Kawasaki Saki looked at the drunkard, who had been kicked unconscious by Kanjuro and suffered a burn to his eye, and then at the suspicious and uncertain gazes around her. Her cheeks burned slightly as a mix of gratitude, embarrassment, and unease surged in her heart. She was indeed grateful to Kanjuro for resolving the situation, but this method... it was too violent and direct, leaving her unsure of how to face him for a moment.
Just then, the manager, who had heard the commotion, pushed through the crowd. Seeing the mess and the injured guest, his face turned ashen. He was about to scold Kawasaki Saki for causing trouble and might even take it out on Kanjuro and the others for being there.
However, before he could speak, Kanjuro acted first. Without even looking at the manager, he casually pulled out a thick stack of ten-thousand-yen bills from his coat—judging by the thickness, it was nearly a million yen—and tossed them onto the table in front of the manager like scrap paper, letting out a dull thud.
The sight of the scattered bills instantly drew everyone's gaze.
Only then did Kanjuro lift his eyelids, lazily glancing at the dumbfounded manager, his tone flat but carrying an unquestionable weight:
"Is this enough to cover your losses and that trash's medical bills? From now on, I'm looking after Kawasaki Saki's work here. Are you... satisfied?"
Looking at the stack of bills that amounted to several days' worth of income for his bar, the manager's anger was instantly replaced by joy and greed. He bowed and scraped incessantly, scooping the bills into his arms with a fawning smile: "Satisfied! Very satisfied! You are too generous, young master! It's nothing, it's nothing! Just a small misunderstanding! Saki, make sure to treat your friends well!"
Kawasaki Saki watched the manager's sycophantic behavior and Kanjuro's casual attitude of settling everything with money. The small amount of gratitude she had felt was instantly diluted by a strange sense of humiliation and anger. She frowned deeply, staring at Kanjuro: "Kanjuro, what exactly do you mean by this? I don't need you to..."
"Let's go, we'll talk outside first." Kanjuro interrupted her, his tone brooking no refusal as he led the way out of the bar.
Kawasaki Saki bit her lip, glanced at her worried brother Taishi, then at Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama, and finally followed with her brother in tow. Yukinoshita Yukino followed expressionlessly, while Yui Yuigahama blinked and quickly caught up.
Stepping out of the bar, the cool night breeze eased the atmosphere slightly.
"I didn't expect it to be solved so easily!" Yui Yuigahama patted her chest, smiling with a bit of delayed realization.
Hearing this, a faint, mocking curve appeared at the corner of Kanjuro's mouth: "Little Yui, you're still too naive. Remember, in this world, there are very few problems that money can't solve. If it can't be solved, it's just because there isn't enough money."
"Is that so?" Yukinoshita Yukino's cold voice immediately rang out in rebuttal. "Money might buy temporary obedience and material compensation, but you say it can solve everything? Even spiritual dilemmas? I beg to differ." She raised her chin slightly, her ice-blue eyes filled with unconcealed doubt. "Furthermore, I have never lacked money since I was a child, and because of that, I am even more aware of its limitations. It cannot buy true respect and recognition."
Kanjuro seemed disinclined to engage in such a pointless argument with Yukinoshita. He directly ignored her barbed words, his gaze falling back onto the complex expression and tightly pursed lips of Kawasaki Saki.
Under the astonished gazes of the others, he reached into his coat again, this time pulling out a thin bank passbook card. He casually handed it to Kawasaki Saki, his tone as flat as if he were handing out a flyer:
"Here, this is for you."
Kawasaki Saki took it subconsciously. By the light of the streetlamp, she saw the embossed information on the card and the long string of numbers that made her breath stop—Balance: 100,000,000 Yen!
One hundred million yen!
Her hand began to tremble violently, as if the light card weighed a thousand pounds and was nearly impossible to hold. She looked up at Kanjuro in disbelief, her voice dry and hoarse from extreme shock: "This... this... you..."
"This should be enough to pay for your and your brother's future tuition, as well as living expenses for a long time, right?" Kanjuro's tone was devoid of any emotion, as if he hadn't just given away a fortune that could change an ordinary person's life, but merely a trivial drink.
The massive impact left Kawasaki Saki's mind blank. With this money, all her economic pressure would vanish; she could quit all her grueling part-time jobs, focus on her studies, get Taishi new clothes and more nutritious food, and move out of that cramped, dilapidated apartment... This was a luxury she hadn't even dared to dream of during countless exhausted nights.
Her heart was like a lake into which a giant boulder had been thrown, waves of desire and reason clashing wildly. Her fingertips turned white from the force of her grip, and her body leaned forward slightly—an instinctive urge to grasp this 'luck' that had fallen from the sky.
However, a few seconds later, she snapped her eyes shut and took a deep breath of the cold night air. When she opened them again, although shock remained, there was more of a determined stubbornness. She forcefully shoved the passbook card back into Kanjuro's hand, her movement so fast it was almost rude, as if the card might burn her.
"Kanjuro... thank you for your... 'kindness'." Her voice was still trembling, but every word was clear. "But I can't take this money."
She straightened her back, which usually looked tired from work and school, and averted her eyes from the tempting card to look into the deep night. Her tone carried the inviolable dignity unique to those struggling at the bottom:
"Taishi's and my life are our own responsibility. Tuition, living expenses—I will earn them back honorably, yen by yen, with my own two hands! We... don't need anyone's charity!"
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
Yui Yuigahama covered her mouth, her large eyes full of disbelief. Yukinoshita Yukino looked at Kawasaki Saki's figure—so slight in the night yet incredibly firm—and a faint, almost imperceptible flicker of approval flashed in her cold eyes.
Kanjuro looked down at the passbook card that had been forced back into his hand, and his usual, effortless smile faltered slightly. He lightly tapped the card with his fingertip, making a soft clicking sound, and then a low, inscrutable chuckle escaped his throat.
"Heh... Honorably?"
He looked up, his gaze falling once more on Kawasaki Saki's stubborn face. This time, there was less playfulness in his deep eyes and more of a genuine, intense interest, like he had discovered a rare specimen.
"Kawasaki Saki, you really are... even more 'interesting' than I imagined." Yukinoshita Yukino's cold voice was exceptionally clear in the night, carrying unconcealed sarcasm: "It seems that in this world, there are indeed things money cannot buy, such as... the human heart." She looked pointedly at the passbook card that Kawasaki Saki had firmly rejected.
Hearing this, Kanjuro simply laughed aloud without offering a rebuttal. His smile contained an arrogance that saw through everything but couldn't be bothered to explain. Neither Yukinoshita nor Kawasaki Saki knew that it was precisely this rejection, this stubborn 'dignity,' that acted like the most tempting bait, completely triggering the twisted desire for manipulation deep within Kanjuro. He was used to control and dominance, and Kawasaki Saki's 'insubordination' became a novel challenge in his eyes that needed to be 'corrected.'
He didn't persist in giving the money, instead switching to an incredibly gentle and considerate tone: "It's getting late, let me take you and your brother home first." He looked at Kawasaki Saki, who was forcing herself to be stubborn but couldn't hide her exhaustion, and softened his voice even more. "It's fine if you don't want the money; I just don't want you to work too hard. As for tuition... if you feel that accepting a gift is a burden, then how about this: come 'work' for me, and I'll pay you a salary. That should be fine, right? Honorable earnings from labor."
These words sounded perfectly reasonable, full of consideration and respect. Kawasaki Saki looked at the sincere (feigned) expression on his handsome face and listened to the arrangements he made for her benefit (on the surface). Her days of exhaustion and pressure seemed to find a harbor to temporarily lean on, and her eyes couldn't help but turn slightly red. She lowered her head and whispered, "Tha... thank you, Kanjuro. You really are a... good person."
(A good person?) Kanjuro sneered inwardly, but his face remained impeccably gentle.
"Yukino, Little Yui, you two head back first," Kanjuro said to the other two.
Yukinoshita Yukino looked at Kanjuro suspiciously, feeling that something was hidden behind his current gentleness, but for the moment, she couldn't find a reason to insist on staying. Although Yui Yuigahama was reluctant to leave Kanjuro, she nodded obediently: "Then... Ye Xiao-oniichan, see you tomorrow!"
After watching the two leave, Kanjuro naturally took Kawasaki Taishi's hand and walked side-by-side with Kawasaki Saki down the dim street leading to her home. Kawasaki Saki looked at the boy beside her who had just 'helped' her and was now being so considerate; her heart was filled with complex gratitude and a faint, indefinable trace of emotion.
Pushing open the somewhat old door of the Kawasaki home, a sense of poverty but cleanliness greeted them. The house was bare, the furniture simple and even a bit worn, but it was spotless.
A little girl, who looked even younger than Taishi and had her hair in pigtails, heard the noise and ran over like a cheerful little bird. She looked up curiously at the stranger, Kanjuro, and asked in a milky voice, "Big sister, who is this very handsome big brother?"
Kawasaki Saki looked at her younger sister, her gaze softening. She took a deep breath and introduced, "Keika, this is my classmate, Big Brother Kanjuro." She turned her head and gestured to Kanjuro, "Kanjuro, please have a seat. Our home is a bit simple..."
Kanjuro sat down with a smile, his gaze sweeping across the small space without a trace before finally landing on the little girl named Kawasaki Keika. A subtle hint of appreciation flashed in his eyes.
(Oh? There's another one...)
(These sisters both have quite good looks; the elder is stubborn and independent, while the younger is innocent and cute... they are both... excellent materials.)
His gaze passed over Kawasaki Saki's delicate yet resilient face as if evaluating a work of art, then settled on Kawasaki Keika's pure and innocent large eyes.
However, when his gaze inadvertently swept over Taishi Kawasaki, who was standing quietly and somewhat shyly to the side, that hint of appreciation instantly faded, transformed into a faint, almost imperceptible trace of annoyance.
(It's this kid... he's a bit of an eyesore.)
An insignificant, redundant... male.
In this picture of a "new family" consisting of the "mother and daughters" trio that he was about to (perhaps) dominate, he seemed completely out of place.
Kanjuro's face still maintained a gentle smile, appearing like an enthusiastic friend caring for a classmate, but the dark calculations in his heart had already begun to quietly turn. How to "help" Kawasaki Saki, how to "accept" the cute Keika, and... how to "dispose" of that slightly redundant "obstacle"—Taishi Kawasaki. All of this gradually took on a clear outline within his eternally eighteen-year-old heart, which had long been soaked in curses. The night was deep, and the streetlights blurred into hazy halos in the damp air. Kanjuro looked at Kawasaki Saki's stubborn and slender back, the curve of interest at the corner of his mouth not yet dissipated. He suddenly raised his hand and gently beckoned with his finger toward Kawasaki Saki and her younger sister, Kawasaki Keika, who looked seven or eight parts similar to Saki but several years younger and was subconsciously following closely beside her sister.
"Saki, Keika, come here." His voice carried an irresistible magnetic quality, like an ancient incantation.
Kawasaki Saki's body stiffened slightly; her heart instinctively wanted to resist, but her feet seemed to disobey her will, moving slowly toward Kanjuro with a hint of confusion. Her younger sister, Keika, also followed timidly behind her sister.
The two walked up to Kanjuro and stood there somewhat at a loss. Kanjuro didn't say anything more; he simply reached out his arms and, in a gesture that seemed intimate but was actually full of control, gently pulled the Kawasaki sisters, Saki and Keika, into his embrace.
This sudden intimate contact caused both sisters' bodies to stiffen simultaneously. Saki, in particular, felt a flush of shame and anger rush to her face, and just as she was about to struggle—
It was already too late.
In Kanjuro's eyes, a light as profound as a cosmic abyss suddenly lit up, transcending the spectrum that human vision could capture.
[Gospel of Luke: Spacetime Tampering]—Activate!
An invisible and intangible, yet massive cold torrent capable of distorting reality instantly enveloped Kawasaki Saki and Kawasaki Keika with Kanjuro as the center. The laws of time and space were forcibly pried and rewritten at this moment.
The sisters' brains were like solitary boats thrown into a storm as a violent sense of vertigo hit them. Their real memories were like paintings torn by a gale, shattering and peeling away inch by inch... The image of their biological father in their memories, who had died young in an accident and remained only as a blurred outline and a sad story their mother occasionally mentioned, began to rapidly fade and dissipate, as if thoroughly erased by an eraser.
In its place was another set of meticulously woven, detailed, and emotionally rich "new" memories. Like molten steel, they were forcibly poured and branded into the deepest parts of their consciousness:
Childhood: It was their young father, Kanjuro, always carrying a gentle smile, taking turns carrying them on his shoulders to see the summer festival fireworks; it was Kanjuro teaching Saki how to ride a bike by hand, holding it steadily from behind, and making funny faces to cheer up Keika when she cried after falling.
Growing up: It was Kanjuro attending their parent-teacher meetings, calmly responding when others were surprised by his overly young appearance, saying he maintained himself well; it was when they had adolescent troubles, they would confide in this "open-minded and reliable" father; it was at the family dinner table, Kanjuro listening to them tell interesting stories from school, his eyes filled with doting light.
Reality: Because of the special nature of his work, their father Kanjuro often needed to go on business trips and thus wasn't home often, but he would always regularly send back a generous living allowance to ensure they and their mother lived without worry. They had always grown up in a "complete" and "happy" family... These false memories, carrying a warm glow and genuine emotional feedback, frantically covered and replaced their real past, which was full of hardship and absence. Not just memories, but a deeper level of "cognition" and "emotional bonds" were also forcibly shaped and solidified.
When that terrifying surge of power receded like a tide, Kanjuro released his arms.
Kawasaki Saki and Kawasaki Keika swayed with dazed eyes for a moment before steadying themselves. When they looked at Kanjuro again, the distance, vigilance, and previous anger and shame had vanished, replaced by a natural sense of closeness filled with admiration and dependence.
"Daddy?" Kawasaki Keika called out instinctively in a soft, slightly coquettish voice, as if she had used this title thousands of times.
Although Kawasaki Saki didn't call out immediately, she looked at Kanjuro with a complex gaze. There was no longer any rejection, only a hint of embarrassment from being seen working in such a place by her "father," and a sense of security from the sudden appearance of her "father" that was deeply rooted in her memory. She whispered, "You... why did you come so suddenly? And even saw me in a place like this..."
Taishi Kawasaki, who had been ignored on the side, watched as his two sisters' attitudes toward Kanjuro suddenly changed drastically, even calling out a title he had never heard before. His small head completely failed to understand this instantaneous upheaval. He only knew that this strange man had embraced his sisters, and his sisters had become very strange.
"Let go of my sisters! You bad man! Get away from my sisters!" Taishi Kawasaki plucked up his courage and rushed forward, pushing and shoving Kanjuro with all his might, his small face full of anxiety and anger.
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