PHASE 86 - A KNOCKOUT PUNCH FROM HIS LOVELY DAUGHTER

Weeks started to go by so quick.

We resumed our daily high school lives with happiness and peacefulness. There’s no major enemy as of yet, and Eidolons attacks are not so much of a threat for us. I mean, we have the power of mythical gods on our side. The big sister of our group even have the power of three primal gods, and her baby brother has a Ph.D. in Void Arts. My boyfriend is the God of Kings, and I’m a demigoddess myself. The Black Cross already recognizes the Aether Crusade as its special team for crucial operations. Certainly, nobody would be so courageous to stand up against us.

The Aether Crusade are lying low on major operations, and all of us are focused on finding the Twelfth God Core. Finding the last one is harder than we thought.

But...

I found something that I have been searching for a long time. Or more properly, someone I’ve been longing to meet.

<>

The bell rang from the tenth floor of the campus.

It’s Friday, the end of the school week. Rikkun and I talked about our rematch since it’s Fried Day Friday. We were planning to have an eat-all-you-can buffet of fried chicken wings at the most popular restaurant in time, but there’s a slight change in our itinerary.

Right at the school gate is my twin Diadem, who is still wearing his school uniform. He has resumed studying now, but since he quit a long time ago, he now serves as my lowerclassmen. He’s just delayed for about a year, but he will graduate in no time.

Anyway, I’m not surprised that he’s waiting at the gate. I’m surprised at the person he’s with.

He’s a tall man with long chocolate hair tied in a ponytail. He looks like he’s on his early forties, but his bulky body makes him look younger like in the thirties. He’s wearing a red jacket that reveals his muscular chest.

“Sis Tiara…” Diadem said with a smile as he presented the weird man in front. “I’ve finally found him.”

“Him?” I tilted my head. My eyes gazed upon the man’s sky blue eyes, which made me realize that I have the very same color of irises as him.

“He’s Frederick Solstice. Our father.” Diadem continued.

“Fa…”

Father!?

“Good afternoon, Tiara… My beautiful daughter...” The man turned away as he scratched his cheek.

<>

We still went with the plan on Fried Fridays. We chose that restaurant where we should talk together as a father and daughter. Together with us are Rikkun and Diadem.

We're done in the basic introductions. I introduced my punching bag- I mean boyfriend Rikkun to my father, and he's more than glad that I already have somebody to love. My father seems to know that Rikkun is a good person at first glance, so he immediately welcomed him with open arms.

So for now, let's go for the food before it gets cold!

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

I’m quite hungry, so I immediately indulged myself to eat. I have already eaten twenty chicken wings and fifteen chicken popsicles. Don’t blame me for being so hungry! I’m just tired of school!

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

On the other hand, the middle-aged man named Frederick Solstice… or more appropriately, my father, is contesting my reign as the queen of gluttons. He matched my speed in chomping, and he’s currently down with nineteen chicken wings and seventeen chicken popsicles.

This is not a contest, but I feel that I don’t want to lose. So we both shamelessly continued to eat.

Meanwhile, Rikkun and Diadem are just watching us with a troubled smile.

“I mwee mour mike momer mmm mump mump mump!” Father started to utter an inaudible sentence since his mouth is still full of meat and he’s talking while chewing.

“Mmmm! Mis meat is malicious mump!” I kind of did the same.

“For the love of God, please swallow your food first before talking…” Rikkun made a side comment.

Ashamed, my alleged father and I both gulped in order to clear our mouths and throat. Now we can finally talk and understand each other.

“I can’t believe that there is such a restaurant like this!” My father laughed. Then he made a loud burp.

“Yes!” I jollily clasped my hand. “Rikkun and I eat here every Friday! This is one of the best restaurants ever!”

Meanwhile, Rikkun can be seen whispering to my twin brother. I heard him something say like “Now I know where Tiara inherited her gluttony.” Diadem answered by forcing a laugh.

I laid down the chicken leg from my hand as I bowed to my father. “M-Mister Frederick… I mean… Father… Thank you for appearing. I’ve been longing to see you since mother passed away.”

“Ahahaha!” Father carefreely laughed as he scratched the back of his head. “I’m sorry too. I’m quite busy with work in the Black Cross.”

“W-Work?” I raised my head and stared at him.

“Yes, work.” Father smiled. “I’ve been destined to different places and countries. I can only visit the Kozukata Shrine once every year. I’m glad that Asumi raised you to be a fine beautiful woman!”

Wait, if he can visit Heightsburg once a year and he happened to know that I’m residing at the Kozukata Shrine, why didn’t he visit me at least once? Why did he appear now?

For that reason alone, my heart ached. I kept silent as my father utter more nonsense that made my blood boil.

“Tiara, you’re astonishingly beautiful! You really inherited Natalia’s eyes!”

“Who’s Natalia?” I asked with an empty expression. Something inside my mind has snapped.

“Natalia, your mother!” Frederick laughed.

(Note to self: I’ll be calling him Frederick from now on.)

“My mother’s name is not Natalia,” I said in a monotone, matching like those of Key’s.

“Leila?” Frederick tried again.

“No.”

“Mia?”

“No.”

“Michelle? Anastasia? Monica? Jenny? Leonora? Christine? Sasha? Carol? Iris? Venia? Danica? Lara? Sora? Xing? Skyla? Megan? Lisa? Taylor? Camilla? Nancy? Elisa? Kylee? Julia? Pythagoras? Paulina? Paulina 2?”

“No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Not even close.” I said in a vacant expression. “You can’t even guess the first letter right.”

“Ahahaha!” Frederick made a dumb laugh as he carefreely scratched his head again. “Can you give me your birth date? Maybe that will give me a clue about who your mother is. You see, your father has slept with so many girls and now I don’t know who is who. If you give me the year on when you were born, I can narrow down the names.”

…

I bowed to hide my face. I kept silent.

…

Meanwhile, Rikkun and Diadem are now sitting in the corner, trembling with fear. They should have felt the dark aura I’m emitting from my body. They know when I’m pissed. They know what will happen if I’m angry. They know how to protect their noses… and their lives.

“It’s Yukiko,” I whispered to myself. “My mother’s name is Yukiko.”

“Oh yes!” Frederick gently slammed his fist on his palm. He’s still as jolly as before, not noticing my dangerous mood. “Yukiko, the Brightmore Witch! Wait, what’s her last name again?”

“...”

I went silent again. It really hurts me that he knows that my mother is a witch but yet forget her last name.

But Frederick, not reading the mood, tried guessing again.

“Springwood? Brooklyn? Antoinette? Romanoff? Gomez? Hutchison? Park? Xingling? Testarossa? Macauley? Opperman? Pacquiao?”

Bam!

I couldn’t suppress my emotions anymore. I unleashed my fist straight to my biological father’s nose, making it shattered and forcing it to splat some blood.

Frederick is knocked out in just one surprise punch.

“IT’S HIKARI, YOU DUMB*SS MOTHERF*CKER!!!” I shouted.

Frederick’s only reply is an epileptic collapse. It looks like the strength of my punch has damaged some of his nerves on his brain. He’s now unconscious. Maybe he’ll be paralyzed for the rest of the day.

Seeing that I have made a commotion in the restaurant, I immediately ran away.

Crying.