Seeing the atmosphere return to cheerfulness, Enju, sitting in the middle, also returned to her carefree childlike state. She began to join the food-sweeping battle with the other two.
Halfway through the meal, Rentaro suddenly seemed to remember something.
"By the way, Kisara, where did the money for all this food come from?"
"Your reward money."
"The ¥100 million mission? But didn't we fail that?"
Both Rentaro and Enju scratched their heads. That incident not only failed to recover the Seven Stars Legacy but also allowed Kagetane to successfully summon the Rank Five Gastrea. If it weren't for the Silver King stemming the tide, they wouldn't even be sitting here eating hot pot.
To this, Kisara simply replied:
"His Excellency Seitenshi felt that although you two failed, you did succeed in defeating Kagetane. So, as an encouragement, he gave us an instant bonus of ten million ¥."
"Ten... ten million ¥...!!!"
"Ten million ¥?"
In contrast to Rentaro's astonishment, Enju still didn't have much concept of money and numbers, so she couldn't imagine the scale.
She just knew it was huge.
"Rentaro, how much is ten million ¥?"
"About 50 years' worth of my salary."
Rentaro calculated a number large enough to startle Enju.
"Fifty... years... salary... a year has twelve months..."
Enju raised her small hand and began to count, but only the result "a lot" appeared in her mind; it was a tangled mess.
Facing the two excited individuals, Kisara sighed. She stood up with her hands on her hips, speaking sternly.
"But don't get lazy because of this. Almost all of the reward money has been used to pay off debts and to maintain the company's reserves."
"Whoa..."
Rentaro scratched his head and didn't feel Kisara was wrong for using the money. After all, Kisara was the boss, and in the past, she had always used her medical treatment money and tuition fees to pay his salary and maintain the business operations.
Even if Kisara had spent all the money on herself, Rentaro would have accepted it.
"Looks like we still have to keep striving. Right, Enju?"
"Mhm! Mhm! To be able to eat many more meals like this!"
Enju also enthusiastically raised her fist.
Seeing this harmonious scene, the weight hanging in Kisara's heart quietly lifted. Although deep down she knew Rentaro wouldn't blame her, not telling him still made her feel guilty, as if she were secretly appropriating others' efforts.
Fortunately, everything turned out well.
After eating, Kisara asked him if he had any plans.
Rentaro nodded.
He certainly did have a plan.
He prepared a relatively neat outfit, and also instructed Enju to wear a proper dress and bring her schoolbag.
Rentaro turned to Kisara and gently said.
"I think I need to take a day off today. Sorry, Boss."
"It's fine. The company's finances are still ample right now. It's okay for you to rest a bit."
"I told you to work hard, but I didn't say you couldn't rest."
Kisara pouted, then she glanced over. Seeing Rentaro's collar was slightly messy, she casually reached out to fix it. Seeing this, Rentaro smiled, unable to help but tease her.
"You'd make a good wife, Boss..."
"Wha..."
Kisara quickly retracted her hand, her face instantly turning red. Rentaro seized the opportunity to quickly take Enju and disappear, leaving her standing alone in the hallway.
"That guy... why is he getting more and more flirtatious!!!"
...
"Rentaro, where are we going?"
Enju asked dubiously, having been told to dress neatly and bring her schoolbag.
Enju had considered that Rentaro might be taking her to school, but she wasn't foolish. The truth that she was a Cursed Child was already exposed, and essentially no school would dare to accept her. Otherwise, Rentaro wouldn't have had to run around until now.
To this, Rentaro just said mysteriously, "You'll know soon."
Rentaro was indeed planning to send Enju to school—a school that was not ordinary at all.
But as the two walked past a bustling commercial center, the noisy sounds caught Rentaro and Enju's attention.
With sharper senses, Enju quickly realized it was a Cursed Child surrounded by several people.
This reminded Enju of the previous scene. She looked at Rentaro beside her, afraid he would abandon her again, but what surprised the girl was that Rentaro had already vanished.
"Stand aside, Civil Security!"
Rentaro charged forward with a terrifying aura, immediately intimidating the crowd into stepping back. A man holding a knife stepped out, grimacing unhappily.
"Don't interfere in our business, scram!"
These men specialized in finding wandering Cursed Children to vent their anger, because they knew that injuring these children wouldn't lead to criminal prosecution. However, it was difficult to find wandering Cursed Children in Tokyo now, so they were reluctant to give up the "prey" they had finally found, even if a Civil Security agent stood in front of them.
"That's right, step aside! Are you going to let that monster hurt people?"
The surrounding people immediately echoed their sentiments, shouting insults, threats, and curses of all kinds. But facing them was only Rentaro's cold, unwavering gaze.
Suddenly, he lunged forward, broke the wrist of the knife-wielding man, then squeezed the man's mouth and lifted him up.
"Now I'm the monster hurting you guys. Punish me."
"Quickly."
The crowd was stunned. Enju, who had just rushed over, was also terrified.
Rentaro remained unmoved.
"Quickly."
Rentaro urged them again.
A few men gritted their teeth and drew their knives, but their trembling arms betrayed their cowardice. Facing Rentaro, they didn't even dare to look him straight in the eyes, much less "punish" him.
Rentaro found it truly ridiculous. A thousand words of principle were ultimately not as effective as one word: "Quickly."
He threw the man aside, then glanced over everyone, gently exhaling one word.
"Scram."
Seeing this, the crowd quickly fled, not forgetting to carry their injured comrade. The onlookers nearby also hastily turned away, not daring to look, leaving only Rentaro, Enju, and the other Cursed Child.
"That voice... is that you?"
The girl spoke. Rentaro replied.
"It's me."
This was the same blind girl from before.
"Why are you here?"
"I'm sorry for breaking my promise..."
"Was your money stolen?"
The blind girl shook her head, but Rentaro covered his face.
Of course, it was.
A little girl, and a Cursed Child at that, carrying so much money and not being robbed would be the strange thing. Rentaro even had to thank the thieves for only stealing and not harming the girl.
Thinking of his "kind" but stupid action, Rentaro delivered a heavy blow to his own face. He finally understood why the Silver King had called him foolish earlier.
Kindness is not foolishness; kindness without thought is foolishness.
He had almost killed someone just because of his "kindness."
"I'm so sorry..."
"You've made Mr. Civil Security sad."
The blind girl bowed her head, clutching the old piece of cloth tightly. Rentaro calmly knelt on one knee, adjusting the disheveled strands of hair on the girl's head.
"It's alright. Let me take you somewhere."
"Enju, you come too."