The atmosphere at the table was joyous. Dinner had turned into a mini celebration party. Harry had never had a pizza more delicious. It is said that the same food eaten alongside different people will taste different.
Hence, it was inevitable that the taste would be memorable for Harry because sitting around him was the group of people closest to him.
After dinner, the boys had fun playing video games on the PlayStation. Harry wasn't so good at those and lost miserably. At 10 pm sharp, a grumpy Harry sent the boys to the guest room and told them they had to wake up at 4 am.
Everyone groaned, moaned, whined and complained. Thus, Harry had to bring out his trump card. He only said one phrase, "£10,000 fine for latecomers."
As a result, the boys hurried to change. Harry found the door of the guest room almost slammed on his face.
It's funny how materialistic the world can be sometimes. The naive angels that these orphan kids are, are discriminated against by the society. Then these kids don't remain so naive anymore. At the bottom of the society, they learn the hard way that money is power. They might develop some bad habits, distorted world views or develop traumas that affect the rest of their lives.
Fortunately, Harry's friends had found good guardians who instilled the right values in them. Hence, they're sensible and mature unlike kids their age. These boys worry about their careers from an early age.
£1,000 in the P country's currency was enough to start a small business with potential. Hence, these misers could never escape Harry's monetary trap. It was really too much money to lose for these kids who had no hope of earning such an amount themselves.
An amused Harry walked back to his room. He went to bed in a good mood, eagerly anticipating the next day.
"I say you should have become an actor." Maria chirped in Harry's ears before he could fall asleep.
'Hey, I just convinced everybody with money the way we planned.' Harry grinned.
"So what are you going to do when these guys demand that 1 million and learn that they spent the majority of it on their training?" Maria continued to pester Harry.
'Well, Grandpa has spent so much money. Just take a look at those high-level machines doing their thing to turn the fields into an excellent pitch. The workers are top professionals as well. The boys will understand.'
"Don't dodge the question."
'Well, with the system to help, they will definitely become professional footballers. I would only need to manage their training. Meanwhile, you will manage my training. Hence, you are the actual boss. So our failure is all on you. Therefore, isn't this your headache?'
"Nice thinking, but you forgot that I am an A.I. that exists in your brain. He-he"
'Damn girl, don't be so petty. Anyway, did you forget that the secret account from my past life has about 6 million £ inside? It's more than enough to pay these fellows 2 million $ each. Although, I do wonder where that money came from. Wasn't I just a small lawyer?'
"Directly taking away the money for one year. You're truly the grandson of a businessman indeed."
'Expenses Girl, these are expenses that were cut and a lifelong lesson for them to carefully read all the terms of whatever contracts they sign.'
"Whatever you say. So did you ask your grandpa to inform their guardians?"
'Yes, I did. Grandpa has sent one of his secretaries already. Hey, Maria! Have you lost your memories? I just told Grandpa yesterday how I would like to help these fellows financially.'
"No, that's you. The one who has lost his memories. However, I really don't have many memories of what you have done this past week. Remember, you asked me to upgrade the system on your first night in this identity?"
'Yeah, but what about it? Hadn't the system been upgraded by the next morning? I just got a lousy Stat Detector from that. I even used that detector on my friends today to find out the position they would excel in.'
"Well, since that night till today, a large part of the system's power was busy upgrading me. All because of that detector."
'What do you need an upgrade for? Aren't you already perfect?'
"Nah, nobody's perfect in this imperfect world."
' .... '
"This upgrade is a security measure to protect you. It ensures that people don't find the abnormalities in the improvement of your football abilities. It also prevents others from detecting the discrepancy between your training time and ability enhancement.
All in all, anyone suspicious would just relate it to your inborn talent and hard work."
'Was there really a need for this security measure?'
"If you were born in a normal family, then yes, you wouldn't have needed this security measure.
However, after the upgrade, the automatic threat detector was also enhanced. It uses the stat detector to find the stats of people near you. As a result, a new complicated threat was found."
'Hmm, I see… Wait, that stat Detector only detects the stats related to football. What threat can it detect?'
"The system is unlike the user, who can only detect stats of people who play football. The system can see the profession of people and the stats relating to it. Consequently, it has found out that your Grandpa has Special Agents protecting you in the shadows. You're constantly monitored."
'S-s-special AGENTS???'
"Yes and the best kind of them as well, at least S Rated according to the system's grading system."
'That's bullshit, this body died on the field that day. Where were those agents at that time?'
"I don't know the reason. I have only learned this by eavesdropping on your grandpa. Maybe there is a traitor in their ranks because there was a fault in the agent's communication system. Those at the school in the city had no idea that you would leave for the village early in the morning.
Coincidentally, it was their time to change shifts when you left. You were gone by the time the agents on the next shift came on duty.
Nobody in the village knew of your return until you called after your arrival. Hence, no agent was around while you strolled in the fields and finally slept there forever."
'I remember Grandpa inviting me to stay in the village for vacations via a letter. It was only at the platform I realized that the train ticket I received was for the wrong destination. I went to the ticket counter to change.
Back then I suddenly felt unsure if Grandpa had other plans. You know how he stays away for business trips sometimes. I remember spending one summer at a hill station in the northern areas. So I took out my phone to call him, but somebody knocked into me.
My cellphone fell and broke. I couldn't call grandpa. I didn't remember his number either. So, I couldn't check if he had made a mistake with the ticket or not. Hence, just to be safe, I took a ticket to the K Village and returned here.'
"I see, maybe someone used that time window to demand something unreasonable from your father. It's a 4-hour journey, after all. Perhaps that's also why your Grandpa hurried to the village and hasn't left since. He must be worried about you.
On a side note, I can't believe you don't remember your grandfather's number. These days, 5-year-old children are taught to remember the number of one of their guardians."
'Or maybe little Harry was poisoned at the station and died in the village. You know, he was perfectly healthy. A heart attack while sleeping for a 15-year-old, doesn't this sound like a crazy man's talk to you?'
"It might be some failed attempt at kidnapping with the kidnappers unwilling to show themselves. Instead, guiding you to their den. Whatever the case, your grandfather is definitely heavily involved with the government. He might even be the director of the national intelligence service."
'Or he might be running a crime syndicate. Look at all his property.'
"Nah, he doesn't look like a criminal. Don't be so negative. He might be a businessman involved in a business that directly affects the nation's economy or the technological sector or the military. This might just be security offered by the government."
'It's useless to think about this. We are getting way off-topic. There are two points to note. One is that grandfather has enemies and someone might be after my life. The second is that I might have spilled the secret of my past life or the system with the way I'm being monitored.'
"Well, the system will help you when you are in immediate danger. Let's forget that point. About the second point, that's where my upgrade comes in.
The new features enable me to connect to people in the world through the internet. I can even do video calls. This is a security measure to ensure that people don't find your training manuals or videos suspicious. There's been a background story set-up about me and you meeting online. I'm your trainer.
Hence, people monitoring you will eventually come to me to confirm their suspicions. Now, I can easily communicate and dissolve their doubts."
'Wait, how do you video call people? You don't even have a body?'
"That's not a difficulty for the system. I am just a string of data that is portrayed as a living person through the help of programs."
'Okayyy...'
'Oh no, those agents must have found out the information about that bank account. Crap!'
"No, they didn't. They have only tried to do so. However, that's an account in that infamous bank of the S Country in the E continent. They won't find any details of the account as it's the most secure bank to ever exist."
'What should I do? They'll be suspicious.'
"Don't worry, the background story of you and me will dissolve all your current problems. You'll understand once you listen. You really need to learn to be patient."