10 years ago.

"Wait, Sister! Why are you going so fast?" Dante panted a few times, doing his best to chase after his sister.

"I'm not fast. This is normal. You are just too slow." Melody harrumphed. "You should blame your father for naming you Dante. He likes music, so he named me Melody and you Dante from Adante, which is usually used to describe slow tempo."

Dante smiled wryly. "Hahaha. But I like this name. We should go slow when living in this world and take our time to enjoy the scenery around us."

Melody shook her head helplessly. "This positive kid."

"Hehehe."

…

9 years ago.

"Sister. You don't have to worry about me. Now that our parents are gone, we have to rely on each other. I might not be able to help you much, but I will definitely not become your burden."

"You…" Melody didn't expect these words to come from an 8-year-old kid. She felt grateful.

Because of their current situation, she has been working hard at all kinds of jobs. There weren't a lot of jobs that would take underage girls like her, so whenever she got one, it would be dangerous or a low paying job.

She was already stressed enough, so these words made her feel relieved.

…

8 years ago.

"Look, Dante. I have gotten my ID card and this is my explorer identification! I am going to be an explorer. I'll bring back a lot of money!"

"Thank you, Sister!" Dante smiled. Knowing how dangerous it was, Dante didn't want her to worry about him. Whenever she came back home, he would have prepared a warm meal, set up the game they loved to play, and cleaned the apartment. This was the only thing he could do.

In the meantime, he started taking lessons from Skynet.

…

7 years ago.

"You're amazing, Sister. To think you can become a Tier 1 explorer within a year."

"What do you mean within a year? Your sister is a genius. I reached this stage within six months. I just want to surprise you on your birthday." Melody gave a smug smile.

"That's right. My sister is the best."

…

6 years ago.

"Sister is truly amazing. You reach Tier 2 Explorer within two years. This is an amazing achievement. I bet your name is going to become famous soon." Dante smiled.

"Hehehe." Melody was happy at that time. Her talent was evaluated highly by a lot of people and she was wanted by a lot of groups.

However, she didn't know at that time the looming danger that kept building up in the shadows.

And finally, that fateful day happened.

5 years ago, both of them were home. Melody was lazing around on the couch while Dante was playing a game.

Suddenly, the bell rang.

"Mhmm?" Dante raised his hand and started moving toward the door.

"Dante?" Melody also rose from the couch even though her eyes were a bit sleepy since she had worked hard during the day.

"You can get some sleep, Sister. I'll take care of this." Dante smiled while waving his hand, assuring Melody.

However, the moment he opened the door, he saw a big man with a knife in his pocket. As soon as he revealed that knife, Dante's face turned pale. He turned around and rushed back while calling his sister. "Big Sister!"

Melody could hear his panicked voice, which alarmed her. Melody hurriedly went to the corridor where he saw the big man stab her brother in the chest.

As if realizing that it would end up as a brawl, the big man slapped Dante's head and caused it to hit the wall hard.

With Dante out of the way, the man took out the second knife.

Melody was fast enough to slap the man's wrist and bend his arm so that he would stab himself.

When he weakened his grip, Melody grabbed the knife and killed this guy.

After that, Melody hurriedly checked on Dante. "Oi, Dante! Are you alright? I'll call the ambulance!"

Dante didn't want to make her worry. Even with the sharp pain all over his body, he still endured it and gave his best smile. He lightly said, "Ah, sorry… Big Sister. I don't want to be yours, but I guess… I'm still too slow."

For the first time in his life, Dante might have regretted having that name. If he was a bit faster, this would have never happened.

But for Melody, everything happened because of her. "Dante… Dante…"

Melody could only look helplessly at her brother, who gradually fell unconscious. "Dante. Stay with me. Dante!"

This was the time Melody gave up as an explorer.

…

"That's what happened." Melody looked at Kanaria, saying, "It's not that I don't want to join you. I have someone to take care of. If I join another group, the past might repeat itself."

Kanaria remained silent for a moment. "Do you not want revenge?"

"I don't care about revenge. As long as Dante can recover, I don't need anything else." Melody had been burdened by her own mistake this whole time. And it had become the chain that stopped her from continuing her path.

In fact, in the past five years, she has never taken a single essence. All the money she earned went straight for her brother's treatment.

"According to the doctor, if we can go to a Tier 8 city and receive treatment there, he can recover. However, I soon learn that it's not the Tier 8 city that can help him. It's the Tier 8 doctor. Even if I save up my money, it doesn't guarantee that I will be able to get the treatment from a Tier 8 doctor.

"If you think I'm useless, I'll reintroduce myself. I went by the name of Peach during my exploration time. A Tier 2 mobile operator with a 94% evolution rate." Melody looked at Kanaria, or more like the wall behind Kanaria as if there was another person there. "If you can help Dante recover, then I, Melody, will dedicate my life for you, Clovis. "

Yes, Clovis had already reached the room. The treatment wasn't that long to begin with, considering he had gotten the basic treatment from the medic stationed outside the mall.

So, he had been listening to the story the whole time.