Now let's think about my situation and the predicament I found myself in.
So far there's no problem to be found with this boy's mother. She doesn't seem to suspect that I am not her real son.
Either way, I have no intention to speak about this to anyone, so there's no need to think about this matter anymore. Unless there's someone with sharp perception or some power that might expose me. In that case, I might have to dispose of them swiftly.
Depending on the situation, I might get swept into the ever-present conflict around me. That is assuming there's conflict in the first place.
Ah, Who am I kidding? This is an anime world, so there should be a conflict to be found here and there. It's not as though Danmachi and MHA is a slice-of-life anime.
I looked out from the window, the view was full of green, vastly different from the gloomy land of my previous homeland. I took a deep breath, and the air feel so fresh I might cry. It's as though I was in heaven.
And yet, it's not my heaven.
I glanced back and saw a family picture bound by a luxurious frame hanging on the wall.
The three looked like a real family...
No, that's not quite right. They're a true family.
Ais Wallenstein sitting on a chair, and beside her is a white-haired man. He's holding her shoulder with one hand, and putting the other one on his son or in this case, me.
A better home, a rich household, a loving mother and father.
To have everything I always dreamed of being dropped right onto my lap is too unreal. I felt as though I was still in a dream. But I knew better. This is too real to be considered a dream.
But part of me also feels uncomfortable with the sudden change in living conditions. It's way too different from my previous life. It is like when I first went down to the life of a child soldier. I was expected to land a kill before they allowed me to have a bit of food to eat.
The contrast between both lives made me anxious. And I knew why.
It's too peaceful.
I wonder if I should leave this life behind and forge a brand new life ahead with a new identity.
But then the visage of the woman I met earlier come to mind. Although she was an airhead, and always had that blank face on her, I could feel worry and affection in her gaze.
And when I saw it, I felt something. I don't know what it was, It's a first for me. But at least I know one thing. I didn't hate this feeling.
Err, Anyway, who wants to run away from such a good family? Not me!
======
I walk away from the window and continue to explore the house. There is no excessive luxurious furniture or paintings adorned the place other than essential ones like family pictures and such. But it doesn't change the fact that no ordinary civilian could afford a place of this magnitude.
And this overly huge place. Can it even be called a house? I have been walking for a few minutes and I still haven't reached the end of the corridor.
Wait, is that a door?
Let's see what's inside.
Click!
Click!
Damn, it's locked!
I tried to open both sides, but the double door seems to be locked on either side.
I want to bash the door and see what was inside, but the thought of Ais's disappointed face as she looked at me, made me hesitate.
Nah, it's not like I care about that woman. My current role was that of her child, so I have to play the role given to me flawlessly.
Not to mention, I don't feel like I could antagonize her and come out unscathed.
If we fight again, Can I win?
Thinking back to how easily that woman manhandles me like a child, it's unlikely.
Ah, whatever.
Let's just continue to explore the house. Wait, it should be more appropriate to call it Mansion. Or maybe Villa? I dunno, let's just call it a mansion. They probably meant the same thing.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Huh? Someone is coming!
I stopped walking and crouched down to one knee. People are coming in my direction!
Who?
Ais should be in his bedroom or somewhere else. So it's not her.
Is it enemies?!
How many?
I placed my hand on the floor and concentrated my senses on the footsteps.
By the sounds of it, it's like one person's footsteps. But something was off, I just knew it.
The harrowing experiences as a child soldiers are not just for show. But knowing is one thing. Finding the solution to the problem is another matter entirely.
Why?
Because there's no place to hide!
There's only an empty corridor, and locked doors.
"Ah, here you are, young master! I've been looking for you everywhere!"
Even before he saw the figure, he could already hear her voice.
To be able to detect him faster than he was able to detect her…
She's not an ordinary bunch!
And that voice, I knew that voice!
As the footsteps got closer, the first thing I saw was a maid uniform, followed by ash-blond hair.
And as I thought, it was someone I knew.
But, what is she doing here?
Well, I know she’s working for the Wallenstein family, but she’s supposed to be from a different show. Looks like I was right that this world is the combination of MHA and Danmachi.
The maid stopped in front of me. Behind the ash blonde hair, I saw a speck of worry in her eyes.
Worry? Who is she worried about? Me?
You’ve got to be kidding, right?
Uh, I must be drunk or something.
There’s no way that Himiko Toga would show this kind of expression to anyone. Those who said otherwise are a liar who lied.
Where's your bloodthirsty smile?
Where's your craziness?
And you call yourself Himiko Toga?!
This is nuts!
I smell 12 episodes of backstories behind this miracle!
Now then, what should I do...
I don't feel any hostile intention from her, but better not put down my guard just yet. Just like Ais, this suspicious maid is not ordinary either. And my first impression of her in the show was not that good either.
The image of her deeds comes to my mind and I can't help but frown.
Right, my current situation is not that good either. I must not let her become suspicious of me.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking for me?"
There, not suspicious at all, right?
The maid raised her eyes in response. She's surprised?
How come?
Did I make a mistake? maybe my tone was too cold? was it too out of character?
According to my memory, I don't think that's true, but she's been at my side since forever so she might notice something off? should I kill her just in case?
"Didn't young master awaken your Quirk today? The madam told me. The whole mansion was worried when you failed to awaken your Quirk yesterday."
Ah, so she's talking about that. She might be looking for me because of this.
So It's safe, right?
Right! Probably...
"Thanks, I am also glad to finally awaken my Quirk." I start to get along with her conversation to coax more information from this sus maid.
After various nudges here and there, I managed to obtain some crucial information from her. Yeah, one of the things I learned was her name. She is Himiko Toga. This much is the same as the anime. Nothing changed about her name. But what about her circumstances? I won’t know without a deeper investigation.
I also learned some other things. Some are totally alien to me. Such as the devastation of Japan.
Well, it's not weird though considering abyss like dungeon was established in Tokyo. I imagine the dungeon from Danmachi appeared in Tokyo. Oh man, even with Quirk, It would be worthless.
Because at that time, they had no level! Hence the wipeout.
Countless people died at the never-ending wave of monsters. Society was destroyed, countries fell, and lots of life was lost at that time. It was not until they slew enough monsters that the first level up appeared among the fighter. They named those who fight for humanity as Hero.
No wonder both that woman and these maids looked so relieved.
A Quirk is a big deal considering the lack of population after the dungeon disaster. And considering I was the child of Ais, it become a must for me to be outstanding.
I then thought back to this kid's mother. No, I should start to call her mother now, less I made a mistake out of a habit.
She's a teenager in the show, but now she's a mother, my mother. This is weird.
Still, I stayed silent and let the maid continue to spill the beans. The less I talked the fewer mistakes I make.
Sure enough, the maid continues to talk about how I had just my sixth birthday yesterday, and how I have yet to awaken my Quirk. A late bloomer, although rare but does happen sometimes.
As they walked along the corridor, I saw something unfamiliar outside the window.
As far as my eyes could see, I could only see towering buildings stretched out on the horizon. But these skyscrapers looked so small from here. This mansion must be some distance away from the city. I checked my memory, and it seems the mansion is a bit secluded on the hill.
Still, this is amazing. I only saw this kind of scenery on the TV and in movies. The sight of skyscrapers lined up messily around each other like lego is incredible!
But that was not something that shocked me the most. In the middle of these skyscrapers is a gigantic building that towered over the other skyscraper. I couldn't even see the top as it went past the clouds.
Unbelievable!
It only took one glance and I knew right away that this building should be the Babel Tower my maid talking about.
But right now, I had a more important thing to worry about rather than thinking about some tower.
Yeah, it was the floating interface in front of me. And by the maid's reaction, it seems to be a common thing among the people around here.
This wild!
A quick probe to my maid and I was right that it doesn't belong exclusively to me. Just like the original host's memory indicates, Other people also had this system thingy going on in their minds.
This proves that my embedded memory is not faulty.