Isekai: With System, I will become powerful Z Ranker!

By the time Aizen enters the treehouse, he remembers the flowers he gathered from the field for her and Pi. He facepalm. Ah, he forgot to give her the flowers.

Oh well, he'll give them to her tomorrow.

"Welcome home, Aizen!" Pi greets him.

"Hey, Pi," Aizen smiles as he pulls out the flowers from his inventory and shows them to her. "Here, these are for you."

"Awww, thank you!" She takes the flowers from him and smiles. "You are so sweet, Aizen."

"Just doing my job..." Aizen rubs his neck awkwardly, then catches a scent and blinks. "Oh, did you cook something else today?"

"Yup! I decided to make apple pie, roast beef, and salad."

"Oh, that sounds amazing!"

"Come on, take a shower and join me in the kitchen."

"Yes, ma'am."

Aizen dries his hair as he leaves the bathroom and puts the towel away. He walks over to his desk, where he had placed the map, and looks at it. Maybe he could ask Boris to come with him to the blacksmith or look for a mage who can inscribe runes on his weapons. He would really like an upgrade or maybe even new weapons. He has plenty of money to spare.

Turning around, he leaves the room and heads to the kitchen, where Pi is waiting for him.

Aizen takes his seat, and Pi starts serving the dishes. "Thank you for the food."

Pi smiles and takes her seat as she begins eating as well. They eat their dinner in silence. Aizen starts to feel like he's missing something, and Pi seems a little off. Did something happen? Oh no—did she, by any chance, meet up with that Scar guy?

Aizen finishes his dinner and waits for her to finish. Once she's done, he asks, "Is something wrong?"

Pi smiles awkwardly. She doesn't know how to tell him he has to move out, yet she doesn't want him to leave. Still, she can't let her brother make poor Aizen uncomfortable with his threats—even though they won't work on him. "Uhm, my brother is coming here."

Aizen blinks. "Oh, that's wonderful."

Pi nods slowly. "I know I'm going to sound rude. It's not that I don't want you here... it's just that my brother is, uh, extremely protective of me. I need you to move to the guild—there are guest rooms. You just have to stay there until my brother leaves again on his adventures..."

He doesn't need to hear her explanation; he understands completely. After all, it's reasonable. He has met those kinds of brothers before, and he knows the feeling. He had a sister too.

He closes his eyes at the reminder of Yu, his baby sister. He doesn't know whether to be hopeful about her existence in this world. When he opens his eyes, he finds Pi wearing a worried and awkward expression. Ah, she's so cute.

"Don't worry, Pi," he chuckles. "I understand. I'll pack my things and move out. I have to speak with Shelly first, though."

"Oh, sure! No rush!" Pi waves her hand. "You can even stay here tomorrow night, but you still have to move out."

Aizen nods. "Don't worry. First thing tomorrow, I'll ask Shelly if she'll let me rent a room. Anything else?"

Pi shakes her head. "No."

"All right." Aizen stands up. "I'll wash the dishes."

"Thank you..." Pi watches him collect the dishes and walk toward the sink, where he begins washing them. Honestly, she thought Aizen would be offended or have some sort of reaction. But no, he's completely calm and understanding.

She covers her face, hiding her blush. She feels embarrassed. Honestly, she's a mature woman and can do whatever she desires. So why is she sending Aizen away? Mmmh... She still doesn't want her brother, Gaji, to do something to poor Aizen.

But she also doesn't want Aizen to stay at Shelly's place. She isn't blind—she knows Shelly has been eyeing Aizen for a while now. Leaving him there means leaving him open for Shelly. She pouts. She had checked the inn, but it was under construction.

He has no choice but to stay at the guild quarters—close to Shelly.

"Pi, I have a question," Aizen says, drying his hands with a cloth and walking over to her. "Do you know any blacksmiths?"

"Mmh... Aizen."

"Yes?"

Pi gets up, steps closer to him, and leans against him. Aizen blinks, looking at her in surprise. "Pi?"

"I know I don't own you or anything..." Pi mumbles, cupping his cheek as she leans in. "But promise me... if you do end up having another woman... remember, I was your first."

She presses a soft kiss against his lips for a moment before pulling back, her cheeks flushed as she shyly looks at him. "R-Remember this, okay?"

Aizen stands still, processing what she just said, then closes his eyes.

He is one lucky bastard.

Geez, what did he do in his previous life to deserve this privilege?

The next day, Aizen put his stuff in his inventory, ate breakfast with Pi, and headed out to the village to visit the guild. It was early in the morning, and people were just waking up and starting their work. When he reached the guild and stepped inside, he found it mostly empty.

Shelly was at the counter, cleaning it with a cloth. When she saw him, she looked surprised. "Oh? Early?"

"Morning, Shelly. I need to book a room here for myself," Aizen said, stopping near the counter. "I need a place for a few days. How much is the rent?"

Shelly blinked. "Eh? Did Pi kick you out?" The realization hit, and she snorted. "Oh, right, I forgot he's coming." She tapped her chin, thinking. "Mmh, there is a room. You can stay there. Come on, I'll show you."

Aizen looked relieved. "Thanks!"

Shelly guided him upstairs. As they reached the upper floor, they kept walking and took a right turn. At the end of the hallway, there were three doors and a window on the side. Shelly pulled out a key and unlocked the last door in the corner. "This is the room," she said, opening the door and stepping inside. "You can stay here."

Aizen entered and looked around. It wasn't too big or too small—a bed, a desk, a chair, and a closet. "Oh wow, it ain't bad."

Shelly opens the window beside the bed and looks at him. "Remember to close the window at night, unless you want mosquitoes having dinner with your blood."

"Oh, thanks! Anything else I should know?"

"Yes. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner—I'll show you the menu. Let us know what you prefer, and we'll bring it to your room. As for bathing, it's a bucket with warm water and a cloth. Unless you want a full bath, there's a cold lake."

"I'm fine with what I get. Thank you, Shelly."

"Whatever. Come on, let's discuss the payment and get you the key to the room."

Shelly and Aizen leave the room and head downstairs. As they reach the counter, they find Boris ringing the bell. When he sees them, he grins. "Morning, Shelly! Aizen!"

"Hey, Boris." Aizen waves.

"What do you want, Boris?" Shelly asks, stepping behind the counter and looking at him. "Is it a quest?"

"Yes." Boris places a piece of paper on the counter and taps it. "This quest."

Shelly picks up the paper and scans it. She nods. "All right."

"You're going on a quest?" Aizen asks, standing beside Boris and looking at the paper. "Is it a raid?"

"Nah, it's wolves. I want their furs for winter clothes and traveling," Boris says, taking the paper back from Shelly as she returns it. "Wanna come with me?"

"Sure! By the way, Boris, do you know any blacksmiths?"

"Mmh? I know a good one. Do you need a weapon?"

"Yeah, and maybe..." Aizen opens his inventory and pulls out a bow. "I want to upgrade this and get it back in good shape."

"Ohh, may I hold it?"

"Sure."

Boris takes the bow and examines it. "A magic bow... in good condition. Mmh... fire resistance, unbreakable, runes..." He looks at Aizen. "This is a solid one for beginners, my friend. Still, you might want to find a mage for the runes. This bow will last about a year, and after that, it's done."

"Wait, really? Do you know any mage?"

"I have one on my team. Come with me, and you can let him add extra runes. Maybe he can even teach you how to use a bow with mana."

"Mana...?"

"Yes, mana. He can create arrows using it," Boris explains.

Aizen's eyes widened. "Wait, doesn't he get tired or something?"

Boris chuckles. "For him, it's a piece of cake. But yeah, it does get tiring. He's a C-rank mage. Although, if you want a real professional, you can wait for Gaji—he's an A-rank mage."

"Gaji might be able to help you with the bow," Shelly adds. "After all, he's the one who made it."

"As for the blacksmith, there's one in another village. You can go with Boris," she continues.

"The best blacksmith we have in this western kingdom is a dwarf. He's very skilled and might be able to help you with your weapon," Boris says, placing the bow on the counter. He then unsheathes his sword and holds it up for Aizen to see. "Look at this beautiful sword, my friend."

A screen pops up: Sword Level 7

Aizen reads through the list of runes, his eyes widening in shock. So many runes—all protection-based. "Oh wow."

"Dwarven weapons are the best," Boris says proudly. "Once in a while, I take mine in for a check-up. The dwarf is a friend of mine. I can take you to him tomorrow if you want?"

"Yes, please. I'd appreciate it. I need more weapons," Aizen said. And maybe more information about other kingdoms.

"All right." Boris sheathed his sword. "I'll wait for you outside, all right?"

"You got it, Boris. I'll be there."

"Say, where did you get that bow from?"

"Oh, Shelly gave it to me."

Boris smirked, glancing at Shelly, who returned his look with a poker face and a grin. "Oh, I see." He turned away, watching as Aizen put the bow back into his inventory. "See you outside, my friend." With that, he walked away.

Shelly rolled her eyes, then pulled out a book from under the counter. Flipping it open, she picked up a quill, wrote something down, and handed the quill to Aizen. "Here, sign this."

Aizen took the quill and signed his name. To his surprise, the writing wasn't in Japanese but in another language. Now that he thought about it, he could understand their language and even write in it. Is it because of the system?

"Here." He placed the quill back in the book and pulled out a pouch from his pocket. "How much?"

"For rent, it's 50 gems a month. Meals are included. A total of 50 gems."

"Oh, okay. Here."

Shelly takes the 50 gems Aizen placed on the counter and hands him the key. "Keep it safe."

"Thanks," Aizen says, taking the key. "I'll see you later, Shelly."

"Whatever, see you later, Aizen."

Aizen waves and walks away, heading out of the guild. He finds Boris waiting for him and smiles. "I'm ready!"

Boris smiles back and nods. "Great! Let's go. The group is waiting for us in the woods." He walks off, and Aizen follows him.

Aizen looks up at the sky, noticing the clouds, and tilts his head. "Mmh? It seems like there's gonna be bad weather."

"Probably," Boris responds, glancing ahead. "Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if it starts raining by the time we return."

Aizen can't help but feel that something is off about those clouds, but he shakes it off. Instead, he looks ahead and follows Boris out of the village and into the woods.