Chapter 1654: Chapter 4: Teacher Kurumada

The book signing event takes place in the lobby of a hotel.

Lunch time has just passed, and although the event hasn’t officially started yet, the lobby is already packed with people… all fans of Teacher Kurumada—this manga has been out for over thirty years and once took the world by storm.

Reporters are interviewing fans who have arrived early, capturing each and every one.

Suzuki Natsuya pushed and jostled his way through with his child, frightening a few elderly women before successfully reaching a corner of the lobby… Suzuki Natsuya looked at the album in the child’s hands and shook his head disdainfully.

All the way here, he educated the child, using all kinds of methods, gesturing wildly, nearly running out of words.

This stuff isn’t good, the fighters in there are pathetically weak, I can take on a group of them without breaking a sweat, it’s just those gods who are a bit troublesome.

The child looked doubtful after hearing this, and Suzuki Natsuya had to mumble for a while before saying maybe, possibly, there are a few tough nuts to crack.

“… Little dog, get the autograph and leave immediately!”

But… we need to queue.

Suzuki Natsuya couldn’t cause trouble here, so he impatiently followed behind a plump, white short-sleeved man in a cow-print pant to queue.

He glared at the man in front of him with a glance, and the man was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat and automatically made way. Suzuki Natsuya was delighted inside, thinking he could glare all the way and be the first to get an autograph.

So he did use some tactics, standing at the front of the line… the child gradually showed a look of anticipation.

“What, it doesn’t start until three o’clock?”

Suzuki Natsuya looked at the time—it was only seven minutes past one.

He looked back at the crowded scene and suddenly felt an overwhelming regret, pondering whether to dismantle this hotel lobby.

But he was only responsible for debt collection in the shop and not part of the sales achievement team, so he couldn’t act rashly… But given the constant strange occurrences in society these days, perhaps there’s room for manipulation?

Suzuki Natsuya, unwilling to stand here for almost two hours, glanced at the little dog beside him full of expectation, then coughed lightly twice.

“Little dog! I’m going to the restroom, you stay here and wait for me, don’t move, understand?”

The child silently nodded.

Thus, Suzuki Natsuya put both hands into his trouser pockets, nodded, and found his way out.

…

In the same hotel, upstairs, in a quiet and comfortable lounge.

A girl in a white dress was sitting before a piano, playing the world-famous piece Adeline by the Water.

The girl had an angelic purity to her appearance, even the light seemed to soften around her.

The sound of the piano calmed everything around.

On the sofa, an elderly man with white sideburns and ordinary looks quietly read the newspaper.

The newspaper reported strange occurrences over the past few days… the elderly man seemed deeply focused—until the girl’s music finished playing, he still hadn’t reacted.

“Father.”

The girl had already approached the man in front of her… she truly looked flawless, whether in appearance or demeanor.

“Oh… I was thinking about something.” The elderly man folded the newspaper and placed it on the table.

The girl glanced at a headline on the newspaper and curiously asked, “Father, do you believe what the newspaper says? I mean those strange stories.”

The elderly man pondered and said, “Yarn, you must understand, the world we live in hides many secrets unknown to us, so if it hasn’t happened right before you, how do you know whether it’s real or just fiction?”

“Common sense, societal cognition, and… science.” The girl pondered and offered an answer.

The elderly man smiled slightly, “Actually, you also need a questioning attitude.”

The girl… named Yarn shook her head, looking at the man before her—truth be told, she was not the man’s biological daughter but was adopted by him since childhood.

Even so, he had been very kind to her for more than ten years… without any weird reasons or twisted emotions, simply treating her as his own child.

She could feel it… her senses had been very sharp since childhood, as if she could fathom hearts.

“Father, I’ve been having some strange dreams lately,” Yarn suddenly said.

“What dreams.” The elderly man lifted his head somewhat astonished, his gaze calm.

Yarn slowly said, “Some very peculiar content, like what’s in the manga you created, Father… in the dreams, I seem to be a different person.”

“Who.” The elderly man seemed to ask curiously, his gaze still calm.

“The goddess in it…” Yarn shook her head, sat down, feeling somewhat weary, “there are many, it seems like a complete world, yet it is fragmented, with considerable discrepancies from the content of the manga you created, but also some similarities… I can’t figure it out.”

“It’s just a dream.” The elderly man smiled and said, “You must know, I was already creating this manga before I adopted you. Of course, because I genuinely love it, I gave you the name Yarn when I adopted you.”

Yet those dreams that invaded her sleep were so real, as if they had actually happened… Girl Sao opened her mouth, but eventually kept these in her heart.

Attempt, societal cognition… science, these subjects she learned all told her they were just dreams, strange dreams, possibly caused by a certain psychological pressure.

“Alright, perhaps you need to rest well.” The elderly man suddenly said at this moment, “For the upcoming book signing event, you can rest here and not accompany me.”

Just then, the door of the lounge was knocked, it was the staff at the hotel lobby hosting the book signing event and the elderly man’s personal assistant, now waiting outside.

“Teacher Kurumada, it’s about time, you might want to prepare to make an appearance.”

“I’ll be right out.” The elderly man said to the outside before standing up, tidying up the clothes on his body, and then looked at his daughter Yarn, smiled and said, “Then, if what’s in the dreams were real, would you look forward to it?”

The girl fell into silence, seemingly earnestly pondering this question.

The elderly man then said, “But in fact, I don’t look forward to the day when the world in my manga becomes reality.”

What does Father’s words mean?

The girl’s doubts deepened once more.

“I’m gonna use the restroom, you stay here.” The elderly man… Teacher Kurumada said softly at the time.

…

He did go to the restroom, while the staff and assistant stood waiting outside… since there was still ample time, the two were casually chatting.

It seems to be about some urban legends concerning this hotel.

A firefighter once died here in a fire, and since then, guests have claimed to see a man in a firefighter’s uniform wandering the corridors at night.

Of course, not everyone sees him, only a few do, and they soon forget about it afterward… But it’s said someone saw him again last night, though it’s uncertain if it’s true.

Lately, it’s always about these strange happenings, the assistant said matter-of-factly.

The staff member simply lit a cigarette, and didn’t pay much attention… but just then, a hand suddenly reached out and extinguished the cigarette that the staff member had just lit.

“You bastard, didn’t you see smoking is prohibited here? I hate people who smoke!”

The staff member instinctively froze, turned his head, and saw a youth with a fierce expression… truly fierce, his glaring eyes were intimidating at first sight.

If looks could kill, this youth’s gaze was it.

The staff member shivered instinctively, startled in his heart, thinking, how terrifying… although the youth looked quite handsome indeed.

Why does he have to be so fierce?

“I… I’m sorry.”

Bowing down to the fierceness in the youth’s eyes, the staff member hurriedly lowered his head to apologize.

The fierce youth snorted coldly, still looking as if he was ready to pick a fight at any moment, walked to the restroom door, and directly pushed it open to enter.

“Teacher Kurumada is inside!” The private assistant was startled at this moment, worried that this fierce youth might do something, but dared not step forward.

The staff member shook his head and pointed to the crumpled cigarette in the trash can beside him—this was the one taken from his hand by that fierce-looking youth.

“Perhaps he’s just a bit fierce, but actually he’s a good person?” he said.

The assistant thought it over, feeling a bit uneasy, and gently opened the restroom door a crack to look inside.

He saw the fierce youth wasn’t actually doing anything, just standing in front of the urinal, shaking himself a couple of times… apparently, he had been overthinking, the assistant thought to himself, feeling ashamed, and closed the door.

At this moment, the staff member beside him suddenly froze.

The private assistant, puzzled, patted him on the shoulder… but with just a simple pat, the staff member fell directly to the ground, face pale!

The private assistant couldn’t believe it, looked up, and his pupils instantly widened.

He saw a person… a firefighter, whose face was already charred black-brown, yet still burning!

The private assistant’s lips trembled, just about to scream in terror, but this bizarre figure penetrated through him directly… as if divorced, the private assistant uttered no sound, and fell onto the staff member on the ground.

The firefighter whose face was burning didn’t stop but walked towards the depths of the corridor.

…

Inside the restroom, Suzuki Natsuya shivered slightly, contentedly began to pull up his pants.

At that moment, a well-dressed man with greying temples walked out, and his eyes met with Suzuki Natsuya’s… Teacher Kurumada, who just walked out, didn’t seem surprised by Suzuki Natsuya’s fierce look.

“What’s this?” Suzuki Natsuya said with a slight tone of surprise, quickly fastened his pants and turned around, examining Teacher Kurumada, blinked and said: “This lousy place actually has someone like you?”

Teacher Kurumada couldn’t help but furrow his brow.

But Suzuki Natsuya suddenly moved… simply putting his hands into his pockets, and at the same time, a tangible pressure, like surging waves, suddenly rushed towards Teacher Kurumada!

The restroom’s tiles and fixtures couldn’t withstand this pressure, and cracks appeared.

Teacher Kurumada furrowed his brows further… facing the overwhelming pressure with a light wave of his hand, pressed it down, suppressing the invisible terrifying pressure.

Suzuki Natsuya, however, smiled happily, examining Teacher Kurumada, seeming quite joyful, “Old man, is there anything you can’t solve? I’ll help you! Rest assured, reasonable prices, cheap yet effective!”

Teacher Kurumada was taken aback, couldn’t help but chuckle, “I don’t have anything that needs help… not causing me trouble is helping me already, I’d say.”

But secretly on guard… he knew that the fierce looking youth had just tested him simply, nowhere near his full capabilities.

Suzuki Natsuya waved his hand without thinking, and a white card flew towards Teacher Kurumada, “Don’t worry, I’ve seen many people like you, thinking there’s nothing to solve, but eventually you’ll find some things you can’t handle in this world… this is my private phone number, feel free to contact me anytime.”

Teacher Kurumada glanced at the card.

Name: Suzuki Natsuya

Business: Debt collection of all kinds, professional intimidation, organ recycling, cleansing gang members Double-Crosser, can professionally design special bloody projects like wall painting people, bulk discount.

Phone number: XXXXXXXX91

“Alright, I’ll take it.” Teacher Kurumada casually tucked the card into his clothes, “Thank you for your offer, Mr. Suzuki.”

Suzuki Natsuya nodded in satisfaction… though professionally responsible for debt collection, occasionally getting some business is not bad either!

He’s out of vacation days, extra accomplishments spent on that Little dog, now he’s broke and desperately needs some funds, has to venture out as a salesperson for a few rounds.

—Who says with my IQ I can only be a thug?

—I can eat for hundreds of years if I open a business! Meeting quality at the door! Scared yet?!

“You’re welcome!”

Suzuki Natsuya wasn’t fierce at all this moment, “Remember to call me first in need! Oh… by the way! If you encounter some gray smoky, sneaky people trying to lure you into buying stuff from them, don’t hesitate, beat them up freely, and remember to find me!”

“Alright, I’ve got it.” Teacher Kurumada nodded.

“You’re such a reasonable old man.” Suzuki Natsuya smiled and greeted, then pushed the door and walked out.

He really just walked out, with no intention of staying.

Could be an interesting guy, Teacher Kurumada silently thought… but simultaneously shocked at the other’s unfathomable ability—Teacher Kurumada hadn’t met anyone who could give him such pressure for a long, long time.

Recalling the various urban legends starting a few days ago, Teacher Kurumada stood in front of the mirror, speechless. In the mirror, that originally aged, ordinary look slowly transformed… eventually becoming a handsome and soft face.

“Sanctuary…”

Teacher Kurumada murmured.

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PS: (23/82)