Chapter 14: We only have each other

Hearing that they were going to Smith’s house, Velvet’s heart jolted. She jumped off Smith’s lap like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

​Even Smith was puzzled by her exaggerated reaction. "What’s wrong, Velvet?"

​Velvet just shook her head. "It’s nothing. I just remembered something, but don’t worry, it’s a minor thing."

​knowing that it wasn’t a big deal, Smith nodded. "Okay, let’s go."

​Because a Queen wasn’t allowed to roam freely within the city, Velvet returned to his spiritual space. Smith then headed straight to the bus station, he went directly home to the slums.

​When he arrived, he found that his aunt was already home. As he opened the door and walked in, she looked up. "So, you’re back! How did your outing go? Did it go well?"

​"Don’t worry, Auntie. It went very well and even better than I expected. I even ran into an old friend of mine," Smith replied.

​His aunt looked at him with visible curiosity. Ever since Smith had come under her wing, he had never made friends; he was always bullied for being a cripple. That was why he was always alone, and after growing up, the difficulties had forced him to stop going to school, breaking off contact with any childhood acquaintances.

​"Oh? You still have friends?" she asked with a hint of gentle sarcasm.

​Smith understood what she was thinking, shook his head, and smiled. "Don’t worry, you’ll meet her very soon."

​Hearing that his friend was a girl made his aunt even more curious. But even after pestering Smith for a while, he refused to reveal who she was or when she would arrive. She finally gave up asking, and the two of them finished preparing dinner and sat down at the table.

​"Okay," Smith said. "Let me introduce you to—"

​"Wait, how can you introduce her now?" his aunt interrupted, panicking. "Did you invite her to our home? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I haven’t even prepared anything!" She looked around their very simple, shabby house, terrified that his friend would judge their living conditions.

​Smith reassured her, "Don’t worry. She’s not a stranger, and she won’t judge our place by its appearance."

​Relaxing slightly, his aunt asked, "So is she on the way? Where is she? Won’t she get lost?"

​Instead of answering her barrage of questions, Smith simply summoned Velvet directly.

​Velvet materialized wearing her red robe. Because she had been inside the spiritual space, she hadn’t known what was happening outside. But remembering that Smith wanted to introduce her to his aunt, she immediately panicked when she saw the middle-aged woman sitting across from Smith.

​"H-Hey... I mean, hello, Smith’s aunt!" Velvet stammered nervously. "It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am... well, I’m a friend of Smith’s."

​Meanwhile, Smith’s aunt sat frozen in shock as a beautiful young woman appeared out of thin air. Although she wasn’t educated and well versed in world affairs, she wasn’t completely ignorant; she knew about the existence of Chess Players. Seeing a girl materialize like that and recalling that today was Smith’s 18th birthday everything clicked. She remembered the missed calls on her phone from this morning that he had failed to answer.

​Her face turned deathly serious. "Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?" she demanded, her voice trembling with emotion. "You knew I would have stopped you from taking the Awakening trial! Have you thought about what would happen to me if you died?

​"I know you think you’re a burden, but let me tell you something: you are not just my brother’s son. You are like my son. When you do something this reckless, you have to consider my feelings! If you had died in that godforsaken Awakening trial, I swear I would have died with you. I do all of this for you, not out of obligation.

​"And don’t ever think your parents abandoned you to me. The day they died, a part of me died too because our relatives abandoned us both. Your parents didn’t abandon you,they were taken from us. If I had lost you today, I would have lost my own will to live. So please, next time, tell me!"

​Smith felt as if his heart had stopped. Her words pained him deeply. He had always believed he was a burden to his aunt, assuming that if he died in the trial, it would finally free her from the weight of caring for him. He had never realized that he was her sole reason for pressing on.

​A wave of profound regret washed over him. Yet, deep down, he knew that even if he could go back in time, he would make the same tough decision—because if he had told her, there was a 99 percent chance she would have forbidden him from going.

​As the heavy atmosphere of sorrow settled over the room, a sweet voice broke through the tension like a hammer smashing through glass.

​"Hey, Auntie," Velvet spoke up softly. "I know we’ve never met before, but I can tell you one thing: Smith is not a selfish boy. I’ve only known him for about a week, but he has been completely responsible for my friends and me. We respect him like an older brother. He even risked his life to protect us when we barely knew each other. He didn’t abandon us, so please... don’t scold Brother Smith too much."

​The heavy tension vanished. Smith’s aunt snapped back to reality, realizing she had completely ignored the guest in her emotional outburst.

​She took a deep breath. What was done was done; scolding him wouldn’t change the past, and fortunately, the outcome had been successful—he was now a Chess Player.

​Turning to Velvet, she asked gently, "Child, you said you met my nephew a week ago? Can you tell me how you met?"

​As Velvet began explaining the underground arena, Smith let out a long sigh of relief. He had escaped his aunt’s wrath, and things were finally moving in a positive direction.

​After a pleasant conversation among the three of them, it was time for bed. Smith told his aunt he was going to sleep, sent Velvet back into his spiritual space, and retired to his room.

​Early the next morning, Smith woke up to head to the public recruitment pool on Saint John Street. As he prepared to leave, he saw his aunt getting ready for work.

​"Auntie, you don’t have to go to work anymore," Smith said. "Now that I’m a Chess Player, I can earn money by clearing dungeons. Once I make enough, we can move into a much better place. Rest today at home and wait for me. And don’t worry—from now on, I’ll keep you updated on everything I do."

​After saying goodbye to his aunt, Smith headed to Saint John Street.

​He went up to the first floor bar, where Jack and Brian were already waiting. Both of them looked much more relaxed than yesterday and greeted Smith warmly as he walked over.

​After brief greetings, the three of them headed into the main lobby to search for a suitable dungeon. With Brian’s support, they quickly selected a target and set off toward their chosen dungeon.