Chapter 9: Flag Triggered

After saving Ina, I teleported back to the mall and started to walk back to my parents.

I pondered whether my decision to teach Ina magic was the correct thing to do as I walk.

Well, there’s not much to think about. First of all, I don’t intend to keep this a secret forever.

Second, this will open future Ina routes from now on...okay, that was a joke...maybe…

In any case, I already have a rough idea on what I will do in the future.

It’s not to become a superhero...well. a bit, but not completely. See, I don’t see myself as a hero. I see myself as a selfish person who does whatever the hell he wants. That’s me.

However, that way of thinking is only mine and not necessarily other’s. So, though I will save those close to me and those I encounter in the future, I won’t actively search for trouble. But others will.

All I’m giving them is a chance. A chance to be someone better. A chance to do what they think is right.

I am not a Hero. But out there, somewhere in this world, there is a real Hero. For all we know he can be a guy sleeping on the streets, he can be the guy that sweeps your house, he can be that guy selling hotdogs, or this guy at the top of your company.

These kinds of people can’t be neglected. They need a chance to save the world. To serve their purpose. To bring hope to people.

With great power, comes great-...Okay, that’s enough bullshiting.

You want the truth? Fine.

Actually, this is in order to get that magic circle for the summoning.

The Demon Lord has most likely already started his world domination so the humans will definitely be forced to summon another Hero.

Now I don’t know if I’m lucky, or unlucky, enough to be summoned again. Yes, I know, I said before that I don’t want to go to that world anymore. But then I thought, if I was summoned again, then I will have a chance to end the bastard King myself. Now isn’t that satisfying? I can also take a good look of the summoning magic circle which will most likely be able to send me back as well after a bit of research.

In the case that I am not the one who is summoned, I’ll make sure to tag the people who are likely to be summoned.

There’s a wide variety of them but most of the time, the summoned Hero are interesting people…okay, it’s a huge gamble but so what? Plus, I get to kill time anyway. It’s lonely at the peak you know?

Ina is just the first one. She’s smart for a 6 year old so I didn’t tamper with her mind. As for the other girls, namely Geo, Livia, Zoe, and Mica, I will teach them magic to protect themselves, then seal their memory of it afterwards. When the time comes, I will unlock it so they can use it immediately. This is simply for their own self-protection if ever something unexpected happens to me or them.

I’ll also pick a few more strangers who are worthy, and by that I mean interesting, and give them...abilities instead of spells. Abilities are things like super strength, super speed, unbreakable skin, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and such. You know, typical superhero shit.

Yes, they are still magic, but they won’t know it. Of course they need mana for it but I won’t teach them how to gather mana. I will make a mana crystal which will automatically absorb mana and give it to them. This way, they can only use their abilities if they have the mana crystal with them. Neat huh?

Then, I will inscribe it with a spell and tada~! The birth of the...uhh, Superpower crystal? Ability crystal?...Name needs some work...well, I’ll think about it.

Of course, I’ll take special care not to unknowingly choose a villain. At most, I will place a safety mechanism so I can remotely destroy the crystal if ever it falls into the wrong hands. Also, if they try to swallow it or implant it in their bodies, it will kill them instead...and yes, I will warn them about that…

In the future, I will most likely be known by every superhero in the world...maybe I should’ve chosen a good name instead of Nightmare...maybe like The Giver or Origin or something...well whatever, having multiple names is also fine anyways~ I’ll definitely make a Spiderman suit next time…

Also, maybe I should stop with the smartass attitude when in Nightmare mode...it kinda doesn’t match well with the name and costume...hmm...ah! Next time, I’ll make it so the helmet acts like a screen instead where my words will be typed out. Creating a mysterious silent type anti-hero shit. Yep, that sounds good. I’ll also change the suit a bit…

…Funny how I don’t want to be a Hero but gets pumped up when designing a costume…

Fufufu, it seems that things will be fun from now on.

After a year, I’ll start giving out powers.

The first guy is definitely a super rich guy. Maybe I’ll give him a suit of armor or fancy bat gadgets…wait, that’s not a superpower…though, now I have an urge to make it...

Making a super strong soldier with a badass shield is good too. Or maybe bring an alien to [Earth]...okay, I’ll stop with the Marvel and DC references…

I’m still going to be Spiderman though...and Deadpool...and the Flash...what? I like them! Though, to be honest, I can merge them all into one person...do I call myself Flash Spiderpool? Dead Flashspider? Spider Deadflash?

...Anyway, I’m really looking forward to the future!

As I indulge myself with ideas on playing with powers, I already got back to my parents.

“You’re finally back you brat! Where have you been!?” (Mother)

“Uhh, in the mall?” (Max)

“What mall!? We were tracking you at first, then you were suddenly gone! Now you reappeared again!” (Mother)

Ah, crap! I forgot that they placed a tracker on me!

But it seems they didn’t know that I reappeared in a farther place...hmmm, maybe the illusion spell interfered with the signal?

In any case, I need to explain this properly…by acting like a kid! Which I am!

“Maybe it broke?” (Max)

Why am I not telling them about my magic? Well...it just seem like the right thing to do at the moment...when superheroes appear, I can make an excuse that I have powers. As for magic...well, let’s not think about it now. If they don’t ask, why bother?

“Broke? But this is a Connors issued, state-of-the-art, cutting edge, high tech tracker!” (Mother)

Wow…

“Well, it happens.” (Max)

“You...sigh...fine. Now, you little rascal, what was that kiss all about!?” (Mother)

“Good job! I mean, uhh, don’t do it again!” (Father)

“Thanks! I mean, uhh, I won’t do it again!” (Max)

Me and my father looked at each other and grinned.

“You two…! Dear, what are you teaching our 5 year old son!?” (Mother)

“But I didn’t...” (Father)

Father has an expression as if he was wronged and tried to explain but mother cuts him and started a barrage of words which I decided to ignore.

Looking at Jenny and Rosalline who looked as if they don’t know whether to cry or laugh, I smiled.

“So, how was it?” (Max)

“Eh? Ah...good?” (Rosalline)

“You seriously answered!?” (Jenny)

Also amused, I laughed and made my trademark smile...if I had one…

“Do you also want one?” (Max)

“No!” (Jenny)

“Fufu, you know you want it.” (Max)

“W-wha!? T-that’s not true!” (Jenny)

I just shrugged then asked.

“So, why are you two together anyways? As I thought, you two swing that way huh? No wonder even though both of you are very beautiful, you don’t have any boyfriends at your age!” (Max)

“That’s not it!” (Jenny)

“Haha, Max, we hit off well during the tour and decided to have a girls hang out here to go shopping and such.” (Rosalline)

“That’s true! There’s nothing else to it! We’re just friends hanging out!” (Jenny)

“Suuure~ well, we’re going to watch a movie. Wanna come as well?” (Max)

The two looked at each other with a raised brow then nodded to me.

“Sure, we have nothing else to do anyways other than shopping but that can wait.” (Jenny)

“Fufu, it’s also always interesting with Max around.” (Rosalline)

“Good! Now, mom’s scolding is about to end so let’s tell them.” (Max)

I looked at my parents and saw that they were about to reach an ending.

After mother said what she said, father drooped down his shoulders and sighed heavily while mother turned towards me, seemingly wanting to start scolding me next...not good! Let’s stop her!

“Mom! Jenny and sister Rosalline wants to join us watch a movie!” (Max)

“Wait! Why did you call Rose with sister but not me!? And I’m your teacher!” (Jenny)

“Jenny is Jenny after all.” (Max)

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” (Jenny)

“Jenny, haven’t you learned that it’s useless to argue with a kid?” (Max)

“Says the kid who’s lecturing me!?” (Jenny)

Wow, Jenny is retorting like crazy today. How many does this make?

“Sigh, enough! Since Teacher Jennifer and sister Rosalline will be joining us, let’s go. By the way, what movie are we watching?” (Mother)

I looked towards father but he only shrugged. Naturally, Jenny and Rosalline also doesn’t know...well, we didn’t plan anything anyway.

“Horror!” (Max)

“Well, okay then.” (Mother)

I shall sit between Jenny and Rosalline.

Jenny is definitely the scaredy cat type so I will be waiting for her to cling to me...wait, will she cling to a kid?

Though, I don’t know if my parents, especially mother, will allow me to sit between them…

Somehow, I need a flag…

As soon as I thought that, my mother’s phone rang.

Looking at the caller, she pressed a button then placed her phone on her ear.

“Yes? This is Maria Connors...what!? Is she fine!?...I see...huh?...Okay...good, we’ll be there...alright.” (Mother)

“What happened?” (Father)

“Ben called. He said Ina was kidnapped just now.” (Mother)

“Ben? Ben Drew!? His daughter was kidnapped!?” (Father)

Oh, so it was that huh? Come to think of it, my parents and Ina’s parents are close so it’s no wonder they would call them when such a thing happened.

“Yes, but she’s fine now. Ben said someone saved her but...” (Mother)

“...Was she...” (Father)

“No. No, thank God no. Someone saved her before it happened it seems. Only, her savior is a bit...” (Mother)

“What? Did the bastard demand money in exchange!?” (Father)

Hey! You haven’t even met the guy and you already called him bastard!? That bastard is your son you know!?

Not like I can say that…

Also, mother, stop being so long-winded!

“How to say this...he wore a biker’s helmet and his voice was muffled...called himself as Nightmare...” (Mother)

“A masked vigilante? Seriously?” (Father)

“Apparently, we should head over immediately so we can understand the situation more. After all, there’s a chance that it’s also one of our enemies who was responsible behind the scenes. Also, we need to know who this Nightmare is and what he wants.” (Mother)

...Why do I feel like I’m being treated as a threat here?

...Let’s ask discreetly...I don’t wanna see a plot twist in the future where my family is actually a family of criminals...though I highly doubt it.

“Is Nightmare a bad guy?” (Max)

“Hn? No Max. Since he saved Ina, then that means he’s at least not a bad guy. But that doesn’t mean he’s also good so we need to know him properly.” (Father)

Ohhh, so they were just being cautious...well, it’s not really a problem.

“Then, let’s go now.” (Mother)

“Eh? Me too? But I want to watch a movie...” (Max)

“Max, we can’t just leave you behind. Ina was just kidnapped! You can be too!” (Mother)

“Eeh, it’s fine. Mr. Nightmare will save me.” (Max)

“You...” (Mother)

“Besides, I don’t think they know who I am. Yesterday in the field trip, some people tried to kidnap Ina but failed. I was there too but I wasn’t targeted at all.” (Max)

Hearing this, my parents’ eyes went wide and looked at Jenny and Rosalline for confirmation.

“Yes, that did indeed happen.” (Jenny)

“Right. Also, though I don’t know if it was a coincidence or not, it was Max who prevented their attempt.” (Rosalline)

““Huh?”” (Mother & Father)

“Haha, coincidence, coincidence~” (Max)

The four looked at me weirdly as I laughed.

“Well, we’ll watch over Max in the meantime. After all, it’s my duty as a teacher!” (Jenny)

“I also have some moves on my own in case things get rough so please don’t worry.” (Rosalline)

...Why do I have a feeling that Jenny is unusually excited about this?...Right, her eyes also lit up when I mentioned I want to watch a horror movie…

Ah, could it be that she expects that me, a kid, will definitely be scared and act like a real kid for once?

Heh, sorry to break it to you but, you will definitely be the one shivering in fear! I am immune to such things! After all, I’ve seen real demons and ghosts in the other world!

“But still, we are talking about a criminal organization here. If it’s just thugs then fine. But this is a group that even penetrated the Drew family!” (Father)

“B-but...” (Jenny)

Jenny tried to think of ways to explain but wasn’t able to come up with anything.

This will be solved if I just reveal I’m Nightmare but I don’t wanna.

Still...I want to see a scared Jenny...ah!

“Then how about this? Let’s bring Jenny and sister Rosalline back home and we can watch from there? It won’t be a new movie but we will just choose a good old horror movie.” (Max)

“Oh! That’s also good!” (Jenny)

My parents seem satisfied with this and nodded.

“Good. Then, we’ll drop you back home then we’ll be visiting Ben.” (Mother)

Like so, our trip to the mall ended suddenly and we went back home.

I enjoyed sitting between Jenny and Rosalline on the way back. Especially when the car turns left and right…

Of course, I’m careful so as to not show it on my face. Otherwise, mother will surely scold me…

“Alright. We’ll be back by dinner so behave alright?” (Mother)

“Yes mom~” (Max)

I waved at them as they leave. When they’re finally out of sight, I turned back and looked at the backs of Jenny and Rosalline who are already going inside the house.

Hehehehe...home alone with two beauties? This is going to be fun!

Author's Mumblings

Heyyy~

Before anything else. I'm not a pedo! You know who you are so I won't mention your name *cough*Dan*cough*!

I know that I said in chap 1 that the story will go on as how I imagined myself in his shoes but when I said that, I meant being a summoned guy at 17, dies at 100+ years old, reborn in a child's body, and with OP settings!!!

And is it still called pedophille if the character is 5 and he kisses 5 year olds!?

(This is just me ranting and didn't mean to offend anyone. Mostly just to clarify I'm not a pedo!)

Phew...now that that's out of the system............................umm...I don't know what else to say...

...Oh, like the superhero world thingy setting? I admit, reading Lazy Ash by Kaimcc kinda influenced me a bit. Before, I have a rough idea of making a simple team of magicians but I changed my mind. This plot will give me plenty of ideas which I can use to fill in the gaps before the...climax(?) of the story where I will introduce a VR scenario.

Let's meet again in the next chapter!