ID Chapter 30: Back to work

The soft mattress was the first thing that came to Ethan’s mind. His eyes opened to Mio and Celia gazing down at him. He reached out and stroked their cheeks.

“Angels are real.”

“Onii-sama, you embarrass me.”

“I am the light in your life. Not a bad thing to say to your lover.”

Mio blushed while Celia grinned. Ethan pushed himself and sat up. He slept on Mio’s lap and woke up on Celia’s. Did he bounce between their laps during his sleep?

“What’s the time?”

“You slept for two hours.”

“You watched over me for two hours?!”

It was a surprise they didn’t do anything else. He rubbed his aching shoulder, waiting for their answer.

“The eighty years of my life will feel short if I sit here, watching you sleep,” proclaimed the heiress, puffing her chest.

“Mio can do that too!”

“That sounds hella creepy, so no thanks.” He shot down their affection with a smile. “Gimme something to eat.”

Mio’s shoulders sagged. “I haven’t… prepared anything.”

“I will shower in the meantime.”

“You can’t even shower like this. I’ll help.”

“W—”

Celia pushed him out, dragging him all the way to the bath. Taking advantage of his numb hands, she rolled up his shirt.

“This scar… have you thought about healing it through surgery?”

Ethan shook his head. “I don’t want to.”

Celia’s eyes gleamed strangely. Was she happy at the answer?

She removed his trouser. Facing no rejection, she drew down his underwear and gasped. She looked up with a bright smile. “Oh my, it’s truly something.”

He kicked the underwear dangling in his legs and moved into the shower cube. Celia cranked on the shower and jumped outside.

“I’ll be outside.”

The always-ready-to-attack-him women gave up like that.

She hasn’t exactly tried anything after I rejected her on the terrace…

The warm water dripped down his numb muscles, bringing a calmness along with it.

Fuck, why didn’t I get the strength Aspect after this much effort?

The Tenacious Aspect took less effort. Strength, strength, strength. The word whistled in his mind.

“Ethan”…”

I knew it.

He turned around with deadpan eyes. Celia grinned, wrapping an arm around her chest and pressing the other on her crotch.

“I-It’s not what you are thinking. You see I can’t wash you in clothes.”

He turned his back on her. “Go ahead.”

“Yes!”

Bright pink…

The image of her breasts was burned in his head. Celia washed his back without trying anything. His patience might have run dry if she pressed any further.

A normal lunch later, he dove into the bed. If he ended up in Avalon tonight, then the training tomorrow, and school on top of that—he might die of exhaustion in a week.

Celia returned her home for finishing her duty or she said. He had no idea what Miss Densford was up to. Mio unexpectedly asked permission to meet Regina. The fact slapped him stunned. Shedding a tear or two, he hugged Mio.

“Onii-sama…”

“I am just happy to see Mio making friends.” He grabbed his bag and took a dreamnight fruit. “Give it to her.”

Mio’s face turned serious. “As a lucky charm?”

“Yeah.”

“See you, Onii-sama!” Mio pecked his cheeks and scuttled away like a squirrel.

He rubbed his moist cheeks with a wry smile. “She is so assertive at times but completely flustered at others. The gap is adorable.”

He fell back on the bed and pulled up the blanket.

—x—x—x—

Different shades of purple flickered. The ground, the sky, even the sun was a massive dark purple orb. The vision lasted for hours, or days, Ethan’s sense of time was skewered in this violet madness.

Then a crimson ray split open the sky and shattered everything.

Ethan woke up. The white ceiling made him frown.

Was that a dream… or a nightmare?

He hauled himself up and swung his legs out of the bed. A pat on his chest confirmed his recovery.

That was quick.

In the dark living room, colorful dim light flashed, coming from the TV mounted on the wall. Celia and Mio sat at opposite edges of the couch, watching some anime.

“Dear, you are here.”

“Onii-sama.”

He settled in the middle. Mio and Celia slid right next to him.

These two can’t get along without me…

The repetitive shounen anime pushed Ethan’s mind in a different direction. What to do now? Any more training would be more harmful than good. A quick call to Alyssia confirmed her safety. The bear was awake now. She clawed the goblin pieces. Alyssia talked the bear into staying there until he returns. Aside from school, gaming, watching anime, and stream, he had nothing else to do.

I am a boring guy… should I stream today?

The viewers allowed him to have a decent life without parents. Leaving them hanging for days like this weighed on his heart. He whipped out his phone and posted the announcement on his only social media account. His phone chimed instantly. He opened the notification.

A_random♡girl♡on_internet: Welcome back! I missed…

Cold sweat drenched his back. The sheer numbers of heart emojis surpassed the times he used any emoji. He put the phone on silent and focused on the show.

Celia nudged him. “Are you starting work again?”

“Yeah. Nothing wrong with having too much money, right?”

“My mother embraces that line.”

“That bastard too,” Mio whispered. “What’s he doing now?”

Celia shrugged. “Who knows? There is this weird disease spreading between rich people. Some group is targetting them for some reason. That shitbag hasn’t shown up anywhere lately.”

Ethan turned off the television. “It was on news.”

“Forget that. What about your charm? What if it charmed the viewers?”

Ethan flinched. From thousands of viewers, someone might identify him. “I completely forgot about it.”

“Will it work behind the screen?” Celia inquired, crossing her legs. “We have to test it first.”

“The effect shouldn’t be too strong…” Ethan said and shook his head. “I will use glasses.”

“You look cute in them.”

Mio pinched his sleeve with reluctant eyes. “Onii-sama, can I participate in your stream…?”

“Sure. I am only gonna play some games.”

“I can’t participate… fuck my popularity.”

Mio snickered while Celia punched the couch. Chuckling, he patted her hair.

Messing around the house, the trio set up the stream. He double-checked the webcam, the screen, and the mic.

“All set.”

Ten seconds was all it took for the people to join.

[Weenie: The cutie is back.]

[Irina_Aer: Sup. Why glasses lol?]

[Luerker: He looks more charming like this.]

[Felicia_was_taken: True, kek.]

[...]

A wave of messages flooded the chat. He glanced at the girl carrying the chair toward him. How would they react to her presence?

Celia standing out of the cam’s view deadpanned. “The fuck is this?” she whispered.

“Onii-sama’s cult,” Mio whispered and sat beside him.

[My_soul: Who tf is this woman?]

[Chizurux: Girlfriend?]

[Dianae: Nooooooooo, Imma kms if it’s true.]

Ethan sweated hard. Killing herself for this. Wasn’t this joke a bit too serious?

“I am his sister.”

[Chizurux: I can live!]

[Narumiaw: But Ethan is more beautiful.]

I am not beautiful...

The chaos calmed down. Ethan quickly started bashing the undead’s skulls in the RPG with Mio, who chose the priest class to support him. He accepted Celia’s request to join the party. He messaged Andrew, who didn’t saw the message but didn’t respond. To fill the 4th spot in the party, he chose a random viewer.

[Chizurux: I… won! I won the f**king draw!]

The winner was none other than the girl who threatened to kill herself…