I thought I was safe.

The sensation of my chest tightening, and the urge to cough.

An asthma attack.

“And I didn’t bring my medicine, great.”

So deplorable.

“Allergy?”

“Allergies to mango, maybe..”

“Since when?!”

“What should we do now?”

“Take him to the hospital, or clinic!”

“Does anyone have Cetirizine?”

I should’ve restrained myself.

===

If an allergy ever happens, I’d normally swallow two tablets of Cetrizine or Loratidine. Antihistamines, basically. After all, allergic reactions are caused by uncontrolled inflammation.

With modern medicine, improved versions of this medication have been pushed out to the market. And though Centrizine and Loratidine could be said as old, they’re still in use today.

I took a puff of the inhaler and observed myself.

Asthma is a pain. I had to rush home after realizing I was allergic to mangoes. What if this was a placebo and not that Avner actually has an allergy?

Whatever. I’m just glad the reaction isn’t as severe as Shin’s. I ate a lot of those yellow things after all.

I’m feeling better now.

“Thank you.”

“Who would’ve thought you’d be allergic to mangoes. Why, though? You were fine eating it before this weren’t you?”

“I don’t know either.”

“That scared me.”

My mother was the one who brought me home. The rest stayed behind.

“There’s nothing to do now.”

“It’s just us at home.”

“Nate, thank you.”

Nate is my mother’s AI. The avatar is none. Which basically means it’s an AI limited to voice recognition.

“Cases are up a hundred again today.”

“Yeah.”

Since it’s come to this, I pulled up materials for the exam and began studying. The adrenaline rush is still there after a small panic. I’m sure it’ll subside soon enough.

===

I was going to have lunch with my mother. Father, aether and Lia were still with grandma and grandoa.

Deciding the place was a bummer.

“Avner, where do you want to go eat lunch later?”

“Would the place over at the grocery store be good?”

“Are you sure you want to eat the teriyaki noodles again?”

“I’m fine with that. How about you?”

“I don’t know what to eat there.”

“Then how about Prings?”

“That place is quite expensive, don’t you think?”

“Fast food?”

“We just ate pizza last week.”

And so on.

In the end we decided on the first option. I had practically made a loop.

The restaurant waiters are machines. First you order using the menu which you get by scanning the QR code on the table. Chefs in the kitchen will cook the meal, drinks will be made by the barista. Wheeled robots would then come and bring the ordered items to our table.

Teriyaki noodles for me with cold barley.

My mother ordered pancakes and carrot juice.

“Why carrot juice all of a sudden?”

“I just felt like trying.”

“Sure thing then.”

“The exam is coming up. How’s your preparation?”

“I should be alright.”

My mother nodded.

The place was becoming quite busy. We’re lucky we secured a spot before it became packed.

Hm? It’s that guy again.

[Should we report him? He tried to contact you through a direct link.]

I shook my head.

I manually operated the AR and brought up my SMS.

[“You may not know who I am, but you’re making a big mistake by siding with the angels. You should quit immediately. If you need assistance with the procedures to join the demon association, I’m here to help. You’re a fledgling, right? Maybe the angels took pity on you.

[“My name is Radingo. I’m a Corvette. Can you tell me your name and class operative?”]

[“P.S. unless you’re registered, you won’t be able to use any class abilities or hexes. You won’t even be able to differentiate between a normal person and a mortalborn demon or angel. You better get registered. ASAP.”]

Three messages in one go. There's no need to guess which faction this was from.

What’s up with his profile picture? A seal. The fat ones out at sea.

No. No. The more pressing question here is who is this guy and what should I do?

I could feel his stare from the table a few meters away. I closed my eyes and pondered.

Decide.

No. I can’t. I don’t have enough information.

Should I just ignore him? He’s a demon, and I’ve already made up my mind to lean slightly into the angel’s faction.

“Oh my god, people with NtBM become aggressive. Avner, are you seeing this?”

“They alter one’s personality, don’t they?”

“You see, this family member infected another person by using a needle and xe’s own blood. How could someone even do that? These people are really..”

I suppose that’s how the news works, showing you the most ludicrous, scandalous, and scary things in this world. It would’ve been nice if my mother talked about how there’s now a treatment method for people with stage one and stage two NtBM.

“That friend with NtBM, how is she now?”

“She just asked me if I wanted to become her donor.”

I still don’t know if Lynda was joking when she asked me to become her recipient. Is she aware of what that word even means in that context? I’m not going to become a vampire just so we can feed off each other.

“Tell her no. It’s too dangerous, Avner.”

“I haven’t replied.”

“Say no.”

I intend to.

[Avner, what is your decision? Should we report him?]

[“I get it. You’re confused, you can’t decide. I’ll come back again once a arrange a rescue team.”]

[“No need. I’m fine where I am.”]

[“You’re not fine, you’re being tricked. You don’t know it. Trust me, I’m your ally, not those angels. If The Seraph finds you, it doesn’t matter if you’re part of the angel faction, IT WILL KILL YOU.”]

Sounds scary, on one hand.

On the other, even if I join the demon faction, it’s not like I get to move to a different, safer location. Alska is angel territory. And if I narrow it further down, the places that I frequent are where angels can often be found. If I turn to the demon association now, I’ll only create trouble for myself.

[“Here’s my contact: {/LINK}. The biggest problem is that I’m in no situation where I can convert to the demon’s side. I’m surrounded by angel companions.”]

[“Your biggest problem should be that you haven’t even activated your system functions.”]

That’s right, my system functions still remain locked because I hadn’t joined the demon's association. How could I have forgotten?

Hold on, did Cain not tell me anything about this? Was he not aware or is he tricking me?

“Avner, who are you chatting with?”

“A friend.”

[Nate knows you’re lying. Should I shut him up?]

The food came to intrude.

[“We’ll continue the discussion later.”]

[“I’ll still arrange a team to meet you so that you can access your system functions.”]

Pu’er’s can already plant mines. So I assume hirs system function must have already come online.

Then the most logical explanation would be that Cain hid the information from me on purpose.

Why?

And if that’s the case, what should I do?

What is his motive?