From behind Fatty and Serina, came a fierce beauty who daringly exposed her thighs and shoulders. She had her dark red hair tied in a ponytail and kept a whip of the same colour at her waist. Her face showed similarities to Sheila but she had a more domineering aura. This was the oldest daughter of the Riot clan and a core disciple of the Burning Mountain Sect, Rebecca.
"..."
Despite being antagonistic to the Riot clan, Tico knew that he was no match for Rebecca so after glaring intensely at Serina and Fatty, he backed off.
"Thanks, big sis Rebecca."
"Anything for my sweet little sister."
Once Tico was gone, Rebecca's stern face disappeared and was replaced by a gentle expression. Unlike her younger sister, Rebecca only patted Serina on the head, but the love in her eyes was about the same.
Since Rebecca normally acted indifferent even with her family, Fatty was very surprised when he saw how she changed when she first met Serina. However, even when she was like this Fatty still found it hard to speak to her.
"Uh, thanks elder sister. I'll make it up to yo-"
"Don't bother. It wasn't for your sake after all."
As she responded, Rebecca's expression was unchanged, but her tone was obviously sharp.
"Uh, yeah..."
After giving her response, Rebecca once again stayed focus on Serina who had an wry smile. Rebecca looked down and showed a bright smile when she noticed the red sash that Serina had around her waist.
"I'm glad you could pass the test. That sash fits you well."
"Really? Thanks."
"..."
While Rebecca continued patting Serina's head, the two looked like close sisters, completely excluding the blood-related brother from the conversation. Usually he would at least try to insert himself into the exchange, but this time he couldn't find the will to do it.
"Still, I'm sure it wasn't easy to get through the test, so why don't we go home for now and celebrate by ourselves until the rest of the family joins us?"
"That sounds like a good idea."
Without a glance at Fatty, Rebecca walked hand in hand with Serina in the opposite direction to where they were going. But when she passed by Fatty, Rebecca said something at a volume that only Fatty could hear.
"If you can't even protect this girl, then what was all that training for?"
It was a question that was straight to the point, and the worst part was that he couldn't deny it.
'She's right. It would be one thing if I was by myself, but to make her have to stand up for me... If something happened to her I wouldn't be able to look Boss in the face.'
"Fatty?"
Noticing that Fatty was still frozen in place, Serina called him but he only gave a fake smile and waved bye. Serina was going to ask him why he wasn't coming with them, but then Rebecca lifted her into her arms and hastened her pace.
"Let's go. He obviously has something else planned."
Once the two of them were gone, Fatty breathed a sigh of relief before looking around.
"You can get out now!"
It didn't seem like anyone else was in area, but Fatty was sure that he had remained.
"Kekeke, I can't believe you really stayed behind instead of chasing your sister's back. What, did you want to catch up with your old friend?"
Fatty opened and closed his mouth but no sound came out of him. Despite clenching his fists so hard they bled, he still couldn't overcome the fear that was ingrained.
"Ha, looks like cat got your tongue."
This was their second confrontation this day, but Fatty was still unable to respond properly. And this time there was no Serina to help him.
'I can't look at him and speak at the same time, then...'
Fatty lowered his head and closed his eyes while using his spiritual sense to capture his surroundings.
"Huh? What are you- wait, what?!"
Once he got a good idea of Tico's position, Fatty treated his body like a chubby spring and recoiled himself in Tico's direction, slamming right into his gut. Tico was caught completely off-guard without a barrier to defend against the blow, so that one hit took him out.
As he slowly opened his eyes after feeling the impact, Fatty jumped with his hands in the air at the sight of the fallen Tico.
"Yay! I did it!"
Almost as if he had regressed to the mental state of a child, Fatty innocently smiled while jumping in joy.
"Yeah, that'll teach you. This ain't just fat, it's pure muscle baby. Hehehe."
"Mmm..."
"Eek!"
Fatty was elated and relishing in the sweet taste of victory, but the moment he heard a grumble from Tico, he flinched and let out an embarrassing screech. This was proof that even though he had made some improvement, his trauma was still there. However, the belief that his bullies were insurmountable was now gone.
"Tch, damn bastard. How dare you frighten me like that. I'll show you..."
Before leaving, Fatty did a little prank on Tico. By the time he went to bed he couldn't sleep because of how worried he was about the revenge that Tico would definitely try to get, but until then he strutted with pride in his steps.
When Fatty got home, the preparations for the celebration were almost done. His family was more concerned about Serina than him, but the food was enough for him to distract himself. Even if, not just Kane, Sheila and Rebecca, but also his parents were fawning over her.
"That's my girl! I knew you would pass."
"Hahaha! I knew it would have been better to have another daughter instead of a son."
"That's going too far isn't it dad?!"
His mother, a gentle-looking woman with bountiful mature curves, hugging her passionately was one thing, but when his stern and lean father with his well-groomed moustache casually said he didn't want him, Fatty couldn't help taking a critical hit.
"Honey, do you hear something?"
"No, I didn't. Maybe you're just tired Dear."
"Really?!"
"Fufufu, we're just joking son."
"Yeah, how could I not be proud of my youngest son too?"
The way his mother chuckled with a teasing smile and his father replied without looking at him didn't completely satisfy him, but he knew he wouldn't get a better response.
'I wonder if this is what Kane felt like when I was born.'
As Fatty tried to get back to his pile of dishes, he noticed Serina looking at him apologetically and so he shook his head and waved his hand. When his parents were first introduced to Serina, she felt sorry that she seemed to be taking their affection from him, but Fatty reassured her.
"It's fine. My folks really like kids so they tend to be like this when we're young but they get less clingy as we get older. Honestly, I'm surprised they didn't have another kid while I was gone."
With that response, Serina felt better but she would still tell him sorry with her eyes at times like this.
"Hey Fatty, I heard about what you did."
When Fatty had finished eating, Sheila approached him with an amused smile.
"Hmm, what are you talking about"
"You're the one behind that prank, weren't you?"
"..."
Fatty didn't answer because he wasn't sure about what his elder sister thought about his prank. After all, even though she seemed free-spirited, she was still a member of the disciplinary department.
"Kuku, well it's fine if you don't answer since I'm sure it was you based on what I heard from big sis Becca."
"*Gulp*, Am I in trouble?"
"Haha, of course not!"
"Ouch!"
Sheila said he wasn't in trouble but Fatty sincerely doubted that because of how hard she slapped his back.
'Then again, she is a natural gorilla.'
"Are you thinking something rude?"
"No."
"Hmm, well fine. I just wanted to praise you. If you hadn't done something, I would have had to gather enough 'evidence' to get him sent in for some serious punishment."
'...I'm not sure if Tico owes me one or if I should just be glad my sister didn't commit a crime.'