Ch.5555. Love and the Requetio Family

While Amon’s party was self-isolating in their respective homes, Kathy also spent time at her family residence.

During those few months, her daily life was much more luxurious than that of the other party members.

If she needed exercise, she could go to the basement; if she wanted to swim, to the terrace; if she wanted to read, to the library.

There was no need to go out shopping.

When she mentioned what she wanted to eat, the chef would prepare an excellent meal with the finest fresh ingredients.

A life lacking nothing.

But something felt strange.

She quickly grew tired of exercise and swimming before a week had passed.

Even reading books didn’t give her much sense of achievement compared to what she had learned through experiences with Amon and her companions.

Above all, no matter how delicious the meals served at the table were, they tasted bland.

Clearly her tongue was pleased and her stomach satisfied, but her brain felt something was missing.

Whenever she cut into a steak, she was reminded of the sausages she used to eat with her companions at the mercenary restaurant.

It wasn’t just her imagination that she missed potato fries as snacks more than the sorbet the chef prepared for dessert.

She missed Amon’s presence terribly at the dining table where people sat too far apart from each other.

Not depressed, but lethargic.

This summarized her state at home.

Three months had passed since she began this listless life.

The isolation period was four months.

The thought that she could meet her friends after enduring just one more month was gradually bringing back her vitality.

She firmly believed she would spend the next month in the same daily routine.

Until her father suddenly summoned her.

“Let’s go somewhere together tomorrow.”

This was what President Frey said during dinner.

At his sudden announcement, Kathy couldn’t help but ask:

“What about the company?”

“I’m taking tomorrow off.”

“Is something happening?”

“Yes. Something very important. So keep your schedule clear.”

Since Kathy was unemployed anyway, the president’s words were merely a courtesy.

Right to refuse?

There was no such thing.

The president clearly loved her enough not to tell her to part ways with her companions, but when necessary, he was definitely a strict father.

She reluctantly complied with her father’s unilateral announcement.

The next day.

Kathy changed into outdoor clothes before the appointed time.

– “Wear clothes that can get wet and dirty. You’ll probably have to throw them away afterward, so don’t bring anything important.”

Following her father’s instructions, Kathy changed her clothes.

Her preparation for going out was complete after choosing sandals that could be discarded if needed.

As the appointed time approached, her father came to her.

A suit, shirt, and tie.

Each item easily cost thousands of dollars, but to the president, they were “disposable” clothes.

He glanced at his leather watch to check the time.

“It’s time.”

He gestured to Kathy.

Unconsciously heading toward the front door, Kathy stopped in her tracks.

The president was heading toward the stairs inside the house, not outside.

Kathy asked him:

“Father. Didn’t you say we were going out?”

“I said we were going somewhere, not that we were going outside.”

Grumbling that she had put on makeup for nothing, Kathy headed toward the stairs.

Click, clack.

The president’s dress shoes and Kathy’s sandals descended the familiar stairs.

Basement level 3.

The president stopped at the floor where the boiler room and storage areas were located.

He looked back at Kathy once, then operated the management room computer.

Tap tap tap.

His elegant hand movements struck the keyboard, and

Click

When his finger pressed enter.

Whirr.

A secret door opened.

Kathy’s mouth hung open at the appearance of this secret door she had never seen before.

The president, ignoring her reaction, gestured.

“Let’s go.”

*

The stairs beyond the secret door leading deeper underground were dark.

Father and daughter descended slowly, relying on dim lighting.

After they had descended for some time, the president broke the silence.

“You’ve matured now.”

“I’m already an adult.”

“Being over 20 doesn’t mean everyone matures.”

“Hmph…”

Kathy puffed her cheeks.

Normally, her father would have found this cute, but today was different.

As if afraid of the darkness below the stairs, he hardened his expression and didn’t respond to her.

From the president, who was descending ahead of her, came a voice in an even tone.

“Our family recognizes children as adults in the year they reach 20 years of awakening their magical power.”

“I’ve never heard of that before.”

“Because I didn’t tell you.”

“Did my brother receive it too?”

“Yes. Five years ago, while you were at the academy.”

“Then why keep it a secret until now?”

“It was for your sake. Power you cannot handle is a curse.”

“…What?”

With the topic suddenly becoming heavy, Kathy couldn’t help but ask.

“What do you mean…”

“Kathy. What do you think is the secret behind the Requetio family’s reign as Elders for decades?”

To the president’s question, Kathy answered without hesitation.

“Education and talent monopoly, isn’t it?”

The secrets of money and investment, the eye to read political landscapes, the sense to navigate human relationships.

And the ability to design investments that lead to no short-term failures and maximum long-term profits.

All of these had been passed down through education.

Therefore, Kathy firmly believed these were the sources of the Requetio family’s power.

But the president immediately denied her assumption.

“No. Human society is neither perfect nor stable. Even the best education doesn’t always lead to success. The reason we’ve always been successful is—”

Because we can peek into the future.

Due to the sudden words from the president’s mouth, Kathy’s steps halted.

The word “revelation” that she had heard while passing by the president’s room a few days ago echoed in her mind.

She, who had been descending the stairs, took steps backward to go back up.

The president spoke calmly to her:

“I understand what you’re thinking, but I have no intention of sacrificing you like some cult offering, so come down. You’re going to ask me, ‘How did you know that?'”

“How did you… huh?”

Kathy was bewildered.

It’s possible to roughly guess what questions she might ask.

But the president had predicted the exact sentence she was about to say without missing a single word.

Before she could open her lips, the president spoke again.

“Yes.”

“Did you really… eh?”

“I really peeked into the future and answered in advance. Do you believe me now? You were about to ask if I’m still looking now, right? As you can see.”

“…”

Kathy’s mouth wouldn’t close.

Whatever she tried to say after that, even…

“…What’s the point of asking your father about the location of your victory underwear that you keep in your drawer?”

Even sentences completely out of context were accurately predicted, so she had no choice but to believe.

“And today, you’re scheduled to awaken that ability. So don’t run away and come down.”

“Ah… yes.”

She came down the stairs reluctantly.

After confirming that she had completely descended the stairs, he pushed the iron door at the end.

A huge cavern unfolded before her eyes.

Familiar-faced elders were waiting for her and the president.

The president spoke to Kathy, who was intimidated by their gazes:

“Since you’ll ask for an explanation in the future anyway, I’ll explain in advance. Revelation, prophetic dreams, prophecy, future sight. The form differs from person to person, but our family can peek into the future. In my case, it takes the form of revelation.”

The president’s revelation came in the form of hearing the voice of his future self in his ear.

At first, it came unconsciously and suddenly, but after decades of training, he could hear it whenever he wanted.

“By combining the sounds I hear from numerous parallel worlds, I can know the future.”

“Then why haven’t you told me about this until now…”

“The power to peek into the future isn’t as convenient or blessed as you think. It might even be a curse. I feel the same way. Knowing the future seems to have made my emotions too shallow.”

At her father’s words, Kathy recalled his usual demeanor.

The father she knew was quite emotionally rich for a Megacorp president.

Sometimes he was childish, laughed heartily when happy, and occasionally showed his daughter when he felt hurt.

Even in public settings.

That’s why she didn’t understand her father’s words at first.

But the moment she fully understood his words, she realized.

“Don’t tell me… it was all an act?”

The president nodded quietly.

Kathy’s face turned pale.

His laughter, his tears. All were acts to lead to a favorable future.

Sometimes showing a human side makes people follow him more.

The president’s expression, acknowledging this, looked somewhat tired.

As if he had repeated this conversation many times, and as if his current expression had no impact on the future.

He showed his fatigue honestly.

The president continued his explanation unilaterally, as if wanting to end this conversation quickly.

“If I’m like this, what would happen to someone who awakens this ability at an age when emotions are abundant?”

Most often, it led to tragedy or some part of the brain breaking down.

That’s why the timing of awakening this power was strictly managed.

A time when the mind is sufficiently mature, yet magical power is also sufficiently mastered.

They set this period at 20 years after awakening magical power.

“Your magical power has stabilized, and I’ve confirmed your mind is sufficiently mature. So today, you’re scheduled to awaken your ability.”

Only then could Kathy understand her father’s seemingly insane behavior.

If this was the secret behind his genius investment abilities from a young age, incomparable to others, it made sense.

Come to think of it, not just her father but also her brother…

Her brother too?

Suddenly, as her thoughts reached that point, Kathy stopped the president.

“Father. You said my brother’s coming-of-age ceremony was how many years ago?”

“Five years ago.”

“Then when did ‘that woman’ start getting involved in that strange religion?”

“Five years ago.”

“Did you… know that future too?”

“Yes.”

Grind.

At the president’s calm announcement, Kathy gritted her teeth as if to crush them.

She glared at the back of the president’s head as if she would kill him right then.

“Do you actually love your family? No, are you even capable of it?”

Nod.

“I love you.”

Kathy could understand the meaning.

She shook her head tremblingly.

“I don’t want to awaken this ability. I don’t want to lose my humanity.”

“Will you be alright?”

“What do you mean? I don’t need power—”

“If you don’t awaken it, you’ll lose your friends.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s advice. I told you. I love you sincerely.”

At these words, delivered with no emotion like a calm sentence, Kathy couldn’t help but accept.

That it was the truth.

In the end, she reluctantly consented to the ritual.

“Fine. I’ll do it.”

“Good. Someday you’ll understand me too.”

“If I don’t go insane first.”

“That won’t happen.”

Following her father’s back as he asserted this, Kathy prepared for the ritual.

She prepared for the ritual in the center of the cavern.

The president was preparing the oil for the ritual with his back turned to her.

While she was closing her eyes and reminding herself of her humanity, the president spoke to her.

“Let me correct one misunderstanding.”

“Yes?”

“Why do you think there’s no world where I tried to stop your mother?”

At the president’s voice, which somehow seemed sad, Kathy could only close her lips.

Having finished preparing the oil, the head of the family approached Kathy with the jar.

While Kathy knelt before him, the president pricked his finger on a thorn attached to the rim of the jar.

Drip, drip.

Three drops of his blood mixed with the oil.

The elders surrounded the kneeling Kathy and began chanting something in an unknown language.

The president brought the oil jar above Kathy’s head.

Before tilting the jar, the president spoke in a voice clearly showing fatigue:

“I love you, Kathy. Please, just you…”

Just you?

Before she could ask what that meant, the president tilted the jar.

The oil mixed with blood poured over her head.

She closed her eyes.

It should have been just 3 drops, but Kathy flinched at the smell of blood amid the fragrance.

Finally, after the last drop fell on the crown of her head, a voice came from above:

“It’s over. Open your eyes.”

At the declaration of the end of the ritual, Kathy felt deflated.

She had expected something more grand, like a trial.

She raised her head, squeezing out the remaining oil from her hair.

In the process, she made eye contact with one of the elders.

That’s when it happened.

“?!”

She felt a floating sensation in her vision.

Whether it was the right expression or not, she could only describe it as a floating sensation.

Soon, she saw numerous threads before her eyes.

Countless threads branching out like branches from a single skein of thread at her feet.

At the end of those threads, she could see certain scenes.

She knew they were futures between the elder and herself.

In many futures, the elder respected and followed her well. In some futures, the elder clashed with her but reluctantly followed.

And in a very small number of futures.

The elder poisoned her.

“!!”

She startled and averted her gaze.

Her eyes met another elder’s.

Once in 1000 futures, that elder stabbed her heart with a knife while she slept.

Another elder blew up her car with a 0.01 percent probability.

Someone pushed her off a cliff with a 0.02 percent probability, and someone else locked her in a warehouse and set it on fire with a 0.004 percent probability.

Every elder carried a small probability of killing her.

Nausea welled up.

The elders were now looking at her with incredibly favorable gazes.

“Oh! Is she seeing the future?”

“This child is successful!”

“What kind of future do you see?”

Without knowing what future she had seen, they gave her kind looks.

That discrepancy intensified her nausea.

To avoid the uncontrolled future sight, she made eye contact with her father.

Her father was looking at her with relief.

The man giving her that kind look, once in 10,000 times.

Either killed Kathy or died by her hand.

That was the final blow.

“Ugh-!”

She vomited stomach acid.

Her head throbbed.

Unable to handle the massive amount of information, her brain began to forcibly shut down.

In her gradually darkening vision, she felt her father’s hands supporting her body.

In her ears, she heard the satisfied voices of the old men.

“Did she see a future so distant that she fainted? Or did she see many futures?”

“Sleep well, child. Explanations can wait until you wake up.”

“Huh huh. Isn’t this the first case since the great ancestor? This is a family celebration.”

No voices of concern for her came.

In the midst of rising nausea once again, the last voice she heard was her father’s:

“Kathy. Never break down. I love you. Sincerely.”

Feeling the sensation of lips on her forehead, she closed her eyes for a while.