Still, while Isao had decided to teach Tatsuya, he couldn't help but ask, "But are you sure to hire me just like that?" He thought that Miya wished to test him first before hiring him, but she didn't seem to have any doubts and hired him directly.
"I have never doubted my son. He will never lie," Miya said calmly, yet it showed the confidence she had that it was impossible for Tatsuya to lie. "But you are right. I am quite curious about your ability." He then looked at Isao and asked, "If you don't mind, can you fight Tatsuya?"
"Here?" Isao looked at Miya strangely.
"Do you mind, Tatsuya?" Miya looked at her son.
"I don't, Madam," Tatsuya responded, his voice devoid of any emotion, like a robot programmed to obey. His detachment was almost chilling.
"....." Isao.
"For now, call me a Mother," Miya said softly.
Tatsuya looked at Miya for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, Mother."
Hearing the exchange between the mother and son, somehow, Miyuki and Honami felt happy and made their eyes moist. Frankly, considering their family situation, they should be in doubt of Isao and always be careful, but then again, as Miya, the leader of this party, had made up her decision, there was nothing they could do, and they could see that Isao was harmless.
More importantly, it was the first time for Tatsuya to have an interest in others, so they couldn't help but feel curious about Isao.
Tatsuya had told them that Isao could beat fifty people with ease. Even if all of them were just normal people, it was still an amazing feat.
"You okay with this, Tatsuya?"
"Yes." Tatsuya nodded. "Please give me your all."
Isao only smiled. "I don't think that you can force me to give my all."
"...."
Tatsuya took a deep breath, but he didn't say anything. Still, his eyes showed a determined and fighting spirit, ready to show his skill, as he felt unhappy being underestimated. Frankly, he shouldn't feel an emotion as his emotions had been erased by her mother in exchange for an Artificial Magic Calculation Area, leaving only his love and care for his little sister.
Still, even so, once again, Tatsuya was a human and wasn't a machine that was absolute.
"Let's go to the beach. The sand is softer than the concrete road."
Isao cleaned up the bench with the help of Tatsuya, who was eager to have a spar against him, before the two walked toward the beach, facing each other. Unlike Miya and Honami, who maintained a certain distance from the two, Miyuki came closer, watching them intently.
"Is this okay, Madam?" Honami asked in doubt since Miya's safety was more important than anything for her. While she didn't think that Isao would harm them, it was necessary to take precautions.
"It'll be fine. I know that he won't harm us. Instead, I think that we might be able to gain a lot from him," Miya said calmly.
"But... is he a magician?" Honami asked, feeling that Isao was so different from a normal civilian.
Rather, with Isao's charming appearance, she felt that it was impossible for him not to be a magician.
Like Miyuki, who was genetically modified, Isao should be similar.
Miya also thought so since she also felt that it was impossible for one to have such a handsome appearance without being genetically modified, but—
"While they are in the spar, tell someone to search for his information," Miya said softly in a voice that could only be heard by Honami.
With the power of her family, it was easy to find out Isao's information, yet even if she knew, it wouldn't change her thoughts toward him.
Instead of the information on the record, she believed more in her insight.
This might be strange to her, yet when she was with him, she felt at peace, the solace that had disappeared after she had altered her sister's experience.
The death of her father, the experience of her sister, and everything that had happened in her life.
If she were strong and could do everything, then it would be fine, but unfortunately, she was weak. She could do nothing, and she kept making mistakes, which kept piling up, and in the end, she used her son as a tool for revenge.
Still, when he was there, it felt like... she forgot everything.
Her mind seemed to be in a state that she had never tasted, enveloped by his strong body, tightly, as she was unable to breathe, yet somehow, it gave her joy and safety that she had never felt before.
However, it was impossible for her to show such an emotion, especially toward a young man like Isao and in front of her children.
"Yes."
On the other hand, Honami nodded respectfully, yet her gaze couldn't look away from Isao.
Still, as they had their little conversation, Isao and Tatsuya faced each other.
"Come."
Hearing Isao's taunt, Tatsuya took a deep breath and made his first move.
Dash!
Tatsuya appeared in front of Isao instantly, giving a lethal strike into Isao's body, but somehow, Isao seemed to be able to read his intention and grasped his wrist. Subconsciously, he wanted to retract his arm, trying to escape from Isao's grasp, but as his body tried to fight back, it seemed to be out of control, and he was controlled like a toy before his body seemed to float in the air, then fall on the beach of sand.
"....." 4x
Not only Tatsuya but Miya, Miyuki, and Honami blinked their eyes since before they realized anything, Tatsuya had already fallen on the beach.
"Onii-sama!"
Miyuki was startled and looked at her older brother worriedly, but at the same time, her gaze on Isao quickly changed, realizing how powerful this young man was.
Still—
'If I use a magic...'
Yet, when she thought so, as she looked at Isao, she felt like she was drowning, but when she was about to drown in despair, she was pulled up and somehow greeted by Isao's gentle smile.
Somehow, all of her despair disappeared, and what greeted her was dusk after the darkest night.
"....."
Miyuki shook her head, realizing Isao wasn't as simple as she thought to be, yet with such an appearance, how could he be simple?'
As she lamented her naivety, she couldn't help but think, 'Is he a magician too?'
Still, she couldn't find any trace of magic from Isao, so she wasn't sure; at the same time, when she saw that Tatsuya was okay, she sighed in relief, thinking that she might be overthinking and blaming herself for being impulsive, thinking that Isao had heard her older brother.
Moreover, as this was a martial art exchange, wasn't it normal for one to be hurt?
"...is this aikido?"
Tatsuya stood up and asked curiously.
"It's something similar." Isao thought for a while and nodded. "But I guess you like something that is more straightforward and defeats your enemy in one blow, right?"
"Yes." Tatsuya nodded with bright eyes and was amazed as Isao could tell what he wished from just a single exchange.
While this gentle martial art was powerful, it wasn't effective or efficient, especially when Tatsuya mostly used it to protect Miyuki and defeat his opponent as soon as possible. If he used something like Aikido to protect Miyuki, then their opponents would have hurt her already.
Swift, precise, and efficient.
Isao knew those types of martial arts were something that Tatsuya wished to get, and if possible, be able to adapt to every situation.
"Hmm..." Isao thought for a while and said, "To be honest, fist-to-fist isn't my forte."
"...isn't your forte?" Tatsuya's lips twitched since if fist-to-fist wasn't Isao's forte, then how strong was Isao when Isao used his specialty?
"Then, what is your forte?"
"When you can force me to give my all, then I will show it to you."
"...." Tatsuya.
Isao only smiled at Tatsuya's reaction and said, "But I will show you my favorite."
"Please." While Tatsuya knew that he was too weak at this moment, he wanted to see Isao at his peak. Well, even the technique that Isao might show wasn't weak; he wanted to see Isao's favorite technique.
Miya, Miyuki, and Honami also felt curious, but then they saw the air around Isao quickly change.
Isao suddenly moved strangely, and under their perception, he had become harmless like those flowers they saw in the park and made everyone subconsciously relax their guards, but soon after, his movement became graceful and beautiful, like a blooming orchid, causing them to be in a daze.
Only at that moment did Tatsuya widen his eyes as he saw Isao's fist right before him, ready to pummel him, breaking him into pieces.
As expected, Isao didn't hit him, but as usual, he flicked Tatsuya's forehead.
Snap!
Tatsuya covered his forehead in pain, and he was sure that it was red.
Yet, Miya, Miyuki, and Honami were dumbfounded since everything Isao did was purely physical ability and martial arts. There was no trace of magic, but at that moment, they realized that they had been hypnotized, stunned still by his graceful movement.
"...is that a dance?" Miyuki asked curiously.
"Yup." Isao nodded. "Well, it's a bit late, so I will go back now." Even though they might think that he would agree with teaching Tatsuya, he decided not to do it after all since he was afraid to make a mistake, especially when he noticed the gaze that was given by their mother.
"Wait!" Miya quickly approached him, trying to stop him. Even though she was weak, her movement was rather fast when she tried to stop Isao. "Where are you going?"
"...I am going back."
"I have told you that you would stay at our villa, right?" Miya then looked at Miyuki and Tatsuya. "You two must have a lot of questions to ask for him, right?"
Hearing their mother's question, Miyuki and Tatsuya nodded.
While Tatsuya wanted to know how Isao could make him fall into a daze with just a martial art, Miyuki was curious about Isao's graceful technique.
"As we stay at Okinawa, please stay at our villa so you can teach my children thoroughly," Miya said softly, and she insisted that he stay.
Hearing Miya's words, Tatsuya, Miyuki, and Honami anticipated Isao's stay, thinking that they could ask him many things, but Isao didn't think so, especially when Miya's hand tightly grasped his wrist.
"Please."
When he heard that request, Isao wondered what he should do.
Only when he looked at Tatsuya and Miyuki, who seemed excited and innocent, thinking that nothing would happen, did he become speechless.
Will you be okay with me being your stepfather?
"Okay."
As he agreed, Miya showed a sweet smile on her stern and cold face.
'Oh, shit...'
Isao was sure that he would become a bad guy tonight.