"What did you found down there, Isei?" Yuna asked out of curiosity.
"I thought it was a treasure, it turned out to be a rusty toy." Isei opened his palm and revealed a three centimeters long thin metal. At first glance, it looked like a flat stick.
"I see... Mike-san, can you try using your eye ability one more time? Did that mysterious blue thread lead to this thing?" Yuna pointed at the little metal while turning to Mike.
"Sure." Mike obeyed because his eye ability was no longer a secret. He used his Elemental Sight one more time to make sure. "Yes, the mysterious blue thread leads to the little metal."
"Hoh, so this is your ability, Mike-han. The eye's ability to detect certain types of metal?" Isei's eyes glinted as if he had just found a living treasure tracking device.
"Allow me to take a look. I presumed there's something of this little metal." Alfred took out a handkerchief.
Hearing that, Isei simply handed the little metal to the old butler.
Just as the little metal was being examined, three consecutive black screens suddenly popped out in front of Mike's eyes. The lady system's voice also rang directly in his ears.
*Ding*
[Side Quest: Breakthrough to Nascent Spirit Realm within twelve hours. Penalty: Fortune Point -20.]
[Side Quest: Treat and polish the treasure found by you within a month. Penalty: Fortune Points -25.]
[Side Quest: Protect your 1st Miss Fortune from any adversity. Penalty: Fortune Points -25.]
Mike's eyes widened in surprise. But he immediately calmed himself down and acted as if nothing had happened. However, he spoke in panic and confusion in his mind.
'Holy! All penalties are Fortune Point deductions. I only managed to raise it to 25 points after putting a lot of effort into accumulating good karma. However, these three quests are too cruel...' Mike lamented his fate against those quests' coercion.
He didn't even dare to look at the details using his system feature.
However, the last quest made him think thrice. He asked in wonder whether his misfortune actually had any impact on Yuna.
'Regardless, I must protect Yuna-san from any harm. If I am the cause, then I will be responsible for this. But, what kind of adversity and when will it happen? The sudden quest didn't have any time details.' Mike became confused once again.
To take the middle ground in a quick decision. Mike convinced himself to protect Yuna at all times as long as he could do that, and the circumstances were favorable for it.
However, before that, he tried to appeal to his system. 'O the glorious lady system, the last quest that you said has no time details. Even if you force me to complete all these quests, at least please give me a fair amount of detail!'
'...' Silence... That was what Mike got in response.
'Silent treatment again, huh? I think I need to find a powerful way of persuading and praising a fair lady.' Mike sighed softly and loosened his shoulders in disappointment.
"It's ordinary silver metal. Maybe what Isei said just now can be justified. Mike-sama also still doesn't know very well about his eye ability. Let's take a hypothesis that Mike-sama's eye ability is able to detect hidden metals." Alfred concluded after examining the little metal.
"Wuehehe, just as I thought. You are now my brother, Mike-han. Feel free to ask for my help if needed." Isei spun around and stopped beside Mike to put his arm around the ability treasure hunter's shoulder.
"Uh, well... All right." Mike just shrugged his shoulders and walked forward to approach the old butler. "Mr. Alfred, can I keep that? I want to use it as a memento of what I first discovered from my eye ability experiment."
"Here." Alfred just gave the little rusty metal to Mike's hand, along with the handkerchief.
"Thank you." Mike immediately secured it by wrapping the metal with the handkerchief, then putting it in his trouser pocket. He would analyze that thing later.
At that moment, Mike felt that the present moment was very appropriate to state his decision about yesterday's invitation. Thus, he convinced himself to give his answer immediately.
"Umm, I've thought about your invitation last night, Yuna-san. I'm just nothing but nobody. If you still want me to work for you, then with all due respect, I will accept your invitation. From now onwards, please take good care of me." Mike ended his statement with a formal bow of respect.
"Oh my..." Asako covered her mouth with a smile.
"Hoho~" Kisa hummed a little as if she had predicted this.
"Hmm." Alfred gave an approving nod.
"Ah, please don't say things like that, Mike-san. You're talented and I know that. Anyway, welcome to my Kisaragi Clan. We treat each other as family, but with formalities for a certain condition and reason. So, you don't have to being so stiff and too formal like that again." Yuna asked Mike to raise his head. She smiled radiantly as if not inferior to the sheen of the morning sun.
Mike was stunned for a moment. It was as if an angel appeared before his eyes, and perhaps, this angel was protected by the divine light.
"Alright, now we need to throw a welcome party for Mike-han! Let's go for the breakfast party." Isei raised his hand and cheered.
"Mm." The girls just smiled. Then, they entered the mansion first, and the men followed after.
That morning, a welcome party was held for Mike. Even though it was a breakfast event, it was the one that brought laughter and smiles between their meals.
Mike felt that he was already included in the warm atmosphere of that small clan. No more awkward or stiff feeling like last night. It seems he was quickly recognized by everyone and was accepted by them?
Whatever it was, Mike just followed the welcome party with a smile on his face. At least, he could feel recognized and needed there as someone, even though he didn't really know the motive behind Yuna's invitation.
"Ah, I need to go to the company and also some meetings later... I need to quickly get ready and go to work." Yuna pumped her hands with renewed vigor. She was glad Mike was hers, a member of her clan.
"Have a nice day, Yuna-sama." Kisa gave a wink with a smile.
"Have a wonderful day, Yuna-san." Mike also said his greetings.
"Mm, thank you." Yuna nodded and walked to her room.
"Then, I need to excuse myself." Alfred also left but headed out of the mansion.
While Asako and Yukiko were tidying the table, Mike decided to help. He took some cutlery and dirty dishes. "Allow me to help."
"You don't have to do that." Yukiko replied, but in an unconcerned tone.
"Huh?" Mike pondered for a moment. This quiet girl finally spoke a clear yet complete sentence. But what about that flat intonation? Did this girl already hate him?
But at that very moment, Asako used her telekinesis to carry the dirty plates and cutlery.
"Mm, you don't need help with this, Mike-san. It's more than enough with just me and Yukiko-chan." Asako smiled gently, then walked away with Yukiko to the kitchen in the next room.
"Haha... That's how it is, Mike-han. Don't think too much about it. Asako-chan and Yukiko-chan don't like getting help when the one they're going to do is work in their field of expertise, especially the easy ones. They quite like to keep themselves busy." Isei laughed and patted Mike's back.
"Hum, thanks for telling me, Isei-san. I still need to do my morning practice, would you like to come with me?" Mike nodded in understanding.
"Count me in. I happen to have the most relaxing free time." Isei pointed at himself with his thumb. He also smiled as if showing off his sparkling white teeth.