Esper Harem in the Apocalypse

Chapter 164 Janet, The Former Bully

"..."

She tried to act normal and filled her cart with the stuff she was there to buy. But she followed Rudy and Rebecca with her cart to make it look like she was simply shopping.

Meanwhile, Rebecca finally noticed that she was still holding hands with Rudy.

"...!" Her face flushed when she realized that it was not Rudy who was holding her hand, but it was her who was holding his hand.

She let go of Rudy's hand and tried to act normal, but the embarrassment on her flushed face said it all.

"Oh, Rebecca, you are here," a female co-worker spotted Rebecca and said, "I thought you weren't going to come today since you left late today. Welcome."

"Yeah, I am sorry for being late," Rebecca apologized to her co-worker. "Where are the other two?"

"Oh, they didn't come today. So I am really glad that you came. Otherwise, I would have had to spend the entire night alone," she said with a smile on her face.

She then noticed Rudy standing beside Rebecca and asked, "Can you take care of the customer? I am confirming the products on the shelf."

"Oh! Uh… Rachel…" Rebecca placed her hand on Rudy's shoulder and said, "This is my son, Rudy."

"Oh…" Rachel walked closer to Rudy and squinted her eyes at him. She pinched his cheeks and said, "He looks like a high school student."

"I am a high school student," Rudy responded.

"What?" Rachel turned to Rebecca and said, "How do you have a son who is in high school? At what age did you get pregnant? Or is he perhaps adopted?"

"Mom~! I can't find my favorite shampoo~!" the first girl said from the other side of the row.

"One minute…" Rachel went to the other row and asked, "Yes, JanetJanet? What shampoo are you talking about?"

Rachel was Janet's mother, just like how Rebecca was Rudy's mother. It was an awkward introduction to four of them.

The convenience store in the town and the neighboring cities were run by Eric's mother— Eleanor, and she made sure to hire the people who were in need of money and having tough times. She also paid them considerably well compared to the other job that paid hourly wages. And it was easy to take a leave since they were friends with each other.

After Rachel found Janet's favorite shampoo, she looked at her cart and said, "Are you buying a month's worth of products?"

"No, It's only for a week," Janet replied.

Rachel shook her head and said, "Stop wasting money on make-up and stuff."

"But I have to look pretty in school!"

After hearing the commotion, Rudy and Rebecca walked to the other row and saw Rachel and Janet arguing.

"You are already beautiful without make-up. And besides, there are chemicals in this stuff. It will damage your skin for a long-time, you know?" Rachel commented with a knowing look on her face.

"Shut up! You don't know how important it is for a girl to look pretty in school! And if you are worried about the money, then I will pay you back once I get a job after I finish high school since my school doesn't allow students to work."

SIGH!

'She is going to bite back on her words after she finishes high school,' Rudy sighed.

"But you are already pretty!" Rachel looked at Rudy and Rebecca and asked, "Rebecca, what do you think?"

"Yeah, she is pretty," Rebeca nodded.

"See?"

"..." Janet was frustrated, but she couldn't retort.

"Everyone can be pretty from the outside, what matters is how the person is from the inside," Rudy remarked with a smirk on his face.

Janet glared at Rudy but didn't say anything. She grabbed her cart and rushed towards the empty counter.

RING!

She rang the bell to call the cashier— who was Rebecca.

"Coming~"

Rebecca went into the changing room and returned a few seconds later after wearing an apron over her clothes, which was also the dress code for the job.

"What am I going to do with this girl?" Rachel sighed. "She has entered a rebellious phase after getting into high school."

Rudy strolled around in the store for a while and waited for Janet to leave because he didn't want to interact with her.

After a while, Rudy also decided to leave, so he walked to the counter to greet Rebeca.

"Oh? Are you leaving?" Rebeca asked. Rebeca looked at Rudy's hands which were empty and asked, "And what did you want to buy?"

"I didn't find what I was looking for," Rudy responded in a calm voice. "I will try asking Eric. He should know about it. Or maybe he can order online too."

"Yes, but what was it?"

"It's a secret."

"..."

"Okay, bye~" After saying that, Rudy left.

"..." Rebecca was upset that Rudy left without answering her. But she was glad that Rudy wasn't in a rebellious phase like Janet.

However, Rudy didn't come to buy anything. He simply wanted to drop Rebecca at her work because he was worried about her.

Rudy was walking his way back home, but he decided to visit Reina and see how she was doing.

He activated his see-through ability and glanced around to make sure no one was looking at him before he teleported. But surprisingly, Rudy saw someone hiding in the corner.

"..."

"Who is here? Come out! I can see you," Rudy said out loud.

A few seconds later, Janet walked out of the corner with bags in her hands.

"..." Rudy raised his brow in confusion and wondered, 'Why is she here?'

"What? Were you waiting for me to come out, so you can bully me?" Rudy asked with a scoff.

"No!" Janet yelled. "I want to ask you something."

"If it's a confession or something, then my answer is no," Rudy uttered nonchalantly.

"It's not!"

"Then, what is it?"

Janet furrowed her brows at Rudy and asked, "Why are you cheating on your girlfriend?"

'What is she talking about?' Rudy asked himself. 'Did she see me kissing Reina in the water park? Or maybe Alice. But… wait…'

"What girlfriend are you talking about?" Rudy asked to confirm.

"I am talking about Rias, of course."

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Thanks, @stawhcy, for the gift!