A day after the meeting concluded, Anathasia and I were back at home.
Or more accurately, doing absolutely nothing.
I was stretched out on one couch, staring blankly at the ceiling, while Anathasia occupied the other. One leg hung over the armrest as she mindlessly scrolled through her phone.
The house was quiet.
Comfortably quiet.
Then—
"By the way, Mom. Dad."
Fran's voice broke the silence, making both of us glance in her direction.
"Yes?" I replied.
"Hm?" Anathasia looked up from her phone.
Fran hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"Big sis and Egrathiel are out with Aunt Liscia again…"
A small sigh escaped her.
"So I don't really have anyone else to go with."
She looked between us.
"I was hoping Mom and Dad could maybe come with me to the International Student Association meeting."
A brief pause.
"It's in Japan."
"Japan?"
Anathasia immediately sat up, tossing her phone onto the couch beside her.
"Sure. Why not?"
She shrugged.
"We aren't busy anyway."
Then she shot me a glance.
"Right?"
"Yeah."
I nodded.
"Our company's in Japan too."
Leaning forward slightly, I smiled at Fran.
"We could show you around after the meeting if you want."
Fran visibly brightened.
"Thanks, Mom. Dad."
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she turned toward me.
"Oh, right."
"I think we'll also see that silver-haired Russian student council president from Germany."
"The one from that viral video."
Anathasia raised an eyebrow.
"Russian?"
"Student council president?"
I pointed toward Fran.
"It's the Disvinadiya kid Arianne mentioned."
I paused briefly.
"Well... girl now, I guess."
My gaze shifted back to Anathasia.
"The one you thought might've been affected by another Author."
Recognition slowly appeared on her face.
"Ah."
She snapped her fingers.
"You mean the boy who borrowed money from Arianne?"
"Ten thousand dollars, wasn't it?"
I nodded.
"Yeah. That person."
"She apparently became a student council president."
"Sevanelle Private Academy, I think."
Anathasia folded her arms and leaned back thoughtfully.
"Sevanelle..."
For several seconds she stared at nothing in particular. Then she shrugged.
"Nope."
"Doesn't ring a bell."
I stared at her.
"Girl."
A sigh escaped me before I turned back toward Fran.
"Anyway, when's the meeting?"
"Two days from now."
Fran leaned back in her chair.
"Only the Supreme Student Council President is required to attend."
"Along with faculty members and at least one guardian."
She pointed at me.
"Dad's faculty, so he probably already knows about it."
I froze.
Slowly, I pulled out my phone, opened the faculty group chat, and immediately found dozens of unread messages.
Most of which mentioned me by name.
Repeatedly.
My eyes drifted toward the top-right corner of the screen. A muted notification icon stared back at me. Realization hit instantly.
"...I had my phone on silent."
My hand covered my face.
"So that's why I didn't know about any of this."
Across the room, Anathasia immediately started snickering. She turned away and buried her face into a pillow. Her shoulders shaking slightly.
Clearing my throat, I chose to ignore her.
"As for transportation..."
My gaze drifted toward her.
"Should we finally use the jet?"
"It's been sitting in the hangar for almost ten years."
Anathasia's laughter stopped immediately and lifted her head from the pillow.
"Oh."
"Yeah, that would work."
She sat properly again.
"The pilot's basically been earning passive income for years."
A small smile tugged at her lips.
"Pretty sure she complained to me once."
"She said we keep buying economy tickets instead of using the private jet we already own."
Her expression flattened.
"I'm still not sure why I was the one getting scolded."
"We can't really help it."
I shrugged.
"We've been flying economy since college."
"At this point it's just habit."
"Exactly."
Anathasia nodded vigorously.
"It's normal."
Then she paused.
"Well."
"Normal for us."
I stared at her for a moment.
"Weren't you the one who bought the jet?"
"All because Mr. Mingyuan told you it was reliable?"
"Something about it being cheaper than most?"
The moment those words left my mouth, Anathasia visibly flinched.
Her eyes immediately darted elsewhere. A quiet whistle escaped her lips. She suddenly found her fingers very interesting.
"The old man said it was cheap."
I continued staring while she avoided eye contact.
"A little over a hundred million."
"Very cheap."
Anathasia coughed.
"Look."
She pointed defensively.
"It was from the Li Group."
"So technically we were supporting our friends."
"A win-win situation."
"Friends help each other, right?"
The room fell silent. Fran looked at me. I looked at Fran. Then both of us slowly turned toward Anathasia.
"Mom."
Fran's voice was completely flat.
"Yes?"
"A hundred million isn't cheap."
Anathasia immediately pointed toward the ceiling.
"That's exactly what someone who doesn't own a private jet would say."
I raised an eyebrow.
"You own one, so apparently it's cheap for you now, huh?"
The moment the words left my mouth, her body suddenly shrank again.
This time she was even smaller than before, barely reaching fifty centimeters in height as she stood on the couch and turned toward us.
"It was a one-time purchase," she squeaked.
Fran's eyes narrowed. The tiny Anathasia raised one finger with all the seriousness of someone presenting a court case.
"A one-time purchase, y'know? Not annually."
She raised a second finger.
"One."
Then a third.
"Time."
Her tiny arms crossed proudly.
"We also added income for Mingyuan."
I stared at her.
"That's your rebuttal?"
"And now we don't have to buy tickets every time we travel to another country," she continued without missing a beat, steamrolling directly over my objection.
She began counting on her tiny fingers.
"Very comfortable interior."
"One."
"Luxury seating."
"Two."
"Flight times are shorter."
"Three."
"It can fly at over nine hundred, almost nine hundred-sixty kilometers per hour."
"Four."
By that point I had already given up.
A sigh escaped me while she continued listing benefits with the confidence of someone defending the greatest financial decision in human history.
The fact that she looked like a squeaky plush toy somehow made the entire argument even harder to take seriously.
A day later.
The three of us stood inside an airfield that apparently belonged to Mr. Mingyuan. It was located roughly a hundred kilometers south of the city, somewhere deeper into Bukidnon.
The sheer size of the place immediately caught my attention.
"This place is... huge..." Anathasia murmured.
Her eyes wandered across the airfield while a large aircraft approached from the distance. It circled once overhead before gradually lining itself up with the runway.
Beside me, Fran stared toward the airport terminal. Then at the control tower. Then back at the aircraft. The closer it got, the quieter she became.
Eventually, she grabbed my arm.
"Wait."
I looked down at her.
"What's wrong? Are you—"
"No, no, that's not it."
She shook her head rapidly before pointing toward the approaching aircraft.
"Mom said it was a jet..."
Her finger remained fixed on the massive plane descending toward the runway.
"That's a commercial airliner."
A pause.
"And it has four engines."
Another pause.
"Like a seven-four-seven."
The aircraft touched down.
A few seconds later the roar of its engines swept across the airfield, obliterating the silence that had existed moments before.
Even standing hundreds of meters away, we could feel its presence as it sped down the runway. Fran stared. Then stared some more.
"Planes like that need an entire crew."
She slowly turned toward me.
"And Mom bought it?"
For a moment, I didn't know how to answer. Then I smiled weakly.
"Yeah."
My gaze drifted toward Anathasia.
"Your mom is..."
I searched for the right word.
"A little unhinged, as you know."
"I was wondering why she mentioned a hundred million..." Fran whispered.
Her eyes remained glued to the enormous aircraft now being guided toward its parking position.
"Most articles say private jets usually cost around eighty to ninety million."
She swallowed.
"Especially actual private jets."
Her finger pointed toward the plane.
"But that's an entire commercial airliner."
"It's custom-made too."
Anathasia suddenly joined the conversation. She glanced back over her shoulder.
"Since Mingyuan had designers customize it exactly how I wanted."
Silence.
Fran and I exchanged a look.
Neither of us knew how to respond to that.
Meanwhile, Anathasia had already turned back toward the aircraft.
The plane was still slowly taxiing across the massive airfield toward its designated parking area. For some reason, her eyes were practically sparkling. Like an excited child seeing their favorite toy again after years.
Fran looked at the aircraft. Then at Anathasia. Then back at the aircraft.
"Dad."
"Yeah?"
"I think Mom's definition of 'cheap' is dangerous."
A snort escaped me.
"You're only realizing that now?"
Fran shook her head, still looking faintly stunned as we started walking across the airfield.
The massive aircraft sat in the distance, its polished exterior gleaming beneath the sunlight. Even from here, it looked less like a private jet and more like something an airline would use to transport hundreds of passengers across continents.
Honestly, seeing it again after all these years, I could understand why Fran was having trouble processing it.
Halfway toward the terminal, a black luxury sedan smoothly pulled up in front of us.
The driver immediately stepped out, circled around the vehicle, and opened the rear door before stepping aside with a respectful bow.
"Huh."
Anathasia blinked.
Then shrugged.
Apparently this wasn't even surprising enough to hold her attention for more than two seconds. She turned back toward us.
"Anyway."
A grin spread across her face.
"Let's go."
"You already have a plan for what we're doing once we get there, don't you?"
I didn't even need to think about it.
"A quick walk to that torii gate with Mount Fuji in the background?"
Anathasia stopped. For a moment, she simply stared at me, then laughed.
"Am I really that predictable?"
"We've been together for twenty-one years."
I raised an eyebrow.
"At this point, it's practically a habit."
"Fair enough."
The smile never left her face.
If anything, it only grew wider.
She walked over and grabbed both my wrist and Fran's before either of us could react.
Fran stumbled slightly.
"Mom—"
"Come on."
Anathasia started dragging us toward the car.
"Let's go already!"
The driver quietly moved ahead with our luggage while Anathasia practically radiated excitement.
Honestly, it was hard to believe this was the same woman who could casually discuss the foundations of existence one day and spend the next acting like an overexcited tourist.
As we approached the car, Fran glanced once more toward the enormous aircraft parked across the airfield. Her eyes lingered on it for a few seconds.
Then she looked at her mother. Then back at the plane. Then at her mother again. Finally, she let out a quiet sigh.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to how rich Mom actually is."
"I've been trying for years," I replied.
"It doesn't work."
"Hey."
Anathasia pointed at us accusingly.
"I'm standing right here."
"Exactly."
"That's rude."
"You bought a customized commercial airliner."
"That's called investing in comfort."
Fran immediately covered her face.
"Dad."
"Yeah?"
"I think Mom's actually serious."
"She is."
"Dad."
"I know."
For a brief moment, silence hung between us. Then Anathasia nodded to herself.
"See? Kyle understands."
"I absolutely don't."
"Close enough."
Before I could argue further, she shoved both Fran and me toward the open car door.
"Alright."
Her eyes sparkled.
"Japan awaits."
And judging from the look on her face...
I had a feeling the International Student Association meeting was only going to be about ten percent of this trip.