Esper Harem in the Apocalypse

1024  Lucy- Not a Step-Sister Anymore

"Ru…dy?"

 "...!" Shock was evident on Rudy's face.

'What is Lucy doing here?'

After all, it was an unexpected encounter that shouldn't be happening. However, that wasn't the only reason Rudy was shocked. In fact, he was baffled to hear his name from Lucy's mouth.

Why would she know his name when they haven't even met yet? Or perhaps, in this Worldline, things went differently and they were already acquainted with each other? n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Rudy had absolutely no idea.

Although he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

Even if things went differently, why would Lucy and Rudy possibly be familiar with each other?

As far as Rudy could remember, the only reason Rebecca had married Joe was to get some financial support from him. In return, Lucy had gotten a proper and loving family.

However, in this Worldline, Rebecca was financially stable thanks to her sister, Jessica. Thus, she wouldn't have met or interacted with Joe. And Lucy and Rudy shouldn't have bet before.

Rudy had such questions in his mind, and only the girl standing in front of him— Lucy, could answer his questions.

'How should I start a conversation with her? Should I call her by her name or just ask her how she knows my name? But what if we have already met and have introduced ourselves? That would make things awkward.

Sure, I could simply say that I forgot her name, but by chance, if we are close friends, that would raise suspicions and I want to avoid that. Maybe I should just act friendly?'

"Hii." Rudy greeted her with a smile on his face.

"..." Lucy didn't react and simply stared blankly at Rudy.

'Why does she seem shocked?' Rudy wondered. 'Wait, should I just pretend that I didn't hear her saying my name? That would help me dodge a few questions and suspicions.'

"Hey," Lucy said nervously. "Sorry about my cat."

"Uhh… if I remember correctly, pets aren't allowed here… for various reasonable and obvious reasons."

"Oh, yes. I know. It's a… umm… you see, this place belongs to my friend, so… I…"

Rudy raised his brow as he thought, 'The way she is talking to me makes me think that she is no more than a stranger. If so, how did she know my name? What the hell is going on? I don't understand.'

"I am only here to visit my friend, not for the pools," Lucy added. "I see."

"What about you?" Lucy suddenly asked.

"Hmm?"

"I mean… What are you doing here in the office area when the pools are on the other side? Are you perhaps here to meet the manager?"

"No, I was just leaving."

"I… see…" Lucy smiled a bit, but she seemed sad for some reason. But after a brief pause, she asked, "Did you come here with someone?"

"With my friends. They are currently at the reserved pool."

"Reserved pool?!" Lucy exclaimed. "How did you get access to the reserved pool?"

"Oh, well, the manager gave me access."

Lucy squinted her eyes and with a glare in her eyes, she asked, "Are you close with the manager?"

'Why does she seem mad all of a sudden? I was super close with Lucy, so I know what she is thinking just by reading her facial expression. And she doesn't seem happy to know that I know Reina.'

"Answer me!" Lucy demanded.

"No. I barely know her. In fact, I only met her today."

"Then how come she gave you access to the reserved pool like that?" She asked with a judging look on her face.

"Because I agreed to do something for her and I got free access to the reserved pool as a reward."

Rudy decided to be honest with Lucy as that was the easiest and the fastest way to get rid of her as soon as possible.

Now that Rudy had learned to use his technological powers, he could easily access the cameras and electrical signals as well as devices around him. He saw Reina heading towards her office and so he wanted to get Lucy away from there.

He had told Reina that he was Lucy's step-brother, which is why he knew about Rina. If Reina ran into Lucy, she would surely ask her about Rudy, which would be an issue.

"Why are you asking personal questions, though?" Rudy asked Lucy.

Rudy's plan was to make Lucy uncomfortable, that would force her to leave.

"Personal question? I simply wanted to know if you were telling the truth. This place belongs to my friend, and I want to make sure no one is taking advantage of the situation."

"Oh, right." Rudy rolled his eyes and nodded, seemingly knowing that Lucy was lying.

"By the way, have you seen Reina somewhere? Rina is currently looking for her and hasn't returned since."

"Who knows? I don't have the slightest idea," Rudy shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay. I will look around. If you run into them, tell them that I left. My mom will be here to pick me up in the next five minutes."

After saying that, Lucy left in a hurry.

'Her mom?' Rudy raised his brow as soon as he heard that. 'Joe and Lucy's mom divorced in the last Worldline, but maybe they are still together in this one? Or perhaps, Lucy lives with her mother instead of Joe?'

Soon, Reina walked into the sight and signaled Rudy to come to her office. Rudy followed her and sat on the couch while she fixed her desk and grabbed her tablet.

She checked the live feed of the water park and nodded with a smile on her face.

"Looks good."

Then she put down the tablet and sat on the couch beside Rudy. She turned to him, and with a curious look on her face, she asked him, "How did you do that?"

"That's a secret."

"Heh." Reina couldn't help but chuckle. She smiled at him and said, "Okay, keep it to yourself."

"Thanks for keeping your world. My friends are enjoying the reserved pool."

"Not a problem. But you will have to work hard if you want to have unlimited free access to the reserved pool."

"What do you mean?" Rudy asked with a confused look on his face. "Didn't I solve the issue already?"

"No. We still don't know how the hacker got access to my servers. Until we find the culprit, the issue is not resolved," Reina asserted with a composed look on her face.

'Well… true. The hacker could pull the same stunt again. We have to find them.'

After seeing Rudy lost in thought, Reina placed her hand on Rudy's shoulder and said, "Don't worry. You can drop by the water park anytime you want. You will get free access to the reserved pool."

"Hmm. I will come when my friends want to come. There is no meaning in me coming alone."

"There is!" Reina suddenly exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"I mean…" Reina turned her face to the other side and continued speaking, "We still have to find the culprit. So you need to be in touch with me."

Then Reina handed her phone to Rudy. "Give me your phone number so I can call you when I find something. If you prove yourself helpful to me, I will hire you as my lead secretary."

Rudy added his number on Reina's phone, but before handing it back to her, he uttered, "I have no interest in taking a job like that."

"I see…" Reina seemed dejected after Rudy turned down her offer.

"Well, then." Rudy got up from the couch and said, "I will join my friends."

He turned to Reina and left after saying, "I will be here for a few hours, so feel free to call me when you need me."

Reina watched Rudy leave and disappear from her sight. But there was a strange feeling inside her, which made her use her tablet and watch Rudy from the live feed.