Life didn't get easier, even in another world

307 Money!

“Why are you so angry?”

“HAAAAA!”

Kairen attempted to calm himself down by taking a deep breath and lowering his voice.

“Why wouldn’t I be? What the hell are they thinking? They’ve already done everything they could! You’ve given them all the information you had on Philomns so what else do they want? You even train with their agents every goddamned day! How can he ask you to take part in their missions like that? Who do they think they are? Huh?”

“....”

Kairen’s breathings were short and he was clenching his fist tightly. It was a rare sight for Aaron to see him this angry, he had also gotten angry in the snap of a second... over nothing.... and that was even more surprising.

“You are not their slave! They can’t order you around like this! Why don’t you get it?”

Kairen was really mad right now. He didn’t like how the commander ordered him to do things for them all the time as if Aaron was his underling. It made him annoyed all the time, but he didn’t say anything... And now what? They were sending him to fight? How could Kairen let that happen?

“...But I’m literally a was prisoner...”

.....

For Aaron, everything just seemed normal.

“Move back!”

“What are you going to do?”

“I have to talk to the team leader! Move back!”

“...”

“MOVE. BACK!”

. . . . .

Aaron did as he was told. He moved back. Kairen stomped out of the room and headed right to the team leader’s office. He slammed the door open, not even knocking on it.

“And these routes- huh?”

Glenn, who was in the middle of explaining the transmit routes, flinched and gasped quietly. Team leader Dains also turned to the door. He raised an eyebrow after seeing the person that had jumped inside his room and then glanced at the man gently following behind him.

“What’s the matter?”

He asked Kairen with a calm voice and stoic face.

“Are you not ashamed of yourself?”

“Wha-”

Glenn let out another gasp and then looked warily at the team leader.

“Ashamed of what?”

“Ashamed of using people!”

Kairen waved his clenched fists in the air, pointed his finger at Aaron, then glared back at team leader Dains.

“How can you make him do whatever you want? He isn’t your slave!”

“....”

“....”

The people in the room were all looking at Kairen in silence. Even the other unit members in the hall who could hear his voice were all silent.

“But Kairen...”

The team leader opened his mouth after staring at Kairen for a few seconds.

“He is our war a prisoner.”

Team leader Dains could see Aaron nodding his head slightly, agreeing with him, but Kairen didn’t see that.

“He is a war prisoner, not a slave!”

“....”

“....”

“You can’t do whatever you want with him even if he is a prisoner! What about the war prisoner rights? What about human rights? You are using him! Be ashamed of yourself!”

“....”

“....”

“You are the country’s largest military organization, yet you treat people like this!”

“...”

“Down with SMF!”

“...”

“...”

“...”

The team leader closed his mouth, while Glenn’s jaw dropped.

‘...Why did I say that?’

Even Kairen himself was surprised by his own words. It was just then that he realized what he was doing. He was... yelling at the face of his team leader and cursing the place that he worked at?

Kairen then realized something else.

‘I-is he mad?’

What made him forget about all of his anger was the expression that the team leader was making.

‘Did I piss him off?’

“....”

Kairen closed his mouth for a brief second to assist the situation, panicked, not knowing that his team leader was simply trying his hardest not to laugh.

‘What is done is already done!’

Kairen raised his voice again.

“You can’t make him work like this as you wish!”

“He can go back to jail if he doesn’t like the situation.”

The team leader finally responded, his voice a little bit cracked due to repressed laughter, which made Kairen flinch slightly. The flinch didn’t escape Aaron’s eyes. The man that was having a hard time controlling his laughter had to cover his face to hide his grin.

“That’s scamming! You are all scammers!”

“Oh? So? What should we do? Not ask for your brother’s help?”

Team leader Dains sighed and shook his head.

“Isn’t it a waste to let such a talented man stay home all the time and do nothing?”

“....”

It was a waste. Kairen knew that as well. He also didn’t want Aaron to stay home and do nothing. He didn’t like how his brother would stare at one spot and get lost in thoughts whenever he was free. Aaron was happy the days he came here to work. Though Kairen was... just... a little bit... sliighhtlyy jealous of the others who had the chance to train with him, he still didn’t want Aaron to get kicked out of here.

So there was only one thing to do.

“Pay him.”

“...Yes?”

The team leader’s calm facade dropped as if he expected to hear anything but this.

“Pay him a salary if you want to make him work for you!”

“....”

“....”

Kairen didn’t care about the hall’s deadly silence.

“Don’t be a scammer and sign a contract or hire him! A war prisoner has the right to be paid! He isn’t a slave so pay him money!”

“....”

“....”

Team leader Dains only blanked his eyes while staring at Kairen’s face.

. . . .

A few days after the commotion Kairen created...

.....

“I still... Can’t believe it...”

Aaron was staring blankly at a piece of paper.

SMF signed a contract with Aaron.

. . . .

A few days after the commotion Kairen created...

“I still... Can’t believe it...”

Aaron was staring blankly at a piece of paper.

“I have a job...”

SMF signed a contract with Aaron.

They hired him.

. . . .

In the fairly dark gym, a twinkling light slightly took form. The burning light floated in the air for a brief second before it started circling around in the air. The light got brighter and bigger in size as it circled around the person who had created it.

One

Two

Three

As the light continued to circle around, the number of floating beams of light increases one by one. By the time the first light circled for the third time, there were already around 30 lights floating in the air.

SNAP

With a snap of his fingers, all of the lights in the air moved at once. The lights divided themselves into groups of five and then all of the five lights of each group merged together, creating even bigger burning spheres which all started to float around the mage.

“See! I did it!”

The mage, Kairen, exclaimed and clapped his hands before turning to look at his master. Captain Neal was leaning on a wall with her arms folded, inspecting Kairen.

“Hit the targets.”

“Yes!”

BOMMMM

Almost instantly, all of the targets lined in front of Kairen turned to ash. Kairen smiled proudly and looked back at captain Neal.

“You see? I’ve gotten better now so can you sign the permit-”

“Can you do that again?”

“Cast them again?”

“Yes.”

“O-of course!”

Kairen nodded his head and started to cast the same spell again.

“Mmm-”

He suppressed a groan and pressed his lips to each other.

One

Two

Three

Ten light balls appeared around him.

“Huu...”

He swallowed the hot liquid that was rising in his throat and continued on.

Wooshhh

Another five spheres were added to the others.

“Hah...”

Drip

Drip

Cold sweat dripped to the floor.

“That’s enough.”

Kairen ignored captain Neal.

Swosshh

Another five balls appeared in the air.

Shhhh

But three of the five spheres soon flickered before they vanished to thin air.

“I said that’s enough. Stop.”

“I can do it...”

Swosss

The three disappeared spheres appeared again.

“Ugh...”

Kairen’s body curled up slightly.

“Hey, you fool!”

SWOSSH

Before captain Neal could reach him, Kairen created another bunch of spheres. Now 30 balls were circling around him once again.

SSSSSHHHH

The 30 balls were divided into groups and started merging together.

“Argh...”

And right at that moment, Kairen felt his knees hitting the floor.

“Blaargh.”

A mouthful of blood splashed on the ground. The spheres of light that were about to merge together shook and flickered intensely before vanishing.

“Urgh cough-”

Clutching his stomach, Kairen curled up, even more, throwing up blood nonstop.

“Tsk!”

Captain Neal kneeled down beside him. With a frowning face, the woman started to pat Kairen’s back.

“You should’ve stopped when I told you to stop.”

“Argh...”

“Did you do your weekly checkup?”

“Ye-MMmmm cough.”

“Sigh.”

Pat Pat Pat

“Don’t rush. I’ve told you I will sign the permit as soon as you get better. Don’t try to fool me again. I won’t let you take part in missions until your condition is back to normal.”

“But-”

“No buts. Now, let’s go to the hospital.”

“What no- cough...”

Captain Neal was one of those people that Kairen couldn’t convince at all when the subject was about his health, and this fact was making him suffer really a lot.