A Japanese Cousin Is Fair Game? That's Just Unfair

I spent the whole day watching her act so innocently, only for her to pull this now. It felt like cheating. The moment I showed even a hint of excitement, Alice let out a soft, knowing chuckle.

The hiyayakko and sashimi arrived right on cue, and we shared them. But Alice’s seductive words had me so distracted I couldn’t even tell if the food was going into my mouth or up my nose. Once we finished the first two dishes, the motsunabe and rice came out. It really did feel like a proper course meal, even if they were just bringing things out in the order they were prepared.

In truth, after what Alice had said, I wanted to finish eating and get out of there as fast as possible. But the owner had been serious about giving us generous portions—the motsunabe was practically enough for three people. The mixed chicken skewers that followed were easily twice as much as what I saw on the other tables. Hey, mister, is it really okay to show this much favoritism just because she’s your daughter’s friend?

At my words, Alice flashed a devilish little smile and lightly tapped the tip of my nose. What a wicked young lady.

“W-well… you know.”

She was clearly determined to tease me, smiling mischievously as she asked. Drinking seemed to bring out a slightly different side of her personality. Still, that was charming in its own way. Fine. I’d just have to torment her properly once we got to bed so she wouldn’t be able to tease me anymore.

I polished off the motsunabe and all the chicken skewers, then finished with the last of the sake. Since I’d been sipping it throughout the meal, this was basically the closing drink. “Shall we head out?”

When I asked, Alice suddenly turned shy, her face flushing as she fidgeted. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her along. She followed without the slightest resistance, like a rabbit caught by a hunter.

“Did you enjoy your meal? That’ll be six thousand yen.”

Because she was the owner’s daughter’s friend, six thousand yen was an absolute steal. We’d ordered sake, sashimi, and a massive pot of motsunabe, after all.

“Here you go. It was delicious. We’ll come again.”

I handed over a ten-thousand-yen bill from my wallet and took the change. The moment we stepped outside, the air felt sharply cold. It was still mid-February, so it wasn’t exactly warm. I wrapped an arm around Alice’s shoulders as she shivered slightly, scanning for a decent place to stay, when she lowered her head and pointed in one direction.

“Um… there’s a hotel where I’m staying.”

She’d booked a nearby hotel because she had a photoshoot at a studio in the area recently. Her friend Sayaka had recommended it. Walking from the restaurant we’d just left would mean passing through some pretty deserted streets, but since she’d always taken a car before, this was her first time going on foot. A truly secluded area…!

In that instant, I sensed killing intent.

I pulled Alice close and dove to the side. A bullet, its sound heavily suppressed by a silencer, hissed past us with a sharp pffft. Thanks to the Yeouiju, I could take a bullet without dying, but I couldn’t let Alice get ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hit. Fortunately, the trait I’d chosen before boarding the flight to Japan proved to be the perfect choice.

If I hadn’t had this, Alice might have taken that bullet. I pushed her behind me and stared toward where the shots had come from. Two masked men holding silenced pistols were approaching us.

Alice was quick on the uptake. She hadn’t heard even a trace of fear in my voice. Without her around, I could deal with these two easily. I heard her turn and run behind me. The masked men immediately swung their guns toward her and fired.

I threw myself in front of the bullets, taking them with my own body.

Thud. Thud.

Two dull impacts slammed into my abdomen. The pain was excruciating, but thanks to dumping every single stat point from my last two level-ups into Willpower, I didn’t lose consciousness. I clenched my fists and charged.

To catch the next incoming bullets, I used a martial art I had learned.

Shinkai Yatsude — Shin’en Kyūban: Abyss Sucker

My hand moved in a bizarre pattern, snatching the bullet fired by one of the masked men right out of the air. Even assassins trained not to show surprise seemed genuinely shocked this time. I could feel that emotional shift clearly thanks to Master’s Senses. At the same time, I instinctively understood how to activate several techniques from Shinkai Yatsude that I hadn’t known before.

Shinkai Yatsude — Kagekushi: Shadow Skewer

Sharp tentacles erupted from the shadows beneath the two masked men, piercing their stomachs like spears. They were clearly well-trained assassins; neither let out a sound. I followed up by kicking their hands, sending their guns flying, then delivered equal punches to both their jaws.

When I removed their masks, they were ordinary-looking Japanese men.

“Who sent you?”

“......”

Of course they didn’t answer. The killing intent they’d emitted had been directed solely at me. These were professional assassins, clearly hired to target me specifically. It was most likely one of my uncles—Taira Ichiro, Jiro, or Kokoro. I was about eighty percent ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠certain. Whether they meant to kill me or just send a warning, it didn’t matter.

Ting. Ting.

The bullets that had been lodged in my abdomen finally fell to the ground, pushed out by my regenerating flesh. The Regeneration trait must have gained a bit of experience from that.

I pulled out my phone to call Alice when I heard her voice.

Alice hugged me. She didn’t seem particularly shaken; there was no sign of panic. It was as if she had known I would handle it.

At her words, I lifted my shirt to show her my abdomen. It was covered in the blood I’d shed when I was shot, but there wasn’t a single wound on my skin.

“I told you I ate some medicinal herbs back in Korea, remember? They must have sped up my recovery.”

I didn’t want to have this conversation in front of the two men impaled by shadow skewers, so Alice and I decided to leave the area. Even if we called the police, we wouldn’t be able to find who was behind this, and I didn’t want to complicate things with two assassins who had no chance of survival. There was no evidence that I had killed them, so simply walking away wouldn’t cause any problems.

“It must have been my uncles, right?”

“Who knows. They didn’t say anything.”

We walked toward the hotel while speculating about the culprit. Along the way, we found a clothing store. Alice bought me a new outfit, and I changed into it. Since my shirt was soaked in blood, I waited outside the store to avoid causing a scene. This kept happening—first with Han Yugyeong, now this. If it was going to be a regular occurrence, I’d need to start carrying spare clothes whenever I went out.

After changing, we were about to enter the hotel when a level-up window appeared before my eyes. It seemed the two assassins had finally bled out from the shadow skewers. Being skilled professionals, they had given me a considerable amount of experience.

Along with the level-up window, another message appeared.

It was a good thing I had dumped all my early level-up points into Willpower. My current Willpower was 12, and I planned to invest the two new points from this level-up into it as well, bringing it to 14. That should be more than enough to avoid any debuffs from the Abyss stat. The hallmark of stats with such heavy drawbacks was their incredible power.

Before choosing a trait, I entered the hotel with Alice. Standing at the entrance staring into empty space would definitely look strange to other people.

Alice, who had bought some snacks and two cans of beer from the convenience store, put the beer in the fridge as she spoke. I nodded, took off my top, and headed into the shower room. I could feel her watching my muscular body with lustful eyes. Hoo… I’m getting worked up too.

I turned on the shower and let the hot water pour over me. While showering, I selected my new trait.

This time there was no hesitation. All three options were trash. I immediately activated the Yeouiju’s potential enhancement. The three traits vanished, replaced by new ones.

In the end, the real choices were Flame Affinity or Limit Break: Willpower. With the new Abyss stat in play, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I chose Limit Break: Willpower.

It wasn’t an immediately powerful trait, but limit-breaking abilities like this were excellent for long-term growth. Willpower also synergized well with psychic abilities. I hoped more of those would appear in future traits.

“I’m done showering.”

When I stepped out, Alice was standing there in nothing but her underwear. Her eyes were glazed with pure lust. The crotch of her panties was already soaked through.

Alice rushed toward me and kissed me passionately. Getting turned on from watching a fight? She had some interesting kinks. Well, that was perfectly fine with me.