Tomoe Gozen repeatedly expressed her gratitude to the two, her face full of relief at having been saved.
"So they weren't really here to offer warmth? I almost believed them!"
The single mother next door was just too sincere, completely lacking in wariness. It was a wonder she had managed to raise a child all on her own.
She seemed like the type who could be deceived multiple times in a single night. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novèlfire.net
"I wish my child were half as considerate and outgoing as you two."
Tomoe looked toward a certain room on the second floor of her small house.
Although it wasn't yet nighttime, the curtains there were tightly drawn, sealing off the room entirely as if rejecting all interaction with the outside world.
Tomoe's child… to be honest, Eiji had even forgotten the last time he had seen her.
Despite being neighbors, her daughter was a complete shut-in, almost as if she had a phobia of the outside world. She barely left the house even a few times a year.
"I remember she graduated last year, right?"
"Yes, ever since graduation, she's been holed up at home, working on something called… 'Oil Turtle'?"
"Yes, yes, that site. She does live streaming there. She does make quite a bit of money, but staying indoors all the time isn't good. How will she find a suitable husband in the future?"
Tomoe's face was full of worry as she subtly glanced toward Jiang Li.
"If only someone would take her in… sigh~"
Both mother and daughter?
Eiji almost blurted out the question.
If it were a package deal, he really wouldn't mind—it'd be like a "buy one, get one free" situation. But if it was just the daughter… Considering the shut-in's lifestyle, Eiji pretended not to understand Tomoe's hint.
That girl didn't need a husband; she needed a caretaker.
Seeing that Eiji wasn't catching on, Tomoe wasn't upset. She just chuckled and bid farewell to the two of them, determined to continue her efforts. She was very patient when it came to selling her daughter off!
"Brother, can you really make money by live streaming?"
Souji's eyes sparkled with interest after hearing Tomoe's words.
"Of course. If you're a looks-based streamer, making millions a year isn't a problem."
Eiji glanced at the second-floor room of Tomoe's house.
The shut-in girl had top-tier looks and a great figure, but as a wife? No thanks. Even for a casual fling, knowing her too well made it hard to take action.
"Brother, you should start streaming too! You'd definitely make tens of millions!"
Souji's eyes lit up with dollar signs as she struck a cute pose, clasping her hands in front of her chest with an earnest expression—practically begging him with "look at your adorable little sister, how can you say no?" energy.
"Uh… talking to people online sounds a little… awkward…"
"Oh, so you do know yourself?"
Souji let out an awkward laugh and quickly dropped the topic.
Still, live streaming, huh?
It could be a good option for making quick cash.
Eiji had considered streaming before.
With his looks, he would absolutely dominate on YouTube. He wouldn't even need any fancy gimmicks—money would just roll in without effort.
But in the past, he had been wary.
After all, in this Fate-based world, there were plenty of creeps who liked to target people with special traits. His abnormal charm could easily attract some strange magi.
To protect himself, he had almost never shown his face online.
But now, things were different. He had regained his original strength: Level 4 physical abilities, Absolute GodSpeed, skills like Intuition, Valor, and Indomitable, plus an invincible charm.
No magus would dare to mess with him now.
Unless it was a Magician.
With that in mind, there was no reason not to try streaming—after all, the Minamoto family wasn't exactly wealthy… No, he still needed to think carefully. His mother and sister were his biggest weaknesses. If he couldn't guarantee their safety, it wasn't worth attracting too much attention. Magi weren't exactly known for their morality.
'Come on, how can streaming compare to a rich woman's embrace?'
Eiji quickly stopped overthinking it.
If he was going to make easy money, why not choose the most comfortable way?
"Sorry for the delay! There was a meeting at the shopping district today, so I had to stay behind and watch the shop. Thank you, little Souji, for preparing dinner!"
Around 7 or 8 PM, Raikou rushed home, breathless.
"Hmph! My cooking won't lose to yours, Mom!"
Souji proudly held up her ladle, wearing a pink apron with a floral cat pattern. Her face was full of confidence… and then suddenly full of nervousness.
"More importantly, Mom, you didn't run into any trouble on the way home, right? Lately, it hasn't been too safe at night. There have been thugs wandering around!"
"Oh my, little Souji is worried about me? That makes Mom so happy!"
Raikou beamed with joy, immediately pulling Souji into a tight embrace, rubbing her cheek against her.
"S-So big… I can't breathe!"
After a long while, Souji finally broke free from the overwhelming "blessing" and looked at the enormous presence before her with a mix of fear and awe.
She was a bit envious too.
Her own chest was quite impressive for her age, but compared to her mother, it was no competition. It was practically monstrous.
"Don't be sad. This just means you have plenty of room to grow."
Eiji patted her shoulder, smiling as he tried to console her.
"…Brother, if you don't know what to say, you can just keep your mouth shut."
Souji took a deep breath, barely resisting the urge to beat up her big brother.
Messing with his little sister was way too much fun!
"Don't worry, Mom is perfectly safe!"
Raikou watched her two children bickering with a look of pure love.
"Besides, the thugs around here barely show up anymore. What danger could there be?"
"That's true… though I have no idea why."
Eiji sighed. Maybe the feng shui of this area was just that good.
Actually, a strange rumor had been circulating in the city—"If you see the Smile of God, you might just turn gay."
And since the town's street thugs were surprisingly well-informed, most of them knew where the "God" lived.
Naturally, they avoided the area like the plague.
"But still, you should cut back on your part-time work, especially late-night shifts."
Eiji still felt uneasy, so he made sure to emphasize his point.
"Yes, yes! Ali, you're so sweet to Mom!"
Raikou was overjoyed and pulled Eiji into another smothering embrace.
"The shopping district is only a few kilometers away from home, so there's nothing to worry about! I'll just make sure to come back earlier!"
"Why is this woman my mother?"
Eiji, his vision completely obstructed by Raikou's overwhelming presence, felt an inexplicable sense of grief.
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