OM (hotd arc) ch28: Similar (Patreon)

The next morning they reached Saya's home, the journey was not exactly easy... for everyone except Saeko, Rika, Kohta, and Arthur.

With there being three long-range shooters, in which one of them even had a super soldier body, obviously, no lives were lost.

Also, this time Arthur provided everyone with proper weapons like swords, spears, and bows to fend the undeads off the way.

The tesseract-powered guns were only given to Kohta and Rika. 

Kazu preferred using spears, and Rei being proficient in using spears, gave him a 'really' good tutorial on how to use them well. It seemed like she was using this opportunity to get closer to him.                       

Takashi used his baseball bat as usual to bash the undead's heads. And others also used various melee weapons.                                                   

By the time they reached Saya's home, the Takagi's Estate, there was no one in the group whose hands weren't red by the undead's blood. Well, with the exception of cute little Alice and her pup.            

The Takagi Estate, a large estate owned by Souichiro Takagi and Yuriko Takagi, contained their huge mansion, a garage, and, after the outbreak, hundreds of tents to house survivors. Not to mention the opulent garden.

After reaching the mansion, a typical happy family reunion scene transpired, Yuriko Takagi, Saya's mother enveloped Saya in a tight hug as soon as she saw her, while Saya's father, Souichiro Takagi, was also present, though he didn't hug Saya like her mother. 

Souichiro remained stern as usual as he eyed everyone in the group. 

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"...Hmm," The bulky man hummed, narrowing his eyes, calmly comprehending what his daughter just explained to him. "So, this boy right here, no older than yourself, is a multiversal being, huh... And from his little demonstration, he doesn't appear to be a con artist as well."

The little demonstration Souichiro was talking about was just a simple show his inventory, nothing too gaudy.

They were in an ample-sized room, consisting of a pair of sofas and a couple of couches, situated at opposite ends. The outside view was visible from the huge glass window on the opposite side of the door. The velvet maroon carpet and the classic telephone kept on the small round ebony table beside the couch, added noble aesthetics to the room.

Saya nodded to confirm her father's slight disbelief.

There were only a few important people other than Souichiro, Yuriko, and Saya present in the room, they were Arthur, Saeko, and Kazu. 

The others were resting in their respective rooms after the night-long struggling journey.

"I have read a few papers on the multiversal theories in my younger, curious days, but to think that it's real..." Yuriko mused out loud, quite stunned by the reveal. 

"Saya, you told me that he knows the future events of this world through an animation series... does that mean we're living in a simulation of sorts? Does it mean we're not real beings?" Yuriko asked.

"Uhm, Ma'am, it's not like that." Kazu interrupted.

Yuriko shifted her gaze to the young man wearing oval glasses, he seemed mature and sincere from his looks. 

"He has just seen the future events from our point of view, like have you watched a documentary? Or a movie based on some historical event? Those are real events, just recreated from a certain main character's or main cast point of view. Nothing more. And Arthur's here to help the main character or the chosen one of our world." Kazu explained in a simple manner.

"I see..." Yuriko nodded in realization. 

It was a bit tough concept to grasp and their queries were valid. Arthur revealing this piece of information to the main cast was always a two-edged sword, its benefits were many but repercussions few and with a fine explanation, it was an easy-to-handle problem.

This information had too much weight.

That's the reason this was being discussed in this private room so that no one could eavesdrop on them.

"So, do you have any idea who could be the next chosen one, the main character as you call him?" Souichiro looked at Arthur.

Arthur shook his head in denial. "I don't know, but I think that in the time of need, the world itself would reveal him."

Souichiro pursed his lips and narrowed his fierce orange eyes on Arthur.

Arthur also didn't break the contact, he observed the big intimidating man and his threatening gaze.

From what Arthur knew, Souichiro was a fine man, he had all the qualities to be a good leader, but he was too rigid. His beliefs were too rigid. Like Kazu, in times of need, he'll also choose to sacrifice himself for others. But unlike the flexible Kazu, no one could change his mind, not even Arthur. 

"Yuriko..." Souichiro called out to his wife, looking at her from the corner of his eyes.

The devoted wife understanding her husband's signal bowed slightly to her husband, she then turned to Saeko and others, and with a small elegant smile on her face, Yuriko spoke, "Kids, I'll show you around the mansion."

Saying so, Yuriko along with everyone but Arthur and Souichiro, left the room.

Now, the room had only two people in it, Souichiro and him.

After the door closed shut and the thump that echoed died down, Souichiro cleared his throat before parting his lips, "Now then, Mr. Arthur...", he clasped his hands together.

A look of interest formed on Arthur's face.

'He's speaking in English... it is certainly not because he wants to avoid getting overheard. The whole purpose of this room was to avoid that. Then...'

'A psychological trick...'

'He wants to appear familiar, trustable.'

'He's a politician, alright.' 

In a foreign place, no matter how good the natives are... you're bound to instantly become friends or want to be friends with that one guy who's from your own country. 

Simple similarities form trust at the subconscious level. 

And since Arthur had taken up physical traits from his British father and Asian mother, he did look like a foreigner, a cross between a British and a Korean to be more exact. 

Maybe that's why Souichiro guessed that English might be a language familiar to Arthur.

Souichiro continued, "I've already introduced myself, I'm the Don of our Patriotic organization. I'm head of the family and a leader of these people, I bear responsibility for their lives. My actions, my words cannot be taken for granted, even by myself. They bear the consequences of anything that the great future withholds for us. I have to think about them meticulously, and I have to know how my actions and words would influence the future. I am a man devoted to his people. And I can't take chances."

Arthur nodded, guessing what was to come next...

"From what Saya told me about you, there is no doubt about it, you are a devoted individual too. An individual devoted to your profession. You too have to understand and know what your actions entail. You and I are similar in that sense... That's why I know it..."

The fierce man narrowed his gaze on Arthur. "...You're not fooling me, Mr. Arthur. You know who the next chosen one is."

Arthur raised his chin and smiled, "...As expected from you Mr. Souichiro, you caught me.", he then tilted his head with a small smile and sighed, ".... is that the response you were hoping for Mr. Souichiro?"

Saying so, Arthur stood up, "Sorry, but I really don't know about it, at least not yet... And we're not similar, Mr. Souichiro."  

Souichiro furrowed his brows a bit.

Arthur sighed, "But, you're still right, I know what I'm doing. And I need your help."

The bulky man smiled.

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Arthur strolled around the huge estate, impressed by the sheer wealth of the Takagi.

All this wealth was mostly because of Souichiro's woman, Yuriko. Saya had told them that her mother was once a wall street broker and when she was returning home from a vacation overseas, she met Souichiro at a party. They got married the next day.

'Since then, she then she's only used her talents for my papa!... Were the words Saya used...'

A bit fishy... but anyway after getting married the family's total fortune increased 100 times.

Arthur shrugged, she and her husband were going to be the backbone of the shelter he was going to build, their married life was none of his business.

Arthur was in his own world, thinking about various things when he reached the central water fountain... 

And spotted Takashi there...

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Thanks for reading!!