Rain was walking lazily with both hands behind his head while quietly enjoying the beauty of the clear blue sky above him. Anyone seeing him like this would probably think he was peacefully relaxing without a single care in the world.
That however wasn't the case at all.
"Damn it… how am I supposed to get points now?" he murmured irritably while staring directly at the floating screen with annoyance visible all over his face.
[Remaining Points – 0]
That giant "0" felt like a deadly arrow piercing directly through his heart.
STAB!
Rain's soul almost left his body on the spot.
He looked exactly like a defeated kid whose favourite treat got stolen by his brother and there was no use complaining.
[Don't worry hubby… you will earn some points… eventually…] With an awkward smile while sweat slowly formed on the on her face, clearly not even confident in her own words.
Rain silently stared at the screen.
'…Just look at her.'
His confidence somehow dropped even lower afterward.
But before Rain could continue suffering mentally, something else suddenly distracted him.
"Rain! Rain!"
Someone was loudly calling his name from nearby.
"Hnnn… now who the heck is calling me…" Rain muttered lazily before turning his head toward the person.
As his eyes landed on the figure, it turned out to be Clytie.
"Oh. It's you."
Clytie instantly revealed a bright smile before happily grabbing Rain's hand.
"Let's go eat some tart today! You aren't full right!?" she asked excitedly while already dragging him away without waiting for an answer.
Rain could only stare at her with a deadpan expression.
Afterall… he really did say himself that he would eat with her next time. Even if it happened while he wasn't paying attention at all, words once spoken still had to be carried through somehow.
"Are you Rain Brightwell? I was looking for you."
A heavy deep voice suddenly came from behind Rain.
The moment that voice reached Clytie's ears, her previously cheerful smile instantly disappeared completely. Fear visibly appeared on her face as her body trembled slightly before she unconsciously let go of Rain's hand.
'…?'
Rain immediately noticed her strange reaction.
He didn't understand why she was suddenly acting like that, but the moment he turned around and his eyes landed on the person behind him, he got his answer instantly.
"This must be…" Rain murmured softly with an almost unrecognizable expression on his face, his eyes looking strangely hollow for a moment.
Standing before him was a tall middle-aged man with long pale-blond hair tied loosely behind his back, sharp red eyes, and a neatly trimmed beard and mustache giving him a calm yet dangerous appearance. A dark coat rested over his shoulders while black straps crossed over his white shirt, making him look less like a normal person and more like someone used to authority.
The man's eyes slowly shifted toward Clytie standing behind Rain.
A faint smile appeared on his face—
The kind of smile that definitely didn't bring anything good for certain people.
"Now I'm sure you must be Rain," the man said calmly. "Forgot to introduce myself. How rude of me."
He placed one hand over his chest slightly.
"I am Bam Yellow… Clytie's grandfather."
Clytie murmured fearfully, "Grandpa… what is he doing here?"
"Grandpa…"
The moment Rain confirmed those words inside his head, the previously hollow look on his face became completely recognizable again.
Without a doubt it was a satisfied, almost evil grin spreading across Rain's face.
'HAHA… never expected YOU to personally come to me!'
'Why is he here!? Why!? WHY!? WHY!?' Clytie kept repeating those words fearfully inside her head while her body trembled slightly.
Rain quietly grabbed her hand.
The moment she felt his hand holding hers, Clytie instinctively looked toward him.
'Rain…'
For some reason, the fear inside her heart lessened slightly and her trembling gradually stabilized.
Meanwhile Rain looked directly toward Bam Yellow with a grin still resting across his face.
"And what if I am?" he said confidently without even a shred of hesitation in his voice.
"HAHA! Don't be so hostile toward me, young man," Bam said with a small laugh.
But as he continued speaking, his eyes gradually became sharper while the smile on his face somehow turned far scarier than before.
"Not like I'm going to eat you."
'Like you even can, old bastard,' Rain thought coldly as he clearly understood the hidden meaning behind that joke.
"Can we talk for a moment?" Bam asked calmly.
The moment those words left his mouth, Clytie's fear visibly deepened again. She quietly clenched her other fist tightly as if trying to force herself to stay calm somehow.
"Why not?" Rain answered immediately, the same confident grin still resting across his face without fading even slightly.
Clytie hesitantly reached her hand toward him like she wanted to stop him, but the fear inside her was far greater than the courage needed to actually say the words out loud.
Rain however didn't move from his place at all as he gently grabbed Clytie's hand before resting his other hand over her head with a soft pat.
Clytie's eyes widened slightly from surprise as her trembling slowly lessened.
"…Rain…" she murmured softly while unconsciously holding his hand a little tighter.
"I'm not in the mood today. We can talk tomorrow instead," Rain said confidently while looking directly into Bam's eyes without even the slightest hesitation.
A brief silence filled the surroundings afterward before Bam suddenly let out a soft laugh.
"Haha… aren't you quite the bold young man?" he said while narrowing his sharp eyes slightly. "But I like it. Fine then… tomorrow."
As Bam slowly turned around to leave, his eyes suddenly shifted back toward Clytie once again.
That smile returned naturally onto his face.
The same calm smile that somehow looked more terrifying than open hostility itself.
"Would you like to have dinner with me… granddaughter?" he asked gently.
The moment those words reached her ears, Clytie's body instantly stiffened. Fear visibly returned across her face while her fingers unconsciously tightened slightly.
"I-I w—"
Before she could even finish speaking properly, Rain casually rested his hand over her head again before gently patting it.
"No. She can't," Rain answered calmly for her. "She already has plans with me."
Bam quietly stared at Rain for several long seconds.
For some reason the atmosphere itself felt strangely heavy during that silence.
But eventually Bam simply smiled faintly again.
"I see."
After saying those simple words, he finally turned around completely and walked away without looking back again.
As the old bastard finally disappeared from sight, Clytie looked like she wanted to say something and slowly opened her mouth hesitantly toward Rain.
But before she could properly speak—
Rain suddenly raised his hand and lightly chopped her head.
BONK!
"Ouch!" Clytie immediately covered her head while glaring at Rain pitifully.
Rain simply smiled calmly with a satisfied face.
"Aren't we getting late for the tart? Let's go already. Afterall, it's your treat."
Clytie blinked slightly before slowly realizing what Rain was doing.
He wasn't asking questions.
He wasn't trying to pry into her secrets either.
Somehow… that alone made her feel strangely relieved inside.
"…Thank you," she murmured softly in an almost inaudible voice before her usual energetic smile quickly returned again.
"Yes! Let's go!" she said excitedly while grabbing Rain's hand once more before dragging him away happily.
---
Rain was walking down the street lazily when he suddenly let out a loud burp while rubbing his stomach.
"I ate too much… it was seriously delicious."
But soon his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
'…Maybe I should try making some myself?'
[Hmph!] she puffed her cheeks angrily while glaring at him.
"Hey hey… what's with you now?" Rain asked with an awkward smile while continuing to walk casually.
[Hubby is bad! You didn't give me any! I don't want to talk to you anymore!] she declared while intentionally looking sideways to avoid Rain.
Rain immediately let out a tired sigh.
"Okay fine then… really what a pity. I was actually thinking about buying some for you too, but if you don't want it then what can I even do?"
[What!? Seriously!? You aren't joking right, hubby!?] she instantly asked with drool almost coming out while her eyes sparkled brightly.
"Did I ever lie to you?" Rain said confidently while his fingers quietly crossed behind his back.
'…Okay fine, I did lie several times.'
[Hubby is the best!] With bright smile as she stared suddenly hugging against him affectionately.
"Okay okay, that's enough already," Rain said while awkwardly trying to push the screen away a little.
'Heheh… all it took was some tart to make her this happy. You really are too easy.'
Still, Rain couldn't deny one thing.
He genuinely liked it when she acted like this around him.
And somehow… those small silly moments had already become one of the biggest reasons his everyday life felt lively now.
'Wait… I totally forgot again… what exactly was that old man's background?'
Even though Rain possessed vast knowledge about the game world, he was still human at the end of the day. Forgetting things was unavoidable sometimes. Honestly, old memories fading away to make room for newer ones was simply how humans worked.
Rain suddenly grabbed his head frustratedly.
"What was it!? What WAS it!?"
No matter how hard he tried remembering, nothing useful came to mind at all. A worried look slowly appeared on his face.
He knew one thing very clearly—
Facing an enemy without proper information was practically asking for death.
But after panicking for several moments, Rain suddenly paused.
'…Wait, why am I even panicking? I can literally just ask someone.'
The answer instantly relieved him slightly.
"…But who?" he muttered.
[What's the matter, hubby?] she asked curiously while tilting slightly like she was trying to peek into his thoughts.
"Can you give me some information?" Rain asked hopefully.
[Sorry hubby… but for now I can't] she replied while showing a helpless sad face.
"Don't worry. I'll just ask somebody else," Rain said with an awkward smile.
'…But who exactly?'
[Why don't you ask your instructor?] she suggested proudly like she had just solved the greatest mystery in history.
Rain suddenly looked like he had just achieved enlightenment.
"Why didn't I think about that before!? You really are smart!" he praised her excitedly.
[Don't praise me that much, hubby!] she replied while shyly covering her cheeks, clearly flustered from the sudden compliment.
Rain's thoughts however had already drifted somewhere completely different.
'Hehehe… she will definitely help me. Afterall, fuck buddies help each other in times of need!'
A dangerous grin slowly widened across his face.
[Hubby… please control your expression] she replied with a completely deadpan look.
Rain instantly rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
"…Sorry about that."
---
Rain stood in front of the teacher's room before casually opening the door without even thinking twice about it.
Afterall, what was there to think about?
Who even bothers knocking on a teacher's office door? It wasn't like it was some personal private space anyway.
But the moment the door opened—
Rain's eyes witnessed something truly marvelous.
Sarah was completely focused on the computer screen in front of her.
Too focused.
"That's new… never thought this bitch actually works too," Rain muttered as he casually stepped further inside the room.
But soon Rain noticed something strange.
'…Why is she wearing earphones during work?'
Sarah was sitting there with earphones on while her eyes remained completely glued to the monitor like nothing else in the world existed right now.
Naturally, Rain's curiosity immediately kicked in.
'Let me see what exactly you're working so seriously on…'
As Rain quietly moved behind her and looked toward the screen—
His eyes widened instantly in shock while sweat slowly formed across his forehead.
"…What the fuck?"