"Hmm.." Marcus hummed as he looked at Kai. The Dragon King and the other two girls were in the front area, not bothering them.

The old man tried to judge what he should give as an answer at a time like this. Seeing his grandson's seriousness, maybe he couldn't avoid this question now.

"I don't know what you saw or experienced that I didn't know about. But, for what reason did you ask that question?" He asked back with a serious tone.

There was no curse in his sentence, which was rare. There was only seriousness in it, and Kai responded in a similar manner.

"It's obvious." He said, narrowing his eyes. The Ruler would no longer hold himself back. If there was an enemy, then– "To know whether I should destroy them or not."

"Brat..!"

Marcus was honestly surprised. He didn't think Kai would change this much in one week after he got his memories back. No, it may be because he got his memories back that he wanted to know and act like those troublemakers.

But it was still not that bad. At least, his grandson still asked him about the reason behind his mother's death.

"Listen here. The Ashiya Family isn't directly related to Suzuka's death. Indeed, her death was because she returned to Japan, but they weren't 'directly' related."

"Hmm?" Kai looked a bit confused.

"The story is long, but.. You met ghosts, right? Those nasty things from the Astral Plane."

"Yeah." Kai nodded. "I fought low and mid-grade ones. What's the relation between it and my mother's death?" He was really curious.

He tried to ask Ao, but she knew nothing about it. The Dragon King had already entered her slumber at that moment, waiting for him to mature. So she didn't know about anything that caused his mother's death.

"It's totally related." Marcus spat out and crossed his arms. "Tsk! I can't explain it without fuming out. Brat, if you really want to know, follow me after you talk with your girls. I will introduce someone who knows about it as much as I do."

"Huh? Are you trying to run away without explaining again, old man?!" Kai raised his voice in a tone mixed with anger.

Thud!

"Ouch!"

The old man's fist landed on Kai's head as he shouted, "No, you fool! I will take you to your fucking grandmother! She can explain it without getting angry so her story will not be biased."

Kai slowly raised his head, looking at Marcus with a surprised look. The pain from the punch earlier had already subsided due to his regeneration. But more importantly.

"I have a grandmother? Your wife?"

"Hah?!" Marcus' face contorted in a disgusted look. "That bitch? Hell nah." The old man spat on the ground after saying that. He grumbled silently and cursed whoever that person was.

That.. didn't seem to be the act of someone talking about his wife or his ex-wife. That meant the grandmother his grandfather talked about came from the paternal side.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah." Marcus replied to him shortly.

"I know what you wanted to ask. Why did she not come to see you? The answer is simple. Because I didn't allow her to. I have promised Suzuka to protect you and let you have a normal life until you are ready. That nosy daughter. I could've just trained you to protect yourself."

The old man grumbled, and his voice became inaudible at his last sentence. That explanation.. Kai could accept it for now.

"Alright then." Kai nodded and smiled. He somehow felt a bit happy after knowing he still had a grandmother. "Tonight?" he asked.

"Tonight." Marcus replied. "Just go talk to your fucking girls. I will contact that bitch for you. Shoo shoo."

***

After talking with his grandfather, Kai went to the restaurant's front area, where the three were waiting around a table. It seemed like they had a chat and unexpectedly got along with one another.

"I see. So my dear liked something like that? This lady learned something new."

"Yes." Amber nodded her head and looked at the Dragon King with a wide smile. "He will like it more if you feed him directly. Like mouth to mouth."

When Kai heard that, his smile turned into a strained one as he hesitated to announce his presence. But well, it wasn't like he could hide it from Ibaraki, though.

"Hmm?"

The Oni girl turned around and beamed. "Master!" She immediately rose from her seat and approached Kai with a wide smile. "Have you been well, Master?" She asked curiously.

Ao and Amber stayed on the chairs, looking in his direction with a smile. The Phoenix girl waved at him, seemingly in a happy mood after meeting him once again.

Kai greeted them one by one and even gave them a kiss, which surprised Ibaraki greatly.

The Oni girl would've never thought her master would kiss her so suddenly when he had never done that before. She felt that her master had changed. But..

'I like this change.'

The reunited three talked about what kind of things they went through for the last week while Ao was listening from the side.

Kai told them about his training and his newfound memories. As Marcus said, it seemed they already knew about his missing memories. His grandfather's promise was also already void once his memories returned, so the old man could do whatever he wanted now.

And then Amber began to tell him what they had done in the past week. The Phoenix girl said that she had moved her egg or something like that. Apparently, the egg was something really precious to her, and she put it in this house now.

As for Ibaraki. Kai felt that she had changed a little. Her shy behavior had almost disappeared, and she became able to express herself more freely.

They talked about a lot of things and caught up with each other. Kai felt a lot better after knowing they were okay when he was in the Dragon King Castle and also told them about the Devils' Ball Party.

Amber immediately replied that she'd like to go. Ibaraki was also the same. The Dragon King then suggested that they wear a dress similar to what she currently wore, as it was still a Ball even though it was a party.

Both of them were elated by the idea, and Kai thought that it was time for him to get a tailored suit that was a bit more expensive.

At that time, Marcus walked out from inside and called out to Kai.

"Hey, brat. Are you done? If you are, then follow me. Don't be late." He continued as he exited the restaurant.

"Yeah, a minute," Kai replied, rising from his seat. Then he looked at his girls and smiled softly. "My bad. I need to go right now."

"Of course, dear husband. Please be careful." Ao smiled at him.

Amber didn't know what she was talking about, but Ibaraki nodded at Ao's words. Because it seemed like the two of them already knew his situation, he didn't need to say more.

"You can ask Ibaraki or Ao for the details, Amber. It seems like Ibaraki heard my conversation with my grandpa." He looked at Ibaraki, and she nodded slightly. "Well then, see you later."

After saying goodbye, he walked out of the restaurant. Marcus was waiting for him right in front of the restaurant. When he showed up, the older man huffed.

"Let's go."

"Yeah."

Both began to walk side by side, leaving Chinatown and going downtown. They went to lower Manhattan while walking silently.

No one spoke as they walked. There was nothing to talk about. And Marcus had already heard his story when he eavesdropped on Kai's conversation with the girls. That was why the old man could appear at the perfect time when he finished talking.

Lower Manhattan had many tall buildings, which then created dark alleyways here and there. Their destination was one of those alleyways between two tall buildings that they met just right after they arrived downtown.

The alleyway was damp and had a lot of trash, reminding Kai of his first meeting with Amber. That was also in an alleyway. The difference was that the alleyway was filled with burning fire and glowed brightly.

Once they entered the alleyway, Marcus stopped and called out loudly.

"Hey! I am here!"

historical

At that moment, a voice belonging to a woman replied.

"I can hear you, old fucker!"

And then, footsteps rang in the dark alleyway. Kai wasn't really good at seeing in the dark, so he created a ball of flame on his palm to light the dark alleyway and see the person approaching them.

"Convenient," Marcus smirked as the fireball lit up the alleyway nicely. "Make more."

Kai nodded, created some fireballs from Phoenix fire, and made them float around the alleyway, careful not to burn anything or be seen from the main street.

The darkness parted away, and Kai was able to see his 'grandmother' clearly. Should he use that, though? Because unlike what he had expected, with gray hair and wrinkles on her face, the one that appeared was a beautiful woman with purple hair that looked like she was in her mid-twenties.

It surprised her and caused his eyes to widen. But then, the woman spoke.

"Oho? It's nice to meet you, brat." The way she called him brat was similar to Marcus. She crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up.

Kai was still unable to process what he saw. She was a human, right? Also..

'She's my grandmother?'

Unbelievable. Not only was she young, but Kai was also able to feel a great amount of Spirit Power from her. Maybe even greater than what his grandfather had. After finishing his training, he could somehow guess how big someone's Spirit Power reserve was.

'I can't believe it.'

While he was still confused, the purple-haired woman continued.

"When I feel you this close, I can see my son's silhouette in you. I am sorry for showing up this late, but I hope you don't hate me. I am Emily Clark, Louise Clark's mother, and your grandmother. I heard from Marcus that you wanted to hear about my daughter-in-law's death. I will tell you about it, so listen closely."