Chapter 42 – A Bold Eriri!

A few days later, everything regarding the incident had settled.

Tatsuki had asked someone from a certain wealthy conglomerate—someone he'd once saved—for help. They investigated Eriri's father's recent behavior and managed to find surveillance footage of him entering the house wielding a knife.

With some guided public opinion, the incident was officially categorized as an act of attempted murder by Eriri's father, who—driven by hatred after love had turned sour—tried to kill his wife and daughter, only to end up killed in self-defense by Sayuri.

On record, Tatsuki was merely a witness who happened to drop by to see Eriri. Sayuri's actions fell under legitimate self-defense.

Nevertheless, given negotiations with the British side and the Spencer family, claiming that a high-level diplomat was lawfully killed still risked damaging national prestige. Thus, they announced that he'd died from overwork and hidden ailments—something that maintained everyone's dignity.

It was quite a decent outcome. If things had gone badly and Sayuri had been prosecuted, Tatsuki would have thrown caution to the wind—even if it meant exposing the supernatural and hastening the apocalypse—to protect her.

"Tsk, if only I had some mind-control power."

The thought crossed Tatsuki's mind. Such an ability would have made dealing with incidents like this far simpler.

"Thank you so much, Tatsuki-kun!"

Sayuri bowed deeply to him.

"No worries. Besides, this place has been empty anyway."

Having gone through so much, mother and daughter decided they no longer wanted to live in that house. They moved into a neighboring unit that belonged to Tatsuki.

It was a three-story building, two apartments per floor; Tatsuki owned it entirely but never rented it out. He lived alone in one of the second-floor units, so Sayuri and Eriri purchased the other unit next door.

To relieve their recent stress and celebrate moving in, Sayuri made an extravagant dinner that evening, inviting Tatsuki over.

The three of them enjoyed a hearty meal together, with Tatsuki taking the chance to share some basic information about evil spirits—he worried that, having been exposed to the supernatural, mother and daughter might someday awaken spiritual vision.

If they ever encountered evil spirits again and answered them the wrong way, they could easily end up killed.

Usually, Tatsuki kept his explanations about anomalies to a minimum. But for those who had personally experienced them, he felt they deserved at least the basics.

Of course, only those who could be trusted not to blab. If someone struck him as a big-mouthed gossip, he wouldn't tell them anything.

After dinner, Tatsuki returned home. He'd had a little alcohol, then took a shower to sober up, and finally sat on his couch flipping through TV channels, hoping to catch any news of current unusual phenomena.

To his surprise, there really was some:

[The massive comet that passed Earth three years ago is due for another approach soon!]

[Tokyo experiences bizarre, unpredictable torrential downpours!]

And several other odd developments.

"Could this be a supernatural anomaly?" Tatsuki mused, looking up relevant articles for more details.

…

Meanwhile, at Eriri's place.

Once they finished cleaning up, mother and daughter both took baths and settled in for the night. Exhausted from the tumultuous past few days, Sayuri only wanted a proper rest.

Click.

Sayuri opened her eyes.

"Huh?"

She'd heard a noise—Eriri's bedroom door opening. Then came soft footfalls, growing fainter in the distance.

Click!

Now it was the front door.

"Where's Eriri off to?"

She hesitated, wondering if she should follow to see what was going on.

…

Across the way, Tatsuki, still on his couch, heard a knocking at his door—someone was tapping rather than using the doorbell.

"Who's knocking at this hour?" he wondered aloud as he got up. He opened the door to find Eriri in thin, lightweight sleepwear, standing there timidly.

"Eriri? What brings you here?" Tatsuki asked in surprise.

Eriri wrung her hands, avoiding his eyes as she blushed red. She stammered, "I…I'm scared. I want…to sleep with you."

Worried he might get the wrong idea, she instantly switched to a tsundere tone. "I'm only doing this because you have superpowers or whatever. I'll feel safer, okay? So don't get any ideas!"

"Oh?" Tatsuki's lips curved into a knowing smile.

"Alright then. I shall guard Princess Eriri through the night."

With that, he scooped Eriri right off her feet.

"Wah!"

She yelped, startled, but she didn't resist. Clinging nervously and shyly to his clothes, her trademark tsundere act was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing her like that, Tatsuki nudged the door shut with his foot and carried Eriri into his bedroom.

…

"Huh?"

Sayuri, still lying in her own bed, had been thinking about where Eriri might have gone, when she heard moans coming from next door.

Within an instant, she realized what was happening.

Her expression shifted in the darkness, torn between surprise and acceptance. Meanwhile, all she could do was sigh. Tonight, it seemed, Eriri wouldn't be returning to her own bed…