Grandpa Kuys!

Ban ate the rice porridge without delay. And at the same time he finished a whole bowl of it, Boss Mario also arrived and sat beside him with out warning.

Grandpa Kuys and Boss Mario then raised their brows together as if a signal or something.

A while later, Grandpa Kuys finally spoke,

"Ban-kiddo, change your clothes now. And then come back here right away, I heard what happened earlier from Emilia. And that little Ant Monster, in your shoulder, let's talk about it when you get back." He said in a firm tone.

Emilia was the name of the receptionist that assisted him during the awakening. Grandpa Kuys is a respected figure in the city even though he's only a Bar owner, so Ban did not find it confusing that he already knew what had happened. After all, Grandpa Kuys has a lot of Adventurers friends, what Ban did not expect was that Grandpa Kuys heard it from the receptionist herself.

'Jeez… it seems that Grandpa Kuys' circle of friends is wider than I thought!'

Ban could only bow his head and smile before he went upstairs to change.

The Kuys Bar has two floors in total. The first floor was where the Adventurers drink, eat and do other things while the second floor consists of rooms that could be rented by adventurers.

Ban of course has his own room upstairs. In fact, it could be considered as the third floor as his room was the attic of the Kuys Bar.

It was spacious compared to the little house that he and his gramps stayed in the forest two years ago.

Ban did not waste any more time as he changed his tattered clothes. He then went downstairs again, he still had a lot of explaining to do after all. However, he also hoped that Boss Mario had already done it, as he does not dare to lie on Grandpa Kuys' face.

Boss Mario and Grandpa Kuys stared at him the moment he appeared on the stairs.

Grandpa Kuys beckoned for him to come over, and sit beside Mario.

"Ban-kiddo, why are you shaking? Do you perhaps prefer the tattered clothes you were in before? Quite an unusual taste you got there- hahaha!" Grandpa Kuys laughed out loud as he noticed Ban shivering a little due to nervousness.

"Come on, Mario has already explained to me, no need to worry about it!" Grandpa Kuys finally patted Ban's shoulder, which somehow calmed him down a bit.

"R-really?" Ban stuttered as he confirmed it one more time.

Grandpa Kuys nodded his head, before he added, "However, I must say, it's quite reckless of you! I know you were eager to become a Summoner, but why did you run to the beast-filled forest and not here?"

"W-well, Grandpa Kuys, to be honest, I was afraid of being apprehended because I could not summon a monster. I heard stories about it from the Adventurers…"

"Huh? That's it? Ban-kiddo, my friend left you here two years ago and I promised him to take care of you! And besides, even if you could not summon a monster, what about it? It's not as if it was already the end of the world for the likes of you!" Grandpa Kuys shook his head from Ban's reckless action.

"And besides, it was only in this Empire that they ostracized people who could not summon monsters. I heard from my friend that in the neighboring Empire, people like them will still be given a chance, and some of them even become strong individuals themselves without the help of ant summoned monsters" He added as he recalled that piece of rumor that his friend said to him.

Hearing that, Ban could not help but become happy inside. However, he remembered that it doesn't matter to him now, after all, he was already a summoner and he even has the Almighty Summoner System as his guide and his cheat.

"Now, let's talk about the little Ant in your shoulder, your plan on registering as an adventurer, as well as your Monster Tattoo."

At the mention of the Monster Tattoo, Ban could not help but widen his eyes in surprise as he looked at Boss Mario in horror. However, he then realized that it was just Grandpa Kuys, a person he could trust.

"What's with that look? Are you doubting me Ban? That's quite hurtful!" Boss Mario clutched his chest acting as if he had a heart attack or something.

"N-no… I did not mean it that way!" Ban nervously said as he lowered his head.

"Pfft! It's alright, I'm just messing with you! -hahaha!" Boss Mario laughed like a madman upon seeing Ban's reaction.

Boing!

However, a sudden sound suddenly interrupted his hysterical laugh as Grandpa Kuys' fist descended on Mario's head.

"Stop messing around, you brat!"

Mario could only rub his head to ease the pain as he smiled wryly in the process.

Ban also laughed upon seeing the situation. It was always like this when these two are around, Boss Mario messing around, and Grandpa Kuys reprimanding him.

Ban even wondered if Boss Mario got his 'reprimanding' attitude from Grandpa Kuys, or he just wanted to experience reprimanding someone.

"Back to the topic. Ban what's the name of your Monster?" Grandpa Kuys asked as he crossed his arms over his broad chest.

"Demon Ant!" Ban replied.

The moment a Summoner summoned his or her first monster, the respective information about them, their name, [Skill], and etcetera will be directly uploaded to the Summoner's brain.

"Hmmm, as I thought!" Grandpa Kuys nodded his head as if realizing something.

"The Beast that attacked you, was it also a Demon Ant?" He added.

Ban could only nod his head before lowering it. He was afraid that he might stutter for lying in Grandpa Kuys' face.

"So that was really the case!" Grandpa Kuys fully believed what he said.

Ban felt guilty upon seeing it, but he did not do anything to it nor was he planning to correct it.

Grandpa Kuys then told a story that somehow resembled Ban's. The failed awakening, running away to a Beast-Filled Forest, and then suddenly Summoning a monster when faced by danger.

At the end if the story, Grandpa Kuys suddenly turned serious as he added-

"And that person..."

"was me!"