The long footpath to the mansion took almost a minute to walk. The exquisite but risqué topiary made Scale’s neck shrink into her shirt. The Tomtom family’s home at three stories tall cast a long shadow in the early summer evening. The house itself had cedar shake siding painted a gray-blue and white pine trim around the windows and doors. Soft ambient music was coming from somewhere.

  “Welcome!” Scale hadn’t reached the door before Mrs. Tomtom burst out to greet her.

  “Ah!” Scale let out a panicked chirp as she was dragged inside by a pair of firm but gentle hands. The door closed behind her like the jaws of a beast.

  “Harper!” Mrs. Tomtom bellowed towards the curved staircase in the main foyer. “Come give the neighbor a tour of the house!” There was a loud crashing noise from upstairs that sounded oddly familiar. Scale imagined it coming from a pyramid of empty aluminum cans colpsing.

  “I-I’m coming!” Harper’s voice sounded panicked and distant. It was followed by a few more crashes.

  “I swear that girl will be the death of me,” said Mrs. Tomtom in a huff. She fanned herself for a moment but then fixed her expression and looked at Scale. “I’m going to get my son and husband from the back yard while Harper guides you. Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes. I’m so gd to have a lovely young dy like you as our neighbor~”

  Scale flinched as her cheeks were pinched. It was such a foreign experience that it genuinely froze her in pce like a deer in the headlights.

  “Should I take off my shoes?” asked Scale. She didn’t see any pce to deposit them by the door.

  “Oh no, don’t bother,” Mrs. Tomtom’s reply was swift. “Take a seat anywhere. Harper will be down soon.” As if to punctuate her point there was another loud crashing noise from upstairs.

  Left alone for a moment, Scale admired the paintings on the walls. She didn’t know anything about art but they did look nice. There were an odd number of paintings with monsters in them. The biggest painting showed a battle outside a dimensional Gate featuring a monster that looked more like a giant puppy than anything dangerous. The details were vague and blurry with the human Awakeners portrayed being more like impressions.

  “S-sorry for taking so long!” Harper jogged down the stairs. She was wearing baggy bck sweats top and bottom.

  “Ah. Aren’t you hot in those?” asked Scale. She tilted her head. At night even in early July the temperature would be a little cool in Response City, but it was still summer. Scale herself had opted for a t-shirt and pants.

  “Nope. My ability buffs and protects me from any environment.” Harper beamed with pride and puffed out her chest.

  “Any environment?”

  “Any environment!”

  “Even space?”

  “Uhhh probably. We’ve never tested that one. But I can breathe underwater, walk through the arctic in a swimsuit, or wear sweatpants in a desert without any issue!”

  “That’s interesting. Does it only work for you or can you share it with others?” Scale regretted asking her question the moment she saw Harper’s smile fade.

  “W-well, it can be shared. I’m not great at that part yet.”

  “Ah.” Scale nodded. She decided to gently move away from the subject. “Let’s start the house tour.”

  “Y-yes! Of course. Mom really wanted me to show you the garden in the east wing.”

  As the two walked through the mansion, Scale realized just how big it really was. The outside of the building and the angle of approach hid the totality of the estate. It made her head spin. She wasn’t used to opulence. As a dragon her irs had always been made with efficiency in mind.

  “This is the East Wing Garden!” Harper ughed as she skipped ahead. Scale followed through the doorway into an open air garden in the middle of the building. The garden was filled with flowers and colorful trees. A fountain in the middle sprayed water in a mist.

  “It’s beautiful,” said Scale.

  “I picked out the flowers we grow here myself.” Harper’s genuine smile made her look her age. She looked like a big kid showing off and that made Scale ugh.

  The two sat on a wooden bench. The air smelled sweet and a bit earthy.

  “Hey um,” said Harper. “I just wanted to say thank you—for helping me out earlier.”

  Scale tilted her head before her eyes opened in realization. She waved her hand and said, “It’s no problem.”

  “No, I mean it. I really mean it…” Harper hunched forward in her seat and put her elbows on her knees.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “No.”

  “Okay. Then why don’t you tell me about the flowers here while we wait for dinner to be ready.” Scale put a gentle smile on her face.

  “S-sure. That one is a Vale Rose, discovered in a Gate in 1955—”

  Scale and Harper came to a screened-in porch on the back of the building with a dinner table set up. The porch overlooked a massive outdoor training area full of combat dummies, open weights, and other machinery designed for Awakeners to improve.

  Heavy Tomtom, the S-rank Awakener that Scale had seen before, was sitting at the table with a young man on his right and his wife on his left. He stood up and came to Scale, offering his hand. “Nice to formally meet you, Miss Altiman,” said Heavy. “I’m a good friend of your sister.”

  “She talked about you before and I’ve seen you around, too.” said Scale. She shook his hand. “Ah,” she paused, “Should I formally introduce myself?”

  “Sure.” He returned to the table. Harper sat down and Scale sat down next to her.

  “Everyone, my name is Scale Altiman. On the surface I’m a D-rank Awakener from Canada.” Based on the expressions of the others, only Harper didn’t know what was coming next. Scale put on a depreciating smile. “But I’m actually the new Returnee, Princess Scale.”

  “What?!”

  “Harper, don't raise your voice at the table. It’s rude.”

  “B-but mom—”

  “It’s okay. Don’t scold her for being surprised.”

  “D-dad! Was I the only one who didn’t know?”

  “We didn’t tell Martin either.”

  “Then why isn’t he surprised?” Harper gred at her older brother.

  “I figured it out on my own,” said the young man. “Look at her hair and eyes. They’re literally identical to the returnee from Hana’s broadcast.”

  Scale frowned at that. She wasn’t particurly trying hard to keep her identity a secret, but it was still unpleasant to be found out so casually.

  “Wait.” Harper put her hands on the table and looked at Scale with shining eyes. “You’re a support type!”

  “Ah. Yes, I specialize in healing and buff magic.”

  “Oh my god. C-can you maybe—”

  “You want me to tutor you?”

  “Y-yes.”

  Scale’s eyes narrowed. She looked at the big man at the head of the table but he just shrugged with a clear ‘do whatever you want’ expression. Scale wanted to say no. She was kind but it sounded troublesome. She wasn’t the greatest at teaching others… But then she thought about the girl being covered in dirt, soaking wet.

  “Ah.” Scale made an annoying decision. “Okay but then you have to help me with my garden.”

  “Deal!” Harper grabbed Scale’s hands and shook them so fast they looked like a blur.

  “Okay let’s all calm down and eat,” said Mrs. Tomtom. She looked happy.

  Judging by the eyes of the parents, Scale was pretty sure she’d fallen into a pnned trap. The Association had recommended this neighborhood and, considering his rank within it, Heavy Tomtom surely had some say in that recommendation. Scale sighed. She could feel a pair of eyes burning into the side of her head for the rest of the meal. At least the food was delicious.

  Scale returned to her quiet home and id down with her phone. She browsed the Hunter Net for a while. With the advent of new technology, dungeon and gate live streams were now booming in popurity. Of course, Scale didn’t watch Hana’s broadcast. Instead she decided to browse some smaller ones, but soon she started nodding off. She had too many things to do in the next few days. It wasn’t all bad, though.

  “Being busy just means I’m living well, right?” She ughed. It was a hollow, sad ugh. “Maybe I should visit that school…” She thought about the kid who had clearly been bullied. To go after the child of an S-rank hero took quite a lot of guts—or it just meant they knew Harper was a prideful pushover that wouldn’t want her weakness exposed to her family. Would helping the kid directly make things worse?

  Maybe teaching Harper and making her stronger was the best course of action? Scale wasn’t sure. It was a lot harder when her problems couldn’t just be smashed by force. She desperately wanted to hit something.

  “Maybe I should register to clear a Gate?” Scale yawned and fell asleep.

  —[Nerd17]: ‘We’ve found where she lives. She recently bought a house on Feather Lane.’

  —[Jeremy H.]: ‘Finaly sum good news.’

  —[Nerd17]: ‘Just one problem. The neighbor is S-rank Tomtom.’

  —[Jeremy H.]: ‘are you fuckig kiddinz meeee. piece of shit useless. find where she works then’