Two Dads' Chance Encounter

Tokyo, Ginza Street.

"Lord Geto! This one, this one is super delicious!"

Nanako pulled an almond cookie from the paper bag and fed a piece to Suguru Geto.

At that moment, Suguru Geto had Mimiko in his left arm and Nanako riding on his neck—the whole image of a doting dad.

He chewed the snack and let out a helpless sigh.

"I'm only sixteen, what is all this?"

Even so, Geto was already over 180 centimeters tall, looking nothing like a minor.

Meanwhile, the petite and adorable Nanako and Mimiko were just five years old.

To passersby, the three were the perfect heartwarming combo of a loving father and two cute daughters!

Walking along, Geto suddenly stopped, staring straight ahead at the person before him.

Standing across from him was a burly man, holding a little boy and a little girl by each hand.

Toji Fushiguro glanced at Geto, then at Nanako and Mimiko on him.

"Your daughters?"

Geto nearly lost his composure. "No... I'm only sixteen..."

"Your little sisters?"

"Not exactly... They're orphans I took in."

Toji looked at Nanako and Mimiko with interest. "They seem to have a lot of sorcerer potential!"

Geto swept his gaze over the boy Toji was holding and showed a slightly surprised expression.

This aura... a very strong technique!

Toji grinned and introduced, "My son, Megumi Fushiguro!"

Megumi Fushiguro looked at Geto, feeling a strange sensation—this person was a sorcerer, and... strong!

He stepped forward and bowed politely. "Hello, I'm Megumi Fushiguro."

Toji then patted the little girl on his right. "This is my daughter, Tsumiki Fushiguro."

"Hello!"

"Hello, I'm Nanako Hasaba!"

"I'm Mimiko Hasaba!"

Nanako and Mimiko responded with their own greetings.

Tsumiki Fushiguro saw two girls her age and immediately felt the urge to make friends.

Seeing this, Toji tilted his head. "Looks like the kids have things to say. There's a café nearby—want to join?"

With nothing else to do, Geto nodded.

He also wanted to ask Toji Fushiguro for advice on how to be a good dad taking care of two kids.

If Megumi Fushiguro knew what Geto was thinking, he would have told him it was a pipe dream.

A good dad taking care of two kids?

Today was Monday, so why weren't he and his sister Tsumiki at school?

Because some "dad" overslept and forgot to send them!

And the key point was, this guy didn't even try to fix it—he just called the school to excuse them both and dragged them out shopping!

Inside the café.

Since they were the same age and had similar personalities, Tsumiki quickly got familiar with Nanako and Mimiko.

Megumi, however, was quiet and reserved, his somewhat expressionless face reminding Geto of his junior, Nanami.

"Congratulations, I heard you were recently promoted to Special Grade."

Toji downed his coffee in one gulp, with the boldness of chugging beer at a street stall.

In contrast, Geto drank with much more elegance.

"Actually, I have you to thank for that."

"...Let's change the subject."

Toji really didn't want to recall the memory of being ganged up on by those three.

"Hey, Toji."

"What?"

"What's the meaning of your life?"

Toji blinked. "That topic shift was a bit stiff, but if I had to say... before, it was money. Now, it should be..."

He glanced almost imperceptibly at Megumi and Tsumiki beside him. "Family, I guess."

"Family? For you, that answer is pretty surprising!"

"What's up? You look all down in the dumps, like you got dumped by your girlfriend."

"What a lousy metaphor..."

"You two, here's your coffee refill!"

The waitress's gentle voice cut through their conversation.

"Thanks."

Suguru Geto reached out to take the coffee, then his gaze suddenly sharpened.

A grotesque curse was coiled around the waitress's shoulder.

At the same moment, everyone except Tsumiki noticed it.

Before they could act, the waitress hurried off due to the café's busy workload.

"What, need a hand?"

Toji Fushiguro grinned at Geto.

Nanako, Mimiko, and Kei had only recently awakened their techniques and couldn't exorcise curses yet.

Toji had no cursed energy and needed cursed tools to exorcise curses.

But swinging a large blade around in public would either land him in jail or a mental hospital.

Of everyone present, only Geto could exorcise the curse without causing a commotion.

"It's just a Grade 4 curse, can't hurt anyone."

Geto spread his hands, speaking with a bored tone, and raised his cup to take a sip of coffee.

Suddenly, he paused.

The latte art on the coffee was a sun-like smiling face, and there was a note under the cup.

Opening it, Geto blinked.

"After you finish this coffee, forget about the unhappy stuff! (＾ワ＾)"

"Unhappy..."

Geto touched his own face, a mix of amusement and exasperation. "Was it that obvious? Have I been walking around with a sour face this whole time?"

"Sigh~"

Letting out a sigh, Geto stood up and walked toward the waitress's station.

"Um..."

"Hello, sir! Can I help you?"

The girl's smile was like a winter sun, full of warmth and healing energy.

Geto was momentarily stunned.

The girl before him reminded him of that junior who admired him, Yu Haibara.

Just as passionate, just as vibrant, as if too beautiful to belong to this world.

"Excuse me... what's your name?"

"Huh!!!"

At that, the nearby coworkers got excited first, eyeing the waitress and Geto with gossipy looks.

"Our Haruko finally wised up?"

"Hey hey hey! Haruko, you've got skills, snagging a top-tier hottie like that on your first try!"

The waitress named Haruko blushed bright red. "You guys... don't talk nonsense! This is my first time meeting this gentleman!"

"I... hello, my name is Haruko Shinohara!"

As she spoke, Haruko glanced up to steal a look at Geto.

She'd only given him a little "gift" because she noticed he seemed down.

She never expected him to come straight over and ask for her name!

What do I do, what do I do, I've never dealt with this before!

Geto was a bit embarrassed too.

He quickly glanced at the curse on Haruko's shoulder out of the corner of his eye, then exorcised it with a flick of his finger.

After that, he scurried back to his seat like a thief.

Toji watched this scene with keen interest, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, that's not how you chase a girl."

"Shut up!"

Geto's mouth twitched. "Exorcising a curse! I was just working!"

Toji flashed a teasing grin. "Oh yeah? You're pretty bad at lying... Hm?"

Toji suddenly turned his head, looking at the people who had just walked into the café.

"What's wrong?"

"Star Religious Group."