"Indeed."
She collected herself for a good dozen seconds before nodding her head. "I'll tell you. It's somewhat of a long story, so strap in. My brother and I have been orphans for a few years now when our parents passed away in an accident. I was 15 at the time, but my brother, Theodore, was already a legal adult, aged 18, so he managed to take legal custody of me.
Theo used to work multiple part-time jobs to put food on our table. He worked tirelessly and never asked me to help out, and when I offered it myself, he just smiled and said I should focus on my studies."
Luna paused for a few seconds and sighed dejectedly. Pain oozed from the girl, who looked especially fragile at this moment. Nonetheless, she bravely continued, "Despite us losing our parents and him having a rather mediocre pay, we were happy considering the circumstances. He was a good brother. When I turned 18 and graduated high school, I didn't plan to go to college but instead wanted to try myself out as a game streamer since gaming was always a happy place for me.
Theo was overjoyed to see that I had something I wished to do, and we made a deal that stated I would have one year where I could go all-in on streaming and uploading videos while he would provide for me any necessities I needed, but if I didn't manage to make enough money by the end of the year, I would go to college or get employed somewhere 'normal.'
Sadly, my numbers never amounted to much. The most I made was $286 in a month, and it wasn't even the last one, so my career wasn't going anywhere. The agreed-upon duration was up about three months ago.
I hated school with all my heart, so per our deal, I found employment at the toy shop where you and I met. However... a few weeks ago, Theo changed drastically.
He recently awakened, being one of the lucky few who it happened to after reaching the age of 20. When he got into the guild called 'Blood Pact,' everything changed about him. He began accusing me of being lazy, of abusing his kindness, of being a slut for working in such a place..."
By the end of her story, Luna's small frame was trembling, and her voice was coarse as she tried her best to remain firm. Tears flew down her cheeks, and she hiccupped while she struggled to get the next words out of her lips.
"He said that... Since I'm such a slut, I might as well embrace being one for real. He said that I would have to find employment as a sex worker and begin repaying his years of kindness by giving him $5,000 at the end of every month.
According to his words, with a pretty face like mine, it should be effortless for me to earn that amount and more... He also said that if I were to fail to pay up, he would invite the execs of his guild over to enjoy me to their heart's content so that he could scurry favor with them that way.
I thought about running away, but... Theo is the last memory I have of my happy childhood, so losing him scared me... I know that it's foolish, but I just couldn't get myself to pack my bag and disappear, partly because I kept begging the heavens that he miraculously returned to how he was previously and partly because I had nowhere else to go..."
Kaiden tightened his grip around the girl's body as if trying to reassure her that he was here and that everything would be alright.
A myriad of emotions burned deep within his soul.
He felt pity that such a sweet soul had to go through this atrocity.
He felt sorrow due to seeing her small, vulnerable form shaking and hearing her traumatized voice and unsuccessfully muted sobbing.
He felt like vomiting due to the actions of this so-called Theodore.
But above all else, he felt...
Fury, anger, rage...
Wrath.
Kaiden had never been confronted with such deep-seated hatred for someone in his entire life, and he didn't even know how the man looked!
Kaiden felt like jumping out of bed, rushing to his place, and brutally massacring him in cold blood.
That's what a scumbag of this magnitude deserved.
But... Deep down, he knew it wasn't the right path. Luna would end up resenting him if he somehow managed to succeed.
No, he had to beat Theodore up without ending his worthless life unless the man was truly beyond reformation. Something must've messed with his mind. Maybe he became a drug addict...
It wasn't Kaiden's place to decide whether Theodore would get to live or die. He would just get revenge for putting such a sweet girl through the emotional turmoil this failure of a brother did by beating him to a pulp and leaving the rest to Luna.
However, to do that, he had to grow in strength since Theodore was an awakened... But how?
A sudden [Ding!] sounded in his mind, demanding his focus.
[The host can grow in strength through multiple methods. Leveling up as normal awakened do is one, but the system doesn't recommend that route for now due to the host's insufficient power level. The Pornstar System supports its host to reach never before seen heights. The host should complete missions to receive rewards, and as he ranks up, more and more opportunities will be opened up.]
"Kaiden? Is everything all right? You're scaring me..."
He had just now realized that he was gripping her delicate skin too firmly due to his anger and then his surprise at the system's revealed information. Kaiden quickly let go and apologized.
"Don't worry about it..." Luna whispered softly, then turned around to face him, burying her face into his broad, warm chest. Kaiden hugged the fragile girl close and planted a gentle kiss on her lush purple hair before firmly declaring, "It'll be alright, Luna."
The two remained as such until they managed to drift off to sleep.
...
"I know what I revealed about my situation last night made you furious, but try your best to forget about it, alright? You can't do anything about it, no matter how angry you are. Let's just do our best to have a good time during the filming," Luna said while pulling up the zipper on her futuristic-styled jacket.
"Sure," Kaiden nodded amicably while he was buttoning his dress shirt, though he would never be able to forget about her sad tears or the promise he made to himself.
With that said, Kaiden understood perfectly that she was right—he couldn't do anything about it for now. He had to utilize his system to become stronger.
The duo soon got into a taxi and began making their way over to the studio where the recording would take place.