Life didn't get easier, even in another world.

Kairen looked up at the ceiling.

“W-will they...”

He pointed at the huge hole created in the training ground’s ceiling with a finger.

“Will they charge me because of that?”

He turned to his master, looking at her with scared, teary eyes.

“Sigh!”

Captain Neal sighed and shook her head.

“They may and they might not.”

.....

Kairen’s hand dropped down.

“So they will...”

Captain Neal looked at the boy’s ragged appearance as she shook her head again.

“Why did you even do that? There was no need to use so much energy in a simple training! You couldn’ve just told me that you can now hold more power than before!”

“I...”

Kairen scratched his neck.

“...I Just got excited. And it’s also that, I hadn’t tested my new power until now so I didn’t know I wouldn’t be able to cancel it! And... I also like to show you my power not just say it...”

He glanced at the broken debris all over the place.

If it wasn’t for captain Neal’s shields, he would have been crushed and died by that broken debris.

“Also, I didn’t even use one-third of it! I didn’t think it would be this powerful...”

No, maybe even lass that one-fourth of his power.

“People will come here soon...”

The sound of the explosion was so loud that he was sure that people would rush there at any moment to see what had happened. Thinking about the situation he would be in and also the money he would be charged, Kairen wanted to sit down on the ground and cry. He regretted all of the things he had done up until now in his life.

“What happened?”

“This place just exploded!”

“Oh my god! The ceiling!”

“Is everybody alright?”

Just as he expected, people rushed into the training ground one by one, and all of them were shocked by the loud noises they heard a few minutes ago.

The people who entered the place stood at the door upon seeing captain Neal. They then started to repeatedly look between the captain and the broken ceiling.

“Oh, sorry!”

Captain Neal stood in front of Kairen as she talked to the people.

“Something went wrong during training, but there is nothing to worry about.”

She canceled her shields and walked to the exit. She also gestured for Kairen to follow her.

“So, if you excuse me...”

She hurriedly left the training ground through the second exit.

“Are we running away?”

That was Kairen’s first question after they left the building.

“Of course not!”

“I thought we ran away not to be charged...”

“Do you think they wouldn’t find out who broke the ceiling if you ran away?”

“...They would?”

“Of course!”

The captain continued to walk in the vast yard of the headquarters while Kairen still followed him behind.

“Also, I don’t think they would charge you because of an incident that happened during training. These kinds of incidents are not rare. Such things happen a lot when you are dealing with people who have unique powers, even more, when you are dealing with the agents of such an organization.”

“Then... I won’t be charged?”

Tap

Captain Neal halted.

“Is all you think of is whether you will be charged or not?”

“Well, what else am I supposed to think about right now?”

“Maybe about the power that caused such a mess??”

The captain crossed her arms and glared at her student angrily.

“Also, even if they request any money, I’ll pay it off.”

“...Yes?”

Captain Neal turned around and resumed walking.

“I said I’ll pay it so stop going on about being charged, it’s annoying.”

Kairen also followed her.

“No, why would you pay for it? It’s my fault!”

“You are my student and I’m responsible for your mistakes as well.”

“But-”

“Shut up already and follow me to another training ground!”

“....”

Kairen looked at the furious woman’s back and nodded his head although she wouldn’t be able to see him and kept following her in silence.

A few minutes later, they were standing at the entrance of another training ground. SMF’s headquarters was huge. The main building at the center was surrounded by smaller ones that each had a purpose. And as the place that probably contained more unique power users than anywhere else in the country, there were enough training grounds built to be enough for everyone’s use even if all of the agents decided to train all at once.

“Be careful not to blow this one off!”

Captain Neal said as she walked inside.

“...Yes.”

This training ground looked exactly the same as the last one. Except for it being a little bit further away. There was nothing different between the training grounds all over SMF’s headquarters.

“So first, can you control that power like mana? You could use it in casting spells before, what about now?”

“I’m not sure...”

“Use it instead of mana and try casting a spell.”

“Yes.”

Kairen did as he was told. After that, he was told to do another thing and after that the captain made him cast another spell.

Instead of sparring with each other, they spent hours testing and investigating Kairen’s power.

“So in the end, it’s like a much more powerful mana.”

Captain Neal assumed that after seeing Kairen cast spells with the power. He had to struggle a lot, but he managed to cast even mid-level spells with the energy.

“Isn’t there a way to stop these things from popping up?”

Tap Tap

She poked one of the cracks with a broken piece of a wooden training target.

Sizzle

The crack shook and turned to dust.

“I’ve tried a lot before, but nothing worked.”

“I guess you need to know more about how your power works if you want to do that.”

.....

“Yes.”

“Then, let’s start with-”

“Um, master.”

Kairen interrupted the excited captain.

“Actually, I have to leave now.”

Seeing the woman tilt his head and frown, Kairen hurried to explain.

“I have to pick up a kid from the kindergarten, and also there are other things after...”

Like struggling to cook dinner and playing with the naggy and sulky kid the whole night.

“Ah!”

Captain Neal nodded her head.

“I understand.”

“Then I’ll-”

Grab

Before Kairen could rush out, captain Neal grabbed his arm.

“Wait for a moment.”

“Y-yes?”

“Ahem!”

The woman let go of Kairen’s arm and coughed.

“So... I heard that you were looking for a house?”

“....”

“....”

“....”

Kairen opened and closed his mouth several times before he could spit out a few words.

“...Where... Did you.... hear that from...?”

“Ahem!”

Captain Neal coughed again.

“F-from a friend.”

“....”

‘A friend?’

Kairen screamed inwardly.

‘But I’ve only talked about it with Serria!!! How could your friend know about it?????’

That goddamned Serria. How is it that the whole SMF knows about the thing that Kairen and her had chatted about privately??

‘I should have a conversation with her tomorrow...’

Kairen clenched his fists.

‘A really serious conversation...’

Kairen looked back at captain Nael.

“Yes. I want to change houses. Why?”

The woman looked around, at the air, and her shoes, and then at Kairen again.

“I... might know a suitable place for you.”

“...For real?”

All of Kairen’s hatred towards Serria vanished all of a sudden.

“Where? How is the place?”

Captain Neal looked at Kairen’s sparkly eyes and then looked away again.

“Um... You know... There is a building in the city center...”

“....”

The joy in Kairen’s eyes faded.

“The city center? Too expensive!”

“Ah, no!”

The woman waved her hands in the air.

“It’s not expensive at all! It might even be free!”

“Then it’s a scam!”

Kairen shook his head.

“N-no!”

The captain’s face was getting redder and redder as time passed for some reason.

“It’s just that... the house is for someone I know...”

“...Oh! Whose?”

Once again, captain Neal looked at the walls and the floor.

“M-my mom’s.”

“....”

“I mean, my mom lives on the second floor and no one lives on the first floor. You can use that place. The building is big and is also in a nice neighborhood!”

“....”

“M-my mom is also there so you won’t be in a completely unfamiliar environment. Ah, no you don’t know my mom at all so you will be in an unfamiliar environment... But she is my mom so it should be better than other places...”

“...”

“Anyway, she is a really kind and warm person so I’m sure you will get close soon enough! She will also help you adjust to the place!”

“.....”

“.....”

“.....”

The two of them stared at each other’s faces.

“Ahem!”

Captain Neal coughed and lowered her head, her face already as red as a tomato.

An awkward silence had descended all of a sudden and she was more than uncomfortable at the moment.

“Thank you captain Neal but...”

Kairen nodded to captain Neal before turning around.

“I don’t need charity.”

He said that and started to walk out of the training ground with big, hast steps.