*Note: nobody guess who was the loli in the previous chapter, so is my victory!
Have a good day :)
...
Both of them immediately pulled apart, their hearts pounding wildly. Neither of them knew what had driven them to almost kiss, but the fact remained—and neither could deny it. It was clear that they felt something for each other, yet the moment that should have been romantic was suddenly interrupted by someone.
Akira turned to see who had intruded on his moment with Kari and saw a man in his mid‑thirties—tall, slender, blonde, blue‑eyed, and quite muscular. In fact, he didn't look Japanese at all but rather like a foreigner.
"You must be Akira‑sama," said the man.
Hearing that, I immediately went on alert. How does this stranger know my name? There's only one explanation. An assassin—at the worst possible time! Kari doesn't know anything about aliens, and God knows how she'd react if she found out the truth.
"Who are you?" I asked in a serious tone.
Kari instinctively took a few steps back, almost hiding behind me.
"My name is Sufurtia, and I am the governor of the planet Kuario. I come before you to humbly ask for your help," said Sufurtia as he knelt down.
For a few seconds, I just froze. A governor came to this planet? Not an assassin? Or maybe the governor is the assassin? What the hell is going on here?
"Planet Kuario?" Kari asked, shocked.
She couldn't understand this man's words. Governor? Planet Kuario? He was talking as if he were an alien.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but this isn't funny," I said.
I had no choice but to play dumb since Kari didn't know the truth, and I wasn't sure she was ready to hear it. Besides, I had a general rule—only my future wives could know the truth unless they were aliens themselves, in which case that rule didn't apply.
Hearing my words, Sufurtia quickly understood. Akira had suffered multiple assassination attempts and distrusted any alien outside his fiancées and close circle. It was natural that he'd be cautious. But Sufurtia had no time to waste. His son's health was worsening by the day—he could die at any moment. He couldn't afford any more delays, so he did the only thing any father would do in such a situation: he bowed down, pressing his forehead to the ground.
"Please, Akira‑sama! My son is gravely ill, and I must find Doctor Mikado! She's the only one who can save his life! If you know where she is, I beg you to tell me! I'll do or give you anything in exchange for the information!" pleaded Sufurtia.
As a father who deeply loved his son and suffered every day seeing him in that condition, pride meant nothing. Dignity, honor—none of that mattered compared to his son's life. If kneeling before Akira could help him, he would do it without hesitation.
Seeing him beg and hearing his words, I sighed. This guy looks desperate, and he doesn't seem like a bad person. In fact, I could even see tears running down his cheeks. Maybe he's acting, but… honestly, I feel sorry for him.
The real problem was Kari, who was staring at me with a confused face, as if she couldn't believe what was happening.
"Akira… are you an alien?" she asked.
Maybe anyone else would've run away or thought it was all an act, or even had a panic attack—but not Kari. Even if Akira really was an alien, he had never mistreated her or Mikan. That alone told her he couldn't be bad.
"Ehem. I'm 100% human. It's just that… let's say some difficult‑to‑explain things have happened to me," I said.
Kari already suspected something, so denying it was pretty pointless.
"I see… Does Mikan know?" Kari asked.
"She's known for a while," I nodded.
"Could you tell me too?" she asked.
"…Another time. I don't think this is the right moment to explain everything," I sighed.
What else could I do? Refuse? This girl didn't seem like someone who gave up easily.
"Still, don't tell anyone about this. Not your friends, not your family," I said.
No normal human should know about the existence of aliens. It had to remain a secret.
"Don't worry. I know this isn't something I should talk about," Kari nodded.
After all, even if she told someone, they'd think she was crazy. It was better to stay silent.
"Back to the point. Why did you approach me? Didn't you realize Kari is a normal human? You know it's forbidden to expose yourself to ordinary humans. Are you insane?" I asked.
I had studied a bit about galactic law—not much, but enough. Aliens living on Earth were forbidden from revealing their identities to normal humans. They were also banned from marrying humans, and breaking those laws meant life imprisonment. Humans were still considered a young species, unfit for interplanetary contact. Before exposure could happen, humanity first had to develop faster‑than‑light travel, but right now they were still using primitive combustion rockets—obsolete by galactic standards.
So what this man had just done was, at the very least, a crime.
"I… saw you two hugging so intimately and about to kiss, so I thought she was one of your women, Akira‑sama," said Sufurtia, looking puzzled.
Hearing that, Kari's cheeks turned bright red, and she quickly turned away in embarrassment, which only reinforced Sufurtia's assumption.
"Well… you were mistaken. Kari's just a normal human, and you just happened to catch us in a… less than ordinary situation," I said.
I avoided saying "yet," in case Kari got offended or disgusted.
But Akira couldn't have been more wrong. In fact, Kari felt a little sad hearing him clarify to Sufurtia that their relationship was a misunderstanding.
"There's no helping it… Anyway, tell me everything. Why should I trust you?" I said, my tone serious again.
At the same time, I gestured for Kari to stay behind me just in case this was a trap. I was ready to use the Omnitrix. One wrong move and I wouldn't hesitate, even if it meant revealing more secrets to Kari. She already knew more or less what was going on—and I didn't have an alien capable of erasing memories anyway.
Honestly, I hoped the Omnitrix would give me a new alien right now to fix this mess. But to my surprise, it didn't respond to my plea. Why is it that when Mikan asked the other day, she got ChronoShade unlocked instantly, but when I ask for something, it doesn't listen? Definitely something to think about.
"I understand your distrust, but you'll see once I explain," said Sufurtia, slightly agitated.
His first impression with the future king hadn't gone well—he had revealed the existence of aliens to a normal human and exposed the identity of the future ruler. The only silver lining was that, although he denied it, it was obvious his relationship with that girl wasn't ordinary. Perhaps the king was trying to court her, and Sufurtia's interruption had ruined the moment, making him look bad—on top of all the assassins Akira had probably faced. But what choice did he have? His son's life was on the line...
"All right. We'll go somewhere quieter to talk. But keep it brief—I don't want to get home too late," I said, nodding.
Then I turned toward Kari.
"Kari, do you know a quiet place where we can talk privately?" I asked curiously.
I had never visited this part of the city; there'd never been any reason to. Everything that had happened so far had been around my home, the nearby park, Mikan's neighborhood, or the school. I knew I probably should've explored more, but lately I'd been too busy—and with assassins possibly after me, rest wasn't exactly an option.
"There's a park near my house. During the day it's crowded, but at this hour there shouldn't be many people left," Kari nodded.
There was no choice but to go there. We were relatively close to Kari's home (I think), and I couldn't risk letting this man know where I lived—or where Mikan or Kari did. I still didn't know if he truly had good intentions.
"I'll trust you to lead the way," I said.
Kari nodded again.
"All right," she said.
"By the way… do you want me to take you home first? We might take a while, and your family could worry if you stay out too long," I said.
After all, Kari was only eleven years old, and her parents would surely worry if she didn't come back soon.
"Hehe. Actually, I told my mom I'd be at Mikan's place and might come home late. Since it's not too late yet, she probably won't worry until it gets dark," said Kari.
She honestly thought she'd spend more time at Mikan's house, so she told her mom she'd be back late and promised that Sachie's mother would walk her home afterward. She had lied—something she rarely did. But if she hadn't, her mom would've made her return early, and she really wanted to meet Mikan's beloved boyfriend that she spoke so fondly of. So she lied just this once. Luckily, Akira offered to escort her home, so there was no real danger.
"Besides, I… I'd rather stay and listen, if that's okay," Kari said shyly.
She had just discovered that aliens existed and couldn't hide her curiosity. Even though she knew the man's story probably wouldn't answer all her questions, she still wanted to hear it.