After the mission was over, I returned home and got scolded by my mother. I did tell her that I will return late. But it was way too late for her I guess.
"You're not being a good example for your sister!" Mom said.
I am though. I'm the bad example that Reina shouldn't follow. And I think I already did a really good job at it. She even became an honor student at school.
Though I can't say anything to my mom when she's like this. Logic and reasons are useless. So I'll stay quiet and nod.
"Oh, Mom. How about you let me live on my own? I'm going to leave the house in a few months after all. Attending Hero Academy. Then you don't have to wait for me to return home late at night," I suggested.
"You live alone? Where will the money come from?" she asked.
"I came late because of my job. And once I attend Hero Academy, I should be allowed to enter dungeons and get money from there. It's nothing much. I just leave home earlier than expected. The Hero Academy is not close anyway," I said.
"Hmm… I'll ask your father about this later. And you need to tell Reina about it as well. No matter how bad you are as her brother, she's the one who is worried about you most," Mom said.
Well, if it's her, I think she will be fine.
And asking my dad? He will agree with it. It means one less mouth to feed at home.
This way, I can live alone and do job whenever I want. I don't have to worry my parents when I return home late.
Maybe I'll get a house instead of an apartment. A beach house sounds great. I need to save a lot of money first before that.
After I took a shower and returned to my bedroom, I checked the app to see if there are any commissions with great reward. There are a lot of them. But I'm sure they will be more dangerous than today's mission.
First I need to get stronger. Just a level 5 warrior already gave me a lot of trouble. I need to at least reach level 3 in any class before I can take most of the missions.
I have defeated a level 5 warrior today. I didn't kill him. But I feel a surge of strength in my body. Is this what it means to get stronger by experiencing difficult battles?
I heard that if you're lucky, you can increase your level without having to experience any battle. Just by regular training.
But if I can get more experience while also doing regular training, wouldn't it be great?
The next morning, I was woken up by Reina's scream. I went down to the living room and see what happened.
"Rei, what's wrong?" I asked.
"They're disbanding!" she said as she pointed at the TV.
In the entertainment channel, the story of a popular girl band called Wishing Well is being told. And it says that the group is being disbanded.
That is to be expected after everything that has happened. But where is the news about the president involved in human trafficking case?
I'll ask G about it later.
"You like them?" I asked Reina.
"My friends invited me for their concert tonight. But who would have thought that it would be their last concert. Just what happened?"
She doesn't know that her brother was involved in this case. And I don't have the intention of telling her right now.
Maybe I need a new secret identity for doing this job. It's not exactly legal after all.
But they will still have a concert tonight? After what happened? Well, they are pretty strong.
After finishing breakfast, I returned to my room. And I got several missed call from unknown numbers.
"G, who are those calling me?" I asked G.
There's no reply for a while. But soon after, a female voice came from my phone.
[You think I'm with you all the time?] G asked.
"Just a guess. But I was right. So who are they?" I asked again.
[They are from the members of Wishing Well including their manager. You saved them after all. So they probably wanted to thank you,] G said.
Then I got another incoming call. G told me that it's from Anita. The manager of the group.
I saw her last night. Being surrounded and stripped naked. But those men hesitated when they see Anita's body covered in burn marks. Why though? She's still pretty. And in this world, such scars can be healed, right?
Oh, wait! I remember about magician class!
It says that if you find the right magic attribute, even a basic magic will be stronger than usual. Does it mean that I'm talented in healing magic? And normal healers usually unable to remove scars?
Well, I need more experiment to know that. For now, let's pick up the call.
"What's up?"
"Oh, you finally picked it up. Are you okay? G told us that you're fine. But your opponent was stronger than you," Anita asked.
"It's okay. I won after all. So why are you calling me?" I asked again.
"After what happened, we decided to disband after our concert tonight. If possible, we want you to come visit us for the concert. At least meet us after the concert. We'll give you a backstage pass. We want to show you our gratitude," Anita said.
"A free ticket? That's a tempting offer. But you should have known that I'm only half a fan. Do you even have a lot of good songs? I only heard your singles and not your other songs in the album after all," I said.
"Sorry about half our singles being bad. Anyway, I heard that you didn't get any reward for saving us because it's not part of the mission. So we decided to pay you—"
"I'm coming! Should I come see you right now instead of waiting for the concert?! I can go there and talk about money!"
Of course I accepted it. There's no reason for me to refuse money. And I should be leaving my house soon. Even if I'm not allowed, I will still leave anyway in a few months. My acceptance to a Hero Academy is pretty much guaranteed with my current skill. As long as I don't bottle the practical exam, I should be fine.
"…If you're free right now, you can meet us. The location is not far from where the concert is so you can meet us right away," Anita said.
"Alright. Oh, wait. Can I bring my sister? She's a fan," I asked.
"Sure. You can bring your sister with you," Anita said.
"And please don't tell her anything about what happened last night. Just tell her that we're friends. She will believe it," I said.
I'm friends with homeless people and a biker gang. There's no reason Reina wouldn't believe that I'm friend with a girl band.
She's asking the others' opinion about this. And they all agreed to let me invite my sister to come. As for our discussion about the reward I will receive, it will be done in private later. Reina won't be there. And I can just talk with Anita alone.
[Nice. You got a free VIP concert ticket, a backstage pass, and the reward from last night. Why didn't you invite me as well?] G asked.
"You'll be there whether I want to or not anyway. And don't look. I'm going to get changed right now."
Then I go down to the living room again. Reina is still there playing with her phone.
"Reina, we're leaving right now," I said.
"Where to?"
"Somewhere good."
She didn't bother asking me anymore. She's getting ready right away.
"Dad, I'm taking the car!" I shouted to my dad who is watching TV.
"Return with a better car, okay?!"
"Sure! Only if you won't ask questions where I get it!"
"Wait, no. Please don't. Just return with the car again. If it's you, I think you can even steal a car without anyone noticing."
What a shame. That is true though. I can steal a car without getting caught.
Once Reina is ready, we left together. And our destination is the agency that will disappear soon.
G told me that Bob and the others are taking care of the aftermath while making sure that my involvement will be left out. It's good to trust Bob. Because he's a good person.
The Slum was originally created by Bob to make the world a better place. So he gathers information and using them, he will clean up a lot of bad things in the city.
Well, that was at first. Though I don't think he changed much from that. It's just that the illegal organizations in the city are more controlled thanks to him. So those organizations still exist. But they're afraid of Bob.
"So, where are we going?" Reina asked me again.
"You'll see."
And we reach the location soon after. When we enter, everyone is busy cleaning up the place. But I ignore them and walk to the training room where those girls are waiting.
How surprised will Reina be when they see them? I want to see.