Rise of Shaun Rodriquez, the Baron's Illegitimate Son

Chapter 3: Adjusting to the New World (2)

The first thing Shaun saw was his family eating their meal, or rather, finishing it. They either had been eating for a while or they ate fairly quickly. It didn't really matter, as the end result was the same. If he actually cared about the family, he would have been hurt by the actions. Of course, this was nothing new, so the sight wasn't a huge shock. Without giving away any emotions, he took the seat next to his half sister.

She didn't bat an eye at his presence as he waited for his food. His breakfast was delivered and wasn't as impressive as that of the rest of the family. Of course, it wasn't bad either. The servants weren't crazy enough to feed him dirt or starve him. They always made sure to do the bare minimum so they wouldn't get in trouble with the head of the family. They had to keep up appearances after all.

Nibbling at his food, he waited to hear if there were any special news was and didn't have to wait for long, as his father said, "I have some news for everyone."

All eyes turned to his father. It was inevitable that everyone would be curious about what he had to say. His father normally didn't bring up any news unless he thought it was important. Each person had a different idea of what his father could be saying, but Shaun was fairly certain that he knew what it was, and his father didn't disappoint with his next words.

"As you know, the heroes have been summoned to deal with the demons. You are to be on your best behavior, or else," his "father" warned.

Shaun almost scoffed at the man's words, but he bit his tongue so he wouldn't get in trouble. No one who ever used the words or else was scary. He had heard the words too many times to take anyone who used them seriously. Those who used them were trash. Instead, he studied his "sibling's" reactions. They were as he expected.

They were curious about the heroes, but they weren't dumb enough to cause trouble, which was a miracle. Everyone just nodded their heads like the obedient sheep they were. Of course, no one paid Shaun any mind, even though he hadn't nodded along with them. He had already been written off. There was no way they would bring him along to catch a glimpse of the heroes.

[That's no good. You have to see the heroes.]

He frowned. Why would the system insist he see the heroes? Since he was just an insignificant child of a baron house, they had nothing to do with him. As long as he did his own thing, they wouldn't cross paths. The system didn't give him an answer and only repeated that it was essential that he go see the heroes. However, he didn't see how it would benefit him.

[Then the system will give the user a quest. People from the user's world like quests.]

[Quest]

[Meet the Heroes]

[The heroes have been summoned from another world to defeat the demon king.]

[Meet the heroes.]

[You will be rewarded once you meet the heroes.]

Shaun was still reluctant, even with the quest being displayed in front of him. The system hadn't said what he would get in exchange for meeting the heroes. It could easily give him something worthless, like shoes. Sneaking out to meet the heroes wasn't worth the trouble that it would bring him. His father would surely tan his hide if he was caught.

[If the user is worried about being caught, then the system will give you this.]

[You have received an Invisibility Ring.]

Immediately, he checked his surroundings the moment the ring fell into his palm. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice it since his hands had been underneath the table. He nearly breathed a sigh of relief, but he couldn't afford to give himself away. Instead, he forced himself not to outwardly react while he was cursing the system for being so reckless. They could have been caught.

[Apologies. This system is unused to this situation. This system was just created once it was discovered that you had memories of your past life.]

Wasn't that literally an hour ago? He was dealing with a baby system. Shaun almost grimaced when there was a banging sound. He flinched as he looked away from the system and saw that his "father" had slammed his hands against the table. One look at his "father's" face told him that he had messed up. He must have said something to him, and Shaun missed it because of the system.

"Do you understand?" his father spat.

"Yes, Baron Rodriquez," Shaun obediently said.

The man leaned back in his chair and observed his other children as he said, "Then you may all leave."

With those words, the man got to his feet and left the dining room. As soon as the man was gone, one of his older brothers snickered. Shaun ignored them, as he knew reacting would usually only make things worse. Unfortunately, today wasn't his day, as the same older brother sneered when he failed to get a reaction out of Shaun.

"Aren't you even a little bit upset that you can't see the heroes?" his brother asked.

He glanced at his brother and noticed how everyone else was waiting for him to react. "No."

His brother's face turned ugly as he said, "It's master to you."

Forcing himself not to sigh at such a childish reaction, he said, "No, master."

This seemed to appease his brother, who huffed and got out of his seat. "Well, you better get to work. If you make one mistake, you're out of here."

Soon, he was followed by his other brothers and sisters, who didn't bother to give him a second glance. As they were leaving, Shaun considered his brother's words. Their father must have assigned him some work. However, thanks to the system distracting him, he wasn't able to listen. Now he had no idea what was expected of him, and he had to guess what his father wanted him to do. It really was turning out to be a bad day.