Esper Harem in the Apocalypse

He turned to Maria and asked, "Where were your brother and sister twenty years ago? Or rather, at the time you were born?"

"As I said, there was an underworld war going on 20 years ago. So my father sent them overseas to not involve them in all that," Maria answered.

"That\'s why even they don\'t know why father turned into saint from a devil," she added with a shrug.

\'I get it now. Everything makes sense…\'

Rudy smiled at Maria and thought, \'I think Rusher got his sister pregnant when they were hiding overseas 20 years ago. And Maria is their child.\'

\'That explains why Maria looked a lot like her sister… her mother….\' Rudy was having a crisis in his mind after thinking all that.

\'That also explains why Maria\'s parents… grandparents, didn\'t have any photos of her birth,\' Rudy uttered inwardly. \'Her biological parents, the brother and sister, returned with a child with them. I don\'t know what they said to their parents, but I don\'t think they know the truth.\'

Angelica also realized that. Even though she was masturbating, she was paying attention to Rudy and Maria\'s conversion.

She looked at Rudy and said, "So Maria is the product of incest."

\'This is so cruel…\' Rudy uttered inwardly. \'I can\'t imagine how Maria would feel when she gets to know about this…\'

"It would be for the best if she never gets to know about this," Angelica said to Rudy.

Rudy nodded in response without saying anything for obvious reasons.

\'She already feels distanced from her family members. I mean, she was actually right. You can easily tell the difference between parental love and the love of a guardian. Her grandparents don\'t love her as parents but rather as guardians. And there is a huge difference.\'

\'Like how mom loves me as my mother. And Joe would also love me as a father, but that would be a little different.\'

Rudy thought he should say something to Maria to make her feel better. He wanted to say something, but he couldn\'t put his feelings into words.

In the end, Rudy decided to take a natural approach.

He held Maria\'s hand in his hand and said, "Does it matter?"

"Huh?"

"Does it matter?" Rudy asked again.

"Wha..t?" Maria couldn\'t understand what Rudy was trying to say.

"You just said it, right? You feel like you don\'t belong there. So does it matter if you feel like that?" Rudy asked in a gentle voice.

Maria\'s eyes widened after hearing that as though she had heard the words of wisdom. She realized that she was worried for nothing.

Maria smiled and shook her head in response before saying, "My life wouldn\'t change, not even a bit. So it doesn\'t matter."

"Then stop worrying about it," he said with a smile on his face. "Nothing good comes with worry. Live your life to your fullest and don\'t waste a single opportunity because one lost opportunity is equal to one lifeline."

He squeezed Maria\'s hand and said, "You won\'t get a chance to live your life again. You only get one life to live, so make sure you don\'t waste it worrying about the things that don\'t matter."

After hearing Rudy\'s words, Maria couldn\'t help but tear up.

"..."

"...."

"Aww, you made her cry," Angelica commented.

\'Shut up! And stop masturbating, you horny ghost!\'

Maria ended up crying because of the emotions Rudy had put behind his words. Since Rudy had experienced what he had just said, Angelica could feel his sadness and despair in his words. That made Maria realize how lucky she was to have everything in her life.

She had parents who loved her, siblings who were her biological parents, money, fame, everything. However, she didn\'t have respect and authority. That was something she had to earn. And now, she wanted Rudy to help her with that.

"I need your help with something. Can you help me?" Maria asked with a reluctance in her voice, as though she wasn\'t sure if she shouldn\'t ask him or not. No, it wasn\'t because she didn\'t trust Rudy, it was because she didn\'t want to involve Rudy in the underworld matters. But it was too late now.

Rudy had already decided to shake the underworld.

"What is it?" Rudy asked. "You helped me out twice tonight. So it would be fair for me to help you out in return."

"Well…"

Rudy realized the reason behind Maria\'s hesitation, but he genuinely wanted to help her because he could benefit from it too.

"We are friends now, right? And friends help each other out." Rudy rubbed his thumb on Maria\'s hand and said, "Tell me, what is it?"

"Umm… I don\'t think you have the power to help me out…" Maria muttered under her breath.

\'I have the power to make everything possible. Just say it, and I will make it happen.\' Rudy wanted to say that out loud, but it was for the best that he didn\'t.

After a brief silence, Maria opened her mouth and said, "Every year, a poker tournament happens in the casinos. And the winner gets a huge winning amount. They also get a casino pass and special access to the VIP club of the casino."

"Okay…"

"And the VIP club also has a yearly poker tournament, and the winner gets access to the underworld VIP club and many more perks," Maria asserted.

"So… you want my help for that?"

Maria nodded and said, "You have super luck, so there is a high chance that you will win. Of course, I will be the one providing all the funds, so you don\'t have to worry about money. And it would be perfectly fine even if you lose."

"But… you are already part of the underworld, right? Why do you want to….?" Rudy had a faint idea what Maria was trying to say, but he had to confirm it by hearing her say it with her own mouth.

"I have access, but you don\'t.." Maria\'s face flushed a little as she said, "I want to bring you to the underworld."