It Must Be Nice Having Family at Times Like This
Ragna and Rai had gone out to take out the trash, and even after a long while, they still hadn't come back.
When the front door finally opened, Ragna was standing in front of it with her arms crossed.
Her expression was absolutely thunderous.
Rai flinched the moment he saw it.
La Place, too, carefully gauged Ragna's mood.
"So then, care to explain~~~?"
A low, dangerous voice.
Rai answered, sweating cold.
"W-well, you see..."
"Why did it take this long to throw out one bag of garbage?"
"......"
Rai opened his mouth with a trembling voice.
"A Gate opened nearby..."
"A Gate?"
"Yeah. So the Awakeners were fighting... I just went to watch for a bit."
As he spoke, Rai stole a glance at La Place.
He spoke with his eyes.
Please back me up here...
La Place stared at Rai for a moment, then quietly nodded.
Ragna let out a deep sigh.
"You two..."
"Yeah?"
"How many times do I have to tell you not to go anywhere near places like that before it sinks in?"
"Come on, I'm not a kid anymore. Aren't you being a little overprotective?"
Ragna's eyebrow twitched.
"Overprotective?"
".........."
"Fine."
Ragna sighed as if exhausted, then lowered her head for a moment.
"I suppose you could see it that way."
It wasn't the voice that would normally have chewed Rai out on the spot. The sharpness from moments ago slowly settled into something quieter.
"...You know it too, don't you."
Rai fell silent.
"That our whole family was wiped out in a Gate accident."
".........."
"And if the two of you get caught up in a Gate and disappear too..."
Ragna stopped mid-sentence.
She bit her lip for a moment.
"I... I think I'd really lose my mind."
Rai couldn't say anything.
She had always been strong. She never flinched even in front of opponents several times stronger than herself, and no matter the situation, she was always the one standing at the front.
But just for this moment, she looked weaker than anyone.
Ragna spoke quietly.
"If I disappear, I've made my peace with that."
"........."
"Of course I'd worry about the two of you being left behind."
Ragna smiled faintly.
"But... being left behind alone? I'd hate that to death."
At those words, Rai fell silent for a moment. Then he scratched his head.
"...Okay, fine."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"You won't go wandering into places like that again?"
"I said I got it..."
Ragna stared at Rai for a moment, then broke into a wide grin.
"Good."
"........?"
"Then tonight, we're eating out!"
"Really?"
Rai's eyes lit up.
Just then, La Place beside him quietly raised her hand.
"Proposal. I want to eat donuts."
"Who eats donuts for dinner?"
La Place answered with perfect composure.
"I am not a person."
".........."
Rai stared at her, utterly dumbfounded.
Ragna finally burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Fine, fine. Tonight's on me!!!"
"What are we eating?"
"Meat."
"How long has it been?!"
The three voices rang out through the house.
An ordinary, unremarkable evening.
At least, for this one moment.
It seemed as though nothing would happen at all.
Meanwhile.
This was the headquarters of the Awakener Risk Monitoring Administration.
The Director's office, overlooking the cityscape through an enormous glass window.
Two people sat facing each other across a desk.
On one side was Velk Strekai, Director of the Awakener Risk Monitoring Administration.
And across from him sat his older sister, Varga.
Varga slowly sipped her coffee.
"So?"
"Yeah!"
Velk tapped the desk lightly, excited.
"If Akra agrees to just register as an Awakener, the whole situation changes."
"Is this person really that important?"
"Absolutely!"
Velk beamed.
"The moment Akra registers officially, countless unregistered Awakeners will start moving. Even the ones who've been hiding until now will likely come forward and reveal their abilities."
"I see."
Varga answered evenly.
"By the way... didn't that person just brush you off?"
"I nearly had him."
Velk said with confidence.
"I just need to persuade him a little more."
"So?"
"Next time, I'm planning to bring a gift and visit him in person."
Varga set down her coffee cup.
"Velk."
"Yeah?"
"Your problem is that you act too much on your own."
"But isn't that better than sitting around doing nothing?"
"That doesn't mean you have to solve everything yourself."
Varga continued calmly.
"I'm the one handling administrative coordination, external partnerships, and risk management right beside you, aren't I?"
As the operational lead supporting Director Velk, she coordinated the work between the Administration's key departments and outside institutions.
"So while you're out there running around, I'll handle everything behind the scenes."
Velk looked at his sister for a moment, then grinned.
"You really are the best, Sis."
Then he turned his gaze to the city outside the window.
A city where countless people lived their lives.
A world where a Gate could open anywhere, at any time.
The playfulness drained from Velk's expression.
"You know..."
".........."
"I want to build a world where everyone can deal with the Gates."
Varga looked at Velk without a word.
"Our parents, too."
Velk paused for a moment.
"And our brother-in-law."
His voice dropped lower.
"They were sacrificed because of the Gates, weren't they."
"..........."
"I'm going to build a world where no one has to be sacrificed like that ever again."
Velk clenched his fist as he gazed out the window.
"A world where someone stands in front of a Gate knowing nothing, just waiting for death... I want to end that kind of world."
Varga quietly took a sip of coffee.
Then she said, evenly:
"...That doesn't sound like a bad world."
Velk turned his head.
Varga wore a serene smile.
"If you're that confident about it."
She looked at Velk.
"Then show me, while I'm by your side."
Velk grinned.
"Just watch."
"..........."
"Sis."
His voice was brimming with confidence.
"I'll definitely show you!!!"
Just then.
Tap. Tap.
Small footsteps sounded from behind.
Varga turned her head.
Beyond the door, a girl was walking slowly toward them.
Vella looked at the two of them and tilted her head slightly.
Velk's face lit up in an instant.
"Oh!"
Velk sprang up from his seat and hurried over to the blue-haired girl.
"Our niece is here?"
"Uncleeeee~!"
Velk's niece — and Varga's daughter — Vella's eyes sparkled.
Swoosh.
Velk pulled out a small box he had hidden behind him.
"Uncle bought a present for our Vella!"
"Really?!"
Vella's face brightened brilliantly.
When she opened the box, an adorable doll appeared.
"Wow~~!"
Vella hugged the doll tightly with both arms.
Velk stroked her hair with a fond expression.
"Do you like it?"
"Yes!"
Watching the scene, Varga spoke quietly.
"Velk."
"Yeah?"
"Aren't you spoiling her a bit much?"
"Oh, come on."
Velk laughed and stroked Vella's hair again.
"Isn't it you who's raising her too strictly?"
"Is that so?"
"Can't I even do this much for my niece?"
Varga looked at Vella for a moment.
"......I suppose so."
Then she picked up her coffee cup again.
"Vella."
"Yes?"
"You should thank your uncle."
Vella hugged the doll tightly and smiled brightly.
"Thank you!"
"Hahaha! Yes, yes!"
Velk laughed heartily.
It was a peaceful scene.
But his gaze drifted briefly out the window.
The endlessly sprawling city.
And the countless Gates that existed beyond it.
The world was already changing.
And Velk, too, was already being swept up in that enormous vortex.
The barbecue restaurant was filled with the sizzling sound of meat cooking.
Ragna, Rai, and La Place sat side by side, leisurely enjoying their dinner.
Ragna held the tongs and skillfully flipped the meat.
"Here, Lara."
Ragna looked at La Place.
"How's the meat?"
Instead of answering, La Place picked up a piece with her chopsticks.
And then.
Chomp.
Chomp chomp.
She stuffed her mouth completely full of meat.
After chewing expressionlessly for a long while, La Place spoke.
"Answer.... It tastes strange."
"What?"
Rai's hand stopped mid-grill beside her.
"Shouldn't you answer with 'it's good' or 'it's bad'?"
La Place looked at Rai.
"Strange."
"What does that even mean!"
Ragna snorted with laughter.
"Hahaha! With Lara, I guess that means it's delicious."
"How would you know that!"
"Thanks to my customer-reading skills, honed at the cafe!!"
"Unbelievable..."
Rai flipped the meat again.
Sizzle sizzle.
Oil dripped onto the flames.
An ordinary evening.
Truly ordinary.
And then it happened.
WEEEEEOOOO----!!
A sudden alarm shook the restaurant.
"..........!"
Everyone froze.
Immediately after, an announcement poured from the speakers installed throughout the restaurant.
『An emergency Gate occurrence alarm has been issued.』
『A Gate has appeared in the vicinity of this area.』
『All citizens, please evacuate immediately to a safe zone according to instructions.』
Rai's eyes widened.
"Hold on."
He muttered, dumbfounded.
"That's already the second time today..."
The restaurant descended into chaos in an instant.
People rose from their seats and began crowding toward the exit.
The sound of chairs scraping back. Dishes clattering. Desperate voices.
"Get out, hurry!"
"They said it's a Gate!"
"Where did it open?"
"Grab the kids first!"
Ragna immediately rose from her seat.
GRAB—!!
And seized Rai's and La Place's wrists, one in each hand.
"Both of you, move!"
"Huh?"
"We have to evacuate!"
Ragna led the two of them toward the exit.
At that moment.
The announcement rang out again.
But this time, the atmosphere was completely different.
『Transmitting an additional emergency alert.』
『A high-risk entity has been confirmed from the Gate that has appeared.』
『Monster Level...... LV 80.』
『The entity on-site has been assessed as LV 80-class.』
『All citizens within the radius, evacuate immediately.』
『All A-rank and above Awakeners in the area, deploy to the site immediately.』
『Repeat. All A-rank and above Awakeners...』
Rai's footsteps stopped.
"......LV 80?"
The color drained from his face.
Ragna, too, listened to the broadcast with a frozen expression.
LV 80.
That wasn't merely a strong monster. It was a beast capable of leveling an entire city.
And an entity of that caliber had just appeared near the very city where they were.
Rai's fingertips trembled faintly.
"......This is."
He muttered, as if he couldn't believe it.
"That's genuinely dangerous, isn't it."
La Place silently set down her meat.
"Inquiry. What are you going to do?"