Chapter 218: Reunion
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 218: Reunion
The next day.
"Ah! It's over! It's finally over!"
With Satoru's relieved shout, we all walked out of the school gates, having finished the last of our midterm exams.
The current group consisted of our usual after-school crew: me, Rika, Satoru, Karen, Ayase, and Sasha.
Ryuji and Yaguchi, our class's official couple, had gone off on a long-overdue date. Hattori, who would normally have tagged along just to mess with them, had also left early, saying she had something to do.
"So, where are we headed now, Sasha?"
"My attendant is coming to pick me up."
"Attendant?"
Satoru had barely tilted his head in confusion, wondering what she meant, when a familiar voice called out.
"Young lady, over here."
Captain Boris waved as he got out of the driver's seat of a car.
"...Don't tell me it's him."
"It is."
Sasha delivered the cold, hard truth to the denial-ridden Satoru and casually handed Boris her schoolbag.
"Boris, where are my father and mother right now?"
"They arrived in Japan an hour ago and are currently waiting in the lounge of the hotel where you are staying, young lady."
"...We should hurry, then."
It was a refreshing sight to see Sasha, who was usually the calmest person I knew, show a rare hint of impatience.
"Friends of the young lady, please come this way."
Boris opened the car door, speaking in the calm tone of a high school girl.
The dissonance was so jarring that Rika and the others had strange expressions on their faces, but no one dared to point it out.
Probably because Boris's appearance was just too intimidating.
"What are you all doing? Get in."
At the urging of Sasha, who was used to Boris's way of speaking, the group finally climbed reluctantly into the car.
*
"Whoa... Sasha, your family is loaded."
Satoru exclaimed in awe as we got out in front of the five-star hotel where Sasha was staying long-term.
Ichijo Academy is a private school known for being full of rich kids, with its high tuition and demanding academic standards, but the financial backgrounds of its students vary wildly.
If Satoru and Ryuji, who lived in tower apartments, were considered middle class, then I, who attended on a full scholarship, and Ayase, who covered her tuition with her streaming activities, were firmly in the commoner bracket.
And then there was Sasha, who was on another level even among the school's upper crust. She tilted her head and said,
"Hm? I didn't rent out the whole hotel, just the suite."
Her way of thinking was on a completely different plane from that of a normal person.
"Ha, haha."
Satoru could only laugh helplessly.
While Rika and Karen, who also came from wealthy families, simply reacted with an "Oh, that's amazing," Ayase was already doing some practical math: "How many hours would I have to work to afford one night here..."
"Let's go inside."
Deciding that someone had to keep a clear head amidst the confusion, I followed Sasha as she led the way, and we all entered the hotel.
"This way, young lady."
Boris guided us with a polite tone.
He led us to a small cafe set up in the hotel lounge.
And there, we saw a familiar face.
"Over here, Sasha."
Light blue hair slicked all the way back.
The deep wrinkles on his forehead and his dignified beard brought to mind a successful businessman.
But what dulled that impression was the incredible musculature visible even beneath his well-tailored suit.
A body trained to be my equal, or perhaps even more, possessed a power that could overwhelm a person with a single glance.
He was, quite literally, an old beast wearing human skin.
That was the man named Ivan Romanov.
"Отец!"
Spotting him on the sofa, Sasha couldn't hide her delight and scurried over to him.
I hadn't gotten the impression of a good father from Ivan when we met during Golden Week, but Sasha seemed overjoyed to see him after so long.
She nestled into his broad embrace, rubbing her cheek against him without a care for wrinkling his suit.
Another person spoke to Sasha then.
"Sasha, maintain your dignity."
It was a silver-haired noblewoman sitting next to Ivan.
She looked like an older, more graceful version of Sasha, and the black dress suited her well, perhaps because she was a foreigner.
Her identity was probably—
"Мама!"
It was the same Russian, but this time, I could easily understand.
The person who had chided Sasha was her mother.
Sasha pulled away from Ivan's embrace and went right into her mother's.
"My dear, you've only gotten more spoiled since I last saw you..."
She murmured as if she couldn't be helped, gently stroking Sasha's hair.
As if taking pity on us for not being able to keep up with the sudden turn of events, Boris, who was standing nearby, explained in a calm voice.
"Those two are the young lady's parents."
"I-I see."
Ayase's nerdy glasses were askew, as if reflecting her confused state of mind. As she swallowed hard, Rika, who had been watching the scene unfold, took the lead and raised a hand in a cheerful greeting.
"Hello! We're Sasha's friends!"
Rika's and Ivan's gazes met in midair.
A suffocating tension.
Just as I secretly began gathering my Yang energy so I could act at a moment's notice, Ivan took off the white fedora he was wearing and spoke.
"A pleasure to meet you. I am Ivan, Sasha's father."
Slip!
Why is he being so nice?!
*
Ivan, the arrogant, stubborn tyrant, was being gentle in front of his daughter's friends?
Honestly, it was a scene I couldn't have even imagined back when we fought.
But it was happening right in front of me, so I couldn't deny it.
"Kishimoto Rika, was it? My daughter mentions your name often. She said you can be a bit indecisive at times, but you get things done when it counts."
"Huh? Me? Ehehe..."
Rika rubbed the back of her neck shyly, pleased by the comment she couldn't quite tell was a compliment or not.
"The surname Tojo and red hair... Is your father's name perhaps Naoto?"
"Yes. Do you know my father?"
"I met him once on a previous visit to Japan. He was a young man with a promising future."
"Ooh...!"
Karen grew excited at this unexpected glimpse into her father's past.
"And you must be the class president, Sasha's desk mate? You look just as studious as I heard. Have you ever considered working for my company in the future?"
The class president's eyes changed as she looked at the business card Ivan pulled from his pocket.
I couldn't tell if Ivan's offer was a mere pleasantry or genuine, but he clearly had a strong desire for talent.
After all, he supposedly ran a separate scholarship foundation created within his own company.
Finally, Ivan's gaze landed on me.
"Kim Yoo-Sung... was it? I'd like to have a word with you separately."
We moved a short distance away to talk, so the others couldn't hear us.
"It's been a while, youngster."
As if his kindness toward the others had been a lie, his voice was laced with a chilling fighting spirit.
"...It has been a while."
As I replied with a sour expression, Ivan let out a short laugh and raised both his arms.
"Thanks to you shattering my wrist bones, I had quite a rough time back in Russia. I've recovered now, thanks to the nano machine technology developed by my company's researchers."
Saying that, Ivan clenched his black-gloved fist and glared at me with a burning gaze.
"I was caught off guard last time, but if we fight again, the result won't be the same. I hear you've surpassed the Black Yaksha and Onigumo and are now called the strongest in Japan, correct? I'd like to confirm for myself if you have the power to match that title."
"Are you saying you want to fight right here, right now?"
I looked around with a disgusted expression, and Ivan just shrugged.
"I'm a man who doesn't care about the means to an end. This is nothing new."
I hurriedly drew up the Yang energy within my body.
"With the caveat that my wife isn't around, of course."
With that, Ivan clapped me on the shoulder.
"For now, let's just play our parts, young friend."
Fortunately, it seemed he had no intention of fighting at the moment.
I'd be even more grateful if he just left Japan, but he clearly had no such plans.
"I'll let you know the schedule for our rematch through Boris later. Look forward to it."
Ivan flashed a wicked smile before returning to the group.
I brushed off the shoulder he had touched and couldn't help but let out a deep, heartfelt sigh.
"This is insane."
I have to fight that crazy battle junkie again?
Just the thought of it made my head spin.
*
We moved to a restaurant inside the hotel and had a meal.
Satoru and Ayase were completely floored by the luxurious meal, which probably cost tens of thousands of yen per person.
Rika and Karen, having some experience with places like this, were less flustered, but they still seemed surprised.
After all, it's not every day that parents treat their daughter's friends to a meal at such a high-end restaurant.
Of course, it was my first time eating a fancy lunch at such an expensive place, too.
If I hadn't experienced those lavish meals at the President's villa, I might have been looking around like a country bumpkin who'd just arrived in Seoul.
During the meal, Rika asked Sasha's parents a question, as if it had just occurred to her.
"Come to think of it, you're both very fluent in Japanese. Did you study it somewhere?"
Ivan replied with a benevolent smile.
"I used to come to Japan often on business trips. The Japanese I use now is what I learned back then."
"Aha."
Seeing Rika, who was half-foreign but a Shizuoka native, and Ivan, who was clearly a pure-blooded Russian but spoke fluent Japanese, really drove home the fact that this was the world of a manga.
"Sasha's dad has such good diction, he could be a voice actor."
I couldn't bring myself to laugh at Satoru's comment, made while chewing on his steak, wondering if he was thinking the same thing I was.