"I'm just letting you know that this is an option, is all. Everything else depends on what you really want."
He quietly gave Megumi Kato a thumbs-up. She was the type who excelled at planting seeds in people's minds.
"Anyway, that's enough on that. Class is about to start."
Just then, the chime for class rang.
Michiru's beautiful eyes lingered on Rei Ao's back for a long time, unsettled. Indeed, their conversation had opened a sort of Pandora's box in her mind.
Meanwhile, there was another person notifying Rei Ao about their household "child" starting school: that was Kobayashi.
Kobayashi: "Hey, you there?"
Rei Ao: "What's up?"
Kobayashi: "It's about little Shin going to school. Today was her first day."
Rei Ao: "You're reporting that to me, too?"
Rei Ao added with a small laugh: "Remember to keep an eye on Shin to see if she's settling in."
Kobayashi: "I'd do that without you telling me.
Rightcould you have her also look after Kanna? She's older and more mature, after all."
Rei Ao: "Got it. Also, keep in mind Kanna's a dragon. Shin's definitely the more level headed one."
Kobayashi: "I've already reminded her. In fact, I didn't even need toshe keeps muttering something like, 'I can't let that evil dragon cause trouble.'"
Just mentioning it had her half laughing, half crying. To this day, Shin was still wary about the "wicked dragon."
Rei Ao: "Heh, I'm sure they'll get along fine."
Kobayashi:"Agreed. By the way, Shin said she wants to ask if you can go with me to pick her up after school for her first day."
That turned out to be the real reason she'd come calling. It was all because Shin had been babbling about wanting both "Papa" and "Mama" to pick her up, leaving Kobayashi red-faced.
"Papa" and "Mama," indeed Even though she'd originally insisted on "Onii-chan" and "mommy," apparently the child was forging ahead with her own logic!
Rei Ao: "But I'm in high school, and I get out later than she does."
Kobayashi: "True"
Rei Ao was on the verge of declining when Shin herself sent him a private message.
Shin: "Daddy! Daddy! Answer me quickly!"
Rei Ao: "You sure are used to calling me Daddy now, huh? Didn't your mommy say you should call me 'Onii-chan'?"
Shin: "Hmph! Daddy is Daddy! I only call you 'Onii-chan' in front of Mommy because I have to!
Daddy, when are you going to take Mom for yourself, so I can openly call you Daddy for real?
Oh, oh! Let me tell you a secret, Daddy: Mommy's had five dreams about you over the last five nightslike, certain 'adult' dreams! Hehehe!"
Rei Ao: " "
He couldn't help sweating a bit. Clearly Shin, sharing mental space with Kobayashi, didn't miss a thing. Five nights of certain "spicy" dreams about him must be some deep longing indeed. He hadn't realized Kobayashi could hide it that well.
Rei Ao: "All right, Daddy will do his best, soon."
Shin:"Yay!! By the way, Daddy, are you free this afternoon to pick me up from school with Mommy? I really want to experience going home from school with both of you!"
Rei Ao: "Sorry, my high school finishes later than your elementary school does."
Shin: "Aw, that's a shame Nothing can be done, I guess. I was hoping to show you the new friend Kanna and I madea very special little girl."
Rei Ao: "Special?"
Shin: "Yup, she's Anya, and she has a mind-reading superpower! Though it doesn't work on Kanna or me."
Rei Ao: "???"
He stiffened.
A mind-reading girl named Anya That had to be "Spy x Family"'s Anya, right? But wait, apparently her name is Anya Briar?
He recalled that originally, Anya was called "Anya Forger," but if her mother was Yor, whose real name was Yor Briar, maybe the child was going by Briar? The details were fuzzy, but the possibility was huge that this was that mind-reading child.
So he changed his mind right then:
Rei Ao: "Kobayashi, this afternoon I'm free to join you."
Kobayashi: "Huh? But I thought you get out of school later?"
Rei Ao: "I'll just ask Shizuka for early dismissal. No problem."
Kobayashi: "But you really shouldn't skip class just for this. School's important."
Rei Ao: "You think I need school?"
Kobayashi: "" "Never mind, I didn't say anything!"
She realized how ridiculous it was, telling someone who could wipe out worlds to keep up with his studies. Quickly, she drank some water to calm her nerves.
Kobayashi: "Anyway, why the sudden change of heart?"
Rei Ao: "Because I know Shin wants to experience that warm, full family feeling: having both Papa and Mama come pick her up."
Rei Ao: "For the sake of giving our kid a proper family, 'Mommy of my child,' we gotta make it happen."
Kobayashi: "???"
"Pfft!" She nearly spit water everywhere. Her colleagues turned to stare, forcing her to mop up as quickly as possible. She couldn't help being that shocked. Kid's mom? He sure had a bizarre way with words.
But as odd as it was, she felt a faint warmth creeping into her cheeks all the same.
~~~
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Chapter 493: Flirting and Utaha's Third Wheeling (Bonus Chapter)
Eriri: "Rei Ao, come up to the rooftop at noon. You have to come alone!"
Because Eriri had sent him that private message, Rei Ao gave up on having lunch with Mai and Megumi as usual, and instead went to the rooftop as she'd requested. On arriving, he found Eriri, dressed beautifully, already waiting for him.
"Eriri, what's the matter? Why did you call me here?"
Seeing him arrive, Eriri's eyes sparkled with delight, but an instant later she pouted in annoyance:
"Does there have to be a reason for me to call you? You haven't come looking for me in forever, haven't even come by my house. My mom's been saying she misses you coming over, you know."
"Heh,"
Rei Ao chuckled softly, then in a flash, he moved right in front of Eriri and pulled her into an embrace.
"We only just saw each other not so long ago, so it's not like it's been ages."
He was referring to seeing her briefly in that "Black Bullet" world.
[Name]: Eriri
[Level]: 13
[Abilities]: "Dragon Power", "Spirit of Light", "Sketch Magic", "Rei Ao's Blessings", "Inherent Device: Princess of Light"
Eriri puffed up her cheeks:
"That doesn't count! That was just a quick meeting, and you didn't even hold my hand. That's not how a couple should be, is it? I'm so not satisfied."
"All right, all right. How about I make it up to you, then?"
With that, Rei Ao placed a kiss on Eriri without any hesitation. In just one moment of fluster, Eriri let him have his waybut then quickly gave into it wholeheartedly, turning soft and sweet as if she were a dessert ready to be savored.
She even guided Rei Ao's hand into certain hidden spots, all the while sliding her own hand over him, seemingly prepared for more intimate contact.
Rei Ao was a bit surprised:
"Eriri you were thinking of doing it here?"
Breathing heavily, Eriri's face burned red, but her voice was soft:
"MmI-it's been a while since wedid anything, so I get lonely too, you know..."
Her voice was like a mosquito's whisper, but her warm breath told him exactly what she wanted. Rei Ao could definitely sense Eriri's longing for his intimate company.
Just when he was about to get even more carried away, Eriri's attention was caught:
"Huh? Why'd you stop?"
She blinked in confusion. Rei Ao gestured silently with his eyes.
Standing at the rooftop entrance, clad in dark stockings, was Kasumigaoka Utahamouth agape, staring in disbelief at Eriri's half-flirtatious, half-sultry behavior. She had apparently come up to the rooftop for some peace and quiet to work on her writing, only to witnessthis scene.
Shiha froze there, heart pounding:
(Should I say something or quietly back away?)
Rei Ao separated himself from Eriri, tidying both of their appearances:
"It looks like we have company, Eriri."
"Whowho's there?"
Eriri, her mind a swirl of passion, tried to refocus. She turned around and spotted Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Utaha raised one corner of her lips awkwardly:
"I I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"
Eriri's face flushed from pink to near crimson. After stepping away from Rei Ao and hastily straightening her skirt, she felt both mortified and frustrated. There goes the perfect chance for some intimate time
"What are you doing here?"
Eriri's tone brimmed with annoyance as she glared at Utaha. If this meddling "big black stocking demon" hadn't shown up, she and Rei Ao could have enjoyed a sweet, ahem, somewhat indecent midday rendezvous.
Kasumigaoka Utaha, sensing Eriri's hostility, simply folded her arms beneath her ample chest and coolly looked down at the shorter girl:
"Heh, this is the school rooftop, you know. It's not as if you, Eriri, are the only person allowed to be here. And I came up here to get some peace and quiet to work on my manuscriptunlike certain people who come here to indulge themselves."
Her faintly sarcastic tone made Eriri's cheeks puff in anger:
"You!"
She wanted to yell, but then realized starting an argument with Utaha, whose acid tongue was well known, might only end in Eriri's defeat. Grinding her teeth, she just grabbed Rei Ao by the arm and walked off to the other side of the rooftop, ignoring Utaha altogether.
Once they got some distance from the unwelcome third party, Eriri opened up a lunchbox:
"My mom made a bento for us. Here, let's eat it together."
"Sure."
Rei Ao was perfectly calm about having been interrupted. He didn't seem too upset that they couldn't do anything truly private. After all, there would be plenty of future opportunities to be intimate with Eriri. In fact, he sometimes thought about Eriri's mother, too but that was a different story.
The lunch that Eriri's mother, Mrs. Sawamura, had prepared was lavish. Full of rice, fresh fruits and vegetables, sweet and savory dishes, and even shrimp and fishclearly extra-fancy.
Eriri pouted: "Mom never went so overboard when cooking for me alone. But as soon as I said I'd be sharing lunch with you it turns into this big feast."
She softly complained about her mother's "blatant favoritism." Then she picked up some food with chopsticks.
"Rei Ao, say 'Ahhh~'I'll feed you!"
They began a little feeding game, sweetly giving each other bites.
A few steps away, leaning against the rooftop fence, Kasumigaoka Utaha sat on the ground with her back to the wall, her laptop or phone on her knees. She'd intended to work on her writing. However, with the pair's constant murmuring of sweet nothings, she couldn't focus at all. In fact, the screen she'd been "writing" on was simply full of the word "Ughhhhh!" repeated.
She felt unbelievably annoyed. Instead of the quiet environment she wanted, she was stuck in the middle of Eriri's lovesick flirting. Even if they were only feeding each other right now, who knew if they'd escalate again?
She threw them a glare from time to time, only to see the couple on the other end go from sweetly feeding each other to hugging and kissing again. That was the last straw for her nerves:
(They see me right here, yet they keep on playing lovers so openly Are they trying to kill me with second-hand embarrassment?)
She clenched her jaw, forcibly suppressing the urge to lash out at them with her toxic mouth. Because in this school, any confrontation with Rei Aosomeone beyond ordinary humanswould end badly for her. So she could only swallow her anger and remain silent, fuming in place.
~~~
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Chapter 494: Heretic God, Melqart
Campione! World.
On the island of Sardinia.
"Damn it, is it too late?"
Standing on the street, Erica's expression was grim and her face extremely unpleasant.
Since she knew a Heretic God might descend, her first priority was to evacuate the populace of Sardinia under the pretense of a massive natural disaster.
However, just when the evacuation was underway, an unexpected incident occurred.
"Boom!!!"
A deafening thunderclap awakened the sleeping island of Sardinia.
A cataclysm had begun.
At first, only a few dark clouds appeared in the sky.
They slowly gathered together, forming a colossal cloud layer over Sardinia.
As time passed, the clouds grew thicker and darker in color, as if a black ocean were hanging upside down in the sky.
A sense of depression and heaviness enveloped the island.
Then, torrential rain poured down from above.
On the sea's surface, huge waves began to surge.
The waves grew higher and higher, crashing relentlessly against the island's coastline with thunderous roars.
Howling winds rose as well, toppling trees, destroying houses, and blowing cars away, plunging Sardinia into utter chaos.
It was a storm, exactly matching what Erica and the island's authorities had warned the public abouta colossal natural disaster.
But in truth, it wasn't natural at all.
Erica knew it was a man-made catastrophe.
Or rather, this storm had been triggered by a Heretic God.
At the heart of the storm, the air pressure plummeted, forming a powerful low-pressure zone.
This zone drew in surrounding air, creating a gigantic vortex.
Winds within the vortex grew ever faster, surpassing hundreds of kilometers per hour, sucking seawater up into the sky and producing a spectacular water spout.
As the storm intensified, it began spreading into the surrounding sea, wherever it passed, it raised monstrous waves, trying to obliterate anything that dared stand in its path.
This once-peaceful island now stood on the verge of collapse, at risk of being completely destroyed by the storm at any moment.
Erica used magic to maintain her footing amid the storm, her gaze fixed upon its center.
Lightning split the sky.
Illuminated by the flashes, one could see a towering figure standing at the storm's core
the Heretic God who brought with him an overpowering aura of divine might.
That Heretic God was Melqart!
He is the King of Gods!
A mighty warrior!
The most fearsome dragon-slaying hunter!
Melqart is the ancient Phoenician king of gods (the Ugaritic pantheon led by Baal).
He is originally named Baal.
His mythological image was often passed into Greek tradition, becoming the prototype for the hero Heracles.
In Christian culture, he is also the Demon Lord of Gluttony, one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
