Life didn't get easier, even in another world.

"Kairen, are you ready?"

Kairen raised his head after hearing that question.

"Ready?"

He was sitting behind a desk in unit 6's office hall. He didn't have anything to do so he was simply playing with his phone.

The deputy team leader nodded her head with a smile on her lips.

"The team leader is going to attend a meeting at Monster Hunting Division's office. I'm her assistant and I have to go as well and I'm taking you with myself."

"...."

"We have to talk to captain Neal, have you forgotten about it?"

No.

Kairen hadn't forgotten about anything. 

He fully remembered everything that they had talked about yesterday. But he sincerely hoped that the deputy team leader would forget about everything she said about captain Neal.

"No, I haven't."

"Nice! Then hurry up. We'll gonna be late."

"Yes."

Kairen placed his phone aside and got up from his seat and followed the deputy team leader into the elevator where team leader Dains was waiting for them.

Team leader Dains watched the boy enter the elevator with a lowered head as if he was scared of looking directly at him, before turning towards his assistant.

He couldn't help but smile when he remembered his conversation with this woman the day before.

His assistant had told him something interesting yesterday. She told him that she wanted to help the mage boy get stronger. She said that she wanted to talk to captain Neal, one of SMF's greatest mages, to help out someone who wasn't even officially employed.

He thought about the conversation they had the day before in his office.

-I will make captain Neal of the Monster Hunting Division teach our new mage the ways of magic.

Team leader Dains was greatly shocked after hearing that.

-Why would you do such a thing?

-Well, what I want to do is help you achieve what you want. Aren't you the one who wants to have that boy for himself? He should get stronger if you want to use him properly.

-...What are you-

-That power. That unique mana. Something new. The reports about the bout using a mysterious spell, and what happened to the monster we faced. I would be surprised if you weren't after him.

-....

-I'll help you out in what you want to do, team leader. Isn't that allowed?

-....

-Why are you looking at me like that? Is there a problem? You didn't really think that I wouldn't notice, did you?

The team leader had scoffed at her words.

-Hah! I would be surprised if you didn't notice.

-Well then, does that mean I'm allowed to do what I want?

-Yes. Do what you want.

The elevator stopped moving.

The team leader and his assistant's eyes met. Seeing the look on his face, deputy team leader Bray smiled at him.

Ding

The elevator's doors at that moment.

The three of them exited the elevator and entered a hall similar to unit 6's hall but unlike their unit's hall, this place was empty.

"Kairen, we have to attend the meeting first. Wait for us here, okay?"

"Yes."

Kairen nodded his head and walked towards one of the hall's empty desks. He sat behind the desk and watched the two people enter a room.

. . . . . . 

How much time passed? 

Kairen didn't know. There were no clocks in this place and Kairen had forgotten to bring his smartphone with him.

Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap

The time didn't matter to him at all. Knowing the time wouldn't change the fact that he was getting nervous the more he sat in the empty hall.

Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap

Kairen nervously tapped on the table with the tip of his finger. He didn't even know why he was nervous.

'Man, I should now be searching for a way back or at least search for that Kairen 1's past. Yet I'm sitting here doing nothing...'

He had seen many people come and go into the room where the team leader and the deputy team leader entered. They were all high-ranked members of SMF who had gathered here to discuss the painting's case.

The high-ranked members entered the hall and passed through Kairen while talking to each other. They all looked at Kairen with a look of 'Who is this dude and what is he doing here?' while walking past him. 

It wasn't hard to notice that the boy who was sitting at a table and nervously fidgeting with his fingers didn't belong to that place.

Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap 

'Was there really a need for me to come here?'

There was nothing he could do here.

Was his presence really necessary in persuading the captain?

He didn't know.

When he asked that question from the deputy team leader in the elevator, she said that it was hard to meet with captain Neal as she was really busy and that he had to come with them. 

Kairen felt like a kid that had tagged along with his mother to her office and was sitting there without being able to do anything.

Click

He heard the sound of a door opening. Once he looked up, he could see the deputy team leader exiting the room where the meeting was held.

"I was no longer needed there so I left."

"I see."

She walked towards Kairen and sat behind the same table as him.

"You must be really excited."

Kairen forcefully smiled at the deputy team leader's comment.

"Y-yes. I'm excited."

"Haha!"

Deputy team leader Bray chuckled and weekly punched Kairen's shoulder. 

"Everyone would be excited if they were in your shoes."

"Y-yes."

Kairen rubbed his shoulder while forcefully smiling again. 

"Don't worry too much. She may seem cold, but she is a nice person in the heart."

"...."

Kairen nodded his head silently.

The deputy team leader leaned against the back of her chair and folded her arm.

"The main meeting will end soon. I'll talk to her once she leaves the meeting."

"The main meeting."

"Yep. There will be another meeting after that with those high-ranked people. Only the team leader and some others are allowed to attend that."

"Ah!"

'Being a high-ranked member of SMF seems to be a hard job.'

Kairen also leaned back and kept staring at the door. They didn't talk after that and only silently sat there. 

There were some people who exited the meeting room from time to time. The number of people leaving the meeting increased as time passed since the main meeting was finally over.

Click

The door of the conference room opened and a group of people exited it one by one. 

The deputy team leader got up from her seat and started to look at the people's faces. After looking for a while, she spotted the familiar face that she was searching for.

"Oh, there!"

She mumbled that under her lips while staring at someone.

Kairen could see the face of a woman once he turned towards the direction that the deputy team leader was looking.

"Hey, Kairen. Let's go."

"Y-yes?"

"Get up!"

The deputy team leader grabbed Kairen's arm and hurriedly started to walk towards the woman that was bout to leave the hall. She let go of Kairen's arm and approached the woman once.

"Hey, Ronnie!"

The woman jumped up from surprise and turned towards the one who was calling her.

"Ah? Deputy team leader of unit 6?"

Kairen stopped a few steps away from them and listened to their conversation.

The deputy team leader who had arrived beside the captain frowned after hearing her words.

"What's with that long title all of a sudden? Since when do you call me like that?"

Captain Neal looked around for a moment.

"We are in the office so-"

"Ack come on! Just call me Thea like always. Who cares if we are in the office or not."

"...."

Captain Neal silently stared at the deputy team leader. She was clearly not happy with the way that things were going, but she kept silent and didn't say anything about it.

"Will your team take care of the rest of the case?"

"Yes."

"Will you send hunters to that village?"

"Probably. We still have to think about it."

The two of them started walking away while chatting. Kaien also followed them from a distance, making sure that he didn't get too close.

'She is really talking to the deputy team leader...'

Captain Neal's attitude towards the deputy team leader was completely different compared to when she talked to Kairen.

"By the way, I have something to talk to you about."

"what is it?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"A favor?"

Captain Neal tilted her head a little bit.

"It's about our new recruit."

"..."

Captan Neal didn't say anything as if she was waiting for more explanations. The deputy team leader didn't beat around the bush and said what she wanted straight forward.

"Our new recruit is a mage and has a good potential. That's why I wanted to ask you to help that youth out a little bit."

"Ah!"