Chapter 23

The night, the crazy part, was over, but the curiosities and wonders brought by it merely started. And that wasn't just for John...

After the group escaped, a good remainder of the night was spent at Kotaro's apartment.

Once a lot of explaining and clarifying was done— from both Pam and Kotaro— the latter glanced at Pam and Terry and then stared longly at John before smirking and saying:

"John, you still have seven gifts to pick from. How about using one now? I can help protect your family if anything happens, but don't you want them to be more self-reliant?"

"...Killing Geese was my decision and second gift to you...But if his older brother, your uncle, finds out, our thrilling night escapades may just start..."

"...Your mother is strong, but against an opponent of the same stature and merit as mine, she could die if I ever happen to be busy elsewhere..."

"What are you suggesting, Mom?" John, who didn't use his terrors to boost his intelligence at that moment, asked.

"MOM?" Hearing what her youngest son and lover called the orange nightmare, Pam, sitting with arms crossed, scowled. After which, she inquired with naked discontent, possibly some jealousy, "Did I miss something here? Why are you calling her mom, John? I'm your mom..."

"Hahaha..." Kotaro laughed and said to Pam, "What's the big deal? I'm also a mom to him now..."

"...I've always known John well; he and my daughter have been childhood friends almost forever now..."

"...And he knows me too...No, we know each other better than you believe..."

When Kotaro said with a weird and teasing smile, this time, the person who interrupted with discomfort wasn't Pam:

"Mom!! What are you saying, now?!"

Ghislaine was already mortified watching her mother enter a staring contest with John's mom. But now, her mom was also awkwardly nudging her boyfriend's mom.

What did she mean by they knew each other better than Pam believed?

When hearing such lewd connotations, the woman would never think about obscure and ancient night terrors. She would feel provoked...

...Ghislaine herself felt irritated and uncomfortable listening...

"John?! What's she hinting at now?!" As Ghislaine expected, Pam asked her son with anger and a nasty, disgusted, gut-feeling. But she did so with more jealousy than the catgirl could ever imagine.

"Alright, stop bullying my mom, Kotaro. Please." This time John said, using her name. He was trying to diffuse the fire first. He could call Kotaro *mom* after he gives Pam another wet and warm fuck tonight.

"Hahaha, I was just teasing her. I didn't think that she would fall for it...I think I like your mom a lot more now, John." Kotaro replied, not bothered by John changing his vocabulary. They were both terror users, so they were smarter than normal.

"Hmph." Pam snorted.

"..." Terry, still frightened by Kotaro, stayed quiet throughout. He just wanted to go home and forget the night when his dad was slain like a chicken. Not that he had very good feelings for him, but that was still his dad.

XX

Baiken, who was tired, went to sleep early,

...It didn't look like she would have problems closing her eyes either.

The Dedoldia household was not to be underestimated.

In the living room,

After some explanations, persuading and reassuring by John, Pam and Terry entered [fiendish yoga].

When they did, John was surprised to learn from Kotaro that Terry was a demon-type mutant already. Demon types were not always easy to identify, so John wasn't too shocked.

What shocked him, however, was Kotaro's next words. Demon types would come back with at least two terrors if they waited long enough in terror space.

That was one of the reasons why Kotaro had one more terror than her oldest daughter.

Weirdly informing John how Baiken had more chances to fall into the demonic category than Ghislaine, he and Kotaro waited until Pam and Terry opened their eyes again.

Moments later, when Ghislaine returned from the kitchen with snacks, they listened to Pam and Terry announcing their gains.

Respectively—they looked toward Kotaro and John with awestruck and dumbstruck faces when they did.

Despite not being a demon type, Pam got three terrors, one of which was special even if not like Sin:

Those were [Gluttony], [jealousy], and [oppression].

The demonic Terry, which John had eventually decided to turn into a woman before dawn, got four. Not just to his stupefaction but Kotaro's too.

His four terrors were [Hostility], [unrest], [infatuation], and [madness].