The Porter is Secretly an SS-Level Hunter

Chapter 54: Tension

Neban stopped at the woods, with Siren walking behind him, before texting Isona and Wey. He cleaned off the blood on him in the river located in the woods. Neban even took off his clothes (he set his phone on the ground a few feet away) to burn them before using [Copy] and [Creation] to duplicate the same clothes. 

As Neban was cleaning himself and changing his clothes, Siren was resting with their back to a tree as they touched the surrounding ground. It has been a long time since they have been in their original form (even if it is a child's body), so they were touching everything around them like a curious child. 

Once Neban finished, he looked at Siren, wanting to change their clothes and wash them off, but he did not because it probably won't follow with their story. 

Instead, he looked away and picked up his phone to text Wey and Isona on where they are so that he could get his son. 

Neban: Where are all of you? 

Once Neban sent his message, he instantly saw that Isona and Wey were typing like they watched their phone for him to text them. 

Isona: Are you okay? Theo will not calm down. 

Wey: We are at Isona's house; it was closer to the restaurant. 

Neban felt guilty when he read that Theo would not calm down. He is surprised that his son does not resent him because Neban keeps leaving when he says that he wants to stay. 

He has not been thinking clearly since the beginning when he decided to become a porter. Neban should have become a stayed-at-home dad. And even if he would never have met Wey, Isona, Owain (he hasn't completely forgotten him), Siren, and Xan, it still would have been better to stay home for Theo. 

Neban did not know how he was going to have to make it up to his son. 

Neban: I will be there. 

After typing his message, he pocketed his phone. Neban did not mention that he had a "child" with him because he felt that it would be better to explain the new addition in person. 

When he turned back to Siren, he saw the weapon (?) playing with the grass. They looked so much like a sheltered curious child that Neban had the urge to pinch their cheeks. But he wouldn't because even though Siren looked like a child, they were far from one. 

"Come on, Siren, we are leaving." He called out. 

Siren looked up before jumping to their feet that had no shoes on them. Their rags, feet, and hands had dirt all over them that Neban had to curb the urge to put Siren in the river and wash them. 

After he introduces Siren to the others, Neban is going to clean them. 

Siren hit his arm, giving him an impatient look, "What are you standing there for after saying let's go? You are in your mind too much; let's go." 

On second thought, Neban is going to get the hose and wash Siren that way. 

He did not say anything about Siren's small attitude as he walked out of the forest. Then he grabbed Siren, pulling them close as he [Shadow Travel] them to Isona's house. 

When they reached the house, Neban let go of a complaining Siren who did not like being pulled out of nowhere, which Neban could not understand because when Siren was a weapon, he pulled them everywhere. 

Ignoring Siren, Neban knocked on the door. 

On the other side, the person opened the door in recorded time as he felt something wrapping their arms around his legs. 

Neban looked down and saw that Theo was crying so bad that his words were getting jumbled. He picked up his son, rocking a bit as he soothed the boy. 

"I am sorry." 

"I hope you can forgive me." 

"I promise I am okay." 

"I should not have left you." 

"I am sorry, Theo. Papa is sorry." 

Neban kept whispering those words in Theo's ears as the boy tightly wrapped his arms around his neck while burying his face in Neban's shoulder. 

He could feel the wetness on his shoulder that Theo most likely covered in tears and snot. Neban did not mind and only kept trying to comfort his son. 

Isona held the door open, watching them with a tight expression before glancing at the child who was standing behind Neban. Her face immediately changed to a questioning one. 

"You should come inside," Isona told Neban, although her gaze did not move from Siren once. 

Neban hummed before walking into the house with Siren following behind him. Once they were inside, Isona closed the door behind them. 

The tension was high, filled with Theo's sobs, as they walked into the living area. When they entered, Wey's expression showed that he wanted to have a few words with Neban but will wait until tomorrow to say something. 

Isona and Wey could understand that Neban is strong and sometimes the strong wants to fight, especially when someone challenges them. But, when a person has a son there to think of, they wished that Neban would have chosen to escape with them. 

It hurt them both to see Theo crying non-stop while asking for Neban. 

Neban did not sit down as he continued to stand while rocking Theo in his arms. No one said anything as the tension in the room was heavy. But Siren broke it by saying, "Do you have any food I can eat?" 

Isona looked back at the child while Wey glanced at them before they both looked at Neban for answers. "I saw this homeless child getting attacked by a monster after I dealt with the one from the restaurant. I saved them." Neban explained, using the idea Siren gave him.

Looking the child up and down, seeing how dirty they were, Isona felt terrible for them. "I will go get you some food." Her voice was soft as she walked into the kitchen. 

Wey looked at Siren with a sad expression before turning back to Neban, "Are you taking them in?" 

Siren looked like they wanted to say something that would probably not be good, so Neban told them something in his mind, hoping that their connection was still active. 

'Be good. It would be best if you acted like a homeless child.' Neban said, hoping it would go through. 

'How does one act like a homeless child? I was a prisoner, never homeless.' Siren answered back. Neban was happy that he still had a connection to them. 

'I don't know. I only need you to be good.' 

Siren wanted to roll their eyes, but instead, they moved closer to Neban, giving a pitiful look while clenching the back of his shirt. They wanted to seem like they wished for Neban to take them with him and not elsewhere. 

"Yeah." Neban finally answered, ignoring the way Siren's nails were digging into his back. 

With his answer, the tension in the room diminished for a bit as Wey nodded at his response. Isona came back into the room with two toasts because she did not think the child could stomach much food with how small they were. 

She handed the toast to Siren as they grabbed it while muttering, "Thank you." 

Neban could feel that Theo fell to sleep. He heard it too when the sound of crying quieted down. The boy must have cried himself to sleep. 

Continuing to rub his son's back, Neban spoke, "I think I should go. Thank you for tonight, and I am sorry that everything went downhill." 

Isona sighed while Wey said, "We are letting you go for now, but we still want to talk to you later, Neban." 

"I know," Neban answered before walking over to the door without saying goodbye. 

Isona followed him because Neban's hands were full, she opened the door for him. Siren walked next to him while staying quiet. 

As he moved to hold Theo in one hand and grab Siren in the other to shadow travel away, Isona stopped him. "I want you to know that we do not want to break up with you. Every couple fights, so I do not want you leaving with thinking that is what's going to happen." 

"Okay." Neban softly responded before he [Shadow Travel] to his house.

Once he reached home, Neban helped show Siren how to use the bathroom (he decided not to hose them) while using [Creation] to make them one set of children's clothes (he is going to have to go to the store later). 

After that, he slept on the couch with Theo in his arms because the boy was sound asleep, and he did not want to wake him for a bath. 

Neban ran his hands through Theo's hair, forgetting about Siren for a bit as he closed his eyes and went to sleep. 

****

When he woke up the next morning, he heard the television's sound playing as the words from it started to hit his ears:

"After the portals that appeared from last night, all the dungeons simultaneously fell, except for one. The remaining dungeon's entrance changed to black while emitting a weird aura that caused anyone without abilities to fall into a coma. The dungeon even grew in size while having indescribable engravings. 

"The government had blocked the dungeon while issuing for all hunters and porters to come out and deal with the mysterious dungeon. At the moment, we do not have enough information as no one is telling us anything. And it is impossible to get close without ending up in a coma. 

"I only hope that this is not a sign of something big coming. For now, please stay tuned until we can give you more information. Thank you." 

Neban's eyes quickly popped open as he sat up, holding onto Theo when he felt the boy slipping in his hold. He stared at the TV with dread in his stomach. 

Hearing the sound of someone chewing, Neban turned and saw that Siren was on the other couch, looking at the TV with a blank expression while munching on a cucumber (that still had the skin on it). 

"Mother is near."