The Bellot Family's Secret

Mark woke up early in the morning as someone repeatedly knocked on his door. Mark didn't need his Skills to know who that person was, so he reached the door, and after taking a deep breath, he opened it.

"Hey, Rubes, why are…"

"WHERE IS SHE?!? "Rubes interrupted Mark as the former gripped the latter by its shirt collar.

"I don't know what…."

"DON'T LIE TO ME. WE KNOW YOU AREN'T AS SIMPLE AS YOU LOOK. So I repeat… WHERE… IS… SHE?!?!"

Mark could tell that Rubes was very serious, unlike most of the time, and he meant to even cause some harm to him.

"I still don't know what you want from me. How about we go get somet…" but Mark didn't get the chance to finish his sentence, as Rubes punched him right in the stomach.

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You received 40 damage to your HP

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Mark fell to his knees as he spat some blood. It was normal blood, as his <Driver Sync> was 100% since he had trucked someone just a couple of hours ago. This was the first time he had received any form of attack since he woke up, which damaged him, as until now, he avoided them.

That single punch took almost a third of his HP, and Even if his <Defence> was only 12, he felt like it was much more an average person should do.

Rubes gripped Mark from his neck as he wanted him to be face to face with him. But Mark didn't plan on staying still, even if Rubes was at the right.

Mark went to punch Rube in his chest as quickly as he could, but he didn't use any Trucki as he didn't mean to hurt him seriously. But as Mark's attack was ready to connect with Rube's stomach, Rube quickly gripped Mark's hand and stopped his attack.

Rubes' reflexes and speed were evidently much higher than Mark's.

'Is he a Rogue instead of a Bard, then? '

Rogues and Bards were some regular classes in many games, with the former being a master of speed and stealth while the latter being the most charismatic person in the room. Rubes' personality fit to be more on the approach of a Bard, but with his current speed and precision, he was more Rogue-like. Mark could tell that the previous attack wasn't random and was well aimed at bringing much pain with not enough damage to kill, which made him think what a normal hit of Rubes would be if he wanted to kill him.

"That's enough, Agent. We don't want our newest recruit to stay in the infirmary for long. "

The voice came from the door, and Mark looked in that direction; what he saw didn't surprise him. It was his Landlady—- Lady Bellot. But, of course, he already knew that Rubes worked for her, as she was the one who gave him the job, and he knew that the company they worked for belonged to the Bellot Family.

He had made some investigation those past days by asking some people who worked on loading his truck. He also searched the Net using his Skill to find any info about the Bellot family, and he didn't find that much. They didn't seem to be a simple family and had a lot of resources, but they had no history, which was quite rare.

He didn't even find any names of other people in the Bellot family than his Landlady, but he found her full name — Ava Bellot. She was the CEO of the company he currently works for, and Erinne was her personal assistant. Erinne actually idolized Ava. Ava was one of the few reasons that the 'Ice Princess' could lose her coolness since if someone dared to say a bad word about Ava, they would beg to die.

Ava was like Erinne, meaning that she never smiled or showed many emotions, which brought her the nickname of the Ice Queen. Mark hadn't had the chance to speak with Ava, even when he tried to do so to speak about the rents he owed, and all he took was Erinne throwing daggers with her eyes and looked like she was ready to throw actual ones if he kept trying to disturb her mistress.

"I have been looking you for…."

"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK LIKE THAT TO THE LADY, YOU WORM, "another familiar voice shouted at Mark, interrupting his sentence.

Erinne stepped into the room and headed towards Mark, slapping him with such a speed he didn't have any time to avoid.

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You received 32 damage to your HP

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That slap was much stronger than any sharp that he had ever received. It seemed just like Rube Erinne wasn't your average person.

"Enough playtime, you two. Now leave us as you wait outside. "

Erinne's and Rubes' eyes widened as they looked toward Ava. The latter was ready to say something but was interrupted by the former.

"At your command, my Lady," Erinne said as she gripped Rubes' hand and dragged him outside like she knew Rubes didn't want to leave.

And it looked like Rubes didn't or could put any resistance, as they both left and closed the door behind them,

Ava walked closer to Mark and then went towards the desk chair in front of his computer. She sat with her legs crossed, and Mark could see all the glory of those long pillars because she wore a short skirt.

"So where is he? Tell him to show his face? "

Mark stood up and tried to make himself look confused, but he knew what she meant.

'How did they found about Truck-kun? Was it because I used Trucki in front of Rubes? '

This was the only reason he could think that they could have found out about Truck-kun, as he was careful of covering his tracks in every other situation. But even if that was the reason, how could they know about Truck-kun? According to Truck-kun, people of Earth don't know about higher beings like Truck-kun, his family, or other individuals like that.

"You know I can use many means to make you tell you what I want to know. You seem like a bright fella, and you were snooping around about me, weren't you? So you know about our real background or at least have some theories about it. I will tell you that those theories are far from the truth. "

Mark couldn't read her as she continued not showing any emotion or changing her tone while she spoke. Even if she didn't sound like Truck-kun, she seemed more robotic than him.

"It is true that the Bellot is a strange family which appeared out of nowhere. OR… to be more precise, a person that says that is from a family called Bellot appeared out of nowhere. "Mark said as he stared Ava at her face, trying to see even the slightest reaction to what he said.

"Hmmm… it seems like you have more brain than Erinne gives you to have. I wonder what kind of fantasies have you created about me, then? "

Mark kept himself silent as he continued staring at her for any reaction. But five minutes passed, and Ava was still frozen in time. That made him sigh as he decided to take a risk.

"So, how was it? "

"Hm? What are you referring to? "Ava said, and for the first time, Mark detected a glimpse of something in her voice.

It was curiosity, but not to a very great degree.

"The Realm they sent you. How was it? "Mark exclaimed and saw Ava's eyes slightly widening.

He was confident that this was her surprise look.

"What gave it away? "she asked, keeping her neutral tone.

"Nothing big. Just the air around you. I have met people of power, and arrogance or a feeling of superiority isn't uncommon among them. But there is a difference between you and them. You don't say and try to demonstrate your superiority with things like fancy cars, dresses, jewels, etc., but just by being, you do so. Also, your Aura isn't as natural for someone in this place, except if they weren't part of it for some time, as you don't seem like a resident of the other Realms. "

Truck-kun had told Mark there were ways for people sent to other Realms to return to their Home Place. Doing so was very simple, as they needed to complete enough tasks so that the consciousness of the Realm they were sent to reward them with a way to make that trip.

But even when people had that chance, they rarely took it as returning meant that they would lose access to the abilities they had gathered throughout their adventure in that Realm. But that didn't mean that nobody took that choice, and that also didn't mean they would be expected when they returned. Even if they didn't have access to their abilities and their stats were lowered to fit the restrictions of their Home Place, most times, they were at the edge of that place.

In reality, Mark wasn't sure that Ava was a person like that and probably wouldn't think so if he hadn't trucked Sarah. Sarah's Aura was almost entirely red because of her high compatibility with the Red Realm and was more extensive than anyone else. Or at least it was before Mark showed Ava's Energy Aura.

The Energy Aura of someone was like a mist that surrounded them; in Srah's case, it covered her body completely and was at a level thick enough so that Mark had a hard time seeing her with his Skill active. But in Ava's case, things were way different as her Aura surrounded her entire body and filled the entire room.

It was almost like he was in a sauna, without, of course, the heat. Mark could even tell she was holding back some of her Aura, which made him have a single thought.

'How much would I earn by trucking her? '