"Father, please don't move. Let the doctors examine you first." Yukino Yukinoshita spoke to her father in the gentlest tone she could manage.
"I know." Mr. Yukinoshita's voice trembled, his forehead covered in sweat as he clearly struggled to endure the pain.
Several medical staff members knelt beside Mr. Yukinoshita, checking his condition. Their occasional touches elicited sharp intakes of cold breath from him.
Soon, one of the medical staff members stood up and addressed Mrs. Yukinoshita:
"Madam, our preliminary diagnosis indicates fractured ribs. The situation isn't critical yet, but he needs immediate hospital treatment."
"Just fractures? That's fortunate." Yukino sighed in relief upon hearing her father had only suffered fractures from falling from the second floor.
If her father had suffered irreversible consequences from her reckless actions, Yukino knew she would never forgive herself.
'Though the current fractures were already serious enough...' Yukino secretly glanced at her father before quickly looking away.
However, Mr. Yukinoshita, being particularly sensitive at the moment, immediately noticed her gaze.
"Yukino, nothing actually happened earlier," Mr. Yukinoshita attempted to explain himself.
"I understand, Father. Nothing happened at all." Yukino replied with calm rationality.
Yukino Yukinoshita disliked lying, as lies represented deception and negative things.
But now she suddenly realised that not all falsehoods stem from malice - some lies exist out of kindness.
As for whether nothing had truly happened earlier... The truth had already become clear to Yukino when Mrs. Yukinoshita immediately prevented her daughters from approaching and asked Haruno to fetch trousers upon first reaching Mr. Yukinoshita.
Hearing this, Mr. Yukinoshita's expression crumbled. In this moment, even the pain from his fractured ribs couldn't suppress his sorrow.
"Really, nothing happened between us."
"I know, Dad. Just treat it as a bad dream. When you wake up, everything will be fine."
Haruno Yukinoshita couldn't help but offer gentle comfort from the side. At the same time, she shot Yukino Yukinoshita a warning glance, silently urging her impatient younger sister not to provoke their father further.
Seeing this, Yukino immediately took a step back, making her stance clear.
Noticing this, Haruno showed a satisfied expression before nodding to the medical staff transporting their father, then continued reassuring:
"Dad, it was just a nightmare. You'll feel better when you wake up. What you need now is plenty of rest."
"I... I really... There wasn't enough time then, nothing actually happened." Mr. Yukinoshita's voice already sounded on the verge of breaking down.
At this point, Mrs. Yukinoshita frowned as she observed her chosen husband's pitiful state. Uncharacteristically, she didn't offer her usual criticism, but instead sighed.
"Alright, Haruno, Yukino, stop saying things that make your father uncomfortable. Let the doctors take him for treatment first."
After speaking, Mrs. Yukinoshita's expression softened unusually as she comforted:
"You've done well, my dear. Focus on recovering, and I'll handle the rest."
"Even you..." Mr. Yukinoshita opened his mouth but stopped, considering his wife's usually domineering personality. Her sudden gentleness made him think the current situation wasn't so bad after all?
Could this mean his days of being henpecked might finally give way to restored masculine dignity?
On second thought, it didn't seem like a bad deal... At least his monthly allowance might multiply several times over.
Lost in thought, Mr. Yukinoshita was lifted onto a stretcher. Just then, Luo Shu, in his distinctive suit and Takina Inoue, in her schoolgirl outfit, carrying a sniper rifle, emerged from around the corner onto the lawn.
"And this is...?" Mrs. Yukinoshita asked a nearby hazmat-suited medic.
The assisting medic replied offhandedly, "This is Luo Shu, the operation's lead, and Miss Inoue. Now, please step aside, madam. We must get your husband to the hospital. For enquiries, call the city general hospital."
As the medics carried the stretcher past Luo Shu and Takina, they nodded in acknowledgement.
"Only one casualty?" Luo Shu remarked, watching the middle-aged man being carried away. "A small mercy, considering."
Takina nodded. "Indeed. Normally, the probability of an entire family being killed by demons exceeds 80%."
Hearing them marvel at her family's survival, Yukino Yukinoshita's expression nearly cracked.
In contrast, Mrs. Yukinoshita and Haruno maintained perfect composure before Luo Shu.
"How should I address you?"
Noticing Mrs. Yukinoshita's outstretched hand, Luo Shu gave her a slightly surprised look before shaking it. "Luo Shu, Special Defence Section investigator. This is my partner, Takina Inoue."
Takina gave a slight bow - the customary Japanese greeting for first meetings. Luo Shu's simple handshake clearly lacked such local etiquette.
From their names alone, Mrs. Yukinoshita had already guessed something. "Special Defence Section? Is that a Metropolitan Police Department branch?"
Luo Shu smiled noticeably. "Not quite. We're equivalent in rank to the stationed forces."
At "stationed forces," Mrs. Yukinoshita's eyelid twitched. This seemingly young, gullible man was actually covered in thorns.
Metropolitan Police personnel, even those from Tokyo headquarters, couldn't ignore the influence of a local prefectural assembly member. While the headquarters itself held higher authority, individual officers couldn't easily dismiss such figures.
But Luo Shu had immediately invoked his department's equal standing with the stationed forces, rendering the Yukinoshita family's influence useless. Before such an organisation, a prefectural assembly member held little more sway than an ordinary citizen.
Understanding that her indirect approach wouldn't achieve the desired outcome, Mrs. Yukinoshita had no choice but to be direct: "Mr Luo, may I ask how this incident will be handled?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu glanced at the elegant woman before casting a look towards Takina Inoue, who was standing nearby.
"Standard procedure involves signing a non-disclosure agreement first, then submitting a detailed report to both the garrison forces and the cabinet. We'll also discuss compensation amounts to ensure the victims are satisfied."
Mrs. Yukinoshita's expression nearly faltered at these words.
Sign an NDA first? And what if they refused? As for 'ensuring victim satisfaction' - that wording was particularly telling.
Most importantly, reporting to the cabinet? How was that any different from reporting directly to the zaibatsu? The major conglomerates often received cabinet reports before the ministers themselves. And once the ministers were informed, the real regional power brokers would soon be notified. At that point, even a whisper about the Yukinoshita family's crisis would be impossible to contain.
Her complexion subtly shifting, Mrs. Yukinoshita inquired: "Would it be possible to report only to the garrison forces?"
If just the military knew, they couldn't inflict too much damage on the Yukinoshita family. But cabinet reporting risked leaks, which would inevitably trigger a political crisis.
With this in mind, Mrs. Yukinoshita shot a meaningful glance at her eldest daughter. Standing beside Luo Shu, Haruno Yukinoshita suddenly produced a bank card and casually slipped it into Luo Shu's pocket.
Noticing both Mrs. Yukinoshita's request and Haruno's action, Luo Shu adopted an enigmatic expression:
"Madam, you're putting me in a difficult position here!"