Sunlight drifted in through the window in front of Evan’s desk, hitting Fel’s eyes.

‘Hnngg, so bright.’ She thought, stretching out her hand.

“Finally! Gods, I thought I was going to die!”

Fel looked down and saw Evan beside her, too close for comfort.

“Eek! Pervert!”

“I could say the same for you! Who goes sleepwalking in the middle of the night just to snuggle with another person!”

Fel turned red, unaware of her nightly escapade.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Wait, are you crying? D-”

Then, the door burst open and the twins barged in, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Evan, did you make Fel cry?” Wyra demanded.

Fel nodded, “Yes, he did.”

“MOM!!”

“I’m going to kill you!”

“MOM, EVAN’S TRYING TO KILL FEL!!”

“SHUT IT, ALL OF YOU!!!”

…

After a passionate scolding by Cara about how to treat girls, Evan and the rest of the family gathered at the dining room for a light breakfast.

“So, do you kids have any plans for today?” Cara asked.

Zed shook his head, “No, we were just thinking about playing in the garden with Fel. Why mom?”

“Well, since we’re adopting Fel, we were thinking of taking her to the tailor’s for some clothes of her own. She can’t be wearing Wyra’s old dresses all the time.”

“Really? Would you do that for me?” Fel asked, her vision blurring as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Really. Even though you’re adopted, we will treat you as our own child, nothing less.” Leon said with a nod.

“Then afterwards, we can give her a tour of the city and have dinner outside at the Old Boar.”

The twins cheered at the final addition to the plans.

The Old Boar had an almost cult-like following among the family. It was where Leon and Cara first met each other, and the kids loved the place because of the nice waitress, Chelsea.

Leon vehemently denied ever staring at her direction, but Cara was not convinced. Or rather, she loved seeing him panic and swear every time she “accused” him of it.

“Can I join in later? I want to talk with Grandpa Maren first.”

Everyone’s jaws dropped to the floor at Evan’s words, except Fel.

“Why are you all so surprised?” She asked innocently.

“Are you really my brother?” Wyra asked, pointing her fork at Evan.

Zed joined in with his twin, “Yeah, Evan would never go outside of the house if Mom didn’t threaten him. What did you do with the real Evan?”

Evan was at a loss for words. His parents nodded at Zed’s words, as if agreeing with their accusations. Maren was silently trying to stab a particularly slippery tomato, while Fel was trying her best not to laugh her ass off.

“A-am I really that much of a recluse?” Evan asked, bracing himself for the answer.

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

A unanimous vote.

‘I need to get out of the house more.’ Evan swore to himself.

…

After breakfast and everyone left the house, Evan went to his grandfather in the guest room.

‘I think I have an idea on how to help Mom and Dad.’

‘If all goes well, this should solve the problem with money, the city’s safety, provide some specimens for some experiments I have planned in magic, and even make some bank for me later. Many birds with one stone.’ Evan thought.

“Grandpa, are you inside?” Evan asked after knocking on the door.

“Yeah, I am. Come in, I was just packing some things.” A voice replied from inside the room.

Now that Evan’s birthday was over and there was nothing he could do to help with the family’s problems, Maren thought it would be best if he left as soon as possible. He did not want to burden the family with his presence. Evan entered the room, with all of Maren’s belongings packed up in chests and boxes, ready to be moved out.

“Are you leaving, Grandpa?” Evan asked.

“Yeah, kid. Listen, your-”

“-parents are having issues with money? You’re leaving so that we don’t have to take care of you in the house?” Evan finished for Maren.

Maren was astonished.

“How do you know?” He asked.

Evan grinned.

“Magic,” he replied before casting the body double spell he named, Doppelganger.

Maren watched the performance in awe.

The Evan doppelganger was an exact copy of Evan’s appearance.

It had dark auburn hair with brown eyes, still with some baby fat on his pale cheeks. It was short, not even a meter tall yet, but his posture and demeanor spoke of power, a king that merely allowed the world to share what was rightfully his.

There was a scar on top of its right eyebrow that Evan got courtesy of the basement floor when he first met Fel.

‘I’ll say it again, Evan is special.’ Maren thought.

“That’s nice, Evan. Now you can get to know that other girl you showed me last time.” Maren said with a perverted grin.

“Grandpa! It’s not like that!” Evan yelled, blushing all the way to his ears.

“Who’s the tomato now?” Maren quipped with a laugh.

…

“Anyway, Grandpa. I have a sort of business idea that could maybe help out the family. I was wondering if I could get your opinion and help on the project.”

Maren raised an eyebrow at the request, intrigued by what Evan could have possibly thought of.

He gestured towards the chair, inviting Evan to sit down.

Once the boy did, his face suddenly changed, no longer the goofy, loving grandfather but now the cold, unscrupulous businessman.

“Go on.” Maren said with a wave. Anyone regular person would have shuddered at the abrupt change in demeanor.

A calculating gaze, that saw everything simply in numbers and figures.

Evan however was unfazed and grinned.

‘He’s taking me seriously,’ he thought.

Evan cleared his throat and began, “As you know Grandpa, there has been a recent increase in the population of the working classes due to the peace treaty the Vylian Empire signed with the Onician Dynasty, the Izoleum Kingdom, and the elves from Aeria about five years ago.”

"This is because soldiers who were once needed to defend the borders and keep the empire safe are put on reserve, discarded by their country until further notice. Of course, at first, the newly retired soldiers would be happy about this. They would be happy to rest after long months of fighting and living in barracks.”

“However, as you also know, reserve soldiers do not get paid by the empire, forcing them to find work to support themselves and their families. The lucky ones would probably find work within their extended families or friends, but not all of them will.”

“This leads them to find work that would make use of the training they had received in the military: Mercenaries.” Evan said, pausing slightly so Maren could process everything he had just said.

Maren thought over Evan’s words and nodded in approval.

‘Damn, he’s good. So far, he’s done his research.’ He thought.

“Go on, continue.” He actually said.

Evan complied. “Mercenaries, though, are a tight knit community. They don’t like newcomers and try to weed them out, which is why the cartels and businesses couldn’t be happier when a bunch of trained, reserved soldiers suddenly pop up looking for money in exchange for work.”

“The extra workforce also makes them cocky, giving them the confidence to go after bigger targets like our house.” Evan said, pausing again.

“Alright so you explained what the problem is, now I suppose you have a solution for this.” Maren asked.

“Of course.” Evan replied. “Just like artisans and blacksmiths have their own guilds, I want to make a mercenary guild.”