Modern Monster

The strength of one’s mind defines one's true potential for power. – Senseless

Sen left the library with the yellow envelope in hand, his mind preoccupied with solutions to his current predicament. How do I enter the academy without drawing too much attention to myself? Attracting the attention of new people wasn’t his main concern; rather, it was the attention of those close to him, like his mother or acquaintances. And, of course, there was Asashi Yahish—also known as Kaiyo’s father.

But Asashi’s relationship to his close friend wasn’t the main issue. It was mostly due to the fact he was part of the AOK. From an outsider’s perspective, this should have been amazing. It was precisely what he needed. Someone high in the ranks, like Asashi, could provide more information about his father. Moreover, Asashi had a history with his father.

So why hadn’t he asked for information sooner? That all appeared to be a recipe for the information he sought. Sadly, however, that opportunity had sailed a long time ago. Sen didn’t know exactly when it began, but after his father’s ‘so-called’ passing, Asashi completely cut ties with them. They stopped answering calls and completely dissociated themselves. Sen’s mother had always been confused by his sudden unfriendliness. And unfortunately, Sen didn’t have any clues or evidence to provide a solid explanation.

Of course, only a fool would overlook the timing of his desocialization and not find Asashi suspicious. Sen had considered many accusations he could confront him with. It would be a lie if he said he never thought of the possibility that Asashi had murdered his father.

In the end, it wouldn’t even shock him if it were true.

Sen couldn’t say much about Asashi’s personality either, as he always disregarded Sen if they passed each other or if he saw his daughter with him. Conversely, Sen wasn’t blind. He was acutely aware of how Asashi looked at him during their rare encounters. Anyone with basic observation skills could tell Asashi wasn’t fond of him.

Besides, even with all this in mind, Sen still tried to ask about his father indirectly, and usually, the conversation would end similarly to those with his mother, except talks with Asashi were drastically colder and more hostile.

So, it was clear getting any information out of Asashi would be as difficult, if not more so, than entering the academy. Now, the question of how to enter the academy without causing any conflict with him still remained. He let out an exasperated murmur, lost in thought.

I know I can convince my sister and the others who are participating in the knight exams. And I can easily find a way to bypass my mother as well. Those are the easiest problems to solve.

From what Kaiyo had told him, her father was part of the academy's board of directors and a Gold-ranked Knight. This made Sen fear that if he were caught participating, he would simply be thrown out. On the other hand, if Asashi were planning on doing that, it would be technically unjust. There were no rules stating he needed a Super Sense to participate in the exam, and it certainly wasn’t cheating. In fact, Sen would be at a disadvantage. Throwing him out for not having a Super Sense would be bad PR for the academy and could ruin their reputation. Surely disqualifying a powerless child from the exam wasn’t worth public discontent?

This is such a pain in the ass, he thought to himself. I probably shouldn’t be the one complaining. After all, I’m getting myself into this. I could just accept the fact that I’ll never find any info about my father and play along with my mother’s silence game, but unfortunately, I’m not that type of person. If I want to know something, I’m going to figure it out one way or another.

The other way was going to be a lot more difficult than he had anticipated. He was at a dead end when it came to information. Not even one of the greatest hackers and data collectors could scavenge information for him. That was worrisome on its own. He did at least figure out that his father had ties with the AOK, which was something he half-expected. That organization, after all, had its data secured by the government. Getting any information was practically impossible—for the outside world, that is. As long as you climb the ranks, you will eventually get in touch with or find people who know classified information. And that was his plan. However, climbing the ranks was simply impossible for him even if he got into the academy.

So, if he successfully joined the AOK, he would secretly find people who knew the knowledge he was seeking.

I’m getting ahead of myself. I still need to find a solution to bypass Asashi.

Sadly, he was at a loss. No plan seemed to work in his observant mind. Everything ended in him getting kicked out. Unless… an idea suddenly popped into his brain. I can use my relationship with his daughter to my advantage.

He didn’t want to use his friend for anything malicious or to put any stress on her. He needed to find a perfect method where she wasn’t aware he was using her. After all, no harm was done if the person didn’t know they were being used for protection, better yet, insurance.

But how do I even make use of my ties with her and make them help the situation with Asashi?

Sen pondered this as he walked the streets of the city. It was around 5 p.m., and it was getting dark. He needed to hurry home—

“Oops…”

Sen felt his shoulder bump unexpectedly into a stranger. He was so caught up in his plans that he had completely ignored his surroundings. Ah, well, that’s awkward.

“Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going—” Sen paused as he eyed the man who had stopped. The man with broad shoulders and a tall stature looked at him with glowing emerald eyes. It felt like a panther was sizing him up as prey. The man wore a baggy coat with a brown fedora, so Sen didn’t immediately recognize him. But after catching a glimpse of those familiar emerald eyes, he instantly knew who it was.

Speak of the devil. Sen almost wanted to laugh at the irony.

“Well, didn’t expect to bump into you, Asashi.” Sen tried his best to sound relaxed and composed. Truthfully, he was surprised. He hadn’t expected to meet him so soon, before even developing his plan.

“Hmph…” Asashi only gave an uninterested grunt. But Sen could see he was also taken aback by the coincidence. This is actually good. I can get some info out of him. Sen wasn’t thinking about his father's info, but rather Asashi's weaknesses he could exploit to bypass him. Even if he got nothing from talking with him, it was still better than nothing.

“What are you doing out so late?” Surprisingly, Sen wasn’t the one who asked that; it was Asashi. This was the first time he had ever asked Sen a question.

“Oh, well… I just finished school for the day, and I stopped by the library for a bit. I’m heading home as we speak, actually.” While responding, Sen smoothly slid the yellow envelope he held (which contained his father's deleted info) into the back pocket of his jeans.

Asashi seemed to notice his sleight of hand immediately, though Sen was quite casual about it. Thankfully, Asashi didn’t appear too interested in what Sen was hiding. He is observant, that’s for sure.

“Hm, I see. Well, I won’t keep you for long. I am curious, though, why aren’t you celebrating your birthday?”

Dammit… This made Sen realize what he had forgotten. He had been too busy with school and the library that he completely lost track of time.

“I simply couldn’t neglect my education, even for my birthday,” he replied with a blatant lie. The truth was, he hadn’t learned anything new. His teacher was, in fact, correct; he had the academic level of a university student. What surprised him, though, was that Asashi even remembered his birthday. Sen assumed it was likely because Kaiyo had mentioned it to her father.

“Understood,” Asashi replied, sounding awkward. It was clear he was uncomfortable around Sen, which was already known, but the fact that Asashi engaged with him for more than a few sentences was shocking. “Just be mindful of others' time. Kaiyo left early this morning to celebrate your birthday.”

“Oh, she did?”

“Yes,” Asashi confirmed, then added grimly, “I forgot to mention she was attacked by a pack of silver-ranked monsters on her way, too.”

Sen froze. Was this a joke? No, Asashi wasn’t the type to lie about such things. Sen was at a loss for words. The way Asashi was looking at him, his eyebrow twitched when adding that detail. Asashi was indirectly blaming him for the incident. I see, that’s how you’re going to play this.

Sen was concerned for his friend. He wasn’t a heartless person devoid of emotion. However, he could sense Asashi was trying to pin the blame on him, so he needed to tread carefully.

“I wasn’t aware of that. I wish she would have called me,” he said calmly, adding in a softer tone, “Is she alright?”

Depending on his reaction, Sen could gauge the potential of his plan. He genuinely wanted to ask how his friend was more urgently because he was truly concerned for her, but he couldn’t miss this opportunity—

Sen suddenly felt himself being lifted off the ground. Ah, so that’s how you’re going to react. Interesting. Asashi had grabbed Sen's shirt and hoisted his entire body with just one hand, staring intently at him. Sen felt his shirt tighten from the gravity, causing a burning sensation on his neck. Nevertheless, he maintained a composed and untroubled expression.

“Uh, I’m not sure why you’re lifting me from the grou—”

“Is she alright…?” Asashi echoed his earlier question in a dark tone. “IS SHE ALRIGHT!?” Asashi’s grip tightened in anger. “Listen here… She went out because of you. While you were doing nothing, she was terrified for her life.”

Sen hadn’t expected such an open display of anger from Asashi. He usually judged Sen from a distance, but this time, Asashi couldn’t contain his resentment.

“She even saved the life of an infant,” Asashi growled. “I took him to the hospital and made sure he would be transferred to a good orphanage.”

“That was kind of you,” Sen said, although it sounded more sarcastic than he had wanted.

Asashi glared at him. “And you know what she did when she came back home?”

“No sir, I’m not aware.”

“After saving the infant, she barged out of the door so she wouldn’t miss your precious, special...” Asashi gritted his teeth as he said the last words, “birthday... party…”

Sen felt Asashi’s saliva hit his face as he spoke vehemently. It was clear Asashi didn’t appreciate Sen’s apparent lack of concern for his daughter. In reality, Sen was concerned for his friend. But he needed to gauge Asashi’s reaction. Besides Asashi’s angry comments, Sen was genuinely surprised to hear about what occurred to Kaiyo. I didn’t know she was attacked by a monster, let alone that she saved a child amidst it all. I wonder why she didn’t call me all day. He would have to confront her about it when he got home. For now, he had to focus on Asashi.

“Tsk…” After venting his anger, Kaiyo’s father finally released his strong grip. Sen dropped two feet to the ground, catching himself to prevent a fall. He winced in pain as a burning sensation spread across his neck, likely from his clothing constricting. That’s Touch for you... He didn’t know whether to be impressed or frightened. Asashi had effortlessly lifted him with one hand as if he were a rag doll. To put that into perspective, Sen weighed about 160 pounds or 72 kilograms. Comparing his sister's Sense and Asashi’s, they were as different as day and night. He was leagues ahead of Hana in terms of strength. His Gold rank was definitely showing off.

“Agh,” Sen feigned a groan of pain. “What was that for?” He decided to act as if he were in more pain than he was to hopefully extend the conversation. Usually, he wouldn’t show weakness in front of others, but this was an exception.

“I just don’t get it…” Asashi murmured. “How could she like a freak like you?”

Sen shrugged off the insult as quickly as it had been delivered. It wasn’t the first time he had been called that, and it surely wouldn’t be the last. Asashi’s weakness was becoming more apparent as Sen watched him. But just to confirm his theory, Sen decided to push a bit further.

“I mean, I think I might have an explanation for that,” Sen began calmly. “I'm probably the only other male she knows as well as her father, right?”

Twitch

The reaction was instantaneous. Asashi’s eyebrow twitched visibly, and Sen hadn’t even really started yet. He had already gathered enough from observing all of Asashi’s reactions, but he wanted to push just a bit more.

“It’s not hard to understand that she naturally looked to the second-best option when her father was seldom around,” Sen stated. “Of course, it's not your fault you’re busy being a Knight and all. But I don’t think it’s fair to blame someone who was there for her more than her own father—”

“If I hear another word from you,” Asashi threatened silently, “it’ll be your last.” Asashi’s green eyes bore into him with intensity. The panther has reached his limit. I should probably stop now. He’s given me more than enough.

“I apologize for overstepping my boundaries, sir.” Sen bowed. He didn’t want to, but it was an appropriate way to end the conversation. “I’ll be going now.”

Preparing to leave, Asashi spoke one last time—

“You better stay away from my daughter…” With that, Asashi turned and walked away, leaving Sen with his icy parting words.

Well...all be damned, that went better than expected.

“I really have to thank him for saving me so much time…” Sen said as he rubbed the sore spot on his neck, wincing slightly as he felt the bruise. After their conversation, Asashi had revealed his vulnerability repeatedly. It looks like I’ll be needing Kaiyo’s help soon.

And his weakness? It had been hiding in plain sight. Kaiyo…

“The entrance exam is in less than a week, so that’s plenty of time to get ready,” he whispered to himself. A plan was already taking shape in his mind. Tomorrow, I’ll need you, Kaiyo. But first, he would regrettably have to celebrate his birthday.