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

“I... I didn’t mean that!”

As Kairen left the building, the captain ran behind him.

“I didn’t want to upset you! I really wanted you to live in that building!”

“Thank you, but I can’t accept that.”

“I’ll rent the place for you from my mom!”

“No.”

“I’ll ask for extra money from you each month as the rent.”

“...No.”

.....

“I will make things hard for you by being a trashy landlord!”

“...N-no!”

“I will throw your stuff in the streets if you pay the rent even one day later than the arranged monthly date!”

“W-what? No!”

“I’ll ask my mom to play loud music all day and jump up and down at 3 A.M right on top of your bedroom.”

“...D-don’t do that to anyone please...”

Captain Neal grabbed Kairen one more time when he was about to leave the building.

“I said it’s not a charity! Why are you like this?”

“I don’t want to depend on the others all the time.”

“But it’s not depending on the others!”

“Thank you for the offer, but I can’t accept it.”

“....”

Kairen stepped out of the building, but he once again stopped walking after hearing the captain’s words.

“But you should think about that kid as well!”

“....”

That kid?

Kairen tilted his head.

‘Does she mean Ariyan? How the hell does she know about him?’

Seeing Kairen’s face, the captain coughed again.

“Ahem! I mean, when you are out for missions for a few days, who is going to take care of him? Will you leave a little kid at home all alone?”

“...”

That was also Kairen’s question. He had asked the commander to give him some time before starting the missions so that he could find a solution to that problem.

“My mom can help you out! She is really lonely! I’m sure she will be more than glad if she can look after someone!”

“....”

Kairen stared at the woman’s face.

“Why do you want to help me out so much?”

“...I don’t.”

She lowered her head.

“You know... about the war...”

She clasped her hands together.

“It has just started, but I’m sure the clashes will reach the cities and even the capital as time passes. Our homes won’t be safe if the war gets more serious and doesn’t end soon. I don’t live with my mom, so I’m worried about her.”

“....”

“You being there will make me more at ease about her safety.”

She suddenly raised her head.

“I mean, you could even block one of those bombs! You can look after my mom as well, right?”

She stared at Kairen with expectation in her eyes.

“I know I’m being shameless, but I just thought it would be good for both of us.”

“....”

Kairen thought about his master’s words.

‘I’m being hired as a guard!’

That was the first thought that crossed his mind.

“What about your mother’s opinion-”

“She will be more than happy to finally rent the first floor!”

“...You’ve talked to her?”

“No!”

She shook her head, but she had a face that said she was sure her mother would have no objections.

“....”

Kairen was speechless. What was happening to his life? He didn’t want to depend on the others again, but the offer was really... tempting.

He would be glad to find someone to take care of Ariyan but... He didn’t feel that it was right! Why is his master’s mom suddenly becoming Ariyan’s... nan? Nope! That was too rude! He wasn’t that arrogant!

“Uhm...”

No, maybe he was...

Still, he couldn’t leave a kid with a woman he had never ever talked to before even if she was his master’s mom!

Wait, is doing this really right? What about the things that Reyan said back then? He said that people shouldn’t know Kairen was captain Neal’s student, but now he is going to live at her mom’s house?

“What about the thing you said... about others getting mad at you for taking a student or something?”

Kairen stated what was his mind right away.

“Living in my mon’s house has nothing to do with you being my student though. A lot of people have lived there already over the years. Some of them were ordinary people, relatives, or friends, and some were even my subordinates. No one cares what my mom does with her house.”

“...I see...”

Kairen nodded his head in understanding.

“So? Your answer?”

“Um...”

He scratched his cheek.

“I’ll think about it.”

The captain seemed upset that Kairen didn’t answer her right away, but she still smiled and nodded her head.

“....Okay.”

“Then, I’ll take my leave...”

This time Kairen managed to finally leave the place and head to Ariyan’s kindergarten.

Of course, he didn’t arrive on time despite all his struggles.

“Hey, Ariyan~”

Calling out the child’s name, Kairen ran towards the only kid still standing in front of the kindergarten’s door.

“....”

The little boy glanced at him once before walking toward him with small and slow steps.

“Hello?”

.....

“....”

“Hi?”

“....”

“Sir Ariyan?”

“....”

“I’m sorry.”

“....”

“Don’t sulk!”

“....”

“I am really sorry! Please!”

“....”

“Sigh!”

Kairen was ignored the whole night.

. . . . .

‘Should I really accept the offer?’

Toss

Kairen threw the papers aside and leaned back in his seat. He had been trying to focus on working since earlier, but he couldn’t stop thinking about other things.

He had already done the work Glenn had asked from him so he was free. He wanted to search for some new spells in SMF’s archive of magic to find anything new, but he couldn’t concentrate.

‘Is it really alright?’

The reason he wanted to move out of Kain’s house was simple. He felt suffocating in that house. Everywhere he looked, he could see the empty place of Alessia and Kain. Every time he entered the house, he expected a warm voice to welcome him, but he was instead welcomed by silence. He just wanted to run away from that house.

The same was true for Ariyan. Living in a house that constantly reminded him of his gone parents made him even more restless.

Ariyan still didn’t know what had happened to those two. Kairen didn’t have the courage to tell him and he also didn’t think that such a young kid would understand. As a result, Ariyan kept waiting for them to return. He still thought that they were on a mission and asked Kairen about the time his parents would return every day. Kairen felt even more guilty seeing the kid wait for his dead mother, but he was scared of telling the truth to him.

Kairen thought if he could take the kid away from that house, then maybe he would feel a little bit better. He knew for sure that if the house was changed after his parents vanished all of a sudden, the kid would face some discomfort, but that still wouldn’t be as much as him seeing the signs of his two parents all over the house and getting reminded of their absence every second.

Of course, Ariyan wouldn’t forget his parent solely by switching houses.

Also, if he could find someone to get close to Ariyan, the kid would feel less lonely. He had some friends in the kindergarten, but those kids wouldn’t be enough to feel the absence of his parents. Sure, no one would be able to take his parents’ place for him.

‘But isn’t it being too... clingy?’

Captain Neal was literally scammed by deputy team leader Bray into being Kairen’s master! And now, Kairen wanted to go live in her mom’s place?

‘Argh, it’s embarrassing!’

He didn’t want to rely on people! From living in Kain’s house to living at his master’s mom’s house! It was super embarrassing!

Why was he so poor when he was almost 24 years old? Kain had a house at his age! And a car! And a wife! And a son!

‘He was working from an early age so...’

Unlike Kairen, Kain, as well as others who didn’t have the unique power of ‘Spirit’, didn’t attend the academy. Actually, the academy was only for mages and aura wielders.

The others had other ways to learn how to use their abilities. There were several special trainers for each power and a lot of institutes to teach people. There was also one special academy built for other unique powers that had a complicated system to teach all of those people who had different powers and of course you needed either a lot of money or a scholarship to get in there.

As for Kain, he was raised at SMF’s orphanage, so he got educated there and had been working for SMF even before officially joining unit 6. He started to work even before he was 18.

‘Back then he suffered a lot...’

Kain was a young boy, yet they sent him on missions where he had to fight or even kill people... because he had a powerful unique skill.

He was frightened in the first days.

When Kairen arrived there, Kain had already been sent to a few missions, but Kairen still remembers how some nights, Kain would wake up from sleep in tears, screaming and apologizing to the people he had to kill.

After coming back from missions, he would curl up in a corner and not eat anything for half a day or even more. Back then Kairen had to struggle a lot to make Kain eat his food.

Kairen was really sick back then. Once when he was trying to persuade Kain to come out of the room and eat food, Kairen fainted from the sudden fever that struck him. Kain was so frightened by that that he didn’t ever skip meals again.

“Tsk!”

BANG

“That stupid bastard!”

He slammed the table with his fist after being reminded of the fool who was now asleep in a hospital room all alone.

“...Um...If you feel tired you can go home...”

Flinch

Kairen almost jolted up.

“Uh! A-Ahem! Glenn! No! Not tired at all!”

For a moment, he forgot that Glenn was also in the room and cursed loudly. Glenn must’ve thought that Kairen was referring to him... or something like that judging by his reaction.

“You’ve done your job so-”

“No no! I still have things to do!”

Picking up the papers again, Kairen resumed his search for greater magic spells.