Chapter 21: A Reliable Husband

The space under the table was cramped, dim, and filled with the faint smell of dust.

Risa curled up tightly, her arms instinctively wrapping around Nobuhito beside her.

The boy’s body was stiff, but he wasn’t trembling—only his breathing was slightly quickened.

The chaos outside, filtered through the thick glass walls, became muffled and distorted.

Screams, cries, pounding, the deep roars of beasts… all blended into a horrifying cacophony that tightened the heart.

Risa couldn’t see what was happening outside. Every heavy footstep approaching, every loud crash against the glass made her whole body tremble. She bit down hard on her lower lip to keep from crying out.

She had only been in this world for three days.

Aside from the judo black belt she had obtained from the air-conditioner repairman Saito on the first day, she had no other means of self-defense.

If those beasts really broke in, what could fragile humans possibly use to resist their claws and fangs?

Unless…

She suddenly remembered her “husband’s” ability to command yokai as watchers.

What would Nakano Masao do?

Protect them?

Or…

She couldn’t help but tilt her head slightly, trying to glimpse her “husband” through the gap in the tablecloth.

But all she saw was a pair of legs in dark trousers, standing firmly in front of their hiding place.

Those were her “husband’s” legs.

He simply stood there, back facing them, like a silent yet abrupt barrier, separating the cramped space beneath the table from the mad world outside.

Seeing this, Risa felt conflicted.

On one hand, his presence did give her a faint sense of safety.

On the other hand, that sense of safety came from a being she deeply feared, making it feel utterly strange.

Just then, a particularly shrill scream and the excited roar of a beast rang out from near the restaurant entrance!

Immediately after came even more violent pounding against the doors. The tables and chairs bracing them creaked under the strain, and the glass doors shook violently, as if they might shatter at any moment!

Those in the restaurant who hadn’t hidden yet erupted into another wave of terrified cries. Despair thickened in the air like something tangible.

In front of the table, those previously motionless legs finally shifted slightly.

Through the gap, Risa saw Nakano Masao subtly adjust his center of gravity.

He still didn’t step back. Instead, he seemed to lean forward ever so slightly.

His right hand hung naturally at his side, but his fingers moved faintly, as if tracing some invisible pattern in the air.

There was no light. No sound.

But at the exact moment his fingers stopped—

“ROAR—!!!”

A tiger’s cry, filled with pain and terror, exploded from outside!

The wild fury in that roar was instantly replaced by something deeper—an instinctive fear!

Then came the sharp cries of cheetahs, like their tails had been stepped on, and the chaotic retreat of an elephant, its heavy footsteps trembling the ground.

The violent pounding and roars outside abruptly stalled for a moment, then turned into hesitant, retreating footsteps and low growls.

What just happened?

Risa held her breath, her heart racing wildly.

She hadn’t seen anything, but she felt the overwhelming shift!

Was it… him?

How did he do it?

Under the table, Nobuhito’s body tensed even more.

His gaze was fixed on his father’s hand at his side, his face drained of color, lips pressed into a pale line.

Only he could “see”—or rather, “sense”—that in that instant, centered on his father, an invisible aura had burst outward.

Cold. Majestic. Carrying the oppressive dominance of a top predator.

Though fleeting, it was like a flash of lightning in darkness to his sensitive perception.

That wasn’t human.

Not even something an ordinary yokai could possess.

It was… the overwhelming suppression of a being at the very top of the food chain—something that made the soul tremble.

So it really was… far beyond ordinary.

Nobuhito’s heart sank to the bottom.

That thing’s power and identity were even more terrifying than he had imagined.

Why did he act?

To protect him and his mother?

No… was he that kind?

More likely, he simply didn’t want any unexpected changes to disrupt the “family” he was temporarily inhabiting.

In the end, it was all for himself.

Inside the restaurant, the panic froze momentarily at the sudden “retreat” of the beasts.

People looked at each other, still shaken. Though they didn’t understand why those ferocious creatures had suddenly withdrawn, it seemed they were safe—for now.

Nakano Masao tilted his head slightly, glancing toward under the table. His voice carried a hint of reassurance: “It’s temporarily safe. But don’t come out.”

Risa and Nobuhito remained under the table, not daring to move.

Outside, a tense calm seemed to return, though distant chaos and sirens still echoed faintly.

After a while, a broadcast finally sounded through loudspeakers:

“This is the Metropolitan Police Department’s Special Disaster Response Unit! The abnormal situation in the park has been initially contained! Please remain calm, stay where you are, secure doors and windows, and wait for guided evacuation! Repeat—”

The announcement brought a measure of relief. The suffocating tension in the restaurant eased slightly.

Only then did Nakano Masao bend slightly and say in a low voice, “Come out. Stay with me. Don’t wander.”

Risa and Nobuhito crawled out, their limbs numb.

Standing again, seeing the wrecked restaurant, the shaken crowd, and the distant smoke and lingering chaos outside, Risa finally grasped how real the danger had been.

Nakano Masao quickly scanned them to confirm they were unharmed, then said simply, “Let’s go.”

Following him in silence, Risa couldn’t help but glance at his back again.

He still looked like an ordinary office worker—but after what had just happened, that figure was now shrouded in an impenetrable, unsettling mystery.

Those beasts retreating just now… was it really his doing?

Without a doubt.

After all, there weren’t that many coincidences in the world.

Meanwhile, Nobuhito walked with his head lowered, staying close to his mother.

His right hand, hidden in his pocket, tightly gripped the small talisman given to him by the shrine maiden Kyoko.

The charm was slightly warm—not the burning heat of a warning, but a steady, gentle warmth, as if helping him resist the lingering cold pressure unconsciously emanating from that presence ahead.

The joyful zoo outing ended abruptly in a terrifying chaos.

When the three of them got into the car, silence filled the interior.

Outside, the sunlight remained bright, shining through the windows—but it couldn’t dispel the lingering unease inside the car.