Elliot would not require anyone to follow him. After all, he would be going to a different country, with another culture, speaking another language, and they would not know anyone there. It was too big a step, especially for someone who was not willing to leave everything behind and start over in a completely new place.
They soon resumed their discussion about the robberies that would be done. Elliot suggested that he go along when they robbed the mayor, but no one agreed. He would need to be at the auction, after all, he was the one who appeared as the owner of the map, it would be suspicious if he wasn't there. Then the discussion began about the robbery that Stella would be in charge of.
She didn't give many details, but said that it would be incredibly beneficial for when they went to Amerid. Elliot didn't ask much either. If Stella thought it necessary, she would say so, Elliot didn't want to force Stella to talk about her plans. Everyone spoke their opinions about the next steps they would have to take, and decided that the auction should take place in a month.
After hours of talking, everyone was tired from the long day, and was ready to call it a day. Everyone was leaving, with Bruja and Stella being the last to leave. But just as Stella was getting ready to leave, she saw a hand on her shoulder. Looking back, she saw Elliot looking at her.
"Bring your things here tomorrow. As long as you don't get married, you will live with me." Elliot said.
Stella was speechless. Wasn't this new brother of hers a little too obsessive?
"Can I take back the thing about you being my big brother?" Stella asked with a strained smile.
"No."
Elliot pulled Stella's body around and hugged her. She was surprised by the sudden action, but soon returned the hug. Stella was 5.4 feet (1.65 m) tall, causing her face to be buried in Elliot's chest during the hug.
"To me, family is something more sacred than any god. As long as I exist, you will lack nothing. I'm a little possessive, but nobody's perfect, right?" Elliot said as he stroked Stella's head.
Despite having so many brothers and mothers, Stella never felt protected by them. Stella doesn't remember her mother, as she died when Stella was only months old. The only person who passed security to her was her father, and even he couldn't seem to be a safe haven for Stella. But Elliot had something about him that made him seem like the most trustworthy person in the world. It's as if even if they threw the entire weight of the world on his shoulders, he would still bear it all with an indifferent expression on his face. Stella sank her face even deeper into Elliot's chest and surrendered to this warm feeling she felt.
***************
It had only just dawned, but Elliot was already standing shirtless as he exercised. Finishing his push-ups, he sat on the floor panting.
[Ding!]
[Daily mission completed!
Reward: 5 Exp]
"Why is this system so stingy with these rewards?" Elliot muttered.
He was trying really hard, you know? Couldn't the rewards be a little better? Elliot got up and went to take a shower while cursing the system with every swear word he knew.
Elliot put on a wine suit with a black inside shirt. He went to the phone and called the boy who acted as his driver. While waiting, Elliot saw the door being opened and waited with his hand on his gun to see who was coming in. As soon as he saw who it was, he relaxed. Margot entered wearing a black suit, similar to the style of suit Elliot usually wore. Seeing her clothes, Elliot gave a small smile.
"What a stylish person you are." He said.
"You mean these rags? My clothes are all in the laundry, that was the only clean clothes." Margot replied with a smile.
The two talked for a while, and Elliot noticed Margot's uneasiness. He didn't touch the subject and just waited for her to say of her own accord. Just as Elliot had expected, after a pause, Margot sighed and looked into Elliot's eyes.
"I spent the whole night thinking about what you said, about visiting my mother and brother. I really don't know what it will be like to see them after so long...I'm afraid, Elli, afraid that they won't recognize me anymore." Margot said.
Elliot knew that Margot is a strong and proud person, and seeing how fragile and helpless she looked, he knew that this subject was on his mind. Elliot sighed internally. In Elliot's mind, this whole matter seemed simple, but he couldn't downplay the suffering Margot was feeling.
"I can go with you, but I won't go inside and I'll just walk you there. All you need to do is spend a day with your mother and brother, and when you're ready to come back, you call my driver and I'll pick you up." Elliot said.
A beautiful smile broke out on Margot's lips, she jumped up and sat on Elliot's lap and started kissing him several times, then hugged him. Elliot just smiled and returned all the affection. After a few more minutes of waiting, the car arrived and Elliot and Margot drove off.
The destination was not where Elliot killed 5 men, but the house where he spent his childhood and most of his adolescence. It was a middle-class residential area of H-town. It was a nice place to live. Remembering why he had to leave the house he grew up in, Elliot was filled with hatred but forced himself to calm down.
As he walked through his memories seeing those familiar streets, Elliot barely noticed when they reached their destination. In this timeline, Elliot had left his home only a month ago, but for the Elliot who went back in time, it had been 6 years since he left this place. Seeing the people in the streets, children playing, feeling that air, and seeing that sky, it was all very nostalgic for Elliot.
In a simple house with a small garden, a woman who looked like Margot in a more mature version, was tending to her flowers. She hummed a melody that sounded sad and desolate. She wore a worn dress, a dress that went out of fashion at least 40 years ago. Her eyes looked tired, almost lifeless.
She looked at Elliot's car with eyes of no curiosity whatsoever. When she saw Elliot getting down from the car, finally some expression was seen on his face.
"So you are little Elliot who has come home. How have you been?" She asked in a hoarse voice.
"I'm very well, Aunt Dulce. And you, ma'am, how are you feeling on this fine day?" Elliot tried to smile, but it seemed a little unnatural.
"I'm great! Too bad you didn't come sooner. My son was asking about you just yesterday, but he went out with his friends a little while ago." Dulce replied.
"Oh, I didn't come to take up his time. I'm just keeping someone company." Noticing that Margot would not get out of the car alone, Elliot gestured, and the driver opened the door.
Margot got out of the car a little awkwardly and looked at her mother. Dulce couldn't believe her eyes. Tears flowed down like rivers, she put her hands to her mouth as she couldn't utter a word.
"Hi, mom...I'm back." Margot said
"Is that you Margot? Are you really...my daughter? My Margot?" Dulce approached Margot.
She walked with weak steps, almost stumbling. Holding out her trembling hands, Margot tilted her face down to let her mother touch it. When Dulce touched Margot's face, she seemed to confirm that this was indeed her daughter. She hugged her growing child. She cried like a child, clinging to Margot's clothes and crying her heart and soul out. She felt the strength in her legs weakening. Margot held her mother's body and squatted on the floor with her.
Seeing this scene, Elliot knew it was time to go. He gestured to Margot, who was also crying and got into the car. Elliot planned to get maps of the entire city today. Maps of the sewers, maps of public buildings, and constructions. Elliot wanted to gather as much information as possible, to create a plan free of flaws, or reduce the mistakes they would make to a very low number.
While looking at the streets from the car window, Elliot saw something that caught his eye. He asked the driver to stop and quickly got out of the car. He saw a dog, and this was a breed he knew well. Elliot found it interesting because, in the current era, you don't eat animal meat anymore. All meat sold these days was synthetic meat, and the only people who still ate animal meat were people who lived in the countryside and could not afford synthetic meat.
Because of synthetic food, which is consumed all over the world, it became increasingly rare to see animals raised by humans. It was no longer common to have pets either, as it became more common to have robots, such as robot cats and robot dogs.
Getting out of the car and approaching the frightened dog, Elliot observed him. He was still a puppy, maybe 3 months old. The dog was black, with amber-colored garlic. Although he was still a puppy and completely frightened, you could see the strong muscles that his body possessed.
While the driver stood two steps behind Elliot like a guard, Elliot crouched down beside the dog. Elliot gave the dog his hand to sniff, and after the dog saw that Elliot was not a threat, the dog allowed Elliot to pet him. Elliot spent a few minutes playing with a dog, and then he saw it was a male.
"Do you want to come with me? Hm? So you are a male? It's decided, your name will be Tin!" Elliot said as he took Tin in his arms and walked back to the car.
While playing with Tin, Elliot looked out the window of the moving car, and what he saw this time made his eyes widen. A tall, shaven-headed, muscle-bound man was strolling through the busy streets of H-town as if this town belonged to him. Even if Elliot lived another 100 lifetimes, he would still recognize this man. Brance, head of the prison guards that Elliot had spent 6 years of his life in.
What was he doing in Brezik? Elliot had no idea. It never crossed his mind that Brance was Brezikian. He had no Brezikian traits, and he couldn't even speak the Brezik language. Maybe he was here on vacation? Why he was here didn't matter to Elliot anymore, what mattered was that he was here!
Looking at his driver, Elliot gave a lopsided smile and spoke:
"Stop the car a bit Jimmy, today is a beautiful day. Why don't we take advantage of it?"
Jimmy, the driver, felt chills down his spine seeing Elliot's smile. But still, with a trembling voice, Jimmy replied:
"Yes sir, it really is a beautiful day today."
Stopping the car, Elliot let Jimmy look for a place to park the car, AND walked down the street with Tin in his arms while following Brance.
"Ah... what a beautiful day for sweet revenge. Hahahaha!" Elliot said in a low voice.