As Yerna and he were heading to the place he had prepared, he sensed something strange and adjusted the rearview mirror to check behind him.
‘Just as I thought.’
For several minutes now, the same vehicle had been entering his field of vision.
It seemed a bit troubling that, while maintaining a somewhat consistent distance, the vehicle was tailing them instead of simply following the same route.
Moreover, the direction they were driving was towards a remote warehouse facility where an ordinary person wouldn’t have much reason to go.
The fact that they were still being followed clearly indicated a case of stalking.
In addition, the silhouette of the driver, visible through the heavily tinted windows, was quite imposing, and the flicker of their gaze seemed to emanate a powerful aura.
This gave him a firm conviction.
“It seems we have another stalker.”
“……Huh? A stalker?”
At his words, Yerna, who had been lost in different thoughts and hadn’t noticed the tailing, raised her voice unexpectedly.
“Did you really not notice at all? Were you perhaps thinking about something else?”
“…….”
He scolded her, but Yerna had no words to retort.
What business did she have worrying about the life expectancy issues of Dayton while thoughts like these were racing through her mind?
Upon reflection, there were no long-lived species among the current members of her family, aside from herself.
Luke was already a precarious chimera that had received a terminal diagnosis in the past, and Diana was just a human child who wouldn’t surpass an average lifespan of 100 years.
As for Pyris, who might be capable of spirit transformation…
Ultimately, pondering that she might end up being left alone eventually was enough to drown Yerna in a wave of emotions.
Reading such thoughts in Yerna, he let out a low sigh and pointed with his chin as if to indicate something.
“That vehicle has been following us for a while now. It seems like we’re being tailed from somewhere.”
Hearing this, Yerna turned her head to see the vehicle stalking them and frowned.
‘That vehicle looks oddly familiar.’
Could it be a coincidence?
It appeared to be the same model as Dayton’s car.
Though difficult to discern due to the heavy tint, the silhouette of the person inside also seemed to be quite large.
And, most importantly…
The vehicle’s license plate was identical to Dayton’s.
“Could it be…?”
Yerna rolled down the window and leaned her head out, straining her eyes against the thick tint to get a better look.
And soon, her expression was filled with astonishment.
“Dayton!”
It was Dayton, her known associate, who had received a message from Tenna and pursued them.
“Dayton? Who is that?”
“My husband!”
—–
Upon hearing Yerna’s words—revealing that it was her husband who had been following them—he pulled the car over to the shoulder of the road.
At that moment, the vehicle that had been tailing them also came to a stop a little way off.
A moment later, the person who got out of the car was indeed Dayton.
Seeing his massive frame, he looked at Yerna with a playful grin.
“Is that your husband? Quite a massive guy. He must have a tough time at night.”
“……Did you lose your mind?”
Yerna flushed at his words and clenched her fists.
As much as she wanted to punch him for that comment, she couldn’t act on it out of concern for hitting someone who was practically her teacher back in the day, and now an old man, possibly leading to severe injury.
On the contrary, seeing her innocent-like demeanor again brought him joy.
It seemed that she had genuinely put the past behind her after meeting her family.
He felt warmth in his heart as he patted Yerna’s shoulder and asked, “But why exactly is your husband chasing us?”
“……Actually, we promised not to do something dangerous like this again.”
“Dangerous? What do you mean by that? Ah.”
Understanding the situation, he nodded.
Did she start this without her husband’s permission?
Yerna still retained that mischievous spirit even at her age.
Eventually, Dayton approached them and called her name in a cold voice filled with anger.
“Yerna. What on Earth is going on?”
“Uh, huh?”
Being met with Dayton’s sharp gaze unexpectedly made Yerna’s heart drop.
Upon reflecting, it was perhaps only natural for Dayton to be angry.
She had been caught sneaking into a facility while claiming to just meet someone she knew.
Therefore, she found herself at a loss for words.
No matter how much she justified it for Luke’s sake, she had indeed broken their promise not to engage in such dangerous activities, and it felt wrong for her to start lying now.
Yerna feared that Dayton might be disappointed in her for being a woman who couldn’t keep her promises.
“No, um… Well…”
At her hesitant response laced with fear, Dayton raised his voice again.
“Yerna, why did you meet that person and come all the way out here?”
Yerna, taken aback by Dayton’s stern demeanor, found herself momentarily frozen and unable to answer as she hadn’t prepared an excuse at all.
To explain, she would have to start with the cat photo she suspected to be Luke in the past, but recalling that such stories wouldn’t sit well with Dayton only led to greater worry.
There was no need to risk danger for something that happened so long ago.
Still, it was hard to just let it go.
Just like the time she randomly bumped into “Dylan,” if she brushed it aside, she didn’t know what would happen to Luke in the future.
“……Hic.”
What she needed to say got stuck in her throat, and all that came out was a hiccup.
At that moment, seeing how flustered Yerna was, much like a child being scolded and unable to explain herself, an old man watching from the side seemed to decide that it wouldn’t do and stepped forward.
“Calm down for now, young man.”
“Calm down? Do I look calm right now? And who the heck are you?”
Dayton looked down at him with a fierce glare, demanding an answer.
He smoothly deflected the pressure of Dayton’s gaze and spoke nonchalantly.
“Oh, right. Let me introduce myself. My name is Gordon. I have a long-standing bond with Yerna here.”
“G-Gordon? What?”
At his introduction, Yerna’s eyes widened in shock.
Could it be that he was about to reveal his real name here?
Moreover, saying they had a long-standing bond meant that they had worked together on numerous operations, indicating he was also a member of the organization based in the forest.
This could only mean he had that much trust in Dayton.
However, bringing this up right now wouldn’t please Dayton.
It wasn’t like they had come to this remote location for a casual drive with old comrades.
Just as expected, Dayton’s expression darkened further upon hearing that introduction.
“A long-standing bond? Since when have you maintained such a relationship?!”
Dayton grimaced, speaking as if he were grinding his teeth.
“A long-standing bond, you say?”
“……Yeah.”
Now struck with the realization that this was truly the end, Yerna fidgeted, simply nodding her head.
Seeing her like that, Dayton sensed the surge of anger that had previously filled his mind cooling off, transforming into something much colder.
From the constant sight of Yerna clenching her fists, and the mix of horror and joy on her face when she leaned out the window to look at him, followed by that expression reminiscent of someone being led to a slaughterhouse when she entered the car…
He soon became convinced.
She must have been coerced into this by someone who had a hold over her family.
There was definitely coercion involved, as there was no reason for her to resist otherwise!
‘To become family and leave her to struggle alone like this…’
Soon, Dayton murmured quietly.
“Yerna.”
“So, this is….”
Despite Yerna trying to explain the situation, Dayton shook his head and said, “I get it; I know what’s going on. There’s no need to say anything.”
“R-Really?”
“Whatever thoughts you have, it’s not your fault.”
“Dayton….”
Hearing his words, Yerna was deeply touched to know that he understood her thought process.
However, that feeling of warmth didn’t last long.
An overwhelming physical force, forged purely from trained muscles, struck him squarely on the jaw.
– Crack!
“Guhk!”
“Everything was orchestrated by that guy!”
In response, Yerna hurriedly waved her hands, unable to hold back.
“No, no! That’s not true!!”
It was a case of unfortunate misunderstandings arising from a coincidence.
—–
There’s a saying that each person is allotted an amount of fortune and misfortune at birth.
Some individuals live with terminal rare diseases from the moment they are born, while others live long lives without caring for their health, only to die peacefully when their time comes.
When a person is born, their fate is naturally determined.
People call this fate.
“……”
Luke looked at the small square piece of paper in his hand with a perplexed expression.
It was none other than a “hot spring travel ticket.”
A prize originally planned for the first place in a lottery, somehow found its way into his hands.
How strange.
Was this a trick of fate?
Perhaps, the fateful misfortune assigned to him had scattered away after a few days?
If moments of bad luck were merely limited to knocking over a flower vase or getting splashed by a puddle while walking, then such a life perceived as misfortune seemed rather paltry.
However, is the first place truly luck if it is granted to someone who doesn’t desire it, or should it be treated as misfortune?
Luke couldn’t even request to exchange the first-place prize for second or third place.
When he asked one student, “Do you think our parents’ onsen is such a terrible place that you want to trade your prize?” they had vehemently objected.
Still, it wasn’t completely hopeless.
‘Well, I can sell it to someone else…’
Being a family ticket for four, it might fetch at least the price of a modern smartphone or vacuum cleaner.
“Wow, first place! A hot spring travel ticket!”
“Hey, sis. What’s a hot spring? Is it something to eat?”
Pyris and Diana, who were watching Luke’s lottery, gave completely different reactions.
Diana seemed genuinely thrilled about the first-place win, while Pyris seemed unaware of what “hot spring” meant in human language.
“Yeah, a hot spring is a place where hot mana flows underground, creating a spring. If the water quality is good, people can bathe there.”
After answering Pyris’s curiosity adequately, she tilted her head and muttered, “Bathing? Is it any different from at home? I don’t like baths that much.”
At that, Diana quickly replied, “It’s totally different! Hot springs are huge! You’ll feel completely refreshed bathing there.”
“Really? I’m curious.”
……
Ultimately, Luke found himself unable to go through with selling the ticket.
There was no way he could tell the excited children thinking about the hot spring, “I’m selling this for money, so don’t mind it.”
‘Destiny is truly strange.’
In this case, he would have to buy the smartphone and vacuum cleaner with his own money.
