I Was Possessed By An Unknown Manga

The next day.

“Ah! It’s over! It’s finally over!”

With Satoru’s relieved shout, we all exited the school gates together, having completed the final part of our midterms.

The current group consisted of me, Rika, Satoru, Karen, Ayase, and Sasha—our usual after-school crew.

Our class’s official couple, Ryuji and Yaguchi, had gone on a long-overdue date, and even Hattori, who would normally tag along to interrupt them, had left early, saying she had something to do.

“So, where are we going now, Sasha?”

“My personal guard is coming to pick us up.”

“Personal guard?”

Just as Satoru tilted his head in confusion, a familiar voice called out.

Captain Boris, who had just stepped out of the driver’s seat, waved his hand as he spoke.

“…You can’t mean him, right?”

“But I do.”

Sasha, unbothered, handed over her school bag as she answered Satoru’s denial.

“Boris, where are my parents now?”

“They arrived in Japan an hour ago and are currently waiting in the lounge of the hotel where you are staying.”

“…We should hurry, then.”

It was refreshing to see Sasha, who was usually the most composed among us, show a rare hint of anxiety as she spoke.

“Miss’s friends, please follow me.”

Boris opened the door for us, speaking in a calm tone that sounded oddly like a high school girl.

The dissonance caused by his tone made Rika and the others’ expressions turn strange, but no one pointed it out.

Probably because Boris’s appearance was too intimidating for anyone to comment on it.

“What are you all doing? Get in already.”

Sasha, familiar with Boris’s tone, urged us, and only then did everyone reluctantly get into the vehicle.

“Wow… Sasha, your family must be really rich.”

Satoru marveled as he stepped out in front of the five-star hotel where Sasha was staying long-term.

Ichijo Academy was famous for being an elite school with expensive tuition, but the financial backgrounds of its students varied greatly.

If Satoru and Ryuji, who lived in upscale apartment buildings, represented the middle class, then I, who attended on a full scholarship, and Ayase, who supplemented her tuition by streaming, represented the working class.

Among the school’s upper class, Sasha, who was on another level entirely, tilted her head and spoke.

“Hmm? It’s not like we rented out the entire hotel, just a suite.”

Her way of thinking was truly on a different level from that of ordinary people.

“Haha.”

Satoru could only laugh weakly in response.

Rika and Karen, who came from wealthy families, just said, “Wow, that’s impressive,” while Ayase was mentally calculating how many hours she’d have to work to afford even one night here.

“Let’s go in, then.”

Amid the confused atmosphere, I decided I needed to stay focused and led the group, following Sasha into the hotel.

“This way, miss.”

Boris politely guided us with his formal tone.

He led us to a small café set up in the hotel lounge.

And there, we met a familiar face.

“Over here, Sasha.”

His light blue hair was slicked back.

The deep wrinkles on his forehead and his mature-looking beard made him resemble a successful businessman.

But what softened that impression was the sheer muscle mass visible even under his well-tailored suit.

His body, as well-trained as mine or even more so, exuded a presence that overwhelmed just by sight.

He was, quite literally, an old beast disguised in human skin.

This man was none other than Ivan Romanov.

“Отец!” (Father!)

Sasha, unable to hide her excitement at seeing him, quickly ran over to where he was seated.

I hadn’t gotten the impression that Ivan was a particularly good father when we met during Golden Week, but Sasha seemed genuinely happy to see him after all this time.

She snuggled right into his broad chest, not caring that her suit got wrinkled, and rubbed her cheek against his.

Another person spoke to Sasha as she embraced her father.

“Sasha, mind your manners.”

It was a silver-haired noblewoman seated beside Ivan.

She looked like an older version of Sasha, and as a foreigner, the black dress suited her well.

She must be—

“Мама!” (Mother!)

Even though it was in Russian, I could easily understand this time.

The person who scolded Sasha was her mother.

Sasha left Ivan’s embrace and immediately hugged her mother.

“You’ve become even more spoiled since I last saw you…”

She softly stroked Sasha’s head, murmuring as if she couldn’t believe it.

Perhaps sensing our confusion, Boris calmly explained the situation.

“Those two are Miss’s parents.”

“I-I see.”

Ayase, who always wore her studious glasses, responded while nervously adjusting them, as Rika raised her hand and cheerfully greeted them on our behalf.

“Hello! We’re Sasha’s friends!”

Rika’s gaze met Ivan’s in mid-air.

The tension was palpable.

I discreetly gathered my qi, ready to act if necessary, when Ivan removed his white fedora and spoke.

“Nice to meet you. I am Ivan, Sasha’s father.”

Gasp!

Why is he being so nice?!

Ivan, who was once a tyrant and a lone wolf, suddenly being kind in front of his daughter’s friends?

Honestly, it was a scene I couldn’t have imagined during our previous encounter.

But it was happening in reality, so I couldn’t deny it.

“You must be Kishimoto Rika? My daughter mentioned your name often. She said you’re usually a bit indecisive, but you get things done when it counts.”

“Me? Really? Hehe…”

Rika, unsure if it was a compliment, smiled shyly and rubbed the back of her neck.

“Your last name is Tojo, and you have red hair… Is your father’s name Naoto, by any chance?”

“Yes. Do you know my father?”

“I met him when I visited Japan before. He was a young man with great potential.”

“Wow…!”

Karen was excited to learn something unexpected about her father’s past.

“And this must be the Class President, Sasha’s partner? You look as smart as they say. Ever consider working for my company in the future?”

The Class President’s eyes lit up at the sight of the business card Ivan pulled from his pocket.

Whether Ivan’s offer was sincere or just small talk, it was clear he had a keen eye for talent.

After all, he ran a scholarship foundation within his own company.

Finally, Ivan’s gaze landed on me.

“Kim Yu-seong… was it? I’d like to speak with you separately.”

We stepped aside, far enough so the others couldn’t hear our conversation.

“It’s been a while, kid.”

His voice, which had been warm when speaking to the others, now carried a cold, dangerous edge.

“…It’s been a while.”

As I responded with a stiff expression, Ivan chuckled and raised his arms.

“Thanks to you breaking my wrist, I had quite a hard time when I returned to Russia. But thanks to my company’s nanomachine technology, I’m all healed now.”

As he said this, Ivan clenched his gloved hand and glared at me with a gaze that seemed to burn.

“I may have let my guard down last time, but that won’t happen again. I hear you’re now considered Japan’s strongest, surpassing the Black Yaksha and Onigumo? I’d like to see if you truly live up to that name.”

“Are you saying you want to fight here and now?”

I looked around with a grimace, but Ivan just shrugged.

“I’m a man who doesn’t care about the means as long as I achieve my goals. This isn’t news.”

I quickly started gathering my internal qi.

“But there’s a condition—only when my wife isn’t around.”

Ivan patted my shoulder as he said this.

“Let’s just get along for now, young man.”

Fortunately, it seemed he wasn’t planning to fight right now.

I’d be even more grateful if he just left Japan altogether, but it didn’t look like that was in his plans.

“I’ll let you know our rematch schedule through Boris. You can look forward to it.”

With a wicked smile, Ivan returned to the group.

I brushed off the shoulder he had touched and let out a deep, genuine sigh.

“This is driving me crazy.”

I have to fight that battle-crazed maniac again?

Just thinking about it made my head spin.

We then moved to a restaurant in the hotel for a meal.

Satoru and Ayase were overwhelmed by the luxurious meal that must have cost tens of thousands of yen per person.

Rika and Karen, perhaps more used to places like this, seemed less shocked, but they were still clearly surprised.

It wasn’t common for someone to treat their daughter’s friends to a meal at such an upscale restaurant, after all.

Of course, this was also my first time having such a high-end lunch.

If I hadn’t already experienced luxurious meals at the President’s villa, I might have looked around like a country bumpkin fresh off the bus to Seoul.

During the meal, Rika seemed to remember something and asked Sasha’s parents.

“Now that I think about it, you two are very fluent in Japanese. Did you study it separately?”

Ivan smiled kindly and replied.

“I used to travel to Japan often for business. I learned Japanese during those trips.”

“I see.”

Even though Rika was a mixed-race foreigner born and raised in Shizuoka, seeing Ivan, who was unmistakably Russian, speak fluent Japanese reminded me that we really were in a world straight out of a manga.

“With diction like that, Sasha’s dad could be a voice actor.”

I couldn’t help but laugh when Satoru, seemingly thinking the same thing as me, said that while chewing on his steak.