"My information is online, you idiot. Every time I enter a tournament, I have to put in my information… so maybe if you pay more attention-"


    I leaned back in my chair, staring her down as she stared right back, her eyes utterly unwavering as if she was trying to turn a lie into the truth.


    "No, I want your real information. I know your ss isn''t a Water Knight. You''re way too powerful in foreign exchange of mana to be just a knight… you must be some kind of magician, in fact-"


    She quickly covered my mouth and looked around, and after quickly leaving a couple of bucks on the table, she took me outside.


    "You aren''t hiding it very well," I smiled, the woman pulling me in by my cor and gritting her teeth ever so slightly.


    She soon processed what she was doing and looked at her hand just before letting out a long sigh and pushing me away so she could process the situation.


    "I''m your brother… shouldn''t you tell me?" I smiled.


    "Oh, shut the hell up. I know you just want my information so you can either sell it or use it to ckmail me…." My sister began to mutter, walking around in circles. "Goddammit! Fine…! Alright, follow me…"


    As she caved in, my smile grew even wider, all while my sister reached into her bag and pulled out two ck bottom face masks that covered our noses and mouth, their filters slightly encrusted with gold.


    "Are we going out into the city?" I asked, and she silently nodded before gesturing for me to follow her.


    I did precisely that, and as we walked into the main town center, where most of the pollution was, I felt my lungs still fill with a heavy stench of oil and smoke.


    It felt like the inner lining of my lungs was wholly coated in some thin film that grossed me out, but due to its nature specifically designed to ease the pollution of the city, it was quickly neutralized by blood diffusing out of my capiries.


    The strangest part about it was how it was more like a bandaid than a regr solution that actually worked, meaning the absolute highest of highs here don''t give a shit aboutpletely solving the problem.


    I''m assuming they''re the ones making this problem, and they don''t give a lick of care to the residents that want to buy their products.


    To be honest, our city isbeled a significant trading center due to the fact that it''s right next to the ocean, but there is no actual trade. Instead, they just ship it overseas or in nes.


    This is because nobody wants toe here as it is always practically on the border of a civil war whilergepanies continuously fight over the limited resources kept deep underneath the city.


    In my opinion, it wasn''t long until Elpol copsed… and once, in my opinion, I believed it would be due to civil war.


    It wasn''t apparent to the naked eye, but massive families that massive in-city corporations backed fought continuously, whether that was through their children by sending them to prestigious schools where they knew conflict would ur or by directly sabotaging the source.


    This not only harms their opponents but the state of the city each and every time due to it considerably slowing down production.


    "Man… this ce is a shithole," I muttered as we walked through the main town square, which was filled with thousands of holograms inviting people to the red-light district, thousands of neon signs promoting useless merchandise, and homeless people scavenging like rats across the edge of the streets.


    Smoke was more visible than ever in the air, and as a constant toxic rain pummeled down on our streets, an oily stream began to direct itself into our broken and disgusting sewers.


    Toxic smoke rose from potholes due to them being extremely unattended, most likely only being checked on once every blue moon.


    This was the real Elpol, unlike the prestigious and clean ces towards the edge of the city and the poorer ces that were also along the crust of our home.


    And then, my sister stopped right in the middle of the town square and looked up at a towering building that prated the clouds and scraped space itself.


    Its distortion towards the top was off the charts as it was so high that the entire building almost seemed to bend and sway with the passing gushes of wind.


    Crowds of hundreds of people passed by us as we took a seat on a stone b connected to the massive fountain of this city''s founder.


    Nobody really cared about him, but they made it just seem like the government which ruled over the entire continent had cared about its citizens and the achievements we had made.


    The water it spewed was somethingpletely opposite to clean. It was disgusting, oily, and smelled likeplete shit. It was like sitting in front of a sewage drain.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Why did you bring me here?"


    "There are too many spies and lingering rats following me… and probably you. They''re from the main house. Our main house, I mean… so I can''t have them knowing my real ss,"


    "So that''s why you brought me here? Because they could barely hear us without practically getting right up in our faces?"


    "Yes, and I wanted to exin to you my dream. You see this ce, right? This absolute hell hole that we call a city? Well, I dream of making it a better ce. I mean, the solutions are right in front of us but the corporations and families are too scared of losing their oh-so-sacred profit… so I''ll just do it myself. Even if it takes me my entire life, I will change the fate of this city."


    I just stayed silent, my eyes lingering on the passing crowd behind her.


    "Come on, say something. Do you think I can''t do it? Hm?"


    "I never said that. It just… seems like a very distant goal, but if that''s what you want to do, I won''t stop you… and… okay, I understand why you don''t want to tell me about your ss. It will destroy your dream, right?"


    She looked at me as if I had said something pitiable.