Chapter 37: Life Changes From One Moment To The Next
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Seeing how her younger brother acted so stiffly and suspiciously in front of them, Daniela desperately apologized to the couple.
"I-I’m so sorry about this. He’s not usually like this..."
"It’s fine. There’s no hurry," Riven said calmly. "Let’s talk more in the car. Do you want to eat something, Carlos?"
"Yeah..." Carlos nodded slowly, still watching everything with careful eyes.
"Let’s go to my favorite restaurant," Elisa smiled warmly. "You can order whatever you want. Don’t hold back."
"..."
And somehow, from one moment to the next, Carlos found himself sitting in an elegant restaurant eating fancy food he had never even imagined tasting before in his life.
He was completely shocked.
There had to be some kind of trick. Some hidden catch. How could he suddenly be getting a rich family out of nowhere like this?
Was it only because of his sister? Because she just happened to meet a powerful hunter who pitied her and decided to take her in along with his crippled wife?
Well... the real "catch," as he slowly learned while they talked over the meal, was that his sister’s incredible talent combined with Riven’s own abilities practically created an infinite money-making method.
However, it was not just about the money.
Riven and Elisa... were sincere.
They sincerely felt for the two siblings and simply wanted to give them a safe place to live after learning about their difficult situation.
"..."
Carlos remained a little skeptical at first. But after confirming that the couple truly came from two prestigious families and were not some kind of sophisticated kidnappers, he decided to go along with everything and see for himself how things would turn out.
Thus, after he had eaten his fill of expensive dishes he could never have afforded before, he ended up meeting several people from the government. He nodded along, agreed to the necessary paperwork, and then...
He was officially adopted!
"Huh? T-This is way too fast..."
Before he could fully process what was happening, he was already taking a warm bath with his sister inside a huge and luxurious house. A massive, soft, and warm bed was waiting for him afterward.
On top of that, he was getting his own private room, and his new parents were already asking him what kinds of toys he liked, which books he enjoyed, and anything else he might want.
They were planning to completely overhaul that room and turn it into whatever he desired.
It all felt... shocking. Almost dream-like.
"Big sis... am I still sleeping? I guess I haven’t woken up yet."
"Heheh, this is all real, Carlos. This is the new life big sis made for you! See? I promised I would take care of you!"
"...Big sis."
Carlos slowly calmed down as the reality of the situation settled in. Tears began to fall from his eyes while Daniela gently washed his hair and back. He leaned forward and hugged her tightly.
"Aw... It’ll be okay, my baby brother," Daniela said with a warm smile. "Mooch, mooch!" She playfully kissed his cheek.
"Ew, don’t kiss me!" Carlos protested. "You’re going to give me the cooties!"
"Ehhh?! You still believe in that?!" Daniela screamed in exaggerated disbelief.
Riven smiled to himself while listening to the siblings talking and laughing in the bathroom. He quietly walked back to his own room where Elisa was already resting in bed, reading a book using her newly recovered hands.
"How are your hands doing? Are they getting tired?" he asked gently.
"A little," she sighed. "But I’ll get better, right?"
"Let’s hope so," Riven nodded as he sat down next to her. "Things... kind of moved on really fast, huh?"
"They really did..." Elisa said, a soft smile appearing on her lips. "But I’ve never had this much fun in years. Life keeps changing and there’s always something new happening... It might be a little shocking sometimes, but... I do like Daniela and Carlos. And Noir the Third is adorable." She glanced over at the small black pup currently sleeping peacefully on the bed after finishing his dinner, an entire cave panther that Riven had been keeping inside his inventory.
"Well, I’m glad to hear that," Riven sighed with relief. "Tomorrow..."
"You’ll go out again?" she sighed. "You’ve already done so much. Can’t you take the week off so we can properly acclimate to the kids?"
"..."
Riven fell silent as he thought about how he needed to hurry, about the three-year time limit that still hung over everything.
But spending so much time outside the house also meant he would not be able to spend time with his wife.
Even more importantly, he now had these two new children who had suddenly blessed his life... or rather three, if he counted Noir the Third.
His growth has been extremely fast lately. If he simply hurried when he truly needed to enter the Gates... maybe it was possible to balance everything out.
Or rather...
No. He should just do what she was asking.
If she was requesting that he take the week off, then he was going to do exactly that.
Riven wanted to grow strong fast, but if he sacrificed his time with Elisa, then what would be the point of all his efforts?
"Sure. I’ll take the week off," he finally nodded. "Still, I’ll need to go out for an hour or two tomorrow. I have to meet someone... and I’ll bring them home afterward."
"Another person?" Elisa asked in mild disbelief. "Riven! How many people are you planning to introduce into our lives right now?"
"I promise this is the last one... for now," Riven said. "It’s... an Alchemist. Probably the greatest alchemist in the world."
"...What?" Elisa’s eyebrows twitched slightly. "Surely you’re exaggerating."
"Maybe a little," Riven smiled. "But that person really does have that level of talent... I’ll help them achieve their dreams this time."
"..."
Elisa did not say anything more. She simply sat there thinking about how much Riven had changed, and how he sometimes spoke as if he had already lived through many experiences or met people they had never actually met before.
She wondered what that truly meant... and she remembered what he had once told her about how the "Authorities" had revealed certain things to him through dreams or nightmares.
Could all of that nonsense actually be true?
Riven had still not revealed the full truth to her, mostly because he believed Elisa would likely call him an insane man. He also thought it would be too awkward to talk about how the two of them had shared a deep and loving relationship in that future timeline he had left behind.
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