The Porter is Secretly an SS-Level Hunter

Chapter 23: Growth (2)

When Neban used [Shadow Travel] to disappear, he did not go home but stopped at an area near the park, full of trees. He was hiding behind one of the trees because the sun was out, and his clothes had blood on them. He did not want to freak anybody out, plus Neban still had to change before going home.

Neban needed somewhere to change.

Squatting down, Neban dropped the bag, pulling out his phone to call the person who he believed could help at the moment: Xan.

The phone rung twice before the man picked up. "Good morning, Neban. What can I do for you?" Xan greeted. The man sounded like he just woke up. Neban pulled his phone back to check the time, it was a bit past 8 in the morning.

Was it the man's day off, today?

"If I send you my location, could you come to pick me up?" Neban asked.

"I can. Could you give me a second? I just woke up and need to get dressed."

"Yeah. Bye. And bring a bag to cover your passenger seat." Neban hung up the phone as he moved to messages to send his location to Xan. Then he moved to text his parents to tell them that he finished the dungeon and stopped somewhere before going home.

His mother replied that Theo was not happy with that. Neban frowned, feeling guilty that he was close to breaking his son's promise by returning a bit late, but he did not want to freak the boy out by coming home with blood on him. So, he texted back that he was sorry and turned his phone off after that; he did want to read any replies.

Neban moved to sit down as he rested his head on the tree, closing his eyes as he let his mind clear. It was a bit passed thirty minutes when he heard a car pulling up. He opened his eyes, rubbing them as he was close to falling asleep, and stood up with the bag in his hand.

He walked from the tree and saw Xan in his car, a few feet away from him.

Xan was getting ready to call Neban that he was here until he saw the man moving from behind a tree with blood on him. Xan sighed at the man's appearance; now, he could see why Neban wanted him to bring something to cover his seat.

He reached in the back, pulling out a long plastic sheet, and put it on his passenger seat, making sure that it covered all the empty spots. Once Xan finished, he heard someone knocking on his window. He looked up and saw it was Neban.

Neban quickly reached the car, staring in the window as he waited for Xan to finish covering his seat. Once he saw that everything was okay, he knocked on the window. He heard the door unlocking.

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Opening the door, Neban took a seat, dropping the bag on top of his feet as he closed the door behind him once he was situated.

Xan waited for a few seconds before driving off to his house.

During the whole drive, they did not talk. Neban was resting his head back, close to falling asleep, while Xan was curious why the man had blood on him and what was in the bag. But, he remained quiet; when they reached his house, he would question Neban.

When they reached Xan's home, Xan parked the car, turning it off as he got out. Neban cut himself from his sleepy daze as he also got out with the bag in hand (he did take the plastic with him to throw it away).

They walked into the house when Xan unlocked it. Neban took his shoes off in the front and followed the man into his living area as he dropped the bag on the floor (he made sure that there was nothing on it before putting it on the carpet).

"Where should I throw this plastic away? And can I use your restroom?" Neban asked, finally filling in the silence built around them ever since he entered the car.

"I can take care of the plastic's disposal. And you can use my restroom; go down that hall, and there is a brown door on the left, that is the restroom." Xan answered, pointing to what he was talking about.

Neban nodded, handing over the plastic before walking to the restroom, so he could change.

Xan took the plastic and walked back outside, to where his trashcan was to drop the thing inside. There was some blood on it, and he hoped that no one thought he murdered someone when the garbage men came to pick up his trash.

When he walked back into the house, Neban already had new clothes on, minus a shirt on (that was over his shoulder), as he stood in the living area with his bloody clothes in his hand.

Xan looked at the scars that were on Neban's upper body. They did not look like they were marks made from a monster, but a human instead.

"Do you have a bag I can use? I don't want to get blood anywhere." Neban asked as he held his dirty clothes.

He did not have a shirt on because when he started changing, Neban did not want to set his bloody clothes anywhere to dirty the man's restroom, so he kept them in his hand while changing. Surprisingly, he did not get blood on the new garments he made.

Xan nodded as he went into his kitchen, pulling out a plastic bag that he saved from grocery shopping (he had many of them) and handed it to Neban.

Neban put his dirty clothes in the bag, sitting them near the other bag he brought inside as he made his way back to the restroom to wash his hands before putting his shirt on.

When he came back, Xan was sitting on the couch, staring at the bag. "So, what is inside the bag?" Xan asked once he noticed that Neban walked back into the room.

"Loot." Neban truthfully answered. He continued standing; Neban felt that if he sat down, he would have fallen asleep.

Xan sighed as he rubbed his face. He did tell Neban that he did not mind taking on challenging things, but it seemed that he took charge of a complicated person. "Did you kill some hunters? And did you enter a dungeon without telling me? You know, I need to know things, Neban."

Neban shifted his feet, feeling like he was getting in trouble with his parents. He keeps thinking back to when his parents would get mad when he disappeared from school for a few hours. They would ask where he was and why he did not tell them anything with disappointment clear in their tone.

"No, I did not kill any hunters. I went to this dungeon alone, and if I had told you at the time, you would have to reported it." Neban answered.

"No, I wouldn't. I am trying to build trust with you, and I would be grateful if you could respect me a bit more. I promise I will keep all your secrets. I knew you were no F-level, but I did not tell anyone the truth.

"I need you to tell me these things and not keep me in the dark. Because if something happens, I need to be there to assuage the situation while keeping your secrets a secret." Xan explained as he stared at Neban, trying to get his point across.

Neban did not say anything as he stared at the wall. Trust was not an easy thing for him, and it was surprising how he trusted (?) the others quicker than he did for anyone, but it was different. They were F-levels, making it easier to relax around them because the others could not do anything to hurt him.

But, even though Xan seemed to not have any abilities, he worked for a company close with the government. All the companies dealing with hunters and porters deal with the government, and even though Neban stays in the lifestyle, it did not mean he trusted anyone.

People have betrayed him before, even using his son in the name of the government. Or they tried to get him to release his true identity when he was Obsidian. He had the scars to prove it, and he did not need anymore of them, so it was hard to give Xan some type of trust.

He turned towards the man, seeing how Xan was looking back at him while waiting patiently for Neban to speak. "I cannot make any promises of trusting you. But, I can try to respect you more by keeping you in the loop."

Xan let out a breath he was holding, "Thank you." Then he looked at the bag once more, "Do you need me to take the bag to Gem Company? I know someone who will give the earnings without any questions asked."

"Is it Tiger (a nickname)?" Neban asked; he was surprised if Xan did know the person because workers from the companies tend to stay far from the person since they are shady.

"Yeah, surprised?" Xan amusingly answered.

Neban did not say anything because he did not want to admit that he was, "You can take the bag. I need to go home now. Thank you."

He grabbed the bag with his dirty clothes inside, and [Shadow Travel] out of Xan's home.

Xan stared at the empty spot before standing up and stretching. He grabbed the bag filled with the loot as he pulled out his phone to call Tiger; Xan wanted to inform the person that he was coming with a bag that Xan did not wish to be recorded by the company or government.

As he waited for Tiger to pick up, Xan started to think that Neban seemed to be changing a bit, personality-wise.