The walk to Rebecca's house was short. It was a modest, two-story building adjacent to the restaurant, squeezed between a bakery and a tailor shop. The wood was old but well-maintained, and flower boxes hung from the windows, defying the winter chill with stubborn bursts of color.
"We're home!" Rebecca announced as she kicked the door open.
Lencar stepped inside, carrying Luca.
Immediate chaos.
"BECCA'S HOME!"
"I'M HUNGRY!"
"NOAH POOPED!"
Three children swarmed the entrance.
Lencar stood near the door, observing the tactical situation.
Threat Assessment:
Target 1: Marco (Male, approx 10). Kinetic energy: High.
Target 2: Pem (Male, approx 4). Sticky hands detected.
Target 3: Mia (Female, Infant). Crying.
Target 4: Noah (Male, Infant). Source of odor.
"Okay, okay! Calm down!" Rebecca laughed, putting the baby down. "Guys, we have a guest! This is Lencar. He's going to be working at the restaurant and staying in the spare room."
The room went silent. Five pairs of eyes locked onto Lencar.
Marco, the oldest boy, stepped forward, looking Lencar up and down with suspicion. "Who is he? Is he your boyfriend?"
Rebecca turned beet red. "NO! Marco! He's a friend! A co-worker!"
"He looks boring," Pem stated, picking his nose.
Lencar knelt down, letting go of Luca's hands. He looked at the children. He had no siblings in his previous life as Kenji Tanaka. He had been an only child, raised by screens and textbooks. In this life, as Lencar, he was also alone. This density of human life was... foreign.
"I am not boring," Lencar said, keeping his face deadpan. "I can peel a potato in three seconds."
The kids stared at him.
"Prove it!" Marco challenged.
Lencar didn't have a potato. He looked around. He saw an apple on the table. He picked it up. He pulled a small paring knife from his belt (a tool, not a weapon).
Blur.
A single, continuous ribbon of apple peel spiraled into the air and landed perfectly in Marco's hand. The apple was naked.
The kids gasped.
"Whoa..." Pem's eyes sparkled. "Do it again!"
"Do it to Marco's head!" Luca yelled.
"No!" Rebecca shouted, rushing to the kitchen. "No peeling heads! Lencar, don't encourage them! Go sit down, I'll make dinner."
Lencar sat on the rug. Immediately, the barrier was broken. Pem crawled onto his back. Mia, the toddler, waddled over and grabbed his finger. Noah, the baby, just stared at him from a crib.
Lencar froze as Pem started using his head as a drum.
Internal Monologue:
Situation: Hostile grapple.
Countermeasure: None available. Lethal force prohibited. Evasion impossible without causing tears.
Action: Submit.
"You have very hard hair," Pem observed, patting Lencar's head.
"It is... functional," Lencar replied stiffly.
"Can you do magic?" Marco asked, sitting across from him. "Becca said you went to the exam."
"I can," Lencar nodded. "But not inside the house. Magic is dangerous."
"Boring," Marco scoffed again, though he was clearly interested. "Did you fight monsters?"
"I fought a very angry bronze lizard," Lencar said, referencing Sekke. "And a man made of fire."
"Did you win?"
"I survived," Lencar corrected. "That is the most important kind of winning."
Rebecca listened from the kitchen as she chopped vegetables. She smiled. Lencar sounded like an old man trapped in a teenager's body, but he was gentle. He let the kids climb on him without a hint of annoyance, unlike most men in town who found her siblings to be a nuisance.
Dinner was a loud affair. Stew, bread, and water. Lencar ate methodically, while food flew across the table between the siblings. He caught a flying piece of carrot before it hit Mia's face, earning a nod of respect from Marco.
After dinner, the energy crashed. The sugar rush faded, and the children began to drift off. Rebecca carried the infants to their cribs, while Marco and Pem went to their bunk beds.
Silence finally descended on the house.
Lencar stood up and began clearing the table.
"You don't have to do that," Rebecca said, coming back into the main room, looking exhausted. "You worked all day."
"I pay my rent in labor," Lencar said, moving to the sink. "You cooked. I clean. Equivalent exchange."
Rebecca leaned against the counter, watching him wash the dishes. The candlelight flickered, casting soft shadows.
"You're really good with them," she said softly. "For a guy who looks so... serious."
"They are energetic," Lencar said, scrubbing a plate. "It is a lively house. You have done a good job raising them."
Rebecca looked down, a sad smile touching her lips. "I have to. Parents are... gone. It's just us. Sometimes I feel like I'm drowning, honestly. But then I see them sleep, and it's okay."
She looked at Lencar. "That's why I wanted to help you. When you said you were working for your family... I get it. I really get it."
Lencar felt a twinge in his chest. It wasn't the Soul Crystals. It was guilt. A small, inefficient data point of guilt. He was lying to this girl. He wasn't working for his family. He was hiding here to plot a heist.
But looking at her tired face, he decided that his "rent" would be genuine protection. As long as he was here, nothing bad would happen to this house.
"Go to sleep, Rebecca," Lencar said, drying his hands. "I'll finish up."
"Thank you, Lencar," she yawned. "Your room is the one on the left of the kids' room. It's been empty for a while, so it might be dusty. Sorry about that."
"I'll manage. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Rebecca went upstairs. Lencar finished the last plate, extinguished the kitchen candles, and walked silently up the wooden stairs.
He found the room. It was small, barely a closet, containing a single narrow bed and a small window. It was covered in a thick layer of dust, and cobwebs draped the corners like curtains.
Lencar closed the door. He stood in the center of the dark room.
He didn't reach for a broom.
He raised his right index finger. A tiny, concentrated vortex of Wind Magic formed at the tip.
[Wind Magic: Vacuum Sphere]
He controlled the airflow with surgical precision. The wind swirled around the room, picking up every particle of dust, every dirt speck, pulling it all into a tight, compressed ball of filth hovering in the center of the room. He guided the ball out the window and dispersed it into the night breeze.
Then, he raised his left hand. A small flicker of Fire Magic appeared.
[Fire Magic: Ember Trace]
He sent tiny sparks, like fireflies, into the corners of the ceiling. They sought out the spiderwebs, burning them away instantly without scorching the wood, leaving only a faint smell of burnt silk.
In ten seconds, the room was sterile.
Lencar sat on the bed. It creaked.
He looked out the window at the moonlit town of Nairn.
"Phase Seven, Step One: Integration complete," Lencar whispered.
He lay down, clasping his hands behind his head. He listened to the breathing of the children in the next room. It was a strange sound. Vulnerable.
"I will stay here until the Dungeon appears," he decided. "And while I am here... I suppose being a big brother isn't the worst cover story."
He closed his eyes, turning off the lantern of his mind, and slept for the first time in a home that wasn't a battlefield.