"Of course, but not today. I just remembered I have something important tonight and need to go home early. I'll collect the reward later when I have time."
Alistair was about to agree but suddenly remembered some issues and immediately changed his mind, saying he planned to collect the 'reward' later.
Although he knew that those unknown entities would likely come knocking again tonight, Alistair did not plan to stay alone once it got dark. Those entities probably had a way to leave a mark on him to make tracking easy, so staying in any sparsely populated area at night was dangerous.
Alistair had planned to go to Mina Morita's house because there were many people there, and he could use the identity of 'Mina Morita's boyfriend' to stay in the same room with her. Also, there was the voluptuous wife, Yumiko Morita. Although he had tried to stir her lust earlier, she still hadn't contacted him, and Mina Morita and Yujiro Morita didn't seem to be acting strangely. It seemed that the wife's self-control was unusually strong.
They say a woman is like a wolf in her thirties and a tiger in her forties. Yumiko Morita's willpower was formidable; she could suppress that wolf-like or tiger-like urge. Alistair had originally intended to go there to 'solidify' his relationship with Mina Morita and simultaneously flirt with the curvaceous wife.
But Alistair suddenly realized a crucial issue: the Morita family lived in a large detached house, and neighbors were quite far apart. Although the Morita household currently had quite a few people, six in total, they were all ordinary people.
In the face of supernatural powers, ordinary people are virtually defenseless; they are barely even cannon fodder. Alistair's own soul strength was more than double that of an average person, yet without the knowledge of how to use it, he was still fish on the chopping block, and his memory was still altered. Even having a few ordinary people around would likely be useless to those entities, who could probably control them with a single spell.
Therefore, there were only three theoretically viable places to go that offered some means of resistance.
Those were the homes of the members of that unknown religious group.
The first was Ms. Hatsufuji's house. But he had no relationship with her; they were merely strangers who had met a few times. He wasn't one of their followers, nor was he close friends with them. He couldn't just establish a relationship and ask for help. Besides, her husband would likely be the first one to be displeased, whether Alistair's target was his wife or daughter; it was an irritating situation regardless.
So, the first option had to be skipped.
The second was Hikari Matsuda's house or President En's house. Hikari Matsuda was also a follower of that unknown religious group. Based on the 'secret drug' traces he saw earlier, he could generally deduce that she and President En used the same 'secret drug.' And for some reason, they always accelerated their departure when Alistair approached, as if he were a flood or a ferocious beast. He didn't know if his behavior had annoyed them or if the rumors made them wary of him.
Whichever possibility it was, it meant they weren't very welcoming toward him.
Alistair rubbed his brow, feeling that things were getting tricky. He was always a bit careless in his planning, especially when dealing with these issues, often settling on superficial conclusions and then relaxing. Now that he suddenly realized the shortcomings, he had to find a solution quickly.
Akane Nanao saw Alistair reply to her and then fall silent for a long time, closing his eyes as if thinking. A feeling of defiance suddenly surged in her heart. Her 'physical compensation' was being 'excused' and postponed by Alistair. She knew how many people wanted to get close to her but couldn't. Alistair only got his chance through a deal. Yet, yesterday Alistair wanted a 'partial reward,' and today he was postponing the 'full reward.'
"Is there anything more important than me?"
Driven by a complex mix of emotions, Akane Nanao asked in a somewhat petulant tone.
"Yu-nuo-wu-guan (None of your business)."
Alistair glanced at Akane Nanao and dismissed her. Even if he told her, it wouldn't help, and she might not even believe him, so he just brushed her off.
Akane Nanao wanted to press the issue, but seeing Alistair's tightly furrowed brows, she remained silent.
Perhaps Alistair's matter is truly urgent?
Akane Nanao thought, falling into silence.
"You should go home, too. I have some things to attend to now, and it might be a little dangerous. It's better if you go home."
Alistair thought carefully. If he couldn't get help from those individuals, he would have to rely on himself. Since Akane Nanao couldn't help anyway, he might as well send her home.
"...Okay."
Akane Nanao wanted to say something but simply agreed and left. She also needed time to digest the news she received today. If Katsuse Shōno was gay, what did that make her all this time?
Bang.
A heavy door-closing sound echoed.
"Hisae, at least half of the company staff must stay tonight. Five times overtime pay."
Alistair closed the car door and immediately said to Hisae in the driver's seat.
If he couldn't find capable people to help, then he would bring a batch of ordinary people. Even if the opponents were incredibly powerful, in this era where the 'supernatural' is gradually fading, they couldn't possibly control the entire company's staff. The cost would be enormous. The company managed by Kurakura was at least a medium-sized company approaching a large one. Alistair hadn't checked the exact figures, but he remembered it had over a thousand employees, though not quite two thousand. (Alistair uses domestic counting standards, so the exact number is vague).
Alistair knew that you can't expect a horse to run without feeding it, so he gave them generous overtime pay. This way, he wouldn't fear unrest from the staff. A night of staying up late for a lot of extra money—what's not to like?
"Understood."
Hisae didn't know what Alistair wanted to do, but she only needed to follow orders. As for the consequences, there was always the head office. This was just a branch company. The head office could always inject some money to keep it going. After all, the chairman was the young master's grandfather; a company given to the grandson for practice could be rescued even if it failed.
Sigh, I'll have to see if Grandpa can help later.
Alistair sighed internally. He didn't know what his grandfather had been busy with since noon. The request for help Alistair sent seemed to have fallen into a bottomless pit, with no response at all. For now, he could only use this method. If those entities aggressively came for him, having his powers weakened by a crowd of people should make his [The World] capable of handling them.