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nWithin a quickly constructed modern kitchen in the first basement floor of Myth Inc. HQ, John paused in the middle of flipping a steak. For some reason, he suddenly felt a pang of guilt. And considering that none of his protective spells were triggered, this one was genuine and unsolicited.

nTurning the steak on the grill, John sighed and said, “I should reserve some rooms for a honeymoon trip…”

nMaybe Christmas would be good? Or the New Year’s?

nIt might be difficult right now considering it was only a month away, but he sincerely needed to apologize to Yue. The recent events with Betty and Alphy made him realize just how much his family had been holding back and also how nice it would be for them all to finally be themselves, free of worrying about some forceful idiot who wouldn’t take no for an answer and tried to resolve things by force.

n…Well, that still might be the case considering how beautiful his wife was, but John was confident in his looks. A guy who tried that with him around would have to be narcissistic, stupid, or a combination of both.

n“Um… Mister John?” Rin’s confused voice called out. “What are you doing?”

nJohn sharpened some knives and then tossed a tuna in the air. Silver flashed, leaving fresh sashimi to fall on the countertop. John caught the remaining head and tail, tossing them into a pot of water and soup ingredients on the stove, setting it to simmer… and subtly accelerating the time inside so that the soup would be finished sooner.

nThat done, John placed the knives down and turned to Rin. “What does it look like? I’m cooking.”

n“Um, I got that, Mister John. But…” Rin spun around, looking at the vast modern kitchen and walk-in refrigerators stocked with ingredients. “Why are you cooking so much? And why is there such a big kitchen here?”

nBeta walked over to an oven and pulled out a cake, placing it on a countertop in the back. After that, she turned towards Rin and said, “Because Father is a master chef… and because he needs to prepare a suitable distraction for when the latest people who wish to curse out my father arrive.”

n“Eh?” Rin blinked. “People want to curse out Mister John?” She frowned and then crossed her arms. “What did you do this time, Mister John? Is it that girl from the cafe?”

n“Which one?”

nBeta paused in the middle of frosting the cake and then narrowed her eyes at John. “Father? Explain yourself.”

nJohn cleared his throat and said, “I mean, of course not.” He turned to Rin and said, “Your mother just might be a tad upset with me.”

nRin hopped onto a chair near the countertop, idly pulling out a cake pop from the box set there. Nibbling on it, she said, “Why would she be upset?” She gasped and then said, “D-Did Mom find out about the Superchats?”

nJohn paused. “I don’t think so.”

nIf she knew that, John highly doubted that Sakura would have been that upset.

nOr maybe he was mistaken and she was even more upset because of how ridiculous it was.

nThe elevator chimed and the doors opened.

nFor a split second, John looked over, fearing that they had arrived already.

nBut that was impossible. He had set up a dozen different alarms to warn him ahead of time.

nAnd it turned out that it was just his paranoia.

nAlpha stepped out from the elevator, holding a pair of Mintendo Switches. She had also changed from her usual blouse and skirt into a cozy panda pajama set.

nJohn blinked. “Alphy?”

n“Hm?” Alpha looked up and then flushed. “I-I wanted to relax, okay? I mean, you said I should and so…” She grumbled, trailing off.

nRin turned to look and then let out a happy squeal. “Nee-chan! You wore it!”

nAlpha’s flush deepened and she quickly walked over to Rin. “H-Here. You wanted to play Animul Crossing, right?”

n“Yes! Thank you, Nee-chan!” Rin took one of the Switches, the pink one, and then turned it on. “I always wanted to play it, but I didn’t know where to start. But now I can play together with Nee-chan and we can work it out as a team!”

nAlpha smiled and then sat on the chair next to Rin.

nSeeing that, John smiled and then went back to preparing the food.

nAs he did, Beta sidled over and said, “I do not know what you said to Eldest Sister, Father. But thank you.”

nJohn glanced over between searing some tuna steaks and then shook his head. “There’s no need to thank me. I should be apologizing for being a crappy father this whole time.” He paused. “A crappy husband too, come to think of it. I really need to make it up to Yue…”

nThey hadn’t ever had a time to just relax since they got married… In fact, come to think of it, did he even have a proper ceremony with her? There was that announcement by the Jade Emperor and then he gave her a ring, but as for an actual wedding…

nBeta nodded, pulling some tuna slices to make mince into spicy tuna rolls. “You do. Mistress’s heart may be vast and your love for each other may be eternal, but a maiden’s heart is still a delicate thing, Father.”

n“I know, I know…” John scraped up the tuna steaks and placed them on a platter nearby. “I’ll start planning things properly after Monday.”

n“Then should I look at wedding and honeymoon plans, Father?”

n“Thanks, Betty. But I this is something that I have to do for myself.”

n“Mm. If that is what you have decided, Father… And the soup is beginning to overboil.”

n“Gah!”

n—–AI|IA—–

n“Hoh?” Kai took a look at the assorted food in front of him and said, “I didn’t know you could cook, Friend.”

nJohn shrugged. “Like a lot of things, you didn’t ask.”

nSakura scoffed. “It seems like it.” She gave him a sideways glance and said, “So then are there a lot of things you’ll answer if we do ask?”

n“…I’ll do my best?”

nJohn’s office, around half past four in the evening. The sun was starting to sink already, causing everything to be cast in warm orange hues. But to make sure there was privacy, John had covered the windows with curtains and lit the place with lamps instead.

nSince he knew that Kai and Sakura were coming back, he had specifically reorganized everything and set up both serving tables and a dining table, forming a small and intimate party room.

nThe kids were playing together upstairs since Tsuki wanted to try some games with the other girls as well as see how Project MirAIs worked.

nFortunately, Betty was with the group, so John didn’t have to worry about any trouble brewing.

nWhich just left him with the problem of Kai and Sakura.

nThe three of them were seated around a circular dining table in the center. John was on one side, while Kai and Sakura were on the other, with Sakura on Kai’s right. At the same time, they all had platters of food in front of them, sashimi and assorted sushi for John, steak for Kai, and various pastries for Sakura. A few champagne glasses had been poured out as well.

nHowever, even though there was delicious food on their plates, Kai and Sakura both seemed like they wanted to dissect John for information rather than eat.

nThe former was being more subtle about it, the usual businessman smile on his face. But his gaze was sharp, his dark eyes seeming almost like steel.

nThe latter wasn’t quite so subtle. With her arms crossed, Sakura leaned back on her chair, glaring daggers at John.

nJohn sighed and said, “Before we talk, how about some food first?”

n“Hm…” Kai glanced at the food and said, “I suppose it would be a waste to not enjoy your efforts while they are warm.”

nSakura huffed. “Well, don’t think that you can distract us with gourmet food. I’ve been burned by that trick too many times before in the past to fall for it.”

nDarn. Though… “Burned?”

nSakura paused in the middle of grabbing some pastries and then coughed. “I was more naïve then, like my sweet daughter.”

nKai chuckled. “You mean how I could easily bribe you with cookies when you were younger?”

n“Shut up, Kai!” Sakura growled and jabbed him in the ribs.

n“Ow! Okay, okay!” Kai rubbed his side, but a faint smile was on his face.

nJohn flicked his gaze between them and said, “You two seem pretty close to each other.”

nSakura lowered her elbow and tossed a creampuff into her mouth. After chewing on it, she said, “Unfortunately, I’ve known this old bastard my whole life.”

n“Rude.” Kai sipped on his glass of champagne and said, “I’m only a few years older than you.”

n“And you look two decades older, so you should shut up right there, old man.”

nKai shrugged, reaching out with his knife and fork to cut his steak.

nJohn blinked, suddenly getting deja vu.

nSakura glared at him. “What?”

nJohn shook his head. “Nothing. Just thinking that you two seem like a married couple.”

nSakura froze.

nKai’s knife scratched the plate.

nJohn blinked. “Did I… Say something wrong?”

n“Yeah. You did.” Sakura huffed and then crammed a few more creampuffs into her mouth. After that, she washed it down with a long swig of champagne and then pointed to Kai. “You see this bastard here? I wouldn’t marry him even if he was the last man on Earth. Hell, I’d marry you first.”

nJohn quickly interjected. “And I would have to remind you that I am happily married, taken, and have no inclination or desire to cheat, have sexual intercourse, or go out on a date with any other woman than my beloved wife in the near, immediate, and perpetual future.”

nSakura froze, caught off-guard at the rapid-fire response.

nKai chuckled, recovering from his shock, and said, “It seems like our friend here wouldn’t take you if you were the last woman on Earth either, Saku- Mmph!”

nSakura crammed a creampuff in Kai’s mouth and huffed. “Whatever.” She took another swig from her champagne and then pointed a fork at John. “You. Answers. Now.”

nJohn popped a roll of sushi in his mouth, chewing slowly to buy time.

nHe idly wondered if he could talk his way out of answering questions… but he figured that avoiding this now would make it worse later, so he decided to confront it head on instead. “Alright. What do you want to know?”

n“Why did you-“

n“What made you choose Rin as your first idol?”

nSakura blinked and then turned to look at Kai.

nThe former yakuza however had eyes only for John. And not in the polite or romantic sense, but more in the ‘answer wrong and I might stab you’ sense.

nA familiar expression. John had experienced it a countless number of times before.

nThe usual response had been to stab first. But considering that this was Earth and that he did accept Kai as his friend, John refrained from doing that.

nInstead, he said, “It’s a long story… and not completely mine to tell.” He glanced over at Sakura and said, “Should I?”

nSakura paused and then she glanced at Kai. “Don’t get upset.”

nKai blinked. “Why should I get upset?”

nSakura shook her head. “I’m just telling you since you have a daughter now. You can’t run off like you did in the past because you get pissed off. Alright?”

nHearing that made Kai narrow his eyes, but he nodded.

nJohn reached over and downed his glass of champagne. Fizzy, bubbly… but not enough to make him buzzed.

nDamned transcendent physique and immortality…

nJohn sighed and said, “Well I guess it starts with how I met Rin.” He reached out to grab the bottle of champagne on the table beside him and poured himself another glass. “After I bought the building from you, Kai, I researched the current idol market all night. You know, to make sure I understood what I was getting into.”

nKai nodded. “That’s understandable. Then-“

n“And I got pissed off.”

nKai blinked. “P-Pardon?”

nJohn downed his drink again and gave Kai a sharp glare. Glancing at Sakura briefly, he settled his gaze on Kai and said, “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt since you seem to have turned over a new leaf… But you didn’t play a role in ‘that’ side of the industry, right?”

nSakura interrupted, frowning. “Hold on.” She turned to Kai and said, “What role? And what does John mean by knowing what he was getting into, Kai?”

nKai started to sweat. “A-Ahem… That’s a long story.”

n“Kai.”

nThe man sighed and ran his hand through his graying hair and then said, “This building used to be an idol agency before John bought it. Mine. In fact, you might even know the idol group that I ran. Does the name ‘Mystic Bouquet’ ring any bells?”

nSakura blinked and then her eyes widened. “You mean that group where the three members were found drunk and unconscious in a room with the NHK board members a few months ago?” She frowned and said, “I wrote an article about that… But you were their manager?” Her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t think that you-“

n“It wasn’t like that.” Kai gave a clipped response and said, “Those bastards set my girls up. And those ‘board members’ were from the Seiryuu.” He grit his teeth and said, “If it wasn’t for the promise I made with Boss, it wouldn’t have ended with those guys just being demoted from the company for what they did.”

n“Wait.” John pinched the bridge of his nose. “So you were the manager of a popular idol group… here in this building… which got disbanded because of a scandal?”

nKai coughed. “That’s correct.”

n“And you didn’t tell me this before?!”

n“I thought you knew? Mystic Bouquet was fairly popular-“

n“Their management company was unlisted and their records were burned out! I only caught the name in passing!”

nKai blinked and then cleared his throat. “I suppose I did act pretty thoroughly in making sure to get the girls out of the industry…”

nJohn groaned and grabbed the champagne bottle. He glanced at it, considering pouring another glass, but then drank it straight from the bottle instead.

nSakura narrowed her eyes at Kai. “…We’re going to talk about this later, Kai.”

nKai sighed. “Understood. But enough about me.” He turned back to John and said, “You didn’t get to how you scouted Rin.”

nJohn took another swig from the bottle and said, “Right. That.” He thought about it and said, “It was a fortunate coincidence. After walking around to clear my head and think about how to scout talents, a cute and young girl happened to bump into me.”

nKai frowned. “And you hired her right there? I didn’t think that-“

n“Let him finish, Kai.” Sakura cut off a piece of cake from her plate and stuck it in her mouth. Even so, while it should have been sweet, Sakura scrunched her lips as if it was sour.

nKai seemed confused, but nodded.

nJohn continued. “I didn’t hire her right away. In fact, I didn’t even think about hiring her at all since she seemed absentminded at the time and troubled. Even after bumping into me, she quickly ran off.” He paused, remembering what happened and said, “In fact, I think that happened after she got a text message. I never did ask what was on it… Maybe I should have.”

nKai didn’t respond, but his expression dimmed.

nSakura didn’t reply either, taking a sip from her champagne.

nSeeing that, John continued. “Since I thought it was weird, I followed her to make sure she wasn’t getting into any trouble. And then I saw her walk into a shady karaoke bar where…” A flash of anger filled John’s heart, but he quickly suppressed it. “…Certain individuals tended to exploit young woman. Thankfully, I managed to preempt whoever was supposed to meet Rin and take care of the proprietor… Aoyama, I think it was.”

nKai slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his dark eyes flashing with anger. “Aoyama?!”

nSakura slammed her hands on the table and stood up as well. “That bastard’s the one who tried to trap my Rin?!”

nJohn blinked. “I’m pretty sure that was his name, yeah. But… is that a big deal?”

nKai gnashed his teeth and said, “That Fu-” He held himself back and said, “That bastard was still causing trouble for Sakura after all this time…?!”

nSakura growled and then walked over to the serving table to grab a bottle of wine. Popping the cap, she took a long swig and then placed the bottle on the table before sitting back down. “That asshole.” She glared at John and said, “I hope you taught that guy a…” She paused and then frowned. “Wait.” She looked up at John and said, “You said you preempted who my Rin was supposed to meet… and she said that you stopped her from doing that job. But that asshole wouldn’t have taken it lightly.”

nKai downed his champagne and poured himself a glass of wine from the bottle Sakura opened. After taking a sip of that, he nodded and said, “That bastard definitely wouldn’t have let her go like that… And there should have been plenty of Seiryuu around if it was an establishment that he personally managed.” Kai looked thoughtful and then stared at John. “Come to think of it, I heard rumblings from my old connections that the Seiryuu were starting to move on from their karaoke bars and into the food industry like the Torabu after someone went off the rails.”

nJohn blinked.

nSeiryuu… moving on from karaoke bars into the food industry like the Torabu… Yuri bossing those Torabu men around…

nJohn put his elbows on the table and hung his head.

nThis… There was no way. So everything that had happened since he arrived… the yakuza, Yuri, Asako, and all of that mess.

nIt all started because he recruited Rin? No, because he stepped in to change her fate?

nThen if he hadn’t intervened…

nNo, no. He couldn’t think like that. After all, if he hadn’t stepped in, she would have been subjected to a terrible fate and had her bright future ruined.

nThe thought of that adorable and bright girl being exploited and crushed under reality’s cruel weight…

n“Friend?” Kai’s voice. Concern.

nLooking up, he saw that Sakura looked worried as well.

nShe shifted in place and said, “This… will it be a problem?”

nJohn blinked and then realized how it must have looked. He quickly sat up and shook his hands. “Oh no, I’m not worried or anything. I just realized how much hit the fan.”

nAnd how everything that happened was a direct consequence of his actions to change one girl’s dark fate.

n…Like it usually was, come to think of it.

nKai’s face was serious. “If you really are the person responsible for what’s going on with the Seiryuu right now, then-“

n“It’s fine.” John waved his right hand, dismissing the thought.

nKai shook his head. “You don’t understand. If the reason why the Seiryuu are losing their girls is because of you, that demonic bastard will start moving personally. Not only that, but if he finds out how beautiful your daughters are… And if he learns about Rin… Dammit, Tsuki’s here now too.” He ran his hand through his hair, scowling.

nSakura blanched. “N-No. H-He wouldn’t right? I mean, he called me a few times to try and convince me to go back, but…”

nJohn noticed how terrified the two were and frowned. “Are the Seiryuu that big a deal?”

n“Of course!” Kai quickly nodded and said, “The Azure Dragon rules the East… Even as a foreigner, you should know about that, right? The four guardian beasts.”

nJohn nodded. “Of course I do.”

nHe had captured the real things back in the Three Realms to use as servants after all.

nKai shook his head and said, “In truth, Tokyo should be under the Seiryuu’s rule, but the Torabu moved in fifteen years ago and started pushing them back.” He poured himself another glass of wine and said, “It was a full war. Kamurocho became a literal red light district for a few years as entire families were wiped out and the streets were dyed with blood.”

nSakura’s eyes widened. “So that’s what you meant by a lot of bloodshed…”

nKai nodded. “That’s right. And it’s also how I got the reputation as being the Seiryuu’s number one enemy.” He let out a wry laugh and glanced at Sakura. “Though I never did manage to find you, until it was too late…”

n“Kai…”

nIgnoring the fact that Sakura and Kai seemed to have a far more intertwined history than John could have imagined, he started to think.

nThis… might be more serious than he thought.

nOf course, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to resolve. Money solved a lot of issues and he had an endless supply of that. Not to mention he could always directly step in.

nBut…

n“Dammit. Seems like I have to nip this in the bud, huh?”

nFrom what he could tell, the current Patriarch of the Seiryuu was a crazy bastard like some of the other people John had met in the past. And considering that he probably ordered the men with Asako to off her in an accident, he also didn’t care for his family at all.

nKai shook his head. “Don’t bother trying.” He sighed and said, “Dammit. Looks like we’ll need to move after all. It’s not safe here.”

nSakura nodded. “But… What about Rin?”

nKai frowned. “…I still have my connections. And the old man should still be in town.” He looked off into space, placing a hand on his chin to think. “The old man retired to be a chef to take care of his granddaughter, but if that demonic bastard’s moving, even he should come back from retirement.”

n“But…” Sakura looked at John.

nKai froze and then looked at John as well.

nJohn blinked. “What?”

n“…What do you plan to do, Friend? I know that things are going well right now for you… exceedingly well at that. But right now, and with your daughters…” He shook his head. “I’ll help you move. I have connections in Kyoto and businesses there as well. It might take a bit, but if you can pause the idol project for a month-“

n“Impossible.” John shook his head.

nEven if it was dangerous, stopping things for a month with the current momentum would kill it dead. Absolutely every opportunity would slam shut and Rin’s dream would never come true.

nKai narrowed his eyes. “Then are you planning to put all the girls in danger? I know you possess the resources, but you’ll be going up against all of Tokyo- No, the entire eastern part of Japan.”

nJohn chuckled.

nSakura jumped out of her seat. “This isn’t funny, John! You don’t know how scary that bastard is when he’s serious!”

nJohn leaned back and poured himself a glass of champagne before taking a long sip. Then he smiled. “It’s been a while since I’ve been underestimated this much. How nostalgic.”

nSakura narrowed her eyes. “You-” She froze, swallowing her words.

nJohn didn’t blame her.

nKai’s eyes widened and he staggered back, stumbling out of his chair. “Th-Those men…!” He pointed at three men stepping out from the shadows behind the curtains. “But you all died! I saw you!”

n“Hm?” John tilted his head. “So there were similar people here as well. Interesting…”

nA muscular man in a light grey blazer, suit pants, and a maroon shirt with an upturned collar.

nAnother with a lean build, short cropped hair, an eyepatch over his left eye, and wearing a snakeskin jacket with leather pants.

nThe last, a tall man, powerfully built with a buzz cut and a heavy jacket, paired with green camo pants and combat boots.

nThe three Yakuza legends stood behind John, looming over him and blocking out the light.

nKai shifted his gaze to John. “You… John. Who are you?”

nJohn didn’t respond. Instead, he tilted his head back to the three men and said, “Kiri. Maji. Saji. Go stir up trouble for these Seiryuu guys.”

nThe man with the snakeskin jacket cracked his neck, letting out a manic grin. “Great. I was dyin’ of boredom standing around anyway.”

nThe powerfully built man chuckled and glanced over at ‘Maji’. “Pretty big talk for a guy as rusty as you, bro.” He glanced back at the last man and said, “What about you, Kiri-san? Think you’re up for another go at things?”

n“Nn.” With that noncommittal response, Kiri started walking off towards the elevator.

nMaji cackled and walked after him. “Looks like Kiri-chan’s mad… This’ll be fun.”

nSaji followed as well and said, “Just remember to hold back, bro. Boss doesn’t want us to go all out yet.”

n“I know, I know. I’ll make sure to not paint the streets red like the past.”

nThe elevator chimed and the three men walked in. Maji stood in the middle and waved at John. “We’ll keep’em busy, Boss! Let us know when you want to get serious, alright? Wouldn’t want to miss the fireworks!”

nJohn nodded and watched as the elevator doors closed. After that, he turned to Kai and Sakura and said, “You should eat. The food’s getting cold.”

nKai looked hesitant.

nSakura looked like she had a million questions to ask. But after pursing her lips in thought, she carefully said, “I want to ask you one thing, John.”

n“Sure. What is it, Sakura?”

nShe narrowed her eyes, staring at him. “Will you protect Rin?”

nJohn smiled. “Don’t worry. I took your daughter’s hand, so I’ll see it through to the end.”

nSakura’s eyes flickered and then she let out a soft smile. “It seems like you really are our family’s lucky star, huh?”

nKai looked at her. “Sakura?”

nShe shook her head and sat down. “Just eat, Kai. I’m sure things will work out.”

n“But-“

nSakura reached over and plopped a creampuff in his mouth.

nKai’s eyes widened, but then he slumped his shoulders, as if giving up, and chewed the creampuff. After that, he sighed and went back to eating his steak.

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