readytorunbook Chapter 823 - 823
Chapter 823 - 823
Just after the New Year, the atmosphere on Itogami Island was far from ideal.The cause was the magical disaster that occurred at the port several days ago, seemingly triggered by a vampire's familiar. The immense power had nearly half-destroyed the port.
Currently, the entire port was sealed off, with island workers racing against time to carry out repairs.
But until then, maritime transport was unusable.
At the port, within just a few days, a large number of cruise ships had visibly accumulated. Nearly a hundred passenger and cargo ships of various sizes were docked there, waiting for the day the port would resume operations.
For an artificial island on the sea, losing maritime transport was undoubtedly fatal.
Food, clothing, goods—99% of Itogami Island's resource circulation relied on sea transport. The port's paralysis meant a severe tightening of resources.
The most critical issue was the major problem with food reserves.
While air transport was still an option, for the entire island's population of 560,000, even with all five airports operating at full capacity, meeting the needs of so many mouths remained a task beyond their means.
As a result, the entire island was currently in a state of anxiety. Food panic spread across Itogami Island, and supermarket food prices were skyrocketing.
"Ugh, if only sea transport could recover quickly! Listen, Nii-san, the fish I bought today was twice as expensive as before! How can that be? Should that even happen? Do those merchants profiteering from disasters have no conscience at all?"
The Akatsuki residence was an apartment building located in the southern district of the artificial island, inhabited only by Kojou Akatsuki and Nagisa Akatsuki.
As soon as the New Year began, Nagisa Akatsuki was chattering away, indignantly criticizing the current state of the island.
"That's strange. I heard Itogami Island should have emergency food storage warehouses?"
"Nii-san, you're so out of touch! Didn't they say on TV a while ago? The food warehouses are also in the eastern district. They were affected by that incident—the fire spread and burned down several warehouses. Combined with the port's paralysis, the direct economic loss reached tens of billions! I'm not kidding, you really should watch more TV!"
Kojou Akatsuki lay lazily on the sofa, waiting for lunch to be ready.
After what happened on New Year's Eve, Nagisa had given him the cold shoulder for a long time. It was only at the cost of paying for ice cream for the entire month of January that the siblings' relationship returned to normal.
Even so, due to the current resource shortages, even ice cream prices had soared. "Ice cream assassins" were everywhere on the island—it seemed his pocket money was doomed to disappear.
"Did the TV say when things will recover?"
"At least another week! By then, spring break will be almost over, and we'll be moving up to higher grades. Nii-san, you'll be going to the high school division, right? It might be a bit troublesome to come to the middle school division after that!"
If it's just a week, that's not too bad. I can still save some money to buy snacks for Avrora, Kojou thought happily.
"I'm home!"
A cheerful shout echoed as the Akatsuki front door opened from the outside.
The person who entered was a woman with a carefree demeanor, wearing a crumpled white lab coat. Her youthful-looking doll face was adorned with a pair of glasses, and she radiated chaotic energy.
"Minami, why are you back today?"
Nagisa Akatsuki poked her head out from the kitchen in surprise, still holding a soup ladle in her hand.
"Oh my, is Nagisa too grown up to welcome her mother now?"
Mimori Akatsuki put on an expression that looked like she was about to cry.
"Not at all, it's just that you didn't message me in advance!"
Nagisa Akatsuki completely ignored her mother's antics, as if she were already accustomed to such behavior.
After offering a welcome, she returned to the kitchen, where the clattering of pots and pans continued without pause.
"Mom, why are you back today? That stupid old man isn't here!"
Kojou Akatsuki stood up from the sofa and carried Mimori Akatsuki's luggage into the room.
"Whether that stupid bastard comes back or not doesn't matter. What I want to ask is, have you invited Aria to our house to play?"
Mimori Akatsuki brushed off the mention of the "stupid bastard" with disdain and asked with an expectant look something that made Kojou Akatsuki lose his composure.
"No!"
Kojou Akatsuki roared in frustration.
"Mom, could you be a bit more reserved? She's my classmate!"
He didn't dare say this too loudly because Nagisa didn't know about Mimori Akatsuki's shifting affections yet. If she found out, she might faint on the spot!
"What a pity!"
Mimori Akatsuki looked utterly disappointed, completely ignoring her son's indignation.
She took an ice pop from the freezer and put it in her mouth.
First, she licked around the edges, then focused on the tip, licking it vigorously, before moving up and down, back and forth.
"...What are you doing?"
After watching for a while, Kojou suddenly felt restless, his face filled with horror.
He wasn't a child anymore and knew quite a few "positions." Ordinary people definitely wouldn't eat an ice pop like that, right?
"Don't mind me, I'm just practicing. After all these years, my skills have gotten rusty!"
"What skills? Hey, what skills! What are you planning to do to my classmate?!"
Mimori Akatsuki remained calm, as if she didn't take the innuendo seriously at all, which made Kojou unable to hold back from shouting angrily.
"Mom, I want to ask you something, and I need you to answer me seriously!"
Kojou remembered the request from that "stupid old man" and suddenly became stern.
"Depends on the situation."
Mimori Akatsuki replied vaguely.
"If Aria asked you to die, would you be willing?"
"If it's a lovers' suicide, I might consider it."
Mimori Akatsuki said calmly, as if discussing something perfectly ordinary.
Wait, she'd actually do it?
Kojou was shocked, his expression turning fierce.
"What if he asked you to eat shit?"
Mimori Akatsuki's movements suddenly stopped. The tongue licking the ice pop seemed to detect a strange smell.
"Kojou, even if you have that kind of fetish, could you not say it in front of me, especially while I'm eating?"
Her expression, as if she had just eaten something disgusting, clearly showed she had imagined some strange scenes and made herself sick.
"I don't have that kind of perverted fetish!"
Kojou, desperate to clear his name, couldn't help but shout.
However, this actually made him feel relieved.
His mother's reaction clearly showed she wasn't willing.
If what that "stupid old man" said was true—that once bewitched, she wouldn't refuse any request—then even if asked to eat shit, she wouldn't hesitate at all. Mimori Akatsuki was clearly not like that.
This proved that Mimori Akatsuki wasn't under any bewitchment.
That was a relief.
A heavy weight lifted from Kojou's heart.
But then he became depressed again.
If she wasn't bewitched, didn't that mean his mother had fallen in love with Aria of her own free will?
In another sense, that was just as disastrous!
"What are you all shouting about over there? Come wash your hands for lunch!"
Before long, the Akatsuki family's lunch was ready.
As the lady of the house, Mimori Akatsuki, and the only male member, Kojou Akatsuki, sat down at the dining table completely ready to enjoy the meal without having lifted a finger.
Nagisa Akatsuki, who handled all the household chores year-round, was quite skilled in the kitchen and could effortlessly prepare dishes of various styles.
Nagisa casually turned on the nearby television, which was broadcasting news about a war breaking out somewhere.