Chapter 27: Making a Stupid Decision

Chapter 27: Making a stupid Decision.

The woman sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes as she glanced over at her young son, who had wisely tuned out their conversation in favor of his candy bag. He stood at the edge of the sidewalk, savoring each piece of candy while staring up at the moonlit sky.

The boy, barely as tall as his mom’s waist, munched away on his sweets, talking to himself between bites. His cheeks were round and sticky with sugar, and he had the innocent, puzzled look of someone trying to make sense of adult stuff.

“Why’s Mom so mad about Dad’s friend anyway?.” he mumbled through a mouthful of candy, frowning a little. “Dad’s gotta have friends too, right?”

He scrunched up his nose, thinking hard as he licked the sugar off his fingers. “Maybe she doesn’t like that friend. Or maybe… maybe only she’s allowed to have friends?”

He considered this for a second but shook his head. “Nah, that doesn’t make any sense…”

Then he thought of something else. “Or maybe… maybe mom's mad that dad's spending more time with his friend than her?. ” He sighed, still stumped. “Grown-ups are so weird.”

Finally giving up, he reached into his candy bag and grabbed a big handful, grinning as he looked down at his prize. “Well, I don’t have to figure it out, ‘cause candy time’s way more important—”

But just as he lifted the candies to his mouth, something caught his eye. His whole body froze, and his jaw dropped as he stared, wide-eyed, across the street.

Up on a rooftop, against the full moon, A dark shape leaped over the buildings across the street, a figure clad in glistening black armor like covering, soaring over rooftops like a creature of the night, blocking out the moon’s glow for a brief moment before vanishing again.

The boy’s jaw dropped. “M-Mommy…” he whispered, still staring up in awe.

His mother turned to him, a bit exasperated. “What now, sweetie?”

He stammered, “I saw—I saw a devil! Jumping across the rooftops!.”

The mother chuckled, brushing it off. “A devil, huh?. Must be your imagination, Or maybe it’s the infamous Night Stalker, the one who comes out when kids eat too many sweets at night.”

The boy’s eyes went round as saucers. “B-But... I didn’t eat that many!.”

“Well, better to be safe,” she said, amused. “Let’s get you home, hmm?” She added, The boy's head bobbed up and down as if he couldn't wait to get home all of a sudden, causing the woman to chuckle in amusement.

With that, she took his hand then bid farewell to her friend, and as her and her son walked away, the boy glanced back one last time, his expression full of worry.

---

Gift, meanwhile, was completely unaware of the impression he’d left on one young mind below. He skidded to a stop on the edge of a rooftop, taking in the sight of a lavish manor house a short distance away.

It had an elegant, sprawling courtyard lined with flower beds and surrounded by tall iron gates draped in flowering vines. Even from here, he could see the shimmering lights that illuminated the place, giving it an air of quiet grandeur.

“So, the tavern lady comes from this place?, but isn't that the Baron's home?, Could she perhaps be his wife or maybe related to him in some way.” he muttered, surprised since he'd already gotten all the information regarding the town during his stay here.

“Guess you really shouldn’t judge a book by it's cover. I thought she’d be crashing in a shack or something.” Gift tilted his head feeling a bit stunned. " Nevermind that, Pixel, can you tell me exactly where she is in the manor." Gift added.

[Forgive me Sir, but it seems my sensor's can only detect the targets general area, I can't seem to pin point her exact location within the manor. My apologies.]

" Hahahaha, there's no need to apologize, it just means this'll be far more funner than usual...., You really need to learn to let some load off pixel." Gift humored.

[What ever do you mean Sir?.]

" I just meant that you should stop acting so stuck up all the time, try to loosen up a bit." He said with a hint of helplessness.

[ I'm afraid my systems aren't in a knot sir.]

" Sigh...that's not what I meant." Gift facepalmed his helmet while sighing.

" Just try to update your attitude and humor a bit if you could...."

[I see..., Understood Sir.]

[Updating System Personality..]

_...Well that's one way to do it._ Gift thought, not knowing why on earth he would give her such an option in her system database but nevertheless, he didn't seem to mind since he was the one that asked her to change in the first place.

[Update complete!.]

" Ok?, let's get back to the mission. Now what do your readings say about the target." Gift suddenly brought him mind back to the matter at hand.

Pixel’s voice broke in. [Well Sir, it appears her Nano-bots saturation is suddenly rising rapidly. I suggest immediate action.]

“Perfect suggestion, Your right, There's no time for sight-seeing.” Gift took a deep breath, flexing his fingers like a cowboy getting ready for a show down as he prepared to move. “Let’s see what kind of trouble our friend’s gotten herself into...but first..."

" I wanna see just how far this suit can go!." Gifts eyes flashed with excitement as he stared at the manors compound surrounded completely by a tall wall several tens of meters away as if all the land around the manor was completely cut off from the rest of the town.

With that, he concentrated all his power to his legs, causing the lines across them to glow a bright blood red sheen that became brighter with each second.

"To infinity....and beyon-" He hollered before pushing off in an instant.