"I heard that you went to the Principal's Office during lunch," Evie started when she and Ren were finally both in her car. "Is something going on?"
Evie didn't have the chance to ask Ren after lunch since the class had already started by the time he returned. She couldn't sneak a question either since they had a surprise quiz, as usual, which left her no room to think of anything else.
Knowing that he couldn't keep anything from Evie, Ren told her about what happened in the Principal's office.
"I see . . ." was Evie's only reply after Ren's long explanation.
"You don't seem surprised."
"I somewhat expected it," she told him. "When you rise on top, there are bound to be troubles. It was only natural for the school to get mad because we chose to help another guild rather than our own academy."
"The price of that World Boss is enough to get mad over, apparently," Ren muttered. His focus was more on Evie's driving skills than their topic, if he had to be honest. On a 100 kph road, she was only running at forty, and the only reason why she was allowed to run free with that low speed and why she hadn't received a ticket was because there was a student driver plate at the back of her car.
"Well . . . just a single World Boss did shoot our ATP to four hundred, and we got rare equipment and spells as well. Not to mention the prize money."
Ren chuckled. "It's because it's only us four who shared those rewards. It'd probably be around fifty if it had been a guild with hundreds of players."
"Pii is the main hero who saved us all."
"Yes. He is."
". . ."
". . ."
". . . So what are you going to do about it?" Evie asked after a short silence. "Are you really going to quit school?"
Ren gave a half-shrug. "It doesn't matter. In the first place, the only reason why I'm staying is because of my parents. If I have to quit school, then . . . so be it. I won't be a slave for the academy. Once you agreed to the oppression, it's continuous."
But if that did happen, his parents would be extremely disappointed. Helen and Troy's greatest wish was to see him with a degree because it was something that they hadn't been able to acquire themselves.
On the bright side, Ren could joke about it — they were finally one big happy family with no degrees.
". . ."
". . ."
The stillness that lingered between them was awkward. Now that Ren thought about it, they were really alone inside her car!
Ren broke the silence before his imagination could get the best of him. "By the way, where is your family? If you don't mind me asking."
This was his first attempt at asking about her personal information, and he was beginning to regret his decision when his question was met with her silence.
Ren was about to retrieve his query when Evie answered with a short reply.
"They're . . . far away."
Ren felt that she didn't want to discuss her personal life, so he didn't push it further. He wasn't going to ruin the moment by asking uncomfortable questions. Besides, he also didn't want this to be the last time for him inside her car.
"Is that so? It must be tough living alone." Ren affirmed with a smile but didn't ask anything more. He knew how secretive she could be and how protective she was of her personal information.
Eventually, they arrived in Diamond Palace, and before they parted ways, they scheduled a time for them to meet tomorrow morning so that they could go to school together in her car once more.
"Well then, see you tomorrow," Ren said as Evie got off the elevator that opened to the main lobby.
"Sure thing." Evie smiled slightly. "See you later."
Ren watched as Evie left, heading to the restaurant with an expression on his face that made him look like he was in pain.
Despite Evie driving like a turtle, the time inside her car still felt so little.
Now, Ren didn't know whether he still wanted that Bugatti delivered to his house. When that car arrived, it was definitely a goodbye joyride for him.
Ren took a deep breath before he scanned his card on the elevator card machine, and he was taken directly to his unit.
Inside his home, Ren immediately finished bathing and ate dinner with his parents.
"By the way," Troy started over dinner. Ren was in a good mood even though his poker face said otherwise. "Your mother and I found a job."
Ren's head rose from his plate, and his eyes shifted between his parents. "What kind of job?"
This was an important question because he would not have them work hard labor for eight hours a day, seven days a week.
His father smiled at him with all the confidence that only a man could muster. "We're going to be driving trucks, and your mother is my agent with the delivery."
"You're kidding me," Ren's voice sounded hollow as he stared at his father.
"No, son," Troy chuckled. "It pays well too."
Ren could feel his blood pressure rising. He knew that his father and mother had been looking for a job since they'd arrived in Zone A . . . but a truck driver?
That's even more exhausting than sitting all day! The only difference was that he would stir the wheel of a twenty-thousand-pound vehicle!
Rather, did his father even know how to drive a truck?
Helen laughed. "Stop teasing him."
At his mother's words, Ren looked over at his father with a set of dead eyes.
Troy looked at him and returned his stare with a grin.
"I'm just pulling your leg." He laughed. "Your mother and I will be gardeners here. We will only work in the morning four hours a day, five times a week. The pay isn't much, but we aren't after it in the first place."
Helen agreed with her husband. "That's right. All we need is to move these old bones while doing something fun."
"Gardening?" Ren repeated and looked at his mother. She nodded and shrugged her shoulders as if she was trying to hide something. "You mean like cleaning the garden or planting flowers?"
"Maybe a bit of both," Troy explained. He took a sip of wine and sighed deeply. "Your mother loves to clean, and I love to plant."
"Do you need qualifications for that?" Ren asked.
"No," Helen answered. "Since we're a resident here, they made an exception."
"Besides, the pay is below minimum wage, and they get to have the best cleaner and gardener in town. What more could they ask?" bragged Troy.
Ren chuckled and shook his head. "As long as it's not strenuous, then I don't have any objection."
Later that night, Ren logged into COVENANT and went to White Unicorns HQ. Leonel and Isolde were helping Clawing Talons with some Hidden Boss they found.
Ragnar was helping another guild called Chivalrous Knights with some quests, while Ren sent Evie to Golden Phoenix to finally help them with Howling Canyon.
Though he wanted the two of them to work together, they were understaffed, and it would be foolish if the two of them worked on a mission that could be completed by himself alone.
Besides, probably all missions they have, he could complete alone.
Ren wasn't worried about them being betrayed, though. Leonel, Evie, and Ragnar were already in their second-tier class, and the three of them had at least four hundred in all their ATP, thanks to the World Boss.
No armies of players could match them.
Ren also made sure to tell them to keep all their Avatar's information classified, which meant that their ATP, skills, and spells, as well as items and equipment, were all hidden. Needless to say, that was an SOP to any players.
Their HQ also stayed hidden. An illusion was placed in front of their headquarters, which they acquired through a special request via Hubert. Since their level of relationship with the gnome was already [Friends], they could ask for his help, provided that it was within his capabilities and for the right price, of course.
Naturally, there was no way that Hubert would divulge their secrets.
There was already a teleportation crystal inside their HQ. There was also no need to go out to buy from Hubert's shop since they already had a special divider if they wanted anything from him — courtesy of him making it.
And there was also Alice, who guarded their HQ. As long as she was around, no intruder would ever step foot inside their Hideout.
( . . . continuation on NOTES)
