Yuriko Takagi knew there were some very capable people in this world, like the kind of super soldiers the military pursued through biochemical modifications and such.
In fact, she had encountered such people - members of the organization called "Syringe."
They had wanted the Takagi family's cooperation, been refused, and as a result massacred one of the Takagi family's forces.
In the massacre video they sent over, each person performed almost inhumanly.
Normal humans simply couldn't break through such limits - such movements, such speed.
Now she was witnessing this type of person again, and even more terrifying.
The corpses were pathetically weak before him - to put it dramatically, they were like ants that could be casually stepped on.
With such a display, she wondered if the Takagi family's armed forces could stop him.
The few people following beside her - if she hadn't been standing here, they would probably have been scared away.
Though they still loyally accompanied her, some had obvious trembling in their bodies.
However, one fortunate thing was that she noticed her daughter's presence, which actually relaxed her considerably.
It wasn't that she worried her daughter was being used to threaten her. Because she had carefully watched her daughter's expression through binoculars.
This child's gaze seemed to linger quite often on this extremely dangerous young man, and that gaze wasn't fear or unease, but rather curious, and sometimes she would even space out and stare, which was rather intriguing.
This could indicate that her daughter hadn't been intimidated, threatened, or bullied by him.
As a mother, she knew her daughter's intelligence very clearly - she wasn't someone who could easily be overwhelmed by emotions and become irrational.
Even if she were to be overwhelmed, there would be a prerequisite - confirming that the other party posed no danger to her or her family.
As for his current somewhat excessive way of dealing with the corpses, Yuriko Takagi could understand it.
So she waited at the defense line for the group to approach. When they were less than ten meters away, she removed the hood of her firefighter suit.
"I'm back, Mom—"
"Yes, welcome back—"
So her daughter was very excited and wanted to run over.
But thinking of something, her daughter stopped her impulse to rush into her arms.
Her daughter's somewhat hesitant gaze fell on him, as if waiting for his response, waiting for his permission.
How should this be described? It was like when two teams made contact, team members couldn't bypass the team leader to excitedly talk with the other side first - it felt somewhat like insubordination.
So her daughter's behavior seemed to show some reverence for him, but more like she had also positioned herself as a member of the team, rationally considering her position and the leader's attitude before responding.
"Sir, thank you very much for taking care of my daughter and escorting her back—"
"Mm."
That was his response.
He seemed like someone who didn't particularly like pleasantries, and also felt like the type with a generation gap who didn't know what to chat about.
After his response, he also glanced at Saya, and Saya seemed to receive permission. She really wanted to excitedly run over but still held back.
This was—
Oh, she understood. Her daughter didn't want to appear too childish or immature in front of him.
"Open the barricade."
"Ah? O-okay."
The people following were still somewhat afraid of this young man.
In a flash—
The Takagi family mansion - a luxurious residence with a considerable courtyard that in ancient times could be called a small fortress.
Not only were there Takagi family members here, but nearby citizens had also entered to take refuge.
In a room of the main mansion, Saya Takagi was recounting what she had seen and heard.
"Alright, Saya, don't mention this part."
Yuriko Takagi stopped her daughter's somewhat hesitant content - speculation about the other party's identity.
Saying it would feel like betraying his background and origins.
Not saying it would make it seem like she, as a daughter, didn't trust her mother.
So Yuriko Takagi proactively made the decision for her daughter.
She could see the other party was quite satisfied with Saya, so there was no need to let Saya leave a bad impression in his mind or put Saya in a difficult position.
"By the way, Mom, the culprit behind the world's end might be the organization called 'Syringe' - this conspiracy must be exposed!"
Saying this, Saya Takagi noticed her mother's expression and it seemed her mother also knew about this organization.
That made sense - after all, they had said they would capture her to threaten the family, so they had probably contacted the Takagi family before and things had ended unpleasantly.
However, regarding this organization causing the apocalypse, her mother seemed unaware. Hearing it now, her face became terrifyingly dark.
"I understand. Come with me."
Yuriko Takagi was about to take her daughter to the basement level, where the Takagi family's intelligence forces were located and could still contact the outside world.
She could also contact her husband who was currently out helping to get the supplies her daughter had mentioned in the earlier phone call.
Now that her daughter had returned and directly revealed this panacea thing, if they wanted to manufacture it, they would need more medicines.
So her daughter had also prioritized a list, and she would take her daughter downstairs to make contact and try to bring back the things on the list.
Taking her daughter downstairs was mainly because her daughter wanted to contact her father.
Although she had been told everything was fine, her daughter would only feel at ease after hearing his voice.
As for that mysterious young man and the accompanying group, people had been arranged to host them.
The reason she hadn't immediately greeted him was that she had provided a bathroom, and he naturally wanted to clean up immediately and get properly clean.
It wasn't that she disliked his appearance, but rather that he also wanted to have a proper bath.
After washing up, they would have a formal conversation.
"...Yes, okay, Dad—"
There weren't many words, because Saya Takagi knew that during such times, every minute and second was crucial - she couldn't occupy her father's communication time.
Knowing her father was still alive and already on his way back was enough to put her at ease.
"Well then, Saya, you should also go wash up. Your body smells terrible - boys definitely won't like it—"
Her mother's words made Saya Takagi, who had just hung up the phone, stiffen, then blush.
"Annoying, I know—"
Saya Takagi left huffily.
Coming to the bathroom, after entering she heard some playful sounds inside, especially from the child Alice.
All the other girls including Teacher Shizuka were washing in this spacious bathroom.
As for the boys, they showered quickly and didn't need this kind of bathroom with a large bath.
However, for that guy, her mother had naturally also provided a separate bathroom where he could soak.
"Hmm? Where's Senior Saeko?"
Saya Takagi noticed she wasn't there.
"Ah? I don't know about that."
"She seemed like she didn't come in."
"Right, I saw Senior Saeko following Mr. Ejie."
This was what caught Saya Takagi's attention.
For some reason, she felt annoyed.
Ejie's body was now slightly tense, because he wasn't alone here.
A girl claimed she had entered the wrong room, but even after making the mistake, she didn't plan to leave.
If she wasn't embarrassed, should he be embarrassed enough to retreat?
That would be too useless.
Then the girl kindly offered to help wash his back, because it was somewhat troublesome for normal people to wash their own backs.
Of course, he didn't refuse this, just like that day when he was helped with cleaning - he accepted her goodwill.
So the girl's fingers, which were delicate to him, were rubbing against his back.
Suddenly, a different sensation made his nerves tighten further - this was stimulating.
She pressed against him.
This was like those classic anime scenes of washing backs with... that kind of contact.
"You were expecting this, right? What a pervert—"
Her tone was disgusted, but also carried a teasing flavor.
...
[Vote With Your Power Stones For Bonus Chapters]
[Check My Patreon For Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!!]
[patréon.com/RoseWhisky]