Chương 22

Of course, Rei didn't say that part out loud. So instead Rei simply nodded quietly afterward while both of them sat there beneath the streetlights for a few more moments. The village remained peaceful around them. Then suddenly Hiruzen spoke again.

"Rei."

"Hm?"

"Have you ever considered graduating early from the Academy?" That question made Rei pause slightly. Internally, his brain immediately became cautious. Because that question itself already implied something uncomfortable. The Hokage noticed. Or at least… suspected enough to ask. Outwardly however, Rei simply blinked once before answering calmly.

"Me?" Hiruzen nodded slowly.

"You are intelligent. Your theory scores are exceptional and from what I have heard from Iruka, even your chakra control is refined for your age. Your theory scores and your thoughts make it enough for you to graduate at least a year early."

"Honestly… I don't think being above average in theory warrants something like early graduation," Rei replied calmly.

"Besides, I would rather graduate normally alongside everyone else in my class." But internally Rei was already reevaluating several things. Because perhaps… he had been slightly too naïve. The fact Hiruzen even suggested early graduation meant the old man already noticed far more than expected. Maybe not everything obviously. But enough to realize Rei wasn't simply another smart Academy student. Meanwhile Hiruzen quietly observed the child sitting beside him. The answer sounded humble.

But something about it still felt… carefully measured.

"I see." That smile alone made Rei slightly uncomfortable. Because it looked exactly like the smile of someone who absolutely did not believe the "average student" statement even slightly. Still, Hiruzen didn't push further afterward. Instead the old man slowly stood up while stretching his back lightly.

"Well then," he said calmly, "don't stay out too late. Your parents are probably waiting for those groceries."

"…Yes Lord Hokage." The Professor of the Shinobi World might act like a tired old grandfather publicly… or even on manga pages, but Hiruzen Sarutobi absolutely did not become Hokage by being blind. Rei had decided that he wouldn't lower his level to make this man suspicious of him more than he already was. So he would continue normally. As long as Danzo wasn't involved, he would continue living as he had been.

While this had happened in Konoha, something else had happened in MCU too. Or at least, something that would entertain Rei a bit. Recently he had noticed that Laura had been very downtrodden and downright depressive. Rei would often find her eyes in tears and also that she had been recently obsessively cleaning the house whenever Rei was around. Rei found it annoying. Rei might have controlled Daniel and Laura now, but that didn't mean that Rei had forgotten what they had tried to do.

He had seen so many cliché adoption stories, he didn't think that he himself would become a victim of that. Probably because both sets of parents he had in his two lives were so loving and caring, so their attitude threw him off a bit. But it was fine. He took control and now he had a good life here. But he didn't like the whiny excuse of a woman now. And honestly…

after watching Laura move around the house like some emotionally haunted Roomba for nearly two weeks straight, Rei finally got irritated enough to ask directly. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. One evening while Daniel was quietly reading financial reports from Allied Universal and Laura obsessively cleaned the kitchen counter for what was probably the fifth time that day, Rei finally looked up from his book.

"…What exactly is wrong with you?" The moment he asked that, it broke Laura. Tears started pouring out of her eyes almost instantly afterward. She sat down on the nearby chair while covering her face, shoulders shaking slightly.

"…That was a stronger reaction than expected." Daniel sighed deeply from the side afterward before rubbing his forehead tiredly.

"…She thinks you're eventually going to get rid of her." Now that actually made Rei pause slightly.

"…What?" Daniel awkwardly scratched his cheek afterward. Honestly even he looked mildly uncomfortable explaining this.

"You control powerful people now. Corporate executives and whatnot, even me, who has influence now." He gestured vaguely.

"Everyone under you contributes something useful." Honestly, Rei could have just made her stop whining with just a command, and he could do the same for Daniel too and others, but Rei felt that a robot would always be less useful than a functional brain. These two deserved punishment, but they didn't deserve the axe of murder. He needed them to be useful, not some useless Terminator who would say "I'll be back."

Daniel also understood her predicament but he knew that if he broke down like her, he would definitely be killed. Daniel had picked up on things in one and a half years. Rei was brutal only to his enemies. The corporate personnel that he had under control now, they were treated much more normally than he treated the couple. He just gave some commands which were more in line with a CEO rather than a slave owner. In fact, in the last 6 months it had already been proven that his investments were actually great.

Amazon had finally launched the AWS services and that made Allied Universal Investment, a separate entity under Allied Universal, actually see their money return skyrocket. Even YouTube was growing and though this hadn't returned any practical money as of now, its valuation was rising day by day. So Allied Universal was actually thankful to Rei for making them wealthy and thus they were more than happy to be followers of this enigmatic child.

Daniel was thankful that he was a part of Allied Universal and served as a liaison between Rei and Allied, even though Rei didn't need it. But Laura was different. Other than keeping the home clean and cooking, she didn't have any value. Though Rei never saw it that way as cooking was essential for survival and a clean home was always something he liked looking at, of course he never commented on it, but the words of Daniel made Rei understand her thought process.

"And Laura…" Daniel hesitated briefly there before continuing, "…thinks she doesn't." Laura meanwhile still looked emotionally devastated while trying and failing to quietly wipe away tears. Rei looked at the couple and replied.

"…I'm cruel," he admitted calmly.

"Not heartless." Rei paused for a second and then asked.

"…What were you doing before marriage?"

"…What?"

"Your speciality." Rei clarified.

"What are you actually good at?" Laura stayed quiet for a moment afterward before answering softly.

"…I graduated in Arts from London." That honestly didn't surprise Rei much. He had already noticed her British accent long ago and Daniel had already told him how they met once when Daniel was in Britain.

"…And?" Rei continued. Laura hesitated slightly.

"…I used to write short stories sometimes." Now that actually caught Rei's attention slightly. Because this was quite an achievement and opened doors for him.

"…Can you write science fiction?" Laura blinked.

"…Probably?" Rei quietly thought for a few moments afterward. Then eventually—"…Fine." Both adults looked toward him cautiously.

"I'll give you a story premise," Rei said calmly.

"You write it properly and submit it for publication." Daniel immediately looked confused.

"…A book?"

"Yes." Rei nodded lightly.

"You wanted usefulness. There." Laura looked genuinely stunned now.

"…You're serious?"

"…Unfortunately." And then slowly, Rei started explaining. A man wakes up alone inside a spaceship with no memory of who he is. Gradually he realizes he was sent into space because the sun itself is dying due to some microorganism-like alien life consuming its energy. Humanity sends a desperate mission toward another star system because that system somehow resisted the same infection. Laura's expression slowly changed while listening.

"The main character slowly regains his memories throughout the story while trying to solve the scientific problem alone," Rei leaned back slightly afterward.

"Eventually he encounters another alien survivor from a completely different species who is also trying to save his own civilization from extinction." Now even Daniel looked slightly invested despite himself.

"The alien isn't humanoid," Rei continued.

"Very intelligent. Different communication methods. Different biology. But eventually both become genuine friends despite being completely different species." Laura quietly stared at Rei while he explained further. Space travel, loneliness, courage, sacrifice and hearing a ten-year-old calmly summarize something like this felt surreal again. Reminding them that this kid was beyond normal.

"…This sounds…" Laura hesitated slightly.

"…really good."

"It won awards in another Earth," Rei replied automatically.

"…What?" Daniel blinked.

"…Nothing." Rei corrected immediately.

"Just write it." Laura asked questions like the name of the book and more questions later as the days went by. Rei had read and watched the movie so he knew that this book had potential and if Laura could pull a good sale from it, then Rei might decide to push her career to greater heights. If she was up for the job, that is.