Chapter 770: Leave your daughter to me!

One apology wouldn't be enough to change everything. Yet, this apology was still incredibly important.

At least, it was incredibly important to Chiaki.

Being slapped by her father, being viciously scolded like this, these were all incredibly important to her.

Tears poured unstoppably out of her eyes as she collapsed in her father's embrace.

A while later, Seiji explained the entire situation to Shingo, who was now in his living room.

The famous artist fell silent, leaving nothing but silence permeating the entire room.

Chiaki sat to the side in silence with her head lowered. Mika sat by her side while worrying about her.

Seeing this, Seiji wanted to say something, but then felt like he shouldn't say anything until Chiaki's father spoke first.

Seiji didn't know what Chiaki told her father Shingo on the phone. Still, Seiji could guess at most of the contents.

If he was the one who heard Chiaki saying such things on the phone, he would likely react similarly to Chiaki's father.

However poor of a father Shingo might have been, he was still a father.

"Allow me to substitute."

"Eh?"

"Allow me to substitute for Chiaki in luring out that demon," Shingo stated seriously.

Chiaki lifted her head. Mika widened her eyes. Seiji paused in surprise.

"That won't work..." Before Seiji could react, Chiaki spoke first. "My dad can't substitute for me."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm the one who's being targeted and watched."

"I'm your father, so we're of the same bloodline..." Shingo spoke while looking at Seiji. "Isn't it possible that the cause of all this might be due to me?"

"Mom is the cause of everything. It's not related to you, Dad!" Chiaki countered with this statement.

"I still remember her... I'm the only person in this world who still remembers her," Shingo stated calmly. "That should be useful, right?"

Chiaki was silenced by this.

Seiji blinked.

"Perhaps it could be possible..."

"Sei... Seigo!"

Seiji indicated with his expression that Chiaki should allow him to finish.

"But, that's only a perhaps. I also feel that you won't be able to substitute for Chiaki. That's because, as she said, she's the one being targeted, not you. The source of all this is most likely Chiaki's mother. Her mother's bloodline is what's critical here, not your bloodline. So if you must find a substitute, we should be asking one of Chiaki's mother's relatives. That we could consider if you knew anyone who's a candidate. However, you can't remember her relatives at all, Wakaba-san. And even if you could, whether that person would be willing, and whether a substitution would truly work, would all be issues."

"...No matter what, you can try with me first." Shingo looked at the youth sitting across from him. "And if I can take Chiaki's place, surely you would be quite happy."

"I wouldn't say that I would be quite happy, but quite honestly, I would feel a lot less pressure."

"Seigo..." Chiaki made a dissatisfied comment.

"Of course, I was just joking." Seiji shrugged. "No matter if it's Wakaba-san or Chiaki acting as the bait, my pressure won't decrease at all. I don't want anything to happen to Chiaki, but I also don't want to see anyone be sacrificed."

"But you said that there was no guarantee..."

"That's an objective reality. However, what I want most is to have nobody die!"

Seiji spoke that last sentence in an adamant tone.

'My willpower shall override the objective reality!' Seiji was currently giving off such an aura.

Actually, his confidence stemmed from his save and load system where he would simply load back into the past if anything went wrong. But since nobody else knew about this, they all felt like he was supremely confident.

Chiaki and Mika were both charmed by this to the point where their eyes were shining with stars.

Shingo was also moved by Seiji's apparent confidence.

"I definitely won't allow anything to happen to Chiaki," Seiji stated in a resolute tone. "That's why you don't need to be her substitute, Wakaba-san. Leave your daughter to me!"

Chiaki's heart suddenly skipped a beat at hearing a phrase like this. Her face also began to flush red.

She knew that Seiji didn't mean it that way when he said it, but he probably also meant it that way as a double meaning...

"I refuse," the famous artist responded coldly. "You're ten years too early for me to be leaving my daughter to you!"

Seiji was rendered speechless.

"Dad..." Chiaki didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"I don't recognize you as her boyfriend, nor do I intend to." Shingo ignored his daughter and spoke directly in a cold tone to the youth sitting across from him. "To be honest, I'm ignoring my doubts still while choosing to trust you for the time being. Spiritual ability users... being targeted by some sort of demonic existence... using herself as bait... Did you really think that I would believe everything completely just with what you showed me?

"And even if all of this is real, you're only a high school student. It's still unknown whether you'll really be willing to spend your entire life together with Chiaki. More than eighty percent of high school couples will break up in the end. Even if your feelings for each other are strong now, something might change in the future. You'll have to wait at least ten more years before saying something foolish like 'leave your daughter to me!'"

Shingo's tone was also adamant and with a powerful aura.

Seiji didn't know what type of expression he currently had on his face.

He felt as if he had attacked with such confidence but ended up being sucker-punched... he didn't know what he felt right now.

If he had to describe it, rather than being angry, he felt a mixture of helplessness, awkwardness, and disappointment.

"Dad... Everything is real," Chiaki told her father helplessly. "Everything that Seigo said was real, without a single lie. He's risking his life to protect me."

"I believe you, Chiaki. That's why I'm sitting here right now." Shingo looked at his daughter. "But, I can't just believe everything. I only saw a little bit in the restaurant previously. The only way I'll believe everything is if I substitute for you and experience the danger that you're in."

'Damn, it's back to this topic again.' Seiji's cheeks twitched.

He understood why Chiaki's famous artist father was suspicious. Even though Shingo had personally experienced Seiji's spiritual ability and was now forced to admit the existence of mystical powers, there was no reason for him to completely believe everything else.

In fact, Seiji could even say that Shingo was being quite trusting already by believing so much with only that little telekinesis display.

However, this and that were two separate matters. Shingo using this point to force himself to substitute for his daughter seemed a bit like too much stubbornness.

"Dad..." Chiaki who had just been moved by her father's worry was now feeling troubled by his stubbornness.

Well, it was likely that most ordinary daughters would experience such trouble about overly worried dads.

Their father/daughter relationship which had stood still for so long was finally becoming normalized.

This was a fresh feeling for Chiaki, which made her happy... yet she was still bothered by her troublesome dad.

"I'll be alright by myself. You don't need to get involved, Dad."

"Let me do it. Otherwise, I'll refuse to recognize him for my entire life."

"He doesn't need your recognition. He's my boyfriend, and doesn't have anything to do with you, Dad."

"...You shouldn't force yourself like this. You should leave dangerous things up to me."

"This is my matter. I'll bear the responsibility myself."

"You're still only a high school student..."

The father and daughter started arguing.

Actually, rather than an argument, it was more like a slightly heated discussion.

But, to Seiji and Mika who watched this, they were just bickering... a father/daughter bickering that neither was familiar with.

Seeing this, Seiji and Mika exchanged glances and then smiled in unison.

"This is wonderful," Mika whispered softly.

"Yeah." Seiji nodded and then picked up a teacup to sip some tea.

Although he had been rejected, things were still fine.

Chiaki was Shingo's precious daughter, after all. It was quite normal that Shingo wouldn't accept Seiji so readily.

Since Shingo said ten years, then Seiji would try again in ten years. But, he couldn't promise that his situation with Chiaki wouldn't change... Father-in-law.