Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: Dancing with Alice (3)
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Sakuragi Renji, who had suddenly appeared and made his presence known right in the middle of the festival.
His arrival shattered the peaceful atmosphere in an instant.
Alice and Lily, for their part, seemed utterly confused by their father's unexpected appearance.
The two men, Raven and Renji, remained silent, as if observing one another.
Karen, an outsider, glanced around, unsure of how to react.
In an atmosphere so tense it felt like something could happen at any moment.
I held my breath, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible among the group, and quietly continued my thoughts.
‘Sakuragi Renji… a quintessential first-generation metahuman.’
Metahumans were, strictly speaking, beings who had crossed over from another world to survive on Earth.
As a result, many of the older metahumans, the so-called first generation, had already made names for themselves back in their original world.
For example, Tempest, who was recognized as the Dragon Mayor, or Vespera, nicknamed "the Crimson."
And Sakuragi Renji was one of these famous figures, his skills acknowledged even before coming to this world.
His nickname was the Red Yaksha. A moniker he earned from the famous tale of his birth: with his naturally red hair, he was the sole survivor on a blood-soaked battlefield.
He didn't stop there, either, felling all sorts of enemies and forcing them to their knees after arriving on Earth.
At least within Japan, he held a status and popularity comparable to Nighthaven’s Tempest.
If he were still an active Fixer… he could probably be a Single-Number Fixer without breaking a sweat.
‘Hmm, that’s a pretty intimidating thought. Is it even okay to let this man into the city?’
A Single-Number… the situation was truly suffocating.
It meant that even if the five of us attacked at once, our chances of winning were slim.
His characteristically tough physique, overwhelming brute strength, and wide-area magic that rendered numbers meaningless.
To close that gap, I might just be able to match him if I borrowed the Tesseract's power.
Of course, he was past his prime, so if I targeted his weaknesses, it wouldn't be entirely impossible.
But just imagining the losses I’d have to endure in the process made my head ache.
Right, if we fight, I’ll need to land a major technique right from the start.
While I was strategizing, had he finished organizing his own thoughts?
Raven, looking more serious than usual, was the first to speak, as if yielding.
"You must be Alice and Lily's father. I'm Jin Crowley, the head of the Crowley Agency. I'm always grateful for your daughters' help."
Maybe not Lily, but Alice was a valuable employee.
Did he figure there was nothing to be gained from antagonizing an employee's father?
As I was feeling a sense of respect for Raven’s surprisingly mature response.
Renji raised an eyebrow as if he was quite displeased and answered in a flat voice.
"Hmph, so that's the agency Alice works for… I'm Sakuragi Renji. So, what's your relationship with my daughters? You haven't laid a hand on them, have you? I could maybe overlook it with Lily, but Alice is still a minor."
"...It's nothing like that at all."
Twitch. Raven's eye twitched slightly, as if he'd heard something utterly absurd.
To say something like that to someone you've just met… there's a limit to how rude one can be.
Even I, just listening from the side, wanted to jump up and ask if he wasn't going too far.
Raven himself must have felt his body temperature rise by a degree after that remark.
Alice, too, looked displeased with Renji for speaking so rudely to Raven, to whom she was indebted.
But, quite intimidated, she merely opened and closed her mouth a few times before bowing her head apologetically.
Whether he knew the atmosphere had rapidly soured or not.
Perhaps confirming that their relationship wasn't like that was all that mattered. He simply looked at the shrinking Alice and spoke.
"Well then, I had something to say to both of you, so this is perfect. I'll be blunt. Alice, it's time you quit this and came home. I've arranged your engagement."
"...What?"
As if she couldn't comprehend what she had just heard.
Alice blinked blankly, her voice hollow.
It was a bombshell of a statement that left everyone stunned, except for me, who had vaguely anticipated what was coming.
*
*I have a quick errand to run, so get your mind ready in the meantime.*
Silence descended upon the spot where Sakuragi Renji had departed after so arbitrarily concluding the conversation.
It was only natural. *I've arranged your engagement, so come home.*
Even Lily was left speechless by the completely unreasonable declaration.
But it was too much of a private family affair for anyone to rashly comment on.
While Raven frowned and Karen scratched her cheek in embarrassment, Lily was the first to let out a deep sigh into the air and speak.
"Are you… really going to go back home?"
"..."
"If you don't want to, just say so. Why are you always like a criminal in front of Dad…? Ugh, forget it. What am I even saying?"
Slam. Lily, her mind clearly in turmoil, shot to her feet.
Then she turned her back on the table and stormed away.
No one stopped Lily as she walked away.
Perhaps it was because her retreating figure looked somewhat sad.
Maybe she was angry at her own powerlessness, knowing she couldn't change her younger sister's mind, yet sad at the same time.
Just as Lily finally disappeared from sight completely.
Alice, who had been hanging her head with a dark expression, slowly lifted her face.
"...I'm sorry, Mr. Jin. My father was so rude…"
"No, well… it's fine. I've had plenty of dealings with eccentric old men, so I'm used to it. And from a father's perspective, he might not like seeing his daughter with some random guy. Not that he was right to act that way."
Raven didn't seem particularly offended by Renji's attitude.
He truly seemed used to it, looking as if he considered it no more than a mosquito bite.
Considering the metahumans with no common sense he met on his usual requests, this was probably nothing.
A somewhat irritable and annoying way of speaking was likely no big deal.
But still, it seemed the dark clouds hanging over Alice's heart wouldn't clear so easily.
She bit her lip, as if it were something difficult to say, and spoke with great effort.
"I'm sorry, but… could you please leave me alone for a little while?"
"...Alright. You must have a lot on your mind. I'll go grab something to drink. Yuria, Ms. Karen. Let's go."
"Ah, yes. We'll be right back."
"...Okay."
I got up from the table, following Raven and Karen.
I felt like sticking right by Alice's side, but she must have a lot to process.
It would be better to give her space to sort out her thoughts. That was my judgment.
When we had left the park and Alice was no longer in sight, Karen, who kept glancing back, muttered in a worried voice.
"Do you think Alice will really go back to Japan?"
"Well… that's her choice to make. It's not for others to tell her what to do. If she likes Japan more, wouldn't she go?"
"Hmm, I suppose so…"
"..."
Even in a situation where Alice might leave Nighthaven, Raven remained nonchalant.
He was so composed, it was as if he didn't care whether she went or stayed.
But knowing how much Raven cared for Alice, I could immediately see through his bluff.
He'd probably lock himself in the office and drink for a week if she really left, yet he was pretending not to care.
I secretly shook my head at his completely unreadable expression.
"Oh my, is that…"
"What is that girl doing over there…"
As the conversation died down, our group, heading toward a nearby cafe, suddenly came to a halt.
Karen, covering her mouth in surprise, Raven, with a look of disbelief, and just me.
At the end of our gazes was Lily, sitting on a bench with a pout on her lips, chugging a drink filled with flower petals.
No, I think that's not just a drink, it's alcohol.
Even from a distance, I could see the flush on her face. Raven approached her as if to ask what she was doing and spoke abruptly.
"Lily, what are you doing there? Drinking in broad daylight?"
"...Darling. Were you looking for me? How delightful~"
"Looking for you? You're sitting right here on the way out of the park. It's impossible not to see you."
"Ahaha, it would be nice if you'd just say yes, even if it's not true."
*You could have just lied. So stingy.*
Lily finished the rest of the alcohol in the bottle and gently set the empty bottle down on the seat next to her.
Was it not a very strong drink?
Other than her flushed face, Lily seemed no different than usual. She crossed her legs as if to entice him and patted the seat beside her.
"Darling, Yuria, Karen! Sit down for a second! I have something to say!"
"We were just on our way to get some drinks…"
"Aren't you curious? It's about Alice! I'll tell you, so keep me company!"
"Hmm… Hah, fine."
Was he really that worried about Alice, despite pretending not to be?
Raven, who would have immediately refused if it were about anyone else, let out a small sigh and sat down next to Lily.
Only after I sat down on the adjacent bench with Karen.
Lily leaned her head on Raven's shoulder as if she could barely support herself and slowly began to speak.
"Hmm, where should I start… Right, these horns. Doesn't it bother you that only Alice doesn't have them?"
"That's…"
She pointed to the horns that extended straight up from her forehead, just above her eyes.
A feature that humans didn't possess, a clear sign that Lily was a metahuman.
Lily and Renji had them, but they were nowhere to be found on Alice, no matter how hard one looked.
Raven seemed to have only just realized this fact, his brow furrowing slightly in question.
Come to think of it, Alice couldn't use magic, and she lacked the unique organs common to metahumans.
Aside from her slightly wild hair and extraordinary physical abilities, she was no different from a human.
It was a sense of incongruity that, once noticed, was impossible to ignore.
Lily's eyes drooped sadly as she explained the reason.
"The reason is simple. Alice… was born without horns. She's what you'd call a cursed Oni."
"A cursed Oni…?"
Raven's expression twisted as if the words had an unpleasant ring to them.
But Lily just smiled weakly, as if she'd expected that, and continued speaking in a soft voice.
What followed, in a brief but not-so-brief moment… was the story of Alice's rather unfortunate past.