Chapter 24: A Sigh of Relief?

“It’s over now.”

Nakano Masao’s voice came from the driver’s seat.

His tone was slightly gentler than usual, as though trying to inject a trace of comfort into the atmosphere.

He slowly turned the steering wheel, carefully easing the slightly deformed front end of the car away from the bumper of the adjacent vehicle.

Metal scraped softly with a faint grinding noise.

During the process, his gaze drifted through the rearview mirror, lightly sweeping over Nobuhito’s pale face in the back seat and then… Risa, who kept her head lowered, shoulders subtly trembling.

Even without meeting his eyes directly, Risa could clearly feel that invisible, icy scrutiny.

Like unseen fingers brushing across her skin, it nearly made her shiver uncontrollably.

Instinctively, she reacted—if only to reassure herself.

“H-Honey…”

She raised her head, forcing a lingering expression of shock and fear onto her face. Her voice trembled appropriately, tinged with a faint sob.

“That person just now… was he insane? Th-that was terrifying…”

As if suddenly remembering something, she abruptly turned toward the back seat, her eyes filled with urgent and genuine concern.

This concern was not entirely an act. Nobuhito’s reckless attempt to protect her earlier had stirred a soft ripple in her heart.

“Nobuhito, are you okay? Did it scare you?”

Nobuhito pressed his lips tightly together. The color had not yet fully returned to his face.

But his eyes had already settled back into that unnaturally sharp calmness so unlike a child his age.

He shook his head. Yet before replying, his gaze first darted quickly toward his father’s unreadable profile.

“I’m fine, Mom,” he answered quietly.

As for Risa’s “performance,” Nakano Masao merely gave her knee a gentle pat in consolation.

The chaos did not last long.

The police eventually gained full control of the situation. The prisoner was subdued near the edge of the parking lot and then escorted into a black van with completely darkened windows and no identifying markings before swiftly being driven away.

Ordinary officers efficiently began clearing traffic and handling the accident scene.

One police officer approached and routinely asked Nakano Masao a few questions, briefly recording the sequence of events.

Masao’s answers were concise, clear, and logically sound:

They had been waiting normally in line to exit when they were suddenly attacked by a seemingly mentally unstable individual. In order to protect his family inside the vehicle, he had no choice but to take emergency evasive action, resulting in the collision.

His tone, combined with the surrounding circumstances, appropriately conveyed a little nervousness and regret over the crash befitting an ordinary civilian.

It all sounded entirely reasonable.

There was nothing worth probing deeper into.

Only at the moment the officer finished recording and turned away did Nakano Masao’s gaze vaguely follow the direction in which the black van had disappeared.

Deep within his eyes, a tiny flicker of strange light flashed by.

That prisoner…

When he came close, there had been a faint aura about him that instinctively irritated Masao.

It was weak, buried beneath blood and madness, but—

He would never mistake the lingering traces of that kind of power.

Was he some new experimental subject created by the Demon Extermination Unit?

Or some accidental escapee from somewhere?

The return trip was even quieter than before.

Wind howled through the shattered window, blowing Risa’s hair into disarray.

Her vacant gaze swept over the familiar Tokyo streets speeding past outside.

For some reason, ever since she had watched that striped-uniformed man get taken away in the black prison van, the string wound tight inside her heart had unexpectedly loosened just a little.

The feeling was strange and complicated.

Like hearing during one’s school days that the strict homeroom teacher intended to summon your parents for a meeting—only to panic for hours before suddenly learning the meeting had been canceled because the teacher had urgent business.

The problem itself had not disappeared.

The hidden danger might still remain.

Yet the immense pressure hanging immediately overhead had suddenly vanished, and the relief that followed was real and overwhelming.

Of course, she had countless questions. She desperately wanted to know that man’s identity.

But in her current situation, how could she possibly dare to investigate or approach someone so clearly “abnormal”?

If her “husband” noticed even the slightest unusual movement from her, what awaited her would definitely not be gentle questioning.

Thus, once she confirmed that the sudden “trouble” had been physically isolated and could no longer disrupt the fragile “normal life” she was struggling to maintain—at least for the time being—

A feeling of immense relief quietly surfaced, mixed with a faint sense of self-contempt.

Wuuuu…

She just wanted to survive.

In this world full of danger, she only wanted to grasp every possible sliver of safety and steal a moment to breathe.

The car entered their familiar neighborhood and stopped in front of the house around two in the afternoon.

The sunlight was still blazing.

Risa covered her mouth and let out a small yawn.

According to the habits she carried over from before transmigrating—as well as the routines stored in the original owner’s bodily memory—a short afternoon nap helped restore energy for the rest of the day.

It was just that…

She wasn’t sure whether this “husband” had the habit of taking naps.

“Dad, Mom, I’m going to a classmate’s house. I might not come back for dinner tonight.”

The usually silent Nobuhito suddenly spoke.

“Which classmate’s house?” Risa asked naturally, with the casual concern of a mother.

“Oda Kyoko,” Nobuhito replied.

Risa instinctively glanced toward Nakano Masao, silently seeking the opinion of the “head of the household.”

Her “husband’s” gaze rested briefly on Nobuhito before he gave an almost imperceptible nod.

“Go ahead. Be careful on the way.”

“Okay,” Nobuhito answered.

Soon, only the husband and wife remained in the house.

Standing at the entranceway and watching Nakano Masao change his shoes, countless thoughts raced through Risa’s mind.

No matter how uneasy she felt inside, she had to keep up appearances.

Perhaps… she could even use the opportunity to probe him or improve that pitiful favorability score a little?

After all, thinking back calmly now, even she felt her behavior in the parking lot had been riddled with flaws.

How could the man beside her possibly have failed to notice?

She took a deep breath.

Fear and dependence quickly returned to her expression. Moisture even gathered in her eyes with remarkable speed, while her voice acquired the perfect amount of trembling and lingering fear.

“H-Honey… at the zoo earlier, and in the parking lot too… thank goodness you were there. If you hadn’t reacted so quickly, I-I probably would’ve been…”

As she spoke, she looked like she was struggling to hold back tears, her body shrinking slightly.

Her footsteps unconsciously moved a little closer toward Nakano Masao, as though instinctively seeking shelter.

Fortunately, the original owner’s memories helped make her behavior appear perfectly natural.

The man turned around and naturally wrapped an arm around her trembling shoulders, gently patting her back.

“It’s alright now. It’s over.”

His voice sounded above her head—steady, even gentle. The strength in his embrace was moderate as well.

Yet at such close range, Risa could clearly feel that his body temperature was unusually cold.

She quickly glanced at the system interface—

The number representing “Pseudo–Nakano Masao’s” favorability had not moved at all.

It remained firmly fixed at 30.

Heh…

Risa sneered inwardly, though outwardly she still wore the appearance of fragile dependence.

This guy really doesn’t put any sincerity into comforting people.

A moment later, Nakano Masao released her.

“The car needs repairs. Both the window and the front end need fixing. I’ll drive it to the repair shop.”

“Thank you for your hard work, honey.”

Risa tilted her face upward and forced out a smile blending gratitude and dependence.

She watched the car drive away.

Only after the taillights disappeared around the corner did she slowly close the front door, lean against it, and let out a long, silent breath.

The house was completely quiet.

Dragging her somewhat weak steps into the living room, she threw herself onto the soft sofa.

The instant her body sank into it, accumulated exhaustion, tension, and lingering fear surged over her like a tidal wave.

She knew those invisible “eyes” might still be floating somewhere near the ceiling, silently recording her every move.

But right now, she could no longer care about that.

Like a tightly wound spring suddenly released, overwhelming drowsiness swept over her.

Curling up on the sofa, she pulled a thin blanket over herself and closed her eyes.

Let her sleep first.

At least during this brief, undisturbed afternoon, let her temporarily escape this bizarre and perilous reality—

Even if only for a little while.