Chapter 35: Exposed

Reminded of his grandfather, Evin felt a headache coming.

'What should I tell him… Ugh'

'He's gonna come to me all serious and say that we need to talk or something'

'Then he's going to confront me about me being a reincarnator, telling me things like "You're not my real grandson… I can't accept you",'

While Evin was feeling anxious about the incoming trouble, trying to joke about it to relieve his tension, Rith just sighed and decided to comfort him a little. Though Evin couldn't notice her glancing at the door briefly before doing so.

"Since he knows some matters about the Children, then he should also realize that it's a random selection. You didn't choose to be born in this family. Besides, you also helped your family financially and with that incident with the mage, although it means little to some people, it doesn't mean you did nothing"

"But I'm still lying to them. But since they could learn about the matter on their own in the future, it would be best if I confronted them myself. But should I tell them that I come from another World or not is the biggest problem," Evin said with a sigh.

"You're such a pain in the ass, weren't you supposed to be a spirit who wandered your World for three hundred years? How is your willpower so pathetic?"

"This and that are completely different things. When I was a spirit, I didn't have to face anyone, I just existed. There weren't any social or emotional responsibilities I had to face," Evin grumbled in response.

"I can't believe I used to respect you, I even looked up to you… Sigh, I guess first impressions do leave a big impact. Even when you're acting like the toddling little bitch you are, I seem to not mind it so much," Rith jabbed at Evin.

"You're so mean. How can you be this mean? I can't believe I lived through three centuries of loneliness and insanity and then reincarnated in a completely unknown World to me, just to be abused by a cat half the time," Evin answered sadly.

"You what?" Came an old man's voice from the door to Ssatsko's room.

Evin instantly glared at Rith, who was grinning from cheek to cheek. He knew that Rith could easily sense if someone was eavesdropping on them or not.

'I thought you weren't supposed to interfere with my life?!' he screamed internally.

'Where's your fucking Cosmic Professionalism?!'

Calming down, he faced his grandfather.

"Let's go to our room," he told Ssatsko.

The man nodded and followed behind with a difficult face.

They entered Evin's test room and Evin set the furnace on fire, so it worked as an extra source of noise. He knew that he couldn't trust Rith with his secrets now.

"I thought you were sleeping, grandpa. It's not nice to eavesdrop on people," Evin started the conversation abruptly.

"Elina woke me up, saying that some Easterners came to our house. I was admiring how politely you talked with them. But ended up listening to the whole conversation, because you not knowing about the mage distinctions seemed a bit suspicious to me, since you're supposed to be a Child of the Empress, after all. I know that the Cosmics don't take anyone as their disciple, so I was curious of the reasons. Afterwards, I chanced upon your talk about you being a spirit from another World. Is that true?" Ssatsko truthfully revealed everything.

Evin sighed and shook his head.

"It's true. I was dead for a long time, but was given a chance to be reborn in Alvox. The World I come from does not have anything related to magic, but it is much more technologically advanced than Alvox. I can't tell you the full details, but I sold some information from my original World to the Cosmics. Hence, she was sent to monitor me," Evin gave a short explanation of his circumstances.

"I see… That explains a lot of things," Ssatsko pondered. He knew that receiving tutelage from the Cosmics is basically a legend at this point with only a few dozen individuals achieving such privileges.

"So? What did you want to tell me?"

"What would I tell you? As Rith there said, it wasn't your choice to be reborn as Lora's child. And I think that replacement is a very wrong way to describe Children of the Empress. Let me explain. What's the earliest memory you have of this World?" Ssatsko asked.

"I believe it is when I was in my mother's womb,"

"Exactly. I don't know too much about these things, but I have heard that the Children of the Empress remember being inside their mother's wombs. I don't believe that there was a child in the womb before you. One that you had to replace. You were born inside you mother's wombs from the beginning. Albeit with some extra memories you had to bear," Ssatsko said.

"But when you looked at me in the morning, you seemed so awkward, like you didn't know what to do"

"But it is awkward, don't you agree? A little boy, not even two years old. My instincts tell me that you're a cute little boy who knows nothing of life, but my mind tells me the complete opposite. That you're someone who lived through thick and thin, perhaps you were a criminal in your past life for all I know"

Evin felt like crying, hearing these understanding words.

'I guess it's true that grandfathers dote on their grandchildren,' Evin thought with happiness.

"Thanks for your understanding… I guess," Evin replied awkwardly. He expected disdain and suspicion, but instead received understanding and compassion. Needless to say, he started to really like his new grandfather.

"Also, will you tell your parents?"

"I really should, shouldn't I?" Hearing about the matter, Evin felt like another headache was brewing inside his head. Rith saw the child brooding over the matter, and just sighed in disappointment again.

'I can't believe this guy survived for three centuries alone. So goddamn annoying,' Rith thought.

"Though you should keep it a secret from Sasha for the time being,"

"True… I'll talk to them tonight," Evin said resolutely.

"Good. Wake up early in the morning. We will go to the forest for a few days," Ssatsko said suddenly.

"What? Why?"

"You may be a 300-year-old man, but you're still the grandson of a hunter. I'll need to teach you some other things as well," Ssatsko said. Thinking a bit, he continued, "You should also probably give your parents some time to think after your conversation"

"How long will we be gone? What should I prepare?"

"Nothing much, just make sure you bring some warm clothes. Don't bring food, though," Ssatsko reminded.

'Guess we'll have to hunt our own food,' Evin guessed.

"I must ask, what kind of World did you come from?" Ssatsko then asked with curiosity.

Evin heard the question he heard so many times from Abvelgail and Rith. He smirked and replied smugly.

"I'm not telling you. But I may be willing to sell some of the information"

"What do you want in exchange, then?"

"I don't know," Evin said with an annoying smirk.

Ssatsko made a puzzled face.

"I don't know what kind of price would be best for such information. I only told the Felines information about a single business in my previous World, which netted me a salary of ten thousand gold every year, and the numbers should keep rising over time as well. Who knows what kind of benefits I may require in the future? If I decide to sell more information about my home planet, I shall do so only when I need it," Evin explained shamelessly.

He did not think of using his information to better the technology and development of Alvox. He wasn't a saint, but he wasn't a penny-pincher either, so he didn't mind selling the info. He just didn't want to suffer a losing deal.

The three dispersed soon after.

…