Taming SSR And UR RANK Superwomen-Chapter 19 — Forced to Grow Up
The first metal shutter began to rise with a harsh screech that cut through the silence.
Thomas’s eyes snapped open.
The gray light of dawn filtered through the glass, carrying with it the distant murmur of the city waking up. Selene was still sitting against the wall, though she wasn’t asleep anymore. Her eyes were open, fixed on the ceiling as if she had never fully fallen asleep at all.
The sound of keys turning on the other side of the door put them on alert.
"It’s time," she murmured.
Thomas pushed himself up, his body stiff from sleeping upright. For a split second, he forgot everything. Then reality came back like a blunt strike.
Iris.
The manager opened the door and froze when he saw them inside.
"What the hell...?"
Thomas didn’t wait for an explanation. He brushed past him with a curt "Sorry," and stepped out onto the street. The cold morning air cleared away any lingering fatigue.
He ran.
Selene sighed when she was left alone, realizing she would have to explain everything to the manager herself.
’What a gentleman,’ she thought bitterly.
The streets were washed in pale blue. A few shops were just beginning to raise their shutters. A garbage truck crawled along, leaving a sour smell in its wake.
When he turned the corner toward his building, the world seemed to warp. His belongings were outside. Not arranged. Not protected. Thrown.
The couch lay tipped on its side. The table was splintered. A torn bag sat open, clothes spilling out. The stained mattress leaned against the outer wall. Even the small lamp Iris used at night lay on the ground, its shade bent.
Thomas came to a dead stop. His pulse pounded in his ears. He climbed the stairs without feeling the steps beneath his feet. The door to his apartment was closed.
He tried to open it with his key, but it didn’t work. When he realized the lock had been changed, he muttered,
"Damn it..."
He knew this was serious.
The fear didn’t hit him all at once. It crept in gradually, like icy water climbing up his spine. He turned sharply and hurried down the hallway. His knuckles slammed against the door at the end.
"Mrs. Elvira! Open up!"
He pounded harder, more insistently.
"Open the door!"
The lock turned abruptly. The woman appeared, her hair disheveled and wrapped in a white robe, her eyes sharp and fully awake.
"Oh. So you decided to come back."
Thomas didn’t waste time.
"Where is my sister?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"How interesting. Now you care."
"Tell me where she is."
"Do you know what happened last night?" Her voice rose. "Those men came again, shouting at the entrance and threatening to take things. The girl was alone."
Thomas felt the ground tilt beneath him.
"I couldn’t come back. I was working to get the money."
"Working?" She spat the word. "You disappeared all night. That’s working? Leaving a ten-year-old to face debt collectors? The poor thing was crying in the hallway."
"I didn’t leave her alone on purpose!"
"You left her alone. Period."
Thomas took a step forward.
"Where is Iris?"
The woman held his gaze with open disdain.
"I sent her to stay with my niece, Clara. I wasn’t going to let her remain in this mess."
The relief was immediate—but not enough.
"The address."
"No."
Thomas pulled out the money he had and held it out to her.
"Here’s the rent. All of it. Give me the key."
She looked at the bills as if they were garbage.
"I don’t want you here anymore."
"It’s illegal to evict me like this."
"And you know what’s illegal? Threats on my property. Scandals. Debts that bring trouble."
"I’ll fix it."
"Not in my building."
Thomas clenched the money tightly.
"I need to see my sister."
"And she needs someone more responsible than you. Just look at yourself—you’re a failure. You get thrown out of your own home, and you don’t have a promising future. She’d be better off in an orphanage; at least there she’d learn what she needs so she doesn’t end up like you."
Thomas burned with fury. But for reasons he couldn’t understand, his eyes stung with unshed tears. His brow tightened until it hurt. The resentment was intense. So why did his throat knot up and his vision blur?
The woman stepped back before delivering her final words.
"I don’t want you here anymore. Find somewhere else to sleep and learn how to be an adult."
The slam of the door was sharp and final.
The hallway fell silent.
Thomas remained motionless for a moment.
Then he walked to the stairs, went halfway down, and sank onto one of the steps. He leaned his shoulder against the wall and kept his head lowered.
Time passed slowly and quietly. Several minutes went by without him moving or making a sound.
When he finally stirred, he opened the System interface, entered the mission section, and the rewards from the previous day updated.
[Mission Failed:]
Dominance −1
Synchronization −1
Endurance +2 (survival in a hostile environment)
Willpower +1 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
Experience +25 (extreme event)
