Last Chance, Haruo 3 - (Original, Side Character!MC)

If you wish to Donate and Support: ptreon DOT com / socialistbukharin

Being called to Dr. Morgause's office was a surprise for me as I had done nothing to warrant anything requiring a private talk.

It's been roughly two months since I left Japan and I have pleasantly adapted to the European scenery.

While I wouldn't say that I have become a master on the matters of Prague, I had mastered the pace which I was following. I knew the right routes to follow to avoid threading into bad areas and I kept up with my share of the job.

I also grew closer with some of my colleagues and I would say the fresh air of 'not having to deal with a threatening situation in the daily' was restoring my health and sanity to some extent.

All in all, I had nothing to complain about, but I was shocked over the chances I may have done something to warrant a lecture. Being called to Dr. Morgause's office was never good news as he tended to deliver that sort of stuff publicly as it raised everyone's morale.

For him to ask to speak in private meant that it had to be something that others couldn't know about which, in an environment like this one, was bad in most cases.

Still, I wasn't exactly marching to my own 'death'. Two months ago, I would have folded at the thought of having failed and got back to Japan to 'resume the usual', but those two lengthy months have shown me a life I had denied myself.

One that now I didn't plan to ditch for any particular reason - I also had done nothing wrong to warrant an expulsion, so I ruled that out as a possibility.

I felt my nervousness peak as I took hold of the door handle, but then it all vanished as I turned it and allowed myself in.

"Dr. Morgause-"

"Rawr-!"

Of all possible circumstances, being jumped by a 'tiny lion-shaped' Artoria was not something I had prepared myself for. Having her latch onto my leg was also not on my list of worries.

"Ri-Ri. What I told you when it comes to nagging at papa's students?"

The question came from none other than Dr. Morgause. The man was considered a paradoxical entity. His hair was white, which was fine for someone his age, but it was a little mane that was pure white. And it stood out to his sharp purple eyes and youthful face.

His choice of fashion was also questionable: he had a pair of pink-lented sunglasses, he wore a black buttoned shirt under his labcoat, together with a pair of dark-blue jeans.

The little girl turned her head to her father and scowled, showing her tongue. "Bleh~."

"Quite mature, my child. Still... hello Haruo. Take a seat please."

I nodded, holding back the urge to ask if this was going to be an unpleasant talk and focusing on picking up Artoria from my leg and carry her in my arms. The girl rawred some more, pawing at my chest and baring her teeth in a giddy smile.

As soon as I sat down, I could tell that Dr. Morgause was perhaps as tense as I was when he asked me a swift question.

"Water?"

"No, sir."

"Coffee? Maybe a soda drink?"

"I am fine, sir."

The man nodded slowly. "I see... well, how's this fine establishment been treating you?"

"It's perfect, sir. I love it."

"I am glad to hear that, Haruo. And I hope you will be happy to hear that we have found you to be a good student and we wish for you to stay for as long as your academic path requires you to."

That excluded an expulsion, so... what is going on?

"Yes sir but... if I may ask-"

"Why did I ask to speak with you, right?"

I nodded and he sighed.

"Haruo, you are a rare breed in this environment. I can tell you are clever, but you have skills in social awareness that not many your age have. It makes you likable and amiable."

That's what a long time of handling difficult girls in a pseudo-harem left me with, I guess.

"Which is why I have a bit of an unorthodox request for you, if you wish to help me and Ri-Ri about this."

I frowned but... nodded. "Depends on the topic?"

"I would like to entrust her care for a while to someone that is not me. Not because I don't wish to care for her, but I need someone that can actively be there for her and not leave her alone for long hours."

...

"And you wish that to be me? Why?"

"As mentioned, you are good with people- and Ri-ri likes you a lot."

"Yeah!" The blonde confirmed and gave me a big hug which I returned to a degree.

"But... sir, isn't this a bit sudden? Plus, I am not exactly someone with experience with-"

"I shall give you a proper home for you to stay with Ri-Ri and make sure you get paid for the job. I have heard you have been struggling to find part-time work, so this should suffice, yes?"

I felt very cornered by this pressing, I could tell there was more to it. But the man wasn't wrong. I had failed to find a part-time job since most of the locals had yet to open up to me. And since the air favored more the young men born in Prague compared to a foreigner like me, I felt rightfully unsure I was going to find a job through normal means.

Still, this situation didn't feel fully clear to me. There was clearly more to it but... I looked down at Ria and I couldn't help but remember what loneliness did to Akira. And... I didn't want that to happen again. I felt compelled to do something and I offered a slow nod.

"I suppose I can try but-"

"Here's the key, the map of the place and a nice 'incentive' to get your job started! You are free for the day!"

...So sudden. In fact, I was almost kicked out of the office with Ria still hanging on my chest. I didn't even get to ask if I had to get Ria's stuff, or if I had to buy it anew, or if everything was already set up in the new place. I was utterly floored by how this had spiraled from a 'potential bad news' to outright confusion.

I didn't wish to think ill of Dr. Morgause since he was a good teacher, but something about this mannerism felt too constricted and forceful. Maybe I had to look more into it as I had this guttural feeling this was the beginning of more trouble for me.

Still, I first decided to check this place. I had the address to it located in the small section of the map highlighting an area in Prague after all.

So, I moved towards the exit, ready to leave with a giggling Ria as I tickled her chin as she had gotten a bit fussy for not 'fighting' back at her. But before I crossed the door, I bumped lightly on someone.

Shoulder to shoulder, it was to tiny of a bump that I barely turned to see who it was. The girl was shorter than me and dressed up in white, hat and outfit. That was all I got from the perspective I had on the moment, but I couldn't help but focus on a specific element my nose picked up during that brief encounter.

The fresh fragrance of a rose-scented perfume.

"You know I can still backtrack on my decision if you want to be the one guarding her?"

Dr. Morgause's question was met with an eyeroll by the young girl that now sat on the same chair once occupied by Haruo.

If someone was to ask who was the young lady, the answer would be mixed. Some would say she looks like someone familiar, but it was actually her partial disguise made by the twin-tailed hairdo for her white hair, her golden eyes hidden by her glasses, her hat, and her overall simple but cute outfit that hid away the individual known as Mel Morgause.

"Mother would check on me first if she tries to get to Ria. It is for the best it is a mundane stranger you can trust to deal with this."

The doctor pulled back on his chair, while the girl looked away for a moment as she pondered on the situation. It was weird for her to reject her mother's plans as she usually favored her to her father's whimsical ambitions of 'changing the world through education'.

But her mother had gotten too unhinged over her plans in Japan. The one they were facing wasn't even a rookie as she had promised- a look into the file detailing Pendragon Akira denounced that idea. The 'Red Dragon' was far stronger after facing the Demon King and his little brigade of sluts only made the Pendragon Heir a threat one should not scoff at.

Facing this enemy of their family now and so openly was just a dumb way to 'die'. And yet mother thought otherwise. Same for her older sisters, perhaps too deep with the hopes of being praised and bestowed with gifts and compliments by the woman.

Mel had thus decided to back away and join their father, telling him what her mother's plan was, how stupid it was and, within reasons, to fear that she would come to have the rest of the family join her crusade the moments the rest of the siblings failed to achieve anything on the topic.

The easiest solution was for Mel to get Ria and bail from Europe altogether. The States were a place her mother hardly checked upon if it wasn't New York or Los Angeles, so that was an option... but father didn't want to be too distant from Ria, and him moving with them meant having the journalists on their asses.

Hence why, the second plan was for a 'stranger' to take care of Ria while Mel and her father handled her mother when the trouble came up.

"Still, I can't tell if you just chose him because he is merely trustworthy."

Dr. Morgause smiled at that implied question.

"He genuinely cares for Ria. And Ria likes him enough she will not question having him as a prominent guardian for the time being."

"Nothing else?" Mel asked, somewhat curious.

"Not much. Why do you ask?"

She blinked. "He has an odd scent. It's not recent, but it feels very... 'familiar'."

"How so?" Dr. Morgause inquired, frowning at her. "Is it a bad thing?"

She looked away, flustered by the trust given to her by her very normal father. After all, she was a dragon hybrid like the rest of her siblings, so she was somewhat expected to know what scents she was dealing with.

"N-No. It's just... familair. I don't know. Maybe it's Ria's scent mixed with other factors. Maybe a chemical compound or two from this facility."

"Perhaps... well, do keep an eye on them. And don't be too shy to interact with them from time to time."

Mel huffed, rolling her eyes. As if she didn't know what her father was asking.

She had dodged making friends for seventeen years, she could do the same for as long as needed to feel at ease with the world.

AN

Introducing introvert 'normal girl', Mel Morgause! She is totally not going to get closer to Haruo for silly reasons.

All the while little Lion-Ria seeks to expand her domain as the rightful Lion King! Rawr!