Everyone got into a pickup truck, and Mr. Akira started driving.
Ralph talked to the others on the way, they know each other and have a certain friendship.
When they finally arrived, Ralph looked around. They were far from the Chōji district, and seemed to be in something like an abandoned warehouse.
"Get down!" Akira stopped the truck and spoke.
Akira took the lead of the group after getting out of the truck with a bag in hand and started walking towards a shed.
Ralph narrowed his eyes when he saw that people were waiting for them at the shed gate.
They looked suspicious, they looked like genuine bandits.
Some smoked, some played cards, and others watched the surroundings.
Everyone had weapons in their waists.
-Now that I remembered ...
Memories came to Ralph's mind.
When Imamoto finally started working in the workshop, he started to notice suspicious things happening, and as he grew up, he realized that Mr. Akira was involved with bad people.
Although Ralph did not know for sure what kind of connection he had with those men even with Imamoto's memory, he knew that their relationship was not so simple, and was surprised since this was the first time that he was called by Akira to something like.
A big man with an intimidating expression stopped playing cards with the others and stood up as he said.
"Akira, you bastard ... I thought you were going to kill us with your delay!"
Akira snorted and tossed the bag he held in the direction of the man who had spoken.
"There is the money as we agreed, Hajime the bastard." Akira spoke with a serious tone and a solemn expression.
The man who received the money and is called Hajime got angry and shouted:
"You are a bastard! Your family is a bastard!"
Despite looking annoyed, a smile slowly appeared as he counted the money bills in the bag.
After checking all the money and with a big smile, Hajime said:
"I never doubted you, brother! The merchandise is waiting for you in the shed. I hope I can continue doing business with you!"
Akira nodded and said nothing more.
After entering the shed, Ralph saw a truck with a container.
Akira went behind the truck and opened the container door, inside were several boxes.
"Ralph, you've been working in the workshop for a long time, and I think you deserve to know about our other business." Akira suddenly spoke while looking at Ralph.
Ralph frowned and was silent.
Akira opened one of the boxes, and Ralph saw that there were pieces of all kinds inside. Akira then opened another box, and inside were large radiators, in another box there were alternators ... Inside each box were truck parts.
"Times are difficult, and the government makes our work difficult. The pieces sold legally are loaded with so many taxes that it is almost impossible for us to keep the same price on our services ..." Akira continued.
At that point, Ralph had an idea of what that meant.
"I buy these parts from a car-cutting gang." Akira spoke up and looked seriously at Ralph.
Although the current Ralph is not an Imamoto, it is as if thousands of lightning strikes had hit his head.
"You must be wondering my reason for bringing you here, right?" Akira asked with a smile.
Ralph nodded slowly.
"The reason is simple, I want you to make a choice ... Are you going to stay in my workshop even though you know the risk you have, or are you going to leave? I won't blame you if you want to leave, you're young and a good guy , I don't want to ruin your future. " Akira explained slowly.
Ralph frowned, and didn't respond right away ...
The problem is that he is not an Imamoto, he does not need to take any risks due to Mr. Akira's grace with Imamoto.
He's not afraid of the police, but he needs a stable foundation in this world to grow up, and he doesn't need a stain like complicity in a crime.
However, when Ralph thinks about leaving the workshop, a confused mood arises inside him, he remember all the grace that Mr. Akira blessed Imamoto, as if it were with himself.
This is undoubtedly the influence left with the memories of Imamoto Ralph.
"I ... I need some time to think." Ralph spoke with a reluctant expression.
Akira looked deeply at Ralph and sighed.
"Okay, there's no need to rush ... Let's go." Akira said as she got into the cab of the truck and started it.
Ralph went to the truck with the rest of the group and went back to the workshop.
At the workshop, after Akira parked the truck, they started unloading everything in the container.
After they finished, Akira took the truck back to the shed where they had picked it up.
After a night of work with the others, Ralph came home all sweaty and wearing a grease-stained suit.
It was almost midnight, and he wanted to practice a little but was too tired for that.
After taking a shower and putting on pajamas he went to sleep, while thinking about the future.
It was Saturday when he woke up, he got up and followed the routine.
Today he would only have classes until noon.
When he arrived at school, he looked for Aoi, he had a question.
Aoi was sitting in the front as usual, and he went to her after leaving the backpack in his place.
"Good morning, Aoi-san." Ralph greeted Aoi, who looked at him with his head tilted to the side.
"Good morning ... Do you need anything? Ralph-san." Aoi asked.
"Yes, I have a question." Ralph spoke and snapped his fingers.
He covered the area with an illusion, so that no one could overhear their conversation.
Aoi realized this and was internally jealous of Ralph's skill, it was just so practical.
"So, what's your question?" Aoi asked with her arms crossed, making her breasts slightly more prominent.
Ralph pretended not to have seen this to avoid being called a pervert and looked Aoi in the eye as he asked:
"Have you heard of latent energy?"
Aoi was expressionless for a second but then widened his eyes and asked:
"What kind of latent energy?"
"The one inside our body." Ralph replied calmly.
"... Where did you hear about it?" Aoi asked as she narrowed her eyes.
"I read it in a book." Ralph responded casually, not caring whether she believed it or not.
Aoi looked at Ralph suspiciously and said:
"Right? Well, as far as I know there are very few books that talk about it."
Ralph sighed and said:
"If you answer me, I will consider it as a favor."
Aoi's eyes shone for a brief moment and she said with a smile:
"Since you want to know so much, there is no reason why I shouldn't say what I know."
"Hmph!" Ralph snorted and started listening to Aoi's explanation.
Latent energy is a term used in many situations, but if it is the latent energy of a living being, things get interesting.
The knowledge of the existence of latent energy in living beings is almost as old as the knowledge of Aura.
Latent energy is one of the driving forces of a living being, and also serves as a 'fuel' for Aura.
One of the two origins of Aura is life, and latent energy is part of life.
Over the years, humanity's knowledge of latent energy has grown.
The greater the latent energy of a living being, the greater the physical and mental resistance. In addition, a greater amount of latent energy means greater Aura power.
In fact, in the process of strengthening the Aura itself, a person's latent energy also increases indirectly, but it is a slow process.
Although there are methods of practice to exclusively increase latent energy itself, none are cost-effective, requiring more time than other means of practice.
In short, greater latent energy means greater power in the Aura. This is almost everything Ralph wanted to know.
After thanking Aoi for the explanation, Ralph returned to his own place and sat down.
Putting a hand on his chin, he pondered.
-Latent energy involves a much larger area than I imagined ...
The gray sword he used possibly absorbed his energy, and so does his skill.
-Unfortunately, there is probably no way to earn stats points in this world, or else I would advance much faster.
Ralph thought with a sigh.
He suspects that the reason for the slow progress with the illusion ability is the low stat intelligence.
Ralph then shook his head and got rid of the distractions. During classes that he found useless, he spent time thinking about the manual he is following.
He urgently wants to feel his own Aura, only then will he be able to advance in this world.
When lunchtime came, Ralph had an idea and looked at Aoi with narrowed eyes.
He thought about asking her to have lunch together, with the idea of asking for tips on how to feel Aura itself.
But after a few moments, he gave up on the idea. He didn't want to appear irritating to a possible ally. They had barely known each other, he couldn't be pissing her off whenever he needed something.
He got up from his place with the schoolbag and started walking out of the school.
He decided to have lunch somewhere nearby, and then go to the workshop to work. He had bills to pay after all.
He decided to have lunch at a restaurant called 'Doce Lux', the place had a pleasant atmosphere and a good reputation.
He took off his blazer, and put it in his backpack, it was getting a little hot.
When he entered the restaurant, one of the attendants answered him.
He chose a place to sit and looked around.
There were some students from the same school as him, but he didn't recognize anyone.
After choosing something to eat and ordering and he started thinking about what to do over the weekend, it was a good opportunity to explore the city.
He could work in the morning and in the afternoon and go after interesting things in the city at night ... For example, bandit dens.
He thought of several ways to make quick money, steal bandits, cheat in a casino, work as a hit man ...
Sure, he doesn't plan to kill innocent people, but there are a lot of people out there that he would be grateful to kill, even for free.
With his knowledge of the deep web, it wouldn't be a problem for him to be an assassin.
He could buy a laptop and make it safe to use. He had learned how to create an almost military-grade security system in his original world.
Honestly, he could create an even better security system if it weren't for the lack of appropriate equipment.
And now, with his skill, he had complete confidence in not being caught by the authorities even though he worked as a murderer.
In addition, an important factor is information. He can obtain large amounts of information by working as a murderer.
But after great consideration, he decided to start only after he had some control over his Aura.
An essential feature of a killer is stealth, and his Aura is like a sun in the eyes of experienced Aura masters.
"Err ... Your order, sir." A female voice woke Ralph from the trance.
He looked to the side and saw a young woman with long black hair and blue eyes. She didn't look Japanese but had some oriental features.
Ralph noticed that she looked a little nervous and smiled as he said:
"Thanks for the hard work."
The young woman smiled and put Ralph's order on the table, with the chopsticks and a soda with a glass.
After emptying the tray she was carrying, the young woman sighed with relief and said:
"Have a nice lunch, if you need anything just call me, my name is Jane." She said and pointed to the identification on her chest, which had her name on it.
"Hmm." Ralph nodded with a smile and started eating after saying "itadakimasu".
The girl went to meet other customers.
While eating, Ralph continued to think about the plans he should follow.
He should set aside time to practice the manual, and another time for work and school.
There was also the issue of the school club, Monday was the last day to decide, and Ralph thought about joining the math club.