In the stall near the restaurant, three old men and a beautiful young woman could be seen talking healthily while drinking cheap beers in a big glass mug.
"They are going at it, huh? Hahahaha! That fucking brat had it with a legendary Oni. I can't say that I am not jealous!"
Marcus laughed loudly as he slammed his mug on the table, spilling some of the beer. He looked really happy; there was not a single shred of sadness or anger.
"My~ He also had me, you know? I guess many people will envy Kai now, fufufu." Amber chuckled playfully as she replied to Marcus.
"That's right! Hahahaha!"
The two of them laughed merrily, ignoring the two old men that played chess at the same table. They looked rather serious as John moved his pawn forward.
Then suddenly, the atmosphere turned 180 degrees and became serious. Marcus narrowed his eyes at Amber, leaking some dangerous aura around him. A Talisman suddenly appeared on his hand, and it burned with pale blue Spirit Power as a barrier appeared around four of them.
"Still, did that brat really say that?"
The conversation from this point involved the Supernatural World, hence the barrier. Normal people who were sitting to drink in the stall shouldn't hear this.
A cold breeze hit the area, causing Amber's long hair to dance around beautifully. Her eyes narrowed into a slit as her smile fell.
"Yes. And I will support him."
"This is a dangerous thing. You understand that, right? Kai is still na?ve. He doesn't know anything yet about the danger of the Supernatural World."
"That's because you make him stay oblivious." Amber's dry reply stopped Marcus from talking further. "Isn't it you who hid the Supernatural World from him? If you taught him..."
She looked at Marcus' pained expression and stopped talking. Maybe there was still something the old man hid from her and Kai. If not, then his expression wouldn't turn into something so pained as if he had lost everything he ever loved.
As she wondered what had happened to his past, a voice came from the side.
"Phoenix lady." Billy looked at Amber with his usual soft smile. "Marcus had his reason too. You need to understand him a bit."
That was something Amber had noticed as well, so she nodded to show her understanding,
"Yes." Then she looked at Marcus and bowed her head slightly. "I'm sorry. But I will still stick to my decision to help Kai, my Master."
When she raised her head again, Marcus was looking at her intensely, trying to gauge the seriousness of her words.
As an experienced person and Kai's grandfather, Marcus could also somewhat look at a person's mood and emotions. He wasn't a na?ve boy like his grandson either, and could differentiate between a lie and a truth.
And even though the other party was a Phoenix, he could vaguely feel that she was serious about what she had said.
"As I said, it would be dangerous. Are you ready to lay yourself to protect that brat?"
"I am ready," Amber replied with a firm tone. "As you know, Phoenix can revive themselves after they die. We will revert back to an egg we keep a secret. If you want assurance, I will tell you where my egg is located."
"Are you fucking serious?"
Even Marcus was surprised by Amber's declaration. The location of Phoenix egg was something that could cause a stir in the Supernatural World. It was that important information.
Telling someone else about it was ridiculous. A Phoenix would never tell someone about their egg's location, not even their family. Why? Because telling someone else equal to her trusting her immortality to that someone.
"Yes." Amber nodded firmly. "If that's what it takes to get your trust for Kai. And also…"
"Hmm?"
"I have a bad feeling about Prophet Chigusa's last prophecy. Let's just say I was paranoid and asked you to take care of things if it went as I thought, shall we?"
Amber smiled beautifully at Marcus. The other two old men who played chess stopped moving and turned to her.
"So I am just a safe card here? Hah! I should've known how shrewd you were." Kai's grandfather scoffed and grumbled to himself while the other two laughed.
After telling his two friends to stop laughing, he sighed deeply, "Ugh, fine. I can't even refuse it if you were asking sincerely like that. So, what's your real plan of approaching us besides giving the brat time to get laid in my fucking house?"
"Oh my~ I thought the house was Kai's?"
"The restaurant is! The house and the second floor are mine! Aagh! I should've kicked you out with him when I saw you that morning!"
"Fufufu, but you didn't. Wasn't that your way to make an excuse to yourself that it was time for Kai to join the Supernatural World? He would be found by Mythical Creature sooner or later as his Spirit Power reserve grew bigger and bigger each day. The barrier in New York City also wouldn't hold up any longer as it kept losing power."
"Of course, I knew about it! The barrier and the five cornerstones, including the two that got destroyed recently, were created by my fucking daughter to hide the brat! Tsk! You brought up something unpleasant. Now my mood is soured again."
He took off the mug and gulped down the beer in one go. While he did that, a grin grew on Amber's face.
"Oh? That's some interesting information." She spoke calmly as if she had achieved what she had tried to dig from Marcus.
The old man flinched, and the other two looked at her cautiously before bursting into laughter.
"Bahahahaha! She got you, Marcus! You didn't break your promise, but you blurted it out. Hahahaha!" John laughed loudly without trying to hold back even a little.
Billy also laughed with him, but his voice wasn't as loud as John's.
"Shit…" The one who's been had let out a curse under his breath. Then he sighed once again, looking down at the table and slamming the empty mug down, creating a loud bam sound. "Don't fucking tell the brat about this, Phoenix chick."
"I won't. That would break your promise and take your Spirit Power away from you, right?"
"Yeah." Marcus nodded. "And that would be bad. I can't say anything more for now, but tell Kai to be careful when he's out. Make sure one of you always accompanies him, as something strange is happening in New York City right now."
"Can you tell me about it?" Amber asked curiously, sipping her beer slowly.
"Sure." Marcus leaned forward toward Amber with a dramatic move.
Then, he told her in a low voice. "The seal that keeps the ghosts and demons unable to leave the Astral Plane has been destroyed. It was two cornerstones I talked about earlier. And possibly, the other three will be destroyed."
"That's bad. I now know why the man over there mentioned to Kai that New York will be in a dangerous situation." She looked at John, who resumed playing chess with Billy.
"Yeah, that fucker." Marcus glared at his friend and was ignored. He clicked his tongue and turned to the Phoenix girl once again. "So train him, Phoenix chick. Teach him about how to exorcize the ghost and kill a demon. I am really counting on you, you know?"
"I will. That's my plan since the start."
"Good." Marcus nodded and smiled once again. The barrier around them disappeared as the old man burned the Talisman in his hand with his Spirit Power, combusting it into dust. "Now then, let's continue drinking! Tonight is on me!"
"Ooh? I will take that offer." Amber replied and quickly emptied the beer in the mug. Wiping the foam from her lips, she raised her hand to call for the stall owner for a refill. "I am quite good at drinking, so prepare your money."
***
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