He wandered into the kitchen, where Leora was prepping dinner.
“Hey, Leora,” he said, leaning against the counter. “What do you think Emily would like? A gift, I mean.”
She paused, chopping carrots with her usual precision. “She used to love big teddy bears until recently. She could hold them at night, and it would help her sleep. Not sure now, though.”
Isaac caught the slight shift in her tone, but before he could ask what that was, she changed the topic.
“Buying her a gift with your first earnings, huh? That’s sweet of you.”
’I’m not a kid, Vice Principal. You don’t need to praise me like that.’ He groaned, exasperated. “Well, I’ll get her a teddy bear. But shouldn’t I buy something expensive as well?”
She gave him a sidelong glance. “Gifts aren’t about money, Isaac, not for Emily at least.”
The air tightened a bit, and Isaac wondered if she was annoyed. Thinking again, he’d accidentally implied Emily was materialistic.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he said. “I just want the gift to be something that makes her happy.”
Leora didn’t respond, focusing on the stove.
’She is protective of Emily,’ he thought, smiling inwardly. Emily had good people around her. Leora, Professor Catherine.
To shift the mood, he asked, “How much would land cost here in the Stronghold?”
“Hard to say. Depends on the situation. This is a military zone. Selling land here complicated. It’s not a simple transaction.”
She stirred a pot.
“Normally, we won’t ever sell it, but your case is unique. So until you apply for land, where we will revalutate your performace, we can’t estimate a cost.”
Isaac nodded, turning his gaze to the kitchen. “Do you need some help?”
“No. Go sit in the living room. The food is almost ready.” She shooed him off with a wooden spoon.
Dinner came soon after, and Isaac’s eyes widened at the spread.
Roasted Dire Boar ribs, glazed with a spicy mana-infused sauce, paired with Stormroot vegetables, their faint blue glow hinting at their potency, and a side of Griffin Claw broth, rich and hearty.
“This is… a lot,” he said, sitting down.
“Catherine gave me a diet plan for you,” Leora said, setting a plate in front of him. “I’ll be cooking from it from now on.”
She hesitated, then added quickly, “Don’t think bad about Catherine. She is worried about you in her own way, even if she doesn’t show it.”
Isaac nodded. He took a bite of the boar.
The meat was tender and bursting with flavor. A subtle mana tingle spread through his tongue and entered his body.
“It’s perfect,” he said, meaning it.
After dinner, he stepped onto the porch.
The cool night wind brushed his face.
Tyr waved a branch from the field, humming its rough tune, and Isaac waved back, smiling.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Alice. The time was 10 p.m., early enough since she slept at 11 sharp.
The line rang, and rang, and he frowned.
“Weird. Is she asleep already?”
Just as it nearly went to voicemail, she picked up.
Silence stretched for a few seconds before her voice came through, calm and aloof.
“Hello, Isaac.”
“Hey, Alice,” he said, leaning against the railing. “Everything okay?”
Another pause, then, “Yes. What’s up?”
He frowned.
His grip on the railing tightened. He could sense something off. But pushing over the phone wouldn’t work.
She’d brush it off.
“I need a distributor for my first batch of crops,” he said instead. “1,700 Vitality Grains, and I’m planning to sell more in the upcoming days.”
“You want Calloway Corporation to handle it?” she asked, confirming.
“Yeah,” he said. “Can you set it up?”
“I’ll talk to the chairman and arrange a meeting soon,” she replied. “Anything else?”
“Come with them,” he said lightly. “When they come for the deal. I’d like to see you too.”
There was a beat of silence before she responded, “Okay.”
Her voice softened just a touch. “Goodbye, Isaac.”
“Bye,” he said, ending the call.
He stared at the screen, unease gnawing at him.
Alice used to say that her family was quite good to her even though her parents were dead.
But as expected, once they found out she did not inheret one of the unique Talents of Calloway family, they became cold to her.
’This is one of the time I’m really hoping I misunderstood everything, and Alice was just tired right now.’
’And that her family is treating her nicely.’
…
Central Sector, Fortified City 50
Alice sat at her desk in the small office.
Piles of documents towered around her—shipping manifests, inventory logs, supplier contracts—all signs of the workload that had piled up since she’d returned from the awakening ceremony.
Her eyes ached, heavy with fatigue, and her shoulders slumped under the weight of hours spent hunched over papers.
The entry-level logistics job wasn’t glamorous, but it was hers, assigned quietly after she came back Talentless.
No one had scolded her, no one had mocked her, at least not to her face.
But no one had offered help either. She didn’t need it anyway.
The clock on the wall ticked past 10:10 p.m.
She pushed her chair back, and stood, stretching her stiff limbs.
The offices outside her cramped room were dark and empty. The rest of the staff had long gone home after their shifts ended hours ago.
She grabbed her suit coat and headed for the elevator. With her family name granting her clearance, she rode up to the top floor.
At the chairman’s office, she knocked softly.
“Come in, ” a deep voice called from within.
She pushed the door open, stepping into the spacious room.
The chairman—her uncle—sat behind his wide desk, a stack of reports spread before him.
His gray hair was neatly combed, his suit crisp despite the late hour, and his stern features softened into a warm smile when he saw her.
“You’re still here, Alice? I told you to leave on time.”
“I just finished up.” She said with a neutral expression, then added, “Isaac called earlier.”
The chairman’s eyes sharpened, his posture straightening as he leaned forward. “Isaac? What did he say?”
“He’s got 1,700 Vitality Grains. It’s his first batch of crops,” she said. “He wants Calloway Corporation to distribute them for him.”
The old man’s face lit up with interest. The shift from familial warmth to business alertness was almost instant.
He reached for his phone, pressing a button.
“Margaret,” he said to his secretary, “set up a meeting with Sanctum of Masters and Isaac. Soon as possible.”
He hung up, his mind already turning over the opportunity, then looked back at Alice.
“Good catch. This could be big.”
She didn’t leave right away, lingering by the desk.
After a moment, she spoke again, quieter this time. “Can I go meet him too? When we do the deal?”
The chairman’s gaze settled on her. He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands together, and took a slow breath.
When he spoke, his tone was gentle but firm. “Alice, I know you’ve always liked the boy. But now… you haven’t awakened any Talent, and he’s got the best in history—an SSS rank Farmer.
“If you try to get close to him, people will hurt you. They’ll say you’re taking advantage of his kindness, clinging to him for what he’s become.”
Alice’s hand tightened around her forearm.
The chairman noticed, his heart twisting at the sight, but he didn’t back down.
He’d rather see her face this now than suffer worse later.
Rumors, insults, the kind of cruelty that followed gaps in power, it was the horrible. He did not want Alice to become a subject of that.
She looked down, her voice barely above a whisper. “I know. I’ll just meet him. Nothing else.”
He studied her for a long moment. Finally, he sighed.
“Okay. If that’s what you want.”
A faint smile flickered on Alice’s face, and she turned to leave.
The door clicked shut behind her, and the chairman sighed again.
His fingers pressed against his forehead.
A wave of regret washed over him.
He wondered if he should’ve stepped in years ago, back at the academy when Alice and Isaac grew close.
Isaac had been poor then, a nobody by most standards, but Alice never cared—she’d paid his tuition, stood by him, treated him as an equal.
He had not seen any problem with that.
Maybe, he thought, he should’ve stopped it then, drawn a line when their worlds were still similar.
But now?
The gap was a chasm, and he feared what it might cost her.
Contrary to his worries, Alice’s complexion improved as soon as she got the permission.
She returned to her office with light steps, and a small smile.