6 Chapter 6: A Glimmer of Hope

Melissa and Van were now in some sort of restaurant, seated at a table in a corner. Van was looking around while Melissa browsed a menu.

"I really hope we're not ordering that." Van said as he saw a waiter pass by carrying a plate of raw meat. 

"Calm down, I'll get us some good stuff and tell you more about Hayet before I show you around some more." Melissa said, putting down the menu and getting the attention of a waiter. She and the waiter talked in a language Van couldn't understand before the waiter wrote something down on a pad and left.

"What language was that?" Van asked her. "Old Latin. That waiter is probably the descendant of someone who reached transcendence in an alternate version of Earth. I can't actually speak it, I'm just using my skill Translate to talk with him. You get it at some point in the academy." 

Melissa, who was gazing at the kitchen, snuck a glance at Van, who had a look of intrigue on his face. Ian's warnings once again replayed themselves in her head. In truth, Melissa felt sorry for the hardships Van had ahead of him in the future, but that was it.

Melissa didn't really care about Van. She even agreed with Ian that it would be for the best if he unexpectedly died in the near future. Even now, she felt uncomfortable around him, and wished that if Van ever really went haywire, she would be far, far away when it happens. 

"Oh yeah, I don't have any money…" Van began, scratching the back of his head.

"I know, I'm the one paying today." Melissa turned to him. "Look, the currency used here in Hayet City, and other areas in Pibar, is called credits. You won't need to worry about making money while you're at the academy, as they'll give you allowances depending on your rank potential. Considering you're a D rank, you'll get just enough to have food on the table. You could also find the occasional job around Hayet, but I don't recommend that until you become very familiar with this place."

Melissa finished her lecture just as their food arrived. Melissa's plate was like a rainbow, with many different colors and foods arranged on it. Van could spot what looked like a steak, some blue pasta, and some vegetables with a pink cream. 

Seeing Melissa's plate, Van was excited to see what she had ordered for him, but it didn't last long. Compared to Melissa's order, Van's was pitiful. It was a soggy pile of beef in a watery sauce, with some bread next to it.

"...Really?" Van asked as he picked up a piece of bread, which felt rock solid. He tapped it on the table, and it sounded like he had knocked on it with his fist. Disgusted, Van dropped the piece of bread.

Melissa shrugged. "I said I'd buy you something, not treat you. This is coming from my personal savings, you know."

"Sure." Van said as he poked the beef with a spoon, a vein bulging on his forehead.

Groaning, Van shoveled a spoonful into his mouth, immediately gagging. It was cold, soggy, and tasteless. Fighting the urge to throw up, Van ate as much of the beef as he could.

"Jeez, just stop, you look disgusting." Melissa frowned at Van. Van glared at her, wanting to let out several curses, but he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He remembered that he couldn't afford to piss Melissa off. First of all, she had that mysterious guy protecting her, and second of all, this was still an unfamiliar world to him. 

He truly had to be careful. Putting down his spoon, Van leaned back in his chair and let his eyes wander as he waited for Melissa to finish eating. As he observed the patrons of the restaurant, he noticed that there were a lot of normal-looking humans, but just as many non-humans.

Van saw elves, people with colorful skin, and even humanoid looking animals. Seeing all that, Van felt fear, along with a tinge of excitement. 

'Maybe my life really can be different in this new world, in Pibar.' He thought to himself, seeing a glimmer of hope once more. What Van didn't know at the time, though, was that he was very, very wrong.

******

After Melissa finished her food and paid the bill, she took Van deeper into the city, where they now stood in front of a shopping district. Van could see a farmer's market to the side, and in front of him was a long road filled with all kinds of shops, from supermarkets to street vendors.

"This is where you'll be doing most of your shopping, and where you'll get your daily necessities."

Melissa led Van to one of the nearby supermarkets, swiftly grabbing a shopping cart and filling it up with various foods and toiletries within minutes of entering. Looking through the cart, Van was grateful that despite Melissa's dislike towards him, she still only chose items that could be easily found on Earth to put in the cart.

As they got in line to pay for the groceries, Melissa gave Van more directions around the city, such as the entertainment district, the red-light district, the trainee district where Van currently resided, and even areas where illegal activities took place.

They left the supermarket just as quickly as they entered, with Van now carrying two plastic bags filled with his groceries, once again paid for by Melissa.

"Right, I think that's all for today's tour. Let's get some meat skewers from over there before I take you home." Melissa pointed to a vendor by the side who was fanning sticks with chunks of meat cooking on a grill.

"Two skewers, please." Melissa said, passing two silver coins to the vendor, which Van had earlier learned were the credits she had told him about.

As they waited for the meat to finish cooking, Melissa looked at Van and bit her lip in anxiety. As an inner conflict began to brew inside Melissa, Van had all his attention on the cooking meat that let out an amazing smell.

"Thank you," Van said as he as Melissa received the skewers.

They continued on their way home, Van taking a bite of the meat, amazing flavors exploding in his mouth. While Van enjoyed his food, Melissa came to a decision.

"One last thing, Van." She called his attention.

"Hmm?" Van turned to face her, his mouth full of meat. Melissa dug into her pockets before pulling out a small cylinder with a red button. She held out the cylinder towards Van, who swallowed.

"What's that for?" He asked. Melissa averted her eyes. "This… is for your parents."

As Van frowned, Melissa began to explain. "Look, I don't know the specifics, but I can tell you're having trouble at home." This time, she looked him in the eyes.

"If your parents get too much to handle, or if you think you're better off without them…" Melissa paused. "You can use this device to open a temporary portal back to Earth. You can send your parents back to your old home on Earth, and live your life without them.

"You can't go back to Earth yourself, since you accepted to become a Transmigrator. But your parents, they can still go back, we only brought them here to help you adjust to Pibar. The time dilation between this part of Pibar and Earth isn't that big, only two weeks would have passed back on Earth, so your parents can still go back to their old lives while you stay here. All you'll need to do is say your goodbyes, and press the button. The portal will only last for one minute. It's up to you if you want them to stay here or not."

Van stared at the device in her hand, not saying a word. A bead of sweat appeared on Melissa's forehead. In truth, she had no idea whether or not Van had a good relationship with his parents or not. She was only doing this because of Ian's order the day before.

What she was doing right now was a gamble. A gamble to see if she could bullshit Van into sending his parents back to Earth to begin his isolation from others. If she had absolutely no idea what kind of life Van had on Earth, she wouldn't have taken this route.

It wasn't like Melissa had no basis for the way she acted, however. Looking back at Van's information, his suicide, and the multitude of scars on his body, it was safe to say Van did not live a happy life on Earth. The simple fact alone that he attempted suicide was enough to tell Melissa that he wasn't on good terms with his parents.

Sure, it wasn't like every person out there that committed suicide had terrible parents. Some even unfortunately decide to do it even with a healthy relationship with the family. It was just all the information on Van that led Melissa to make this educated guess.

Van continued to stay silent, and for a while Melissa feared that she got his situation totally wrong. Fortunately, Van sighed before taking the device.

"It was that obvious, huh?" He chuckled softly. "Yeah, we're not on the best of terms right now. Pretty sure they hate me. This should come in handy. Thanks." 

"S-Sure, hope I didn't cross any boundaries…" Melissa said, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. Her gamble paid off! She felt happy her plan paid off, yet there was a small stab of guilt in her chest. 

She didn't offer that device to Van out of care, or thoughtfulness. No, she offered it with the malicious intent of Ian's plans for him. That device wasn't going to free Van from his parents, and help him be happy in his new life. 

No, that device was simply to make it easier for when Van falls into the hell that Ian crafted for him. 

******

"You're not going to enter?"

Melissa dropped Van off at his apartment, but instead of entering, he stood in front of the door, staring at it with the device gripped tightly in his hand.

"You go ahead, I just need to clear my head first." He said without looking at her. Melissa left without another word. As Van contemplated what he was about to do, he asked himself:

"Are you sure about this?"