Dominion Bond System: The Only Man Left Has A Yandere Girlfriend

Chapter 88: Blackmail

Reiji’s heartbeat remained steady.

Outwardly.

Inside, however, countless thoughts collided with one another.

’How...?’

His crimson eyes remained fixed on the woman standing a few meters away.

Aoi Tachibana.

The neighbor who lived across the street.

The same woman he occasionally greeted whenever they happened to leave home at the same time.

The same woman who had just calmly called him the Night Empress.

’How does she know?’

His mind immediately began piecing everything together.

’Did she follow me?’

Impossible. He would’ve noticed.

Even if Detect Presence failed because she stayed far enough away, Shadow Step had allowed him to cover enormous distances every night. There was no way an ordinary C-Rank Awakened could keep up with him.

’Then... did she see me leaving home?’

That was more believable. He always left late at night.

Always returned before sunrise.

But even if she had noticed that...

That alone wasn’t enough to conclude he was the Night Empress.

Unless his thoughts paused.

’The alley...’

Every morning he deliberately slipped through this narrow alley before returning home. It was quieter, with fewer cameras and almost no pedestrians.

If someone had been watching...

"..."

No. That still wasn’t enough.

She would’ve needed proof. Real proof.

His gaze drifted toward the strange silver artifact in her hand.

The faint light surrounding it hadn’t disappeared.

Instead, it continued flickering rhythmically.

Almost as though it were tracking something.

’An artifact...?’

His expression beneath the hood remained unchanged.

’Did it react to the mana residue from Shadow Step?’

Or perhaps it detected dimensional fluctuations after teleportation.

There were too many possibilities.

Too little information.

Reiji hated situations where he lacked information. Because lacking information meant making mistakes.

And mistakes got people killed.

’Has she told anyone already?’

That question mattered more than anything else.

If she had already informed the military then everything changed.

Every Gate.

Every raid.

Every peaceful morning with Hina.

Everything would disappear overnight.

The military wouldn’t stop searching until they found him.

The thought alone made his stomach tighten.

’No...’

He forced himself to calm down.

’Think.’

If she had already reported him would she really be standing here alone?

No soldiers. No Awakened. No traps.

Just her... Tachibana Aoi.

Waiting. Watching.

Almost as though she’d been expecting this meeting.

’So she probably hasn’t told anyone yet.’

Probably.

Reiji disliked relying on probabilities.

They were dangerous.

He slowly spoke, deliberately keeping his voice high.

"...You seem awfully confident."

Aoi smiled faintly.

"I am."

"You don’t even know who’s under this hood."

"I don’t need to."

Her answer came immediately.

"The disguise is convincing enough for strangers."

She lifted one finger.

"But not for someone who lives across the street."

Reiji remained silent.

"You always disappear late at night."

She raised a second finger.

"You always come back shortly before sunrise."

A third finger.

"And every single time the Night Empress clears another Gate..."

"...you mysteriously look exhausted the next morning when you come by this alley."

"..."

She shrugged.

"I thought it was a coincidence... until today."

Her eyes shifted toward the artifact in her hand.

"This confirmed it."

Reiji followed her gaze.

"So that’s what that thing does. It reacts to residual spatial energy."

Aoi twirled the small silver device between her fingers.

"My family owns a few unusual artifacts. It isn’t military grade. But it’s useful. It began reacting the moment you appeared."

Reiji’s thoughts immediately raced again. ’Residual spatial energy...’

So Shadow Step left traces. Tiny ones.

Normally they disappeared quickly.

But this artifact could detect them.

Useful information. Very useful.

He mentally engraved it into his memory.

Never teleport carelessly near unknown artifacts again.

Aoi slipped the device back into her pocket.

"I wasn’t actually expecting it to work."

She laughed softly.

"I only came here because I was curious. Looks like I got lucky."

Lucky.

That single word annoyed Reiji.

After everything he’d survived after every careful decision after all the precautions he’d taken...

He’d been discovered because of luck? What a load of bullshit!

He took out the long forgotten broken Soul Torture Blade just to look intimidating enough to scare her.

Aoi noticed. Her smile faded.

"I wouldn’t do that."

"..."

"You could probably beat me." She admitted it surprisingly easily.

"In fact... I don’t think I’d last even thirty seconds."

Reiji said nothing. "But..."

She continued calmly.

"If I don’t return home certain people will start asking questions."

Silence.

"And if those questions continue someone will eventually discover why I was following you."

Reiji’s eyes narrowed beneath the hood.

A threat. Not an emotional one. A practical one.

She wasn’t claiming she could defeat him. She wasn’t pretending to be stronger.

She was simply reminding him that killing her solved nothing.

It only created bigger problems.

Smart.

Far smarter than he’d expected.

’She’s dangerous...’

Years of surviving impossible battles had taught Reiji one lesson above all else. Raw strength could be overcome with enough preparation, patience, and strategy. Intelligence, however, was far more troublesome. An opponent who understood leverage didn’t need overwhelming power to corner someone. They only needed to force them into making impossible choices.

Not because of strength. Because she thought ahead.

Exactly the kind of person he disliked dealing with.

Reiji slowly released the handle of his dagger and send it back to his inventory.

"...What do you want?"

Aoi smiled again. "There. I knew we could have a conversation."

She took in a deep breath and continued. "I don’t want money, I don’t want fame and I definitely don’t want to expose you."

Reiji remained expressionless.

"So?"

She looked directly into the darkness beneath his hood.

"I want to work with you."

"..."

"You raid Gates. I can help. I won’t ask unnecessary questions. I won’t reveal your identity and I won’t interfere with however you choose to fight."

She paused before adding,

"In return you let me accompany you."

Reiji frowned.

’Accompany me?’

Why?

Was she after the experience?

The cores?

None of those explanations made sense.

"You expect me to trust you?"

"No." Her answer was immediate.

"I expect you to have no better option."

"..."

"Because if you refuse..."

She sighed.

"...I’ll have no choice but to report what I know."

She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t sound angry. She merely stated it as though discussing tomorrow’s weather.

"If someone capable of clearing evolved Gates alone is hiding in Japan... the military deserves to know... I mean the could really be of great help." She said casually.

"Working day and night... no rest... maybe even used as a lab rat in many ways... in terms of power and reproduction."

Silence filled the alley.

The morning breeze gently rustled the hood covering Reiji’s face.

He hated it.

Every part of this situation. He couldn’t silence her. He couldn’t escape.

And he couldn’t gamble that she was bluffing.

Because if she wasn’t everything he’d built would collapse.

For several long seconds neither of them spoke.

Finally... Reiji let out a slow breath.

"... You’re blackmailing me."

Aoi shrugged. "A better word for negotiation I guess."

Silence filled the alley then she extended one hand toward him and a small smile appeared on her face.

"So... let’s work together, Night Empress."