Chapter 36: Family Head? How Can That Be More Important Than My Bath!
"Baka! You're Rovel, aren't you?" one of the players snarled, his face contorted with rage and humiliation. "You damn dog from Shenzhou! The Funahiki family will remember this!"
He spun on his heel, intending to flee and preserve his level, but he never took a second step. With a flicker of movement too fast to track, Raiden Mei was behind him. A single, elegant kick connected with his back, and the man dissolved into a shower of glittering data fragments.
The few remaining players stared in horror, their bravado evaporating into sheer panic. They were not spared. Mei dispatched them with an almost casual grace, her movements a blur of precise, lethal strikes. Within moments, the clearing was silent once more.
Mei delicately brushed off the non-existent dust from her hands. When she turned back to face Rovel, the cold, efficient warrior was gone, replaced by the gentle, warm-hearted girl he had been sharing dessert with only minutes before. A slight pout touched her lips.
"Honestly," she complained, her voice laced with a soft, lingering annoyance. "A perfectly good date, and it gets interrupted by these boring Descenders."
It was a sentiment she truly felt. Of all the so-called Descenders she had encountered since the game began, only Rovel had been a pleasant presence. The rest brought her nothing but trouble and frustration. She still remembered the one who had tried to interfere while her father was being arrested, a chaotic encounter that had ultimately prevented her from even learning where they had taken him.
And now, this group had ruined her time with Rovel. How could she not be annoyed?
"Just think of it as a bit of exercise to help digest the dessert we just ate," Rovel offered, his voice a soothing balm.
Mei considered this for a moment, and a small smile bloomed on her face, chasing away the clouds of her irritation. "Hmm, that's a good way to look at it."
In the real world, a high-tech game pod hissed open, and a young man emerged, his face a mask of incandescent rage. Funahiki Shin ripped the neural helmet from his head, his knuckles white.
"That damn dog from Shenzhou!" he roared to the empty room, before stabbing a button on his intercom. "Find him! Put a bounty on him in Nagazora City! I don't care what it costs! As long as that Level 31 NPC isn't glued to his side, I want him killed on sight! I want to make him regret ever crossing the Funahiki family!"
He paced the room like a caged tiger. "And check his real-life identity! Rovel Suou… he has to be from Shenzhou. I want to know exactly who has the audacity to defy us!"
A butler, standing discreetly to the side, bowed low and hurried to dispatch his master's orders.
Not long after, the door to the lavish suite slid open, and another man walked in. He bore a resemblance to Shin, but his posture was calmer, his expression more composed. The moment Shin saw him, his already foul mood curdled into something uglier.
"What are you doing here?" he spat.
The newcomer was his younger brother, Funahiki Mi.
Shin's resentment toward his brother was a bitter pill he was forced to swallow daily. Mi was luckier, more cunning. He had already maneuvered himself into a position to communicate with an executive from Anti-Entropy, and through that connection, he had even secured a titan mecha.
Granted, Mi hadn't yet mastered the titan's controls, but in a few days, he was scheduled to acquire the [Basic Mecha Piloting (Green)] skill. Once he did, he would be able to pilot the titan and single-handedly obliterate Death Soldiers—a feat that would skyrocket his prestige. It was because of this titan that the family's elders had begun to quietly shift their resources and favor toward him.
Now, having died in the game, Shin had suffered a level penalty and was locked out for twenty-four hours. The gap between him and his brother would only widen. Barring a miracle, Funahiki Mi's ascension to the position of family heir was all but a certainty.
"Big brother, I trust you've been well." A smug, condescending smile played on Funahiki Mi's lips. He knew perfectly well that Shin had just been killed in the game; he had come here for the sole purpose of rubbing salt in the wound. "I heard you were killed by an NPC. How fortunate. It gives you a whole day to rest."
As expected, Mi's words landed like a physical blow. The color drained from Shin's face, leaving it a grim, stony mask.
"If you only came here to spout such nonsense, then please leave," Shin said, his voice tight with suppressed fury as he pointed a trembling finger toward the door.
Funahiki Mi acted as if he hadn't heard a word. He strolled casually to the side table, picked up a crystal decanter of wine, and poured himself a glass. Settling onto the plush sofa, he took a small, deliberate sip before continuing.
"Big brother, do you know why you can never beat me? Even without 'Honkai,' you should be well aware that the next heir of the Funahiki family could only ever be me."
Mi didn't raise his voice. Instead, he let the words hang in the air, low and haunting, each one a carefully placed needle.
"Tch…" Shin curled his lip, turning away. He hated to admit it, but his brother was right. Even though he was the eldest, Mi surpassed him in every conceivable way. The game 'Honkai' hadn't been an opportunity for Mi; it had been an opportunity for him—a chance to finally close the gap. A chance he was now squandering.
"Rovel Suou…" Mi continued, his tone shifting from mockery to cold analysis. "A player capable of building such a strong relationship with a high-level NPC that she would personally eliminate enemies for him. You should be learning from him, not starting a feud over a few pathetic experience points."
He paused, letting the weight of his assessment settle. "If we could have recruited him, if we had simply asked him how he did it, the benefits to the Funahiki family—not to mention your own standing—would have been immense."
Mi stood up, his gaze sweeping over his brother, his eyes filled with an undisguised, chilling contempt.
"And you, my foolish brother, threw away such a golden opportunity. Just like that."
"You…!" The rage in Shin's chest was so potent it felt like a physical pain in his liver, yet he was powerless to retaliate.
"Let's leave it at that," Mi declared, his voice now carrying the unmistakable ring of command. "Cancel the bounty on Rovel Suou. And the moment you have any news of his whereabouts, you will notify me immediately."
Without waiting for a reply, and completely ignoring the apoplectic state of his older brother, Funahiki Mi turned and walked out, his posture radiating an aura of absolute superiority.
For the remainder of their time together, Rovel and Mei encountered no further interruptions. It was, by all accounts, a date that could be considered a qualified success.
That evening, Rovel was invited to the Raiden household for dinner, where he once again had the pleasure of tasting the handiwork of the "Cooking Lady." The meal was so exquisite that it registered as a tangible boost within the game.
[Your four primary attributes have increased by +1.]
Rovel's base attributes were now all at a solid 70, and he still had 14 free attribute points to allocate.
He was in the middle of a pleasant chat with Mei when a game notification suddenly chimed, signaling an incoming call. It wasn't Yuki, however. The name displayed on the virtual screen was one he hadn't expected to see.
As he read the two words—'Family Head'—Rovel's brow furrowed, and a flicker of ice passed through his eyes.
"Sorry, Mei, something's come up. I think I might have to leave first," he said, his voice tinged with a genuine apology as he prepared to say his goodbyes.
"...Is something troubling you?" Raiden Mei asked, her perceptive gaze catching the subtle, dark shift in his expression.
"Someone from my world is looking for me. Don't worry, it's nothing," Rovel said, shaking his head and offering her a thin, reassuring smile.
"Okay. Then… goodbye, Mr. Ruobai," Mei replied, a hint of reluctance in her voice.
"Goodbye, Mei." Rovel nodded, and with a final glance, he logged off, leaving the world of Honkai behind.
Stepping out of the game pod, Rovel saw the same two words—'Family Head'—glowing on his phone's screen. He stared at it, his thumb hovering over the answer button. After a long, hesitant moment, he finally accepted the call.
"Family Head," he said, his voice utterly flat, devoid of any emotion. "What do you want?"
"...Rovel Suou," a deep, majestic voice boomed from the other end, laced with authority and displeasure. "Is that any way to speak to your father?"
Beep.
That was Rovel's only response.
He ended the call, calmly set his phone to silent, and tossed it onto his bed. Then, he turned and walked toward the bathroom.
On the other end of the line, the Family Head stared at the disconnected call, a flash of fury crossing his features. He swallowed his anger, his jaw tight, and redialed the number.
At that very moment, however, Rovel was in the bathroom, the sound of the shower starting to fill the small space. He was already humming a tune, completely immersed in his own world, about to lose himself in song. He had no time to be bothered with such trivial matters.
'The Family Head?'he thought with a dismissive smirk as he stepped under the hot spray.'How could that possibly be more important than my bath?'
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