"Eh?" El Condor Pasa blinked, completely lost as her dad rambled on.
If that earlier line—"from now on, the three of us are family"—had been weird but still kind of understandable, this whole "for the sake of the family, we need lots of kids" thing was on a whole other level of nonsense.
Was this that old-fashioned pressure to get married young?
But she was still in middle school! Wasn't that, like, way too early for talk about marriage?!
She'd barely even hit puberty—she hadn't had her first crush yet...
"..." Without realizing it, El Condor Pasa sneaked a few glances at the supposedly "dead" Mizuno beside her. Her heart gave a weird little jump, curiosity bubbling up inside.
Why was this guy here anyway? And why did he seem so close to her dad?
He could even pull off her dad's special move, and there was this strange sense of familiarity about him...
Could he be some secret illegitimate son her father had hidden away—a half-brother she never knew existed?
Was that what Dad meant by "the three of us are family"?
"A real older brother, huh..." El Condor Pasa's chest tightened a little.
Was it because she felt betrayed by her dad's "secret child"? Or because fate was cruel enough to make her first crush her actual brother...?
Either way, she shouldn't jump to conclusions without proof. Better to just ask straight out.
Fidgeting, she lowered her head and poked her fingers together. "Um, Dad... you and this... older brother... what exactly is your relationship?"
"Hm?" Master Jin's smile froze when he heard her call Mizuno "older brother." "El, aren't you and Little Gou already close?"
"Little... Gou?" El Condor Pasa repeated, staring at Mizuno with wide sapphire eyes.
So that's his name? What a weird one...
"You don't know him?" Master Jin asked, confused.
"..." She shook her head. "This is literally the first time I've ever heard that name."
"This..." Master Jin scratched his head, embarrassed.
He'd thought his daughter and future son-in-law were already on good terms—maybe even secretly dating—but she didn't even know his name?!
"Little Gou's just my nickname for him. His real name is Hideki Gou." He clapped a hand on Mizuno's shoulder.
"Guh..." Mizuno, who'd been playing dead, suddenly sat up stiffly. Scratching his cheek, he started babbling nonsense:
"Uh... you might've misunderstood, old man. I'm not Hideki Gou—I'm his brother. Jack."
"I had a grudge against Hideki Gou, and, uh... yesterday during our fight, he, um... died. So I came here today to deliver the sad news. Any promises he made to you, well... yeah, he can't keep them anymore..."
"?" Master Jin frowned.
What the hell was this kid talking about? Jack? Died? He was right here! Had seeing El scrambled his brain?
Remembering how Mizuno had panicked at the mention of his daughter, Master Jin began to suspect something.
Had the brat already learned his secret techniques and was now trying to ditch the engagement with this ridiculous story?
Or was he just so nervous in front of El that he was saying whatever came to mind?
Master Jin couldn't tell—but he decided to play along.
"Oh? You're not Hideki Gou? Fine. I still have the signed contract with your fingerprints on it. Care to take off your gloves and compare?"
"Guh..." Mizuno's eyes flicked toward El Condor Pasa, and he quickly hid his hands behind his back.
No way was he taking those gloves off—not after what happened yesterday when she'd licked his finger. If that happened again in front of Master Jin, he might actually die this time.
Technically, Hideki Gou wasn't even his real name, so the fingerprints wouldn't match—but he wasn't about to play that card yet.
First priority: keep both of them calm until he could escape.
"Ahem..." He cleared his throat, hands folded seriously under his nose. "Sorry, just kidding! Guess my sense of humor doesn't land, huh?"
"..." Master Jin stared at him, speechless.
That was supposed to be a joke? He'd really thought the brat wanted to call off the engagement.
Was this some weird East Asian humor he'd never get as an American?
"..." Meanwhile, El Condor Pasa, watching their exchange, grew even more convinced of her earlier theory.
Yup. He had to be Dad's secret son.
Even if she was ninety-nine percent sure, that tiny one percent still refused to believe it.
To think her first love could be that kind of relationship—it was too much for a poor Uma's heart to take.
She tugged at her father's sleeve impatiently. "Dad, you still haven't told me—what's your relationship with him?"
"Oh?" Master Jin blinked in surprise.
It had been ages since his daughter had tugged on his sleeve like that, pestering him with questions.
Ever since he'd given her that wrestler's eyepatch, she'd grown fiercely independent—solving problems alone, barely talking to him through her years at Tracen Academy.
But now, she'd suddenly turned back into the same spoiled little girl from his memories.
He chuckled, warmth welling up inside. "Ah, sorry, sorry—I almost forgot the proper introduction..."
He laughed heartily, ruffling her hair with one hand while patting Mizuno's shoulder with the other.
"Little Gou here is the fiancé your old man picked out for you~"
"...Eh?" El Condor Pasa froze.
She thought it was a joke—but her dad's serious face, and that "brother's" silent agreement, told her it wasn't.
"EEEEHHHH?!" She shot to her feet like she'd been struck by lightning, ears and tail standing straight up, finger trembling as she pointed at Mizuno.
She'd been bracing herself to swallow her feelings and live peacefully with her "half-brother"...
And now they were saying they weren't related at all—and engaged?!
Her mood swung from despair to dizzying joy in an instant.
Yesterday's dream boy had turned out to be her destined partner after all.
Did that mean she could freely savor his sweet body from now on—
"Uwawawa! What am I thinking?!" Mortified by her own thoughts, El Condor Pasa covered her face, hearts practically bursting from her eyes.
"What's wrong, El? You're not happy?" Master Jin asked, mistaking her reaction for anger.
"I... I..." She wanted to yell "I'm super happy!" but pride held her back. Instead, she mumbled, "I thought... he was your illegitimate son..."
"What? Illegitimate son?!" Master Jin nearly fell over.
Sure, he'd flirted with a few ladies in his time—but with his Uma wife draining him dry daily, he'd never had the chance to go that far!
"I'm sorry, El. It's Dad's fault..." He pulled her into a hug, guilt washing over him.
"No, Dad, it was my misunderstanding..." She hugged him back, nestling against his chest.
"I'm glad... I realized my mistake..." She peeked at Mizuno with a soft smile—making him shiver.
Oi, why look at me like that during your father-daughter moment?!
"You two talk—I'll just... wait outside," Mizuno muttered, slipping out and quietly closing the door.
"Little Gou really is a good guy," Master Jin said with satisfaction.
"Mm..." El Condor Pasa nodded shyly.
Yeah... good guy—and tastes amazing, too...
"Guh!" Flustered again, she buried her red face against her dad's chest.
"What's wrong?"
"N-nothing..."
Sensing she didn't want to explain, Master Jin changed the subject. They started swapping stories about how each had met Mizuno—and before long, they were laughing at the crazy coincidences.
Then, excited, Master Jin called Mizuno back into the room—only to find that his future son-in-law had already taken the chance to slip away.