[Third-person perspective] [Friday – Island X] [6:40 p.m.]
On that same date and at the same time when the sun always set and painted the buildings with its reddish light, a certain group of students met in different cafes.
The one who held those meetings was none other than Mirai Shiva, leader of the group known as the "society."
She wanted to create ties with the members of her group for two reasons, the first, to have powerful connections within the academy once she graduated from the academy and the second to have enough power to overthrow her older sister, Hazuki Shiva, if she managed to make her plan succeed she would have enough power to crown herself as the successor of the Yamato guild
Within the society there was a girl who shared the same nationality, Hanami Sasaki, daughter of Hiroshi Sasaki, a great businessman who leads the technology market in Japan and has connections with the leader of the Mictlan guild, one of the top 10 guilds in the world. She managed to gain his trust several months before the academy exam took place.
She, along with Damian Connors, are two fundamental pieces for her plan to work. The former only saw the meeting as a mere chat between friends, the latter always coldly rejected it and looked at her with great hostility.
This time, the meeting was at a popular cafe north of the academy near the shores of the artificial island.
Right now, the only ones present were Isaac and Mirai, the latter of whom stared at the green-haired boy with a smile, hoping to charm him with her charms.
-How have your grades been, Isaac?-
-Normal as always-
-From your personality, it seems you're not happy unless you're in first place-
Shiva spoke with great interest, taking advantage of the fact that he rented the cafeteria so that the meeting could start. As they both arrived a little early, they were talking about personal things to avoid getting bored.
-I'm not interested in that. I just want my grades to be good enough-
-Okay-
*Clang
*Click
A doorbell rang, then the sound of a button clicking. The two students turned toward the door.
Suddenly, the cafeteria, which had been a bit dark, lit up.
The one who entered and activated the lighting was Hanami, who was wearing blue jeans, an open green shirt along with a yellow polo shirt. She dressed like a man and walked like a man, but her elegant figure made her more charming than any other woman.
-Oh, Hanami, I see you're a little early today-
Isaac waved. Hanami approached and spoke after glancing around the shop, noticing the clock, noting it was 6:38 p.m, two minutes early
-Yeah, I was a little bored locked in my room with nothing to do, but... where are your lackeys?-
Hanami knew very well that Isaac Arden was the type of person who liked to have lackeys. These followers were generally children of guilds, and despite the fact that he labeled them as "friends," the hierarchy in their relationship was very clear; he didn't see any of them as equals.
-They're training for the midterms-
-Do they have brains?-
Hanami said with a sarcastic comment.
-It doesn't matter, but how did you do on the written exam?-
-Are you making fun of me?!-
-No, I would never do that. I only asked because the kids were preparing-
-That's different, I'm talking about the combat exam, who cares if you're good in theory-
-It doesn't matter, but it's a shame I thought Damian was coming-
*Clang
-And speaking of the King of Rome-
The door opened and Damian Connors could be seen, he was wearing black jeans and a red shirt, everyone looked at Damian with surprise since he was not the type to accept invitations, he was a quiet and almost neutral guy, the only one they saw interacting with him was Hajime
-I see that you decided to come to my meeting Damian, I'm very happy about that-
-Enough rambling, I only came here to find out what you were up to-
Shiva started to get a little nervous, tricking or inciting Damian to do something was almost impossible since she always knew what would happen, unlike everyone Damian is a serious boy and always trained his skills hard, rarely taking a break to go to a party
Besides being nervous deep in her heart she was grateful that he arrived, she didn't really like the fact that those two were talking, when Isaac talked to Hanami it seemed that only he believed that Hanami was the only one pushing Mirai's existence away somewhere else.
-By the way, do you know Alan Harwey?-
Hanami said, at that moment her focus dispersed and her ears opened, Shiva inadvertently joined the conversation.
-Alan Harwey?-
-Yes-
-What's going on with him?-
Hanami's face became severely contorted.
-What do you think of him, Shiva?-
Shiva Mirai felt her heart sink. At first, Alan Harwey would have said, "I don't care" or "He's a lunatic."
But things changed.
There was something strange about him. She wasn't sure, but it wasn't that simple. He had something hidden. He had already demonstrated his abilities on more than one occasion, but she still wanted to know more.
-To me, he's just an average guy-
-Wait a minute. Who's Alan Harwey?-
Damian asked, a little confused.
-He's student 876, you should already know him. Black hair, a tuft of hair sticking out, blue eyes, and an average appearance-
Shiva said without hesitation.
At that moment, Damian fell silent. From Shiva's description, he already knew who it was: that guy from the exam who had lasted so long against him, the one who couldn't have gotten first place because of him.
-That bastard is hiding something-
Hanami said, roughly grabbing the coffee cup. Shiva got a little nervous and started gulping at Hanami's reaction.
-Why are you so angry?-
This time Isaac asked, his face had a smile as if he thought it was cute that Hanami was angry but at the same time he wanted to fix the problem that affected his friend in his own way.
-Didn't they tell you? A Daemon appeared at the hotel where the travel club was staying during that incident, that bastard...-
With that, Hanami unconsciously used her magic power to warm the cup of coffee and gulped it down in one gulp.
-God, that's hot! Water! Water!-
She was complaining in pain, Shiva gently comforted her, feeling a knot loosen in her heart.
-Hanami, you unconsciously heated the coffee. Do you dislike that guy that much?-
-Yes... I hate him so much. In fact, I consider him my natural enemy. You've heard that everyone has a nemesis at some point in their life... Well, now I see that I'm no exception to the rule-
-You haven't changed, have you? You're still a little silly and trying to act smart-
Isaac started laughing at Hanami's speech as an employee quickly ran over with cold water.
-Here-
In a few seconds Hanami grabbed it and drank it.
-Aaagh, that hurt, how I envy my father for having [resistance to fire]-
Damian started to laugh a little without anyone noticing.
After Hanami recovered, he continued with what he left off.
-That Daemon was stronger than I thought, Hajime and I, even I…-
At that moment, Hanami stopped once again and looked at her listeners because what happened back then was embarrassing, she didn't want to talk about it in detail.
-…Even I struggled a little, Hajime is a different story but can an ordinary student in quotes inflict fatal damage on a Daemon?
-What exactly happened?-
-I don't want to go into detail, but I just want you to know that guy cut off both of his arms. Both of his arms! That Daemon had very tough hide, and he cut through it with ease. I could barely see because of the blinding glare-
Cutting off two arms of a Daemon specialized in resistance was no easy task, it was hard to believe without seeing it in person.
Shiva began to reflect while rubbing his chin. He had seen the boy's swordsmanship in action. It was true that his cuts were strong and precise, but it was difficult to know if he had the necessary power to cut off a Daemon's arm.
-Oh wait-
At that moment, Hanami suddenly adopted a serious tone, her eyes seemed nervous and she was hesitant to speak. Naturally, Damian, Isaac, and Shiva noticed her.
-Could it be that Alan is a Daemon?-
-It's impossible. A Daemon can't attack another; it's one of their rules-
Damian said, breaking the atmosphere. He knew from experience that he wasn't a Daemon, having faced Alan in the past
-Yes, and the academy's security would have noticed in time and eliminated him-
Shiva replied.
-Mmm, I think they are right, I accidentally drew a conclusion-
-Think about it, if you accuse someone of being a Daemon without evidence it is very possible that your reputation will be heavily stained-
Damian spoke trying to help Hanami since previously those who accused others of being Daemons lost all credibility and the only thing they would get was contempt.
The girl scratched her hair, making a mental note for the next time she makes an impulsive comment since with the last thing she realized that she got a little carried away by her emotions.
***
[Alan Harwey's Perspective] [Saturday – Island X]
Right now I'm using a laptop to create a brokerage account. Unfortunately, I wasn't an adult yet, but as a Wellston student, it was too easy to open an account.
After creating it, I started working.
I transferred my money to my new brokerage account, exactly 3000 dollars from the previous hunt, fortunately I was left with some money to survive, I opened the stock trading program, the guild stock market only worked on weekends to differentiate it from the regular stock market
[Black Skull Guild]
This guild has been advancing very quickly lately. It's the guild John recommended to me, as he told me he felt the money in that small guild. Each share was worth about $200.
By now, I'd prepared myself so much that I knew the tricky stuff, like short selling stocks, short buying stocks, and price fluctuations, etc.
Now I've bought all the shares I could.
[14,148 shares of the "Black Skull" guild purchased]
It didn't take me long; I'm now the majority shareholder. I just hoped this would work and make me rich quickly.
After that, I turned off the VCR and started praying that I'd get rich quickly, praying to God that my luck would turn this time.
Suddenly, I received a message on my VCR. Upon seeing it, I sighed in sheer annoyance.
-Hooray for me...-
I spoke sarcastically.
**
[Saturday – Washington D.C.]
The weekend sky was clear. Early spring feels cold, but it's balanced by the warmth. I couldn't enjoy this beautiful day because I had to go to the American Association in Washington for having subdued the Daemon, and I'm not the only one who will be there.
Hanami Sasaki will come to the Association tower, and that means there will be fighting and hostilities on the part of the girl.
But everyone will ask.
Alan, why are you going there if that odious dwarf is there?
Simple, because they'll give me money... killing a Daemon can give you a lot of money, and I need money!!
[Mr. Alan Harwey, we are the American branch of the hunters' association. We want you to come so you can be rewarded for your cooperation in subduing the Daemon in the hotel.]
This is the message I received after returning to my dorm.
The award ceremony was held inside the guild tower, and many people were already gathered. However, the award ceremony didn't seem to be about to begin. Hajime, Hanami, Miguel, and I were forced to rehearse the ceremony because we were about to receive praise from a dignitary. However, that dignitary arrived late, and we were forced to wait.
Currently, Hanami was on my right side, and Miguel was on my left. I could feel the girl's gaze, which had no good intentions.
-…-
-Happy?-
I started yawning because I was bored, but Hanami was looking for any excuse to argue, so she finally snapped at me and I answered
-What?-
-You've had that goofy smile for a while-
«I want to kill her!»
I started to get angry, I had to endure his provocations for a long time, even I have a limit.
Miguel grabbed my shoulder and then whispered to me.
-Brother, calm down, she's just a little girl wanting a fight-
«Fuck everything, even if she is a woman, I will not allow you to take advantage of those privileges unfairly... I am a faithful defender of gender equality, a defender of justice!»
I was so bored I kept forgetting where I was until I remembered something to annoy her about.
-You didn't forget, did you?-
-What?-
The girl's words were like thorns. I spoke while looking into my eyes without fear.
-I saved your life. Anyone would say, "Oh, thank you," but you act so childishly, it's pitiful-
-…-
She was angry, but she shut her mouth at my comment, only to explode in anger.
-That's it, I'll beat you up!-
-Oh yeah, come on, fight, dwarf. This time I'll cut off both of your arms!-
-Do it if you dare because I'll put an arrow through your...!-
-Hanami, calm down!-
-Brother, don't succumb to anger, we'll humiliate her later!-
Miguel and Hajime were separating us to prevent a fight.
-...Hanami, please switch seats with me. You'll be on the far right next to Miguel-
-What?!-
Hajime said, trying to solve the problem at its root. It wasn't my fault our seats were in the order of Hajime, Hanami, me, and Miguel.
-What if I don't want to?-
-Hurry up, please-
-No, I don't want to...!-
The fight between those two didn't last long, only a few seconds, and Hajime replaced the seat next to me, and Miguel was now next to Hanami.
The blue-haired boy looked at me and let out a dry cough.
-Thanks for the Daemon-
-What did he say?-
I remained silent for a few moments. I just wanted this to be over quickly, but why did he talk to me? I don't even know him well.
-If it weren't for you two, I don't know what would have happened to the civilians-
Hearing those words, I felt my ego swell to the max, and I put my face right in front of his.
-Hey, of course you wouldn't have won without me. Miguel and I were the only ones who weakened him that much!-
-Yes... I understand, but please keep your face away from me.
After that, the dignitary finally arrived.
-He's here, everyone, get ready.
I felt a strong presence; a huge mana was slowly approaching. When I saw who the speaker was, I couldn't believe it.
It was Haruto Kenshin, better known as "The Thunder Berserker" one of the 100 strongest in the world, an S-rank hunter
His blue-black hair was curling slightly upwards, his beard was unremarkable, but at the same time his gray eyes shone brightly, his presence alone made the mana he gave off distort everything in his path, reaching a level of fighting that he could barely control it
-Mmm…-
He looked around with his predatory eyes.
His mere presence made the guests who were heading toward him retreat in fear.
He ascended the podium in a dominant manner. His assistants rushed over and handed him a paper with the order of the ceremony. The hunter clicked his tongue, looked at the paper only once, and then burned it with his strong mana. After that, his assistants fled in terror.
Now the awarding ceremony began.
The host announced the beginning of the ceremony.
-The coordination will be awarded to the 30th ranked player in the world rankings, Haruto Kenshin of the Sacred America United guild-
He four of us stepped onto the podium as rehearsed, but we were nervous about standing in front of a world-renowned hunter.
I could see the hunter's expression as soon as he saw Hajime.
-You're the 1st ranked player, Hajime Aikawa-
-Yes-
Haruto looked Hajime up and down until his eyes widened.
-Now I understand why most of the guilds want you... but to me, you're just a boring guy. Pure men are the least interesting-
Haruto said, showing a small mocking laugh.
Next was Hanami, who was very nervous about being face to face with the hunter.
-You've grown a bit, Hanami-
-It's been a long time, sir-
-I see. I'm glad you're okay. I still hate that you don't take advantage of your potential. Remember that, never ask me for anything again until you overcome "that"-
-Sir, I...-
Haruto just turned away, not listening to Hanami's words. She was trembling with nerves. Reducing Hanami to such a pathetic state was worthy of an S rank.
-...Wow, you two are so interesting-
Now the words were for Miguel and me
-As I see you are trying too hard to be better, that is notable, climb the hierarchy in the end only you can achieve it and leave behind that stereotype of low rank and never become a bootlicker-
I thought this guy didn't give praise but I was wrong.
He gave us a little incentive to be better and that made me happy, Miguel's face was with a big smile of satisfaction.
I think I'm satisfied with this result.