062. Getting off work, and then picking up my daughter (Part 2)

The window of the Maybach had already rolled down, revealing the face of a middle-aged man.

Togawa Sakiko came to a halt, looked toward the Maybach, and said in pleasant surprise:

"Father!"

Her father had been extremely busy with work lately, often coming home very late. Sometimes, by the time she had finished washing up and gone to bed, he still hadn't returned.

She never expected that her father would actually find the time to come and pick her up in person today.

Nagumo Ugetsu and Wakaba Mutsu also stopped, following Togawa Sakiko's gaze.

It was a middle-aged man who exuded a certain refined, commanding presence of middle age, yet his features did not look very aged at all.

"Could this be... Togawa Seikoku? Sakiko's father?"

Nagumo Ugetsu recognized him at a glance.

Without a doubt—the Maybach and the middle-aged man—the sense of deja vu was simply too overwhelming.

However, the current Togawa Seikoku looked no different from an ordinary father who had just gotten off work; there was none of that immediately visible, decadent aura of someone cast out from his family.

"It seems the investment failure hasn't happened yet at this point in time..."

Nagumo Ugetsu thought to himself.

Uncontrollable venture capital truly was a ruinous thing. He wondered what the reason might be, or perhaps someone had laid some kind of trap, that ultimately led to Sakiko's father being driven out of the family.

At that moment,

from within the rolled-down car window, Togawa Seikoku wore a smile, resting his hand outside the frame as he looked toward the three of them.

Just a moment ago, he had been entirely focused on his own daughter, and only when Nagumo Ugetsu and Wakaba Mutsu cast their gazes over did he notice the faces of the other two.

"Hmm... If I remember correctly, this is the child from the Wakaba family. Yes, her name is Wakaba Mutsu."

"And the one next to her..."

Togawa Seikoku searched his memory, only then recalling that not long ago, Sakiko had mentioned to him that a batch of transfer students had joined Tsukinomori.

"Ah... This must be the new transfer student who joined Sakiko's class."

Observing the positions where the three of them were standing, he deduced:

"It looks like their relationship is quite good."

"That's wonderful."

Togawa Seikoku thought to himself.

Friends from one's youth were one of the most important treasures in life; regardless of gender, they were exceedingly precious along the journey of life.

At this thought, Togawa Seikoku let out an imperceptible sigh in his heart:

"Sigh."

Those closest friends of his had long since been buried together on a rainy night, leaving only him alone to survive to this day.

Had it not been for meeting his wife, Mizuho, later on, he likely would have been consumed by the fires of vengeance long ago.

Now... his wife had already passed away, and the only thing sustaining him and keeping him anchored in the Togawa family was his own daughter—Togawa Sakiko.

Seeing that Sakiko could have friends, even if one was of the opposite sex, Togawa Seikoku felt mostly glad at heart.

After a brief thought, he took the initiative to greet Nagumo Ugetsu and Wakaba Mutsu:

"Hello there."

As an adult so many years their senior, Togawa Seikoku felt it was only natural for him to take the first step to break the silence.

Meanwhile, upon seeing her father arrive, Togawa Sakiko ran toward the Maybach.

Hearing Sakiko's father greet them, Nagumo Ugetsu and Wakaba Mutsu stepped a little closer:

"Hello, sir."

"He... hello, sir."

Togawa Seikoku smiled as he greeted them both, while casting a glance at Nagumo Ugetsu.

Hmm... Alright...

Good... acceptable...

He reined in his thoughts and looked toward the two of them:

"Isn't there a music festival at school tomorrow? I heard Sakiko mention it."

"An event like this is quite rare. Once you get older, even if you want to participate, you won't have the opportunity."

Togawa Seikoku said with a smile,

"I hope you both have a wonderful time with Sakiko tomorrow."

Nagumo Ugetsu looked at Togawa Seikoku.

He truly hadn't expected Sakiko's father to be so approachable, chatting with his daughter's friends just like any ordinary person.

Wakaba Mutsu stood to the side, her verbal processing system seemingly slightly overloaded as she merely nodded.

Nagumo Ugetsu picked up the conversation:

"Speaking of which, this is my first time participating in the Tsukinomori music festival. My previous school didn't have any similar events."

"As for the music festival... I'm actually quite looking forward to it."

Togawa Seikoku suddenly recalled the welcome party he had attended when he first enrolled in Cassel College. The scene of that party back then had left a profound and lasting impact on his youthful soul.

With a smile, he said: "Just participate more and you'll get used to it. Once you reach university, there will be plenty more activities."

Through chatting with the two of them, Togawa Seikoku gained a rough understanding of his daughter's friends' personalities, and then said:

"Alright, then I'll be taking Sakiko home first."

He waved his hand.

The door of the Maybach opened automatically. Togawa Sakiko got into the car, and before the door closed, she looked toward Nagumo Ugetsu and Wakaba Mutsu standing not far away:

"See you tomorrow, Mutsu... and Ugetsu-kun."

Hum—

The car window slowly rolled up.

Nagumo Ugetsu and Wakaba Mutsu waved goodbye, and only after the Maybach pulled out into the roadway did the two of them resume walking forward.

Nagumo Ugetsu quietly summoned his interface.

Just now, he had exchanged a few words with Togawa Seikoku, but on the interface visible only to himself, the progress bar for [Distance to Unlocking the 'Sanctuary of the Slain Gods'] remained stubbornly stuck at 2/6, showing no change whatsoever.

"It seems that the advancement requirements this time are completely different from the last time when I ignited the first flame of the Spells..."

"Could it be... that it only advances by preventing mixed-blood individuals from losing control?"

Nagumo Ugetsu theorized based on his previous experience of pushing the progress to '2'.

After walking a bit further, he turned to look at Wakaba Mutsu beside him and said:

"I happen to be heading toward where my car is parked this morning. Care for a ride?"

............

Meanwhile,

inside the Maybach,

Togawa Seikoku drove, keeping his speed within a perfectly calibrated range, smoothly passing through several green lights in a row.

In the back seat,

Togawa Sakiko sat on the leather upholstery, her gaze fixed out the window.

Only after the figures of Wakaba Mutsu and Nagumo Ugetsu vanished from sight did she turn her head back and look toward the front of the car.

Togawa Seikoku noticed his daughter's gaze and asked:

"Are you feeling better?"

Having learned from the family servants that his daughter had taken a leave of absence for the first class that morning, he had specifically asked out of concern.

"Mm."

Togawa Sakiko nodded.

"I'm fine now."

"That's good." Togawa Seikoku glanced at Togawa Sakiko through the rearview mirror, and seeing that she was back to normal, he let out a sigh of relief.

Swish!

The Maybach sped onward in the direction of their estate.

Togawa Sakiko looked at her father driving and asked:

"Father... are you heading back to the company this afternoon?"

"Hmm—" Togawa Seikoku said as he maneuvered the steering wheel,

"Judging by how things look, there shouldn't be anything urgent lately, so I probably won't need to—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the operating system of the Maybach chimed with a notification prompt linked to his smartphone.

Beep—

It was an email.

Togawa Seikoku glanced at the sender of the email and sighed:

"Looks like something has come up again after all."