Brandon and Alia arrived at the market. After the calamity, malls were still under reconstruction.
They reverted back to their old ways.
Public markets.
"We should split up."
"Why?"
Alia asked.
Brandon looked around. They seed to have gathered quite the attention as all eyes fell on them.
However, it wasn't because of him. Most probably, because of Alia.
"Ah~ So pretty~"
"Anyone know who she is?"
"I know the blondie. But who's the white haired beauty?"
Should be the case.
"I'll get unwanted attention if I stick with you."
"Huh? Why?"
"Look."
He nudged his chin. Alia followed his direction, and found several n sneaking glances at her.
She was used to this by now.
Everywhere she went, she would always attract attention because of her looks.
"It's because you're beautiful."
"Eh!?"
Her eyes widened and she flicked her head towards him, speechless.
She was used to these kinds of complints.
But she didn't expect that kind of comnt from soone like Brandon.
Especially Brandon.
However, she didn't disagree with him. Being with him would only attract unwanted attention.
And at the mont, Brandon was trying to stay low.
With such thoughts, she nodded.
"Alright."
But she was a professional.
Probably.
He was a guy much younger than her, a two year gap.
Plus, he was the younger brother of her best–friend.
She shouldn't be swayed by his words.
And so, with such thoughts, she silently composed herself, and the two parted ways.
***
"Whew."
Brandon breathed out a sigh.
Alia seed reluctant to leave. But he couldn't have that.
Most people in the human domain knew who Alia Constantine was.
Just being with her would probably expose his identity sooner or later.
And so, he had to make that flirtatious comnt just so she would leave.
Of course, he could've done sothing else.
But teasing Alia was fun.
Brandon looked around. There were several officers on patrol.
The one person he didn't want to run into was none other than Raven.
Since Raven was now part of the Special Force, he was tasked to patrol around town.
Hopefully, he wouldn't run into him here.
But for precautionary asures, Brandon donned a black hood.
And with that, he began shopping.
There were items he needed to buy for the journey to be smooth.
First was…
"How much for this fur coat?"
"Three gold coins, Maam."
"...."
Maam?
'Shit.'
But, he could monopolize this situation.
"Kuhum…"
He cleared his throat.
"...Any discounts?"
And raised his pitch.
"Uh—Yes, of course! Sorry, the pricing was wrong. It's actually one gold coin."
"Deal."
And the transaction proceeded smoothly.
The next item was…
"How much for this?"
Brandon pointed at the black colored gloves.
"A single gold coin, sir!"
Finally, soone didn't think he was a girl.
However…
'Why are all the prices here inflated?!'
It must've been because of the lack of resources at the mont.
The human domain was still in its progress for recovery.
"Enjoy your gloves."
The next on his agenda was to stock up on food and other survival necessities.
He still had a lot of money left from investing in Deus Company, a little over a year ago.
Was the business still under operations? Brandon was unsure.
But at the mont, the business' survival was not his priority at the mont.
Deus Company was now supplying shiftporters. Surely, the governnt placed grave importance on them.
"A hundred of these, please."
"This."
'That."
"Any discounts?"
"This."
"Thank you."
And so, he had finished restocking.
The only reason he was able to buy a substantial amount of supplies was because he had the system's inventory.
He had already taught Alia on how to use her inventory. Hopefully, she was able to use it to its full potential.
Most likely, Carl and his sister didn't have the money for such supplies.
And so, Brandon bought enough for all of them to share.
"Ah."
He raised his head up. It was starting to snow. Snowflakes gradually descended down and landed on his palm, lting shortly after.
Truth be told, he was excited.
He wanted to venture out into the world.
And though he had to escort a bunch of kids, it was fine.
Hopefully, he was strong enough to protect them.
And Alia was with him every step of the way.
Tomorrow…
Would mark the start of a new journey.
***
Inside a rundown ho. Several cracks etched on the cented wall, unpainted. The window was nothing but shattered glasses.
Thud!
A tall man with a round belly kicked Carl straight in the stomach.
"Kh…!"
"You dare talk back to when you're due the deposit for this place?"
The man was none other than the landlord's henchn.
Before the calamity, Carl, his sister, and the adults that were with them rented this place.
But when tragedy befell, the adults had died during the calamity.
Danger lurked from all over outside the domain, due to this, Carl and his sister were unable to return to their village.
That is… if there was still a village to return to.
Stuck in the human domain for the past few months, the landlord was kind enough to allow them to stay, just as long as Carl and his sister put in the work.
In exchange for their labor, they were allowed to stay.
However, there were so inconsistencies with their deal.
One, Carl put in the work, but the landlord still charged them half of the agreed transaction.
And since Carl had no money…
…He was t with beatings every day.
Every. Single. Day.
His little sister was too young, so every work was up to Carl.
There, he could see his little sister, standing by the door. It seed like the man was about to go near her.
Frightened, Carl yelled.
"Don't touch Emi!"
The man turned around and glared at him.
"Fuck are you talking about…? Looking for another beating?"
However, Carl glared back and that was when the man beca furious.
Thud! Thud! Thud—!
And after a few minutes, the man finally got sick of him and left the room.
"Huuu…"
Carl rested on the cold hard floor and stared at the ceiling. Blood dripped from his nose, but that was it.
The man was smart enough to not leave any scars, or any visible injuries on his body.
This was life in the slums.
".....Emi."
He spoke under his breath.
He turned his head to look at his little sister, who was walking close to him.
Just like Carl, the two shared the sa features. Black hair, and black eyes.
Emi was a little over five years–old, while Carl was fourteen.
"Emi. I'm sorry you had to see that."
"Big bwother, okay?"
"I'm fine, Emi."
Carl got up.
"Big bwother is strong, see?"
"Un! Big bwother is the stwong!"
Emi was young, and so, the entire ordeal should be incomprehensible to her.
Hopefully.
And so, the two siblings hugged each other. Caressing her soft hair, Carl spoke in a sorrowful tone.
"Don't worry, Emi."
He looked around.
"This life will be over soon. Kind people are willing to help us return to the village."
"Weally?"
"Yes."
"Yay!"
Again, hopefully.
Carl had only wanted to confirm whether the village was still there.
Thoughts of returning to the village plagued his mind everyday, after the harsh life he had to live with Emi for nine months.
If the village was there, then he could at least stop these thoughts.
For the sake of his peace of mind.
Closure.
But for now, all he really wanted was to leave this kind of lifestyle with his little sister.
Anything was better than living like this.
The two continued to embrace each other, basked under the moonlight.
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