Rise Of The Hoarder

“<Recall>” My lips moved instinctively, and everything went back into [Subspace].r

The soda in my hand, the speaker on my mattress, even the comic book I’d stashed somewhere to relieve me of boredom at some point.r

They instantly vanished, and right on time too.r

Ana walked in, seeing me laying on the mattress. I appeared startled, looking in her direction as she walked towards me.r

“O-oh, you’re back?” I mumbled, still feigning surprise.r

“Yeah. Sorry to leave you all by yourself. You good?” She asked with a warm smile.r

‘Is she pretending to be worried about me, or…?’r

Somehow, my paranoia acted up and I couldn’t shake off the conversation Charles was having with her moments ago.r

“I am… a little hungry though.” I smiled.r

I tried reading her facial expressions. Someone as honest as Ana was bound to find it difficult to lie or pretend. If I could read her reaction somewhat, then I would be able to decipher what it was that Charles told her.r

“Jeremy… you got a sec? There’s something I need to ask of you.” She mumbled.r

“E-eh?” I accidentally let out in surprise.r

Of all the things she could have done, making this move was the last thing I expected.r

‘What is she going to say?’r

“I kind of have a favor to ask of you… will you listen?” She asked.r

I nodded sharply and enthusiastically. Not just because of curiosity, but also to maintain my façade of a kind and innocent boy.r

‘That’s assuming Charles hasn’t told her already…’ I gritted my teeth.r

“What’s the matter, Ana? You can ask me anything!”r

Even when I said this, she remained hesitant, pondering on whether to speak or not. Finally sighing in defeat, she decided to go ahead with it.r

“That masked man… the one who saved you, did he mention anywhere we can get more supplies, maybe in passing or whatever?” r

Ana’s sudden question sent multiple thoughts across my brain.r

‘The fvck is this?!’r

She appeared uncomfortable asking me this, which meant Ana wasn’t doing this of her own volition. It was most likely something Charles had told her to do.r

‘She’s asking about the masked man, which means two things…’r

The first would be that she was trying to mask her knowledge of me being the same person as the masked man. I highly doubted this, since I would have sensed some degree of suspicion from her as she was quite easy to read.r

The second would be that Charles didn’t actually reveal anything about me to Ana, and he gave her this task in order to indirectly ask for my support with the issue of scarcity within the Camp.r

The second option sounded more feasible since Charles would gain nothing in telling Ana my identity. Even if it ruined my plans, it didn’t in any way benefit him. I could simply kill Ana as well as the rest of those chumps within minutes.r

‘Charles is still working hard and trying to find a solution to the Camp. He can’t afford to stir things up with me, at least for now.’ I reasoned.r

Drawing my conclusion, it seems I overreacted to the whole thing.r

“W-why are you asking?” I responded to Ana’s query.r

Once again, she appeared flustered, but she kept pressing on.r

“Well, the Camp is experiencing a severe shortage of resources. I was, no… Charles was wondering if your savior had more resources stacked somewhere so we could make it through this harsh time.”r

I stared at her blankly. It was clear she was having a hard time asking for a favor from a little kid, especially since it was a shameless thing to do.r

“W-we promise to restore any food we take as soon as things in the Camp are stable. You have my word on that! It’s just that we really need the… the resources right now.” r

Her expression told me everything about her sincerity. Ana wouldn’t resort to begging a child if she wasn’t desperate.r

Still, as much as it hurt me to tell her, the deed needed to be done.r

“I’m sorry, Ana… I really don’t know…” I mumbled, feigning sadness at my inability to be of assistance.r

“O-oh, then that’s fine. Forget I said anything, okay?” Ana said, quickly recovering from her disappointment, as well as trying to cheer me up while pretending like it wasn’t a big deal.r

“But…” I suddenly stated, causing her eyes to glow a little in hope.r

“He did tell me something… but, he said I should keep it a secret and if In any scenario, I have to say something, it should be to the leader of any settlement I find myself in.” I said, smiling at Ana.r

“R-really, Jeremy? And this will help us?” She asked with a surprised look.r

I nodded in response.r

“T-that’s great news then! B-but that means you’ll have to tell Charles directly. Is it anything dangerous? You won’t be in any danger will you?” Ana asked, looking at me with worry.r

As expected of someone with her Alignment. Even in times of need, she was still worried about her little bro. Classic!r

“I’ll be fine, Ana. But, if the matter is as urgent as you say it is, I should probably talk to the Camp Leader as soon as possible. Maybe even right now.” r

Ana considered my words and nearly nodded in agreement, but a sudden thought seemed to pop up in her head which caused her to change her mind.r

“But you said you were hungry earlier, didn’t you? Why don’t you wait until the rest of the team bring our breakfast?” Ana asked.r

“O-oh, no need to worry about that. I’m good. Besides, this is more important.” I replied, smiling awkwardly.r

To be honest, I wasn’t even hungry. Plus, the last thing I want to enter my mouth was whatever slob they would be serving in this dump.r

“No way, Jeremy. Your health matters first!” Ana stubbornly replied. r

Her eyes told me she was determined to make sure I ate something before leaving.r

“You need good nutrition to be healthy!” She added.r

‘Good nutrition my foot! What you’re going give me to eat doesn’t even measure up to that!’ I argued internally.r

Still, I had no other choice but to play along with Ana. Regret swirled around me as I wished that I could take back the lie I told her about my hunger.r

‘Me and my big mouth!’r