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CHAPTER 57: SIBLINGS FINALLY MEET THEIR FATHER
The woman who knew us quickly finished cleaning up the store.
“Nice to meet you both. I’m Rei Kizaki. I’m your new mother.” (Rei)
She said this.
“Now, get in the car. I’ll show you to Shiki-san.” (Rei)
Whether she knew we were too surprised to move or not, she didn’t care about our reaction and pointed to the passenger seat and the back seat of the car.
By the way, Shiki is my father’s name. I don’t usually call my father by his name, so I felt a little uncomfortable. And this person.
“Is it true that you suggested that my father leave our house?” (Kei)
My father said that his wife had suggested it. If that was the case, then this person was the one who created the current situation.
“Yes, yes. I told him to run away.” (Rei)
“Really?” (Kei)
Once we got into the car, the conversation didn’t continue any further until we reached a rundown house.
“I’m home, Shiki-san.” (Rei)
When the car arrived at the house, Rei-san got out of the car and left, so we quickly followed her.
The house didn’t have an intercom like ours, and the door made a creaking sound as it opened.
“Welcome back, huh?” (Shiki)
“”Ah”” (Kizaki’s)
It was our father, Shiki Kizaki, who came out from the house.
“Oh, you guys are here. How did you find us? I thought I hid it in case you were curious.” (Shiki)
When he saw us, he started talking as usual. It had been a year since he had seen us, but he was still talking like normal.
“This person showed us around, you’re annoying, get away from me.” (Haru)
“Guha.” (Shiki)
Haru’s insult jumped straight out of her mouth and straight to his chest, and he just fidgeted before collapsing.
“Wow, that’s disgusting.” (Haru)
“No, I honestly think that’s disgusting too, old man.” (Kei)
“Shiki-san, I think it’s disgusting too, you know.” (Rei)
Then the three of us went on a verbal tirade. Even his wife said that to him.
As it is, my father stands up energetically and turns to Rei.
“I’m sorry, Rei. Can I clean up later? I have something to tell everyone. Come on. Let’s have a little talk in the back. Tell me what’s going on.” (Shiki)
Unlike the foolish father from earlier, he instantly took on a serious expression and walked straight into the back of the house.
We gulped at the sight of his serious expression and followed him.
But then,
“Isn’t your house small?” (Kei)
Such words came out of me.
“You’re a rude b*stard to call someone’s house small. If you’re living in poverty, you’ll understand. We can’t afford it. We’ve lost our jobs.” (Shiki)
My father said with a scowl and sat down on the other side of the short table in the middle of the room. We put our bags at the end of the table and sat down.
“Excuse me.” (Rei)
Rei-san came over to us with a slow but steady voice, placed a cup in front of us, and left the room.
“Shiki-san. I’ll clean up.” (Rei)
“My bad, please do.” (Shiki)
The door clicked shut, and it was just us and my dad in the house.
“Well, girls. I’ll tell you one thing first.” (Shiki)
“What? We have money.” (Haru)
Haru replied to our father’s serious voice, looking annoyed. Why money though?
“Yes, I don’t have any money!” (Shiki)
“Oh, that’s a great way to start. Disgusting.” (Haru)
I look around while watching my father silently lie down on the short table.
The room is small, with barely enough room for two futons because of the furniture. As far as I could tell, there was only one bath and one toilet. The kitchen is located in the hallway. This was probably the only room. It was so small that I wondered why there was such a small house. The layout is completely apartment-like.
I had no idea that they were so poor. In our current state, we’re obviously richer than he is. While thinking about this, I turned my attention to my old man.
“Hey, Touka. Don’t look at our house with pity on your gaze.” (Shiki)
My old man was lying down on the short table and turned his face toward me.
“So, what are you guys doing here?” (Shiki)
“We’re here for passports. We want to go abroad.” (Kei)
“What? Overseas? We don’t have money. Why are you saying that?” (Shiki)
My father took a breath and stared at me.
I thought I saw magic move in his eyes for a moment.
“A dungeon. You guys too? I’m sure you’re doing well if you have enough money to go abroad. Intermediate or advanced?” (Shiki)
I narrowed my eyes a little. There are not many explorers who make enough money to go abroad. You have to be an Intermediate Explorer.
It’s true that there are many Intermediate Explorers. If you look for them, you can find them easily. But they are a small percentage of the total.
“What did you find out?” (Kei)
I don’t know how he knew that we were successful explorers. The magic that had just moved in my father’s eyes was so small that I couldn’t even activate my skills.
“It’s a sickle, that must be a lie, what about Haru?” (Shiki)
Haru interrupted our father’s words.
“What are your skills? It’s not appraising because it requires magic to interfere with the other person, it’s not enhancing because it doesn’t affect the outside, and it’s not passive.” (Haru)
After Haru said this, she manipulated her magic power to send it towards our father. The other end is our father’s eyes. This is where the magic power just moved.
There is no direct interference with the body with magic power. That’s why ordinary people don’t notice it.
“Kya!” (Haru)
“Was that Haru? You can’t attack your father’s eyeballs, it’s dangerous.” (Shiki)
As my father moved a little, Haru made a small surprised squeak, and her magical power was scattered.
My father’s face shifted to the side to escape from the magical power that was approaching, and the leg that was supposed to be cross-legged poked Haru’s legs.
“You can’t use magic if you don’t concentrate on it. So magicians, huh, again?” (Shiki)
The father started to speak as if he was explaining, but halfway through his speech, he paused with a puzzled look on his face, which quickly turned into a frown.
“So what about magicians? Old Man.” (Kei)
I was curious about the rest of the story, so I encouraged him to continue.
“I’m sorry, Touka, but I’m afraid I can’t speak of this any further. Is there anything else you want to ask me, or did you guys only come here for the passports in the first place?” (Shiki)
“I don’t care about my old man’s skills. I don’t understand the skills of strong people anyway.” (Kei)
Haru must be referring to the skills of the Advanced Explorers from some time ago. That skill was much stronger than our own and made no sense to me.
After Haru told him that it was only for the passport, my father nodded again.
“That’s right. So, old man, of course, you’re going to apply for a passport for us, aren’t you? Don’t act like a guardian now and say it’s dangerous to go abroad.” Kei
Haru poked the old man who is about to nod off to wake him up and asked him.
“Ah? Ah, if you’re going to pay, I’ll write the paperwork. It’s already night, so the procedure is tomorrow. Would you like to write the paperwork tomorrow so that you can pick it up near your house?” (Shiki)
“Yes, please do that. I don’t want to have to come here to pick up my passport.” (Kei)
“Oh, well, you can’t stay here. Get the hell out of here. Find a hotel or something and be here tomorrow morning at ten.” (Shiki)
My dad stands up and tries to see us off, so he drinks up the rest of our water and stands up.
“Haru and Touka. Now that my whereabouts are known, call me next time for any advice. Don’t go into the dungeon too often.” (Shiki)
“Goodbye.” (Haru)
Haru returns just a single word back to our old man and begins walking
I turned to my father, who was saying, “Oh, Haru doesn’t seem to miss me as much as always,” and asked him one last question.
“Old man, why did you quit your job?” (Kei)
A moment of silence, and.
“I was scared. I was afraid of the dungeons, and the people who happily walked into them. Now that I know what a dungeon is, I’m even more scared.” (Shiki)
My father let out a small sigh and looked at me with powerless eyes.
“Hey, Touka. Can’t you try to keep yourself out of the dungeon?” (Shiki)
“That’s impossible.” (Kei)
I answered his question immediately.
“Absolutely.” (Kei)
My father fell silent.
“Then I’m going.” (Kei)
Since my father had gone quiet, I decided to leave. Haru seems to be waiting for me some distance away.
“I can’t tell you anything, Touka, because I’m limited by certain skills. That’s why I can’t tell you why I ran away from the SDF. But don’t die.” (Shiki)
Unlike the powerless eyes of before, Dad’s eyes and tone of voice were stronger than ever.
Just like my old man.
“I understand. Old Man.” (Kei)
“See you, Touka.” (Shiki)
“I’ll see you tomorrow. You’d better say those lines when we’re leaving.” (Kei)
I think that’s a little too formal for a man I’ll see again tomorrow.