Chapter 51
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Philip and Henry exchanged a glance.
Henry scratched the back of his head a little sheepishly. "No, no… I was just wondering… is there anything we can help you with?"
Alec smiled, eyeing the man a little sceptically. "There isn't, but shall I let you know when there is?"
"Yes, yes," Henry said, and Philip nodded as well.
"Then, till we meet again," Alec said, indirectly trying to get rid of them. They already apologized so sincerely that Alec couldn't bring himself to get rid of them more overtly. Looking at two grown men's sparkling eyes… he didn't even want to talk about it.
He continued jogging, only for the two men to continue following his footsteps. Alec ignored them.
Alec inwardly held his head. What were two grown men doing, following around a child. Not to mention, all three of them were running, which would have given any townsfolk who saw them the wrong impression.
As he thought this, an early-rising passer-by gawked at the three of them as if appearing on cue.
Alec helplessly continued with his entire morning regime, excluding the weapons training and only focusing on the endurance part of his training.
It wasn't like the two men had done anything wrong that would make him get angry, so Alec felt no need for him to do anything about them. Anyway, it wasn't like he was doing anything secretive that they wouldn't be able to see.
Behind him, he could hear that Philip's breathing was rather ragged, whilst Henry was still fine for the time being.
After a while, Henry even carried Philip on his back as they ran after him.
Alec quietly closed his eyes. To think that the day would come that he would end up picking up a few people that followed after him reminiscent of the 'little brothers' of the Main Character.
Of course, these were two grown ass men following him around. There was no joy in that, but neither would Alec chase them away. They would end up leaving sooner or later because he *wasn't* the Main Character, and they would likely have some responsibilities or what not.
Alec completed his morning training routine just as the sun finished fully rising, going back inside to clean up before he started working in Stanley's store.
Likewise, Philip and Henry rushed back to Philip's house and completed showering so quickly that they appeared as if they never left in the first place.
Henry rushed so much that he didn't even have time to think about how his house had been burned down to the ground just next to Philip's.
For some reason, he felt as if he had found a strand of hope and was clinging onto it with all his might. Anyway, he had nothing left to lose already at this point.
The most important things to him had already been lost. What he really couldn't stomach was the doubt whether or not his son was truly his son or not. Just because those filthy bastards said that Hadrian wasn't his son didn't mean that he really wasn't.
The wound he felt from those thoughts were fresh, as if someone had sprinkled a whole bag of salt over his open wound slowly and continuously, over time.
However, the four of those bastards, including his ex-wife as well as his son, had skipped town already. Though he still harboured slight hopes that it was because Briggs or Gred who told them that he had died due to some incident, and was thus better for them to leave, judging by the state his house had been left in, he didn't think that it was very likely.
Sooner or later, he would track them down and give them their just desserts. He would ask his son if he wanted to go back with him. Even if Hadrian was not of his blood, that didn't mean that the feelings he had cultivated over the years were gone. At least, that was what he thought… he really didn't know how he would react until he saw them in person himself.
Arriving back at the house Alec stepped into, the two men waited patiently, only to spot a teenager come out of the house.
Elias paused, seeing two unfamiliar men eagerly standing outside the Woods' family home. "Hello? May I help you?" Elias asked, doing his best to hide the wary tone.
Philip waved his hands. "Ah, it's alright. We're waiting for Alec."
Elias raised a brow, scanning the two more seriously after hearing their words. Just what could they be looking for Alec about? Elias frowned, standing next to them as he waited just to be sure.
Another five minutes passed before Alec stepped out.
Alec contained the helpless expression when he saw Elias' questioning look. The two men were stubborn, he gave them that. Just what were they gaining out of following around a child?
Then, Alec inwardly shrugged as he accepted his reality. Let them follow him around, then. It wasn't like they were doing any harm. He would just treat it as gaining two pets. Or convenient butlers of some sort.
Elias left after seeing how calmly Alec reacted. If there wasn't any overt reaction, then Elias was fine trusting Alec's judgement. After all, amongst their group of five, Alec was always the one who scored the highest in critical thinking.
Alec plodded on to the flower shop with Henry and Philip in tow, smiling back at the various townsfolk who passed by with curious eyes.
Stanley still had to guard the gate for another week before he was able to go back to the store.
In this case, Alec didn't have much to do, so he was free to do whatever he wanted as long as he properly took care of the plants. Should there be any orders, he was to write it down for Stanley.
Alec had no idea why Stanley was trusting him this much already. By all accounts, he was an eight-year-old who didn't have any working experience, or did he seem like he would be able to handle himself should someone get into their heads to rob the flower shop.
It was, however, convenient and more relaxing for him this way, not having to keep up an appearance.
Alec seated himself behind the counter, producing stools for the two men to sit on.
The two men, one rather large in size, and the other, lean and willowy, sat on the stools inside the shop, making a comical scene.
Anyone would have doubted their eyes had they walked in.
A child behind the counter, reading a book as thick as their arm, two men sitting on tiny stools as they chatted quietly in a flower shop. Their knees almost met their chests, with how low it was.
However, no one did go in, so they were left with relative peace for the day.
As the shop was closing, the bell on the door rang, causing Alec to look up.
Elias walked into the shop, his eyes shining with happiness. He smelled the same as yesterday. The scent of fire, smoke and metal covered his natural scent, but the teenager looked happy.
"Alec, time to go back."
Henry stood up from the stool that he had been seated on, introducing himself.
"Hello! I'm Henry. Your little brother saved me yesterday, so I'm going to be following him around until I pay off my debt."
Elias shot a baffled glance at Alec, only to meet Alec's standard smile that gave him a feeling of 'don't ask'.
Elias wisely kept his mouth shut and exchanged greetings with the two men.
Time and time again, Alec wished for his points from the Mainframe to come faster in order to get rid of the damn OOC function so that he didn't have to smile like a moron all of the time.
He couldn't even frown, for goodness' sake!
He missed frowning.
In his agitation, Alec Awakened the counter he was sitting on. The drawer slid open, and Alec grabbed a pen from inside.
As they were about to lock up the place, the sound of shattering glass met their ears, causing them to frown.
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Philip and Henry exchanged a glance.
Henry scratched the back of his head a little sheepishly. "No, no… I was just wondering… is there anything we can help you with?"
Alec smiled, eyeing the man a little sceptically. "There isn't, but shall I let you know when there is?"
"Yes, yes," Henry said, and Philip nodded as well.
"Then, till we meet again," Alec said, indirectly trying to get rid of them. They already apologized so sincerely that Alec couldn't bring himself to get rid of them more overtly. Looking at two grown men's sparkling eyes… he didn't even want to talk about it.
He continued jogging, only for the two men to continue following his footsteps. Alec ignored them.
Alec inwardly held his head. What were two grown men doing, following around a child. Not to mention, all three of them were running, which would have given any townsfolk who saw them the wrong impression.
As he thought this, an early-rising passer-by gawked at the three of them as if appearing on cue.
Alec helplessly continued with his entire morning regime, excluding the weapons training and only focusing on the endurance part of his training.
It wasn't like the two men had done anything wrong that would make him get angry, so Alec felt no need for him to do anything about them. Anyway, it wasn't like he was doing anything secretive that they wouldn't be able to see.
Behind him, he could hear that Philip's breathing was rather ragged, whilst Henry was still fine for the time being.
After a while, Henry even carried Philip on his back as they ran after him.
Alec quietly closed his eyes. To think that the day would come that he would end up picking up a few people that followed after him reminiscent of the 'little brothers' of the Main Character.
Of course, these were two grown ass men following him around. There was no joy in that, but neither would Alec chase them away. They would end up leaving sooner or later because he *wasn't* the Main Character, and they would likely have some responsibilities or what not.
Alec completed his morning training routine just as the sun finished fully rising, going back inside to clean up before he started working in Stanley's store.
Likewise, Philip and Henry rushed back to Philip's house and completed showering so quickly that they appeared as if they never left in the first place.
Henry rushed so much that he didn't even have time to think about how his house had been burned down to the ground just next to Philip's.
For some reason, he felt as if he had found a strand of hope and was clinging onto it with all his might. Anyway, he had nothing left to lose already at this point.
The most important things to him had already been lost. What he really couldn't stomach was the doubt whether or not his son was truly his son or not. Just because those filthy bastards said that Hadrian wasn't his son didn't mean that he really wasn't.
The wound he felt from those thoughts were fresh, as if someone had sprinkled a whole bag of salt over his open wound slowly and continuously, over time.
However, the four of those bastards, including his ex-wife as well as his son, had skipped town already. Though he still harboured slight hopes that it was because Briggs or Gred who told them that he had died due to some incident, and was thus better for them to leave, judging by the state his house had been left in, he didn't think that it was very likely.
Sooner or later, he would track them down and give them their just desserts. He would ask his son if he wanted to go back with him. Even if Hadrian was not of his blood, that didn't mean that the feelings he had cultivated over the years were gone. At least, that was what he thought… he really didn't know how he would react until he saw them in person himself.
Arriving back at the house Alec stepped into, the two men waited patiently, only to spot a teenager come out of the house.
Elias paused, seeing two unfamiliar men eagerly standing outside the Woods' family home. "Hello? May I help you?" Elias asked, doing his best to hide the wary tone.
Philip waved his hands. "Ah, it's alright. We're waiting for Alec."
Elias raised a brow, scanning the two more seriously after hearing their words. Just what could they be looking for Alec about? Elias frowned, standing next to them as he waited just to be sure.
Another five minutes passed before Alec stepped out.
Alec contained the helpless expression when he saw Elias' questioning look. The two men were stubborn, he gave them that. Just what were they gaining out of following around a child?
Then, Alec inwardly shrugged as he accepted his reality. Let them follow him around, then. It wasn't like they were doing any harm. He would just treat it as gaining two pets. Or convenient butlers of some sort.
Elias left after seeing how calmly Alec reacted. If there wasn't any overt reaction, then Elias was fine trusting Alec's judgement. After all, amongst their group of five, Alec was always the one who scored the highest in critical thinking.
Alec plodded on to the flower shop with Henry and Philip in tow, smiling back at the various townsfolk who passed by with curious eyes.
Stanley still had to guard the gate for another week before he was able to go back to the store.
In this case, Alec didn't have much to do, so he was free to do whatever he wanted as long as he properly took care of the plants. Should there be any orders, he was to write it down for Stanley.
Alec had no idea why Stanley was trusting him this much already. By all accounts, he was an eight-year-old who didn't have any working experience, or did he seem like he would be able to handle himself should someone get into their heads to rob the flower shop.
It was, however, convenient and more relaxing for him this way, not having to keep up an appearance.
Alec seated himself behind the counter, producing stools for the two men to sit on.
The two men, one rather large in size, and the other, lean and willowy, sat on the stools inside the shop, making a comical scene.
Anyone would have doubted their eyes had they walked in.
A child behind the counter, reading a book as thick as their arm, two men sitting on tiny stools as they chatted quietly in a flower shop. Their knees almost met their chests, with how low it was.
However, no one did go in, so they were left with relative peace for the day.
As the shop was closing, the bell on the door rang, causing Alec to look up.
Elias walked into the shop, his eyes shining with happiness. He smelled the same as yesterday. The scent of fire, smoke and metal covered his natural scent, but the teenager looked happy.
"Alec, time to go back."
Henry stood up from the stool that he had been seated on, introducing himself.
"Hello! I'm Henry. Your little brother saved me yesterday, so I'm going to be following him around until I pay off my debt."
Elias shot a baffled glance at Alec, only to meet Alec's standard smile that gave him a feeling of 'don't ask'.
Elias wisely kept his mouth shut and exchanged greetings with the two men.
Time and time again, Alec wished for his points from the Mainframe to come faster in order to get rid of the damn OOC function so that he didn't have to smile like a moron all of the time.
He couldn't even frown, for goodness' sake!
He missed frowning.
In his agitation, Alec Awakened the counter he was sitting on. The drawer slid open, and Alec grabbed a pen from inside.
As they were about to lock up the place, the sound of shattering glass met their ears, causing them to frown.
Philip and Henry exchanged a glance.Henry scratched the back of his head a little sheepishly. "No, no I was just wondering is there anything we can help you with?"Alec smiled, eyeing the man a little sceptically. "There isn't, but shall I let you know when there is?""Yes, yes," Henry said, and Philip nodded as well."Then, till we meet again," Alec said, indirectly trying to get rid of them. They already apologized so sincerely that Alec couldn't bring himself to get rid of them more overtly. Looking at two grown men's sparkling eyes he didn't even want to talk about it.He continued jogging, only for the two men to continue following his footsteps. Alec ignored them.Alec inwardly held his head. What were two grown men doing, following around a child. Not to mention, all three of them were running, which would have given any townsfolk who saw them the wrong impression.As he thought this, an early-rising passer-by gawked at the three of them as if appearing on cue.Alec helplessly continued with his entire morning regime, excluding the weapons training and only focusing on the endurance part of his training.It wasn't like the two men had done anything wrong that would make him get angry, so Alec felt no need for him to do anything about them. Anyway, it wasn't like he was doing anything secretive that they wouldn't be able to see.Behind him, he could hear that Philip's breathing was rather ragged, whilst Henry was still fine for the time being.After a while, Henry even carried Philip on his back as they ran after him.Alec quietly closed his eyes. To think that the day would come that he would end up picking up a few people that followed after him reminiscent of the 'little brothers' of the Main Character.Of course, these were two grown ass men following him around. There was no joy in that, but neither would Alec chase them away. They would end up leaving sooner or later because he *wasn't* the Main Character, and they would likely have some responsibilities or what not.Alec completed his morning training routine just as the sun finished fully rising, going back inside to clean up before he started working in Stanley's store.Likewise, Philip and Henry rushed back to Philip's house and completed showering so quickly that they appeared as if they never left in the first place.Henry rushed so much that he didn't even have time to think about how his house had been burned down to the ground just next to Philip's.For some reason, he felt as if he had found a strand of hope and was clinging onto it with all his might. Anyway, he had nothing left to lose already at this point.The most important things to him had already been lost. What he really couldn't stomach was the doubt whether or not his son was truly his son or not. Just because those filthy bastards said that Hadrian wasn't his son didn't mean that he really wasn't.The wound he felt from those thoughts were fresh, as if someone had sprinkled a whole bag of salt over his open wound slowly and continuously, over time.However, the four of those bastards, including his ex-wife as well as his son, had skipped town already. Though he still harboured slight hopes that it was because Briggs or Gred who told them that he had died due to some incident, and was thus better for them to leave, judging by the state his house had been left in, he didn't think that it was very likely.Sooner or later, he would track them down and give them their just desserts. He would ask his son if he wanted to go back with him. Even if Hadrian was not of his blood, that didn't mean that the feelings he had cultivated over the years were gone. At least, that was what he thought he really didn't know how he would react until he saw them in person himself.Arriving back at the house Alec stepped into, the two men waited patiently, only to spot a teenager come out of the house.Elias paused, seeing two unfamiliar men eagerly standing outside the Woods' family home. "Hello? May I help you?" Elias asked, doing his best to hide the wary tone.Philip waved his hands. "Ah, it's alright. We're waiting for Alec."Elias raised a brow, scanning the two more seriously after hearing their words. Just what could they be looking for Alec about? Elias frowned, standing next to them as he waited just to be sure.Another five minutes passed before Alec stepped out.Alec contained the helpless expression when he saw Elias' questioning look. The two men were stubborn, he gave them that. Just what were they gaining out of following around a child?Then, Alec inwardly shrugged as he accepted his reality. Let them follow him around, then. It wasn't like they were doing any harm. He would just treat it as gaining two pets. Or convenient butlers of some sort.Elias left after seeing how calmly Alec reacted. If there wasn't any overt reaction, then Elias was fine trusting Alec's judgement. After all, amongst their group of five, Alec was always the one who scored the highest in critical thinking.Alec plodded on to the flower shop with Henry and Philip in tow, smiling back at the various townsfolk who passed by with curious eyes.Stanley still had to guard the gate for another week before he was able to go back to the store.In this case, Alec didn't have much to do, so he was free to do whatever he wanted as long as he properly took care of the plants. Should there be any orders, he was to write it down for Stanley.Alec had no idea why Stanley was trusting him this much already. By all accounts, he was an eight-year-old who didn't have any working experience, or did he seem like he would be able to handle himself should someone get into their heads to rob the flower shop.It was, however, convenient and more relaxing for him this way, not having to keep up an appearance.Alec seated himself behind the counter, producing stools for the two men to sit on.The two men, one rather large in size, and the other, lean and willowy, sat on the stools inside the shop, making a comical scene.Anyone would have doubted their eyes had they walked in.A child behind the counter, reading a book as thick as their arm, two men sitting on tiny stools as they chatted quietly in a flower shop. Their knees almost met their chests, with how low it was.However, no one did go in, so they were left with relative peace for the day.As the shop was closing, the bell on the door rang, causing Alec to look up.Elias walked into the shop, his eyes shining with happiness. He smelled the same as yesterday. The scent of fire, smoke and metal covered his natural scent, but the teenager looked happy."Alec, time to go back."Henry stood up from the stool that he had been seated on, introducing himself."Hello! I'm Henry. Your little brother saved me yesterday, so I'm going to be following him around until I pay off my debt."Elias shot a baffled glance at Alec, only to meet Alec's standard smile that gave him a feeling of 'don't ask'.Elias wisely kept his mouth shut and exchanged greetings with the two men.Time and time again, Alec wished for his points from the Mainframe to come faster in order to get rid of the damn OOC function so that he didn't have to smile like a moron all of the time.He couldn't even frown, for goodness' sake!He missed frowning.In his agitation, Alec Awakened the counter he was sitting on. The drawer slid open, and Alec grabbed a pen from inside.As they were about to lock up the place, the sound of shattering glass met their ears, causing them to frown.
