The next morning.
It had been a while, so I went to meet Alpa's bitch of a mother.
As her Master, if I didn't educate her regularly, she might forget my face.
As I stopped by the territory and was about to head home, I ran into Alpa on the way.
The moment he saw me, his expression soured.
I greeted him cheerfully, right to his face.
"Oh my, look who it is? Still training, Alpa?"
"You're a pain in the ass this morning."
"What? Care to say that again?"
I deliberately put on a serious face and approached him. He immediately backed away, shaking his head frantically.
You might be bulkier, but I'm the bigger man.
"W-wha-what? I said it's good to see you!"
"Ah, it's good to see me too, then! We're just close, aren't we? Haha."
"…And I'm a Hero starting today, you know? Can't you see?"
Three halos of light glowed on Alpa's chest.
Even a slow worm has its tricks. It seemed he had somehow achieved Runner Late-stage.
