Chapter 8: Living Together with a Little Threat :)

"Where is your accommodation, Chief?" (Libra)

Chief was cleaning the dish with Libra as an appreciation for the free meal and getting to know the family.

"Accommodation? Just the hotel near here. Only a 10-minute walk." (Chief)

"The Lune Motel? Their rooms aren't clean and they don't take care of the guests' meals." (Libra)

"The rooms are fine in my opinion. It's cheap, close and I'll be in your father's lab most of the time so it doesn't matter." (Chief)

"You can rest here. You don't need to spend money and have proper bedding while being close to the lab like Papa."

"Nah, it's improper for a male stranger to live near girls."

"It's fine. Papa trusted you to bring you to our house and I also trust you, Chief."

The tap water was put on a halt as the two were finished rinsing the plates and drying the cutlery. Libra placed the last plate on the drying rack and grabbed a towel to dry her rough hand.

"What gullible children you are..." (Chief)

CLICK!

A Glock was pointed to Chief's head as he was placing a plate on the drying rack.

"Splendid quick draw." (Chief)

"Thank you for the compliment." (Libra)

Her silent expression didn't shift as she gripped the gun toward his head. Chief remained indifferent as the barrel was pointed and even took a side-glance at the firearm before continuing to dry the plates.

"..." (Libra)

"..."(Chief)

"You're not going to ask?"

"No need. You're too nervous to pull the trigger, you have it in safe mode."

"Very observant."

"Any reason for the sudden hostility?"

"Is it obvious? You lied."

"Lied?"

"Yes, you don't have any accommodation under your name. Unless you were living on the streets yesterday, there were no hotels or inns that had new reservations under your name."

"I placed it under an alias."

"There were no bookings after 8:30 pm, which was around the time you left."

"I was at the clubs and came back around 2."

"All the hotels close after 1."

"...Impressive, very protective of your family."

"Aquarius looked up for me. I was just worried as Papa was worried about your accommodation."

"Did you convince him that a stranger living in your house is not a good idea?"

"No, I trust him as much as he trusted you."

"....Ha, reminds me of a similar person."

"So, where are you staying?" Libra loosened the grip of her gun and sheathed it back into her clothes. Libra fiddled around the kitchen, grabbing many cups and preparing various drinks for the family.

"Nowhere."

"Nowhere? Did you sleep on the street?"

"No, I just didn't sleep."

"Didn't sleep? Sleep is very crucial for the human body. You should get some sleep."

"Don't worry. I have severe insomnia."

"Insomnia?"

"Yes, it's a condition where one has issues with trying to sleep."

"Oh my, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry. I don't need to sleep anyways."

"?"

Chief finished the last plate and dried his hand with a towel.

"I need to go and check on my dogs real quick." (Chief)

He cleaned up the sink with a simple wipe and gently walked toward his dogs using [MAP].

"..." (Libra)

"Well?"

A sapphire-haired girl peeked into the room after seeing the Chief leave.

"He didn't even react when I pointed the Glock." (Libra)

"Nothing? Really?" (Aquarius)

"Yeah, he even complimented the speed of my draw.." (Libra)

"Terrifying. I was wondering why you asked about the list of accommodation records but it was because of our guest."

"Tell the others to be careful around him."

"Huh?"

"Yesterday, I tried to pull my Glock when I first met him. I didn't notice his presence until Papa pointed it out and I was going to draw. His red eyes connected with mine and prompted me to stand my ground. He was overbearing, strong yet silent..."

"So that is what I felt back in the living room. Taurus was nearly ready to tackle him if you didn't interfere."

"Good thing I realised that earlier. Just have casual conversations and find out why he is here."

"Dad's too kind for his own good so we should do the background checks for him. It didn't work out well when the Government came to check his science research."

"Papa already told him about the curse, so we can't do anything about it but....I reckon we can have him live here to observe him better."

"....Are you listening to yourself?!"

"Hold up. It is convenient to get away with many things if we have an adult with us because Papa is too busy in the lab most of the time. He's dangerous, making the house safe if we befriend him and he seems to be active in the research of the curse. I see no downsides in allowing him to live in one of the spare rooms far away from our rooms."

"...Is it because Dad trusts him?"

"Of course."

"Aaaahhh, you are always like this Libra-nee. Whatever. Let me see if I can pull some money out of him as rent."

"No need."

"Why?"

"Chief helped out with the house chores and even gave some of the younger sisters some gifts. So, it is fine for him to stay here for free in the meantime. At least he knows how to do chores around here."

"Yeah, yeah. You do all the chores for us anyway and he doesn't really make it any faster."

"It does help to learn a bit of housework in the future when you become a wife and have kids."

"I don't care, it's not like I'm going to live past-"

PANG!

Libra grabbed Aquarius by the collar of her clothes and slammed her body onto the wall. She was pinned on the wall with a bit of an elevation and they looked deep into each other's eyes.

Aquarius' shock and confusion faced the wavering red eyes of Libra. Her face wore a serious demeanour while wearing a pained frown.

"NEVER SAY THAT AGAIN! PAPA HAS PROMISED THAT WE WILL LIVE AND YOU KNOW THAT! WE HAVE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THIS !" (Libra)

"But-" (Aquarius)

"ENOUGH. WE ARE NOT BRINGING THIS TOPIC AGAIN AND YOU KNOW THAT."

"....."

"Sorry..."

Libra loosened her grip and tidied Aquarius' messy clothes. She diligently dusted off the clothes as Aquarius was staring down, reflecting on her words. Her face still held a tint of regret for her actions.

"...I'm sorry." (Aquarius)

Libra finished the cleaning and gently carried Aquarius' head to her chest. She combed her fingers through the sapphire hair, stroking it in a calming manner.

"We'll be fine...our family will be fine." (Libra)

"...." (Aquarius)

"....I'll go and look after the toddlers. Do you want to come too?"

"....Nah, I'll finish the last reports of the day."

"Okay, take care."

"Will do, love you, Libra-nee."

"Love you too."

Libra did a quick wipe of the kitchen before leaving upstairs for the toddlers. Aquarius still stood there, frowning at the way she viewed her position in the family.

"I told ya so." (Taurus)

"Taurus-nee...." (Aquarius)

An athletic white-haired sister popped out of the corner of the walls, indicating that she was eavesdropping on their conversation earlier.

"You look too much into the future and just think of making a business to support the last sister. It is a good idea, don't get me wrong, but you barely spend time with the family. Heck, you barely made it to today's dinner if Aries didn't remind you at your store. So, cut back on some of the store time and spend it with the family." (Taurus)

"...But-"

"No buts. You know we don't have much time so might as well use it wisely."

"....Okay..."

Aquarius was gloomy from the serious conversation and left to deal with other matters. Taurus shrugged and proceeded to make a protein shake for her evening training.

Unbeknownst to the sisters, an eerie little eye with a teardrop was hanging from the ceiling and slowly crumbled to ash after their conversation was over.

[EAVESDROP]

'Those girls are still naïve. Should I hasten the research or build a base of operations? I do want to try eating some Gastrea meat but that will have to wait till 2021....I wonder if I am patient enough to wait that long. Maybe I could spend that time trying to learn my new power.' (Chief)

Chief wandered around and was about to go to his dogs before being notified by one of the sisters to see their father's study.

"What do you need, Jonas?" (Chief)

"I heard from Libra that you don't have any accommodation." (Jonas)

"Yeah, I only recently came and haven't got a place to rest."

"But I offered you last time."

"Only an insane person would accept an invite on the first day of meeting someone."

"What about the second day?"

"....Now you are tempting me. But in all seriousness, I don't need any accommodation because I don't sleep."

"Don't sleep? How can you not sleep?"

"Severe insomnia."

"Ah....same as me then."

"Really? I thought you would sleep to get the energy to spend time with your family."

"Well, I do sleep, just on the couch or on this study desk. See how these papers are arranged neatly where I can just sleep on the job. Capricorn helped me with this and it's very pleasant to sleep on."

"Liar."

"Fine, fine. I can't sleep on the same bed as her.

It reminds me of the regret of leaving her at the last moments. I still dream of the familiar warmth next to me and it haunts my decision not to believe her. I can't sleep on that bed, no matter how many times I force myself to face it."

'Damn, if only I knew [RESURRECT]. Solves so many problems in the world.' (Chief)

"Insomnia did us both dirty." (Chief)

"Anyway, back to the topic at hand, just live with us." (Jonas)

"Reason?"

"I want to get to know you better as a fellow researcher and let my family get to know someone who has a similar condition as them."

"Real reason?"

"More convenient to ask for your help with the project. I don't have to waste 10 minutes waiting for you to come over."

"What a sly scientist."

"Hehe, anything for my daughters."

"Right, right. And if I were to refuse?"

"We'll stop the project and you can leave."

"Very decisive."

Jonas pointed at a pile of documents on the corner of his desk. With a quick [SCAN], Chief was able to deduce the majority of the paper's contents.

"You are very interested in the curse, despite being oblivious to the story. Too interested." (Jonas)

"Who wouldn't be after hearing such a supernatural story?" (Chief)

"That's the thing. You raised no questions and took everything at face value. Other researchers in the earlier stages of my research either took my words as nonsense or wanted to experiment on my daughters. You are an outlier and you even have a body that doesn't make sense."

"....So?"

"You get to research about the curse and I get an extra pair of hands to help me as well as use your cells to innovate ideas."

"Only ideas, never use them. They are way too dangerous."

"Yes, yes. So, we can benefit from this research with the condition that you live here."

"...You drive a hard price."

"I haven't even asked for rent!"

"And I still believe that staying in a house filled with young girls is not a good idea."

"I trust you."

Chief squinted and looked at Jonas. Jonas' facial expression did not change after saying such a powerful statement.

"...Fine, I'll take your offer."

"Thank you."

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Don't worry. I trust my guts."

"....Whatever, I go and check up on my dogs."

"Sure, I'll see you in the morning after I organise the data."

The door of the study softly closed when Chief left, leaving Jonas with his lonely table. He frowned and pulled a laptop under his drawers. Various secure government websites popped up upon activation of the device and were variations of identity servers.

'Who is he?' (Jonas)

Jonas kept on typing through the various filters, utilising the subtle hints of Chief's identity.

'Pisces has already verified the lies and truths yet I can't uncover anything about him. White-lies? But Pisces would have still noticed it. Aquarius also didn't point out any flaws. He is a bit dangerous but he shows no harm to the family. Will he treat the government differently? I'll evaluate that when the time comes.

Who are you, Tatsu Nezu?'

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{Little Segment}

A young girl was smiling happily, wrapping around a man's arm while he was struggling to eat his bread and soup on the large table.

Her tattered sailor high schooler clothes were fixed and stitched like brand new and she made sure to care about her appearance like her hair.

She leaned over to his arm, rubbing her cheeks on the biceps and giggled like a little maiden.

An old sage couple, a grandma and grandpa, were staring at the affection and sighed, wondering where their previous lovely wild disciple went.

"Momo, you are in a tavern for God's sake! Please behave yourself!" (Grandma)

"She's right. You should only show affection back at home." (Grandpa)

"No!" the girl pouted and hugged the arm tighter, "I want to cherish every second with Chief."

Chief ignored the arguments between the disciple and master and continued eating the warm soup.

'This soup is quite nice for a fantasy world. I should stock some up.' (Chief)

"Just come back and finish your final lessons at the Academy. Your classmates are quite worried about your adventures running around the world." (Grandma)

"I don't care! I want to stay with Chief and he is stronger than me! I went out to look for a strong man and I got one! Are you going against your disciple's wish?" (Momo)

""Argh"" (Grandpa & Grandma)

The two masters clenched their hearts in fear of going against their disciple's wishes.

"But you still need to finish those final lessons." (Grandpa)

"I can learn them from Chief. He's stronger than both Masters combined and I think he can teach me better as well." (Momo)

"But-but-but-" (Grandpa & Grandma)

"Momo." (Chief)

Momo perked up and looked at the man lovingly as they locked eyes with each other.

"Yes?" (Momo)

"Can you please do your final lessons with your masters?"

"But I want to stay with you. I don't care about those 'classmates' anymore."

"I can stay with you while you complete your tasks."

"Really!"

"Yes, and if you produce a great result," Chief inched closer and gave a little peck on her cheek, "I give you a nice reward."

Momo blushed from the kiss and giggled cutely like a little maiden from the affectionate act. She lunged closer to Chief, embracing him with a bigger hug.

"...." (Grandpa & Grandma)

"I told you to stop acting like that in front of her, now she has your habits." (Grandpa)

"No, it is your fault for not stopping me." (Grandma)

===A/N: Yeet! Picking up the pace after mid-terms are done! I really need to connect the paths between the major events and I am definitely regretting having 12 girl characters.===