Chapter 23 - Exit

As the Shaman Goblin's head falls heavily to the ground, lifeless. All the corners of the chamber echoes, followed by a tense silence from the goblins, who are extremely frightened.

As everyone processes the outcome of the battle, it is impossible for the group of awakened people to contain the explosive feeling of victory. They scream with excitement and relief.

For his part, Kaito stands in front of the Shaman Goblin's giant body and sees some item notifications popping up in front of his eyes. Still, he is more interested in something else for the moment.

"I wonder if I can sell this giant corpse. No, it's better not to do that. Everyone would be alarmed at such a big thing suddenly disappearing. Besides, they'll probably want the rewards to be split and I shouldn't be so greedy." Kaito states with his hand on his chin, looking at the headless body of the boss.

As Kaito thinks, Maya rushes up to him as she drops her staff on the way and hugs his back tightly.

"We did it! We really did win, Kaito!" She says, almost lifting him up with such excitement.

At that moment, Kaito was feeling something he had never experienced before. There are a couple of very soft things being pressed against his back, and he can feel it clearly. Nevertheless, Kaito is someone who is very inexperienced in almost every aspect of socializing, but especially on the topic of women. Without knowing how to handle it he blushes and shy away.

*

The group of awakened still had to deal with all the remaining goblins, however, since they were without their leader, they were disoriented and confused, and the upper goblins lost the physical strength boost generated by the Shaman Goblin's mana. Thus, despite the difficulties, they managed to kill all the goblins.

With the enemies neutralized, the group scoured a few places in the boss chamber for treasure and resources. They also splitted up the items obtained fairly and strategically, and didn't even ask Kaito about what happened to the bag he was carrying before, because they were too busy thanking him dozens of times for not giving up on them and asking him dozens of questions about how he managed to reach the boss's hall alone.

Meanwhile Maya used her healing magic to treat the group's wounds, while Ayumi, with her tracking ability, identified the fastest way back to the portal.

And when they finally went through the portal back to Earth, they were greeted by a crowd of people, both support members who were already on standby for their return, as well as ordinary people and police officers from the security area.

Applause echoed throughout the room as the awakened ones emerged from the portal. At first they were surprised, but then they were happy for all the attention, after all they were Rank E, not used to all of this. However, suddenly a team of officials in suits came through the crowd and approached the group. They asked who was the leader of the expedition and addressed Ishikawa with compliments and congratulations on the victory in the dungeon. Then they began to ask a series of questions to get detailed information about the raid.

At that moment is when Maya looks to the right and realizes that Kaito is no longer beside her. She looks around, searching for him, and scans the surroundings with her eyes, even asking the other members of the group if anyone has seen him, but by now Kaito is more than invisible at the crowd.

While everyone is celebrating the triumphant return of the awakened ones and his friends are giving interviews, because apparently the portal has taken on a different shade of blue than the standard blue, Kaito distances himself, like it or not he was just an infiltrator and he could be in trouble if they found out about him.

As Kaito turns the corner and enters a busy boulevard, he takes one last look back. Everyone seems happy and he is for sure was too, after all he has managed to become much stronger than if he had simply stayed at home. Then he looks forward and takes a deep breath. It is a pleasure and a relief for him to be back.

*sigh*

'Time to get some rest…' he thinks with a smile on his face.

Kaito prepares to go home, but when he looks to his left, he sees a man in a suit like the others. This man has an elegant appearance, his hair is blond and short, and his eyes reflect an intriguing intensity. Kaito is wearing a hood and was about to go the opposite way from his house just to avoid this man, but the well-dressed man extends his hand to Kaito, holding a white envelope.

"I know what you did." says the man in a soft but firm voice.

Startled, Kaito looks at him with fear and doubt, as he is pretty sure he got out of the awakened group fast enough that no one noticed.

"What's that? Who are you?" Kaito asks, looking at the man suspiciously and with even more uncertainty at the white envelope.

"Do you really want me to explain it here in front of everyone? Or would you rather take the envelope?" the mysterious man replies."

"Can I just take it and go?" Kaito inquires.

The man shrugs his shoulders, practically answering in the affirmative.

Kaito looks at the mysterious man suspiciously, but a sense of urgency pushes him to make a quick decision. He decides to simply take the envelope and walk as far away from the mysterious man as he can, without seeking further explanations at this point. Without looking back, Kaito still goes in the opposite direction to where his house is, just in case, and holds the white envelope firmly in his hands.

The man continues to watch him for a few meters, but when Kaito looks back for the last time, the man disappears.

The young man's heart beats fast as he searches for a safe and quiet place. Finding a dingy, cramped alley nearby, Kaito looks around and enters the isolated space. He leans against a wall and takes a deep breath, feeling the adrenaline rush through his veins. With trembling hands, he looks at the envelope and remembers the blond man.

"Surely he was someone from the Alliance, an official probably, like those who were already waiting at the portal exit..."

Kaito briefly reflects on whether or not he should open an envelope delivered by someone from the Alliance, because not long ago they rejected Kaito's formal request for his father to receive medical aid. Thanks to this, Kaito repudiates the Alliance more than anything else.

Still, he can't stop thinking about what happened. Curious and a little nervous, Kaito decides that he cannot have any more fears, after all it is his fears that have kept him from living until today. Carefully, he slides his finger under the seal and opens the envelope.