Chapter 221 The Gathering

As the day drew its curtains to a close, revealing the grey night sky falling down on the horizon while the sun dipped, Ayumu smiled to herself as she prepared dinner. "Emma and Satoshi for sure would be famished once they get home. I wonder where they went on their date."

Ayumu pressed her hand to her mouth as she chuckled to herself. Of course, she knew that whenever Emma asks Satoshi out, her purpose was to know more about this world, not to go on a date with Satoshi. While she can't complain if Satoshi started liking Emma, she knew well enough that her son had set his heart already on someone else. Even if countless girls appear in his life, Satoshi wouldn't be swayed from his decision.

"But what if Emma started liking Satoshi first? If that were to happen... mmm, what should I do?" Ayumu muttered to herself.

In the end, she brushed off all the thoughts in her head and proceeded to prepare dinner. She already marinated the ground beef, all it needed was a little bit of forming and a handful of seasoning. "Hamburg Steak, Hamburg Steak," She repeated to herself, singing as she continued on its preparation.

Durun dun dun durun dun!

Ayumu couldn't mistake that sound for anything else. Placing the chopping board on the counter, she rushed toward the living room to check what the news was talking about. The 'durun dun' sound only happens when there's a news flash or emergency news and this would be shown on every channel across the entire country.

"What's going on?" Ayumu pursed her lips, concerned.

[Number One Superhero, Plunder, Defeated?!]

The headline flashed on the screen, making Ayumu gasp in shock— not because she was concerned about her husband, but because the headline was too ridiculous. There was no one in Japan who could defeat her husband, and yet they were saying that he was defeated? Ayumu found it hilarious.

But before she could laugh her heart off, the news showed a brief picture of Dungeon Spire, and then one of the reporters started talking about how Plunder's group was wiped out on floor thirty of the Dungeon. Once the reporter was finished with his statement, the news report then showed both Fury and Technmorine with each other, planning with the other reporters.

She thought that the news flash was over when the logo of the news station flashed on the screen. Just when she assumed that she received her fair share of shock that day, another news flash showed on the screen.

This time, it was her son who was in the news. He was riding his White Lion familiar with Emma behind him.

[Rookie hero versus the Army. Is defending the Dimensional Portal worth it?]

["Stop this! Right now!" Satoshi screamed from afar while doing a t-pose on the screen.]

"No... Satoshi would never act recklessly. There must be a reason for this." Ayumu shook her head as she grabbed her phone and contacted Elimine— superhero name Plume, Satoshi's childhood friend, and Shiroi's cousin.

By car, it would take more than a few hours before Ayumu could reach the shores of the Sea of Japan. With Plume, however, she could get there in record time. That's why she chose her over the family car.

"Wait for me, dear... wait for me, Satoshi," She muttered to herself as she continued preparing for dinner, all the while waiting for Plume to respond to her emergency summons.

.....

Another hard day's work at the construction site but to Onigashima Midori, it was all worth it. After all, today's the day he got to receive his salary, his hard-earned money. Finally, he could treat his family to good food once again. With his three younger sisters and three younger brothers, he knew it would be hard to fit his tight budget into his salary but he was willing to do it. It's not every day they get to eat good food, after all.

Thanks to Midori and his parents doing part-time jobs here and there, they were able to get by. However, Midori didn't want such a life of survival. He wanted his parents to take it easy, and more than that, he also desired for his younger siblings to get a better life, get good grades, and never think about starving again.

Recently, there was an accident where his sister almost died. Fortunately, his healing superpower awakened within him and he was able to heal her just in time. Still, that didn't change the fact that their standard of living was so low and it's not optimal for her sister to live a lifestyle like that with her weak constitution and all.

"That's right, let's just get two pizzas and some soft drinks. I'm sure they'll like it!" Midori said to himself. Soon, he will get his superhero license and he'd be able to formally assist The Nurse. Once that happens, he could finally give his family a comfortable life.

Durun dun dun durun dun!

While buying pizza, Midori heard the familiar sound of a news flash coming from the television which prompted him to look. The first one was alarming enough as it is— a headliner that talked about the supposedly defeated party of the number one superhero, Plunder.

"Satoshi's dad. Oh no... what happened?" He asked, his eyes glued to the screen. He didn't even notice that the pizza he ordered was already in front of him, and the worker behind the counter was waiting for him to pay for it.

"It's pizza time!" The worker repeated, saying the slogan of the pizzeria.

"Oh ah, thank y— Satoshi? What is he doing there?!" Midori's payment was interrupted when Satoshi suddenly appeared on the screen, doing a t-pose and standing up against the Japanese Army and Navy.

"Whoa, that kid is crazy," The worker commented. He was also drawn in by the news flash and for a moment, he forgot that there were other customers waiting in line behind Midori.

Midori didn't waste any time paying for the pizza, grabbing the two boxes out of there, and heading straight home. "I've gotta go... there's no way Satoshi can stand against the entire army like that." He said to himself even though he was unsure of what he could do to assist Satoshi. In any case, he wanted to help, and there was no one who could stop him from doing so.