As I continued handing out flyers in the underground shopping district, I kept a close eye on Dad’s condition.

A little ways behind me, Brother Wu Qinglan was also distributing flyers, though it seemed he had completely forgotten about the psychological patient he was supposed to be supervising. Instead, he was passionately pitching his club’s manga Magical Girl Paradise to a group of teenagers.

Maybe he got carried away—his usual slouched posture had straightened up, his face practically glowing with enthusiasm. He actually looked years younger.

Was this what religious fanatics looked like when they were out preaching?

“How are you holding up, Dad? Getting used to it?”

Dad stayed silent for a moment before asking cautiously, “Son… uh… are there a lot of women around?”

I glanced around.

What a coincidence—we’d wandered into the 3C digital section, the same place where I’d bought a phone for Tangerine-chan.

Considering the target demographic of electronics stores, aside from the phone brands aimed at women, there really weren’t many female customers here. Pretty safe for Dad.

“Not too many. Wanna take off the headphones?”

He took three deep breaths, as if preparing for execution. “Alright… Let’s try it.”

I tucked his cheap wired earphones away and gave him a sidelong glance. Seriously, why was he acting like this was a death march?

To prevent him from running into too many “natural enemies” all at once, I deliberately led him through the quieter underground walkways.

“…It’s actually not bad. If anything, being able to hear my surroundings is kind of reassuring.”

“That’s probably because now you can tell if there are any women nearby, right?”

Walking down an empty corridor, I held onto his arm and asked, “What if a woman talks to you right now? Could you respond normally?”

“Talking is too much… I don’t think I can.”

At that moment, Wu Qinglan must have realized how far he’d drifted from us. He jogged over, catching up.

“Kai, are you sure we’re going the right way? There’s barely anyone around—how’s this supposed to help with the treatment?”
He waved the remaining few flyers in his hands.
“I can’t even give these out anymore!”

You’re literally just here to hand out flyers, aren't you?

I held back my urge to call him out. That said, he wasn’t wrong—the lack of people meant the treatment wasn’t doing much.

There were only a handful of passersby—mostly parents with their kids…

Looking closer at the surrounding shops, I realized they were all children’s education centers.

With the country lifting restrictions on second children, these kinds of places had been popping up like mushrooms after the rain.

But the thing about kids is…

"Cadet Kai, I’ve got a bad feeling about this—let’s speed through!"

"Agreed, Captain Qinglan! We’ve walked straight into enemy territory!"

"Wha—? Why are we suddenly picking up the pace?!"

Because this corridor… is the passage to hell.

Mascot costumes.

If there was one demographic they attracted the most, it was children.

Unfortunately, we noticed too late.

From behind us, a loud voice rang out—

“BIG DOGGY!”

A group of six or seven kids burst out from one of the education centers, blocking our path.

These weren’t just any kids—they were thick. Short and stocky, solidly built. They looked like they’d be tough to deal with. Especially the one leading them—an absolute unit of a chubby little boy.

I looked up at the sign above the store.

Oh hell no.

A children’s taekwondo academy.

The chubby boy, shaped like a cannonball, launched himself straight at Dad in his mascot costume.

What the hell? Do these places not have teachers?!

“BIG DOGGY!”

He let out another war cry as he charged even faster, radiating pure combat energy.

I hesitated for a second, I wasn’t sure if I could stop him.

“Dad! Brace for impact!”

“A storm alone cannot topple an old man!”

And then—

BAM.

The little human wrecking ball crashed into Dad’s legs.

Dad let out a guttural “Ruaaaagh!” as his legs bent sideways into a horrifying, unnatural angle.

Oh god. Did they just snap?!

“Dad! Your legs—are you okay?!”

“Son… Was I just hit by a sledgehammer-wielding demon?!”

“No, this thing’s way worse than a hammer—it’s a tiny round wrecking ball.”

“Boy or girl?”

“A boy. And he’s still clinging to your leg.”

“Ah. Then it’s fine. Just a broken leg.”

FINE?! YOU THINK THIS IS FINE?!

I seriously couldn’t tell if Dad had a weak mental constitution or an iron will. When it came to anything except women, his pain tolerance was insane—like he had full-body nerve damage. But the moment women were involved, his psyche was as fragile as the skin on a bowl of rice porridge.

“Kai! Uncle Chang! We’ve got incoming!”

Apparently emboldened by the chubby boy’s success, the rest of the taekwondo kids charged.

“Son! Save me!”

I barely managed to block two of them, but my arms nearly got dislocated from the impact.

The remaining three kept going for Dad. One of the taller kids even did a running leap, executing a flying armbar that sent Dad crashing to the ground.

A man with no vision, pinned to the floor, letting out pained, undignified noises.

What kind of taekwondo class were they teaching these kids?!

Thankfully, the instructors finally realized what was happening. Four muscular men in taekwondo uniforms rushed out and dragged the kids back inside.

…The chubby boy was too heavy to carry, so they just punted him back in like a soccer ball.

“Sorry, sorry! We should’ve kept a better eye on them,” one of the instructors apologized while nonchalantly popping Dad’s dislocated leg back into place with a loud crack.

Having been hiding on the sidelines this whole time, Qinglan finally slinked back over, looking sheepish.

“Damn, that was terrifying. Kids are monsters.”

You just stood there and watched, didn’t you?

“Let’s just get out of here. This place is a warzone.”

“I’d love to, but…”

Qinglan pointed ahead.

The children’s taekwondo academy was behind us.

But directly in front of us—

A ballet academy for little girls.

The name alone told us everything we needed to know.

The corridor was now filled with tiny ballerinas in white tutus and tights, their big, sparkling eyes locked onto Dad’s creepy mascot suit with pure curiosity.

I had to say it—these little ones were adorable.

Their ballet training gave them a natural elegance that made them even cuter than the average kid.

Especially their dainty little feet in white tights—they looked just like soft, creamy ice cream co—

COUGH COUGH. Ahem. Moving on.

These precious little angels, however, were lethal poison to Dad.

“Dad, put your headphones back on.”

“…Are there women ahead?”

“Don’t ask. It’s for your treatment.”

If he wore the headphones, even if one of them hugged him, I could lie and say it was a boy. A merciful lie.

But it was already too late.

“Big brother, can we hug the big doggy?”

One of the tiny ballerinas ran up to us, her voice sweet and innocent.

Dad went completely still.

I forced a friendly smile and crouched down.

“But this big doggy is actually an old man inside, you know?”

“It’s okay! Our ballet teacher is an old man too. We hug him all the time.”

…Call the cops.

She hesitantly touched the mascot’s belly, then immediately glomped Dad’s leg, snuggling into it.

“So soft~” she murmured, rubbing her cheek against the mascot’s surface.

Wu Qinglan really did make a high-quality costume, at least on the fabric.

…The outcome was clear—this treatment session was officially over.

That said, those little girls were adorable. I kind of wanted to pick one up and give her a big squeeze.

Too bad Dad had already completely crashed. His mental circuits were fried beyond recovery.

The first trial of the Isolated Exposure Therapy method—

A total failure!

In the end, Qinglan and I had to haul my unconscious old man back home.

…

…

…Also, I wanna get hugged by a cute little ballerina too.

I should borrow Wu Qinglan’s mascot suit and try walking through there again.