Next Bonus, 400PS!
Very long chapter.
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"System, claim my rewards!"
On the way back.
Kai still had a joyful look on his face.
There was no helping it, after experiencing something like that, it was hard not to be in a fantastic mood.
Coincidentally, Kai hadn't forgotten the quests he had just completed. There were nearly ten of them. He genuinely hadn't expected that stacking them together would actually trigger even more quests to pop up.
It was a completely unexpected surprise.
However, If that was truly how it worked, it seemed he could definitely stack them a few more times in the future.
Not for any other reason, purely just for the rewards.
[Congratulations to the Host]
[Reward: 500,000 Yen in cash]
[Congratulations to the Host]
[Reward: Master-level driving skill]
[...]
The System's reaction was very fast. Basically, the moment Kai spoke, the system's rewards began rolling out.
But the drop rates for these rewards were inconsistent. Looking at the cash rewards now, Kai felt utterly bored.
After all, he was no longer in a situation where he needed to constantly worry about money like before.
To the current Kai, this stuff was merely a minor bonus, nothing to get excited over.
Fortunately, with nearly ten quest rewards, even if the drop rate wasn't very high, it still managed to spit out a few genuinely excellent items for him.
[Congratulations to the Host]
[Reward: Hado #31: Shakkaho]
[Congratulations to the Host]
[Reward: Lightning Release: Chidori Spear]
[Congratulations to the Host]
[Reward: Rokushiki: Shigan]
[...]
Good lord. Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece—he had collected a full set of them all.
The Destructive Hado from Bleach, the Lightning Release from Naruto, and one of the six superhuman martial arts techniques from the One Piece world.
They were all exceptionally good offensive methods. Combined with the abilities he had obtained previously...
Kai realized something.
Even without relying on Cursed Spirit Manipulation, his current self could easily obliterate Cursed Spirits.
Not bad at all!
Although the drop rate was average, Kai was still satisfied with this haul.
His already fantastic mood grew even better.
"Hmm?" He had originally assumed that by the time he got back at this hour, Sakiko Togawa would already be fast asleep.
As a result, the moment he walked up the stairs, Kai saw Sakiko sitting outside her door, her entire face buried in her arms.
She seemed to be sobbing softly.
"What happened?"
'Did someone bully Sakiko?' Realizing this possibility, Kai's gaze instantly turned razor-sharp and dangerously cold.
Anyone who dared to bully his people was practically begging for death.
"Kai-kun!"
Hearing Kai's voice...
Sakiko reacted as if she had just found her ultimate lifeline. Without even waiting for him to ask, she threw herself directly into his arms.
Her crying grew even louder.
"I'm here! I'm here! Everything is going to be okay. Don't worry, no matter what happens, I will always be right here."
It was quite rare to see Sakiko acting like this.
Kai's voice involuntarily softened considerably.
He gently comforted her.
"THE MONEY... THE MONEY IS GONE!" Finally, after crying for a long while, Sakiko managed to stammer out the source of her despair.
"The money?"
Kai genuinely hadn't expected this to be the reason behind her tears.
————————————————————
Soon after.
Kai followed Sakiko back into the neighboring apartment. This was where Sakiko lived. The floor was littered with empty liquor bottles and half-eaten bento boxes.
Whenever Sakiko didn't have the time to clean up for a while, this garbage would quickly pile up into a literal mountain.
Kiyotsugu Togawa never lifted a finger to clean it.
"Kai-kun..."
Showing him this scene made Sakiko feel incredibly embarrassed.
Even though she had already lost face in front of Kai more than once, she still desperately wanted to maintain whatever tiny shred of pride she had left.
"It's fine. Don't worry, just leave everything to me!"
Kai's reassuring words gradually settled the intense panic in Sakiko's heart.
Perhaps she had finally accepted Kai as her sole pillar of support. The gaze she directed at him began to fill with deep attachment. "Thank you. Even after seeing me in such a pathetic state, you still haven't abandoned me."
"It was right here!"
Sakiko led Kai to the exact spot where she always hid her savings.
It was in a secluded corner of the wardrobe. Previously, she had carefully stored everything inside a small pouch. But now, only the empty pouch remained, all the cash was gone. To make matters worse, her tuition money for the second half of the year had been in there too.
Thinking of this...
The rims of Sakiko's eyes began to turn violently red all over again.
Compared to Sakiko, Kai appeared vastly more calm and collected.
"Even a burglar wouldn't think to look in a spot like this, right?"
Under normal circumstances, even if a thief did break in, seeing the absolutely trashed state of the apartment, they wouldn't assume there was any money to be found here. Let alone go through the trouble of tearing the wardrobe apart to search for a hidden stash.
Inexplicably, Kai suddenly remembered the sight of Kiyotsugu Togawa earlier that day, dressed to the nines and looking perfectly groomed, as if he were heading out for a blind date.
"Is he not back yet?"
"Him?"
Hearing this, Sakiko froze for a second before her face instantly turned dark.
That's right... If it wasn't a burglar from the outside, it could only be a thief from within the family.
Furthermore, it wasn't as if there was no precedent for this kind of behavior. Kiyotsugu Togawa had previously stolen Sakiko's hard-earned part-time wages to play pachinko, blowing every single yen until nothing was left.
She immediately pulled out her phone.
She dialed his number several times, but no one answered.
"It's not going through!"
Her expression grew more severe. Especially when she imagined him taking the money she had worked so painstakingly hard to save and blowing it on alcohol and women outside, Sakiko's fists clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white.
She genuinely wished she could personally march over and punch him right in the face.
"Actually, finding someone isn't a difficult task at all."
"?"
Seeing Sakiko lift her head and look at him in sheer confusion.
Kai suddenly smiled.
"To be honest, there's something I've been keeping a secret from you all this time. I was just worried that if you found out, you might be terrified of me, or even hate me."
An idea sparked in his mind, instantly formulating yet another routine to win Sakiko over.
"How is that even possible? Why would I ever react like that?"
Sakiko blurted out the words without a single second of hesitation.
How could she possibly ever hate Kai? The very thought had never even crossed her mind.
Regarding her response.
Kai simply offered a noncommittal smile before speaking in a soft tone.
"Do you believe that Cursed Spirits actually exist in this world? The exact kind of terrifying monsters depicted in horror movies?"
"???"
That question was entirely out of left field.
Sakiko was even more bewildered now.
She had originally assumed that Kai had done something terrible in his past. She had even made up her mind that no matter how horrible his past actions were, she was fully willing to face the consequences right alongside him.
And the result?
He suddenly started talking about the occult. Wasn't that a rather massive leap in logic?
Her utter confusion was entirely within Kai's expectations.
"What if I told you that these Cursed Spirits are real, and that I even have the power to control them?"
As he spoke.
Kai clapped his hands together.
With a surge of Cursed Energy, the space directly behind Kai began to violently fracture, forming several dark, jagged rifts.
"ROARRRRR!"
In the very next second.
Under Sakiko dumbfounded gaze, several hideous Cursed Spirits under Kai's command slowly materialized from the cracks.
"This...!" She subconsciously took a step back.
Staring at these grotesque, terrifying, and bizarrely shaped Cursed Spirits...
Absolutely anyone would have exactly this kind of reaction upon seeing them for the very first time.
"I knew it..." Taking in Sakiko's reaction, Kai's face appropriately morphed into an expression of deep, self-deprecating melancholy. "Anyone who sees monsters like this would naturally feel terrified. I was just so worried... worried that if people found out I had this kind of power, they would fear me, that they would—"
"I WON'T!!!" Before Kai could even finish his sentence.
Having completely snapped back to reality, Sakiko suddenly shouted, aggressively cutting him off.
Without another word, she immediately lunged forward and threw her arms tightly around Kai.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
She didn't say anything else, just continuously, repeatedly thanked him.
Feeling Sakiko grip his clothes in a death hold, Kai slightly raised an eyebrow. 'Did I overact a bit?'
"Thank you so much for being willing to share a secret like this with me." Staring directly into Kai's eyes, Sakiko's tone was more serious and resolute than it had ever been before.
She genuinely hadn't expected Kai to reveal such an incredibly massive, world-shattering secret to her.
In Sakiko's eyes, this meant he unconditionally trusted her without a single reservation. Otherwise, why would he ever confide something so dangerous to her?
Thinking of this...
Sakiko's gaze gradually turned intense. "Kai-kun! I LOVE YOU! I really should have said this a long time ago. I love you. No matter what happens, I want to be with you, because I love you!"
Perhaps she had long since subconsciously started treating him as her ultimate pillar of support.
It was just...
Driven by her own stubborn pride, Sakiko had desperately wanted to prove her own worth and capabilities first before finally confessing her feelings to him.
But after everything that had just happened, Sakiko realized that there were some things, some words, that simply shouldn't be delayed. At the very least, right here and right now, she desperately wanted to lay her entire heart bare for Kai.
Holy… that was a fierce confession.
"P-Please say something!"
Having not received a response from Kai, Sakiko suddenly started to feel nervous.
'No way, did I misread the situation?'
'Does Kai not actually have those kinds of feelings for me?'
Realizing this terrible possibility, the color rapidly drained from Sakiko's face.
Kai didn't say a word. Instead, he directly pulled her into a tight embrace, using his actions to perfectly convey his own feelings. "I actually should have been the one to say that first. I love you too!"
"Ahem. Saki, what I meant was, tracking him down normally might be difficult, but by utilizing the power of a Cursed Spirit, it should be remarkably simple!"
"Mhm!" Leaning comfortably against Kai's chest, Sakiko simply gave a nod.
She had already said everything she needed to say anyway.
Sakiko no longer felt the need to hide or suppress herself in front of Kai. Her attitude now was genuinely worlds apart from how she usually acted.
"Kai-kun, please help me. At the very least, I need to know exactly what is going through that man's head."
Thinking about her father, Sakiko's gaze hardened considerably.
Even though she had long since given up all hope on him, he was still technically her father. At the bare minimum, she needed to know exactly what her hard-earned money had been blown on.
"Since when do we need to be so polite with each other?"
Kai chuckled softly, reaching out to gently tip Sakiko's chin upward.
If it were before...
Faced with such a direct, intimate gesture from Kai, Sakiko would definitely feel quite shy and awkward.
But the current Sakiko didn't want to overthink anything. She solely wanted to wholeheartedly cooperate with her boyfriend.
"This Cursed Spirit is amazing!"
Looking at the Cursed Spirit floating directly in front of them, leading the way.
A flash of sheer amazement crossed Sakiko's eyes. She genuinely hadn't expected that by simply using a few of her father's old clothes, it could perfectly lock onto his current location.
Furthermore, no matter how far away he was, the Cursed Spirit could still track him down.
Even the most elite trained tracking dogs wouldn't be able to pull off something like this.
Along the way, Kai had already told Sakiko about his encounter with her father earlier that day.
Initially, Sakiko had genuinely suspected that her father might actually be trying to find her a stepmother. That was a concept Sakiko absolutely could not stomach, no matter how hard she tried.
By the time they finally arrived at the destination...
Looking at the glaringly abandoned, dilapidated mansion sitting before them, Sakiko couldn't help but shoot Kai a deeply confused sidelong glance.
"Here?" Even if they weren't at the woman's house, they should at least be at some sort of hotel, right?
Why on earth would they run all the way out to an abandoned mansion in the middle of nowhere?
"Maybe your dad just has a really specific fetish for places like this?"
He shrugged.
Kai simply couldn't resist dropping a teasing remark.
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Sakiko shot him an exasperated eye roll. However, perhaps because her mind had suddenly conjured a highly specific image, an unnatural flush crept across her cheeks.
After all.
Sakiko had indeed seen some... questionable movie plots before.
"If you ever want to try it out, Saki, I would be more than happy to accommodate you!"
Right at that moment, Kai suddenly leaned close to her ear and whispered softly.
"?"
'Try what? Try what out?'
But seeing Kai use his eyes to explicitly gesture toward the dilapidated, abandoned mansion in front of them, Sakiko's face burned bright red. She lightly slapped his arm.
"D-Don't say such ridiculous things! I absolutely do not want to try that!"
Even if she actually did want to try it out, there was no way she could ever say something so embarrassing out loud.
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