The Supermarket System

Chapter 9: 9. Special ability

"So he has that kind of ability? Is it some sort of summoning magic? But... summoning objects... I don’t think anything like this has ever happened before," said Duke Arslan.

At that moment, in Duke Arslan’s office, only Keith was there with him. He handed the man a box filled with warm steamed buns.

Keith had already suspected that the man would soon find out about Kaileon’s ability without even being told.

Because he immediately asked about it as soon as he saw the contents of the box handed to him.

The Duke, who had already suspected there was something extraordinary about Kaileon—since he still had mixed blood like his mother—immediately accepted Keith’s explanation.

Keith himself explained what Kaileon had told him before.

"I didn’t believe it at first either, but he just got those things. But none of it was free; he paid for everything. I’ve also heard that a person’s special ability adapts to what they need. And I think that’s exactly the kind of ability that suits young Master Kaileon," said Keith.

The Duke nodded slowly, agreeing with Keith’s words.

However, as a father, he was quite pleased with those extraordinary abilities. He felt he wanted to show the world that his son wasn’t the sickly, ill-mannered child people claimed him to be.

In fact, last night, when the Duke met with the Duchess to discuss about Kaileon, she admitted everything and felt no guilt.

She stood by her stance that she had to do all of that for Kaileon’s own good.

At that moment, Duke remained silent as the Duchess spouted nonsense about Kaileon. For instance, that Kaileon was a bad influence on his younger brother, Justine. That Kaileon would spread his illness to others if he wasn’t locked away in the pavilion.

And all sorts of nonsense that made the man’s head feel like it was splitting open.

But, after seeing Kaileon’s situation for himself, and then remembering how Kai’s biological mother had passed away... Duke actually began to worry about the boy he had previously ignored.

Duke Arslan felt that Kaileon was his karma, because he had been too indifferent to everything and had underestimated everything all this time.

Now, every aspect of Kaileon’s life made him worry.

"Keep this a secret from everyone. I’ll allow him to start a business or whatever he wants. I’ll set you all free, as long as you stay in the pavilion. I know he hates me and can’t see me as a father, after being neglected to the point of suffering and nearly dying. Nothing I do can make up for everything he’s been through. But at the very least, let me send some of my best knights to guard the pavilion. Kaileon can choose for himself later; the important thing is that there must be a guard. Because I’ve heard that monsters often appear on the hills and in the forest behind the pavilion. Oh, and regarding all matters concerning Kaileon—the Duchess initially handled them haphazardly, but now I’m transferring full responsibility to you. Also report anything you know about how the Duchess treated him."

Keith nodded quickly, then replied, "Yes, sir."

"Since it’s almost lunchtime, so... I want to go to the pavilion again to make sure Kaileon eats properly," said the Duke.

Keith smiled to himself.

Duke Arslan had changed drastically. That much was clear. On the surface, the Duke looked the same as always, but Keith, who had been following him for a long time, knew there had been a major shift in the man who had once been arrogant and cold.

It was all because of the cutting remark Kaileon had made yesterday. Kaileon’s words must have really gotten under that cruel man’s skin. But that was a good thing.

Up until now, no one had dared to confront that man. Even if someone had dared, Duke would have immediately gotten rid of them. Because that man didn’t like being blamed.

But he was still human, someone who could be moved by something weak, gentle, and still of his own flesh and blood.

Kaileon’s subtle jab, at the very least, succeeded in making that cruel man angry.

"Very well, sir."

Keith then left with Duke Arslan, heading toward the pavilion. As usual, many people wanted to interfere, but Duke firmly told them not to follow.

Halfway through their journey, they heard children shouting from the direction of the pavilion.

Duke and Keith hurried, almost running, toward the pavilion. It wasn’t just Kaileon’s voice they heard, but the voices of other children as well.

But they were shocked when they got closer and saw what was actually happening there.

It turned out the children were cheering in awe of Kaileon, who was slaying a stone bird monster. It was a monster strong enough to be a challenge, yet relatively easy to defeat. Even so, children like Kaileon or Justine certainly wouldn’t be able to take on a Level C monster like that.

"So, now tell me what happened," asked Duke, in his usual tone. A calm voice, one that could make anyone who heard it feel afraid and intimidated.

Even so, that voice had no effect on Justine.

The Duchess’s only son cheerfully recounted what he had experienced.

Proudly, he told them that his older brother, Kaileon, had pelted the stone bird’s head with pebbles until it fainted. Then he slaughtered the stone bird in a cool manner.

Justine’s story was a bit exaggerated, but Kaileon didn’t protest at all. He just let his younger brother tell the story proudly. freewebnσvel.cѳm

Luca, their cousin, also added his own spin to Justine’s story.

It was as if Kaileon had just saved a country.

Duke Arslan laughed afterward.

"So that’s the story? Then, how did that bird end up chasing you?" asked the Duke.

Justine and Luca exchanged confused glances. After a minute of confusion, Luca finally spoke up.

"We don’t know either. We wanted to give Kaileon some fruit, but suddenly that bird came and pecked at the fruit, eating it all. We then ran away out of fear, and the bird chased us."

After hearing that, Duke turned to Keith and said.

"Keith, come with me. Let’s check why there’s a monster near the pavilion. I’ve already set up strong protection around the pavilion. Those monsters should only be roaming the hills or the forest—they shouldn’t be able to get this far."

Keith asked Kaileon for permission, and Kaileon nodded. He was also curious as to why such a huge bird monster had come to the pavilion.

Duke Arslan and Keith went around the pavilion to investigate.

Meanwhile, Kaileon continued cutting up the large bird’s meat. With Justine and Luca’s help, Kaileon carried all the meat to the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, the kids got excited again when they saw Kaileon’s food supplies.

Reluctantly, Kaileon gave the kids cream cheese sandwiches to calm them down. So, Kai could go clean himself up and change his clothes.

However, the peaceful atmosphere suddenly turned chaotic when that woman arrived.

Nathalia, or better known as Duchess Arslan.

Kai, who had just come out of his room in a hurry—fearing the kids would ransack his house—was startled by the woman’s screams.

"You insolent brat! You endangered my children by inviting that monster—you know they were playing near the lake, don’t you? You’re the one who made that monster chase them, aren’t you? You also made them eat that strange food! Spit it out, Justine, Luca!"

Oh, so even in this new world, Kai has to deal with women like that again and again.