It's Nice to Meet You, Father!

Is this what they meant by overnight stardom? I feel proud that my moniker, Prometheus, is gaining much attention, but at the same time, I feel a little uneasy.

"This wouldn't backfire on me, will it?" I mumbled, wondering about the cons of fame.

While I was switching channels, checking if they really were all featuring my name, a knock came on the door. Before I could even answer, it swung open, revealing Toki, who was wearing her usual clothes: a white tank top with a frilly black skirt.

"Mahiro, sorry, but I need to borrow you for a sec." She moved to my side, eyeing me up and down, before sighing. "But before that, you should change clothes to something more presentable."

I looked at myself, and I was still wearing the same clothes. I was sporting the same attire I was wearing when we met with Hailey and the others. The long sleeves were folded near the elbow, and the front buttons were opened wide to provide ease of movement.

Furthermore, it was already full of soot and dust since I wore it while crafting the whole afternoon and evening. "Ah, but I don't have a change of clothes prepared..."

"What? You didn't check your closet? There's tons of clothes prepared for you there!" Toki reprimanded me like I was a child.

Without asking for permission, she walked toward the bedroom and turned to the right, where the wall was. Then, when she touched the "wall", it opened into an astounding walk-in closet.

"See?" Toki pointed at the numerous clothes prepared. "Don't tell me you really didn't notice this?"

How would I know a wall is actually a closet?! Although I wanted to retort to her, doing that would just delay us further. I randomly selected a suitable pair of clothes and started changing then and there.

"I-I will be at the entrance, so come out when you're done!"

While I was changing, Toki suddenly blushed before running away. Well, it didn't take me long before I completely changed my clothes and even used the old clothes to wipe my arms and face for a bit.

"Should I take a bath...?" I pondered for a bit but decided to just enjoy it later, after whatever Toki's business with me was.

When I came out, Toki quickly scanned my attire before nodding. "Great, then follow me!"

She started walking to the elevator, then came out of the building, walked to the neighboring building, took another elevator to the top floor, and dragged me before an expensive and grandiose-looking wooden door.

*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*

"Father, I brought Mahiro." Toki raised her voice after a light knock. Wait, Father?

"... Enter."

Before I could digest Toki's words, she had already opened the door and pushed me inside. The room was not as wide as I thought but was filled with bookshelves on both walls. In the middle of the furthest end of the room, a large wooden office table was placed.

Behind it, a man with swept-back short black hair, a sharp gaze, and cool features was reading and signing documents at a rapid pace. He only glanced at me once before returning to his work, as if he didn't even have a second to spare.

Toki didn't say anything, so I just copied her, standing still near the door. The two of us watched the man work for a few more minutes before he stacked all the papers aside, stretching his stiff neck lightly while heaving a sigh. A thin smile appeared on his face, but his eyes weren't indicative of joy but closer to an assessing gaze.

"So you're the one, huh?" He said after a few more seconds, standing from his chair and walking around the table, extending his hand before me. "Sorry for the wait; I was a little preoccupied. I'm Katarina's father, Todoroki Enyou. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Giza."

As if reflexively, I took his offered hand and shook it appropriately. However, my mind hadn't caught up to the situation just yet. 'Father...? Father?!'

I turned to Toki, then to the man before me, but the two didn't even resemble each other one bit. Is this man really her father, the President of the Todoroki Enterprise?!

"We don't look alike, right? She's the mirror image of her mother, after all. Hahaha." Mr. Todoroki laughed lightly, but his grip didn't loosen up.

Suddenly, I felt danger approaching. I jumped back, freeing my hand forcefully, and raised my hands in guard, trying to block whatever it was that I felt danger from.

*Bam!*

Just as I raised my arms to guard, my feet left the ground. A powerful impact struck me, sending me flying toward the wall where the bookshelves were. "Guhah!"

That... freaking hurts! Air was knocked out of my lungs, so I had a bit of difficulty breathing for a while.

"Ruin!" Toki rushed to my side, her face turning pale. "Father, what the hell are you doing?!"

Hearing her panicked voice made me turn toward Mr. Todoroki, whose leg was still held up in a kicking position. Noticing my gaze, his smile widened as he slowly lowered his leg.

"Hahaha, you pass!" He laughed heartily, walking toward me and extending his hand, pulling me back to my feet. "Although I did hold back, you still managed to react to my speed test. That's more than enough."

"Ugh... attack? Speed? Test?"

I was confused about what he meant, but Toki seemed to have realized what he was saying. "W-We're not in that sort of relationship yet! Ah!"

As she spoke, she raised her hand to block her mouth. Her cheeks got covered in a feverish blush as her eyes flickered in both embarrassment and worry.

"Not yet, huh? Lucky guy, it seems like you've got some chances."

"..."

It's a little bit awkward if you don't deny that, Toki. Although I want to interject, I think it'll just complicate the story further, so I just heaved a sigh while soothing my hurting arms and back.

"Anyway, now that I've confirmed you're at least strong enough to protect my daughter, let's go to the main topic."

As soon as Mr. Todoroki said those words as if by magic, the atmosphere around him turned prickly. It was as if he shifted from a "father" to a "businessman" in a snap. I quickly straightened my body and listened to his words.

"Due to you making another powerful weapon, it'll be hard for us to continue hiding your face." He then raised his finger, suggesting a solution. "However, that'll be different if you sign a contract with our company. If you do, under our privacy protection policy, we can wield all our power to protect your identity."

"A contract? You mean I'll become an employee of the dismantling facility?"

"If you want to, then yes. But the position I had in mind was as an Honorary Director for the Research and Development Division."

R&D! If I do go there, then that'll mean I can get access to top-quality materials and even the best crafting practices! However, there's one thing that I didn't really like regarding this... Getting employed will limit my movements greatly.

After thinking for a good while, I turned to Mr. Todoroki and replied. "Thank you for the offer, Father. However, I don't think I'm fit for working under your company."

It is a great deal, but I guess it's just not my cup of coffee.

"Are you sure?" He asked, the smile on his face ever-present. "If you agree to that post, then you'll get a monthly salary of six digits, in dollars."

"...!"

It was a little tempting to hear the amount of salary I could get. However, I still stood firm in my decision. After all, I already have over a billion dollars to my name from the government buying the Staff of Destruction.

When he saw that I had no intention of changing my mind, his smile spread wide as he laughed loudly. "Hahaha! Just as Katarina said, you're interesting. I was just kidding, anyway. You two are going to build a guild, right? That's more than enough to protect your identity."

As I saw that he wasn't angry at me for not accepting his offer, I heaved a sigh of relief. However, his right hand suddenly landed on my shoulders; his eyes were as thin as slits and his grin turned cynical.

"However, isn't it a little too early for you to call me Father?"

"What?" I was a little taken aback by his pressure, like he was about to squish my shoulder bones in a snap.

I didn't know what he meant, so I quickly tried to recall my words. Then, I noticed that I had a slip of the tongue earlier when I called him father. "S-Sorry about that, Mr. Todoroki!"

Instead of letting go, however, his grip tightened as he scanned my face closer. "You... haven't done anything that you need to take responsibility for, have you?"

His words, laced with suspicion, suddenly made me recall that one night when a little accident happened. I don't know how my face changed, but Mr. Todoroki's eyebrows twitched lightly as his face turned deadpan.

"Father! Stop it!"

Before anything happened, however, Toki's voice brought him back to his senses. "Try and pick on Mahiro again, and I'll make sure to wipe all of our company's databases clean!"

In the blink of an eye, Mr. Todoroki vanished from before me. Looking around, he was already at his seat, working on the documents as if nothing had happened. I guess Toki's threat was just that effective for him, seeing the cold sweat rolling down his forehead.

Ignoring him completely, Toki tugged on my hand and walked toward the door. "Your business with him is done, right? Then we'll take our leave!"