here.

This woman was the secretary of this school as well as the principal's helper. If he needed something, she would already be there ready.

and as I entered, the oh so familiar sight came to be. The principal was sitting at his desk as he looked at the outside world with a serene gaze. But what was different than before was the extra guest standing here.

"It's nice to see you again, Laith. Hope my men were of help to you today."

"Thank you for your aid today, Big Sis Ange. I would have been in a pinch if it wasn't for the two agents today so if possible I'd like to send my thanks again to them as well."

"Laith. Don't just stand there! Come sit down!"

On the call of the principal, I sat down on the couch next to Big Sis Ange.

I was just looking at him, waiting for any words he was about to say. Was he going to warn me? Help me since I can't fight a whole family alone? Why was I here?

But instead, the first one to turn towards me and speak was the director as she looked at me with quite the thankful expression

"Laith... I'm thankful that you prioritized that one student… Even if you got hurt during that process. As the Director of the Association, I'd like to reward you for your actions."

"Oh! P-please! I did it mostly out of revenge since it's the same guy that beat me up before and now I could get payback."

"Huh… Seeing the footage of your fight makes me scared of your understanding of payback if you were only beat up and didn't lose a hand as the Peltro kid did."

"That's… A tricky thing…"

"Hahahaha!"

I felt kind of awkward when seeing her laugh a bit like Gramps. I do not want to see that kind of laugh. It was already enough to traumatise me quite a bit.

"But why a reward?"

That was what was on my mind. Was it like a congratulatory gift? Don't think so.

Maybe because I'm Gramps's disciple? Possible but that shouldn't be a reason.

So why the reward when your hands should be full with more stuff than anyone could handle.

"You probably know that we do not want to fight against the families so openly. Having them neutral is way more favourable than having them side with the evil faction. Walter was the only one that used his power openly as a main family member. This means even if we wanted to, any move would have gone to an all-out war."

"But why would they hide if they attacked with their forces."

"To make themselves shine more when resolving the situation as well as shattering the trust to the Association that those who knew about it had like world leaders. That's also why I wanted to thank you. Not only did you stop a tragedy but you also made the Peltro's look very bad, conserving at least a bit of trust in the Association all while being someone unrelated to the Association."

So that's it… no wonder she was so fast to give me a reward even if I wouldn't be the first to do something with no reward at all.

It seems that most families gathered and used third party forces to make normal humans fear the unknown before making an entrance and saving these people, gathering more prestige while lowering the trust they had towards the Association considerably.

This was a ploy to have a better standing in the future when the Break is coming.

How cliche… and people fall for it?

But thanks to a miracle called the internet as well as my actions that were tilted to protect the students, I made Walter look bad as well as give those that almost lost their trust in the Association a bit of doubt about the events of today.

Since people like world leaders should already be familiar with schemes, they should at least be able to understand that this may be planned all along. But this situation can only beg the question.

"Why did Walter even show up? If he stayed quiet for a bit, they would have succeeded, wouldn't they? Wasn't this just him shooting himself in the foot?"

"You are right, Laith. But Walter is already known for his irrational actions. We can already guess that it was something the families didn't plan out."

“But principal, He used his ability in the beginning, meaning this can not just be an irrational choice. He may have shot himself in the foot but only because I was there. But that still doesn’t mean there is something fishy here.”

“You are right but that isn’t something you should think about for now. Just think for a reward from the two of us.”

“The two of you?”

“Yes. I want to show my thanks for protecting my students while I wasn’t there as well as invest in you. But before we go to that point…”

The principal paused his speech as he drank a bit of coffee out of his mug. What did he want to talk about? I had my guess but could only wait for his words to leave his mouth.

"Laith…Mercy… Needs to be shown to those that truly deserve it. And Walter never deserved it. Trying to kill the student Felix Maximilian Weber and almost kidnapping student Gina Agostini as well as the attempt to kill Jenise Hoffman. This is already enough to kill him but not only did you spare his life, but you also let him go as well. What will you say in your defence?"

"…"

I was silent as finding a true answer wasn’t just as easy.

I could say it was purely the orders of the Association but that would be a lie. It wasn’t just Big Sis Ange’s words that made me not kill him.

I just didn’t want to kill a human.

I could kill beasts in my dream as I had no choice but to do so.

I could kill animals for survival but the first time made me already sick. It’s different when you just eat meat and kill for it. But I got used to it after a while with the idea that I was in a food chain and if I don’t eat I’ll be eaten running through my mind.

But I don’t know if I could kill a human.

There was no idea of ‘eat or get eaten’ that would make my actions forgivable. Killing animals was already not acceptable to a good proportion of human society.

I just don’t want to do anything I would regret in the future. Even if it sounds naive.

But I knew that this is a situation that will bite me back in the future. I had my revenge but revenge will lead to more as it will get only fiercer and fiercer until at least one of the sides has completely vanished.

Until then, revenge will never stop.

"Mr Lenkov. I told him to not do any great damage to Walter Peltro so he won’t get too much of a backlash from his family."

“I understand your reasoning but you also should know that it is Walter Peltro we are talking about. Notorious for his actions that could have crossed the line countless times, only to be held back by his family. You should have expected this outcome the moment Laith told you that boy is here.”

“That’s exactly why I told him not to. It is Walter Peltro. The boy is always protected by his family because of his high affinities. And we as the Association, do not want to make the boy kill only to get rid of a nuisance.”

“Postponing your first kill will only make him suffer. The more power he will have in the future, the more he has to hold himself back as he will fear the idea of killing anyone.”

"I understand your concern, Mr Lenkov, but this time should be fine since he has concealed his identity well enough."

"It was a blessing that Laith was so prepared to even conceal his identity. Look here, Laith. I liked the voice modulator idea. But there will be a time when your real identity will be challenged and that can't be fixed with just a mask and cheap mercy. Take this advice to heart, Laith. Get used to the idea of killing for a better future. Kill those that need it the most and spare those that deserved it the most. This sentence can save your life countless times in the future."

I looked down as these two powerhouses were shooting argument after argument against each other. It wasn’t the words of the principal but the words of ‘the Lone Hero’. I was wondering if I really made a mistake.

I thought that I fought so well. He was trying to kill me yet I never put a bullet through his head. But what he said was true. I had to get used to it as well. I hoped this would never come so fast but I guess that was just wishful thinking.

I have to either get so strong that I had the luxury of showing mercy to every person with no consequences or get used to the idea of killing my opponents.

So my only choice now is to take that advice to heart. It was my responsibility and I should finish what I started myself with no one getting involved in it because of my mistakes.

"But in the end, you protected my students and I can't just reprimand you for that so you can ask me anything you want and I'll give it to you as a reward. So feel free to tell me what you want. As long as I can fulfil that wish, I will."

I put my current thoughts aside as I got asked what I wanted from one of the three [Caelestia] realm Awakened. If we talk about just a reward, I couldn’t go overboard.

But he himself said this is also an investment. So this was a chance that I had to use as wisely as possible.

Money won’t make me stronger just like that. And knowing that I only had a month with that money, I couldn’t ask for it. Who knows if that money will be worth anything after the Break.

I could ask for special Items but no item can boost my power as others would do.

My ability was to understand a weapon perfectly and store them inside my soul as well as have a language that could affect weapons. I call it Weapon Insight for a time now because it was a general idea of my ability. If I had an elemental ability, a potion boosting that ability could boost my ability and thus my realm but there is no ‘Sword Potion’ or something similar that could boost my weapon ability.

The only way to strengthen my Will and raise my realm was…

"I made up my mind. If it's possible I'd have one of the guestrooms in my apartment turned into a forge, materials to craft 1000 [Uncommon] and 500 [Rare] weapons and an item. A mask that can also change the colour and size of someone’s hair as well as change their voice. This is my wish from the principal. I hope it's possible, right?"

"Hm? Yes, that's alright but are you sure? You could have asked for more?"

Are you a dragon? Where do you have the amount of materials to make that many weapons with?

You know what? I’ll really add something to it.

“Then I want one more item. About 4 kg of Orichalcum. Preferably one that had the stayed around the space element more than other elements.”

“!!”

“Laith!”

Two shocked faces were staring at me after my crazy request. But who would even blame them for those wide eyes and open mouths? My request was just that absurd.

Orichalcum is a special material. A very special one. It is one of the nine metals that are known as [The Kings of Metal] but that had a reason for it. These nine metals each had properties that could make anything out of them a god-like item. Well, most were.

Orichalcum is the lowest of the nine but should never be underestimated because of the special property that made it even possible to be a king.

The property of absorbing an element during its growth to become the best special ore. One that had the properties of all kinds of special ores like vein ore, amplifying ore, elemental ore and so on.

In short, it does not birth a [Transendent] weapon with just one swing of a hammer like the other ores would but was valuable enough to boost any kind of weapon to its greatest potential.

So my request was with just 4kg of Orichalcum enough to shock them but having one with Space Element fused during its growth is enough to make them want to kill me for it.

If I wasn’t Gramps’s disciple.

I stared at the Lone Hero as he was thinking about my request with a frown on his face. I was ready to get rejected but then asking for more materials will make it look like a better deal.

That’s what I learned from Gramps as it was the art of tricking me whenever I lived with him alone. How he made me have more training hours for the exchange of better food.

I should learn how to do this as well!

"I'll make it 250:125 and the mask a high-quality one that's peak [Uncommon] grade… with the space filled Orichalcum… alright?"

“WHAT!!”

“HOLY SHIT!!! YES!!!”

He accepted! This is enough to make me stay happy for a year long. I may not be able to use it just right now but if I can make an [Epic] grade weapon, I should be able to make a weapon that is going to stick with me for a long time without the need of reforging it.

There was even no need to argue about the number of materials for the weapons. It is a steal already to exchange a kg of Orichalcum for this amount of materials not to mention 4 Kg that were filled with Space Element.

"It's the least for the lives of my students so … it's fine."

I can tell you are pained but goddamn! I should be happy to be one of his students!

Why are you not as sweet as this principal, Gramps! Did you have to beat me up all the time and not just give me one little reward?

"Now from the association director…"

"NO! DON’T STEAL FROM ME!"

Huh? Big Sis Ange… your true personality is showing…

“Don’t worry, Big Sis Ange. I’m not going to make you lose any money.”

“Then I’m all ears.”

Welp. should have seen this reaction coming from a mile away after seeing her reaction when the principal accepted my request. I know the Association isn’t the richest when compared to the big families together or the evil faction but that was never their strong point.

If my first request could have gotten me killed by the two of them, my next would definitely get me killed by most of the Association members if not all of the good faction

So I cleared my throat and stood straight while looking the beautiful woman right next to me in the eye with unquestionable resolve.

"Miss director. I'd like to ask for a special privilege in the information network of the Association."

"!!"

"Hehe~. Smart boy. Doing something so praiseworthy."

Oh, please! I know full well that you are just feeling good to not be the only one getting robbed.

I mean having their limits of a reward stretched to the limits. I would never try to steal from them by using their good conscious.

But the principal had a reason to say that as well. If there are a lot of things the Association is good at, their information network would be better than any of the other things combined. They may not have a lot of money as they don’t try to deal that much in the human society, staying unknown and untraceable for any normal human but that was exactly why their information network could become such a great thing in the first place.

From terrorist attacks and underworld crimes to future actions of politicians, big stars' biggest secrets to the finest detail or identities of people that would help you enter special events. They had it all.

It was so sophisticated that today’s event was a mystery to me. Although the Association reacted just as fast with the help of that information network, they were also helpless when trying to stop these events before they even happened as they usually would.

In short, information is one of the most valuable things right now and besides getting stronger, knowing how to get stronger and with what help will make my future life much easier.

It can even help me find my parents when the Break happens.

“...liar…”

“But… I didn’t lie?”

What’s with the pouting? You are much older than you look, yet here you are acting just like how you look. Does one’s physically ageing speed also affect their mental ageing speed?

Why are you not saying anything? Was it really too much?

“Excuse me but… is that a yes or no?”

“I can’t just give you access to the whole network. And making restricted access is not something you most likely thought of. Am I right?”

“Yes.”

“Then why not join the Association? You’d have access to the information network then.”

“I have to decline. Gramps already explained to me how it works and I’m not keen on working for 3 years, tested for my loyalty, before getting even a little bit of access.”

“Well… that is true as well… but I can’t give you the information just like that. Any other thing you want from me?”

“But I have an idea to solve this.”

“Oh? What is it?”

I thought about this for a while now. Knowing full well that Gramps couldn’t always tell me everything, I thought of how to get information without needing to join the Association.

“I can work for the Association in exchange for information. I know this is all talk but I believe it is worth investing in the only disciple of Akira Hashimoto. I may not be that great at spying at the moment but my fighting, as you two have seen, should be enough to show my possibilities. And besides…”

VUUM

“As long as I get the materials, I could sell my weapons to the Association with the lowest price at all.”

Taking out a couple of great weapons I forged, I presented my idea to the Director. I essentially told her that I’d be fine to work as a slave as long as I could get access to the information I wanted in exchange for my work. It was an offer benefitting me completely at the beginning but later on, will benefit the Association more than myself.

But I was fine with it. As long as I can find my parents as fast as possible, the work of a slave would be nothing but a little bit of effort.

And besides, making weapons and fighting with them is how I raised my realm so I am essentially training while gaining more and more information that I’d need for the future. Even though I’m stuck at the moment, I will eventually get stronger the more weapons I do.

Big Sis Ange was silent after my proposal. frankly, I wanted access to their property without being a part of them but with the offer I made, I should be able to convince her somehow. I mean who doesn’t want weapons for almost free. They could even be sold for higher prices and get the Association more funds to use on other stuff.

But this all is fundamentally a scam that would benefit me. Just hope she doesn’t realise it until it is already done.

“How about this. You’ll work as my own agent. A secret mercenary if you will. And with each mission I send you, you’ll get points that you can exchange for information. The prices of the information will depend on the restriction level for said information. For your deal regarding weapons, I’d let you decide if you want to get paid with points or money whenever we trade.”

I looked at her with a stern face as I took in the words she said. It sounded too good to be true and everyone here should be aware of it as well. And this made me remember Gramps’s words.

If something is too good to be true, look through it even if it kills you. Because there is nothing that’s going to be too good to be true for you without you working for it.

So I had to be careful and try to think about every possible loophole to abuse while making it impossible for them to abuse them against me.

Do I really have to fight someone more experienced than me in a negotiation? That’s not what I trained in!

So hoping that I could get through this without losing an arm, I started to go through most of my worries.

"Am I fully affiliated with the Association?"

"No, you'll be seen as an outsider, nothing to do with the Association. You are the agent that works for me personally. The information that you will receive will look more like I told them to you and your weapons will look like a gift of gratitude. But members of the Association will treat you like an officer ranked member because of our special relationship."

The association had a strict hierarchy revolving around the employees down to the director which was ranked in some kind of militarily way. Going upwards the hierarchy, the ranks would be officer, lieutenant, captain, Lieutenant colonel, Colonel, Major General, Lieutenant general, general, executives and finally the Director. This meant that they will treat me like an officer, the lowest in the hierarchy.

That’s actually fine by me. Although their ranks are like some kind of militarily way, they do not treat those lower ranked like garbage but with respect. It was kind of wholesome until you get trained by those higher of you. Because those people usually earned their place with hard work and want you to earn your place with the same, if not more, hard work they used to do.

"Can I use my so-called points' on something else besides information? Like buying items or materials that I’d need for myself?"

"Items that aren’t too precious can be exchanged for points. But don’t think they will come cheap."

"How long will this last for?"

"This can end the moment you say so but you'll also revoke your rank treatment in this way. But as long as you are fine with me and I’m with you, you can stay as my agent for as long as you want."

"Do I have to do every mission I'll be sent to? And what will happen if I failed a mission or messed up something during a mission?"

"You may decline a mission but this will make the frequency of your mission get low for a while which makes you get fewer points. And mission fails will be, depending on the situation, charged with points. If the points are not enough to compensate for the mistakes then you'd be brought back to the association and I’ll have to punish you depending on the situation. But on the other hand, if you do extremely well on missions, then you may get more points than promised."

"Will I get extra for any contribution someone that works with me makes?"

"You are talking about that cute girl that sits next to you in class, right?"

"Yes."

It's only been two days and she already knew this. How is this possible with Gramps there…

Oh…

"...Gramps must have bragged about her when he was out for a bit."

"I can't deny that. He was quite different whenever he talked about the two of you, bragging that he has the best disciples ever. But those points will be allocated to you."

Wow! That’s so unlike him to do. I thought he would whine about the fact that I’m not as talented as he was when he was my age. But I guess I thought a bit too bad about him

"Are you sure you don't want to make the same thing for her as well?"

"I am. I heard how much of a crazy girl she is towards you too so I believe even if I'm going to give her points, she'll probably give them to you in any way."

"Oh… Uuuuhhh… Damn, that's embarrassing to admit… But yes…"

Those two chuckled when I said that with slightly red cheeks. It’s hard to live with a crat

Nevertheless, I thought about the conditions. As long as I can leave whenever I can, the rest wouldn’t be such a problem and instead of being under the whole Association, I’d be directly under Big Sis Ange meant that whatever actions the executives would make, they could not affect me in any way. And I don’t believe that I will be underpaid here. Not because I trust her completely but because of who my master is.

Having Gramps as my master comes in handy sometimes.

"Alright I accept."

"Good, then we have to prepare the paperwo-"

"Before that, I'd like to know if I can exchange my contribution for today for one piece of information."

"Ah already abusing it?"

"It's called using my rights and yes. May I?"

"You can ask what you wanna know."

So I took a deep breath with my heart beating like crazy. I gained so much today but my greed could only be satisfied with one thing only.

Information.

And there was one specific piece of information I wanted the most right now.

"What will happen to our society after 'the Break' happens?"

I needed to know this.

So I know where I should head on next.

So I know what to expect next.

To be prepared better than before and to never be in an unexpected situation.