Chapter 55

1.

“Let me ask you one question first.”

“What is it, Silk?”

Before diving into a full conversation, Wakaomo revealed her curiosity, wagging her tail as if delighted.

Whether her declaration of devoting her body and soul was true or not, I couldn’t tell, but she seemed to trust me firmly, as she had removed her mask from the beginning. Wakaomo’s golden eyes sparkled brightly.

I wasn’t sure if she was happy that I had asked her a question, or if she simply enjoyed the moment of our conversation.

Just the fact that her eyes could hold so much happiness was, in itself, a little surprising to me.

“How did you find out about my home? More accurately, how did you know about my identity and come here?”

“Aah, you mean that. It wasn’t very difficult.”

How did Wakaomo discover my residence and identity?

And why did she come here?

To these questions, Wakaomo answered thus:

“The power of love.”

“…What?”

Love power? What exactly is that?

As I revealed my baffled expression, Wakaomo closed her eyes for a moment, then began to reminisce about the past.

Then began her hushed reminiscence.

“After the fierce and intense encounter with you, akin to an explosion, I sensed a red thread connecting you and me. This was the guidance of fate tied by the red thread… thus, I was able to find you.”

“…”

“As I absorbed the teachings you bestowed, I have not committed a single evil act until now. Perhaps it was a reward; one day, following the guidance of the red thread, I eventually arrived here.”

Such was the entire story.

That’s all Wakaomo had to say.

When her story concluded, her eyes were revealed once more. Her gaze, now with a hint of pink added to the golden hue, was upon me.

Did I just imagine that there was a heart drawn in her eyes?

I tried my best to ignore Wakaomo’s gaze while thinking.

‘The guidance of fate, huh.’

Frankly, it was a hard story to believe, but since I possessed ‘extrasensory perception,’ which could also be called a supernatural or mystic power, I reluctantly agreed.

Only, the expression ‘red thread of destiny’ felt a bit strange.

“So, what exactly do you mean by ‘red thread’?”

“Ho ho ho, it’s a literal expression. The connection of our fate and bond—a connection of our love.”

“…”

“Aah… If you keep looking at me so intently, my heartache will overflow from all over my body…”

I truly don’t know how to respond to this…

Even though I smiled bitterly at Wakaomo’s affectionate words, I felt that I should compliment her after hearing her story.

She hadn’t committed any evil deeds after listening to my story, after all. Honestly, that deserved praise.

“You’ve done well, Wakaomo. I’m proud of you.”

“…!!”

With that meaning, I approached Wakaomo, took her hand, and smiled slightly. At once, her eyes widened.

Surprisingly, not only her tail and ears stood on end.

Since they say that tails and ears are parts that reveal an animal’s emotions, her expression quickly relaxed and became filled with immense happiness.

Hmm. She’s kind of cute.

It’s like what Serika said—there’s a constant urge to touch those ears and tails of the Youkai students.

“…Ufufu. Fufu fu fu fu♡”

“?”

What’s that?

What sound was that just now?

But Wakaomo’s laugh, sinister and low, was enough to silence those urges.

When I tried to pull my hand back in confusion, Wakaomo held onto it tightly enough to make a ‘snap’ sound.

“W-Wakaomo?”

“Aah… knowing you desire me this much fills me with overwhelming joy and rapture. Take responsibility for making me feel this way, please.”

“Excuse me?”

Her golden eyes shone ferociously.

Soon enough, Wakaomo began to close the distance toward me while still holding my hand.

“Come now, closer… just a little more toward me…”

“Hey, hey! Why are you suddenly doing this…!”

With a predator’s gaze on its prey, she slowly approached me. And then─.

-Poof.

“…?”

“Aah, how pleasant. The warmth of your body seeping into me brings immense comfort.”

Wakaomo buried her face in my embrace.

Her arms wrapped around my back tightly as she hugged me, while I had been pushed back onto the bed.

From the start, it seems she intended to hug me while she continuously rubbed her face against my chest.

In contrast, I could only press my face into my hands, my cheeks flushed bright red from sheer embarrassment, contemplating how awkward this situation was.

Not to mention how her whole body was pressed against me, which was embarrassing enough.

Take, for example, her chest or stomach.

Are physical contacts like this really common between women?

No matter how I think about it, this feels quite inappropriate!

‘O Lord.’

In the end, all I could do was call out to the heavens in my mind and strive to maintain my calm.

Begging that she would soon be satisfied and leave my embrace, all I could do was endlessly recite the national anthem in my mind as a calming mantra.

But the heavens did not heed my pleading.

Wakaomo clung to me for a full ten minutes.

2.

“…Anyway, the favor I want to ask is this. I would like you to assist me in my activities for this case.”

“Ho ho. I’d be delighted. Please let me know what to do.”

“That’s great… I appreciate your enthusiasm.”

As I’ve mentioned before, I intend to include Wakaomo as part of the hero line I will establish in Kiburatos.

Not with ‘Defenders’,

But with the name ‘Thunderbolts’ I had in mind.

In its original story, the Thunderbolts were a group with diverse tendencies depending on the series or timeline.

Sometimes they functioned as a team of supervillains.

Sometimes they became a team of villains acting as antiheroes.

And sometimes they were a team of fallen heroes who became adversaries.

Broadly, they were seen as the Third Force that didn’t belong to heroes or villains, yet the perspective of ‘non-virtuous beings’ striving for their version of justice was widely accepted.

For these reasons, I had also named the group Wakaomo would join ‘Thunderbolts.’ Objectively speaking, Wakaomo was a delinquent, and up until now, her actions haven’t been righteous.

However,

In my judgment, it’s still too early for her to actively participate at the moment.

Given the current public perception, Wakaomo is a delinquent, fugitive, and likely even a terrorist. Even if she suddenly begins hero activities under Silk’s guidance, there’s no guarantee people will immediately welcome her.

Not to mention we have yet to discover the full extent of Wakaomo’s abilities, and according to my plans, the official launch of teams such as ‘Defenders’ or ‘Thunderbolts’ is not part of this main storyline.

“I’d like you to assist as a ‘sidekick’ this time.”

“Anything is fine with me. Only… what exactly is a sidekick?”

A sidekick.

Although it’s an English word meaning “assistant,” in superhero genres, it generally refers to a kind of amateur hero who assists the main hero in operations.

“Aah, I understand. So it means you guard my back as your assistant, right? Leave this task to me. I will protect you with all my might.”

“Uh-huh. Thank you…”

“Ho ho, not at all. It’s a gesture of gratitude for your affection.”

Ignoring her burdensome gaze as much as possible, I continued to explain the plan.

It wasn’t entirely a meticulous plan.

In fact, deciding to make Wakaomo a ‘sidekick’ wasn’t based on a calculated judgment but closely followed the extrasensory perception that was still vividly felt at that moment.

Kaiser would certainly make a move,

And adversaries I couldn’t handle alone would surely appear as well.

My extrasensory perception was telling me exactly that.

Hence…

“…We must prepare.”

Wakaomo as a sidekick, support from Himari and Veritas, equipment from the Engineering Department, connections to SCALE and Abidos, and the numerous pieces of information I possess…

Every available means will be utilized.

And we must achieve the desired conclusion.

No matter who or what stands in my way.

3.

A few days passed afterward.

I completed the preparations to head to Abidos quickly.

Through discussions with the Seminar, I received official approval for these deployment activities, along with support.

I also heard from my teacher that they had safely arrived in Abidos.

“Seems like you almost encountered trouble over here, too.”

During this period, I learned that they went through a perilous journey and met Shiroko successfully.

On one hand, I felt a sense of satisfaction seeing the beginning of the predestined connections unfolding as in the original storyline, but on the other hand, it also filled me with some unease.

Perhaps, I might not be able to deviate from the original story—this uncertainty lingered briefly but soon faded.

The reason was simple.

“Welcome back, my love! Would you like to eat first, or take a bath? Or perhaps, a loving embrace?”

“Um, Wakaomo. There’s something I’m curious about.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Are you not going back home? Why are you staying here?”

This certainly was a scene that could evaluate as being incredibly distant from the original story, which unfolded right before my eyes every day.

For some reason, Wakaomo had been living here since the day of our reunion.

She took care of the cooking and housework entirely.

Why are you doing this here?

In response to my question, Wakaomo grinned mischievously with her hand on her cheek and answered.

“Ufufu, didn’t I mention it before?”

“…What?”

“That I will offer you my body and heart completely. And that I would like to be by your side, watching over you.”

“…”

“Therefore, I’m always planning to be with you.”

Wakaomo said.

Because I had given her guidance and planned to continue receiving teachings from me, she wanted to repay the favor by serving me faithfully by my side.

In short,

To put it simply, she intended to begin a live-in arrangement.

‘Well… How exactly does observing by your side turn into a newlywed-like cohabitation where you’re taking care of me?’

I couldn’t understand, so I asked, and Wakaomo replied.

“Love is returned with love. It’s only natural.”

Hmm. I see.

Trying to understand this attempt itself was the problem.

“So, what would you like to do first? Dinner? Bath? Or… a hug?”

“…”

I couldn’t answer. How do you choose between these options?

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