"....then I got a little itty bit mad at those boys and told them to stop. I even let them know that I'm sort of a law-enforcer where I come from but these disgusting excuses for adults were still flirting with me and they had these strange devices facing us which Mike later clarify to be recording cameras...."
Ian was quietly listening to Cora's story while driving home. He had an idea of what kind of people would harass Cora and Mike out in public while recording their misdeeds, social media pranksters.
Before Ian became an adult, social media pranksters existed but were not as prevalent as right now in 2025. Back then, most of these pranks were fake or staged because these type of pranks were harmful to the public and could lead to legal troubles with the law. Now with Tiktak and Punch being lenient platforms for a new generation of pranksters, most of these pranks were real attracting an audience. And with an audience, pranksters can earn money from doing these demeanors such as harassing people in public, driving recklessly, and other dumb law-breaking behaviors. Simply put, the more attention or clout they gain, the more pranks these people would do and often times take it to the next level.
Unfortunately, Cora's first day on Earth was meeting these pranksters whom if Ian could guess were filming themselves harassing her until either the police showed up or she somehow gave her phone number to them.
Unfortunately for those pranksters, they met Cora.
"....but when they shoved Mike again despite my warnings, I decided to teach them a lesson. So I dislocated all their hands and crushed their recording devices to pieces even their phones. Except for the leader's phone, I took it as compensation for ruining my shopping time and for his groupie picking on poor Mike. Luckily Mike said something about factory resetting the phone for me to use fufu. So that's the story of how I got this lovely smartphone as Mike calls it."
Cora's giggle after crippling several people disturbed Ian a little to say the least, but then again, he wasn't a fan of social media pranksters and Cora did warn them several times. Ian was also curious to how strong Cora really was to casually beat a group of grown men possibly twice her size. Then again, he figured in due time, he'll know how strong she is.
At least Cora got a smartphone for free though he wasn't sure if a stolen smartphone could be included in any data plans. So Ian just shrug it off and continue driving.
They continued their small talks throughout the drive slowly breaking down the wall between mother and son.
***
Ian's house.
It was a two-story house that Ian stumbled upon on the market two years ago when he just became an adult. The house was like any suburban home which came with a front and backyard along with some flower gardens that Mike would occasionally tend to whenever he came over. And like every house in this area, it had a history but unlike every house it had a very dark history. For the past 50 years, this house has gone through many different owners and the reason why?
All of the previous owners claimed the house was haunted because of a brutal murder that happened in the past. Most owners claimed to have suffered minor unknown bruises or hallucinations while some suffered major injuries and even death. And with each claims, the house's value went down to the point Ian could afford it while also being able to buy his streaming equipment without an issue thankfully because of his inheritance money.
The inheritance money itself was an apology of sort from Ian's previous and now deceased foster father. The money only transferred to him once he came of age allowing Ian to now be one of the few home owners of his generation. And the house itself was something only doctors and lawyers could afford too. Ian knew that because his new neighbors in his area were in the upper-middle class of society with a few even looking down on Ian because of his youthful age.
Anyway, right now Ian was holding the unconscious elf woman inside his house just barely past the front door while staring at dark goo-like substances all over the tile floor. He wasn't sure where Mike was but the goo on his once perfect tile floor shocked Ian to the core. And the reason for the goo was...
"Oh sorry but I forgot to mention that your house is...was haunted by a dangerous spirit."
'My house was really haunted?'
Ian's first thought formed.
He then thought of all those random knocking sounds and strange whispers during his time living here. At the time, Ian shrug it off from playing too much video games or streaming for long periods of times.
Mike even thought it was some prank from the real estate agent like something from a certain cartoon with a talking dog.
Ian stopped looking at the goo to face Cora who appears to have cleaning equipment at hand from his kitchen.
He spoke while trying his best to hide his surprise.
"Care to elaborate on what happened here?"
Cora answered while sprinkling salt over the goo and getting the mop ready.
"Mike told me a brief history on this house as he gave me a tour and he even showed me your gorgeous room. Anyway when he mentioned that this house was haunted, I placed this Remnant here to forcefully reveal any spirits that linger here...."
Cora took out a small stone statue of a cloaked figure holding a skull. Ian could feel something radiating from the statue but he wasn't sure what or how he could sense it.
"....the spirit didn't appear until late at night when it tried to harm Mike while we were watching TV together. Of course, deary old me blasted the ghost away with light magic as it tried to flee away to here but it seems the ghost shocked poor Mike to the point he fell asleep. Maybe I should've told him beforehand so that he wouldn't be too surprised...."
Ian's expression turned gloomy at the mention of Cora and Mike watching TV together. He was concerned about his living room being a mess from the ghost attack especially with how expensive the TV was. That TV had 4k resolution with a large enough frame to satisfy any cinephiles.
Meaning, Ian was definitely more concerned about his TV.
"...anyway I'll clean this mess up. So just leave that half-elf woman here and go rest for the night."
He looked down at the unconscious elf woman, her malnourished appearance and sunken eyes made her seem like she could die any moment.
Cora sense his hesitation before giving her assurance.
"No harm will become of her I promise. I'll make sure she lives and perhaps become my daughter-in-law fufu."
Ian frowned at Cora's witty comment before laying the elf woman down gently on the small sofa near the entrance.
"Tch, it's not like that. I owe her for saving my life that's all."
"Whatever you say my little playboy of a son."
Cora's little tease grinded at Ian but he ignored it the best he could and headed upstairs to his room.
Little did Cora know, Ian was the farthest from being a playboy type. Not because of anything really but because Ian never felt any romantic or sexual feelings for anyone.
He even suspected that he was asexual or something making Ian a prime candidate to become a monk if he ever switched career paths.