kscans

Chapter 184 - I Swear I Have No Criminal Record

(…So cute.)

It was October thirty first. That was probably why. A somewhat giddy atmosphere drifted through the school, and Hikaru felt a little giddy himself. Although, in his case, the reason was a bit different. Displayed on his smartphone screen was a picture of his sisters dressed in Halloween costumes. For Hikaru, his sisters enjoying Halloween was the main event. To be honest, he could not care less about the holiday itself.

(They're only in elementary school and they're already this adorable. They're my sisters, but their potential is terrifying.)

He usually acted strict with them, telling himself he should not spoil them, but at his core, he was a siscon. He genuinely thought, my sisters are seriously cute, if they go out dressed like this, all the guys won't leave them alone.

"Akatsuki, what do you think you're doing, getting your kicks so openly in the classroom?"

"I'm not doing that."

"Yeah right, you were making a pretty sloppy face there."

"I was just looking at pictures of my sisters."

"Your sisters? Oooh, they sure are little cuties."

"Right?"

"…Wait, making that face over pictures of your sisters… I've thought this for a while, but you're a pretty major siscon, you know that?"

"How rude. I'm not just their big brother, I'm a father figure too."

Hikaru declared that since he was both a father and a brother, it was only natural for his affection to be doubled.

"No, that logic is weird… but whatever. These are Halloween costumes, right?"

"Yeah. My mom managed to get the day off this year. She said the three of them are going to hang out in Shibuya."

"What about you?"

"I've got a prior engagement. It's a shame, but I had to prioritize that."

"For a siscon, you're pretty dutiful about stuff like that."

"I told you I'm not a siscon, you idiot."

Peshin, he lightly tapped his friend. In front of those older or younger than him, Hikaru consciously straightened his back, feeling he had to be composed. But with people his own age, he acted his age and let his guard down. If Satou or Rika, who had never seen this side of him, were to witness this scene, their eyes would surely go wide.

"So what about you?"

"I'm with my girlfriend, of course."

"Ooh, get a room."

"Don't tease me."

He joked around with his friend until the end of lunch break, then immediately shifted gears when the afternoon classes began. Hikaru listened intently through fifth and sixth periods, finished his cleaning duties properly, and went straight home.

"I'm home… Are Ai and Midori here?"

"They already went out."

"I see. Well, that's convenient, I guess."

That was because he needed to get ready for the night ahead. He could not be doing all sorts of things in front of his sisters, who did not know the situation.

"By the way, Mom, you have that thing I gave you yesterday, right?" Hikaru asked as he started on the early dinner his mother had prepared. Yuri nodded that it was fine and opened her collar slightly. There lay a brand new rosary.

"OK, OK. I explained yesterday, but it'll activate if you crush the little gem-like protrusion, so don't forget."

The rosary was a type of talisman Hikaru had bought at the Dark Market the day before. It was not powerful enough to ward off strong Aberrations, but it was an item that could repel weaker ones and most troublesome things from the Surface World. That said, its effect only lasted for about a day after activation… but that could not be helped. With Hikaru's level of skill, items that produced long lasting, powerful effects were out of his reach.

"I'm happy you're worried about us… but are you going to be alright?"

Yuri had heard a little about the circumstances. Halloween was a day when Aberrations became more active, and because of that, he would be hunting monsters all night.

"I can't say I'll be perfectly fine. This is the world we live in, after all. But I have zero intention of dying."

"..."

Yuri gazed at her son with a complicated expression. Hikaru understood his mother's anxiety… but this was the path he had chosen, so he intentionally said nothing more.

(This world is so filled with danger it's almost laughable. That's why I have to get stronger.)

He had learned the truth. The everyday life he had taken for granted was as thin as ice. He wanted to get stronger. Strong enough to protect the people he cared about with his own two hands. That was the reason Hikaru still remained in the Supernatural World.

(...And for the money, too.)

Until last year, Halloween costumes had been unthinkable. It pained him, but thinking about his sisters' futures, he had no choice but to have them endure. But after he started taking requests in the Supernatural World and earning money, their life had become much more comfortable. For the sake of his mother and sisters, so they would not have to struggle, Hikaru resolved to work even harder.

"Ah, speaking of which, Mom. You were home all day today, but…"

"Oh, it was fine. No pushy salespeople or religious recruiters came by."

…They really did stop coming all of a sudden, didn't they, his mother said with a wry smile, and Hikaru smiled wryly back.

"I wonder just how infamous Satou-san is…"

It had happened the day after Satou taught him the repelling technique. He had been relaxing at home when, right on cue, some annoying people showed up. As instructed, he first started by assessing them, asking "I don't have time." When they replied, "This won't take any of your time," he flipped the switch, just as he was told. Then, as he tried to get their names and affiliations… a thought occurred to him.

'Excuse me, do you know a Satou Hideo?'

It was a complete whim. But the effect was immediate and dramatic. The first was a religious recruiter. It was a pair, an elderly woman and a younger woman in her twenties. He thought the older one might know the name, and when he asked, her face instantly went pale. Then, without even trying to compose herself, she grabbed her partner's hand and fled. The same thing happened with the pushy salesperson who came a little later. He was a middle aged man around fifty, and the moment Hikaru asked, he ran off.

"I wonder what on earth he did."

Yuri herself had not lived a very praiseworthy life in her youth. It would be fair to say she had been quite the delinquent. That was why she was so curious about Satou's past exploits. Something like this would not happen over just anything.

"He says he swears he has no criminal record."

"In a way, that's even more terrifying."

He was feared among unsavory types, but it was not as if that had any negative impact on him. As a young department head at a large, well known company, he could be called a social success. Even if someone were to dig into his past, there would likely be nothing to find. Otherwise, he would never act so brazenly.

"He's an extraordinary person, in both the Surface World and the Supernatural World."

"...I don't really know much about the Supernatural World, but is he really that amazing?"

Having suffered a great deal, even if it was her own fault, Yuri had developed a good eye for character. She had a vague sense that Satou was a man of considerable stature. That was why she had been able to entrust her son to him, but Yuri was, at the end of the day, a person of the Surface World. She did not know the circumstances of the Supernatural World, so she could not grasp exactly how incredible he was. It did not help that Hikaru himself rarely spoke of it.

"Let's see."

Hikaru thought for a moment, then offered an example.

"Imagine a tournament was held to decide the strongest being in the world, gathering humans, beasts, gods… every single existence."

"And?"

"He's so far beyond the norm that he'd win without even entering."

"..."

"If Satou-san is the standard for 'strong,' then only Satou-san fits into that category. Everything else would be classified as weak."

In the arena of power, no one could possibly match him.

"...He's already impossible to handle with just simple violence, and on top of that, he's cunning too."

"Yeah, well, there's no other way to describe him but 'insane'."

Despite not using any violence against those malicious recruiters, he still got that result. If violence were added to the mix, the word 'hell' would start to feel lukewarm.

"When you put it that way, I almost feel a little sorry for them."

"He'll mess with people just for fun if he has a good excuse, so he's really got a nasty streak."

He respected Satou, but that was that. This was a separate issue.