Ch.202Madoka Quest (3)

The bus arrived before I knew it.

Screech-!

As the vehicle came to a stop, the driver handed a key card to the men in suits. Afterward, the suited men made radio calls with serious expressions.

Despite it being summer, their black suits and sunglasses gave off an incredibly intimidating aura.

“Agent Smith…!! Hieeeek…!”

I immediately recalled a movie I’d seen as a child and trembled. For a while after that, I developed a phobia of suits, screaming whenever my dad came home in one. Only after receiving several slaps from my father did I finally break the habit. Father… you hit your son way too seriously…

“Ah! That one!! The Matrix!!”

Surprisingly, Kirtan immediately responded to my comment.

“Wait. How does an alien know about that?”

Was that movie not worldwide but universe-wide? Is it consumed throughout the entire universe?

“Isn’t it a trending movie on Earth right now?! Planet Earth has quite a high cultural level. Compared to its civilization level, that is.”

Kirtan said.

“No, that movie’s pretty old now.”

I corrected Kirtan. It’s now considered a classic film.

“Huh? Really?”

Kirtan tilted his head.

It seemed that since Earth was a frontier planet, there was a time lag for Earth’s trends to spread throughout the universe.

But… how does it spread to space? Do illegal immigrants carry Earth’s cultural artifacts? I made a rough guess.

Anyway, the bus parked in the lot.

“Security is quite tight.”

I muttered.

“Yeah. There have been death threats and threatening messages before.”

Madoka said nonchalantly.

“……..”

Is that something to say so casually?

“I’ve almost been kidnapped three times.”

Madoka proudly puffed out her chest as she spoke. Despite puffing it out, it remained flat. Well… she hasn’t hit her growth spurt yet. I believe in our Madoka.

“Madoka!! That must have been tough!!”

I immediately hugged her. Ah… whenever Madoka is nearby, I just want to hug her. I might secretly have a weakness for little sister characters.

“Yeah. They were foolish people. They were immediately apprehended by the security guards.”

Madoka sighed as she spoke.

Well, even now, security guards were standing by near Madoka. If I made any wrong moves, bullets would fly immediately.

“It’s the burden of the privileged. What can you do?”

Madoka spoke in a calm tone. See? This is what makes her extraordinary.

“Madoka. I see you’ve brought him as promised.”

At that moment, a man and a middle-aged woman approached Madoka. It was Mr. Kujo and his wife.

“Hmph. I thought you might irresponsibly run away, but I guess you have some male pride.”

Mr. Kujo stared at me intently.

My likability was already in the negative. Do I need to raise it to positive, or at least to zero… this seems like an extremely hard quest.

“So Madoka living on her own… is because of you.”

Mr. Kujo looked at me with blazing eyes.

“Dad!! That has nothing to do with this!! I’m consistently ranking first in school as the price for living alone!! I’m also taking leadership classes!”

Madoka got angry.

Wait. The conditions for her providing us with a hideout while living alone… were that harsh? This won’t do… I’ll have to give Madoka 10,000 points later. I’ll have to scold her with points.

“Th-that’s what makes me angry!! That the reason for your efforts… is because of a man like this!!”

Mr. Kujo’s expression crumpled.

“When I told you to do things, you just did them… huk..!!”

Mr. Kujo… was seriously a daddy’s girl complex.

“Honey. For women, the man they like is their motivation.”

Mrs. Kujo intervened appropriately.

Ah. So Mrs. Kujo is on my side? Will that make persuasion easier? I unconsciously had such expectations.

“Well… but Madoka needs to develop better taste in men. To think there would be so many women… you’re practically a wild lion.”

Mrs. Kujo looked at our full party of girlfriends.

Her expression had a hint of contempt. It was the look of a woman seeing her enemy. So this is how playboys are viewed…

“That just shows how charming our oppa is!”

Madoka shouted, beaming with infatuation.

“Charm isn’t everything for a man!!! He needs substance!”

Mr. Kujo shouted.

“Ufufufu. But he’s not a man without substance, is he?”

Mrs. Kujo calmed Mr. Kujo down.

She despised me, then took my side… she was unpredictable. The fact that I couldn’t read her intentions made her more dangerous than Mr. Kujo.

“Haah… fine. I did some research… he’s not completely worthless.”

Mr. Kujo said.

“A swordsman with excellent credentials who placed in the Toshinhai tournament hosted by the prestigious Saito family, renowned in the political world, and acquainted with the Saito family’s daughter… I investigated this.”

Mr. Kujo said.

Indeed, where money flows, information follows. With time and money, one can investigate anything thoroughly. It’s a life principle that the powerful in society are also information powerhouses.

“And his grades at Natori High School are quite good… his reputation is surprisingly positive. No particular troubles. Plus, he’s also an officially earning writer on our company’s platform?”

Mr. Kujo said.

“Ah. Yes, that’s correct.”

I nodded.

“He’s already earning his living expenses by himself at high school age. Isn’t that admirable?”

Mrs. Kujo said.

“…If only he didn’t have woman problems, he’d be perfect.”

Mrs. Kujo said.

“Madoka. You might feel like I’m assigning value to humans, but… usually, a person’s value decreases with age. Especially as a spouse. There’s a 10-year age gap. Someone like you could meet a younger, more handsome, better man. But instead, with this man…”

Mr. Kujo tried to persuade her kindly.

“Dad, you and mom have a 10-year age gap too!!!”

Madoka immediately counterattacked.

“Urgh…!”

Mr. Kujo couldn’t respond to that.

“Enough!! He’s the man I like!! I’ve decided!!”

Madoka shouted firmly. This kid is really stubborn.

“Sigh… I see. Then let’s discuss that matter calmly.”

Mr. Kujo said.

At that moment, I instinctively sensed killing intent.

Whoosh-!!

My body moved faster than my thoughts.

Click-!

“I’ll borrow this!!”

I immediately snatched a baton from a nearby security guard’s waist.

Ratatatatat-!!

Rubber bullets rained from all directions. Someone had fired a suppression weapon.

“Everyone!! Hide behind me!!”

I stood in front of my girlfriends, including Madoka.

Ting-! Ting-! Clang-!

I could easily deflect bullets flying through the air.

Ting-!

After deflecting the last shot, the killing intent subsided.

It wasn’t fired with hostility. Was this… some kind of test?

“Hmph. So you have enough strength to protect your woman. This is the skill of a Toshinhai finalist.”

Mr. Kujo clicked his tongue, seemingly displeased.

It was indeed a test.

“Dad!!! What are you doing to my man!!”

Madoka got angry.

“Hey!!!! Get angry for me too, not just for that man!!! Huh?!!”

Mr. Kujo immediately flared up. It was the ugly jealousy of a daddy’s girl complex.

“Well!! Anyway!! Let’s have our conversation calmly at the reserved restaurant later… first, we need to inspect the place. Honey.”

Mrs. Kujo said.

“Hmph. Follow me. We can’t let outsiders roam freely.”

Mr. Kujo said.

We obediently followed Mr. Kujo. We came with the feeling of a group outing… but the atmosphere had become quite heavy.

———-

Whenever Mr. Kujo arrived, employees who were finishing up work at the site all bowed at 90 degrees.

Although there were no people on the attractions… I could tell they had invested a lot of money. The scale of the rides themselves was extraordinary. It was immediately apparent that Kunami Corporation had invested enormously.

“This is the position where the woman you desire stands.”

Mr. Kujo said, standing beside me.

“Unlike a commoner like you, there’s this much of a gap. Are you prepared for that?”

Mr. Kujo looked at me straight in the eyes.

I could have brushed it off with a casual “yes, yes.” However… I felt I shouldn’t back down here, so I looked Mr. Kujo straight in the eyes.

“Before preparation, there’s a more important issue.”

I looked at Mr. Kujo.

“How much we love each other and can enjoy being together is most important. Preparation comes after that.”

I couldn’t compromise on my belief in this matter.

“Hmph. I wondered what you were saying… typical thinking of a novice.”

Mr. Kujo sneered at me.

“A man’s life is all about resolve. Everything else soft crumbles away.”

Mr. Kujo spoke in a somewhat bitter tone.

Is there something… he’s been badly hurt by? I couldn’t help but guess that, even if I didn’t want to.

“I’ll give you a life lesson this time. For free.”

Mr. Kujo said that, then headed toward the massive structure in the center of the attraction with an uncomfortable expression. There was a huge artificial garden planted in the center, where the groundbreaking ceremony and briefing would be held. It seemed you could also hold parties there if you paid a hefty fee.

“There are other guests here.”

Mr. Kujo sighed as he spoke.

“Direct and collateral relatives of our family. Though they’re relatives, they’re no different from a pack of hyenas. I have both achievements and charisma now, so they don’t mess with me… but if I show weakness, they’ll immediately stab me in the back.”

Mr. Kujo was suddenly revealing the dark side of wealthy families.

“Did you hear that Madoka was kidnapped three times?”

Mr. Kujo asked.

“Dad, that story…!”

Madoka immediately blushed and tried to stop him.

“I heard.”

I said, gently hugging Madoka.

“Including indirect assassination attempts, there have been a total of seven attempts to harm Madoka. And the clients behind them… are those damn relatives.”

At Mr. Kujo’s words, I felt my breath catch.

“I handled the matters cleanly… but that doesn’t make what happened disappear. Even blood relatives can be enemies. Madoka faces such cruel realities.”

Mr. Kujo said.

“Can you bear that weight?”

Mr. Kujo looked at me directly.

“If it means Madoka can smile even a little more… I’ll bear it.”

I said.

“……..”

Madoka’s eyes widened at those words, and she stared at me.

“Hmph. Let’s see how far that bravado goes.”

Mr. Kujo made a displeased face, then headed toward the central garden.

———-

As everyone gathered in the garden, when everyone was off guard, the incident occurred.

Rumble-!!!!!

The giant tree planted in the center suddenly began to move.

Crash-!!

The wooden giant immediately struck the ground of the artificial garden.

“Kyaaaaaaah?!!!!”

“Aaaaargh!!!”

Chaos instantly erupted everywhere.

Shit… what the hell?!!!!