Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
*Ring!*
"Welcome."
A bell over the door of the restaurant rang when Sumire pushed open the door. A moment later, the group of four was welcomed by a cheerful female voice.
Stepping inside, the first thing that greeted Tatsuo, Sumire, Mai, and Tio was the owner of the voice, a cute girl with short brown hair and brown eyes wearing the restaurant's uniform looking to be the age of a college student wiping down a recently vacated table. Looking even further, there were more tables, ranging from sizes big enough to seat two to four people. There were also bar seats and booths lining the walls of the restaurant.
"Ah! Long time, no see, Soramoto-San." The girl said cheerfully after recognizing the guests. "Table for four?"
"Yup!" Sumire said energetically. "Mako-Kun is here, isn't he?"
The girl did not respond immediately. Instead, she tilted her head in confusion. A moment later, her eyes lit up in realization.
"Oh, you're talking about the Master, right?" The girl asked rhetorically. "Yes, he's here."
"Good." Sumire replied. Sumire then continued while gesturing to Tatsuo. "It's been a couple of weeks since I've been here. And I wanted to introduce my son to him. He's a pretty good cook, too. He's even better than I am at this point."
Not knowing of Sumire's culinary skills, the girl only smiled at Sumire. Then, she finished wiping the table she was cleaning and gestured towards a four-person table.
"Got it." The girl said. "Then, you can have a seat right there. I'll tell the Master that you're here, Soramoto-San."
"Actually, would it be alright if we sat at the counter?" Tatsuo asked. "If possible, I'd like to watch the Master cook."
"Uh... Sure." The girl replied in a slightly confused tone. "If that's what you'd like."
Nodding in response, Tatsuo then glanced at his mother, who was smiling at him. Judging by her smile, it was easy to see that Sumire was expecting Tatsuo to say that.
A moment later, Sumire, Mai, Tatsuo, and Tio were seated at the bar in that order from left to right, where they could see the Master of the Western Restaurant Nekoya, A tall man with black hair and eyes, a beard, and a mustache wearing a white shirt that buttoned down the right side, a pair of black pants, a white waist apron, and a white chef's hat, chopping vegetables with exquisite knife work.
"OH, he's good." Tatsuo muttered while narrowing his eyes to watch the Master's every move as carefully as possible.
"Yeah, Mako-Kun is great." Sumire said.
Hearing those voices, the Master, although his hands did not slow down, looked over his shoulder to see who was complimenting him. And when he saw Sumire, he smiled slightly before turning back to his task.
"Soramoto-San, it's good to see you again." The Master said as he worked. "I see you brought Shiranui-San and Klarus-San, as well. And who might this young man be? I don't believe we've met."
"This is my son, Tatsu-Chan." Sumire said happily as she leaned past Mai to hold Tatsuo's left arm as Mai and Tio nodded in acknowledgement. "I've told you and Yomi about him before, remember?"
"Yes, the one you were reunited with recently." The Master said with a smile. "You've told me quite a bit about him over the months. I'm actually surprised you haven't brought him by sooner. Either way, it's nice to meet you, Tatsuo-Kun."
"It's nice to meet you, too." Tatsuo replied. "So, what should I call you? Is Master fine? Or should I call you by your name?"
"Either is fine." the Master replied. "You can call me Master like most people do. Or Yamagata works, too."
"Then I'll call you Yamagata-San." Tatsuo replied with a nod.
With that, the four chatted with the Master. Though, it was mostly Tatsuo and Sumire doing the talking. A few moments later, the girl who welcomed them took their orders and the conversations continued. All the while, Tatsuo watched the Master like a hawk, picking up every bit of skill that he could. Unfortunately, his [Cooking Skill] did not increase in rank before they finished their meal and left Nekoya.
After leaving the restaurant, Tatsuo, Sumire, Mai, and Tio returned to the car. Mai then drove back to Shibuya. The next destination was the lot Sumire was looking at to build the family's new home.
"The lot I chose was supposed to be turned into a park." Sumire said cheerfully from the BMW's backseat. "But it was a little too far out of the way. So, the city planning committee decided to choose a different location. But that's a good thing for us. The plot of land is almost thirty-two thousand, three hundred seventy-five square meters big."
"Seriously?" Tatsuo asked in a dumbfounded tone. "And just how much would a place that big even cost?"
"If I'm not mistaken, the average cost of land in Tokyo is one million yen per square meter." Mai said from behind the driver's seat.
"You gotta be kidding me." Tatsuo, who had gotten used to living luxuriously after being rescued from DOATEC, said while rubbing his temples at the absurd amount of money. "Well, if you have it, I guess you can do whatever you want."
Hearing Tatsuo's reply, Sumire nodded her head happily.
"Anyway, we should be there soon." Sumire said in a sing-song tone. "I'll let you see how beautiful the area is. Then, you'll understand."
"If you say so." Tatsuo replied nonchalantly.
At this point, where Tatsuo lived was not really a concern to him. As long as he had a place to sleep, play the piano, and train, he would be happy.
About twenty minutes later, the BMW pulled up to a large, open area in Shibuya. And like Sumire said, it was only about 1.5 km away from Yagami High School, as they had actually passed it on the way there.
"This is it." Sumire said with her arms spread wide as she looked at the plot of undeveloped land after climbing out of the BMW.
Seeing the land Sumire wanted to buy with is own eyes, Tatsuo looked on in awe. There were hills, wide open fields, and even a large lake on the property. On top of that, there was even a mountain at the back of the plot of land.
"Is that Namanica Mountain?" Tatsuo asked while pointing his right index finger at the mountain in the distance.
"Yup!" Sumire replied cheerfully. "Wouldn't having the new house built into the side of the mountain be nice?"
"I mean, it would be pretty cool." Tatsuo muttered while continuing to look around the area. "But what about getting all the utilities out here? How long would that even take? I mean, they would have to run lines and stuff all the way under the mountain, right?"
"Sweetie, you're still thinking like a normal person." Sumire said sweetly. "We'll just use magic to take care of that. Plus, you can use [Alchemy], right. That will make building easy, too."
"I… Uh… Actually, forgot about that." Tatsuo said, sounding a bit embarrassed.
Although Tatsuo was used to using his powers when fighting or on [Missions], he very rarely used them in his own world. But having Sumire point them out, he felt as though his eyes had been opened.
"Ooh~~~~~!" Mai squealed after seeing the embarrassed expression on Tatsuo's face. "Tatsu-Kun, you're so cute."
Then, while continuing to gush over Tatsuo, Mai glomped him, hugging him tightly as she rubbed her body all over him. Meanwhile, Tio also covered her face with her fan to hide her smile while thinking the same thing. Sumire, on the other hand, started walking forward, pointing out where she wanted certain structures built as she went.
"*Sigh* I don't even wanna think about material costs." Tatsuo muttered while walking behind Sumire with Mai hanging off him and Tio following at a respectful distance. Tatsuo then turned back and glared sharply at Tio. "Oh, and you. Stop laughing like that. When a disgusting pervert like you does that, it's really creepy."
Immediately, Tio's back straightened as she began to shudder. She then stared at Tatsuo with wide open eyes and began to breath heavily as her cheeks reddened.
"Y-Y-Yes, Master." Tio shuddered out while loving the thoroughly disgusted expression on Tatsuo's face.
"Ugh… And stop looking at me like that." Tatsuo said, sharply turning his eyes away from Tio as he did so. "That's even more disgusting."
*Drip!*
Tatsuo then started to follow his mother again while Mai looked a bit jealous. Though, she did not let go of Tatsuo. A moment later, however, Tatsuo's steps came to a stop when he heard the sound of a drop of some kind of liquid falling to the ground near Tio. Tatsuo then slowly turned his head to look at Tio with a completely blank expression on his face.
"Please forgive me, Master." Tio said in an embarrassed tone. Though, it was clear to see by the expression on her face that she was even more excited. "It seems I've begun leaking. If you would allow it, I will rush home and change my panties."
"Disgusting." Tatsuo said coldly as he waved his hand to shoo Tio away. "Just leave."
Doing her best to bow her head respectfully, Tio then cast a [Wind magic] spell similar to Artoria's [Invisible Air] to obscure herself from the sights of others. Then, she transformed into her Dragon Form before flying away from the empty lot. Naturally, she intended to return to the apartment and change clothes. Though, no one thought she would be returning, as Tatsuo, Sumire, and Mai would probably not stay there for too long.
Sumire had also stopped walking around the same time as Tatsuo. However, her reason was completely different. And that was easy to tell when just after Tio left, Sumire's killing intent burst out while the sound of a cracking smartphone could be heard coming from her direction.
Immediately upon feeling Sumire's killing intent, Tatsuo, who was smiling at Tio as she flew away, and Mai, who was staring at Tatsuo's smile with both love and jealousy because it was not aimed at her, froze. Then, they both struggled to turn their heads in the direction where the killing intent originated from.
"I knew I should have just killed him myself." Sumire said in a cold, menacing tone. "You know what, I should just go and do it right now. No, if I do that, Tatsu-Chan won't have the chance to get his own revenge. Maybe I should just kill all the ones he sends. Even that son of his. I wonder how he would feel when he loses his own… No, he wouldn't care. He only sees that boy as a tool, after all."
Hearing Sumire's murderous ramblings, Tatsuo and Mai were not ashamed to admit that they were thoroughly terrified. Even so, Tatsuo slowly struggled through the pressure of Sumire's killing intent to make his way over to his mother's side.
"Mom, i-is everything alright?" Tatsuo asked, managing to only briefly studder.
Hearing Tatsuo's voice from so close, Sumire jumped. Then, she turned her head towards her son like a robot who had not been oiled in years. Finally, when she saw the worry on Tatsu's face, she lunged at him and hugged him around his neck while hanging with her feet off the ground.
"Tatsu-Chan~~~~~! Mommy is sorry!" Sumire cried loudly. "Mommy didn't mean to scare you! Please forgive me! Wah~~~~~~~~! Please forgive me."
And just like that, all the tension was broken. And the only thing Tatsuo could do was smile wryly while trying to console his mother. Meanwhile, Mai's expression had hardened. She heard Sumire mention something about ruining Tatsuo's first performance, and she was just as angry as Sumire had been. Though, her killing intent that had burst out was nowhere near as potent as Sumire's, so Tatsuo basically ignored it.
Hub World, Earth, United States of America, New York, New York City.
"I've sent the message, Lady Helena." A short young woman with a petite frame, young facial features, long, light blonde hair tied into twin tails with black ribbons, and dark blue eyes wearing a sleeveless, gothic Lolita-style maid dress with black arm sleeves, knee-length black leather booths with buckles and traps up the calves and red platforms soles, and straps crisscrossing on her thighs said respectfully while standing in front of a desk on the top floor of the center tower of the DOATEC HQ building.
"Merci, Marie." The woman sitting behind the desk, Helena Douglas, a taller than average woman with a heart-shaped face, sharp facial features, blue eyes, waist-length blonde hair tied into a low ponytail with a blue bow wearing a black and blue blazer, a white, ruffled blouse, white gloves, tight, white pants, and black, leather, high-heeled boots replied calmly while reading through a document. "Honestly, I have no idea what that man is thinking. He must really have a death wish. But that just means less work for me, I suppose."
"I don't know why we haven't just given that man's location to her directly." The young woman, Marie, or Marie Rose said sharply. "I'm sure she wants him dead just as much, if not more than you do for killing her husband and kidnapping her son all those years ago."
Hearing that, Helena looked up from the document with a smile on her face. Though, this smile was not one filled with happiness or amusement. Instead, it was filled with a bit of dread. And when Marie, her sixteen-year-old personal attendant, saw that expression, she was thoroughly confused.
"You know, I met Sumire once." Helena said softly. "And my first impression of her was… sweet, energetic, and kind."
"So, kinda like me, then?" Marie asked with her nearly non-existent chest puffed out.
Helena did not even deem to dignify Marie's claim with a response. It was no secret to anyone who knew her that Marie had one hell of a mean streak. On top of that, her attitude towards most people was condescending at the best of times.
"Anyway, at that time, I had no idea she was an assassin." Helena continued. "But when my mother was killed, she was the one who my father asked to protect me while he dealt with the aftermath."
Helena then turned away from Marie and looked out the window behind her desk at the city of New York with a distant look in her eyes.
"But she only stayed with me for that day." Helena said in a distant tone. "The next time I heard about her was almost a year later. When she left DOATEC. And do you know what I heard then?"
Hearing Helena's grave tone, Marie could only shake her head, which Helena saw in the window's reflection.
"A visibly pregnant woman had killed nearly forty of DOATEC's best enforcers because they tried to stop her." Helena said, answering her own question. "And not one of those enforcers was left in one piece after the confrontation."
Reaching that point, Helena turned around to look at Marie again. And when she saw Marie shivering at the description, she could not even smile.
"Then, after I heard about Tatsuo's kidnapping, I offered to use my resources to help her find him, as I knew he had been kidnapped by DOATEC." Helena continued. "I was only thirteen back then. So, I'm sure I would not have been able to do much. And I'm sure she knew that, too. But do you want to know what she said to me during that phone call?"
"*Gulp* Wha-what did she say?" Marie asked in morbid curiosity.
"In the sweetest, kindest tone I'd ever heard…" Helena replied while shaking her head. "She told me that that would take the fun out of the hunt. That sinking your fangs into prey you hunt hyourself is much more satisfying."
*Gulp!*
Marie Rose could not help gulping down a mouthful of saliva for a second time when she imagined hearing someone speak like that. But Helena was not yet finished.
"But something tells me, she wasn't talking about hunting down the prey herself." Helena said. She then looked back down to the document she held in her hands as she continued. "I get the feeling that she meant that for Tatsuo. Because as terrifying at Sumire was as DOATEC's blade, I have a feeling that Tatsuo will be even worse."
While those words seemed to terrify Marie even further, Helena was barely paying attention to the words on the document she was reading.
'Actually, I should try to make contact with him.' Helena thought to herself. 'Like me, he wants revenge on Donavan for what he's done. Perhaps hiring him to play for one of my shows would be a good way to break the ice. I've heard of his skill on the piano while he was being trained. So, I'm sure he could enhance one of my opera performances, as well.'