Lex's Day (1)

28 August 2027.

Monday.

Reed and Rex stood at the doorsteps while they gazed at Lex's back. He didn't wear his butler's outfit. Instead, he wore a pair of dark-blue trousers and a white shirt. He had a bag slung over his left shoulder and even his usually sleek pony seemed slightly more ruffled to actually make Lex look appropriate for his age.

Lex didn't look back. Instead, he showed his cellphone to the biker on a scooter and once the biker nodded, he sat on the back of the scooter. The entire time, Reed and Rex remained silent. Once the uber bike left, Rex silently took out his remote and closed the gates to the house.

"This is for the best, right? It would have taken a lot of money for gas but the uber bike only required 27 dollars," Reed inquired.

"Yes, young master. And you were gracious enough to select the insurance in case of an accident. I think brother appreciates this."

"Yes. I did choose the insurance," Reed nodded after letting out a small sigh.

He still had trouble trusting the twin butlers so he still hadn't exposed the fact that he had Cinnamon and Crimson. And it is likely that Cinnamon was far happier just by continuously climbing on Crimson and then sleeping whenever she wanted. But Reed wasn't. He had already started to let Cinnamon out while studying in the study.

"Young Master. It is 9 am now. Would you like me to bring the breakfast into the study?"

"No. Let's just eat in the living room. Do you have anything to watch or can I watch anime?" Reed inquired as he entered the house once again.

Rex meanwhile shook his head.

"Young master can watch anything he desires."

Reed then waited for a moment before Rex brought the breakfast into the living room. Lex would always set up the food in the dining room next to the kitchen but it would be Reed's final say on the matter where they ate and already used to eating food while watching television, Reed would get everyone to sit in the living room.

'Fuck!' Reed almost moaned. Even after setting the limit, Lex's cooking was impeccable. Sure, he now felt the distinct lack of 'flare', probably because his meals didn't amount to three digits but this was still so good.

"Rex, what's this called?" Reed inquired while picking something that he'd call bread but the texture was completely different.

After finishing what he had in his mouth, Rex replied calmly, "Young master, that is Lex's special method of cooking guts. He would mash them together and let them marinate for 30 minutes. Ordinarily, such a method of cooking is more than appalling but one of Lex's totem beasts can actually increase the quality of flesh. So, anything he cooks is bound to be healthy and delicious."

Reed blinked.

'Whatever man, this is tasty!' Reed ate while watching television.

"Young master... may I inquire something?"

"Yeah?" Reed looked towards Rex as he gazed at the television intently.

"The lady should have locked her door if she was actually changing. After all, that was this blue-haired youth's room. So, why did she get angry and attack the boy who gave her a place to change her dirtied clothes in the first place?"

Reed looked towards the screen while pondering the right way to answer. He clearly couldn't tell that this was a simple way to answer fan's expectations for fan service. It was stupid, and everyone knows that. But that is what tsundere tag is all about.

"What do you think?" Reed inquired instead.

"Young master, I believe that the lady holds ill intentions towards the boy. She probably wished to find some excuse and create trouble for the boy out of some mysterious motivation. And maybe, her action of revealing herself to the boy was a way to cover up her hidden agendas."

'On point! He actually described the perfect tsundere!' Reed gulped.

"I see. Well, this is just a simple misunderstanding used by the author of the series to drive a sub-romantic plot," Reed shrugged. As long as he doesn't let Rex know that he's into this kind of shit, then there will be no problem.

"Thank you for pointing out my mistake, Young master," Rex nodded.

"You don't have to thank me," Reed stated casually.

"Yes, sorry."

"You... don't have to apologize either," Reed glanced towards Rex.

"Yes, understood... thank you, no, sorry..." Rex's brows folded into a frown before he ate the last piece and stood up, "I should place the dish in the sink."

Saying that, he left under Reed's strange gaze.

'To think I was hoping to kill them...' Reed thought silently while thinking if he would have regretted pulling the trigger that night.

'I probably would. These two have been nice to me from the very start. Well... Lex is somewhat sarcastic... maybe I can shoot a rubber bullet at him?' Reed thought silently while eating slowly. He had to eat slowly. After all, it was Rex's turn to train him after breakfast.

---

"There you go, thank you, my good sir," Lex smiled and paid the amount as the driver looked at him strangely and nodded before driving off.

Lex's existence instantly attracted attention. A handsome youth with pitch-black hair and fair skin had his hair tied loosely. It gave a sense of recklessness adored during a young age. His white shirt had its sleeves loosely rolled up and the relatively thin and strapping figure of Lex turned out to be the 'main course' for a few sets of eyes.

Lex silently observed his surroundings. Paved footpath on either side of the road with constant traffic managed by a traffic officer and four sets of traffic lights alongside a roundabout in the middle. The constant chatter of working-class individuals as they seemed to be rushing towards their place of work made Lex stand out slightly further.

Taking out his cellphone, Lex dialed a number.

"Hello? Yes, this is him speaking. Ah, I see you," Lex hung up as he saw a middle-aged man waving towards him from inside a fast-food chain store— Mc-C.

Walking inside the store, Lex slightly sighed as the interior was much cooler than the outside. There weren't many customers right now and the group that had their eyes towards him amounted to three individuals— Two men and one woman.

Walking towards them, Lex smiled and spoke up.

"It is a relief to see you in person, Mr.Hug," Lex shook the middle-aged man's hand. The middle-aged man was just like Lex. He had a brown duffel bag placed next to the legs of his chair and wore a plain shirt and a pair of trousers.

"Hah! Is that so?" The man smiled in amusement.

"Yes. Last time, I had a 'date' with someone who called himself Mr.Kiss. He had his lips sewed shut so..." Lex didn't complete his sentence but the man chuckled and shook his head.

"Online meetings like this can always turn strange. Please, take a seat, and let me introduce you to these fine members."

Lex sat down and placed his bag on the floor.

"You can just call me Hug, Lex. This is Lou. And sitting next to him is his wife, Rou."

Clearly, everyone kept their personal information close to their chest. Lex nodded and smiled towards the northern-looking middle-aged man with slight fat and his wife, another slightly chubby middle-aged woman.

"Lex, forgive me for being direct but your age has caused some doubts in me."

Even though Lex and Lou could be generalized as asian-looking men up north, Lex's features were straighter and his skin was fair. Meanwhile, Lou had a rugged shape to his face while his skin was slightly tanned. His very presence made him look more experienced than Lex.

"Appearances are often deceiving," Rou stated from the side and gave a reassuring smile before continuing, "But in our business, we need to step after confirming everything."

"It is indeed true that I'm a professional when it comes to collecting materials. It requires deep knowledge of the field but the only way to assure the group is by showing my credentials."

Saying so, Lex took out a small red star from his pocket. Then, Lex placed the star in the center of the table and let the three of them observe it.

The group used a few different methods of observing the star. Hug plainly pinched it in between his index and thumb. Meanwhile, Lou took out a magnifying glass from his bag and Rou dripped a drop of light green liquid within a crystal tube taken out of her own bag. Despite being spouses, Lou and Rou carried their own tools.

"I must ask this, Lex. Why not wear it? An alchemist is always more respected. If you had worn the crimson pendant, we wouldn't have doubted in the first place," Hug sighed.

"Any alchemist worth its salt knows not to let its worth be confined by a mere pendant," Lex smiled with a narrowed gaze.

"I'm sure that the terms of profit I discussed previously are no longer bothersome, right?" He continued while the three looked at each other.

"Not anymore," Rou smiled.

With that, the group collected their stuff and set off.

---

The red, blue, green, and violet flame districts are collectively known as the Flame County. The Red Flame District expands to the north, the Blue Flame District expands to the south, the Green Flame District borders the county's western area and the Violet Flame District covers as the eastern district of the county.

However, the four districts are built around a forest. To this day, the Flame County as a whole earns a lot of resources from the forest but the forest itself is quite restricted. The outskirts of the forest are open for tourism which earns the county a pretty penny but the inner portion of the forest can only be explored by warlocks for some reason.

Speculations have been stated through online and offline media but after many approved visits into the forest by media platforms, such speculations have been tossed aside as conspiracy theories. Still, the only reason given by the conclave is also quite assuring.

Warlocks explore the forest for potential pets.

What else can others say about it? In this day and age, aside from certain political matters that concern the entire continent, the interest of warlocks is considered a priority because of various reasons.

Right now, Lex was just happy that he didn't have to waste any more money on transportation. Despite how they looked, the rank 1 and 2 'tamers' in the team were wealthy enough to have their own transportation vehicles.

Lex simply 'shotgunned' the ride with Hug to the forest.

After parking their cars, the warlocks stepped out and got their identity cards inspected. A Warlock's Certificate was similar to a driving license save for their address and name. It mentioned the date of birth. It showed their picture, and it also showed one's rank. A Warlock can have it updated in the conclave facility after meeting certain standards.

Meanwhile, professional acknowledgment such as alchemist and a few other exotic professions came into different forms and shapes.

After getting the approval of the stationed military, Hug and the group walked into the forest.

Based on id cards, Hug and Rou were rank 2 warlocks while Lou and Lex were at rank 1.

'Soon...' Lex sighed in his heart.

*Chirp*

The group followed Hug silently.

"I was informed about this totem base earlier by my contact," Hug began with a chuckle as the torturing heat seemed to subside inside the forest. A slightly cool gust would blow every now and then, ruffling through branches of tall, sturdy trees while small burds and rodents could be seen moving around. A few following the group curiously while some of them flying away instantly.

"Then we're lucky," Lex smiled, "Otherwise we'd have to race against others. That way, we could have never fully devoured the totem base's benefits."

"Haha, that's true. We need to take our time and take as much as we can!" Hug laughed.

"Man, I really wish to have one of those investigation-type beasts. They can easily find a totem base," Lou mumbled under his breath.

"Sure, fish out 70 mil, or a rank 5 totem beast. Those things are rare!" Rou scoffed at her husband's dreams.

Meanwhile, Hug would occasionally check his cell phone and lead the group.

***

A/N: Please give this novel an honest review if it is to your liking and power stones to support it.