"This really is the way to do it."
"No doubt about it."
Rinji and his father sat on the balcony, staring seriously at the grill in front of them.
Several cans of beer sat on the newly set wooden table.
"Late-night barbecue is always the best."
"Can't do outdoor grilling like before, but this balcony setup works fine."
This ti, his father had brought so vegetables from their farm, perfect for grilling with the frozen at in the fridge.
Watching the oil sizzle on the grill, Rinji opened a can of beer, took a sip, and asked, "By the way, old man, you dealt with that ghost thing today, right?"
"Yeah. Saw that creature ssing around in the sky while I was eating, so I took care of it."
He put grilled chicken wings and lamb skewers on Rinji's plate.
"That thing—is it a god?"
"From what I've seen, no," his father said while sprinkling seasoning. "If sothing's competing on the sa level as humans, then it's already fallen from being a god. Even if it once was, it's degrading itself."
"Oh. Will it affect the weather here?"
"No. Rainfall might drop a bit over the next few months, but nothing serious."
As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and tossed a glowing crimson gem in front of Rinji.
"That creature's sealed in here now. I don't need it, so it's yours."
"Alright."
Rinji recognized what it was with one look and pocketed the gem.
"How long are you staying in Japan?"
"Just a few days—treating it like a vacation. I'll head back ho soon."
"Got a place to stay?"
"Hotel near your place. I'm not staying here with you and your girlfriend."
"I rember you used to have property here."
"Sold it after going back ho. Donated all the money. Right now, my only property in Japan is the family farm."
"Oh… then how does our family have so much money?"
"Who knows? Every month a few hundred million dollars mysteriously appear in my account."
"Then why did you only give a hundred million when I left ho at twelve?"
"That was to train your ability to endure hardship," Rinji's father replied as if it were natural. "Back in my day, your old man started from scratch."
"Yeah, with five million dollars to start from scratch."
"Oh co on, five million is barely money."
"…Fair enough."
…
Maybe it was because they hadn't seen each other for a long ti, but the father and son talked for quite a while.
They ended up eating several plates of skewers from midnight all the way to morning.
As the sky began to brighten, they finally finished.
After cleaning up the tools, Rinji planned to head back to his room to get ready for school, and his father was preparing to leave.
"Co ho for New Year, okay? I probably won't co visit you again anyti soon."
"Why? Aren't you basically free these days?"
Rinji's father put on his coat, walked over, and ruffled his hair.
"Because the author wants to decrease my screenti to make it more mysterious. And, this is your story."
"Huh?"
"Anyway, that's all. I'm heading out now. Keep in touch by phone."
With that, he put on his shoes and left.
Rinji returned to his room. At the sa ti, Hayasaka had just woken up and stepped out.
Working under the Shinomiya family had made her a habitual early riser.
Seeing that Rinji's father was heading out, she quickly rushed to the entrance and put on her shoes.
"Uncle, are you leaving already?"
"Yeah."
"Then let walk you there."
"Ah, thank you." Rinji's father smiled.
---
The hotel wasn't far from Rinji's place—just a couple blocks away.
When they reached the entrance, Rinji's father turned and smiled at Hayasaka. "Thanks a lot. Really, you didn't have to walk all the way here. Just to the apartnt building would've been fine. Don't you still have school?"
"It's okay. There's still plenty of ti before classes start."
"You're such a good kid."
Rinji's father had a nostalgic look on his face.
"Sotis I wonder if that kid's personality is a little too much like mine."
"Isn't being like one's father a good thing?"
"If I were an exceptional person, then sure. The thing is, his strengths are like mine… but so are his flaws."
"Hmm?"
"When he was young, I always hoped he wouldn't follow the sa path as our generation. But in the end, he still chose the sa road I once walked. Unlike , who had no choice, he made every decision on his own."
He paused, then laughed.
"To be honest, I think you're pretty great. Maybe with you by his side, he'll actually walk a different path from mine."
"…Thank you."
Blushing slightly, Hayasaka expressed her gratitude for his praise.
---
"Sagara, I heard the boss is in Japan right now."
"That info ca from George. Have you confird it?"
At IW's Western Pacific headquarters, in one of the building's conference rooms, the usual group of Elders had gathered.
Sousuke said, "…Co on, you wouldn't all show up if this were about anything else."
Normally, even huge international events wouldn't move these old-tirs from their hos. But when it ca to Rinji or his father, they always showed up in droves.
"You're right. He's in Japan," Sousuke said. "And it just so happens I'll be heading there soon too."
"I'm coming!"
" too!"
"I'm—"
"No one's going." Sousuke imdiately shut them down.
"Why not!?"
"Because I'm going to Japan on an errand from Rinji," Sousuke explained. "There's a pair of siblings that need adopting. He didn't trust anyone else, so he asked directly. Since I'm already in Japan, I figured I'd handle the paperwork."
"You could've handled that from here!"
"Yeah, we could adopt the kids ourselves!"
"Alright then. Raise your hand if you can adopt children."
Whoosh!
Every elder in the conference room raised their hands.
"Alright. According to Japan's child welfare regulations, adoptive parents must be a married couple. Kids can't be adopted into a single-parent household," Sousuke continued. "If you're not married, put your hand down."
"..."
One by one, the hands dropped reluctantly—until only two people had their hands raised.
"If no one in your family resides in Japan long-term, put your hand down too."
"Shit!! Sagara, are you screwing with us!?"
"So you're the only one qualified!?"
Sousuke: "Unfortunately, yes."
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