"Don’t touch me. Just...follow me and meet my mother. She has something important to tell you about Alex."

Mellisa spoke urgently before turning to lead him to Madam Yao.

The fact that she had not lashed out at him was a testament to how much this situation had affected her. Even Rin felt sorry for her.

But he also felt curious if Mellisa knew Alex’s secret or not.

"I...want to blame you for what happened. If it were not for you, then my brother’s identity would not have been exposed and none of this would have happened. However, mother said that this was something that was bound to happen with and without your involvement so holding you accountable wouldn’t accomplish anything."

Mellisa was willingly speaking to Rin which he had not expected. Her body was still turned away from him, but her voice was clear.

Rin remained quiet, allowing Mellisa to speak her heart out. And the younger one continued.

"I could tell that something changed in Alex the day he went to your settlement. He looked much happier and freer. Mother even considered letting him return to your settlement right before all this happened. I...why did we realize it too late?"

Mellisa was certainly crying now, but Rin did not move to comfort her. He did not know what to do with his hands and how to handle someone crying so bitterly.

Thankfully, Mellisa got herself under control and they reached Madam Yao’s office.

Rin opened the door and Mellisa disappeared to God-knows-where.

"Thank you for making time to meet me before leaving. Come and take a seat."

Madam Yao’s face showed no hint of sadness. Instead, her expression remained composed as she pointed toward the seat in front of her.

Rin felt like a puppet as he followed her instructions and took a seat beside her.

They both waited for the other to speak first, but no one breached the topic. So Rin decided to question her first.

"Did you know what was going to happen to Alex? Why did you not do anything to protect him? Aren’t you his mother?"

Rin asked Madam Yao first, causing her to put down the cup she was holding and give him a flat look.

"Do you think I didn’t try? I tried to send Alex away and even performed rituals to change his fate. But things written in stone are impossible to change, no matter how much effort is put into it. Alex...that child is not like you. His fate was already sealed before any of this began."

Madam Yao sounded regretful and her eyes looked barely moist.

Honestly, Rin did not have a good track record with meeting parents. They were absent from his life, Shelly’s mother was uninterested in her and the people in his mansion always complained about their parents. So his expectations for parents were already in hell.

’At least Madam Yao sounds sad and regretful for Alex. That is more than I can say for others I know.’

[Rookie, your bar might be in hell, but that’s only because you have not experienced the world. If you want a caring parent, why not let this senior adopt you? This senior will lavish you with treats and-]

"So, what are you going to do next? Task four is almost here and your settlement is not ready for it. Do you need help?"

Rin asked and Madam Yao shook her head.

"We will get through task four somehow. Thanks to your intervention, we suffered far fewer casualties than we expected. Still, there is one last thing I would like your help with."

Madam Yao stood up first and Rin followed her out. Everyone was gathered around Alex’s mutated body, not touching it but keeping an eye on it.

They parted to let Madam Yao through and she reached toward Alex’s chest before she pulled out an orb.

"This Orb is Alex’s life force. Here, I want you to keep it."

Rin felt awkward taking that orb. Everyone was looking at him with a curious expression, but to him, it felt like accusations.

But Madam Yao cleared the air for him.

"You are the one Alex trusted enough to reveal his secret to and you are the one who was on his side even until the end. There is no better person to hold this orb than you."

Madam Yao’s confidence made Rin reach out and grab that orb. He looked around and his eyes met Mellisa’s swollen eyes. But she looked away instantly, not wanting to show her emotions.

Rin sighed and put the orb back in his subspace.

"I should head back now. My people must be worried about me-"

"Allow our people to teleport you back half-way. This is the least we can do to repay your help.."

Madam Yao gestured for her guards to step forward and they went with Rin to his car before teleporting him halfway home. It saved him more than half a day of driving.

Rin reached home in record time, but he felt a little empty inside.

__________

While Rin was dealing with GBF, Reina was having a tough time as well. And the reason behind her headache was none other than Shelly.

"Hey, is Rin inside your office? I need to meet him and tell him something. So can you open the door for me?"

Shelly showed a polite smile on her face, but Reina could see the dagger hidden behind her back.

"Are you going to stab me if I say no?"

Reina asked and Shelly let out a small giggle.

"Why would you even say no when you know the consequences? Just let me inside. I just need a small peek-"

"I cannot do that. Too much outside noise will make Rin even sicker. Do you want to be the reason he gets worse?"

Reina was bullshitting her way through this. But who would even question her? She was the medic here.

Most people would back down at this point, but Shelly was a psychopath through and through and she made sure to prove it.

"Hmm, that sounds nice. I wouldn’t mind becoming the reason Rin gets sick. I can use this as an excuse to nurse him back to health. Don’t you think it sounds lovely?"

"You sound sick to me. Maybe you need medical counseling more than anyone here more than anyone here. Unfortunately, I don’t offer that service."

Reina spat back with an annoyed huff but the idea of purposely making Rin sick so he won’t be able to run away was an appealing one.

’Maybe I should do it. I have the drug...no, bad thoughts! I need to stop thinking these thoughts.’