41: Yellow I
"Bay bye." The transmigrator waved goodbye to the child.
He couldn't save Eden from the lunatic woman without breaking OOC... But the toddler was with the lunatic woman. Wasn't their mom or something was comforting the lunatic woman the first time they met?
[ ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: HAVING A FRIEND! ]
[ CONGRATULATIONS! ]
[ USER EXP +10 ]
[USER LEVEL 1, EXP: 71/100, more stats ]
[ ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: MEET EDEN RYUN! ]
What?!?
[ CONGRATULATIONS! ]
[ USER EXP +10 ]
[USER LEVEL 1, EXP: 81/100, more stats ]
STOP!
The transmigrator shook his head to get rid of all the pop up messages in front of his face. What's with all the notifications bombarding him at once?
Sure, he's glad that he unlocked some achievements and got some new Exps, but he can't afford to break character to read all of that right now.
"KJ, sweetie, let's go." His female caretaker pulled on his arm, so Jay looked her in the eyes and pouted.
The affect was immediate, and JJ's eyes softened.
"I know you miss your new friend already, but we have to go, alright?" Her voice pitched in a way that one would talk to a child.
Instead of walking along side his caretakers, Jay lifted his arms towards their direction. Oh, he's getting spoiled lately.
"Uuup!" He mumbled, and the Red King sighed before he picked up the baby by wrapping his hands around Jay's torso.
Now that he's in the safety of his male caretaker's arms, the transmigrator could read all the notifications that the System had sent him without looking suspicious.
While his teen parents were making their way towards another store across from the bakery, Jay was reading the notifications properly.
Eden Ryun...
Isn't that the prison guard?
Eden Ryun?
In the original book, the guard usually went by "Ryun" even when he's with the Golden Boy Kade. He had the patience of a saint when he's dealing with Kaon, and the man was dealt some of the dirtiest hands in the game, but he still chose to be kind.
Jay didn't remember much about the interaction between the prison guard and the main villain, mainly because he thought that it was kind of irrelevant to the story. Now? Now he wished he remembered more.
Ryun was a kind soul who permitted JJ to visit Kaon, even let her brought the villain some food. He should've listened to his superiors who said he shouldn't let anyone visit Kaon unless they're part of the council.
Hmm... Now that Jay knows that the original Ryun and Kaon had met before the villain's imprisonment, it made sense that the prison guard was kind to his childhood friend even though Kaon wasn't kind to him.
No one deserves to deal with Kaon, honestly. The original Kaon had a chance to escape with the Red King and JJ, but the villain opted to chain himself with his prison guard.
Jay initially didn't understand the logic behind what Kaon did, but then he realized later on that the villain's mission of slaughtering the entire council of superheroes weren't done, so he had to get back into headquarters somehow.
Poor Ryun was never mentioned ever again after Kaon stained the headquarters red before he escaped. The United Earth kept sending heroes after the scum villain, and none of those superpowers came back alive.
The book did mention that Kaon found peace after he killed anyone who had superpowers.
Back to the topic of Eden Ryun, no wonder the guy has so much patience. He grew up with their local lunatic woman, for fuck's sake. What else did poor little Eden had to go through? Judging by the first time they met, Jay was pretty sure he's below the poverty line.
The transmigrator didn't remember every single page of the original book, but he was pretty sure that Kaon had taunted Ryun once or twice about how they grew up in the same fucked up part of the city, only for the guard to join the system that screwed their childhoods over.
System, did Jay just technically complete one of the requirements? The one where he has to meet Eden Ryun?
[ YES, USER JAY. ]
[ MINIMUM USER REQUIREMENTS TO COMPLETE MAIN MISSION:
- AGE 18
- LEVEL 20
- MET EDEN RYUN ✓
- CAPTURED MISSION COMPLETED ]
Oh.
Does that mean Eden Ryun doesn't have to be the main villain's prison guard when the time comes?
Well, time to hopefully convince his new friend to not work for the USC from a young age.
Both the original Eden Ryun and the transmigrator's new friend Eden don't deserve to be mistreated by the USC nor do they deserve to never be mentioned again half way through the book.
__
As promised, Jay would see his new friend again in front of the bakery. He had his Rubik's cube with him this time, and the weather was cold enough that he was huddled inside his jacket.
It's not even snowing yet, and it's already freezing.
Damn climate changes and the effects of nuclear weapon on the planet.
Damn the author for making this world such a harsh place to live in.
The baby was inside the bakery, waiting for his female caretaker to return from the restroom. His male caregiver was making small talk with the cashier while the guy was trying to bag their order.
His little family had become a regular at the bakery, coming into town to replenish their supplies of bread every two or three days.
Jay couldn't complain because he literally can't complain. He would complain if he could, but the wonderful scent of fresh baked goods and the promise of getting gis favorite custard tarts kept him at bay.
Once his violet eyes landed on a familiar shape of a toddler standing in front of the bakery entrance, Jay suddenly raised up his hands and waved. His Rubik's cube was also making sounds as he waved it around.
Beautiful green eyes were staring back at him, and the toddler slowly blinked in his direction. Eden was also bundled up in the same yellow jacket that Jay saw him wore last time.
Thankfully, the local lunatic lady wasn't with them this time.
After a very long moment of eye contact, Eden finally waved back.
"Haiii!" Jay began making some noises as he ran towards his new friend. "Hi, hai!"
Isn't this normal children behavior?
Yes, that's right. He should be excited to see more kids his age.
Behind the transmigrator, his male caretaker was taking leisure steps, following the baby to make sure that he doesn't accidentally run into the wall.
"Kind woman's son..." A black haired woman mumbled when she noticed that her child was looking at someone.
Unlike the rest of the people in the bakery, the black haired woman wasn't wearing a warm jacket. Her dull beige long sleeve coat had a few patched up holes, but at least it's covering the majority of her body.
"Hello." Eden's lips pulled into a strained smile, but it's a smile, nonetheless.
"Hi, hi." Jay returned his smile, and he waved his Rubik's cube in front of the other toddler's face. "Bluu. Yellaaaw."
"What are your intentions?" Eden's mother's stern voice caught the toddler's attention.
The Red King raised a single eyebrow at the question, and he didn't even break eye contact.
Jay knew what that look meant. Either his male caretaker wanted Eden's mother to explain what she meant or the teenage boy was just dragging out time as he waited for his partner to come join the conversation.
As expected, Eden's mother continued speaking, "Sir, you and your wife had been given my family... Some leverage."
"It's not leverage." The Red King's baritone voice remained flat, as if he thought what he was saying was universally known. "It's charity."
"No one gives anything for free." The woman's reply got quieter with each word.
Sensing the tension coming from the nervous woman and the fact that his teenage father wasn't in the mood to talk, Jay decided to pull some tricks.
"Dada." He slammed his male caregiver's knee to get his attention. Once those red eyes were on him, Jay pointed his finger at his new friend.
He was close enough that he could sink his little finger into Eden's coat, right above the other toddler's beating heart.
"Yellaaaw."
Those gorgeous green eyes widened when Jay touched his jacket, but Eden's shoulders visibly relaxed when the transmigrator pointed out the color of his clothing.
Good lord... What did this kid go through to fear touch from another child his age?
"Oh..." A familiar voice diverted Jay's attention. JJ was standing two steps behind her companion, and her lips slowly pulled into a smile even though the look in her eyes said that she's terrified.