"Miyuki, don't be sadahem, ahem, I'm only"
But before she finished, her eyes went blank, staring at the space in front of her. All of a sudden, beside Shiba Miyuki, a mysterious presence appeared.
Click!
The moment Rei Ao appeared, Shiba Tatsuya pulled out a CAD in the shape of a handgun and aimed it at him. Yotsuba Maya also raised an eyebrow and demanded, "Who are you? Why have you come to the Yotsuba household?!"
It was obvious Rei Ao wasn't part of the family, and she had no idea what kind of magic he'd used to appear here.
"Rei Ao is my name."
"As for my purpose"
Rei Ao gave Shiba Miyuki a mischievous look. "Why don't you explain it to them?"
"?"
Shiba Miya and Yotsuba Maya both felt confusedthis man sounded as though Shiba Miyuki was already acquainted with him.
In a fluster, Shiba Miyuki quickly explained, "Family Head, please don't worry. This is Rei Ao, a friend of mine. I asked him here to treat my mother."
"To treat"
Yotsuba Maya sighed helplessly. "Miyuki, you should know I have no reason to lie to you about her condition."
"I docough, cough"
Even speaking had become difficult for Shiba Miya. The constant coughing was growing weakera sign of her life reaching its end.
Panic seized Shiba Miyuki. With tears in her voice, she clutched Rei Ao's hand. "Rei Ao, please, save my mother!"
"Miyuki, he's?"
Even Shiba Miya was confused now.
"Ma'am, I'm your daughter's friend," Rei Ao said, stepping forward to get a closer look at Shiba Miya.
Though her complexion was deathly pale and she looked thoroughly haggard, the graceful figure beneath couldn't be concealed.
And off to one side were those twin sisters with remarkable appearances, so no doubt if her health were restored, she would be a real beauty.
But this wasn't the time to admire.
"Ma'am, please do not move. The healing might itch or sting a little, so bear with it."
~~~
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Chapter 327: Healed, Grateful and Fearful...
"It's going to sting a bit, so please bear with it!"
Rei Ao's words had barely left his mouth
when he grasped Shiba Miya's hand.
"Ah?!"
Yotsuba Maya's eyes narrowed sharply.
She didn't know whether she should trust the actions of this stranger and was about to step forward to stop him.
"Don't!"
Shiba Miyuki moved to block her.
Yotsuba Maya said sternly,
"Miyuki, he's not a member of the Yotsuba Family. We can't trust him."
"No, he's my friend. I can trust him!"
Shiba Miyuki stood firmly on Rei Ao's side.
Compared to the Yotsuba Family, she trusted the members of the chat group far more.
In her mind, the person most worthy of her trust was her mother, followed by everyone in the chat group, and only then the Yotsuba Family.
""
Faced with this, Yotsuba Maya felt helpless.
She herself knew that Shiba Miyuki felt neither kinship nor belonging to the Yotsuba Family.
"I'm sorry, Miyuki."
With an apologetic tone, Yotsuba Maya used an acceleration magic, darting past Shiba Miyuki like an illusion and rushing at Rei Ao.
She gave the order,
"Shiba Tatsuya, restrain her."
As the head of the Yotsuba Family, she could not allow an outsider to act freely on their territory
especially someone so mysterious that even his arrival was inscrutable.
"!!!"
Shiba Miyuki readied her CAD to stop them.
"Don't move."
A dark gun barrel suddenly pressed against her forehead.
It was the cold-faced Shiba Tatsuya, following the order to hold her in check.
"Hmph."
At that moment, Rei Ao clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"I'm in the middle of saving someone here. Why all the fuss?"
He cast an icy glance at Shiba Tatsuya.
"And don't ever point a gun at the person I've set my sights on, whoever you are."
Crack!
The gun in Tatsuya's hand suddenly shattered.
At the same time, an invisible force slammed into his abdomen.
"Guh!"
His face twisted as he coughed up blood, his body sent flying like a kite whose string had been cut.
"?"
Yotsuba Maya, meanwhile, was startled to find her psions in disarrayshe couldn't control them at all, making it impossible to form a spell.
It was as though there was something before her that her psions instinctively feared.
And her body felt as if it were stuck in deep mud, unable to move even an inch.
Boom!
Shiba Tatsuya crashed right through the door and landed who knew where in the courtyard, his life or death uncertain.
Rei Ao withdrew his hand from Shiba Miya.
He looked down on Yotsuba Maya, now frozen in place like a puppet.
Where her eyes once held the dignity of the Yotsuba head, now they were filled mostly with confusion.
Rei Ao calmly swept a single hand across her cheek.
"Before you do anything, how about taking a look at the situation with your own eyes?"
He gripped her chin and tilted her head in Shiba Miya's direction.
"This is"
On the other hand, Shiba Miya was shocked to realize that after he touched her, it felt as if a clear, refreshing spring flowed into her body.
Cells once on the brink of death now surged back to life.
In just the blink of an eye, she felt as though she'd been entirely reborn.
Brimming with vitality, she felt both delighted and at a loss.
And it wasn't just how she feltanyone could clearly see the drastic transformation in her.
The once withered, pallid look had vanished,
replaced by a healthy glow; her entire complexion was now beyond compare to what it had been just moments ago.
"Mom, y-you're better now!"
Overjoyed, Shiba Miyuki came forward.
"I'm not sure myself, but my body feels unexpectedly light."
"Ma'am, I've already adjusted and healed you.
From your body to your mind, there shouldn't be any problems now,"
Rei Ao explained, then cautioned,
"Of course, a sudden change like this might cause some discomfort, so take your time to adjust."
"It really is true"
Miya found it all utterly unbelievable.
No one knew her condition better than she did.
Modern medicine and magic alike had declared it incurableand irreversible body headed for certain death.
Yet in a single touch, Rei Ao had restored her.
Was this a miracle? A divine act?
She stood there silently for a long time, then finally turned to Rei Ao with a complex expression and asked, "You who exactly are you?"
""
Still poised as though on guard, Yotsuba Maya shared the same question.
"Who I am doesn't matter," Rei Ao said.
"All you need to know is that your daughter paid a priceshe made a deal with me to save your life."
"Huh?"
Shiba Miya looked at her daughter Miyuki hung her head in embarrassment, nodding almost imperceptibly.
"What sort of deal?"
"That's for the two of you to discuss yourselves. I'll step out."
Leaving space for the mother and daughter, Rei Ao left the room, practically dragging Yotsuba Maya out like one would carry a cat.
""
The mother and daughter remained in silence.
After a time, Shiba Miya placed her hands on Miyuki's burning cheeks and spoke gently,
"Miyuki, can you tell me everything that happened?"
"Mm yes"
With the voice of a tiny mosquito, Miyuki explained to her mother what the deal entailed.
Out in the living room, Yotsuba Maya finally regained her sense of time.
Her body could move again.
This time she stayed calm, not taking any rash actions.
Though she had just been immobilized, she had seen and heard everything clearly.
The man before her had indeed used some unknown method to heal her older sister.
No matter what the method was, the fact that he could bring someone with one foot in the grave back to life was an almost unbelievable miracle.
If word got out, it would undoubtedly cause an uproar.
As the head of the Yotsuba Family, Yotsuba Maya had long been immersed in the dark world of politics.
Her first instinct was how to secure this man and his power.
Anyone could imagine the enormous value of an ability that could essentially bring a person back from death's door.
"I advise you not to entertain any little schemes,"
Rei Ao's cold voice entered her ears.
"The Yotsuba Family alone isn't enough to protect you."
Yotsuba Maya's breathing halted for an instant,
as though her heart was being clenched by an invisible hand.
She felt death approachthen that feeling vanished as quickly as it had come.
"!!!"
Her chest rose and fell violently.
Unnoticed, cold sweat had soaked her back.
When she looked at Rei Ao again, her eyes now held a deep and abiding fear.
He was far too dangerous.
She quickly put away the mindset and manner of speaking she usually adopted.
Yotsuba Maya understood all too well: to this man, who could destroy her as easily as breathing, her little plans and maneuvers meant nothing at all.
~~~
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Chapter 328: Queen of Night
One sentence was all it took to make Yotsuba Maya fall silent.
Rei Ao pointed to the courtyard.
"That fellow was created by your Yotsuba Family, right? Aren't you going to see if he's dead or alive?"
He was referring to Shiba Tatsuya, who looked as though he had stopped breathing.
""
Yotsuba Maya just glanced over and did nothing. She wasn't fond of this man who had been modified by the Yotsuba Family to be more like a machine. Besides, from the slight motion of his body, she could still tell that Shiba Tatsuya was breathing. A modified human's life force wasn't so fragile, so she couldn't be bothered to do anything about him.
Compared to Shiba Tatsuya, she was far more focused on Rei Ao at the moment.
"Rei Ao-san, I sincerely apologize for my rash behavior just now."
Her first priority was to make amends for her earlier offense. However, Rei Ao showed no response to her apology whatsoever. Realizing that her apology was insufficient, she decisively got down on her knees in a dogeza.
"Please forgive my recklessness."
Indeed, she was the head of the Yotsuba Family and had her dignity and pride. Yet she also knew how to gauge the situation, especially given that the person before her could very well exist beyond all established rules. Whether out of gratitude for saving her elder sister's life or due to consideration of his power, letting go of her pride was entirely reasonable.
No one would strike a smiling face. Since she was so sincere, Rei Ao wouldn't make things difficult for her. Offering her a few reassuring words cost him virtually nothing.
"I accept your apology. I'm not interested in your Yotsuba Family anyway."
"Thank you for your generosity."
Relieved of the weight in her heart, Yotsuba Maya stood up. This time, she didn't even sit down on the sofa but instead stood to one side of Rei Ao like a maid. When Rei Ao merely glanced at the teapot on the table, hands immediately extended from beside him and steadily poured him a cup of tea.
"Rei Ao-san, please have some tea."
Yotsuba Maya offered it to him respectfully. A look of interest appeared in Rei Ao's eyes.
"You're indeed fit to be the family head; you really know how to handle things."
He took a sip and set the cup down. Smiling teasingly, he said, "For the dignified head of the Yotsuba Family to serve tea like a maidif word got out, it would make a lot of people's jaws drop."
"What the outside world says is irrelevant. Compared to you, my identity isn't remotely exalted."
"Are you trying to probe my identity with that statement?"
""
Her silence was basically an admission.
"Ah." Rei Ao let out a soft laugh. "Don't worry, I wouldn't bear a grudge over something like this. If there's anything you'd like to ask, just ask openly. I don't mind telling you whatever I'm willing to share."
""
Rei Ao's directness caught her off guard. "All right, then I won't beat around the bush."
Relaxing a little, Yotsuba Maya asked the question that had been on her mind. "May I ask where you come from? Someone like you shouldn't be unknown or nameless."
He was capable of healing someone who was on the brink of deathsomeone modern medicine had deemed incurable.
He also had an incomprehensible method of subduing both her and Shiba Tatsuya with ease.
Besides her current status as head of the Yotsuba Family, she was known as one of the world's strongest magiciansnicknamed the 'Queen of Night' and the 'Demon King of the Far East.'
Even so, she couldn't even determine what type of magic he was using. A person like that shouldn't be completely unheard of, yet despite her deep involvement in political circles, Yotsuba Maya had never heard of a man named Rei Ao.
Rei Ao glanced at her and replied calmly, "Don't be so narrow-minded. If your view is limited to just this cityor even this planetyou'll never see even a fraction of who I really am."
"This"
Planet? Yotsuba Maya's breathing visibly faltered, and her pupils shrank. "You you aren't an alien, are you?"
She wasn't joking; it was a wild but still plausible guess, given her inability to fathom him and his cryptic words. Rei Ao's expression darkened.
"You really think I look like E.T. or something?"
The moment he thought of aliens, he pictured those grayish-green beings with big foreheads and little bodiesthe uncanny valley effect.
"S-Sorry, I just"
Thinking she had angered him, Yotsuba Maya quickly apologized.
However
"Haha, I'm only teasing you."
His expression changed in a flash. He seemed to find her quite an entertaining person.
"While I'm not an alien, I suppose in your eyes it wouldn't be much different."
Rei Ao said, slowly and distinctly, "I come from another world. You could call it a different dimension."
"Another world?!"
She had considered all kinds of possibilities, but nothing like that had even crossed her mind. To her, thinking of life beyond this planet was already the limit of imagination.
Her expression grew serious. "Rei Ao-san, I'm sorry for being so blunt, but that's truly shocking."
"Ah, perfectly understandable, since it breaks the worldview you've held all this time."
Rei Ao pinched his chin, sizing her up, and then asked, "Do you have a husband?"
"?"
The random shift in topic made Yotsuba Maya catch her breath. She had been about to pursue whether he truly came from another world, but those words got stuck in her throat. Calming her scattered thoughts, she answered his question truthfully.
