Chapter 57 57 – A Restricting Truth

Returning to the US was easy, with Amber carrying both Kai and Ibaraki on top of her real Phoenix body. They didn't forget about the timezone this time and arrived in the US at 5 AM.

They landed on a clearing a bit away from Kai's house and walked to the restaurant on foot. Amber had changed her clothes back to the sleeveless red Qipao she often used when working as a restaurant waitress.

All of their baggage was already taken from the inn and was brought by Kai in his bag. There was something unexpected happening before they returned, though.

"I never thought Rena would visit our inn and give us this." Kai raised a small wooden box in his hand with a smile. "She didn't forget her promise."

"Fufufu, almost all Mythical creatures remembered their promise, Kai. They really took the promise as something important." Amber replied with a soft giggle from the side as they entered Chinatown.

"Un, Master. A promise is important. If we don't fulfill it, we could lose some of our existence and Spirit Power, weakening us as a result." Ibaraki added as she looked at the box. "What's inside the box, though?"

"This?" Kai showed the box to Ibaraki. "This is tea. Something I enjoyed when I protected the Spirit Foxes."

"Oh? Spirit Foxes' tea is the best. I also liked them." The Oni answered with a soft smile.

"Then let's drink it later." He nodded and then turned to Amber. "Sorry to ask you this, Amber. But is it possible to buy groceries for the restaurant? I am afraid my grandpa forgot about it."

"Sure, Kai!" The Phoenix girl exclaimed and went to the opposite street where they turned.

He planned to open the restaurant today, so he also messaged Mai and Anna, informing them that the restaurant would be open today.

After he had messaged them, he checked his message, but there was still nothing from that man. So he put his phone back in his pocket before he felt a tug on his sleeve.

He turned around and saw Ibaraki's face close to him.

"What's wrong?"

"I also want to help." She said, "Can I?"

"Of course you can," Kai replied with a happy tone. Every help in the restaurant was appreciated. He'd love to welcome Ibaraki as an additional power. That way, he could shuffle the shift and lighten the waitresses' work.

"Can you change your clothes just like Amber?" He asked.

"No." Ibaraki shook her head. "Amber is more skillful in technique, while I am stronger in brawn. I can't use a delicate technique like her." She added with a sad tone.

"It's okay." Somehow, Kai wanted to pat her head, and so he did. Because she was only a bit shorter than him, it was easy to pat her. "I still have a few uniforms in the restaurant. Let's see whether one of them suits you, shall we?"

"Un." The Oni nodded with a tint of red on her cheeks.

***

Arriving at his restaurant, Kai first showed Ibaraki where the fitting room was and left her to find the perfect clothes herself. Then he went to the second floor, stopping in front of Marcus' room and knocking on the door three times.

"Grandpa, are you there?" He shouted loudly, intending to wake his grandfather up in case he was still sleeping. "We need to talk!"

It wasn't for long that he heard the reply from the other side of the door as the door swung open, and an angry old man appeared.

"Shut the fuck up, brat! I heard you!"

"We need to talk." He repeated. A serious expression on his face.

"Hah?! I heard that! What the fuck do you want to talk about? Just say it!"

"I met grandpa Hyobe. He wanted us to visit our family's house."

As soon as Kai said that, Marcus froze and looked at Kai seriously.

"Did he?"

"Yes." Kai nodded. "And I know our family is part of the Supernatural World. Why did you hide it from me?" He asked with a sad tone. His feelings were hurt.

Marcus definitely knew about his love of the supernatural and Myths because the old man always got angry whenever he said he would look at the Supernatural on his own. But to think his family was a part of Supernatural World all along made him feel a bit betrayed.

"Tsk! That was unnecessary. I told you to visit Suzuka's hometown, but did you visit her grave too?" Marcus' voice became softer, and he lowered his volume as he closed the door behind him. "What did that guy say to you?"

"He said he was happy that I am grown up and asked me to visit the main house sometime in the near future with you."

"I see…" The old man muttered. "Well, we will visit soon then. But before that." He looked at Kai and narrowed his eyes. "I can't fucking tell you anything. Don't ask and register yourself in the Slayer Organization."

"Can't, huh?" Kai noticed a subtle difference in his sentence. Marcus said 'can't' instead of 'won't'. That meant there was something restricting the old man from telling him. "Is it a contract with Spirit Power?"

Marcus smirked and crossed his arms, "It seems that chick did her job wonderfully, just like I warned her. Good, then. If you know about that, just do as I said and register yourself in the Slayer Organization. Make a codename for yourself and become a Slayer."

The old man paused a little before continuing with a serious tone, "That way, even Ashiya Family won't stick their hands unnecessarily."

"I will do that."

"Bah! I know you will!" The old man snickered and opened the door behind him. "If you're done, then leave! I want to sleep one more hour before preparing the kitchen! I had a fucking hangover right now!"

Marcus slammed the door in front of Kai's face loudly, creating a loud bam sound. Kai was left there, alone. At least he found something about his grandfather.

"What the hell is going on within my own family? Is it related to the fact we are the descendants of the strongest? But why did the Mythical Slayers in Japan not make a move toward the Ashiya family when Chigusa prophesied about the Ruler?"

He ruffled the back of his head as he headed to the first floor. A lot of questions plagued his mind. He thought he could explore the Supernatural World without much worry, but it turned out his position made trouble for him.

It should be related to his body's special constitution that Amber mentioned. The desire to curse plagued him, but he held himself back. Still, it wasn't like he was in danger right now. And he had already planned to register with the Slayer Organization since the start.

"And grandpa had warned Amber? So she knew all along that my grandpa was a part of the Supernatural World?"

While he knew that Amber kept it because she thought about him, he still felt left out of this loop.

"Screw it." He stepped onto the first floor and fixed his hair, tying it in a ponytail, as he needed to start preparing for the restaurant's opening. "I will know the truth when I visit the main house in the future. Let's not think about it now."