Chapter 45
Evil Clark?
David wore a strange expression, finding it novel. It was the first time he had heard such a claim.
Clark really should have been here to hear that, and to experience what it felt like to be guarded against like a murderer.
"Your tribe's legends have nothing to do with me."
Not intending to give Kara another chance to pester him, David flashed away at nearly the speed of sound, leaving behind several leaves swept up by the gale, which slowly drifted down.
"I don't have your ability to turn into a wolf."
Catching a withered yellow leaf drifting down before her, Kara looked in the direction David had gone, her eyes full of anticipation and her expression complicated.
The kindly, serene old woman at the Nursing Home had once foreseen her future before dying.
Do not approach David and his brother, or her fate would fall into misfortune.
If misfortune was her fate, she would not run from it. She had long prepared herself for it, as long as she could help Nama defeat Sergei.
David now understood why the transfer student had been both friendly toward him and wary of him before.
Beneath that burning gaze, as though pursuing a faith, Kara had made him feel rather uncomfortable.
He had gained a new ability in the Forest and spent quite a bit of time testing it.
It was already nearing afternoon.
David returned home.
"David, you're back?"
The previously gloomy atmosphere in the house had vanished without a trace.
Clark could not hide the faint smugness at the corner of his mouth.
"Just now, Rickman had someone come over to terminate the contract.
He had never realized that helping people could be so joyful. More importantly, he had outdone his younger brother by solving the matter quickly and beautifully.
He had never known helping people could feel so good. More importantly, he had beaten his younger brother and resolved the matter quickly and beautifully.
This time, his brother should realize that problems did not necessarily need to be handled so brutally and cruelly.
"Son, we don't have to move anymore."
Jonathan and Martha smiled and nodded. "The farm and the house are ours again."
Clark had just told his parents how he had done it.
He only said that, because he had been anxious, he had left his brother behind and rushed ahead to Chloe's home. Then, concealing his identity, he had forced Rickman—the man who had used his abilities to cheat his way into acquiring the farm—to cancel the contract.
Jonathan and Martha explained it all again, and David learned what had happened.
The two were somewhat worried that their son had used his abilities, but thinking that the Meteorite might have created quite a few Metahumans, they felt somewhat reassured.
"You must both be hungry. I'll make lunch right away. There should still be time before you go to school."
With the matter resolved and the weight lifted from her heart, Martha remembered that her two sons had not eaten yet and happily ran into the kitchen to get busy.
"If not for your sharp and quick analysis, Clark couldn't have resolved this so quickly either. You did well, son."
Jonathan patted his younger son's shoulder approvingly, then went into the kitchen to help his wife, as though they had never argued.
The dark clouds had cleared, and the house had returned to its usual ease and warmth.
David knew his father had just been considering his feelings, hoping he would not feel frustrated and dejected because Clark had used Superman's abilities to resolve the matter while he had been left behind.
"David, why don't you seem especially happy?"
Standing beside his younger brother with his arms folded, Clark asked in confusion.
"Because I resolved this before you did?"
Was David really that competitive?
"What is there to be happy about?"
David withdrew his gaze from his parents, looked at him, and frowned.
"Don't you think our parents are too kind?
"The house and the farm were ours to begin with."
After something like this happened, they were satisfied just getting back the house and farm that had been taken from them. Although he had long seen his parents' kindness, sometimes he could not help feeling that it really was true that kind people were easily bullied.
"I don't think Dad and Mom are very happy either."
Clark pulled David aside and whispered.
He had secretly overheard his parents discussing reporting Rickman, so that he could never again use his abilities to do evil and casually take away things others treasured.
But if someone learned Rickman's secret one moment, then someone reported that something was wrong with him the next, would Rickman suspect that the Blue-clad man was Clark?
Jonathan and Martha hesitated and kept the matter to themselves.
David said as he watched his parents prepare lunch in the kitchen.
David looked at his parents making lunch in the kitchen.
"Wouldn't that make the target too obvious?"
Several Farmers who were confused about why they had suddenly sold their farms and houses might suspect Rickman had used some kind of drug or potion to make them sign the contracts. Reporting him to the police for an investigation would be perfectly reasonable.
"That's an idea."
Clark's eyes lit up, and he nodded.
"Knowing Dad and Mom, if this isn't resolved, they'll keep it bottled up and it'll become a knot in their hearts."
He looked at David, who had just offered the suggestion, feeling somewhat puzzled.
David was surprisingly gentle about resolving this matter this time. It was completely unlike him.
Had the power of his example been that strong?
Had he always misunderstood David? Before, when the two of them had exposed their abilities and identities, had David been forced to act that way?
"As long as I hide my identity properly from now on, what David did—beating someone into a Vegetative State—won't happen again?"
Thinking of that, Clark could not help feeling delighted.
He did not know that although David had just proposed a solution, he did not believe it would work.
"Reporting him for no reason, without any evidence—the police might not take it seriously."
And for a billionaire like Rickman, with broad connections and considerable influence, punishing him would not be so easy.
"Add his abilities to that, and it'll almost certainly fail."
David secretly shook his head.
He had only brought it up so his parents would not worry about this matter before tomorrow.
As for after tomorrow... it would no longer be a problem.
"Clark, David, lunch is ready."
Lunch was quickly prepared. Martha gently called to her two sons, "Hurry and eat, so you can get to school."
David smiled and sat down at the dining table with Clark. After taking two bites, he looked up and praised his mother's apple pie, saying it tasted even better than before.
Watching her two sons wolf down their food, Jonathan gently wrapped his wife in his arms in the kitchen. The afternoon sunlight shone over them, bringing a wave of warmth.
Tending the farm could sometimes be exhausting. Perhaps it was just as the saying went: only after losing something did people cherish it all the more.
They had not gotten a moment of rest that afternoon, yet both of them felt a faint sense of peace and happiness.
"The greatest happiness would be for our family to always stay like this."
Martha sighed.
"I'm afraid that'll be difficult." Jonathan shook his head with a smile. "Your two dear sons will go to college, start families, and get married sooner or later."
"I wonder what kind of wives Clark and David will find?" Martha could not help imagining it.
"Cough, cough..."
David and Clark, both of whom had hearing far sharper than normal, exchanged a glance and awkwardly choked.
"Eat slowly, look at you two."
Martha hurried over and poured each son a glass of water, caring for them with mild reproach. The house was filled with a warm, comforting atmosphere.
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