Nightti at the Yukinoshita Residence
Paying no mind to the mother and daughter's bewildernt, Rei Ao took Yukino's hand and walked over to where the monster lay.
Seeing the creature's grueso form cald Yukino sowhat. It was a giant bird, nearly ten ters long. Its head and neck now hung inside the room, while the rest of its body drooped against the outer wall.
"Rei Ao-kun, is this a magical beast?"
It was Yukino's first ti seeing a monster with her own eyes, and she gripped Rei Ao's hand nervously.
"No, it's not a magical beast," Rei Ao replied with a shake of his head.
"It's a demon."
"???"
Haruno and Mrs. Yukinoshita, overhearing them, were both taken aback and sowhat enlightened at the sa ti. Clearly, these two knew sothing. Unable to endure her total lack of understanding, Haruno spoke up:
"Um, Rei Ao-kun, Yukino…could you two please explain what in the world is going on here?"
Rei Ao raised an eyebrow.
"Of course, but let dispose of this thing first."
By "dispose," he ant lifting a foot and kicking the monster's corpse out of the window.
"Done. Now, let's have a proper talk."
…
In the Yukinoshita family's drawing room…
"Ask whatever you want. I'll answer."
Though it was his first ti here, Rei Ao showed no hint of restraint. On the contrary, it was Haruno and Mrs. Yukinoshita who appeared uneasy in front of him.
Seeing Rei Ao open the floor, the mother and daughter exchanged glances. Mrs. Yukinoshita took a deep breath and spoke:
"Rei Ao-san…"
She hesitated over how to address him. Calling him "Rei Ao-kun" felt too familiar. He was her daughter's classmate—apparently also her boyfriend—but there was no ignoring that he clearly wasn't an ordinary person.
Everything he'd displayed so far was shrouded in mystery. She naturally wondered if there might be so secret organization out there and if he deserved the utmost respect. In the end, she settled on calling him "Rei Ao-san."
"My mother-in-law," he interjected smoothly, "calling 'san' is too formal. Just use my na. I've already accepted you as my mother-in-law."
He was entirely at ease with such familiarity, as though he'd decided she was his mother-in-law for sure. Mrs. Yukinoshita glanced at Yukino, who sat beside Rei Ao with her head down, and understood. Their relationship seed even closer than she'd imagined.
"All right… Rei Ao-kun, could you please help us understand a few things?"
"That demon you ntioned—and the amulets Yukino gave us."
She and Haruno both were desperate for answers, feeling stifled by their utter lack of information.
"I'll explain it in the simplest terms," Rei Ao replied. He might be willing to talk for Yukino's sake, but he disliked giving complicated explanations.
"First, the world is not as simple as it looks. Second, demons co from another world. Third, those amulets are a protective asure I set up."
"That's it. From that, you can probably guess the rest."
"…"
It was concise—so concise that Mrs. Yukinoshita and Haruno, who had geared up to listen seriously, were left hanging the mont he finished.
"But—" Haruno tried to speak, only for her mother to squeeze her hand in warning.
Mrs. Yukinoshita said,
"Thank you for telling us, Rei Ao-kun."
She knew full well there was a disparity in their positions. Rei Ao obviously had no intention of going into detail, so pressing further would be pointless.
He had already revealed enough. Even if he explained every technical term, that wouldn't help them much, given they had never encountered such things before.
For now, they could be sure there really were demons, and also individuals like Rei Ao, and possibly even connections to so other worlds. That alone was extrely significant for Mrs. Yukinoshita.
A serious look crossed her face.
"Rei Ao-kun, I have a guess. Would you mind if I shared it with you? All I ask is that you nod or shake your head to confirm or deny it."
Rei Ao eyed her thoughtfully. Despite having no wrinkles, she looked remarkably youthful—similar in appearance to Yukino, but with a fuller figure and an air of mature composure.
Even after what had just happened, she'd pulled herself together impressively quickly. And her thod of accommodating him by getting straight to the point was sothing he appreciated. He gave a slight nod.
"Let's hear it."
"Please forgive if I'm off the mark."
Mrs. Yukinoshita composed herself.
"I've lived many decades, yet never heard of anything like this. Of course, it may be that my experiences are limited. But having gone through sothing so frightening tonight, I can't help but think: Has there been so change in these 'otherworldly' forces that everyday people like us aren't aware of?"
"Oh?"
Rei Ao raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusent in his expression.
"That's quite a crafty approach."
Her reasoning basically revolved around whether or not so 'abnormality' was occurring. Most of what she'd said was just a preamble leading to that yes-or-no question.
"…"
Mrs. Yukinoshita paused, a little taken aback that he'd seen through her intentions so easily. Her aim was simple: if there was "no abnormality," she would treat this incident as a one-off.
If there was an abnormality, she'd escalate her concern to the highest level. After all, if there were unknown, terrifying powers hidden in this world—like the demon earlier or a mysterious individual like Rei Ao—ordinary people could be killed in an instant.
If the 'abnormality' were ever unleashed on the normal world, it could be devastating.
"Well, it's not anything I can't answer," Rei Ao said casually. "This world is coming into contact with sothing… else, so I'm not sure what it'll turn into, exactly."
"There are other worlds?" Haruno exclaid, mouth agape. She suddenly felt like reality had flipped upside down. Even her younger sister Yukino seed a stranger now.
Yukino's face was cold as she reminded them:
"Sister, Mother, there's sothing you must know: The more you learn, the more dangerous it becos."
"…"
Both won fell silent, acknowledging it was true. The more they learned, the deeper their fear of reality might grow—just as they were feeling now.
~~~
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