[94] Don’t Call Me That!

[94] Don’t Call Me That!

Chapter 94: Don't Call Me That!

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[Third Person Point of View]

“You are... pretty cruel.”

“Sorry.”

Aqua and Ruby were sitting in a nearly empty metro, making it safe to talk. While she was relieved that those who wished to harm Ai were gone, she felt conflicted about the methods her brother used.

Did he have to go that far?

Was such extreme brutality really necessary?

She could understand not giving them a swift death as she had, but to outright torture them... Once again, what kind of life had he lived before, she wondered.

She knew he had been an Emperor, and today, she had witnessed him in his battle armor, exuding an unmistakable air of royalty. But still, she was curious about what kind of life he lived, and how old he was before his death for him to be this cruel.

“How many people did you kill when you were the Emperor, Onii-chan?” Ruby asked, prompting a curious glance from him.

“Why? I didn't count.”

“Can’t you give me an estimate?'”

“No? Why are you so curious, it's not a good thing to know.” He said, making her frown.

“Come on~! Fine, then tell me how old you were. That'd give a good idea.”

“Nope, can't tell you the specifics.”

“Ugh, you're so annoying!” She said and bit his arm, making him yelp and withdraw his arm.

“What are you doing?! Stupid girl,” he exclaimed, tapping her on the forehead as she grumbled.

“Just tell me?”Alll latest novels at novelhall.com

“No,” he shrugged. “But since you're so curious, I'll tell you something else. Treat it like a fun fact. Back in the day, I ruled over 15.7 quadrillion citizens. To give you an idea about my age, all of that number I have built on my own.”

“You're lying,” Ruby burst out laughing. “At least make better lies. The population on Earth today is 8.5 billion, how could it be quadrillions in the past? Isn't 1000 trillion equal to 1 quadrillion? Liar! Come on, tell me for real.”

Aqua just shrugged and avoided it, until she fell silent and stared at him.

“....” She hadn't thought this before but, “Wait, are you from the future...?”

“Dumbass, I’m from another world. How are you this slow?” Aqua said, facepalming.

“What?! Other worlds?! How?!” Ruby exclaimed, her mind swirling with even more questions.

Regardless of the circumstances, Ruby didn’t feel alienated from him. She knew he cared for Ai, perhaps more than herself. She also knew that he cared for her -Ruby- too. No matter how old he may be, or how cruel he was, she got the proof today that she and Ai were special to him.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone that far to beat up those crow bastards.

“Onii-chan, come on, tell me about these other worlds!” she pleaded, hanging from his neck.

* * *

[First Person Point of View]

‘How is she my sister? Twin, no less. So dumb... She's cute though.’

We reached home quickly, and it was only at the gate that I remembered Mem-Cho was supposed to come. I pulled out my phone to check my messages, and sure enough, she had notified me.

Strangely, her messages were concerning.

===

Unread Messages from [Memmy-♡-Cho]

[3:55 PM]

Hey! I am in your home~ I'll go meet Ai and wait for you.

[4:16 PM]

Memmy: Uh, Aqua...

Did something happen with Ai? I don't know, she's acting weird. Like she seems dazed and gloomy.

[4:22 PM]

Hey, where are you? Your cousin is here, where are you and Ruby? Ai told me to go wait in Tsubasa's house, I'll do that. Come meet me later, I'll wait. First, you should talk to your mom, she seems weird.

===

Huh...

Had something happened to her?

A sense of needless worry filled my heart. I could sense the Tiger Cubs playing around here, so she should have been fine. What could have happened?

Approaching the door, I opened it and announced, “We're home, Mom,” with Ruby following close behind.

A peal of stupid laughter burst out of her lips and she almost fell to her back. She looked broken as she laughed, and I waited for her next words.

“Ah, I see, I see,” She composed herself and stopped laughing. Her gaze was stern as she looked at me with an expression that said ‘it all makes sense now’. “No wonder. That's why you are attracted to me, aren't you? Because you were attracted to me in your last life. You have never been my son to begin with, that's why you never saw me as your mother.”

Just because I said I saw her as a woman doesn't mean I didn't see her as a mother...

“And here I was worrying over nothing, I was worried about where things went wrong while raising you. But it turns out, the teacher was not at fault, but the student. I have never raised you to begin with, have I? You just pretended to be a kid all this time. Did it feel good?”

Since I had prepared myself for hearing exactly that, it didn't hurt. Well, I was used to hearing that too, so it wasn't supposed to hurt anyway.

I watched in silence as she continued. “How does it feel? To have good genetics in this life? It must feel great that you look better than most people. Is that the reason you're after so many girls...? Because you were a fat otaku in your last life who never even held a woman's hand?”

At least that was funny. I was curious to see what sort of image she had about my past life. Did she not know that I had lived multiple lives?

“I'm curious what you were in your last life. You are as natural as everything, so were you an actor? Or were you some old monk? No, you couldn't be a monk since you said you were a fan of mine. Just what were you?”

That question answered she didn't know I lived multiple lives.

In that case, she probably rationalized my multiple personalities as her 'real son's’ soul reacting to protect his mother from a creep. That might be why one side of myself punched the other—according to her. Probably, who knows? Fuck.

‘Ahh...’ How bothersome. Should I have left more trails in the past in anticipation of this situation? At least she wouldn't have thought of me as a fat otaku in my last life.

Sadly, it was too late. She was yelling and talking nonsense, insulting me, and calling me names right now.

Ai Hoshino was a strong woman, she was a genius and strong-willed person. It's hard to break her, but it could be achieved if it involved her children. And this time, she learned that her children were in fact not her children. It's natural that she was acting like this.

I couldn't even blame her, because half of the things she said were right. Indeed I had been acting like a kid, despite not being one. Is that not deceiving her?

Since she was in [Sherlock Holmes] mode when she figured this out, her 190+ IQ had allowed her to think of every possibility. I had nothing to say that would convince her that things were different from what she was thinking.

I could clarify that I wasn't a creep but rather someone who had lived multiple lives; however, what difference would that make? The only thing that would change was that she'd get a clearer view of why I didn't see her as my mother, and why I was so good at pretending to be a kid.

In the end, she'd only hate me more for being a “professional mother deceiver”.

Fuck.

“Ruby will be back soon,” I said as I got up from the couch. “You should return to your room and compose yourself there. I-”

“You have no right to tell me what to do, you imbecile! You're not even related to me!' she spat out.”

“-will pack my bags and leave.”

“....”

Her expression paused as I walked out of the room and headed to mine. It wasn't a provocation, I really should be leaving this place now. She needed some time to sort her thoughts herself. If she could, at all.

I had a few things I needed to pack, and I didn't exactly have to “pack” since I just put them in my Void Storage with a touch, but it still took a few minutes. While I was in my room, I sensed that Ruby returned and went to the living room. Ai was still there, sadly she didn't listen to my advice, and Ruby found her lying on the couch with an empty look.

I sighed when I sensed them begin to talk. ‘I told her to return to her room... haah.’

A few minutes later, I finished taking my things and walked outside. When I began to pass by the living room, a hand pulled me by my collar.

“Y-you! You told her!” Ruby confronted me, her eyes red and teary. “Why did you tell her?! She hates us now! Are you stupid?!”

Technically, I hadn't told her; she had discovered the truth herself, though I did provide additional information. Information that would at the very least trigger Ai’s motherly nature to not abandon Ruby.

A few slaps came to my chest while she yelled why I did this to her, as I stood still. When she was done exerting her strength, she fell to her knees and breathed heavily. Her body trembled and tears were dripping down her cheeks.

Leaning down, I ruffled her hair reassuringly. “It's alright, she won't hate you. You'll be okay, Sarina.”

She continued weeping before pausing and looking up. “W-what? How did you know that nam-”

With a gentle karate chop to her neck, she fell unconscious. I walked away from her and out of the door. Exiting the house, I stood at the gate, deep in thought.

“Hey, Tiger Cubs!” I called, and the cubs immediately gathered around me. They wore serious expressions, aware that things weren't going well right now. “Take care of them as you would take care of me, I’ll get mad if you slack around just because of what happened today. They’re still your main priority of protection, understood? If an enemy out of your league approaches, just reach out to me.”

““Understood,”” they nodded in unison.

“When... will you return?” Blue asked, her eyes filled with concern. All the cubs looked at me in concern, but since she took a human form, it was easier to tell hers.

I offered a faint smile. “I'm not sure,” I admitted.

Maybe never.

Should I have tried harder to change her mind...? No, it’d not have mattered.

With that, I launched myself into the air. The wind caressed my face and I wondered what to do from now on. As I soared upward, I also had to ponder where to spend the night.

‘A bench should suffice for today.’

People below wondered how the clear sky rumbled with violent lightning.

Only I knew the reason why. Controlling my heart proved far more challenging than faking my facial expressions, after all.

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