Prologue

The orange flame of the lamp swayed back and forth, illuminating the room.

The European-style interior was filled with the scent of books, herbs, and a hint of lamp oil.

There was a large window directly across from the door to the room, blocked by a thick curtain, and shelves lined the walls on both sides.

One row of shelves was packed full of neatly ordered books. The titles on their spines were written in the man’s mother tongue, which was foreign in this land.

The shelves on the other side were filled with dried flowers, bones of one kind or another, reptiles and similar creatures preserved in liquid…all sealed away in bottles. These were medicinal ingredients.

The man’s living space was typical of people in this profession.

While the items on display here would look like worthless, creepy garbage to a layperson, they were familiar tools of the trade to the man and his colleagues.

“What made you choose this area as a base of operations over the capital?”

The man posed this question to his boss, who was playfully twirling a quill pen behind the dark brown mahogany table in front of the window.

“You’d rather we were there?”

“…Not necessarily.”

“Right, of course. That rival of yours is over in the capital, no?”

“That man has nothing to do with it. He’s certainly not my ‘rival,’ either. I’ve always been better than him. With both the pen and the sword.”

“Heh-heh. I’ll leave it at that.”

The man’s boss shrugged as her glossy lips curved into a bewitching grin.

“As for your question, though, I chose this area based solely on my personal feelings, so I’m at a loss at how to answer you.”

His boss’s eyebrows were furrowed, but the smile on her face hadn’t faded. Her tone was at complete odds with her words, suggesting she wasn’t put out by the question at all.

“However, this city was the capital for a long, long time, and it is the most historically significant place in the country. The perfect location to look for what we’re after, is it not, Eugene?”

“Quite true.”

Eugene had assumed that was why his boss had chosen this location. He knew nothing about these so-called personal feelings of hers, and he didn’t particularly care to.

She must be plotting something… Or maybe she’s just trying to make me think as much.

He sighed inwardly.

The man didn’t have any complaints about the woman as a boss, since she didn’t micromanage him or give him unreasonable assignments. If anything, he was grateful for how easy she was to work under.

Her only flaw was her habit of phrasing things cryptically. How annoying it was for him to read between the lines—or to tell if he even needed to read between them at all.

Well, if she’s not sticking her nose into what I’m up to, I suppose it’s fine.

Eugene had his own way of thinking and doing things. With a superior as hands-off as his boss, he was able to do as he pleased.

“I will find it here in this land. I promise.”

“And I have high hopes. You’ve gathered a lot of information already, no?”

“Yes, I’ve finished investigating for the most part and have narrowed down the candidates. Everything’s coming together.”

There was no line he would not cross in pursuit of his goal. And he had no interest in bringing personal connections into the matter. Apparently, though, the same couldn’t be said of his boss.

Eugene steeled his gaze and nodded obediently. His boss’s smile widened.

At least I’ll be able to meet another person like me.

Though he was excited by the prospect, he was nervous, too. These conflicting emotions swirled inside Eugene’s chest.

Chapter 1. A Premonition

The gloomy, humid rainy season had passed in the capital, giving way to summer.

Cicadas sang tirelessly from the thicket, and harsh sunlight streamed down on the land below, robbing the air of its moisture.

Although the heat wasn’t too oppressive just after dawn broke, in short order, the hot summer air would blanket the area long before noontime.

Miyo Kudou, formerly Miyo Saimori, stood in the garden holding a watering can.

The yard was vibrantly colored with summer flowers. In one section, sunflowers stretched their large heads toward the sun, and on the veranda, morning glories in flowerpots bloomed in shades of blue and purple. There were also crepe myrtles, balloon flowers, and more; just gazing at the medley of colors made Miyo feel excited and happy.

Still, the heat posed a challenge. When she watered the plants and flowers, the ground would grow wet and dark, only to dry out completely a few moments later. Figuring out the right amount of water to give during the summer was truly difficult.

What was I doing this time last year…?

Miyo had become a Kudou only a few months prior. However, this was her second summer in this house.

Last spring—

Miyo had left the Saimori estate, the place where she was born and raised, and had come to this house to be wed. Despite being the child of two Gift-users, Miyo had been unable to awaken her supernatural abilities, a defect for which she was ostracized in her own home. Her father and her stepmother had all but driven her out in order to marry her off to a man with a horrible reputation.

However, it turned out the man was kind and generous, nothing like what others said about him.

It had been over a year since—and a tumultuous one at that. Miyo had parted from her father, her stepmother, and her stepsister; awakened as a Gift-user; and confronted the man who had been connected with her mother.

Inwardly, Miyo forced a smile as she reflected on the events of the past year.

Last summer, she hadn’t had the mental capacity to spare on small details like how to best water the garden. All her energy had been spent worrying about herself.

For a brief moment, the light of the sun intensified, and she was dazzled by the glare.

What is that…?

A phantom came into view, like heat haze rising from the hot earth.

Instantly, her bodily senses faded away. Both the heat of summer and the cries of the cicadas abruptly vanished from her perception.

“Huh…”

Her vision went white until, all of a sudden, she saw two hazy silhouettes lingering a short distance from her.

Who were they? With vague questions in her mind, Miyo strained her eyes.

“Kiyoka?”

One of the two figures appeared to be a man. He wore a light summer kimono without hakama pants, and his long, straight hair went past his shoulders. He had a striking resemblance to her beloved husband, Kiyoka Kudou.

The shade stood completely motionless, without even glancing in Miyo’s direction.

He really did seem like a phantom of some kind. No, a daydream perhaps.

Standing by his side, meanwhile…

Huh…? What’s going on?

Miyo’s eyes widened in surprise.

She found it hard to think straight due to the heat. Nevertheless, she instantly realized something was off about the scene before her.

Is that…me?

Nestled up close to the Kiyoka silhouette was a woman in a kimono. There was no mistaking her. It was the same face Miyo saw in the mirror every day.

The two shades gazed at each other, nuzzled together, then turned away from Miyo.

Miyo wondered why this was happening.

The visions Miyo saw in her sleep were special. With her supernatural power of Dream Sight, she could enter the dreams of others and manipulate them at will. It was a powerful ability that, once mastered, could give a clear view of the past, the present, and the future.

However, this was just a daydream, and even if it was an effect of Dream Sight, there was a significant difference between this vision and her usual ones.

I’ve never seen myself in a dream before.

In her visions, Miyo had never watched herself as an outside observer. She would either view the events of a dream with her own two eyes or be shown situations that didn’t involve her through the eyes of another.

Her heart gave a disquieting thump.

One of the two shades, the woman resembling Miyo, slowly turned around.

Her familiar face broke into a graceful, almost lustrous smile.

Was that really her? Did Miyo really smile like that?

As Miyo stood there dumbfounded, the shade with her face moved her rouged lips, never dropping her bewitching smile.

Huh…? Is she saying something?

Miyo focused on trying to read the shade’s lips, but the next moment, the two silhouettes shimmered before melting into the air like steam, disappearing completely.

Suddenly, the sounds and the heat of her surroundings returned. Miyo felt sweat trace her temple.

What on earth had just happened? Momentarily disoriented, she froze in place.

“Miyo.”

Just then, a pair of long arms gently wrapped around her from behind, and Miyo returned to her senses.

The pale arms, peeking out from a light-gray summer kimono with a willow tree pattern, had just the right amount of muscle, reflecting their owner’s daily training. She had become fully accustomed to this embrace, so a feeling of safety overcame her nerves.

“…Kiyoka.”

Though she didn’t need to look to know whose arms these were, Miyo turned her head to gaze into the eyes of the man behind her.

Beautiful features, blue-tinged irises, and a peaceful smile. This was the face of Kiyoka Kudou, the man who had become her husband last spring and the current head of the Kudou family.

Though his visage made Miyo question if a man this handsome could really be of this world, she caught a twinkle of worry for her in his gaze.

“You were spacing out for a second there. Is something wrong? Not feeling well?”

Miyo’s eyes softened.

“No. I’m feeling just fine. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“I’m happy to worry over you, Miyo.”

“That’s…going a bit too far.”

When he put it like that, he made it sound as though Miyo was always being reckless and doing things to make him fret.

However, she couldn’t necessarily say Kiyoka was exaggerating, either.

In fact, during the previous summer—the one she had been thinking back on a short while ago—Miyo’s Gift had gone out of control after she left the confines of her childhood home. It was a terrible time. Night after night, she would be visited by horrible nightmares, and she even collapsed one day on a trip outside the house. Things were so bad that her relationship with Kiyoka had gotten a bit rocky.

Kiyoka remembered it all clearly, which explained why he was overly concerned about Miyo’s physical health at that moment.

“I’ll be sure to let you know if I start to feel unwell, so could you put a bit more trust in me?” Miyo asked.

“That’s not… I do trust you, it’s just, I can’t help but worry.”

Right when she heard Kiyoka protest in a sullen tone, Miyo felt his arms tighten around her.

Miyo couldn’t help breaking into a strained smile.

Since getting married, Kiyoka had been more openly affectionate toward Miyo and had been paying much more attention to her, to the point where he seemed overprotective at times.

Perhaps this was less a result of their marriage and more a consequence of his decision to retire from military life and offload the burden of his former position.

Still, Kiyoka’s change in behavior did make Miyo very happy, and she found it sweet, too.

“You only just got home yourself, Kiyoka. Are you sure you don’t need to rest?”

Her husband had been on duty at the station last night, and he hadn’t gotten home until after sunrise. As impressive as his stamina was, surely he was exhausted.

Miyo placed her hand on Kiyoka’s arm.

“I’m fine,” he replied.

“I’ll prepare some tea, so why don’t we go inside and relax for a bit?”

Miyo got everything ready in the kitchen, and then they each had a cup in the living room.

Deciding it would be best to be open with him, Miyo told Kiyoka about the dreamlike illusion she had seen earlier.

“An illusion. And you can’t say for sure it was a dream?”

Kiyoka furrowed his brows lightly, questioning Miyo after listening to the whole story.

“That’s right. If it was a dream, then…that would mean I fell asleep while watering the garden.”

When she thought it all over again, it was really quite embarrassing.

It was disgraceful to think she might’ve nodded off with a watering can in her hand, but even if that wasn’t the case, it was quite alarming to consider the possibility she had passed out where she stood from the heat.

“Still, suddenly seeing an illusion without any cause isn’t—”

“Pardon me.” The voice of a man came from the opened doors along the veranda.

Both Miyo and Kiyoka immediately recognized the guest’s voice, and Miyo was surprised by how perfectly timed his arrival was.

“Oh, Arata. Welcome.”

A well-dressed man in his three-piece suit, Arata Usuba wore the same well-mannered smile as always, yet he seemed to pick up on the unusual tension between Miyo and Kiyoka, blinking his eyes repeatedly.

“Did something happen? The day has barely started, and you two already have such grim looks on your faces.”

“What a rude thing to say after showing up uninvited.”

Kiyoka’s lips bent in a grimace as he glared at the man. Arata, on the other hand, didn’t pay him any attention. It was their usual back- and-forth.

“Kiyoka…do you think we should tell Arata what I just told you?”

He huffed and reluctantly answered Miyo with a nod.

“Hmm? Did something happen?”

Bewildered, Arata came up into the living room, and after Miyo served him tea, she explained the illusion, or daydream, she had just experienced in the garden.

Arata was Miyo’s cousin and the next head of the Usubas, a family who had long inherited unique powers capable of affecting the human mind. Arata himself possessed the supernatural ability to control illusions. He was the perfect person to ask about the mysterious phenomenon Miyo had just witnessed.

“I see. Hmm.”

He gently closed his eyes and seemed to mull over what Miyo had told him.

“Hard to say, I’m afraid. Commander Kudou, did you sense any supernatural abilities at the time? If Miyo used her Gift without knowing it, there should be some lingering traces.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. Miyo’s gotten much better at controlling her Gift. Even if she did used her Dream Sight, it would be hard to quickly pick up on it clearly like I did last year.”

“Well, well, well.” At Kiyoka’s reply, Arata’s lips curled up into a grin. “Miyo, did you just hear that? It sounds to me like your ability to use your Gift has surpassed one of the greatest Gift-users of our generation. Isn’t that lovely?”

How could he say something like that? Miyo admonished her cousin with a start.

“Arata!”

Like Arata had said, Kiyoka was considered the most powerful and skilled Gift-user in the current age. It was absurd to think she would surpass him at all, and nothing would make her more ashamed than knowing she outshined her own husband.

But…

She had to admit that a small part of her, an ever-so-tiny section of her heart, was happy.

While she had absolutely no desire to use her supernatural abilities of her own volition, that didn’t mean she was going to neglect her training, either. She could feel genuine joy over the knowledge she was improving.

Miyo placed her hands on her cheeks, trying desperately to stop her feelings from showing on her face, and Kiyoka placed a hand on Miyo’s head without saying a word.

“…Well? Give us your take on this.”

Urged on by Kiyoka, Arata shrugged.

“I don’t have a take, frankly. If Miyo’s experience didn’t leave any traces, then there’s nothing for me to say. Though I am intrigued by what she described. An illusion or a daydream of silhouettes resembling you two? Fascinating. And on top of that, it’s possible the version Miyo saw of herself wasn’t actually her.”

“…That last part is just my impression. I can’t say anything for certain.”

That smile she saw—as far as Miyo knew, she had never smiled like that before, but there was always the chance that was how she came across to other people.

“Speaking for myself at least, I’ve never once found you ‘bewitching.’ I think ‘charming’ would be a better word for it than anything else.”

“I would say the same myself. You always have an adorable smile, Miyo.”

“I—I see. Thank you very much…”

Miyo’s face grew hot from hearing both Kiyoka and Arata give her straightforward compliments one after another.

“Though I believe it’s very unlikely an outsider was showing this illusion to you. I would guess this was a daydream produced by your Dream Sight,” Arata said indifferently between sips of tea.

Kiyoka shot Arata a look, urging him to continue.

“It’s simple. The ability to show someone an illusion in the first place is characteristic of the Usubas’ power to interfere with the mind and spirit of others, and at present, I’m the only member of the Usubas who can manipulate illusions like that. Even if we assume there was someone capable of making Miyo see illusions, they would have to get past the barrier Commander Kudou has set up around this house. Targeting a specific person and showing them an illusion is impossible from a distance, so anyone trying to do that to Miyo would have to get close to her. And that’s impossible as long as the barrier is here.”

After eloquently stating his opinion on the matter, Arata once again took a sip of his tea with a casual look on his face. Kiyoka didn’t appear to have any objections to Arata’s view, and he crossed his arms with a solemn expression.

“That would mean…I used my Dream Sight without meaning to yet again.”

“There’s only so much you can do. Dream Sight is a special power. While you’ll be able to control it to some extent through training, it’s impossible to have full command over it. Like with Divine Revelation, which the emperor cannot use to see the future at will, Dream Sight is a power only the gods would normally be capable of wielding. It’s no surprise it’s too much for a mortal to handle.”

“Is that really how it is?”

“That it is.”

Miyo had gone pale at the thought she had let Dream Sight lose control again, but Arata’s words of support comforted her.

Even now, she had a hard time controlling Dream Sight, and there was much she did not understand about it. If not for Arata’s constant words of support, her abilities would have left her in a state of confusion and panic.

Miyo couldn’t help bemoaning the fact that fully awakening her power hadn’t also given her a complete understanding of how to use it. Still, all Gift-users had to confront their supernatural abilities from a young age and learn how to use them. This wouldn’t be any different for Miyo just because her powers were unique.

“In any case, your Dream Sight must have been showing you what you saw on purpose, so I think it would be best to assume there is something behind it.”

“As in…it was making a suggestion to her about the future?”

“No idea,” Arata replied to Kiyoka’s question offhandedly, turning to gaze at the garden. “It could be hinting at something…or it could have been showing the future itself. I’d say Prince Takaihito, with his mastery of his Divine Revelation powers, would be the one to ask about this rather than me.”

“Easier said than done. He’s not someone you can meet with at a moment’s notice.”

For now, the three of them could only exchange glances with one another, the answer still out of reach.

After watching Miyo head for the kitchen to wash the teapot and teacups, Kiyoka turned back to Arata.

“Well, what do you want? I’m assuming you have a compelling reason to be here.”

Despite Arata sitting in the living room as though perfectly at home, Kiyoka and Miyo hadn’t expected a visit from him today. Although Arata was continuing to assist Miyo with her training, he never showed up during the day when Kiyoka was at home.

This didn’t appear to be an emergency, so Kiyoka assumed Arata must have made a point of visiting because the man had some business with him.

Arata smiled slightly, seeming unconcerned.

“Fair enough… There’s nothing I can get past you, huh?”

“Like you even planned on hiding anything in the first place.”

“While perhaps not compelling per se, given you and Miyo will both be heading to the old capital soon, I thought I would report on the current situation before you depart.”

After saying this, Arata straightened his posture, prompting Kiyoka to tense up.

Kiyoka could surmise what was coming based on how Arata had spoken.

“Regarding the person in question, I still haven’t been able to get any lead on his whereabouts. I looked into his background but couldn’t turn up anything. I’m also working to stamp out the Gifted Communion’s remaining bases around the country, so I can only hope I’ll come across some clue in the process.”

“You infiltrated the Gifted Communion back when Usui was still around. Do you really not know anything?”

“Unfortunately not. While I did meet the man in question, he was hiding his face, so I wasn’t able to identify him. His presence is quite unusual, so I would instantly recognize him if we crossed paths.”

The Gifted Communion—

A group once led by Naoshi Usui, a member of an Usuba branch family who’d inherited the clan’s unique supernatural abilities and who had once been a marriage candidate for Miyo’s mother. Just last spring, the group had set the whole empire on edge, pushing the nucleus of the country to the brink of destruction.

Usui himself no longer presented a threat, as Arata had taken his life.

But that didn’t mean the Gifted Communion was completely neutralized. The remnants of the group were still active, and Usui had spent over ten years researching and establishing a wide range of techniques related to supernatural abilities. Usui had made use of several bases of operations during the years he’d lain low after fleeing the Usubas, and cleaning them out was no easy task.

The sheer number of bases was a problem, to say nothing of the fact they contained research reports as dangerous as any state secret.

With such delicate information at stake, the empire couldn’t simply delegate the rank and file to taking care of the remnants of the Gifted Communion.

Consequently, the burden had ultimately been placed on Arata, who was a primary party to the whole affair.

“Sorry. We should’ve sent more personnel from our end to help,” said Kiyoka.

“I doubt even you could have done anything about this situation, Commander. If anyone with even a passing knowledge of Gifts and ambitions of their own came across Usui’s diabolical research, they wouldn’t be able to stop themselves from trying it out.”

“But that’s also why the cleanup is taking forever,” said Kiyoka.

He had hoped to have more or less settled all this before he completely withdrew from the military. If worse came to worst, Kiyoka could take part in the cleanup even as a civilian. He didn’t want the embers of the Gifted Communion to smolder for much longer.

Not when the smallest of sparks could ignite new danger.

“I’d love to get ahold of a different lead,” said Arata.

“It would save a lot of time searching on our end if the person in question would just make a move of his own accord, but…”

That would effectively mean the leftovers of the Gifted Communion getting the jump on them. They couldn’t afford the enemy to forestall them.

Even Arata couldn’t help but let out an anxious sigh.

“For now, the only option is to comb exhaustively through Usui’s bases and deal with them as necessary. As long as this is our most efficient option, it will be faster for me to keep plugging away instead of getting bogged down over the particulars of how we can speed up the process.”

“Can I leave it in your hands?”

“Yes, of course. I hesitate to say you can wholly rely on me, but I’ll do whatever I can.”

They hit a lull in the conversation. Kiyoka figured this meant Arata’s business with him was finished, but after a short while, the man suddenly spoke up again.

“Speaking of your trip to the old capital with Miyo, how are things on the Earth Spider front?”

“Still mid-investigation there, too… I’ll be traveling tomorrow to where it was sealed away.”

“I’m practically useless against Grotesqueries, so I’ll have to cheer you on from the shadows.”

“Save it.”

Kiyoka was frustrated he still couldn’t fully hand off his responsibilities despite his decision to leave the military. But these issues required special attention—or to be more precise, they were too heavy a burden to place on the reborn Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit and their new commander.

It wouldn’t sit right with Kiyoka to say good-bye with his work unfinished.

Not to mention how cruel it would be of him to drop the whole Earth Spider affair in Godou’s lap. If things went the wrong way, the brand-new commander would be taken out in no time.

“The Earth Spider has existed since ancient times, and it has the storied history to match. The old capital might be just the place to gain information on it,” said Arata.

“Right,” said Kiyoka.

“Umm.”

The next moment, the two heard a slightly hesitant voice.

“Are you two done talking?”

Kiyoka’s mood brightened when he saw Miyo timidly peeking into the living room, and with a smile, he motioned for her to come in.

The morning after Arata’s visit, Kiyoka came to the station while there were still only a few people inside.

The day prior, Kiyoka had immediately kicked Arata out after the man had the gall to stay for lunch with Miyo. Being in Arata’s presence was a recipe for irritation.

Kiyoka popped into the room where the on-duty members were stationed, and everyone stood at attention to greet him.

After greeting them back, Kiyoka headed to his office, but on the way, he sensed that someone was in the archives and came to a stop.

The archives contained documents pertaining to Grotesqueries from throughout history, along with records of the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit and all Gift-users up to the present day. The room saw a great deal of use during times of need, such as when the unit was confronting a particular Grotesquerie. Normally, however, it had very few visitors.

Who’s in there?

Finding it suspicious, Kiyoka opened the door to the archives. The inside was dry and dusty, with the characteristic smell of old paper assailing his nose.

“Godou…”

The man was so engrossed in his reading that he appeared not to have noticed Kiyoka, not turning to look when his superior opened the door. Kiyoka didn’t have to look to know what Godou was poring over.

Sighing, he stepped into the archives and shut the door behind him.

“Godou.”

Kiyoka raised his voice slightly this time, making Godou’s shoulders jump.

“Oh, Commander. Good morning.”

“What’re you doing in here first thing in the morning?”

Godou turned around, and Kiyoka felt secretly relieved his subordinate’s expression and tone were a lot calmer than he had expected.

Today was a special day, so Kiyoka was worried Godou might have a tortured, brooding look on his face.

“I’m sorry… I just wanted to look it over beforehand.”

Godou was holding the records of a specific day in the unit’s history—one that neither he nor Kiyoka would ever be able to forget.

Though it wasn’t a particularly old document, it had been read over and over again, so the paper was more discolored and worn down than many other files in the archives.

“There’s no need to apologize.”

Kiyoka took the document out of Godou’s hands and returned it to its original place on the shelf. Godou didn’t put up any resistance, simply letting Kiyoka do as he pleased.

Stop reading this thing over and over again. Enough.

Kiyoka almost blurted this out, before he swallowed his words. To Godou, the file was more than just a piece of paper. It was the only record he had access to of what had transpired that day.

Truthfully, Kiyoka wanted to tell Godou to let go of the past, but given the many years Kiyoka had dwelled on his own past, he was in no position to say that.

“…Planning on getting your revenge?”

“Come on, Commander. I promised I wouldn’t do anything like that. You didn’t forget, did you?”

“No, I didn’t forget. But your feelings might have changed with the reappearance of the Earth Spider.”

Godou scrunched his eyebrows, seemingly at a loss, before chuckling.

“There’s no question I hate that thing. I can’t just put aside those feelings. Still, I need to get past them if I’m going to take over as commander. I’m sort of drawing the line in the sand. Just like you’re quitting your position, Commander, I think I need to finally bring this to a close.” Godou returned his eyes to the record on the self. “But that doesn’t mean I want to get revenge or anything like that.”

Godou’s demeanor had been concerning lately. Still, Kiyoka believed his subordinate was telling the truth.

Bringing down the Earth Spider would serve as closure for Godou. While there was no telling if Kiyoka and his unit could actually defeat it, reaching some sort of conclusion with it was the only way for Godou to move forward. Kiyoka could understand his feelings very well.

“…If that’s what you’re prepared to do, then I have nothing to say to you.”

Godou’s eyes widened as he stared back at Kiyoka.

It was as if Godou was trying to say that he didn’t think Kiyoka would just leave it at that. It annoyed Kiyoka.

“What?”

Kiyoka grimaced, and Godou frantically tried to put on a cheery face.

“Uh, well, I was sure you’d start telling me off, is all.”

“Have I ever chewed you out over anything concerning this tragedy before?”

“Hmm… I guess not?”

Cocking his head and staring at the ceiling, Godou flashed a flippant smile and apologized.

“Sorry. Did it out of habit, I suppose.”

“Just get ready.”

Saying nothing else, Kiyoka turned toward the door.

The forests of the countryside were much more comfortable than the streets of the capital.

The leaves of the overgrown trees and brush blocked out the sun, and the refreshing breeze dried their sweat in an instant.

Today, the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit was trekking up a mountain in the area.

Slightly removed from the capital, the mountain jutted out from the surrounding fields and farmland. The Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit had waged a brutal battle here against the Earth Spider several years ago, and now the place served as the site where the creature was sealed.

The government had made it clear to the locals that venturing onto the mountain was off-limits, and there were few civilians who even knew what had transpired there. Conversely, there was not a single Gift-user in the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit who did not know the significance of the mountain.

The fierce battle against the Earth Spider. The commander’s death. Since a large number of unit members from those days were still serving, they had passed down this solemn moment in their history to the younger soldiers, etching it into their hearts.

As Kiyoka led the way, pushing through the thicket at his feet, he kept his attention on the men behind him.

There were several unit members following Kiyoka, including Godou. After entrusting the station to Mukadeyama, Kiyoka had handpicked the most skilled members of the unit to accompany him on this mission. Despite their talents, however, his men all wore the same pale looks on their faces.

Their trepidation was warranted; their opponent was an ancient Grotesquerie that had dealt a heavy blow to their forces. Facing it head-on would mean risking their very lives. The first unit members to comb the mountain for and confront the Earth Spider had been very strong, yet even they had been unable to put up a fight.

Kiyoka could see Godou was on edge, too. Yet his eyes also brimmed with fierce determination.

It’s been a long while since I came here.

He could count on his hands the number of times he had come up the mountain after sealing the Earth Spider. While he would have liked to visit more frequently, it was a fair distance from the capital, so getting here took quite a while.

There was another factor keeping him from the mountain, and it was to blame for why so much time had elapsed since their initial discovery of the Earth Spider’s leg last spring.

The wishes of the military upper brass.

The Earth Spider had killed Itsuto Godou and had permanently disabled Deputy Commander Zen Koumyouin. Simply put, the creature had laid waste to the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit.

The nation’s top fighting force, created to confront the most powerful domestic threat, had lost. It should have never happened. Therefore, the upper echelons of the military took the affair very seriously—by making every effort to conceal the truth.

Just remembering what had happened back then was enough to infuriate Kiyoka.

Ultimately, the military higher-ups concluded they were not culpable for the disastrous battle against the Earth Spider, determining the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit had acted under the sole discretion of Commander Itsuto, pinning all the blame on him.

The story the top brass came up with went as follows:

One day, the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit received an alarming report of a Grotesquerie appearing on the mountain. Since they had no information on the nature of this creature, the military higher-ups called for a careful and deliberate response, but Itsuto ignored this and began investigating the enemy in preparation to eliminate it. Fortunately, he and his unit successfully suppressed the threat, but since the dangerous mountain was virtually untouched by human hands, Itsuto lost his life in a freak accident.

Owing to its long history, the Earth Spider was infamous and widely feared. For this reason, it would be too risky for the government to reveal that the Earth Spider had not only become active again, but it had even decimated the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit. At least, this was what the military decided.

After the military presented the false outline of events, the fallout was swift.

The higher-ups instituted a gag order on the affair to ensure the truth would never get out and began strictly regulating traversal of the mountain, even for the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit. They also found Koumyouin culpable for the tragedy on the grounds that someone in his position should have convinced Commander Itsuto to abandon the idea, and he was subsequently demoted and transferred to the Second Unit. The upper brass even floated the idea of temporarily dissolving the unit and forming a brand-new organization in its place.

Since Kiyoka had been at the scene of the incident, there was a chance the military might have attempted to covertly silence him had he declined to join the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit. Fortunately, Kiyoka wanted to join the unit anyway, so nothing of this nature occurred.

Due to all this, the affair became unspeakably taboo, even among the military higher-ups, and even after so much time had passed, getting permission to climb the mountain had been an ordeal.

Kiyoka continued down the trackless path that was seared into his memory, impossible to forget even if he wanted to.

“We’re almost there.”

When Kiyoka said this to his men, their faces stiffened even more, and their breath caught in their throats.

After he and his men struggled past the animal trail so thick with foliage that it obscured their vision, they suddenly came upon a clearing.

It was wide open, bereft of any trees. The area was penned on all sides by tall trees that blocked out the sun, and as such, the only vegetation consisted of some small grasses growing at their feet.

Nothing had changed from the moment prior, yet all of a sudden, the air seemed suffocating to Kiyoka. He blamed his mental state for this.

Whenever he came to this spot, he would experience a vivid flashback of the moment Itsuto expired after his battle with the Earth Spider, as though it had happened yesterday.

Kiyoka stopped moving for a moment and closed his eyes. His men sensed they should follow his lead and did the same.

They stopped to mourn the dead here for a spell before advancing farther. The Earth Spider had been sealed away just up ahead, at the bottom of a cliff with exposed rocks and soil.

It didn’t take them long to reach their destination.

As they walked, however, Kiyoka could detect there was something different about the place.

The Earth Spider’s aura, which made one instinctively fear its power, was much fainter than it had been the last time Kiyoka came here.

“This can’t be…,” one of the soldiers murmured from behind him.

The Earth Spider was gone, its body no longer bound to the rugged rock precipice. All that remained of the creature was a single leg.

The barrier around the area had been torn open and reduced to scraps, and the magical blade Kiyoka had used to pin the Earth Spider to the rock face was now sticking out of the ground.

Kiyoka stopped at a spot with a clear view of the entire area, and Godou came up next to him.

“…Never imagined this was how it would end up,” he said.

“It must have left one of its legs behind as a decoy,” Kiyoka replied.

“Okay, but it was sealed away in addition to being stuck behind a strong barrier, right? Only a few years have passed since you bound it to this place, so it makes no sense it would be able to slip out that easily.”

Unexpectedly, Godou had delivered his assessment with a clear and level head.

Kiyoka nodded in response to his subordinate’s opinion and went inside the barrier, placing his hand around the magic sword and pulling it out.

It was almost effortless. With just a little tug, he pulled the sword from the ground.

Much weaker now. It’s all rusted.

The magic sword possessed powers beyond human comprehension, so the blade itself hadn’t lost any of its luster. Instead, it was the power contained within the blade that had rusted. Once vibrant and alive, the mystic blade now emanated only the frailest of auras.

In this state, it wouldn’t pose a threat against even a commonplace Grotesquerie. However, there was still one thing Kiyoka couldn’t wrap his head around.

“It doesn’t seem like much time has passed since the Earth Spider departed the area,” Kiyoka remarked, taking the magic sword as he went back to his troops.

The presence of the Earth Spider was still strong on the blade. The aura would have been much weaker had a significant amount of time elapsed since the creature had escaped its prison.

“Did someone break the barrier and undo the seal…?” Godou mumbled with a frown.

“No.” Kiyoka shook his head.

The question had confounded him ever since they discovered another of the Earth Spider’s legs in the Nagaba storehouse—why had the Earth Spider plucked off its own limb?

It was an ancient, infamous Grotesquerie. It would never let someone else pluck off one of its legs without putting up a fight. That had to mean the Earth Spider had deliberately torn off its leg, that it had needed to sever its own limb for some reason.

“I don’t know how it broke through the barrier, but…I have a rough idea how it broke the seal,” said Kiyoka.

“How?”

“It tore its own body apart to slip out from under it.”

Godou’s eyes widened in shock.

“It tore itself apart?! Oh, but now I’m starting to see it…”

“The seal used on the Earth Spider was like a net cast over its body, with this sword as the focal point. Obviously, there are gaps in any net. If it split itself into minute parts, it could slip through the gaps and escape the seal.”

The Earth Spider had separated its body from its eight legs, divided its own power between the nine parts, and sent them out of the seal one by one. However, if there had been nothing but an empty husk left behind the seal, the humans would have discovered its scheme. It had left behind a leg at the very end to prevent them from detecting its escape.

“But could it really break free of your seal so easily, Commander?”

One of the other men questioned Kiyoka after hearing the explanation. It was Godou, however, who answered.

“The larger a target, the bigger the net you need to seal it away. And when you only have a limited amount of power to work with, you may have to make the gaps in the net wider than ideal to ensure it can cover what you’re sealing. There’s also the strength of the seal to worry about.”

“True.”

“But, Commander, even if the Earth Spider escaped the seal, the barrier was there to limit the amount of force it could apply from the inside, right? The barrier should have been able to withstand any internal attack. I find it hard to believe the Earth Spider broke out on its own.”

After making sure his subordinate was convinced of his explanation, Godou once again questioned Kiyoka.

Only scraps remained of the barrier. It would take a detailed investigation to figure out how it had been destroyed. While there was a chance someone had broken the barrier from the outside, since the Earth Spider had been strong enough to escape the seal, it wasn’t a stretch to believe it had shattered the barrier from within.

“Commander.”

“What?”

Kiyoka turned to Godou after his subordinate had addressed him.

“Leave the investigation to us… You’re scheduled to depart for the old capital soon.”

Kiyoka had figured Godou would say as much.

Although Kiyoka had felt a bit uneasy after seeing Godou’s reaction to finding the leg of the Earth Spider at the Nagaba manor, now that he was peering into the man’s eyes, Kiyoka felt it was safe to leave this to him.

“Fair enough.”

Besides, he couldn’t reschedule his visit to the old capital. He would need to entrust the unit to Godou for a few days.

This was part of retiring from military life. Despite his hang-ups, Kiyoka had to stay firm, trust in his men, and let the next generation take center stage. This would be a test of whether he was really prepared to step down from his position.

Additionally, the old capital had a long history of Grotesquerie activity. There were far too many tales from the old capital about the Earth Spider to count, so he was likely to uncover new information that he couldn’t find in the capital. Perhaps the timing of his trip was a stroke of good fortune.

“In that case, I’m leaving you in charge of the barrier investigation and the search for the monster.”

Godou’s eyes seemed to glitter for a moment at Kiyoka’s words.

“You can count on me, Commander! All right! Here we go!’

Thrusting his fist into the air, Godou promptly began ordering his men to confiscate the leg of the Earth Spider.

As Godou departed, Kiyoka was struck by how different his subordinate was now from the man he had reunited with several years ago—and just how reliable he had become.

Chapter 2. The Old Capital and New Encounters

The old capital had been the home of the nation’s emperors for over a thousand years, both during the age when the shogunate had led the central government, and a great many years before it.

Before the change of the nation’s capital, the elite families at the top of society—now referred to as the peerage—had also resided in the old capital, managing the Imperial Court and supporting the emperor.

Families who produced a great number of Gift-users were no exception.

Since the old capital sat on ancient lands, tales of the mysterious and the uncanny were numerous, widespread, and well established. These supernatural oddities would never fully vanish from the old capital, and Gift-users would always have a role to play there.

With the emperor’s move to the imperial capital, the population of the old capital declined.

Yet the old capital remained a place of history, folklore, and the supernatural.

Kiyoka and Miyo were inside a limited express train bound for the old capital from the capital station.

Outside the window, lush fields and mountains flew by, beneath pure white clouds and a pristine blue sky.

“Wow…! This train is so much faster than a normal one! The scenery is gorgeous, too.”

Miyo’s heart leaped in her chest at the novel sight, and she couldn’t stop herself from letting out a tiny shout of joy.

“Don’t get too worked up. You’ll wear yourself out before we even get there.”

“Oh… That’s true.”

She might have been acting a bit childish.

Ever since she met Kiyoka, Miyo would always act like this when seeing something new for the first time. The pattern was always the same—no matter how many times she self-reflected on her immaturity, she would forget everything in the moment and again be overcome with shame. Why was it so impossible for her to learn from her mistakes?

Kiyoka chuckled lightly as he watched Miyo adjust her posture in her seat, concealing her embarrassment.

“Don’t get so down about it. Our trip’s only just begun, and you’re going to see countless new and exciting things. Keep up your stamina.”

“I will…”

Miyo nodded, using the wide-brimmed hat in her hands to hide her face and overcome the awkwardness.

Miyo was wearing a white one-piece dress instead of a kimono today. The dress, with modest lace decorating the bottom, had come highly recommended from her older sister-in-law, Hazuki. Miyo had tied up her hair with the ribbon she had received from her mother-in-law, Fuyu.

Kiyoka, on the other hand, was dressed extremely light, wearing a white shirt and black trousers instead of his usual military uniform or casual kimono.

He looks dashing no matter what he wears…

Since the limited express was faster than a normal train, the trip from the capital to the old capital took a half day. They had departed early in the morning, and they would arrive early in the evening. Since it was the height of summer, they would likely arrive before it was pitch-dark out.

The interior of the train wasn’t all that crowded.

There were men in business suits who were presumably traveling for work, families with children, other married couples, and even students. Despite the speed of the train, half a day was still a considerable amount of time, and the tickets weren’t cheap. There was still some time before the Obon Festival, which likely explained the lighter number of passengers.

Would this count…as our honeymoon?

Miyo and Kiyoka were currently heading to the old capital to visit the Miyakoujis, the family from which the Kudous had branched. Despite the Miyakoujis’ status, the Kudou family had branched from them a very long time ago, so the two clans’ connection had become little more than a formality.

Nevertheless, Kiyoka had certain obligations as the head of the Kudou family, and one of them was to report his marriage to the head of the main family.

They had decided to time their marriage announcement trip to coincide with the tea ceremony the head family was organizing in the old capital.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay leaving work, Kiyoka?”

Miyo checked in with Kiyoka despite herself. She had already confirmed and reconfirmed this with him several times before today, but her worry still lingered.

Even Miyo could sense the dark shadow the Earth Spider had cast over the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit.

After it broke the seal and fled, the Earth Spider’s whereabouts were a complete mystery. The Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit was scrambling to gather information and search for the Grotesquerie, but they didn’t appear to be making much progress. While the Earth Spider hadn’t caused any harm yet, it would only be a matter of time if they couldn’t locate the creature.

Under normal circumstances, Kiyoka wouldn’t have had the time for a trip to the old capital.

“I’m sure things will be all right, Miyo. Staying in the capital and chasing after the Earth Spider wouldn’t get us anywhere anyway.”

“Is that so?”

“To be honest, we’ve almost exhausted all our leads. While the Earth Spider’s lingering presence is powerful and unique, the traces it leaves vanish with time. And unfortunately, we don’t have any other clues to go on. Unless one of the Earth Spider’s legs causes another uproar like what happened with Kimio Nagaba, there probably won’t be much progress.”

Kiyoka gazed outside the train window, looking despondent.

“It’s eerily quiet. While we can’t afford to fall behind…the old capital should have information on the Earth Spider we won’t find in the capital. This trip may not tell me the Earth Spider’s location, but it might lead to clues on how to defeat the thing or a stronger method of sealing it.”

Though Miyo nodded along at Kiyoka’s explanation, she still couldn’t picture the creature.

While Miyo knew the Earth Spider was a terrible and mighty Grotesquerie, she had practically no sense of how, or why, it was so terrifying.

The Earth Spider had existed since ancient times, and there were many records of the warriors and Gift-users who had battled it throughout the ages. Supposedly, a particularly large number of these tales and legends had been passed down in the old capital, the nation’s historical seat of power.

However, not one of these historical figures succeeded in completely eliminating the Earth Spider, and as a result, the creature remained a terrifying force to this day.

The Grotesquerie was so infamous that even someone ill-informed of the world at large like Miyo had heard of it.

But since she had never seen it with her own two eyes, no amount of imagining on her part would make it feel real.

I’m sure I wouldn’t be any help against it, either…

Although the Earth Spider might be powerful enough for Miyo to see, the supernatural abilities of the Usuba family didn’t work on Grotesqueries.

Even Dream Sight, the most powerful of the Usuba family’s Gifts, was no different in this regard.

Miyo swore to herself that if she couldn’t help Kiyoka with her Gift, then she would support him in other ways.

Just then, her stomach growled.

“Oh!”

They were having such a serious conversion, and now she had completely ruined the moment. It was just one embarrassment after another today. One was hardly expected to be on their best behavior while traveling, but there was a limit to this.

As Miyo grabbed her stomach and looked down with burning cheeks, she thought she heard Kiyoka give a faint laugh.

“Seems about the right time to eat.”

“…I agree…”

Miyo took out the lunch box they had bought before boarding the train.

She removed the cover of the wooden box to reveal a richly colored assortment of food. Rolled omelets, rice covered in salt and sesame seeds, grilled fish, broiled root vegetables, pickles, and more were all neatly packed tight into the box.

“It all looks delicious…!”

As Miyo typically ate food she made herself, she rarely had the opportunity to experience the excitement that came from lifting up the cover of a boxed lunch filled with unknown delights. This was also her first time eating a boxed lunch that was made to be eaten on a train.

That was to say, it was impossible for her not to feel giddy.

“Seems like someone’s enjoying herself.”

“I am!”

Kiyoka broke into a grin as he watched Miyo nod with a huge smile on her face.

“Let’s eat, then.”

“Okay. It looks scrumptious.”

“It sure does.”

They brought their hands together in gratitude, split apart their wooden chopsticks, and began digging into their lunch.

The food in the boxed lunch was, naturally, not piping hot. However, when coupled with the novel setting of the train car, the food tasted especially good. The meal must have been perfectly seasoned to taste good even when eaten cold. The creativity and fastidiousness at work were pleasant to the tongue.

“It’s delicious.”

“Yeah.” Kiyoka gave but one word in reply before he continued to silently chew away. It appeared Miyo was the only one getting excited by the meal.

I’m sure Kiyoka must be quite used to traveling by now.

As a Gift-user, Kiyoka had been all over the Empire in one way or another. He was very familiar with traveling by train, so he must have eaten enough train station lunches to no longer find them novel.

Miyo grew a bit dejected, nibbling here and there at her lunch.

Still, this was quite an exciting first for Miyo. Her heart fluttered with each bite.

She continued to eat until she had finished about half of her lunch. All of a sudden, she felt eyes on her, and she blinked when she looked up to see Kiyoka staring back from the opposite seat.

He had apparently finished his own lunch and was gazing at Miyo with an almost cheerful and amused look in his eyes.

While the word amused had come to mind for her, Kiyoka’s expression was relatively unchanged. Still, Miyo could tell now that she had been around him for a year. This was the face he made when he was enjoying himself.

“Kiyoka?”

“What?”

“…Um, is something the matter?”

“Not at all. Why?”

If that was the case, why was he staring so hard like this? Kiyoka replied to Miyo’s cocked head with a smile so beautiful, Miyo almost lost herself admiring it.

“I just found it so adorable how you grow giddy over each bite of your lunch that I had to watch,” Kiyoka added, as if he had read Miyo’s mind.

Even Miyo couldn’t help being a bit annoyed by his response.

“I—I know you’re just trying to say I’m childish and immature.”

He shook his head, as if to tell her she just didn’t understand.

“You just seem to have so much fun with everything you do. I find it adorable.”

“Wh—! Um, K-Kiyoka, lately, you’ve been…very quick to say things like that…”

“I think it’s important to make a habit of properly conveying what I feel.”

Kiyoka was surprisingly aloof, despite the honeyed words coming out of his mouth.

He’d been like this ever since they’d gotten married. When it came to Miyo, he was always sweet and doting. With his reputation for being coldhearted, no one could have ever imagined Kiyoka being this affectionate with his wife in private.

Miyo was embarrassed being told how adorable she was in such a serious tone.

“P-please don’t stare… I can’t stand it.”

“Then I’ll try to make sure you don’t notice while I watch you. Go ahead and eat; don’t mind me.”

He was asking the impossible. Swallowing her protests, Miyo once again worked her chopsticks. She managed to finish eating despite feeling his gaze on her, and after cleaning up her empty lunch box, she took a sip of the tea from the special steam train teapot and relaxed.

At some point, Kiyoka had started staring out at the scenery.

Amid the calm, the rhythmic click-clack of the train car’s motion echoed around them. It was just past noon, and it had grown surprisingly quiet, likely because the other passengers were also eating their own lunches.

Click-clack, click-clack.

With her stomach now full, the comfortable rocking invited her to slumber.

Her eyelids began to feel heavy. The train car interior was warm, and little by little her mind grew foggy.

Her consciousness fading, Miyo heard the empty seat beside her creak as someone sat down.

“If you’re sleepy, lean against me.”

The familiar deep voice was so very gentle and tender. Miyo placed her head down in the direction of the voice without a second thought.

Wrapped in an irreplaceable feeling of security, Miyo surrendered herself to sleep.

The train arrived in the old capital station around dusk, when it was still light out.

“This is the old capital…”

After getting off the train car, Miyo looked around the area with curiosity.

The air coming through the platform was slightly different than that of the capital. The wooden station was a classy Western-style building, with the appearance of a European palace or cathedral.

“This way.”

Following after Kiyoka as he confidently walked along the platform, Miyo advanced through the hustling crowd.

While the leisurely trip in the train had been long, Miyo had enjoyed herself and felt a bit sad it was over. Thanks to the nap she had taken on the train, however, she wasn’t very tired from the trip. She was ready to enjoy the old capital atmosphere to the fullest.

They exited the building, and the magnificent fountain of the station plaza came into view, along with the busy streets of the city, which bustled with people and automobiles. It was a modern and well-maintained cityscape.

“Wow…”

“Different from what you were expecting?”

“I would say so. I thought the city itself would look much older.”

“There are older-looking sections elsewhere… Now then, someone should already be here for us.”

Kiyoka scanned the area before heading toward an automobile.

The head family had sent a car for them, just like Kiyoka’s parents had when they’d traveled to the Kudou villa last year. This looked to be their ride.

“Master Kiyoka and Mistress Miyo Kudou, I presume?” The male driver politely bowed to them. “My name is Nakaoka, and I have been tasked with your transport. Please, come inside. I shall bring you to the estate.”

After Miyo and Kiyoka got inside, the automobile abruptly departed.

Miyo had heard that the old capital was an ancient land with a long history, yet the area in front of the station appeared to have just as many modern Western-style buildings as the capital did, if not more. Scattered here and there in between all the new buildings, however, were temples and shrines. This was different from back in the capital.

“Can you bring us to the shrine first instead of the estate?”

“As you wish,” the driver replied to Kiyoka’s instructions.

Their destination wasn’t very far from the station.

The scenery did change significantly before the automobile finished its short path through the bustling main avenue and parked in front of a grand and imposing wooden torii gate.

“Please make your way from here.”

When Miyo and Kiyoka left the car, the driver climbed back into the driver seat with a bow, and the car slowly drove away.

This is quite a big shrine.

The large torii gate, whose top was too tall for her to clearly see, wasn’t merely as impressive as the famous shrines in the capital but left an even stronger impression on her.

Kiyoka spoke up as Miyo stood there in awe beside him.

“This is the Ikukuni Shrine, where generations of Miyakoujis have served as head priests. The family patriarch should still be here at this hour, and I figured it’d be best if you saw it for yourself.”

“It’s magnificent.”

“That comes from its long history. The shrine is said to have been built nearly a thousand years ago. The buildings were reconstructed once, however, so those are only four hundred years old at most.”

“A-a thousand years…?!”

Miyo couldn’t even fathom an institution built a full thousand years ago surviving to the present day. The shrine itself may have only been four hundred years old, but even that was such a long stretch of time.

Kiyoka let out a quiet chuckle as he observed Miyo’s shock, then he extended a hand to her. Still astonished, she took his hand.

They passed through the torii gate, patiently going up the relatively few stone steps one by one.

The path ahead was straight and orderly, paved with gray cobblestones. It led to the large front shrine, which had a grand and stately air. Beyond that was the main shrine, lacquered in vibrant vermilion, albeit not to the same extent as the front shrine.

The two advanced down the cobbled path, ascended the step on the front shrine, and clapped their hands together in prayer.

“This way,” Kiyoka said after they’d bowed and descended back down the steps, going around the side of the front shrine to the main shrine.

Someone was just leaving the building as they arrived.

“Oh, hiya there, Kiyoka. Thanks for making the trip out to our neck of the woods.”

The man, dressed in the brilliant karinigu robes of a Shinto priest, looked to be a few years older than Kiyoka. Pale and with slightly drooping eyes, the man waved at them with a soft, bright smile.

When the man strode over to where they were, Kiyoka gave him a courteous and respectful bow.

“It has been too long, Lord Komon.”

“Ha-ha-ha. Those straight laces of yours are sounding tighter than ever, Kiyoka. You can always just call me Brother Komon. Wouldn’t mind one bit.”

“I’ll pass.”

Kiyoka looked down at the slightly shorter man as he gave his exasperated reply. It appeared Kiyoka could be relaxed and comfortable around this man.

“Lord Komon… This is my wife, Miyo.”

“Miyo K-Kudou. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

Following Kiyoka’s introduction, Miyo said her name with a bow. She still wasn’t used to her new last name, so she always ended up stumbling over it.

However, the man didn’t seem to notice.

“Miyo, this is Lord Komon Miyakouji, the head of the Kudou family’s main line and the head priest of this shrine.”

“A pleasure.”

“Thank you for showing us your kindness.”

The man—Komon Miyakouji—nonchalantly looked Miyo over for a moment before breaking into a smile.

“Well, I’ll be. Aren’t you a pretty young lady. As Kiyoka said, I’m the head of the Miyakouji family, Komon Miyakouji. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Thank you.”

Komon nodded with satisfaction to Miyo and glanced at Kiyoka with a teasing glint in his eyes.

“Sheesh, I was starting to worry little Kiyoka would be a bachelor forever. Imagine my shock when he turns up with such a beautiful wife on his arm! How can a guy be so perfect all the time—sticks in my craw, it does.”

“Please don’t tease me. How are things in the Miyakouji family? Everything all right?”

“Oh yeah, it’s the same old, same old, believe me. For better and for worse. Frustratingly so.”

Komon shrugged in reply to Kiyoka’s question. He turned his back to the pair, then swiveled his head around to look at them.

“Well, you two. Are you hungry?”

Miyo locked eyes with Kiyoka.

Quite some time had passed since their lunch on the train, and although they had spent most of it sitting down, Miyo was famished at the moment.

“How’s a nice restaurant sound? I’ve reserved us a table for tonight.”

With Komon as their guide, Miyo and Kiyoka walked to a restaurant inside a hotel not far from the shrine.

It wasn’t an inn with a long history, but a newly built Western-style hotel, and there appeared to be not only domestic guests, but also people from abroad staying here. They came across numerous gentlemen in suits and ladies in dresses.

“Hope you’ll excuse me for bringing you here instead of somewhere more typical of the old capital after you came all this way.”

As they sat around a table covered in a white tablecloth, Komon apologetically brought a hand to the back of his head.

Miyo shook her head, and Kiyoka told Komon the two of them didn’t particularly mind.

“That’s a relief to hear. Besides, it might just be exactly what you need. By the time you’re done staying at the Miyakouji estate, you’ll have eaten so many Japanese course meals, you’ll never want to sit through one again. Now’s your chance to tuck into some Western-style food while you still can.”

Although Miyo had met Komon only a little while ago, she could tell that he was a very jovial and friendly man. He readily cracked jokes and chatted away.

Kiyoka seemed to trust Komon, too, even as he maintained a degree of distance from him. Miyo was sure he wasn’t a bad person. At the very least, she didn’t get the sense he would be difficult to get along with.

Although the power balance was tipping in favor of the Kudou branch family, the Miyakouji family was an old lineage, and it still possessed a great amount of power. Miyo couldn’t imagine a half-hearted individual would be able to fulfill the role of family head.

They received some appetizers shortly after taking their seats.

“Shall we get started, then? Cheers.”

“Cheers.”

The three raised their glasses, and with a clink, their meal began.

Komon and Kiyoka were drinking wine, and Miyo water. As usual, Kiyoka had strictly forbidden Miyo from having even a sip of aperitif.

Over the course of the meal, they exchanged idle banter, though Miyo said very little. Kiyoka was already a man of few words to begin with, so almost 70 percent of the time, it felt more like Komon was talking to himself.

“Lord Komon, why did you make a point of having us dine out tonight?”

In a rare move, Kiyoka posed a question to Komon.

Miyo didn’t really understand the intent behind her husband’s query, but Komon seemed to catch on immediately, gulping down the rest of his glass and widening his grin.

“Oh, Kiyoka, you wound me! Can’t a guy take his extended family out to dinner?”

“Please spare me the charade. Is there something you’re worried about?”

After Kiyoka pressed the issue a bit more, Komon immediately gave in. He shrugged nonchalantly.

“All right, you got me. I figured you might like a bit of time to mentally prepare yourselves. I’m sure you’ll agree charging headfirst into our humble abode will be no easy task for someone new to the family like Miyo.”

“…I won’t deny that, but still.”

“Um, what do you mean…?”

Miyo could only cock her head in confusion.

Naturally, she had learned from Hazuki and Kiyoka what to expect in the home of a family whose lineage was as storied as the Miyakoujis’.

She knew the family’s illustrious heritage would make them high-strung and difficult to please.

For a great many years, the Miyakouji family had managed the shrine in the old capital and had produced numerous public servants and Gift-users to serve the Imperial Court and, by extension, the government itself.

Due to their long and significant history, the members of the family had grown obstinate in heart and mind, with certain beliefs becoming deeply ingrained in their psyches. This was also true to a degree of the Kudous, Saimoris, and Usubas, but given the sheer scale of the Miyakouji family, the latter was far more set in its ways.

For this reason, Miyo had needed to mentally prepare herself for the meeting before setting out on this trip.

“I’ll admit Miyo seems made of sterner stuff than I had pegged her for. The Miyakoujis practically wrote the book on obligation and constraint. You couldn’t take just any young lady off the street and marry her into the family; she’d suffocate under all the pressure. Our humble home’s packed full of hotheaded and stubborn fellas and ladies, so watch yourself, okay? Figured I’d take this time to warn you before you settled in.”

“Thank you very much for your concern.”

“Don’t mention it. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other from here on out, so it’s best to start off on the right foot.”

Komon waved lightly. When Miyo looked over to see how Kiyoka felt about all this, he was wearing a serious look for some reason.

That aside, Miyo found it ominous to hear there were obstinate and hotheaded people in the Miyakouji family.

I imagined gossip and harassment, but perhaps I should be worried about something different.

Since Komon had went out of his way to warn her, Miyo mentally put up her guard.

…I need to be careful.

They continued to enjoy the meal and their drinks, and the next thing they knew, the main course of their three-person banquet had come and gone. Now only dessert was left to come.

Kiyoka departed for a moment, leaving Miyo alone at the table with Komon.

“Thank you for coming, Miyo. I couldn’t be happier to have this chance to relax and chat before heading to the manor.”

“I should be the one thanking you. I look forward to getting to know you.”

“Gotta say, you really are a well-put-together little lady. You’re refined, courteous—the whole package.” Komon crossed his arms and nodded. The alcohol seemed to be fully at work. “By the way now, I might come off a bit different at the estate, but…try not to be too surprised, okay?”

“Really?”

“Yes siree. Back at the manor, I’m the family patriarch, so I need all the dignity and sternness to play the part. Some members of the family wouldn’t play nice if I acted otherwise.”

“Um, Lord Komon, have you known Kiyoka for long?”

Miyo saw this as her opportunity to ask what had been on her mind. Komon replied with a joyful chuckle.

“I’d say so. Kiyoka and I are both the family heirs, so we’ve known each other since we were little. I attended college in the capital, too, so we’re rather close…or we should be anyway. Your husband’s attitude sure does make me worried, though.”

“Tee-hee.”

Kiyoka was nothing if not brusque, so Miyo understood where Komon was coming from. She couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

“Thing is, guys like me are treated like weirdos in the Miyakouji family. Basically, they all think the old capital’s the best, and the Miyakouji family’s the best, so watch your step, okay?”

Right as Komon finished saying this, a single figure approached their table.

“Hello. Lovely evening, isn’t it?”

“Huh?”

Miyo didn’t immediately register she was being addressed and missed her chance to give a greeting of her own.

It was a young man.

However, he was anything but ordinary. He had startlingly beautiful blond hair and blue eyes, along with well-sculpted features—characteristics you rarely saw in this country. His outfit, consisting of a well-tailored light brown three-piece suit and a type of scarf Miyo believed was known as a “cravat,” complemented his appearance and gave him an aristocratic air.

He looked like a prince ripped straight out of a foreign picture book.

“Um…”

Miyo had no idea why this man had addressed her. She looked to Komon in confusion and saw that he, too, was dumbfounded.

The blond-haired, blue-eyed young man bowed his head slightly when he noticed Miyo’s perplexed expression.

“I do beg your pardon. After seeing such a gorgeous and charming lady across the hall, I’m afraid my tongue got the better of my common sense. Forgive me for putting you on the spot.”

“Oh, no, um.”

His mannerisms and tone were affected and dramatic. The theatrical young man flashed a graceful and refined smile at her.

“But where are my manners? My name is Eugene. Milady, would you do me the honor of joining me for a cup of tea?”

“Wh-what…? No, I’m—”

“Hold it right there, bucko. This woman is married, and while he stepped away for a spell, her husband is here with her.”

Komon had come to his senses and interjected, but Eugene wasn’t dissuaded in the slightest. He kept his eyes locked on Miyo, not giving Komon so much as a glance.

“What do you say, milady?”

“I’m honored by your invitation; however, like Lord Komon just said, my husband is here with me, and we have business to attend to after this… Forgive me.”

Miyo bowed slightly, all while feeling anxious over how Eugene would react.

“Please, raise your head. I do apologize. It was never my intention to scare you.”

Looking up as told, Miyo saw Eugene staring straight at her with the same gentle smile, except now his eyes were drooping ever so slightly.

While his smile was gentle, she could sense a powerful will beneath it.

Oh no… Is he not going to back down?

What would she do if that happened? Komon was here with her, so she assumed Eugene wouldn’t do anything forceful, but she still didn’t want to cause a scene.

Miyo could feel her upper body pulling back slightly and face growing taut.

“Please, milady, if you could just grace me with your name.”

Miyo felt a cold sweat run down her spine as Eugene still refused to back down. Right at that moment, however…

“What’re you doing?”

…Kiyoka finally returned to the table, and Miyo breathed a sigh of relief. Eugene sent a sidelong glance at Kiyoka, without the slightest hint of remorse. Kiyoka’s glare sharpened in response.

“What business do you have with my wife?”

“…Oh, so you’re the gentleman with the good fortune to have wed this beautiful lady.”

Given Eugene looked like the younger of the two, Kiyoka was sending an almost murderous degree of hostility at the man. Yet Eugene looked Kiyoka squarely in the eyes, not recoiling in the slightest.

As Miyo sat on tenterhooks, she was inwardly surprised to see Eugene remain so self-assured in front of Kiyoka.

“I asked you what you’re doing.”

Kiyoka seemed to raise his guard in response to Eugene’s attitude, and his voice rapidly lowered. At that moment, Komon butted in with deathly earnestness.

“That young lad here was trying to court your beloved wife. Both Miyo and I shot him down and made it clear as crystal that Miyo is married, but he just wouldn’t give in.”

“He what?”

Kiyoka’s voice was so low, it seemed to be creeping along the bottom of the earth. Though it was the middle of summer, a glacial wind seemed to run through the area, and Miyo felt a chill run down her own spine.

Of course, the icy wind was simply a metaphor; the temperature hadn’t dropped at all. But depending on how Eugene acted from here on out, the young man could very well find himself frozen in a block of ice.

“Um, Kiyoka, we wouldn’t want to cause a scene. Besides, I’m fine…”

Although Miyo tried her best to deescalate the situation, as long as Eugene didn’t back down, it seemed impossible.

Just then, however, the foreign man gave in.

“Forgive me. The sight of such a beautiful woman rendered me unable to stop myself from approaching her. No one fancies a man who can’t take no for answer, so with that, I shall take my leave.”

Kiyoka furrowed his brow as he watched Eugene give an elegant and graceful bow. Still, he would only be asking for trouble if he stopped Eugene now that the man had expressed his intent to leave. Though Kiyoka was still incensed over what happened, he wasn’t able to say anything.

Just as Miyo thought he would obediently depart, however, Eugene whispered something into Miyo’s ear.

“Milady, you’re the princess of this country’s shamans, yes? Until we meet again.”

“What…?”

Not understanding what he meant, Miyo could only cock her head in puzzlement. Without another word, Eugene winked at Miyo, then finally turned around and gallantly walked off.

Kiyoka sternly watched him depart before sitting back down in evident displeasure.

“Who on earth does he think he is?”

“That man was shadier than a thicket.”

Komon gave a wincing grin.

“Miyo, what did that rake say to you at the end?”

While she didn’t mind Kiyoka asking, Miyo was hardly in a position to explain. She hadn’t really understood the term the man had used—the English word shaman—so relaying what he had said was difficult.

“Um…I believe he mentioned a ‘shaman’? Something about that.”

“A shaman?”

Kiyoka frowned with suspicion, putting a hand up to his chin to ponder.

“Not a word I’m familiar with, I’m afraid. I’d wager it’s a foreign word…”

Although Komon appeared deep in thought, Kiyoka seemed to put it out of mind for the time being.

“Something about the word sticks out to me. I’ll have to look into it… Miyo.”

“Y-yes?”

Miyo straightened her posture when she heard her name. Kiyoka fixed her with a piercing stare. Unlike Eugene’s gaze from earlier, Kiyoka’s held a tinge of concern for her and a small amount of heat.

“Listen to me: If you ever meet another man like that, don’t pay him any attention… If you are interested, then at least come to me about it first.”

“So I’m allowed to pay him some attention if I talk it over with you first?” Miyo said, intending to be a bit teasing.

Kiyoka grimaced.

“…Actually, no, I won’t permit it even if you do.”

Miyo found it adorable to see Kiyoka suddenly sound so intolerant despite his normally being so upstanding. She instinctively took her husband’s hand.

“I was joking. I am your wife, Kiyoka. I’m not interested in any other man.”

“Truly?”

“Yes, truly… If the need arises, I’ll use my Gift to make them fall asleep.”

An ominous thing to declare, but they were her true feelings on the matter. She was not reluctant to use her supernatural powers to protect herself or the people around her. If a man propositioned her and wouldn’t relent, and she had no other means of dealing with the situation, she would put him to sleep without question.

Her reply, coupled with her unblinking stare, seemed enough to convince Kiyoka.

He placed his other hand on Miyo’s.

“I’ll make sure that time never comes. Please don’t do anything dangerous.”

“I won’t.”

Kiyoka heaved a sigh at Miyo’s smile.

Chapter 3. The Miyakouji Tea Ceremony

They finished their dinner, and by the time Miyo and Kiyoka set foot on the grounds of the Miyakouji estate with Komon, the sun had set completely, and the mantle of night had descended onto the city.

Even in the dark, Miyo could tell just how vast the Miyakoujis’ lands were, with the wall encircling the whole property extending farther than the eye could see.

The property was quiet, as it was situated at a slight remove from the old capital’s downtown area, which could be lively well into the night.

The Miyakouji home was a perfect fit for the ancient former capital: a long-standing one-story estate made of wood. Miyo’s previous home, the Saimori estate, had also been quite spacious, but the scale of the Miyakoujis’ put it to shame.

Their gate was so tall that she had to crane her neck to see the top, and the garden within it was huge. So huge, in fact, that the space seemed less like a garden and more like a forested park, complete with a pond, a river, and a small hill that made one feel as if they were in the wilderness. The manor on the property was the size of a palace, yet it still had the atmosphere of a retreat in the woods.

“Welcome to the Miyakouji estate.”

Tipsy and in high spirits, Komon waved away the servants who had come to receive them and personally led Miyo and Kiyoka to a guest room.

“Since you two are newlyweds, I wanted to give you somewhere you could relax and spend your time in peace.”

Komon led them to the very edge of the estate. Their guest room was in a separate annex, connected to the main manor via a covered walkway. According to Komon, the entire building was dedicated to housing their guests.

The annex, originally large enough to house close to ten people at once, had several large rooms covered with tatami mats, as well as a bath, a restroom, and a compact kitchen, making it completely self-sufficient.

Miyo and Kiyoka would have the whole place to themselves—the height of luxury.

“Go right ahead and use the place as you see fit. Make yourselves at home, you hear?”

“Thank you so much for all the consideration you’ve shown us.”

After Komon was done giving them a cheerful explanation, he returned to the main building, leaving Miyo and Kiyoka alone in the spacious residence.

Thankfully, their futons had both been laid out side by side, and their bathwater was already warm. Since they had already eaten for the night, all they would have to worry about was going to bed.

“…This takes me back to my brief stay at the Imperial Palace last winter.”

Recalling that time filled Miyo with emotions. Back then, she and Kiyoka had ended up staying at the Imperial Palace at Takaihito’s command, inside one of his personal residences. The palace servants had also laid out their futons side by side, just like the Miyakouji servants had now.

Only six months had passed, yet her state of mind now was entirely different.

She had also grown completely used to sleeping beside Kiyoka.

H-how embarrassing…

However, when she thought about how things were, her sense of shame won out.

She and Kiyoka chatted as they finished some light unpacking, before taking turns in the bath and changing into their nightclothes. By then, it was the perfect time for them to go to sleep.

“That was a truly unpleasant man,” Kiyoka muttered, sitting cross-legged on his bedding and resting his chin in his hands.

That instant, he let his long, slightly damp hair spill down his neck. Miyo’s heart beat a tiny bit faster upon seeing her husband’s slightly frustrated behavior.

Wh-what could be the matter…?

Kiyoka was almost never in a sour mood when they were alone together. Now that she thought about it, seeing Kiyoka look a bit cranky when it was just the two of them felt novel to her.

She wondered if it was odd for a wife’s heart to flutter from seeing her husband upset.

“Are you listening?” Kiyoka asked, practically pouting. It was more endearing than Miyo could bear.

She imagined Kiyoka must have felt similar while he’d been watching her enjoy herself on the train. Her lips rose in a smile.

“Hee-hee. Yes, of course I am.”

“This is no laughing matter… Trying to court a married woman—it’s utterly ridiculous.”

Eugene had clearly gotten on Kiyoka’s bad side.

“Kiyoka, are you feeling jealous…?”

“And if I am?”

What was she going to do with this adorable husband of hers? A slight heat came to her cheeks, and she tried to convince herself this was because she had just gotten out of the bath. She then spread her arms.

“I-I’ll pamper you.”

Kiyoka’s eyes widened. The next moment, his grimace melted away.

“I’ll have to take you up on that.”

Kiyoka rolled onto his side and put his head in Miyo’s lap. Miyo gently ran her fingers through his silky hair.

“Um, Eugene did tell me one thing that gave me pause…”

“What is it?”

“To be precise, I believe he told me I was the princess of our nation’s shamans. I haven’t any idea what he meant by ‘shaman’ or ‘princess.’”

Kiyoka turned his head sideways in Miyo’s lap.

“I didn’t mention this at the time, but shaman is a foreign word. I believe it means ‘prophet.’”

“Prophet…? But wouldn’t that…?”

Kiyoka nodded in agreement with Miyo as she pointed out that this would apply more to a Gift-user like Takaihito.

“Divine Revelation definitely matches the description. So it makes no sense why he would call you the ‘princess of the shamans.’”

Even after mouthing the word “prophet” once again, Miyo could only cock her head in confusion.

Miyo could use Dream Sight to peer into the past, the present, and the future, so she could indeed predict things. Perhaps Eugene hadn’t been too off the mark in calling her a shaman.

This led Miyo to an unsettling conclusion.

“Does Eugene know me?”

Naturally, Miyo wasn’t acquainted with anyone like him. Had he looked into Miyo’s background?

But…he didn’t seem to know my name, either.

While it was possible he had merely been pretending not to know her name in an effort to make their meeting appear coincidental, Miyo got the sense from how he’d spoken to her that he’d truly wanted to know her name.

“Who can say?” Kiyoka’s reply was curt. “That man was clearly a foreigner, and the word ‘shaman’ comes from a foreign land, too. Looking into it more can’t hurt.”

“Are you able to do that?”

“Yeah. I’m acquainted with someone who’s far more knowledgeable about foreign cultures than me.”

Who was he talking about? Was it someone Miyo was familiar with?

Seeing Miyo’s confusion, Kiyoka revealed the answer. “It’s Godou.”

“Huh? Why him?”

“I never told you? He was studying abroad in England until several years ago.”

“What…?! Oh, but now that you mention it…”

Miyo vaguely recalled Godou saying something about that when he’d been hospitalized last fall. It had hardly been the time or the place to pursue the topic any further, but she remembered him talking about studying abroad.

“He left Japan to learn about the supernatural abilities of other nations, so there’s a chance he could know something about shamans.”

Kiyoka got up from Miyo’s lap to take a small scrap of paper out of his luggage. After writing a brief message, he folded the paper into the shape of a bird and sent it flying out the window.

He was getting in touch with Godou via familiar. The whole procedure had taken only a few minutes.

After finishing the perfunctory task, Kiyoka once again lay down and placed his head in Miyo’s lap, crossing his arms and exhaling through his nose.

Miyo chuckled at the amusing sight.

“…I really wanted to enjoy this one trip without any extra worries or trouble. This is supposed to be our honeymoon.”

“Kiyoka…”

Miyo hadn’t realized Kiyoka thought of this trip that way.

The Earth Spider case was still ongoing, so it would be impossible for him to be completely at ease. Yet despite all that, Kiyoka still wanted to make this trip a fun and exciting experience for Miyo.

This thoughtfulness he showed her made her happier than she could ever imagine.

“Kiyoka, you don’t need to worry, I had a great deal of fun today. The train trip, my first moments in the old capital, the shrine, the restaurant meal—I know I’ll cherish the memories of these experiences forever.”

“…I suppose I’ll be content if that’s the case.”

“It is. Besides, with you at my side, I’m not in any danger. Please have more faith in yourself.”

“I’ll protect you with all the power I have, of course. But don’t let yourself get careless, either. Don’t go putting yourself in danger just because you can use your Gift, got it?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Bedtime.” The single word from Kiyoka led them to both get under the covers. Worn out from the trip, Miyo quickly drifted off.

Night turned to morning. Today, Miyo would be formally presented to the members of the Miyakouji family as the wife of the Kudou family head.

The Miyakoujis held a tea ceremony every summer.

Conducted within the Miyakouji estate’s vast Japanese garden, the event was supposed to deepen the bonds of the attendees as they gazed out at the vibrant greenery with tea in hand. Almost everyone in the Miyakouji family showed up for the ceremony, save for the members of the branch families who lived far away, such as the Kudous.

Miyo was participating with Kiyoka this year as an opportunity to introduce herself.

Though she had worn a one-piece dress the day before, today she would be wearing an outfit befitting a tea ceremony.

Miyo chose a finely patterned silken kimono meant to be worn in summer. Tiny white flower patterns were scattered on the sleeve and underside of the pleasant pale chartreuse outfit.

Kiyoka, on the other hand, had put on his military uniform for the occasion. Though the outfit had been his formal wear during his time in the military, this would be his last time wearing it in public. Miyo might never get a chance to see him in his uniform again.

It feels like a little bit of a waste…

Given Kiyoka’s androgynous yet gallant beauty, the military uniform was a perfect fit for him. So perfect, in fact, that one had to wonder if it had been designed with him in mind.

However, Miyo sensed it was the duty of being a soldier that Kiyoka found special, not the uniform.

With the opportunity right in front of her, Miyo decided to burn into her mind the image of Kiyoka wearing his uniform. While doing so, she and Kiyoka headed over to the Miyakouji gardens, the venue of the tea ceremony.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

Though the sun was bright, it was still morning, and the trees and grasses of the garden kept the air from growing too hot.

This tea ceremony would be an open-air event and thus more relaxed than a standard tea ceremony.

People had already gathered in a clearing of the garden, and there were several wooden benches draped in crimson rugs and with red parasols and a full set of tea utensils ready for the event.

After Miyo and Kiyoka came into the area, everyone in the garden immediately turned to them.

I still can’t get used to being the center of attention.

Her heart began to pound rapidly in her chest. Nevertheless, Miyo did her best to stop her nerves from showing on her face and maintained her composure.

As the wife of the Kudou family patriarch, she couldn’t let herself look disgraceful.

“Good morning, you two.”

Komon was first to speak to them. He had been very drunk the night before, but you wouldn’t have guess that this morning, as he wasn’t tipsy in the slightest.

“Good morning.”

After they both greeted him back, Komon briefly told them to “have fun” and departed, carrying himself with much more composure than he had the day before.

Miyo assumed this was what he’d meant the previous day when he told them he conducted himself much differently in the Miyakouji estate. If she had to describe it, she would say he was playing the part of a perfectly solemn and dignified patriarch.

Regardless, it was a stunning transformation.

“Oh, right. Who in this crowd is Lord Komon’s wife…?”

“That would be the woman over there.”

Miyo followed Kiyoka’s gaze.

She saw a woman in her late twenties giving orders left and right to the servants to ensure the tea ceremony was proceeding as planned. Though she was deftly managing the event, she would reply with only a few words when spoken to, and she appeared to be a rather quiet person.

When the time came, the tea ceremony kicked off with the smoothness of flowing water, starting out of the blue without any signal or opening remarks.

Each guest received the tea prepared during the ceremony and some teacakes. The tea bowl was a wide flat-style cup, perfect for summer, with a lovely bellflower design.

Making sure that she conducted herself properly, Miyo immediately took a sip of her tea.

How delicious.

The taste of the tea, pleasant and with just the right amount of bitterness, spread through her mouth. The wide vessel she was drinking from cooled the tea faster, ensuring it was just the right temperature on the tongue.

She had been taught more or less all the etiquette needed for the event, so Miyo didn’t have any trouble keeping up with it.

Miyo felt the mood soften slightly as she sipped her tea with calm and practiced etiquette. She briefly imagined what would have happened had she slipped up—the Miyakoujis furrowing their brows as she left a bad impression on them—and her blood ran cold.

It was only at the outset of the tea ceremony when everyone enjoyed their beverages in silence. After that, they wasted no time in moving their seats and chitchatting with each other.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Kiyoka’s wife, Miyo.”

Miyo introduced herself again and again to all the people she met. While there were some who gave her rude looks, she managed to generally be friendly with everyone.

Nevertheless, her Usuba family lineage came as a novelty, and she often heard comments like, “I didn’t think the Usubas actually existed,” and “I’ve never met a relative of the Usubas before.”

It makes sense, I suppose.

She imagined a fair number of people would have recognized the name Tsuruki or would have told her they’d interacted with the family before, but even now, with the existence of the Usubas out in the open, few knew the Tsurukis and the Usubas were one and the same.

Indeed, the Usubas were still akin to phantoms.

Even the Usui affair from last winter didn’t appear to feel very real for the residents of the old capital, and no one brought it up. It was possible they were unaware the Usui family was a branch of the Usuba family.

Had this information been more widely disseminated, Miyo would have surely been met with harsher looks.

After everyone had finished introducing themselves, the men and the women split off into separate groups and began to hold animated conversations.

A nice middle-aged lady even invited Miyo to join the conversation with the other women.

“It’s like this every year, but it’s too dang hot during summer to hold an outdoor tea ceremony, even in the morning.”

“Right? Still, we all get together for New Year’s, so this is the perfect time to host another gathering.”

“Stop it, I swear we had this exact conversation last year.”

“Last year? This comes up every year.”

The women all chuckled peacefully among themselves. The conversation flew from one topic to the next, and while most were beyond Miyo’s understanding, she was relieved just to be a part of the friendly gathering.

“Miyo, dear, are you enjoying yourself?”

All of a sudden, the woman next to her addressed Miyo directly.

“Yes… Um.”

“Oh, I know, how could you hope to remember all these names that quickly? I’m Miyako. Miyako Miyakouji is such a ridiculous name that I’m sure you’ll have no trouble remembering it now.”

Miyako was several years older than Miyo, likely in her mid-twenties. Miyo recalled the woman mentioning she was the wife of Komon’s cousin during her introduction.

She was a beautiful woman, with spotless, lily-like glamour.

“So this here’s your first visit to our city?”

“That’s right… It’s a wonderful and refined place.”

“You said it. The imperial capital doesn’t have a temple or shrine on every other block, that’s for sure.”

Miyoka was friendly and easy to talk to, even for someone as clumsy at interacting with others as Miyo.

While they talked, Miyo realized the other women were staring at them with intense curiosity.

“Why, you are truly such a pretty little thing.”

“The head of the Kudous never fails, does he? Snagged himself a right pretty young lady.”

“And such perfect tea etiquette, too. You must have learned from a young age, no?”

As the women spoke to her from all sides, it took Miyo everything she had just to politely smile back. She was ashamed that, after all this time, she still wasn’t accustomed to socializing, but with so many friendly people, she never felt uncomfortable.

Master Komon said I would need to be mentally prepared, but…

At this rate, all his fears would end up being totally unnecessary. That was how it felt for Miyo as she enjoyed conversing with the other women.

After watching Miyo safely mingle in the women’s circle, Kiyoka turned his attention to the men’s group he had joined.

Though this was ostensibly a tea ceremony, refreshments and alcohol were being passed out, and some of the men were already drunk, shouting as they spoke, while others had lost any premise of etiquette.

This wasn’t supposed to be a completely informal affair, but it sure was approaching it.

“I got to say, I can’t believe you Kudous brought a girl related to the Usubas into the family. You’re sure doing well for yourselves.”

“The Kudous stand at the top of the Gift-user pecking order as is, and now you’re adding the Usubas’ blood to your line…?”

“There’s no one who can match the Kudous now, is there? Ha-ha-ha!”

Despite Kiyoka not saying a word, the men were carrying on a roaring conversation all on their own.

The reaction seemed sarcastic and not particularly friendly. Kiyoka assumed they had a slight inferiority complex toward his family, since the Kudous were in such good form despite not being part of the main Miyakouji line.

Though the families had split off a long time ago, there were still a few people who were greatly concerned about these power dynamics.

“Don’t let ’em rub you the wrong way,” Komon whispered to him. Kiyoka heaved a small sigh.

“Why would I get offended now? It’s been like this every visit for as long as I can remember.”

At present, the Miyakouji family produced almost no Gift-users. The Gifted children they did manage to bring into the world only had powers so weak as to be functionally useless. Those who managed to utilize their innate Spirit Sight at all were given an education in using arts in order to turn them into as much of a fighting asset as possible.

This was a far cry from the Kudou family. Tadakiyo, the previous patriarch, had made a name for himself as a powerful Gift-user, and his son, Kiyoka, had distinguished himself from a young age.

There were more than a few in the Miyakouji family who were displeased with a mere branch family having that much success. The fact that Kiyoka had married a girl with Usuba blood was sure to make that displeasure balloon even further.

Although there was nothing he could do about it, this still didn’t sit right with Kiyoka.

“That reminds me, what did you do after that incident last night?”

“One of my men studied abroad previously, so I contacted him. I think we should know about what shaman means in due time.”

“Well now, you sure work fast. Be sure to tell me if I can help, you hear?”

“I will.”

The men around him were all glaring at Kiyoka, vaguely irritated that he was whispering with the family patriarch.

Annoying gazes were following him everywhere. Telling everyone off for being stupid and foolish was the easy solution, but given the interfamilial relationship at play, he couldn’t afford to be so direct.

It was a nuisance. Kiyoka heaved a sigh.

With noon past and the tea ceremony over, the Miyakouji men went out into town to drink some more.

The loud, already drunk men, walking in a large group, stood out from the crowd bustling along the main boulevard, and while some passersby frowned at the sight, the men didn’t seem to care.

They headed for a luxurious traditional restaurant downtown.

The establishment had a long, well-established connection to the Miyakouji family, but normally at this time of day, just past noon, their doors were closed.

“I am terribly sorry. We are busy getting ready at the moment…,” said the proprietress.

Having grown cavalier in their drunkenness, the men dismissed her with a snort.

“That doesn’t matter, just let us in.”

“Are you sure you want to treat us poorly? Your restaurant stands to lose out if you turn us down, you know.”

There was no way the proprietress could resist the men now that they were throwing around their lineage to get what they wanted. She grimaced a moment before leading them into a tatami dining room.

She offhandedly asked her staff for help and made sure to instruct them to complain to the Miyakouji estate.

The men ordered drinks and food as they saw fit, descending into cacophony.

Their conversation consisted almost entirely of complaints aimed at the Kudou family.

“Those Kudous’re an impertinent bunch. Sounds like a bit of discipline’s in order, yeah?”

“That’s for sure. And what was with that bull about the Usuba girl? I bet they’re just trying to put on airs. Damn branch family looking down on the main family like that.”

“Them Kudous are all bark and no bite anyway. Nothing’s more offensive than watching ’em get all puffed up.”

“Wait ’til they get a load of our arts. This is what’s coming to ’em.”

One of the men threw the sake cup in his hands at the wall. The refined, expensive drinkware shattered tragically against the wall.

Its design matched the serving bottle, so now that was useless, too.

“More sake.”

The young waitress trembled as she placed a new bottle on the table. In a reckless move, she then admonished the men.

“U-um, I ask that you please treat our drinkware with care…”

“What?”

The men glared at the waitress like wounded beasts. The woman let out a stifled shriek.

“You disrespecting the Miyakoujis, is that it? Huh?”

“N-no, I would never…”

“Then you wouldn’t dare order us around, ain’t that right?”

Browbeating the woman, one of the men then slapped her on the cheek with his palm. The waitress fell to the floor with a scream.

“Women need to keep their mouths shut and do what the men tell ’em, you hear?! Keep your yapping to yourself!”

“Ohh, someone’s feisty. Go on now, give her some more of that.”

As the other men cheered him on, the woman’s face darkened with despair.

However, right as the man brought his hand toward the back of her neck…

“Sirs, we have a guest who wishes to speak with you all. Shall I bring him back here?”

…the proprietress’s voice came in from the other side of the door, and the men stopped.

“Who is it?”

The men all exchanged glances.

Although they worried the restaurant had contacted the estate to get the patriarch to come berate them, if that were the case, he would’ve been immediately let through without the staff coming to ask their permission.

As the men sat their in confusion, the sliding door opened, and a single young man stepped inside.

“Good afternoon,” he said, giving a bow.

He had attention-grabbing blond hair and blue eyes. The men all relaxed upon seeing the familiar face come in.

“Oh, it’s just you, Mr. Wood.”

“Hello. Glad to see you’re all here. I’ve come with a bit of a proposal…”

“Yeah? Well, let’s hear it. Come on in and tell us over a drink or two.”

While the men focused on the new arrival, the female waitress managed to escape the room with the help of the proprietress.

The exotic young foreigner shared drinks with the other men while listening to their complaints.

“Is that right? I had no idea. That is certainly a predicament,” he said.

“Damn right it is. Just because we’re all smiles, this upstart branch family gets it in ’em to act high and mighty. Eyesores, every last one of ’em.”

“Indeed.”

“Sure, but with our arts, that puny branch family would be a total pushover.”

“Just take their necks like this, and snap. I’d kill to see their faces twisted in terror like that girlie just now.”

“A splendid notion.”

“Since we’ve got this opportunity, why don’t we rough ’im up a little? Together with that so-called Usuba girlie of his.”

Though the young man was sick of the group’s vulgar banter, he never dropped his smile and suggested something to the group.

“Then what do you think about this…?”

As the men listened to the foreigner’s proposal, they let crude looks of excitement come to their faces, practically licking their lips at the prospect.

“Now there’s an idea.”

“Yeah, let’s go with that.”

As more of them chimed in, terrible whispers of elation filled the private dining room.

Only the young man who’d originally proposed the idea stood away from the group of slimy men, shrugging with disgust and watching them grow giddy.

Chapter 4. The Miyakouji Dream

That afternoon, Miyo spent her time relaxing with Kiyoka in their guest room.

The annex had a kitchen of its own, so in addition to brewing tea whenever they wanted, Miyo could cook as long as she had ingredients. Of course, with a first-class chef cooking the meals in the main house, there wasn’t any real need for Miyo to prepare food of her own, either.

Kiyoka said he wanted to tell her something, so after preparing the tea set, Miyo sat down opposite him.

“Kiyoka…what did you want to talk about?”

“I got a reply from Godou.”

Kiyoka had a scrap of white paper in his hands. He opened it up, revealing dense lines of small text.

“What does it say…?”

While it must have been written like this to pack as much information in as possible, Miyo couldn’t make out the fine, minute characters, and she gave Kiyoka a troubled look.

He picked up on what she was feeling and began to explain.

“To get straight to the point, this is what he said…”

It turned out Godou was familiar with a blond-haired, blue-eyed man named Eugene. The man was an old acquaintance of his, and while Godou wasn’t deeply knowledgeable about the “shaman” Eugene had mentioned, he was familiar with the term. Godou was worried something unsavory might happen soon.

Since he couldn’t write out all the details, he expressed a desire in the note to head to the old capital and talk with them directly.

“What are we going to do about this?”

In a rare move, Kiyoka grumbled ambiguously at the end of his explanation.

Miyo could imagine why Kiyoka was upset. Godou was Kiyoka’s successor and was currently leading the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit. He couldn’t leave the capital at the drop of a hat while he and his men were still dealing with the Earth Spider situation.

But this business with the foreigner was also suspicious, so Miyo would have liked to hear any further details Godou had to share.

“We’ll wait and see for now.”

If their connection to Eugene had begun and ended with the encounter in the restaurant, they wouldn’t need to do anything about him. However, if it seemed like he was up to something, they would be forced to take action.

“It’s possible we’re being overly cautious.”

“That’s true.”

Eugene had told Miyo they would meet again, but there was a chance he was simply a playboy who chatted up any woman he found attractive. Although this young man seemed to share characteristics with an old acquaintance of Godou’s, it was far more likely he was a different man who just so happened to look similar.

All of this was weak justification for calling Godou out to the old capital. That must be what Kiyoka was getting at.

“More importantly, though…” Kiyoka put the scrap of paper away in his breast pocket and turned to Miyo. “How was the tea ceremony? Did anyone do or say anything nasty to you?!”

When had Kiyoka become such a worrywart? Actually, he might have been this way from the very start.

From the time he had given her a protective charm after hearing she was going out into town.

“There wasn’t anything of the sort. It was a very fun time. Everyone was very nice.”

“Good.”

Miyo smiled as she saw Kiyoka’s look of relief.

“Um, Kiyoka?”

“What?”

“If possible… Um, I’d like to have a look ’round town while we’re here in the old capital,” Miyo said, nervously wondering if making such a request was immodest of her. Kiyoka simply blinked, as if he hadn’t expected Miyo to ask him that.

“What, is that all?”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t get upset. I was always planning on making time for us to roam the city. Where do you want to go?”

Since they had traveled to a place that was new to her, Miyo wanted to look around the old capital. However, she didn’t know what sort of sights the city had to offer.

“Um, I’d like to spend more time around Ikukuni Shrine.”

“Sure.”

“Also…I’d like to see another famous spot…”

Kiyoka smiled as Miyo trailed off.

“Then how about I give you some recommendations?”

“Of course!”

Walking around the old capital with Kiyoka—the idea alone was enough to make Miyo’s heart leap. With her husband at her side, simply having a stroll and seeing the sights would be wonderful. Her chest swelled with happiness.

I can’t wait.

Though she still had some concerns on her mind, when she thought about the fun that was in store, she realized she could use that thought to push through.

Excitement welled up inside her.

Miyo was summoned to the Miyakouji estate early that evening, while the sun was still in the sky.

She parted with Kiyoka by the entrance of the main house so he could make a stop at the Second Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit station, and then a servant guided her to the parlor.

“Oh, there you are.”

The moment Miyo opened the sliding screen, Miyako invited her to come sit next to her.

Inside the parlor room were a few of the women who had gathered there in the morning for the tea ceremony. Tea and teacakes were spread out on the low table.

This was the polar opposite of that morning’s full-blown, authentic tea ceremony. This gathering was closer what a layperson might think of as a “tea party.”

“Sorry for calling you over out of the blue. We have something to talk to you about.”

Miyo braced herself slightly at Miyako’s words.

While there wasn’t a gravely serious atmosphere in the room, as soon as she heard they had “something to talk to her about,” she couldn’t help but worry she had done something to offend the others.

“Oh, no need to go on high alert. You’re fine.”

“So what do you want to talk about…?”

“Do you remember what we talked about this morning at the tea ceremony?”

When Miyo shook her head, Miyoka explained everything from the beginning for her.

“So the truth is, one of the children in the house…she’s not great at getting to sleep. Her name’s Izuko by the way, but…she has never been a deep sleeper, for starters. Due to her lack of rest, she’s still a tiny little thing even though she’s already ten.”

“Oh no…”

Miyo had struggled with distressed sleep last summer, so this girl’s problem felt almost like her own. Lack of proper sleep led to issues in one’s day-to-day life; it was the sort of condition that made everything start to go wrong.

“Been that way forever with little Izuko.”

“Just seeing her breaks my heart.”

One by one, the women all frowned and sighed.

“So, Miyo, I was thinking maybe… I heard people in the Usuba family have Gifts that affect the mind, and that you’re pretty savvy about this sort of stuff. If you know some way of dealing with the problem, would you mind telling us what it is?”

Miyako looked remorseful; she was clearly hesitating to ask for Miyo’s help.

She must have felt guilt for suddenly asking for a favor from a newcomer. It was only natural. Although they were relatives now, Miyo and Kiyoka had been invited as guests to the Miyakouji estate. Miyo felt bad simply imagining being in Miyako’s shoes.

That said, if Miyako was willing to do all this just for any small bit of hope, this girl Izuko must have been in a truly miserable state.

“Um… Please forgive me. I don’t have much knowledge on the subject.”

Sleep did indeed fall within the realm of the Usubas’ powers, Dream Sight chief among them. Other Usuba Gift-users had possessed the power to put people to sleep or the power to wake anyone from sleep. And of course, Miyo had the ability to read and view the dreams of others.

If Arata had been here, perhaps he could have offered some appropriate words of advice.

Everyone seemed dejected by the sight of Miyo lowering her head. But her next words brightened up the room instantly.

“But if I use my Gift…I may be able to help.”

“Huh…?!”

Miyo gave them a rough explanation of Dream Sight, making sure to only include details she was allowed to disclose. She made it as simple as possible, as she couldn’t afford to get them too interested with a detailed description of her abilities.

“So in other words, you can put Izuko to sleep with your Gift, and if there’s a problem in her dreams, then you can solve it for her, right?”

“Probably, yes.”

Miyo nodded at Miyako’s summary.

She had come a long way from last year and was now capable of using her Gift by herself. Of course, she couldn’t afford to be reckless when she was on her own. But if all she was doing was putting someone to sleep and peeking into their dreams a bit, she could probably handle it herself.

Miyo had sworn never to use her Gift again, no matter who needed it. However, now that she was faced with people whose situation she could readily improve with her Gift…she found it hard to abandon them.

I hate how weak-willed I am.

Ignoring the girl’s plight would leave Miyo with guilt she would carry forever. And if refusing to help would lead the girl to an early death or doom her to a life of suffering, that would only make Miyo’s regret all the more unbearable.

That was why she concluded it was better to ignore her past vow.

“…However, I make it a point not to use my Gift very much, so I would appreciate it if you would consider this a one-time favor.”

“Oh, is that right?”

“Yes. I cannot say I’m very skilled with my Gift. There are few people I can help. I’m trying to limit my use of it as much as possible to prevent people from asking me to use it.”

“I see…”

Miyako’s face was solemn. The other women seemed surprised, as if they had heard something unbelievable.

“I never thought I’d see a Gift-user with your attitude, Miyo.”

“That’s for sure. Almost all the Miyakouji Gift-users get so puffed up and arrogant. They go around bragging about their abilities every chance they get.”

“Arrogance and pride are par for the course. You’re real modest, Miyo.”

Were the women genuinely praising her? Miyo’s confusion won out over any happiness she may have felt.

Miyako then gently placed a hand on Miyo’s back and gave her a pat.

“We’re all saying this as a compliment, Miyo. If I’m bein’ honest, the only impressive thing about the Gift-users and arts practitioners in the family is their conceit. They’re a bunch of unreliable pains-in-the-ass, that’s for sure.”

“O-oh really…”

“Some of those fools are stupid enough to compete with members of the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit.”

It sounded like what Miyo had heard about the Miyakoujis rarely producing Gift-users anymore was true.

“Really, it’s a bit of a divine punishment our family can’t produce any proper Gift-users, when you think about it.”

“Divine punishment?” Miyo asked, the words standing out to her, but Miyako sidestepped her question with a smile.

“Ah, forget it. You all right if we go and see Izuko right now?”

“That’s fine.”

Miyo headed over with Miyako to the section of the estate where Izuko was. They had decided to go by themselves so as not to bring a whole crowd.

“Here we are.”

Miyako stopped in front of a closed sliding door and called out to the other side.

“Izuko, you there? It’s Miyako.”

“Come in.”

There was a faint, feeble answer. Miyako gently opened the door. The interior of the room was bright, modestly furnished with folded-up bedding, a cloth-covered vanity, a dresser, and a low writing desk.

The feeble voice belonged to the young girl sitting at the desk.

“Izuko, is now a good time?”

“Uh-huh.”

The young girl turn around, revealing a lovely face with large bright eyes…but she was also terribly small and skinny. Her arms were practically skin and bones. At first glance, she appeared around seven or eight years old, but according to Miyako, Izuko was already ten.

Miyo certainly hadn’t been well nourished at Izuko’s age, but even she hadn’t looked this bad.

The young girl didn’t react at all to Miyo’s speechlessness, likely accustomed to the response, and glanced at Miyako instead.

“Miyako, do you need something?”

“About that. This here is Miyo Kudou. I brought her along because she just might be able to cure that awful sleeplessness of yours.”

“I’m Miyo Kudou… You’re Izuko, right? It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hello…”

Izuko seemed interested in Miyo since she had come from outside the estate, and the girl looked at her with wondering eyes. Miyo saw nothing but innocent curiosity in her gaze, without any suspicion or doubt.

Miyo figured she must be a pure and gentle young girl.

“Pardon me,” Miyo prefaced before stepping into the room and sitting with straightened posture at Izuko’s side.

“Um, I was told you have a difficult time sleeping and that you cannot fall into a deep sleep. Can you tell me more it?”

“Um, okay… First, a lot of the time I can’t even get to sleep. I’m unnaturally wide-awake. Sometimes, I fall to sleep easily, but when that happens, I have a nasty dream that wakes me right back up.”

“A nasty dream?”

Izuko gave a small nod.

“…Yeah, but I don’t ever remember what it’s about. It just feels really painful and sad and draining…so I jolt awake. All those bad feelings stay behind, and then it’s like I didn’t get any rest. It’s so awful that I’m scared to sleep now.”

“You’ve been dealing with all that?”

Izuko’s situation really did sound familiar to Miyo. In her case, Miyo had sometimes remembered her nightmares, but it had been painful either way. Considering Izuko had been suffering this way for her whole life, she was surprised the girl hadn’t been driven to madness.

It would be difficult to treat Izuko’s sleep problems, but if Miyo could see what sort of dreams Izuko was having, she might be able to prevent the girl from jolting awake from the nightmares.

“I understand. Izuko, would you allow me to try using my Gift? If things go smoothly, I might find a clue on how to get rid of your nightmares.”

As soon as Izuko heard this, the life seemed to return to her face, and her once-dull eyes sparkled.

“Really?!”

“…I can’t say for sure if I’ll be able to truly cure you. Please don’t expect too much. The outcome I described is the best-case scenario.”

“That’s totally fine! I’ll try anything to help me get to sleep again…”

Izuko, practically in tears as she pleaded with Miyo, looked so pitiful and miserable that just talking with her made Miyo feel as though her heart were being torn to pieces. Her chest tightened as she reflected on Izuko’s desperation to withstand this inescapable torment; it reminded Miyo of her younger years.

At the same time, these emotions made her desire to help even more intense.

Miyo spread out the bedding and had Izuko lie down. Sitting at the girl’s bedside, she took Izuko’s small, frail hand in her own.

“Izuko, relax your body, and if you began to feel sleepy, just let yourself drift off.”

“O-okay.”

Miyo spoke slowly to Izuko as the girl lay there with her eyes closed, still appearing somewhat nervous. Then Miyo gradually tapped into her powers, channeling them through the girl’s hand to draw her into slumber.

Eventually, Izuko’s hand went limp, and Miyo began to hear the rhythmic breaths of sleep. Once Miyo was sure Izuko had fallen fully asleep, she turned to Miyako.

“From here, I’m going to use my Gift to look into Izuko’s dreams, so don’t worry if I fall asleep, too.”

“Got it.”

“Also, if four and half hours go by and I still haven’t woken up, can you please call for my husband?”

“Sure, I’ll do that. Please help Izuko.”

Miyo smiled at Miyako, anxiously nodding while holding Izuko’s hand in hers and closing her eyes.

She focused on her Gift. Growing more conscious of it, she sank deeper and deeper within Izuko through their joined hands.

This nightmare had tormented Izuko for many years. Naturally, Miyo was a bit scared to glimpse it for herself.

Still, she wanted to help Izuko. Miyo steeled herself and drifted all at once into the girl’s dream.

The interior of her dream had a strange air.

It was chaotic, like several different scenes mashed together, a myriad of different colors thrown on the same canvas.

Izuko was nowhere to be seen. However, that in and of itself wasn’t strange.

The dreaming individual didn’t always appear the same way in their dream. Commonly, they didn’t have any form at all and were watching the dream from above.

She heard a voice. People talking.

There was noise mixed in with the voices, though, so she couldn’t completely make out what they were saying. Nevertheless, she waited patiently, and the sound slowly began to grow clearer. The scenery also began to become clearer, taking on a distinct shape.

Eventually, Miyo came face-to-face with…

Wh-what…is all this?

…fragmented memories and records. These wouldn’t be enough to give her a proper grasp of the situation.

However, she was certain this was unusual.

Intensely angry voices and screams pleading to end their suffering pierced her ears. She saw children writhing in pain and agony, and she saw violence. Just witnessing this sent hatred and anger rippling through her skin like electricity. How could anyone commit such heinously inhuman acts?

Miyo felt cold. Nausea welled up in her gut, and she began to feel like vomiting.

She didn’t want to see more. She didn’t want to hear more. No wonder Izuko couldn’t sleep after witnessing such horrors. It was awful. This was unforgivable.

Miyo clenched her palms tight, then opened them in front of her.

Let this nightmare break away, collapse, and scatter.

Fiercely, intensely, she prayed. As she did, the scene and the sound slowly blurred and grew fainter, as though veiled in mist. As if to now wash away the paints that had come together to form a clear picture. As though all the stains were being scoured until they grew fainter, and fainter, and fainter.

It took her more time to erase this nightmare than it did a normal dream, like how long it took to remove stubborn grease stains from a plate. However, Miyo continued to erase the dream, her persistence unabated. When the nightmare had mostly disappeared, she once again gave a prayer to finish the job.

Please, let this nightmare never torment Izuko’s sleep ever again.

She thought she heard the sound of wind blowing in the now empty dream space. With this gust of air, the last vestiges of the nightmare were blown away.

I’m sure she’ll be fine now.

Miyo raised her head. In doing so, she began making her consciousness rise to the surface.

She had done what she could with Dream Sight. She didn’t know for certain if Izuko would never have the nightmare from here on out. Nevertheless, Miyo knew for certain that right now, for the first time in her life, Izuko could have a peaceful slumber.

Miyo’s consciousness completely returned to her physical body. She looked down at Izuko. The girl’s hand was in her own, and her face was peaceful, her breathing steady and rhythmic.

It looked like everything had worked out. Miyo sighed in relief.

“M-Miyo…? Did you finish?” Miyako asked with worry, having watched over the pair the whole time. Miyo replied with a nod.

“Yes. For now at least, Izuko should be able to sleep peacefully, free from nightmares. I don’t know how long the effects will last, though…”

The roots of her nightmare seemed to run extremely deep. While Miyo thought she had erased as much as she could, there was no guarantee the terrible vision wouldn’t return with time.

“Thank goodness… Oh, Izuko, isn’t that great? Just seeing this girl asleep with such a peaceful look on her face is more than enough. Thank you, Miyo. You have no idea how grateful I am.”

“Don’t be, I didn’t do very much. I’m just happy Izuko can finally get some well-deserved rest.”

Miyako had tears in her eyes. Miyo could understand. It must have been almost as hard for the people in Izuko’s life, being unable to do anything about the girl’s obvious suffering.

But…

There was the content of the dream. Had all that actually happened? If so, it was a serious matter.

“Miyako.”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“Does the word ‘aberrant’ ring any bells?”

The moment Miyo asked this, Miyako’s face clouded over. It was as though her previous joy had instantly evaporated.

“…Where did you hear that word?”

“Inside the dream. Do you have any idea what it refers to?”

“I do. But, well, I can’t talk freely about it. It’s something that would have serious repercussions on the Miyakoujis’ reputation.” Miyako appeared unsure about just how much she could say. Her tone was low and hesitant. “If you really want to know…you should ask the family patriarch.”

“I see.”

They didn’t want to accidentally wake Izuko up, and so Miyo returned to the parlor with Miyako.

All the women who were gathered there asked at once whether the treatment had worked. Miyo gave almost the same explanation she had given Miyako, and they heaped praise on her for an extended amount of time afterward.

“Miyo, we truly can’t thank you enough. You did great.”

“Sure did. Everyone here really wanted to help that girl. You’re real modest, but you actually turned what everyone here hoped for into reality. You’re a genuine paragon to Gift-users everywhere.”

Showered with such overblown praise, Miyo couldn’t help but feel self-conscious and embarrassed.

She had been able to use her Gift to help someone. But she had done it in her own way. As long as she could protect family and friends close at hand, that was enough for her, and this incident had helped her reconfirm that.

For that reason, the word aberrant clung to the forefront of her mind.

While Miyo was joining the women of the Miyakouji family for a casual tea party…

Kiyoka was heading to the Second Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit station.

Located to the southeast of the city center, the army facilities of the old capital were clustered around a comparatively less dense part of town. Among the different bases for each division and regiment, there was a station reserved for the Second Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit, albeit one much smaller than its counterpart in the capital.

Kiyoka had never been a part of the Second Unit, but he had visited their station many times before.

After parking the Miyakouji automobile he had borrowed, Kiyoka headed inside the station.

He had reached out in advance, so he was let through after a cursory identification check.

“Well, well, glad to see ya.”

Waiting in the commander’s office was the man currently leading the Second Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit, Zen Koumyouin. Kiyoka hadn’t seen the hardened commander since his wedding last spring.

“Hello.”

“Ha-ha. Go on, take a seat.”

Although Kiyoka didn’t wish to stay very long, he sat down on the sofa at Koumyouin’s behest.

Koumyouin then got up from his desk, walked steadily over to the sofa opposite Kiyoka, despite missing one leg, and began to brew tea himself. Everything about the process was chaotic—the amount of tea leaves and hot water he used, the brew time, and even the movement of his hands as he poured them each a cup.

Looking at the scattered drops of water with disgust, Kiyoka took the beverage Koumyouin handed him.

“You’re at the Miyakouji place, right? How’re they all doing?”

“It’s the same as ever over there. Lord Komon appears to have his hands quite full.”

“Figured.”

Koumyouin made a grand shake of his head, as if to dispel the troubling thoughts, and slurped his tea.

He must have dealt with the Miyakoujis in some form or another since he was transferred to the old capital and made the unit commander. Clearly the man had opinions of his own regarding the family.

For today, however, Kiyoka didn’t plan on delving any deeper into that subject.

“Koumyouin, can we skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point?”

“Knock yourself out.”

After hearing the man’s reply, Kiyoka took out a sword from the sword bag he had in his hands.

Koumyouin’s gaze sharpened when he laid eyes on the blade.

“I didn’t want to think it, but…guess I was right. Been a while since I’ve seen that sword.”

It was a singular tachi long sword in a black sheath. It had a metallic heft that required ample practice and training for someone to lift and swing. The hilt was white and the handguard gold. Its unique design was recognizable at a single glance, and its intense presence took the breath away of most who laid eyes on it.

The name inscribed on the magic blade read SETSUJITSUTO.

It was Kiyoka’s favorite sword, the one he had left behind on the mountain after sealing away the Earth Spider.

“You took it with you?”

“I did. The seal was undone, and the Earth Spider was long gone by the time I found it.”

For a split second, Koumyouin’s face darkened bitterly when Kiyoka invoked the Grotesquerie. But the man was a battle-hardened hero. As to be expected, his face instantly went back to normal, and he spoke without showing any signs of agitation.

“…Was this hunk of metal always so…normal?”

“No.”

Koumyouin had instantly noticed the sword’s change in state.

That being said, if someone had been familiar with the blade in its prime, they wouldn’t have needed Gifts or arts to notice the difference.

This blade had once possessed such tremendous power, yet it was almost all gone at this point. The gap between its past and its present incarnations was obvious.

“The sword appears to have lost most of its power after the Earth Spider broke the seal. Now it’s too dull to cut anything.”

“Ahhh, I get it.”

Koumyouin appeared to have surmised what Kiyoka was getting at based on the way the conversation was going.

“Basically, you’re hopin’ to get the sword back in functioning condition again.”

Kiyoka silently nodded.

Magical blades were unique. Naturally, they were different from regular swords, and more aptly described as a type of arts catalyst. Their effects and characteristics were endlessly diverse, varying widely depending on the sword, with the quirks and talents of the blacksmith who forged it or the practitioner who filled the sword with power greatly influencing the end result.

When repairing arts catalysts, the fastest and most surefire method to get the weapon back in working order was to seek out the original arts practitioner who had crafted the blade.

However, magical blades were extremely long-lasting weapons. The creator of Setsujitsuto had departed this world a long, long time ago. So what was Kiyoka to do?

“Can I get an audience with the Grandmaster?”

“Yeah, no problem. I’d wager he’s probably at home today.”

Kiyoka and Koumyouin both understood everything without saying very much. Nodding, Kiyoka gulped down the rest of his tea and rose from his seat.

“I’m sorry I have to leave so soon.”

Kiyoka bowed slightly, but Koumyouin waved his hand.

“No worries. Pop in again when you got more time on your hands. But check in with the others, okay?”

“I will.”

Kiyoka took his sword and went to leave the office before Koumyouin suddenly stopped him.

“Oh, and if you need some backup with the Earth Spider case, you better tell me, ya hear? We’ll happily clean that thing up for ya if it’s givin’ ya trouble.”

While his tone was joking, there wasn’t a hint of a smile in Koumyouin’s eyes. He was serious. If the opportunity presented itself, he genuinely wished to finish off the Earth Spider with his own hands.

While Kiyoka understood the sentiment, realistically he had no intention of getting the Second Unit involved.

“…We won’t need your help, Koumyouin. We’ll handle it just fine ourselves,” Kiyoka asserted before leaving the office for good this time.

Koumyouin was a skilled Gift-user. Despite losing one leg, being demoted to rank and file, and transferred to the Second Unit, he’d still managed to work his way up to commander with his effort and skill.

However, going up against the Earth Spider was a different story. The fight would prove difficult for the man.

And Kiyoka had lost enough people he was close to for a lifetime.

After leaving the station, Kiyoka hopped back into the automobile.

He had gone around to all the Second Unit members. Each and every one of them he was familiar with, Kaoruko included, had told him to ask them for help if the Earth Spider was giving him trouble, so he was sick of hearing it.

By the time he climbed alone into the automobile, he felt a bit exhausted.

The real tough part’s next.

He couldn’t afford to be tired now.

His next destination wasn’t too far away. East of the crowded cluster of military buildings was a small mountain with shrines and the like. Kiyoka was headed to the small hermitage built at its foot.

The thatched, wooden hermitage looked old and ready to fall over at any minute. To anyone unfamiliar, it might have seemed like an abandoned ruin.

When Kiyoka arrived, the resident had already come out to see him.

“It has been too long, Grandmaster.”

“The Kudou boy? It has been a spell.”

The diminutive old man in monk’s working clothes was keeping his eyes shut tight. And yet he had been able to guess his visitor was Kiyoka without a moment’s hesitation. More incredibly, he walked up right up to where Kiyoka stood without bumping into anything, tripping, or feeling around him.

“I’m glad you look well.”

Few people knew the elder’s name, including Kiyoka. Everyone simply called him “Grandmaster.”

They called him that because he was a brilliant Gift-user and arts practitioner, not to mention a technical expert with the skills to repair arts catalysts. There were very few people who could properly tinker with arts catalysts they hadn’t originally produced.

This old man was one of these precious few.

He didn’t only strengthen catalysts, but also worked as an instructor to strengthen people, too. Any Gift-user or arts practitioner who intended to see real combat would learn techniques from the man at least once. In that regard, Kiyoka was no exception.

If he was going to revive the powers of his magical sword, this man was the only one for the job.

“Okay, show it here.”

Without any preface, the old man held out his hands, as if demanding Kiyoka surrender the blade. Kiyoka placed it atop the Grandmaster’s palms.

With his eyes still closed, the Grandmaster deliberately patted the sword using a wrinkled hand.

The man lived with his eyes closed because he could see the truth of all things with his mind’s eye. At that very moment, he was assessing the sword’s current state with senses beyond mere sight.

It didn’t take very long for him to reach a conclusion.

“Can you fix it?”

The Grandmaster loudly pondered Kiyoka’s question.

“Hrmmm, I can fix it. To be clear, though, ’twas never broken to begin with. Call back its dwindled power, and it should return to its former glory. However…” After pausing for a moment, the Grandmaster looked up. “I haven’t the foggiest idea just how long it’ll take to get it fully back to normal.”

“I see.”

Kiyoka had been prepared for this. He never regarded the restoration of the sword as being important—just thought it would be nice to have back to normal. He would’ve been a bit disappointed if the sword remained useless, nothing more.

The fact that it would almost certainly regain all its old power was enough for him, regardless of how long it took.

“If that’s all right with you, I’ll do what I can but… What d’you say?”

“Please.”

The more arrows in his quiver, the better. Kiyoka bowed to the Grandmaster.

Miyo wondered just how long she had spent happily chatting with Miyako and the others. The next thing she knew, a great amount of time had gone by.

She hadn’t paid any mind to the outside, and the sun was beginning to set.

During summer, it got dark late in the day. Since the sun was sinking, that meant it would be time for dinner soon.

Oh no. Is Kiyoka already back?

Her husband would be worried if she spent too long in the main house. The older women gave carefree laughs when they saw Miyo get restless all of a sudden.

“It’s fine, go ahead and make your man wait a little bit.”

“Yeah, if he’s really worried, he can just come here to get you.”

Or so they said, but Miyo stood up anyway, unable to bear the anxiety.

“I’m sorry, but I really should—”

Right as she began to speak, the sliding door to the parlor opened, as if one cue. In walked Kiyoka, dressed in his casual summer kimono.

“K-Kiyoka!”

Miyo was stunned by his perfect timing and froze. Seeing this, the other women all grinned and let out a gasp of surprise.

“Why, speak of the devil.”

“Look at you two, perfectly in sync. These newlywed lovebirds, I swear.”

“Mr. Kudou really is one handsome devil, isn’t he?”

Miyo couldn’t bear the stares from the swooning women and felt her cheeks flush.

Despite that, she really was at ease with Kiyoka beside her, and she was inwardly overjoyed he had come to get her.

“Hurry on back with your man, dear.” Whether they understood Miyo’s state of mind at the moment or not, the women, far more experienced in the ways of the world than Miyo, urged her one after the other.

“I was worried… It was getting so late, and you still hadn’t come back yet,” said Kiyoka.

“I-I’m sorry for making you anxious…” Miyo lowered her eyes to her feet in embarrassment, and Kiyoka took her hand in his. “Kiyoka…?”

“We’re going back.”

“Ohhhh!” Kiyoka ignored the elated screams of the other women and pulled Miyo by the hand. Miyo waved back slightly to everyone and followed Kiyoka.

Kiyoka slowed down to match Miyo’s pace, moving unhurriedly along the polished corridor facing the garden, where a summertime breeze blew.

They were still holding hands.

“Kiyoka, thank you so much for coming over to get me.”

“It’s okay. I finished up the business on my end rather fast.”

“Is everyone in the Second Unit doing well?”

“Yes,” Kiyoka replied briefly. “They’re the same as ever. Every last one of them told me they’d be willing to help me with the Earth Spider if I wanted.”

“Hee-hee.”

The commander of the Second Unit, Koumyouin, loved teasing his juniors, and Kaoruko was the type to join in on jokes like that. Even if the Earth Spider wasn’t in the picture, Miyo could easily imagine Kiyoka grimacing in displeasure from everyone poking fun at him.

Her husband glared at her slightly and heaved a sigh before furrowing his brow.

“Anyway…”

“Yes?”

“Did something happen to you, Miyo? You’re looking a little pale. You seem a bit out of sorts, too.”

With a start, Miyo looked up at Kiyoka.

She hadn’t expected him to point that out. She thought she had done a good job hiding her feelings. Indeed, none of the other women had picked up on them.

Kiyoka really is amazing. He’ll just see right through anything I try to hide from him, won’t he?

However, Miyo never intended to hide anything from Kiyoka to begin with. She wanted to talk about what she had seen with Kiyoka at some point, even if not right at that moment. She simply needed the courage to mentally prepare herself.

“Kiyoka.”

“What?”

“If I told you that I wanted to meet with Lord Komon, would that be possible?”

“With Lord Komon? Right away?”

“‘Right away’ may not be the right way to put it… This isn’t urgent. There’s simply something on my mind.”

A look of suspicion came to Kiyoka’s face.

“Something on your mind…?”

Of course Kiyoka was dubious. Here was his wife suddenly asking to meet with the Miyakouji patriarch. Normally, they wouldn’t have any particular reason to be personally involved with one another.

However, Miyo wanted to check with Komon about whether the things she saw in Izuko’s nightmare had really happened. If that wasn’t the case, she could put it out of mind. But if it was true…

In any case, though Miyo trusted Kiyoka, she hesitated go into detail about it since she hadn’t confirmed her suspicions.

Kiyoka sighed as Miyo stared him hard in the eyes.

“…Fine. I’ll talk to him.”

“Thank you very much.”

Immediately after thanking him, Miyo suddenly felt Kiyoka wrap his arms around her.

“Kiyoka?”

“Did you use your Gift again?”

With Miyo snug in Kiyoka’s arms, his body heat passed to her body, gradually warming her. It was a calming warmth, unlike the summer heat, like being wrapped up tight. This pleasant sensation was accompanied by the familiar scent she caught from Kiyoka’s kimono.

She hadn’t realized how emotionally exhausted peering into Izuko’s nightmare had left her. Her inner tension began to unravel. Kiyoka had immediately picked up on what Miyo unconsciously longed for and provided it to her.

Though Miyo wished to be Kiyoka’s support, she was always the one being supported instead. Truthfully, she didn’t want to only be pampered and coddled; she wanted to spoil him back.

Miyo wrapped her arms around him.

“Please don’t worry. It was entirely my choice to use it, and I thought it was the right thing to do. From now on…I plan on using it when I think it’s necessary.” Separating herself slightly from the snug embrace, Miyo looked up at Kiyoka. “If the time comes someday when you need saving with my Gift, I won’t give it a second thought.”

“Miyo…”

Kiyoka’s eyes widened, revealing a hint of sadness.

“If we had never come here, you wouldn’t have been forced to break your vow.”

These were the words of someone who would do anything to protect Miyo. However, Miyo now stood on her own feet and walked her own path. She couldn’t toddle along holding Kiyoka’s hand forever.

“It’s okay. Everything I’ve been through and everything I will experience from here on out—I need all of it. So if anything happens, please look for my helping hand, too, Kiyoka. If you do, I’ll grab it tight and pull you along.”

Miyo assumed Kiyoka was feeling some amount of unease.

Up until now, she had been constantly put in dangerous positions and even life-threatening scenarios. Kiyoka worried there was nothing stopping her from getting put in harm’s way again.

“No matter what happens, I’ll never leave your side. Whether I use my powers or not, no matter what anyone says to me or does to me, that feeling alone will never change.”

That would always be true, even if her other vows did bend.

Kiyoka was shocked speechless.

“So please, trust me.”

She brought her hand to Kiyoka’s pale, smooth cheek and caressed it. Kiyoka placed his own hand over hers and closed his eyes.

“I do. I trust you more than anyone else.”

“Thank you.”

The two of them spent a few more moments just like that, entrusting their bodies to each other’s warmth.

Chapter 5. The Miyakoujis’ Greatest Sin

The more Miyo saw of the old capital, the more its differences from the capital became apparent.

The area around the station left a relatively modern and stylish impression, with the Western-style buildings standing out. If she went just one street over, however, she would find rows of old-style buildings, and she would happen upon several old shrines, temples, and pagodas with just a short walk. On top of that, the mountains were far closer to the city than in the capital, which left the townscape feeling cramped. Miyo was shocked to hear there were even temples up in the mountains, too.

By contrast, the building stock of the imperial capital was much newer.

While the downtown area had row houses that had been there for a long time, on the major boulevards, there were rows and rows of red brick buildings. Though there were shrines and temples, too, their numbers were nowhere near on par with that of the old capital.

Dressed in a finely patterned kimono embroidered with sky blue silk, and her hair tied in place with a hairpin featuring a hanging silver goldfish, Miyo aimlessly walked at Kiyoka’s side while holding a parasol.

A meeting with Komon wasn’t going to happen right away, since he also served as the head priest of the Ikukuni Shrine. So today, they were making good on Kiyoka’s promise and roaming around the city together.

“Just looking around isn’t boring you?” he asked.

“Of course not. Simply experiencing the old capital is exciting,” Miyo said.

The contrast between the vibrant summer greenery and the dignified texture of the wooden temples and red torii gates was beautiful.

Spring had flowers, summer had greens, autumn had falling leaves, and winter had snow. Each season brought its own unique style of scenic beauty at any time of year. When Miyo imagined the old capital in different seasons, she couldn’t help but want to witness them all.

The two stopped by different shrines and temples as they saw fit, offered their prayers, and then continued walking.

“Look, a cat.”

Spying a black-and-white speckled cat lying in the shade on the side of the road, Miyo broke into a big smile.

“Here, kitty,” She tried calling to it from afar, but the cat leisurely licked its front legs and didn’t even look at her.

“How cute.”

Miyo heard a wind chime’s tinkling carry on the faint wind.

“It’s so peaceful…”

“Sure is.”

Her offhanded murmur had gotten a reply out of Kiyoka.

The scenes she saw in Izuko’s dream were still etched in her mind.

If that was really a glimpse into the Miyakoujis’ past, she felt like the gulf between it and the tranquil town she saw before her would make her unsure what to believe anymore.

Kiyoka had invited her out today by asking, “Want to go out for some fresh air?”

He had realized something heavy was weighing on Miyo. Similarly, she had decided to indulge his consideration for her. It was far too depressing to be alone with it all.

She went to his side and gently took his hand in hers.

“Let’s go, Kiyoka. There are still so many places I haven’t seen yet.”

They moved from savoring tea and dango dumplings in a teahouse they chanced upon to strolling the garden of a highly revered temple.

Though it was hot, their date in the old capital was so much fun that she hardly noticed the temperature.

After taking in the sights for a while, Miyo and Kiyoka returned to the area near the Miyakouji estate and decided to take a break in a nearby park.

Several similarly old, timeworn estates lined the neighborhood surrounding the Miyakoujis’ property.

Nevertheless, even from afar, the size and the age of the Miyakouji estate stood out. Its size alone spoke to how deeply entwined the family was with this city.

Komon’s warning belatedly came home to her.

The Miyakoujis’ tendency to pick on new relatives was only scratching the surface of their ugliness.

“Sorry, Miyo, can you wait a moment?”

She cocked her head at Kiyoka’s remark.

“Is something wrong?”

“I’m getting a message from the capital. It’s probably just a periodic check-in, so it won’t be anything serious. I’ll wrap it up quick.”

A familiar made out of white scrap paper glided smoothly through the air and landed in Kiyoka’s hand.

“In that case, I’ll wait for you here.”

“Thanks.”

Kiyoka left Miyo’s side and went over to the inconspicuous shade of a tree. He wanted to avoid attention since the content of the message might touch on military secrets.

She sighed slightly as she watched him depart.

Miyo was a bit scared to be alone, as she might start fixating on things she didn’t need to think about.

Little did she know someone had been waiting for the exact moment she was by herself.

A shadow suddenly cut off the sunlight that had been beating down on her.

Miyo looked up and saw three men glaring down at her with nasty, impure looks in their eyes.

Her eyes widened in shock at the abnormal encounter.

“Um… May I help you?”

“You’re Kudou’s wife, yeah?”

He seemed to have asked a question he already knew the answer to. His tone made it sound rhetorical. Something was very off.

On top of this, Miyo got the impression she had seen these men before. They weren’t acquaintances, yet they were somehow familiar.

“I am his wife… Forgive me, but who might you be? What do you want with me?”

Right after Miyo spoke, the men all exchanged glances.

“You hear that? ‘Who might you be?’”

“Yeah, I heard her all right. Unbelievable. The nerve of her to screw with us—to look down on us.”

“She’s basically saying our faces aren’t even worth remembering. Mr. Wood was right.”

Miyo felt a chill as she watched the men speak to each other in open animus toward her. This wasn’t normal. Everything she had said had been perfectly reasonable and polite, and yet they had taken her response in the worst possible light.

“Hey, you wanna come along with us?”

“What?”

Miyo felt as if their eyes were slithering over her entire body.

“If you really are an Usuba girlie, you should be getting hitched to someone in the main family instead of a Kudou. That scumbag ain’t right for a girl like you.”

“I wouldn’t even mind taking in a girl a bit past her prime if she was a beauty like you, neither.”

Miyo felt her body run cold to the core, as if doused in ice water, and she froze up.

What on earth were these men talking about? It was clear to Miyo that these men seemed to be from the Miyakouji family, but they had been speaking like she was beneath them this whole time, and she found the discussion about who was suited for her to be wholly indecipherable.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

Miyo pressed down on her kimono, feeling the protective charm from Kiyoka underneath.

Just then, however, one of the men snatched her hand.

“Eeek!”

“Come with us!”

The man who had grabbed Miyo gave an angry shout. Then he jerked her arm hard, and she felt her muscles ache.

“Ngh…!”

Although she tried to bear through the pain and resist the force pulling her, the man’s strength was too great, and he quickly began dragging her off.

In a vacuum, however, the only thing happening was Miyo getting tugged along by her arm. The charm didn’t respond at all.

So the charm won’t activate unless someone is explicitly trying to harm me…

She decided to let out a scream, but right before she could, another man narrowly managed to cover her mouth.

“Mrgh… Mmnh!!”

“We act all nice and humble, and you got the gall to hop on your high horse, that it…?! Just pipe down and join the Miyakoujis! We’re way more deserving of that Usuba blood of yours.”

“That’s for damn sure. Long as we get ahold of you, we can get Usuba blood in our family and totally disgrace those upstart Kudous. Two birds, one stone.”

“We’ll be sure to teach you some proper manners, ya hear?”

In the eyes and expressions of the men, Miyo saw the exact same tinge of thick, muddy hatred.

What is wrong with these people…?!

Her chills of terror wouldn’t stop. A terrible sweat broke out on her back.

“Get over here! Let’s go!”

Though Miyo desperately put all her strength in her legs, she couldn’t offer much resistance. To make matters worse, the three men had surrounded her on all sides. At this rate, she really would be carried off somewhere.

Kiyoka still wasn’t back.

No, no! Help!

They grabbed the collar of her kimono. The protective charm, her last ray of hope in that moment, tumbled down, and the neckline of her kimono was opened slightly.

“Mmhhh!”

She fervently struggled and groaned. The next moment…

“Miyo!”

…she finally heard someone call her name. With the men’s attention diverted, she had an opening.

Miyo feverishly channeled her Gift and directed it at the men. However, one of them noticed her movements, and he violently yanked her by the hand.

“Mngh…!”

Kiyoka rushed over and, at that exact moment, sent one of the men flying with his strongest punch.

“What the hell are you doing to my wife?!”

“Kudou…!”

The men instantly bared their hostility at Kiyoka, roughly letting go of Miyo and making the gestures to weave arts.

“Fools. You think that garbage will save you in a real fight?!” Kiyoka bellowed as he punched the men, knocking them back. Despite this, the men attempted to lash out at Kiyoka further, but Miyo used her Gift to knock them all unconscious, their eyes rolling back in their heads.

Seeing the men collapse and go motionless, Miyo exhaled the strained breath in her throat.

“Are you all right?!”

Kiyoka grabbed her by the shoulders with a frighteningly angry glare and checked her over to make sure nothing was wrong. When he saw the slightly disheveled neckline of Miyo’s kimono, his gaze grew razor sharp, and an indescribable look came to his face.

“…They’re dead meat.”

Kiyoka’s low tone was so icy cold, Miyo thought she would freeze just listening to it as her own face went pale.

If she didn’t stop him, he would slaughter the men sleeping in the dirt like lambs and turn them into silent masses of flesh. No matter how nasty they were, Miyo couldn’t bear to sit by and let her husband sully his hands and his morals with the men’s blood.

“K-Kiyoka, please calm down!”

“They need to pay for violating my wife.”

Miyo thought Kiyoka was seeing red, yet he appeared calm-headed in spite of his rage. Nevertheless, seeing his peerlessly beautiful features contorted in pure anger was so powerful that Miyo was the one who wanted to cower in fear.

“I recognize these faces. Must be Miyakoujis… I’ll make sure they get the punishment they deserve.”

“I don’t know why, but…they belittled the Kudou family horribly.”

“Quintessential Miyakoujis. Bunch of worthless imbeciles who are only good for bragging about their lineage.”

Kiyoka glared scornfully at the men on the ground as if to say that they had ruined their wonderful date. Then he casually gripped one of the men by the scruff and began dragging him along.

“Let’s go back the Miyakouji estate so you can fix your kimono. You deserve to be seen at your best.”

“Th-thank you.”

Miyo hastily put her ruffled collar in order and followed after Kiyoka.

The three men had been punched to the ground and knocked unconscious. Secretly watching it all unfold, Eugene brought a hand to his face to cover his smile.

The power to instantly make someone fall asleep.

He no longer had any doubt this was the person they were looking for, an outstanding talent who shined like the brightest star in the sky.

Curbing his own impatience, Eugene immediately left the scene and made for the villa where his boss was staying.

Within a thicket of trees, slightly outside the city itself and at the foot of a small mountain, a small red brick house quietly sat out of view. When he approached the building and crossed over a specific line, the air changed completely—he had passed over a barrier meant to keep people away.

Eugene went inside without taking any care to ring the doorbell or announce his arrival.

Walking along and reaching the end of the short corridor, he then knocked on the door to his boss’s study.

“Is now a good time?”

“Come on in.”

The interior was packed with books and tools needed for sorcery. His boss was in the position she had been in the other day and leisurely greeted Eugene.

“What’s got you in such a hurry?”

Eugene thought he was doing his best to feign composure, but it seemed his internal excitement was spilling over.

He coughed to evade the question and steadied his breathing. After a moment’s pause, he began his report.

“I was able to confirm the existence of the shaman princess.”

“Oh, is it that girl you had your eyes on?”

“Yes. While the method I used to make sure may have been a bit heavy-handed, there is no doubt. You don’t find someone with such a magnificent Gift every day.”

His boss opened up a drawer of her desk with a calm, leisurely motion and took out several documents.

They were most likely the investigation data Eugene had handed to her containing information on this country’s shaman. It detailed the family who inherited the shaman blood and the broad strokes about potential candidates who might possess said power.

Tracing the paper’s surface with thin, long fingers, his boss then landed on a specific section.

“Oh, this girl, then. Miyo Saimori… Or Miyo Kudou, rather. The one with Usuba blood.”

“That’s right. However, her husband is this country’s most powerful and capable individual. We won’t be able to make contact with her easily.”

When Eugene voiced his sole apprehension, his boss blinked. Then she pointed her finger straight at him.

“What, aren’t you supposed to figure out how to handle that?”

“You’re leaving it all up to me?”

“Well, that isn’t a nice way of putting it. Fine. If you can at least set the stage, I wouldn’t mind talking to her for you.”

With the face of a detached elderly crone and the sparkle of a young girl in her eyes, Eugene’s boss seemed completely unruffled and composed as she provoked him.

Eugene was slightly irritated by her attitude, but right now, he needed to obediently agree with her proposal.

“…Very well. I’ll get everything ready on my end, so please be sure to convince her. If this fails—”

“You can blame it all on me. In that case, we’ll just have to come up with a new method of getting her to do what we want.”

Eugene inwardly scoffed at how easy his boss made it sound. This country wasn’t nearly as forgiving as she thought.

It wouldn’t be a problem if their target readily agreed to their negotiations, but he could easily imagine how much trouble they would have if they failed and were forced to come up with another means of getting Miyo on their side.

Though if that does happen, I’ll expect you to cover for me like a proper boss should.

The woman had said she would think of something, so he could just leave it in her hands. Eugene would simply go along with whatever she decided to do.

All that was left…

It appears that man is a subordinate of this woman’s husband… I might have a chance to see him again.

Eugene thought back to his Japanese rival, whom he hadn’t seen in several years, and concealed the smirk that came to his lips, making sure his boss wouldn’t notice.

The Miyakouji family fell into disarray after Miyo and Kiyoka returned to the estate.

First, Kiyoka had carelessly tossed into the garden the three unconscious men, prompting the servants and members of the family to see what was going on. With a blunt look that made it clear he was deadly serious, he then declared, “Call Lord Komon this instant, or I’ll turn these men to ash.”

Consequently, everyone cowered in fear at Kiyoka’s menacing glare, and then the manor descended into chaotic pandemonium.

Although Miyo chided Kiyoka about taking things too far, Kiyoka was so enraged that he showed no signs of stopping.

Komon quickly returned to the estate from the shrine, and he and the rest of the important men of the Miyakouji family gathered in a large tatami-floored room.

The ten-odd men, ranging from visibly old to middle-aged to young, all looked extremely uncomfortable in their seats.

After cleaning herself up and repairing her kimono, Miyo sat down with Kiyoka across from Komon.

“Please accept our utmost apologies…!”

Komon’s forehead was practically rubbing against the floor as he expressed his remorse. He had completely tossed aside the prideful, dignified demeanor he put on for the rest of the family.

“Those men got up to trouble yesterday, and I ordered them to stay home. It’s my fault for failing to consider they might resort to violence, of all things.”

“Please, Lord Komon, raise your head!”

Miyo felt flustered when seeing the family patriarch nearly prostrate himself in front of her. However, Kiyoka merely grunted as if to say Komon was stating the obvious, and he glared at the man with ice-cold eyes.

Although the two men were friendly with one another, Kiyoka had still paid a certain level of respect to Komon, but now any and all reverence he demonstrated for the man was gone.

“You were moments away from being assaulted, Miyo. This oversight is the head of the family’s responsibility.”

“You’re absolutely right,” said Komon. “There is no excuse for this. I acted all high-and-mighty and warned you about staying here, but when push came to shove, I couldn’t even keep my own people in line. It’s utterly embarrassing. As the family head, I never should have let this happen.”

Letting out a dull thud, Komon once again slammed his head into the tatami.

“We can’t get all the details out of ’em yet, but sure as I’m sitting here, those men did what they did out of an inferiority complex toward the Kudous and wounded egos. I can’t possibly apologize enough for this.”

Apparently, there was a part of the Miyakouji family who were overly proud of their lineage, and this attitude had been causing problems for a long time.

However, Komon never imagined the men would resort to harming a family guest. If anything, it was natural not to assume such a thing. One would not expect adult men their age to fail to maintain the bare minimum level of courtesy and respect.

Ultimately, Miyo had escape unharmed without the attack becoming a major issue for her, but if she had been a normal woman without any power to speak of, she would have been unable to resist.

The other Miyakouji men besides Komon understood the severity of the situation, grimacing in pain.

“This is a problem of trust between the Kudous and the Miyakoujis,” Kiyoka stated dispassionately, causing Komon to shrink back even further. “I’ll accept your apology. If Miyo wants to forgive you, then I will reluctantly do the same. However, this lost trust won’t come back easily.”

“There’s certainly no arguing with that. It’s easy for me to say I’ll never let this happen again, but I can’t blame you if you never regain trust in us. Our family has done something horrible enough to warrant it.”

“…Reprehensible,” said the eldest of the Miyakouji men after seeing Komon reply in earnest with a quivering voice.

If Miyo recalled correctly, he was presently the oldest living member of the Miyakouji family. She had seen other members of the family treat him like an esteemed elder.

Everyone seemed affected by the old man’s remark.

“How low the Miyakouji have fallen. Those damned fools…”

The others awkwardly averted their gaze as the elder fought back tears. In all likelihood, some of the men here felt similarly to the three who had caused this scandal. But this was where those emotions had ultimately led.

The Miyakoujis had lost the faith of others, ruined their reputation, forced their patriarch to bow his head, and gained nothing for it.

“This indignity and the others like it, they all stem from the Miyakoujis’ sins… If not for our family’s transgressions, we wouldn’t have been cursed with the aberrants and fallen from grace,” the old man said.

“Grandfather, that’s not…,” Komon called out to the elderly man, looking startled and shaken.

“Sins.” “Aberrants.” Miyo had tensed up when she heard the elder’s words. This had to be related to what she had seen.

Among the Miyakouji men, one bit his lip as his face went white, while another grimaced with discomfort.

Kiyoka gazed around the room with suspicion before sending a piercing look at Komon.

“‘Sins’? What exactly could that be referring to, Lord Komon? Is there some other incident besides what happened today?”

It wasn’t Komon, but the other men who angrily responded to Kiyoka’s question.

“Th-that’s poking your nose too far into our business, Lord Kudou!”

“Of course he wants to know! It’s the one thing that threatens the family’s good name. Komon, don’t tell me you’re going to reveal the truth!”

Agonized, Komon covered his face with his hand, then groaned before gesturing at the men to calm down.

It was an excruciating decision. But there was only one right answer.

This sentiment was clear on Komon’s face when he took his hand away.

“…This is how it has to be. The Kudous may be a branch family, but you’re still not Miyakoujis, and I admit I’d rather not expose our shame. But the Kudous aren’t completely divorced from all this, either, and we’re completely in the wrong here. If you’re asking, Kiyoka, then I’ve got to answer.”

“But Komon!”

“Unbelievable! You call yourself the head of the family?!”

The other men criticized Komon. Nevertheless, his resolve showed no signs of breaking.

“We’ll call the meeting here. Kiyoka, Miyo, mind moving somewhere else to chat?”

Ignoring the criticism that kept coming his way, Komon rose with a stony face. Kiyoka followed before Miyo also got up and left the room.

Miyo and Kiyoka were led to a relatively small room situated much deeper in the vast expanse of the Miyakouji estate. Facing north, it didn’t get much sunlight, making the space vaguely dreary and gloomy.

Together with a still angry Kiyoka, Miyo entered the room and sat down much closer to Komon than before and straightened her posture.

“Please, let me apologize again. I am deeply sorry for what happened, Miyo.”

“It’s okay, you’ve apologized quite enough already…”

Komon looked so pitiful that Miyo averted her gaze. When she shook her head, feeling conflicted inside, Komon finally sighed and released the tension from his body.

“To be perfectly honest, I feel so disgraced and ashamed that I don’t even think I could look either of you in the eye.”

“…I’m glad the head of the family has common sense, at the very least,” Kiyoka coldly responded to Komon.

With his eyes drooping, Komon seemed like a completely different person from the day before, clearly because he felt so dejected. His joviality had disappeared, replaced by an eerie calmness that resembled tranquility.

“I feel the same way. Before I get to our family’s past, I should tell you the others said all that to stop me. But the way I see it, this was already something I was gonna have to broach at some point. Miyo…I heard you met little Izuko yesterday?”

“I did.”

“I’m guessing the reason you wanted to see me has something to do with what Grandfather said just now, yeah?”

Miyo clenched her hands tightly in her lap and nodded slightly.

She had never mentioned anything specific about what had prompted her request to speak with Komon, yet the man already knew she had met with Izuko and had an idea of why Miyo had been motivated to seek him out.

Everything had made it back to Komon’s ears. Miyo’s heart shuddered.

Her husband gave Komon a questioning look.

“Kiyoka, you mentioned wanting to look at the Miyakoujis’ records on the Earth Spider if they had any, right?” Komon asked.

“…That’s correct,” Kiyoka agreed solemnly, returning Komon’s gaze.

Komon heaved a heavy sigh, as if expelling all the air in his lungs at once.

“This has got to be fate at work.”

For a short while, Komon turned away and averted his eyes from both Miyo and Kiyoka, resting his elbow on his knee. He brought his hand to his forehead, seemingly in deep deliberation.

Silence fell on the room.

Miyo kept quiet and simply stared straight ahead, waiting for Komon to speak.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when Komon finally stirred and changed his posture. The rustling of his clothes sounded especially loud.

“Miyo.”

“Yes.”

“You saw Izuko’s nightmare with your Gift, did you?”

“I did.”

“Do you mind explaining what, and how much, you saw?”

Miyo straightened her posture and tucked in her chin.

Where should she begin, and how was she supposed to explain it? After thinking a moment, Miyo decided to recount her story from the beginning.

“I heard the word aberrant.”

A chaotic landscape and a chaotic din.

That was what Miyo first experienced upon entering Izuko’s dream—an indecipherable mass, messily swirled together. Gazing at the disorderly scene had been terribly uncomfortable, but Miyo understood it would gradually grow clearer and take shape, so she persevered, straining her eyes and ears.

Eventually, a totally unfamiliar scene came into view, one filled with completely unknown people.

They were in a windowless dirt room, the atmosphere suffocatingly oppressive.

The people inside were wearing kimonos, but their hair was in topknots, signifying to Miyo the scene was from before her time.

In the room were several men. There was a wide range of ages, from the very old to the still young.

At their feet was a child sitting down on the floor, bound to a wooden pillar with rope.

“Another failure. The power’s not manifesting right.”

“Did they die on us?”

“Nah, they’re still breathing. But if we keep goin’ like this, they’re a goner.”

The child’s breathing was shallow, their chest barely rising and falling. Or so Miyo thought. All of a sudden, they suddenly began to scream.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

“Still enough spirit in you to scream, huh? Not that it’ll do ya any good.”

One of the men slammed his foot into the child’s head. Even then, they still continued to scream.

The men all grew annoyed and beat the child even further. Their voice gradually weakened and went hoarse.

“What a racket. The Miyakoujis don’t need a runt like you,” one of the men said, before another one brought over a chipped bowl of some kind. He grabbed the child’s hair and pulled their face up before forcing the bowl to their lips and making them drink.

The child’s legs violently thrashed about. It wasn’t very long, however, before they went completely limp.

“Useless little failure. Wasted all that hard work. So what now?”

“We’ve already got another ready. This way.”

The setting instantly changed.

On top of a mat spread haphazardly over the dirt floor, a young girl lay on her back. She appeared to have a fever—her cheeks were bright red, and her breathing was labored and painful.

“Was a tad weak, but she used psychokinesis. Should be good to give her more.”

“Perfect. Do it.”

One of the men then brought forward a vessel resembling a sake cup, shallower and smaller than the previous bowl. A fleeting glimpse of the contents revealed a red liquid shaking back and forth.

The man forced the girl lying down on the mat to drink the liquid.

The girl’s eyes sprang open the instant she swallowed it, and she began to claw at her chest, groaning like an animal. With growls and gurgles slipping out of her mouth, she pressed down on her chest, inverting her body before cowering into a ball.

She clawed at the mat, scratching at it until the dirt beneath was visible.

“No dice, eh?”

“Nah, this might actually work out.”

Unconcerned with whispering men, the tormented girl groaned in pain even louder. All of a sudden, there was an explosive bang.

One of the dirt walls of the building collapsed.

“See, it worked. Her psychokinesis is stronger than it was a second ago.”

The child didn’t look at the collapsed wall at all, continuing to moan, cower, and pant heavily. However, the color began draining from the child’s hair, turning from black to white.

The men stared at the girl coldly and discussed her situation with utter detachment.

“Might be able to use her as she is now, but we should probably wait a bit longer next time, yeah?”

“Best to wait and see… Good for you, girly. You might get the chance to work hard for the Miyakoujis. Next up.”

The setting changed again.

This time, both the place and the people were completely different.

Now Miyo saw a tatami room. A highborn, well-to-do woman in a short-sleeve kimono was crying nonstop.

In front of her, a young child of about two years lay asleep on a mattress. There was a small bulge of skin on the child’s forehead, like a horn. Their face was pallid, and they were completely still. The occasional tremble of their eyelids showed there was still life in their chest.

“How long does my child have…?”

“Won’t even make it to ten, I’m afraid,” the man opposite the woman said, his brow wrinkling in sadness. Judging by the tools spread out before him, he appeared to be a doctor.

“No!” The woman’s weeping intensified. Outside the room, servants looked on, gossiping with one another.

“Poor thing, born an aberrant like that.”

“Dying before ten? It’s so unfair. Just how powerful was that curse?”

“A curse? I heard that aberrants will be born no matter what, so it’s got be divine punishment.”

“Giving birth to aberrants all while there’s fewer and fewer Gift users and arts practitioners—talk about cruel irony.”

“Aberrants.” “Curse.” “Divine punishment.” These words flew back and forth. The scene changed over and over again, and the last thing Miyo saw was…

“’Tis unfortunate, but it’s best to give up on ’em.”

…the child with a horn, who the doctor had said would never make it to ten. Some other person was taking the child away, and their mother broke down and cried, her face twisting in despair.

When Miyo had finished speaking, the mood in the room was so heavy as to be suffocating.

Komon had a stern look on his face, its color gone, and Kiyoka listened to Miyo speak with bated breath.

“…Um, were all the children who lost their lives Miyakoujis?”

“That they were.”

Komon bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, holding his head in his hands and barely managing to get his words out.

“Miyo, what you saw, without question, were scenes from the Miyakoujis’ past, along with several aberrant Miyakoujis.”

“Aberrant Miyakoujis…”

Miyo could tell that Komon was doing everything he could to maintain his composure as his face went pale.

Miyo still didn’t know what exactly the words meant or the true meaning behind the nightmare she saw. Still, when she imagined what it would be like if the family she was born into, the family she needed to be responsible for, had that sort of sordid past…

She couldn’t begin to fathom Komon’s agony.

“It’s our family’s eternal sin and shame. The others said as much, but this ain’t something to bring up to an outsider, branch family or no. Still, I can’t say the Kudous and the Earth Spider are completely unrelated, so I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Kiyoka spoke up, a stiff look on his face.

“I have heard about the aberrant Miyakoujis before. They’re failed Gift-users who are occasionally born to people in the Miyakouji line.”

“Failed.” She had heard the same word in the dream.

However, Miyo had never heard of aberrants, despite being born into a family of Gift-users. Typically, one was either able to awaken their Gift or not. In other words, aberrants must have been born only to the Miyakoujis.

“…Aberrant Miyakoujis are born with a small horn on their forehead. They’re extremely short-lived, and although they can use supernatural abilities, they sacrifice some of their vitality each time they do so, destroying their bodies…,” said Kiyoka.

“You hit the nail on the head. They’re also evidence of our sins.”

Continuing from where Kiyoka left off, Komon gradually began to relate everything to them.

“See, this whole thing started with the Earth Spider. Way back in the past, during a time when the Earth Spider was wreaking havoc in the old capital, the Miyakoujis, once a noble family famed for producing Gift-users, began researching methods of strengthening Gifts and Gift-users. Their goal was to defeat the Earth Spider with their enhanced abilities.”

How could the Miyakoujis give birth to more Gift-users? And what did they have to do to make their Gifts more powerful?

Gradually, the Miyakoujis looking into these questions began to mix their ends and their means together. Somewhere down the line, they lost sight of the fact that Gifts were meant for exterminating Grotesqueries, becoming obsessed with creating the strongest Gift-users for their own sake.

Since humans were the only living creatures with the capacity to wield Gifts, one could only research Gifts by conducting tests involving human beings.

Naturally, this led to the Miyakoujis carrying out experiments on live human subjects.

They administered drugs mixed with Grotesquerie agents to Giftless Miyakouji children, thinking it would force them to manifest Gifts. They also carried out procedures on children with weak Gifts in an effort to strengthen their abilities.

The Miyakoujis repeated this over and over, even when failure claimed the children’s lives. Yet as far as they were concerned, everything they were doing was morally justified.

“Then what I saw in Izuko’s dream…,” Miyo said, instinctively covering her mouth in horror.

Komon nodded weakly.

“Those must have been scenes of actual experiments.”

Apparently, the research got so extreme that some individuals cut ties with the family, disgusted that the Miyakoujis found nothing wrong with these inhuman acts.

“The Kudous are the descendants of those who left the family back then.”

“…Does that mean my own family is complicit in the Miyakoujis’ sins?”

Kiyoka’s question prompted a nod from Komon.

“That would be true. But the Kudou forebears who realized their mistakes early on were a wise bunch. That horrible research should’ve never gone on as long as it did.”

Even as some broke away from the family entirely, nothing could dissuade the other Miyakoujis from their research.

But transgressions on that level always came at a price.

One by one, the Miyakouji churned out successful experiments. The children who’d gained Gifts or strengthened powers from the procedures became adults and had children of their own.

It was then the aberrants began to be born.

They were born with horns on their heads and weak constitutions that would degrade every time they used their Gifts. At first, the aberrants were left alone, written off as coincidence. However, as the years went by and generations came and went, the number of children born with these traits became too numerous to ignore. Only then did a majority of the family at last realize what was happening.

The descendants of Gifts-users who had undergone experimentation were giving birth to aberrants.

By the time they put the pieces of the puzzle together, it was too late. Though the Miyakoujis called off the experiments, the fruits of their efforts had already been deeply incorporated into the family tree. There was almost no one in the family without the blood of experimentally altered Gift-users running through their veins.

“From that day on, the Miyakoujis were forced to shoulder the inescapable proof of our sins.”

A great many aberrants were born.

Most lived short lives and never left behind any descendants. Since a few individuals did make it to adulthood on occasion, however, some Miyakoujis adopted the practice of killing any child of theirs with a horn.

Eventually, the family arrived at a consensus that this was a meaningless tradition that only added to their sins, so the practice stopped at some point.

“Izuko is probably an aberrant. She doesn’t have many of the characteristic tells, of course. But she’s been saddled with that inability to get a good night’s sleep from birth. I don’t know how things’ll shake out from here, but if you hadn’t intervened, Miyo, she wouldn’t have lived for long.”

“That’s so sad…”

“Thank you, Miyo. I can’t begin to express how grateful I am that you banished the memories of our sins from her dreams and gave her a peaceful sleep.”

“Please… I didn’t do much at all.”

An indescribable agony came over Miyo as Komon bowed deeply to her.

Komon had not committed the transgressions of his forebears. Nor was he responsible for Izuko’s insomnia and stunted growth.

Yet because he was the head of the family, Komon was forced to shoulder everything himself.

Kiyoka gazed at Komon with a similarly grim look.

“…Did that answer the questions you both had?” Komon asked.

“It did.”

In all honesty, Miyo would have preferred not to hear the story. She was filled with a sense of regret, as if she had exposed a terrible secret purely out of curiosity.

Though this had all originated from things beyond her control—the disturbance caused by the Miyakouji men and the treatment Miyo had given Izuko—she still regretted learning the truth. She could feel an apology almost slip past her lips.

Komon seemed to pick up on Miyo’s feelings from her expression and gave her a feeble smile.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Miyo. All the blame lies with us Miyakoujis. That includes today’s incident. There was also one more reason I wanted to chat about this… I imagine you’ve picked up on it already, Kiyoka. Does the Miyakoujis’ research sound familiar to you?”

Kiyoka instantly replied to Komon’s leading question.

“Is there are chance that it was used as the foundation for the Gifted Communion’s research?”

“There’s something about them that rang a bell with me, see.”

Neither confirming or denying Kiyoka’s question, Komon stared vacantly into the air with dull eyes and let his shoulders droop.

“About sixty years back, an aberrant actually ran away from the family. They were a rarer case, with a comparatively sturdy body, so they managed to reach adulthood. They really must’ve hated the Miyakoujis. They up and left.”

“…Don’t tell me there were still records of the research left over, and this aberrant made off with them?”

“…There was somethin’ left over all right. Maybe someone figured it was a pity to dispose of all their research after they stopped the experiments… Me, I don’t know. In any case, the deserter snatched whatever data was in the Miyakouji estate and fled.”

Miyo lowered her eyes, feeling as if the back of her head had gone numb.

Naoshi Usui, once a potential fiancé for Miyo’s mother, Sumi. The man had established a group called the Gifted Communion and conducted research into Gifts.

Possessing technologies even the state couldn’t hope to attain, the group had schemed to use them to shake the country to its core, yet it was a complete mystery how they had managed to make such leaps and bounds in their research to begin with.

However, it was now clear the so-called aberrant had brought something with them when they left their family: the records of the Miyakoujis’ research from long, long ago.

The path these documents followed afterward was unclear. But somehow, they came into Usui’s hands. Inspired by the research to manifest and strengthen Gifts, he plotted to make Gift-users out of anyone wishing for the power and have the Usuba family take control over the country.

Komon was saying this was indeed a possibility.

Kiyoka pressed against his temple as if enduring a headache.

“Unbelievable.”

“The Gifted Communion and Naoshi Usui were heinous criminals who threatened the nation itself. If the sins of the Miyakoujis’ past are involved with their deeds, I can’t pretend not to know… The Miyakouji added to their sins once again.”

Miyo couldn’t figure out what to say to him.

Still, the Gifted Communion and Naoshi Usui were Miyo’s problem, too. Usui had committed his appalling crimes in an attempt to install none other than Miyo herself at the absolute top of the country.

If Komon felt he was to blame, then Miyo deserved far more of it.

It was impossible for her to pretend otherwise and tell him not to let it get to him.

“If you frame it that way, then the Kudous are to blame as well,” Kiyoka quietly declared. “The Kudous were involved with the Miyakoujis when they first began their research. It would stand to reason, then, that the Kudous are also responsible for everything that’s come afterward.”

“I don’t really see it that way, but I’m sure that’s going to do nothing to convince you, yeah?” said Komon.

“Right.”

Miyo never imagined she would hear someone invoke Usui and the Gifted Communion in a situation like this, let alone gain further insight into their origins.

She didn’t know what to do with the contradictory ball of emotions inside her.

“Now that this stuff’s all out there, I’ve got nothing left to say. I’m not looking for you two to do anything specific from here. That said, I’d thank you kindly to keep this to yourselves as much as you can.”

Looking completely haggard, Komon flashed a self-deprecating smile.

“I don’t reckon our sins should be covered up. That said, we’ve got a whole host of idiots in this family who get puffed up and conceited about their lineage, and there’s a chance they’ll boil over if you start saying stuff to provoke them.”

“…Of course,” Kiyoka answered.

Miyo nodded along with the sentiment.

She agreed that the Miyakoujis had committed heinous, unforgivable crimes. Nevertheless, it wasn’t a matter for a complete outsider like her or Kiyoka to meddle in.

The Miyakoujis were the ones who needed to confront how to address their sins.

As such, there was still something else Miyo was concerned about.

“Um, may I ask you something?”

“Of course. Go right ahead.”

“Um, while those men were trying to carry me off, they said, ‘Mr. Wood was right.’ Would you happen to know who that is…?”

“‘Mr. Wood’…?”

Komon furrowed his brow and tilted his head, puzzled. Kiyoka was the one to react instead.

“They said ‘Mr. Wood’?”

“Yes. That’s the name I heard.”

“They couldn’t have meant Eugene Wood, could they?”

When she heard the name “Eugene,” the image of that grinning foreigner rose in the back of Miyo’s mind.

Kiyoka crossed his arms with a stern look.

“That’s the name of the man Godou told me about. The blond-haired, blue-eyed man he met abroad goes by Eugene Wood. Is this just a coincidence…?” said Kiyoka.

“Now that you mention it, I heard some of the Miyakoujis have gotten buddy-buddy with a young foreigner. Was he the one they were talking about…?” asked Komon.

The young man named Eugene, the one who had brought up the word “shaman,” was a dead ringer for an acquaintance of Godou’s. There was also a man named “Wood” residing in the old capital at present, most likely a foreigner.

Even if they assumed the name “Eugene” or the family name “Wood” were commonplace abroad, it couldn’t have been coincidence that the facts were lining up like this.

“That’s an oversight on my part for not knowing the details of the situation… I’ll begin looking into this foreigner on my end, though I know that’s a poor excuse for an apology.”

Komon’s apologetic proposal prompted Kiyoka to rub his forehead.

“I’ll leave that to you. On our end…I think it would be best to summon Godou after all. We won’t get anywhere without hearing from him directly.”

“But…”

Miyo instinctively protested.

No matter how desperate they were for clues, Miyo felt ashamed to force Godou to abandon the Earth Spider case and come out here after Kiyoka had entrusted him with the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit.

It was all the more embarrassing given Miyo herself was the impetus for Kiyoka’s decision.

If anything happened in the imperial capital while both Kiyoka and Godou were gone, it would be a disaster.

“I know. But if everything’s going to be left up in the air, then it would be better to wrap this up fast and focus everything on the Earth Spider. We can just hear what he has to say and immediately send Godou on the next train back.”

Kiyoka had delivered those heartless words with a straight face. Miyo pitied Godou terribly when she imagined him spending half a day on a train to come to the old capital, only to simply to be asked some questions and immediately sent back. She could hear Godou’s exaggerated laments clear as day.

“Regardless, I can no longer leave you, Miyo, in the manor while I’m out conducting my investigation elsewhere.”

“That’s a given… We lost any trust you may’ve had.”

Kiyoka’s trust in the Miyakoujis had evaporated. Though it hadn’t been for long, Miyo had developed a close friendship with the Miyakouji women, and she regretted that bad blood had cropped up between the two families.

Eugene… He didn’t seem like a bad person.

Despite his incessant flirting, compared to the Miyakouji men from earlier, he had been mild-mannered, his eyes free of the same wickedness.

Of course, it was possible he had masterfully disguised ill-intentions. However, if he was planning on going that far, then it wouldn’t have made sense for him to give them his name.

If this “Mr. Wood” and Eugene were, in fact, the same person…

For what reason had he approached Miyo, and why had he gotten to know the Miyakouji men and riled them up?

There was no longer any doubt he was planning something.

Still, the chronology of events meant Eugene had been in contact with the Miyakoujis since before he had met Miyo.

“Going forward, I’m going to entrust Miyo to the care of the Second Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit when necessary.”

“Sounds good.”

“We’re going.”

Kiyoka stood up, and Miyo did the same.

When they opened up the sliding screen, Miyo’s eyes shot to the Miyakouji women who were standing a slight distance away from them, looking tensely in her direction.

Miyako was at the head of the group.

Miyo looked silently up at Kiyoka. He didn’t say a word, either, but with an exasperated look on his face, he used his eyes to tell Miyo to do whatever she wanted.

Now that she had gotten his permission, Miyo quickly trotted over to the other women.

“Miyako,” she said.

“Miyo, I got the full story… I am so sorry about the repugnant men in our family.”

“It’s okay…”

The other women laid bare their own guilt and indignation as well, making comments such as, “I’m so sorry, dear,” “I cannot believe them,” and “We’re never letting those vulgar boars live this down.”

“Are you all right? They didn’t hurt you or anything, did they?” Miyako asked.

“I’m fine. Thankfully, I got through it safe and sound.”

“Sure, but you must’ve been scared stiff. Surrounded by three big men grabbing your arms—how horrible.”

Miyako took both of Miyo’s hands. The woman’s palms were extremely warm.

Miyo had been scared. No matter what she did, a woman like her couldn’t beat a man’s arm strength. She was capable of putting them to sleep to protect herself, but she generally wanted to avoid using her Gift, and the situation may not have warranted using it in the first place.

She shrank back from fear as she recalled that moment, imagining the possibility of being pinioned and whisked away.

Even now, her hands and legs began to tremble.

“Goodness, your fingers are ice cold. Clearly, you were scared—just look how much you’re trembling. I’m so sorry this happened.”

“…I was scared.”

Miyo nearly broken down in tears from Miyako’s warmth and consideration for her safety.

The other women patted her on the back or wrapped an arm around her shoulders to comfort her. The women in the Miyakouji family were all warm, caring people.

“Everyone’s really grateful to you, Miyo. You even helped out poor Izuko. We’ll never let anyone get away with trying to harm you. Trust us.”

“Mm… Thank you all.”

“We should be doing the thanking here,” said Miyako.

One of the other women spoke up in anger. “Still, it’s utterly ridiculous. Those bums must be the stupidest people alive if they could look at Master Kudou and think they had a chance.”

“You said it. A handsome fella like Master Kudou doesn’t crop up every day. I’m almost jealous they could be so ignorant of their own abilities as to think they could measure up.”

“You’re a genuine beauty yourself, Miyo, so they should’ve known better than to think you would ever choose them instead.”

The women showed no mercy to Miyo’s attackers. When she understood that they were saying this for her sake, Miyo couldn’t help cheering up a bit, and she caught herself smiling.

Miyako’s eyes softened when she saw this change.

“We’re all on your side, got it, Miyo? If any of the Miyakouji men do or say something nasty to you again, you come marching our way, you hear? We can make their home lives a living hell, I assure you.”

“I understand. If that happens, I’ll come ask you all for help.”

“Perfect.”

All the women nodded solemnly in unison.

Miyo talked with Miyako and the others until she felt better, then quickly returned to Kiyoka, who was waiting for her.

“I’m sorry for keeping you.”

“No, I don’t mind… Since when did you get so open and friendly with them all?” Kiyoka asked on their way back to the annex, and Miyo chuckled.

“They treated me kindly right from the start. Then the next thing I knew, they had brought me into their circle… They’ve been so cheerful and considerate toward me; they are truly good people.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“Right?”

Now that it was just the two of them, their spirits naturally fell.

Despite all the cheer that Miyako and the other Miyakouji women had given her, Miyo’s heart couldn’t keep up with the tempestuous events around her.

Now that she thought about it, Komon had likely led Kiyoka and Miyo to such a secluded room inside the estate to reveal the Miyakoujis’ past because he was afraid another member of the family would overhear them and stir up more trouble.

Miyako seemed to know what “aberrant” referred to, but…

Why did the Miyakoujis start giving birth to them?

Apparently, only a select few in the family knew the full picture. Most of the Miyakoujis seemed to believe the aberrants were a product of a curse or divine punishment inflicted on the family in retribution for the arrogance of their ancestors. That was why some of them hadn’t seemed to truly grasp what the elder had been talking about in the meeting earlier.

It was a reflection of the care and consideration the patriarch showed for his family; he believed some of his relations might be unable to bear the weight of their ancestors’ sins if they learned the truth.

It occurred to Miyo that some of the energetic Miyakouji women would be completely distraught to learn the truth. The thought made frustration swirl around inside her once again.

“Are you not feeling well, Miyo?” Kiyoka asked, and she shook her head.

“I’m fine…except for my heavy heart.”

There was nothing she could do, and yet these disconsolate feelings still smoldered in her breast.

She couldn’t go back in time to fix the mistakes of the past, and she didn’t possess the means to save the aberrants alive in the present or those who would be born in the future. She had decided against using her Gift in the first place because she felt matters like this were far too heavy for her to shoulder.

She knew perfectly well nothing would come from worrying over it.

When Miyo lowered her eyes, she felt Kiyoka’s hand on her shoulder.

“It’s frustrating, isn’t it?”

“…It is.”

Frustrating. Irritating. That was exactly what this was.

“It’s the same with Usui, too. If it wasn’t for the Miyakoujis’ research, things might have played out differently… Though I know thinking about what-ifs is pointless anyway.”

Learning that Kiyoka was thinking the same things brought her a modicum of solace. He heaved a melancholic sigh.

“You must be exhausted. I’m sorry. We were supposed to go out for a nice change of pace, and instead it only brought you even more stress and exhaustion.”

“Don’t be sorry. This isn’t your fault at all.”

It probably wasn’t the fault of anyone alive today. Of course, Miyo wanted the men who had attacked her to reflect deeply on their actions. Still, if the past had played out differently, even those men could’ve chosen another path.

At the very least, they might not have let their inferiority complex toward the Kudous take them quite so far.

The situation had come about from people desperately struggling to survive. Everything stemmed from that endless cycle.

“Kiyoka.”

“What is it?”

“I’d like to hold your hand.”

Kiyoka silently took Miyo’s hand. Her palm had gone cold again despite the slight warmth she had received from Miyako, but it was quick to warm again in Kiyoka’s grip.

If she wasn’t able to do anything substantial, at the very least, Miyo wanted to be someone who could provide warmth to others, just as they had warmed her.

This vague thought crossed her mind.

In the dead of night, Miyo dozed in the comfort of Kiyoka’s arms.

The events of the day seemed to have upset Kiyoka greatly, for even as she slept, Kiyoka held Miyo tight and wouldn’t let go.

“Can’t sleep?”

She heard a deep voice right next to her ear, and Miyo opened her eyes.

“…I just woke up a little.”

Kiyoka opened his eyes slightly and embraced Miyo, pushing her head into his chest. It was a bit hard to breathe, but she felt at ease hearing the sounds of his heartbeat.

“I’m begging you, please don’t get carried off by anyone except me.”

Finding his phrasing amusing, Miyo pushed her face deeper into his chest to ensure he didn’t notice her smile.

“I won’t. You’re the only one who’s allowed to carry me off, Kiyoka.”

“Good.”

Miyo was sure that if she was ever in danger of being snatched away, Kiyoka would always be at her side to snatch her back. If he told her to go off with him somewhere, she would go along without a moment’s hesitation.

“Kiyoka, please don’t ever let me go.”

“Of course I won’t.”

After whispering in husky tones to each other, the two of them closed their eyes.

The next morning, Miyo would be trapped in a deep sleep.

Chapter 6. Connected Dreams

The sky had lightened. Kiyoka awoke with the brightening of the room.

Feeling relief from the weight in his arms, he patted Miyo’s long and lustrous black hair. It appeared his wife was sleeping in this morning.

An early riser, she was normally awake by this time of day.

When he caressed her like this, she would wake up and immediately go red in the face, all while still nuzzling close to Kiyoka. He found this so adorable that he couldn’t stop himself from touching her as soon as he woke up.

But today, even when he touched her hair and cheeks or hugged her close, Miyo remained asleep… Her eyes never opened to reveal her obsidian pupils.

“Miyo.”

He tried calling to her. Even then, she remained asleep, not stirring in the slightest. No matter how many times he called her name, Miyo didn’t show any sort of reaction.

Something was clearly abnormal.

Kiyoka sat up and gently shook his wife by the shoulders.

“Miyo, get up. It’s morning.”

No response. The blood drained from his face. His slightly befuddled early-morning brain instantly snapped awake. Alarm bells began to ring in his head.

“Miyo, wake up! Miyo!”

No matter how much he shook her, Miyo continued to let out only faint sleeping breaths. At the moment, however, these small breaths were a comfort to him. It was clearly unusual for her to remain asleep through all of this. If Kiyoka hadn’t heard her breathing, he would’ve mistaken her as dead and fallen into even deeper despair.

He felt her wrist and checked her pulse. Her heartbeat was regular yet slightly weak.

“Miyo. Why?”

Was she sick? Or was this due to her Dream Sight? She wasn’t moaning in her sleep, so she probably wasn’t experiencing a nightmare, but Kiyoka was consumed with impatience.

What do I do?

Should he reach out to the Usubas? Right now, Miyo looked like she was simply sleeping, but what if she never woke up again? Unable to eat, she would eventually weaken and waste away.

This was serious.

Kiyoka tightly grasped Miyo’s hand. Her fingertips were freezing to the touch, and cold fear pierced his brain over and over again.

He needed to do something more—anything.

Amid his terrible panic, all Kiyoka could do was begin praying his beloved wife would wake up soon.

When Miyo woke up, she found herself in an unfamiliar place.

A forest. However, the atmosphere was a bit different from the forests Miyo was familiar with. The space around her was dim, the sky covered by dense tree growth, and when she looked deeper into the woods, it was nothing but darkness that seemed to suck her inward.

The air was damp, likely from all the vegetation, and the humidity clung to her skin along with the smell of the greenery. Upon closer inspection, even the plants around her seemed to be a bit different from the varieties she was familiar with.

It was undoubtedly a forest, yet something about it was off, as if she had been abandoned in a foreign land.

Miyo examined her surroundings, bewildered.

This has to be a dream.

Perhaps her Dream Sight had acted of its own accord to show her this dream.

Since she knew it was a vision, she didn’t feel very daunted by it. However, she was at a complete loss as to where, and what sort of situation, the dream depicted.

Was it the past, the present, or the future? She hadn’t the faintest idea from within the thick forest.

“Oh, so it was a success.”

A young man’s voice came from behind her. She had heard this voice and tone before. Very recently, in fact.

“You’re…”

When she turned around, the exact person she expected was standing there.

Despite only briefly exchanging a few words with her several days ago, the man had left a lasting impression on Miyo, perhaps because he was a foreigner, a rare sight for her. Either that, or because Miyo had been struck by the novelty of a man she had never met trying to court her.

Fine, silky hair and azure eyes like the ocean. Handsome features sculpted around a prominent nose. Tall and svelte. Though she was seeing him for the second time, Miyo still felt he resembled a prince straight out of a storybook.

Nevertheless, she now had feelings growing inside her that hadn’t been present during their first meeting.

Everything about him is a complete mystery…

Numerous whys and hows swirled in her head, to the point where she didn’t know what to say first.

“…Eugene, right?”

“Oh, milady. You were kind enough to remember my name? I’m delighted. This is but our second meeting.”

Eugene’s eyes watered, the man appearing deeply touched. With an exaggerated and theatrical motion, he placed his hand against his chest and took a polite bow.

“Um, where exactly is this?” Miyo asked warily, staying on her guard and keeping space between them.

“We are inside a dream. Though I am sure you don’t need me to confirm that, now do you?”

“I understand we’re inside a dream.”

“Then what, pray tell, were you looking to ask me?”

Miyo tightly pursed her lips at Eugene, who was smiling pleasantly while giving hollow, flippant responses.

“…Why exactly are you inside my dream?”

At first, she thought the memory of talking about Eugene had influenced her psyche, and he was simply appearing in her dream as a result.

However, even in the dream world, his presence was clear and vivid, and he said things Miyo’s mind could never have come up with. He didn’t seem to be an illusion she had created.

It felt like there was an alien object in the world she had created for herself.

“That is an unusual question, now isn’t it? This is your dream after all, so I am clearly a fantasy of your creation.”

“I’m asking because I know that isn’t the case.”

Miyo’s reply took Eugene aback, prompting his eyes to widen and his smile to fade.

“Impressive. So you can pick up on it after all… It seems you possess quite a mighty power.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Hang on a moment. I’ll explain it all from the beginning.”

The green undergrowth, sprouting up in heaps from the soil, crunched beneath Eugene’s heels as he advanced toward Miyo.

She took one, two steps back to keep her distance, but his strides were much larger, and it didn’t take long for him to catch up to her.

Eugene cast a gentle smile, charming and without any hint of hostility, at Miyo. Just as she wondered what he planned to do, he kneeled before her.

“What…?”

Eugene’s smile widened as he saw Miyo get caught off guard and arch her upper body away from him.

“Milady, please don’t be so frightened. I have no intentions of bringing you harm.”

As Miyo stood there perplexed, Eugene scooped up her right hand in a nonchalant, natural motion. He brought the back of Miyo’s hand to his face and, without any hesitation, brought it to his lips.

He kissed her.

The instant she understood what had transpired, Miyo yanked her hand away and hid it behind her.

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

“It was merely a greeting. I simply wanted to show you I mean no harm.”

Miyo couldn’t comprehend what he was talking about. Was this normal in other countries? Eugene didn’t appear offended at all, though, as he invited Miyo deeper into the forest.

“Instead of standing here, shall we take a stroll while we talk?”

Miyo wavered for a second. She had no idea who he really was or what his intentions were, so going along with him would be dangerous. But she changed her mind. They were inside a dream. Here, she could do whatever she wanted, however she wanted.

If she felt any danger, she could simply leave the dream. Either that, or she could cast Eugene out of the dream world instead.

Having made up her mind, Miyo accepted Eugene’s invitation and headed deeper into the forest.

Even as they advanced slowly through the woods, the scenery remained largely unchanged.

There were subtle differences, though. Occasionally they would see a massive, withered tree toppled over, or two trees that had tangled together halfway up their trunks. Sometimes, they would hear the trickling of a small stream.

“As I am sure you are already aware, my name is Eugene Wood.”

Miyo wasn’t shocked to hear Eugene’s last name.

It’s just as Kiyoka said.

In other words, the young man in front of her was indeed the foreign acquaintance Godou had mentioned. Godou had studied abroad in England before, so Miyo assumed he’d met the man there.

“…Are you from England?” Miyo asked tentatively, and Eugene blinked several times.

“I am, in fact… Who did you hear that from?”

“…”

“Oh, I don’t get an answer, do I? That’s perfectly fine. I have acquaintances from this country, so you undoubtedly heard it from one of them.” Eugene accepted the situation and continued, “In fact, I was born to a family of what your people call ‘Gift-users.’”

“What…? There are Gift-users in England, too?”

Miyo’s eyes widened at the revelation, something she had never even considered, and Eugene beamed back at her.

“Why, yes, of course. They exist all over the world. Both Gift-users and arts practitioners. Though the roles they take and their ways of living differ from country to country.”

A single branch was jutting out in front of Eugene, blocking the path forward. He moved around it and continued ahead.

“I was born to a bloodline of so-called shamans. Do you know what the word shaman means?”

“…They are a kind of prophet, I believe.”

“Yes. That’s largely correct. The term shaman originally referred to witch doctors, spiritualists, and the like, but they have existed from ancient times, predicting the future, receiving divine messages from God, and performing rituals and leading their people… These are the positions they often commanded. This is an almost universal truth across the globe.”

“‘Leading their people…’”

“Indeed. They act as both the leader of the country and a medium serving their god. Their position means the people often seek their counsel. My family did that a long, long time ago, and I would guess the same is true of yours, no?”

A Gift-user with Dream Sight was known as a Dream Sight Medium. The word medium referred to a woman who served the gods. A woman who heard the gods’ will and was capable of imparting their divine power.

Using dreams to see through the past, the present, and the future, while occasionally appearing in the dreams of another to guide them—

Miyo agreed that the Usubas’ Dream Sight Medium did play a similar role to what Eugene had outlined. This was why the Usubas’ supernatural powers were said to be the strongest of all and were regarded so highly.

If Miyo had to guess, “shaman princess” was a term Eugene had used to refer to a woman born into a shaman family.

Miyo racked her brain as hard as she could. Watching her think, Eugene gave a startling revelation.

“I have a Gift as well: the power to enter the dreams of others.”

Miyo looked up in shock.

“Wait, do you mean…?!”

“That would make it the same as yours, yes?”

The Gift of Dream Sight was said to be extremely special and important, even among the other powers of the Usuba family. Miyo had assumed it was totally unique. Finding out there were others like her overseas was a far bigger shock for Miyo than the fact there were Gift-users across the globe.

As Miyo went speechless with shock, Eugene smiled like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank.

“Sorry, that was a bit of a joke. It isn’t the same. My power allows me to enter dreams, nothing more. I cannot tamper with people’s visions at will, and I can’t see into the future. The reason I was able to invite you into this dream at all was simply due to the mighty Dream Sight powers you possess. How can I put it? I connected two paths. I created a passageway between my dreams and your own.”

Eugene shrugged nonchalantly.

“My family, like yours, can meddle with the minds of others. That said, we haven’t produced someone as powerful as yourself in several decades, possibly in over a hundred years. At this point, even someone with only my capabilities is viewed with great promise. The idea of shamans leading the people has long been relegated to the pages of history. That is why…” Eugene stopped for a moment and turned to Miyo, who had been behind him. “A talent such as yourself is quite precious, even on a global scale. Were you born somewhere else, you may very well have been revered as an incarnation of a god.”

“No, that’s absurd… Someone like me could never be mistaken for a god.”

“How you feel about it doesn’t play into it at all. You have your powers, and there are many others who covet them. Simple as that.”

Eugene extended a hand toward Miyo. A pale, broad, soft, and beautiful hand.

Miyo looked back and forth between Eugene’s palm and face.

“What do you say? Will you come to us, as another cut from the same cloth? We seek the power of a shaman. A Gift-user with your strength will be warmly welcomed.”

“…No. I won’t go with you.”

Why did everyone seek Miyo’s power…? Actually, she understood why. Dream Sight was simply that useful.

“First of all, I don’t know what you are trying to accomplish with my Dream Sight powers, and even then, I already decided I wouldn’t live my life at the whims of my Gift. I also swore to avoid using it as much as possible.”

To Miyo, both propositions—being asked to join an organization as a Gift-user, or to use her Gift for some purpose—were completely misplaced.

Though Miyo shook her head resolutely, Eugene’s smile remained undeterred, and he didn’t withdraw his outstretched hand.

“Why not? We have a great number of similar individuals in our ranks. You won’t be viewed as special, for better or worse, and you won’t feel isolated from those around you, either. Nor will you deal with any men like yesterday, forcing their outrageous sense of inferiority onto you.”

Of course—it was none other than Eugene who had instigated the men in the park. He behaved like a mild-mannered, polite, and cautious man, but there was no denying he was the one who had put those strange thoughts into the Miyakouji men’s heads.

The experience had been awful, nothing but pure terror.

Was he really being truthful when he talked about not harboring any hostility? Recalling what had transpired, Miyo grew skeptical of Eugene’s foundational pretext.

“…Why did you get in contact with the Miyakoujis?”

“I just told you, did I not? We are searching for and gathering shamans. In the old capital, the Miyakoujis are one of the oldest Gift-wielding families. Linking up with them made it more convenient for my search. In fact, it was what made it possible to meet you.”

“Did you approach me because you knew who I was?”

“I did do some investigating. I learned there was a family of shamans called Usuba and a woman who had inherited their blood was visiting the old capital… There wasn’t any way to determine how powerful your Gift was without first meeting in person. When our paths actually crossed, I discovered you were the genuine article,” Eugene said enthusiastically, almost singing as he spoke. “I egged on the Miyakouji gentlemen because I wanted to test you a little. See how you utilized your powers, discover how you would react, that sort of thing. I wanted to learn what sort of person you were.”

“That was your reason…? I—”

I had to go through such a terrifying experience for that?

Miyo just barely swallowed her reproach before it escaped her lips. Nothing would come of saying it aloud. Eugene had likely done everything because he thought it was the right course of action.

“Thanks to that, I confirmed you are able to put people to sleep, and you are a compassionate person who doesn’t seek conflict. It appears you’ll get along with us swimmingly.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would I ever agree to go with someone who put me through something like that? Unbelievable.”

For the first time, Eugene’s face darkened.

“So that was going too far after all. My boss was the one who ordered me to make use of the Miyakoujis in that way, but…evidently, her plan was a failure. If you’ve soured on me, then it was all for naught.”

Eugene slumped, then clapped his hands together.

“I understand. I would like you to meet with someone next. I shan’t take much more of your time.”

“I do not wish to meet anyone… I’m leaving.”

Eugene lightly grabbed Miyo by the hand as she turned around. Even Miyo could have shaken off his weak grip, but instead she stopped without pushing him away.

“Wait, please. I speak the complete truth when I say I have no intention of harming you. If you meet with this one person, then I promise to let you go free.”

Frankly, Miyo was sick of all this. She couldn’t empathize with Eugene’s way of thinking, and he hadn’t offered the slightest explanation as to what this group of his was actually trying to achieve. He’d simply asked her to join because they were gathering others like her.

If she had no interest in others similar to herself, then the entire topic was meaningless.

However, she was curious about the individual Eugene had mentioned.

If I meet with them, perhaps I could get useful intel for Kiyoka.

Miyo reluctantly nodded.

“Fine.”

“Splendid.”

Eugene broke into a broad smile. He snapped his fingers, and the trees in the forest around them changed to flowers.

A field of flowers stretched out all around them.

Whites, yellows, reds, light pinks, and oranges. The myriad flowers were in full bloom as far as Miyo could see. With each gust of wind, a rainbow of petals danced in the air.

“How pretty…”

“Isn’t it? This way.”

They advanced through the middle of the flower field, but it wasn’t too long before they arrived at what appeared to be their destination.

It was a white chalk gazebo built with the best seat in the house, a perfect view over the whole flower field. Miyo couldn’t get a good look at her face, but there was a woman inside, savoring sips of tea while staring out at the flowers.

I wonder who she is…

She wore a wide-brimmed hat, and Miyo saw that her neck and shoulders, covered in a white blouse, were very slender.

“Let’s go.”

Miyo walked a few paces behind Eugene as he hurried forward.

Recognizing them, the woman stood up gracefully.

“Good day. Miyo Kudou, is it?”

The beautiful woman, glistening silver hair flowing down behind her, looked at Miyo and flashed a charming smile.

Godou set foot in the old capital at an hour that would technically still count as morning.

He had boarded the overnight limited express train immediately after Kiyoka requested his presence. Godou had anticipated the possibility he would find himself in the old capital following Kiyoka’s first message, so he acted quickly.

Though it was morning, it certainly wasn’t early, as the temperature had already begun to rise in the clear-skied old capital.

Alllll right then. They’re at the Miyakouji estate, yeah?

Kiyoka and Godou hadn’t settled on a specific place to meet. Godou thought for a moment that they should meet up at the Second Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit station, but it was still morning, so he decided to first head to the Miyakouji estate, where Kiyoka was staying.

Godou had come to the old capital several times for work in the past, but this was his first time going to the Miyakouji estate.

The family had produced Gift-users and arts practitioners for hundreds of generations and were the head family of the Kudous. Despite the family’s size, however, none of its members was particularly skilled or exceptional.

Consequently, Godou hadn’t been involved with them very much and never had a reason to visit their home.

He only remembered the general area where the estate was located, and after following his gut on which direction to head, he asked for further directions from passersby until he walked through the Miyakouji gate.

It appeared Kiyoka had explained the situation, as Godou was readily welcomed and led to the annex, where Kiyoka was staying.

“Commander? Comaaaander, are you in there?”

There was no reply. Godou stepped into the annex without a moment’s hesitation.

“Commander?”

Sensing someone in the guest room, Godou came to a halt. After tentatively calling out again, he received a reply.

“That you, Godou?”

“Yup. Your loyal subordinate has answered your summons! Well? Got here fast, didn’t I?”

When Kiyoka slid the screen open and appeared from within, his face was drained of all color to a chalk white, and his expression was taut and stern.

Wh-what in the world happened here?

Godou had never seen Kiyoka looking so weak and defeated. It was inconceivable. The man’s force of will was clearer and stronger than anyone he knew.

Shooting a glare at Godou as he stood there in shock, Kiyoka shut the screen behind him. In that brief moment, Godou saw someone lying on the futon in the room.

Something about this was giving him a bad feeling.

“Commander, why isn’t Miyo with you?”

“…She won’t wake up.”

“What…? Huh? What do you mean she won’t wake up…?”

A shadow passed over Kiyoka’s face, and he lowered his eyes. He had paid only the bare minimum attention to his personal appearance, wearing his casual kimono without his hair tied up at all.

He lacked all his usual vigor, seeming as though his soul had left his body or his mind was elsewhere.

“Did something happen to Miyo?”

“I don’t know. She wouldn’t wake up this morning… I had a doctor look at her, and they said she’s just sleeping and not in any danger, but they still didn’t know why she won’t wake up.”

Godou was simply at a loss for words.

However, he immediately roused himself back to normal, realizing now wasn’t the time to be stunned stiff. Without any hesitation, Godou slapped Kiyoka on the back.

“You have to get ahold of yourself. There’s a good chance Eugene might have something to do with this.”

Kiyoka looked at Godou with a start.

“What do you mean?”

“Eugene is a Gift-user. On top of that, his family is… They’re kind of like the Usubas of England, or at least, I heard a rumor to that effect when I was abroad. I never personally saw Eugene use his Gift, and I had totally forgotten about him until you mentioned him to me.”

For the past few days—ever since he had seen the long-forgotten name in the letter from Kiyoka—Godou had dug back into his memories of his time abroad over and over again.

Sorcery was a power that resembled a systemized version of the jinxing arts in Godou’s homeland, and compared to the arts he knew, the input used to cast sorceries was the same, while the method used to produce its effects was different. That was the broad overview of it.

In England, sorcery was extremely well developed, and Gifts that relied on one’s innate potential were not regarded as highly as they were here in the Empire. Everyone at school had been studying and researching sorcery.

It was for this reason that Godou had never paid much attention to the rumor that Eugene possessed a Gift of his own. Besides, Godou himself never openly revealed much about his own Gift, either.

“If Eugene has a Gift like the Usubas that affects the human mind, then he could be able to prevent someone from waking up, right?”

“You may be correct, but…Miyo can use her Dream Sight if she’s asleep. She should be able to do anything. Would it even be possible to keep her locked inside a dream?”

That point had stuck out to Godou, too.

“Okay, maybe she’s having a very realistic dream, and since she’s mistaking it for reality, it hasn’t even occurred to her she needs to escape…?”

“Either that, or she is experiencing something that makes her so happy, she doesn’t want to wake up. If that is the case…”

Kiyoka glanced with a mixed look at the closed sliding door. Godou could generally surmise what he was getting at.

“Miyo is more than happy enough in the real world, Commander. I’m pretty sure, for her, the kind of happiness that would make her want to stay in a dream forever can only be found in the waking world.”

“…I hope you’re right.”

Following this, Kiyoka explained everything that had happened to them since coming to the old capital.

The young man named Eugene whom they’d met in the hotel restaurant on the day of their arrival. The mysterious title of shaman princess the man had mentioned.

Miyo saving a young girl in the Miyakouji family from insomnia, and the Miyakouji men who attacked Miyo out of resentment toward the Kudou family. And finally, the connection between these men and Eugene.

Godou could only groan.

Eugene appeared to be a kind and mild-mannered gentleman, but because he pursued his goals with the utmost dedication, he readily engaged in behavior others would view as abnormal… A perilous person to cross paths with.

Eugene was the kind of man who would even exhume a grave if it contained something he wanted to know.

Making a pass at a woman he had just met or inciting unrelated men to attack her were things Eugene would do without a second thought.

If there was anything Godou could trust about Eugene, it was the man’s tendency to get up to no good.

“…He hasn’t changed at all.”

“Is he really that cunning?”

“It’s not cunning. I just think he’s a simple man. He’s oblivious to small details, for better and for worse. Abnormally straightforward and direct.”

An amused look came to Kiyoka’s face as he tried to digest what Godou was saying.

It was rather natural for him to struggle with imagining someone who was abnormally straightforward and genuine. Eugene Wood had a few loose screws rattling around in his head; that was for sure.

“For now, let’s arrest Eugene. Him using a Gift on a citizen while in foreign lands is more than enough of a reason for us to capture him under the military’s jurisdiction.”

“…Right.”

All at once, Kiyoka’s face tightened, and the Kiyoka Kudou whom Godou was accustomed to appeared before him. Kiyoka turned around with firm footing and took a step forward before turning back to Godou.

“I’ll get changed. You should take a minute to relax and then get yourself prepared for anything.”

“Yup, you got it.”

The instant Kiyoka realized what he needed to do, his bearing completely transformed. His unyielding figure seemed all the more magnificent.

That’s how it’s supposed to be.

Godou was sure a normal person would never even consider leaving his wife’s side while she remained unable to wake up.

But in Kiyoka’s case?

There was no telling when Miyo would wake up. Even if he waited, there was a chance she wouldn’t return to consciousness for quite some time. It would be far more effective to find Eugene and capture him. At least, Godou was convinced this was Kiyoka’s thought process.

Love wasn’t merely about crying and nestling close at times like this, and Miyo would almost certainly accept Kiyoka’s thoughts on the subject.

That was simply how much trust there was between the two of them.

“Maaaan. I am so jealous.”

Godou heaved a sigh.

“Welcome. You’re Ms. Miyo Kudou, yes?”

The woman was wearing a black dress and a black hat. Her age was difficult to decipher. While her pale, almost translucent skin was firm, her hair glistened silver, as if all the pigment had been drained from it completely.

While Miyo estimated she might be in her thirties, her mind was bewildered by the woman’s otherworldly appearance.

Nevertheless, Miyo didn’t let the slightest hint of confusion come to her face, and she looked the woman squarely in the eyes.

“Yes. May I ask who you might be?”

“I’m Diana. A witch.”

“A witch…?”

Miyo cocked her head. It was a word she wasn’t very familiar with. Between this and shaman, there were many terms being thrown around that were beyond her understanding.

“Hee-hee. That’s a confused face if I’ve ever seen one. Come on over. Let’s have chat at the table.”

Inside the gazebo, there was a white table with a tea set laid out over it. The teaware was made of white porcelain and featured an elegant, charming pink flower design.

Miyo slowly sat down, her guard still high.

Diana tilted the teapot and poured out black tea.

Perhaps because they were in a dream, she produced a perfectly colored cup of black tea, accompanied by a faint vapor, by simply tipping the teapot. The temperature of the water and brew time for the leaves was inconsequential in the dream world.

Diana picked up a saucer and placed the cup of tea in front of Miyo.

“Enjoy… Though this is your dream, too, so I’m not sure what it will taste like,” Diana said, amused.

Miyo picked up the cup with as much grace as she could muster and brought it to her lips.

The black tea tasted exactly like the green tea Miyo usually drank.

“All right, where shall we begin?”

A breeze blew, rustling the flowers. The air was thick with their fragrance. Diana rested her cheek on her hand for a short moment, closing her eyes to take in the scent.

“Do you know anything about witches?”

“No.”

“Well, witches, we’re the same as what you’d call mediums. We summon spirits with incantations, give prophecies, and divine people’s futures. I’m one myself. With a single incantation, I can make the unreal into reality.”

Diana raised her arm slightly, the limb so thin it looked like it would break apart, and traced a circle in the air with one of her long fingers.

“We put our faith in our Goddess. The Goddess possesses far greater power than our silly incantations could ever hope to match. We’re thinking of summoning her to the mortal realm.”

“…What will happen if you do so?”

“She’ll grant a wish. Whatever the heart desires.”

Grant whatever the heart desires? That sounded wonderful. Everyone in the world had a wish they wanted granted, a desire to do this or that.

“You must have one of your own, yes? A wish, I mean.”

Miyo pondered without answering.

She did have wishes. She wanted to live peacefully with Kiyoka forever. She wanted her and Kiyoka to have a long and happy life, and their friends and family to have that, too. Those types of wishes.

Nevertheless, Miyo felt like these weren’t the sort of wishes you would take to a god to make real.

Miyo had gone to shrines and prayed to the gods before. She had wished for things that she would have liked to come true. That said, she knew full well it was no simple task to make one’s wishes into a reality.

She wondered what it was like for Diana’s Goddess.

“This Goddess of yours will make any wish a reality no matter what it may be?”

“Yes, she is a Goddess, after all. She’ll grant a single wish to anyone, whatever it may be. Including you.”

“…Even if I wish to spend my days in peace with my husband, and for me and the people I’m close with to lead long and healthy lives?”

Miyo’s reply left Diana staring at her in puzzlement.

“Oh, is such a small wish really all that comes to mind? Truly?”

“Yes. Outside of that, I feel far more satisfied right now than I could ever ask for.”

Miyo felt like she had used up a lifetime’s worth of good fortune by simply meeting Kiyoka. She was currently happy, and she believed she had the ability to maintain that happiness if she put in the effort.

It would be too greedy of her to wish for anything beyond that.

“You’re quite blessed, aren’t you?”

“What is your wish, Diana?”

“Mine? Oh, I have so many things to wish for. Too many to count, really. In fact, I’m still debating which of my desires to have the Goddess grant.”

Their eyes met. Despite the tranquility of the gazebo and the smell of flowers in the air, it felt as though there were sparks flying between Miyo and Diana.

Miyo had a hunch. Her intuition told her she and Diana were incompatible.

They had conversed for just a few moments, and yet Miyo felt a discomfort, like they weren’t entirely on the same page about something.

“Let me ask you, Miyo Kudou—will you come with us?”

“…To the same place Eugene spoke of earlier?”

“That’s right. We need the powers of a shaman to invoke the Goddess. So you see, we’re gathering people with shaman blood together, to help our cause. How about it? Given your powers, we’d welcome you with open arms.”

“…”

“Naturally, if you did cooperate with us, we would have the Goddess grant your wish as well. Not a bad deal, I’d say. Just lend a hand, and you’re guaranteed to have any single wish you want granted.”

Diana’s voice was mysterious. Its soothing tone made Miyo feel like she could listen to it forever, and it seemed to sink into her body and percolate inside.

Her voice suggested bliss would follow her invitation; it was almost enough to get Miyo to accompany her.

However, Miyo had been through too many hardships to readily believe Diana’s words and take her hand.

“I don’t think I need your Goddess to help make my wish come true.”

“You don’t mince words, do you? While your wish may be small, making it reality will be no easy task, you know. But if you ask it of the Goddess, it’s guaranteed to come true. You’ll be able to spend your days in peace with those precious to you for however long you desire.”

Miyo shook her head.

“I have prayed for that to happen. But it’s not because I want the gods to grant my wish at all costs. I need to work hard to figure out exactly what I want, and to make my desires a reality. That vow to put in the work is what I believe wishes and prayers are all about.”

Miyo pushed the teacup in her hands ever so slightly in Diana’s direction and stood up.

“I apologize. I cannot help you.”

Diana didn’t stop Miyo as she left the gazebo. Instead, she quietly asked a question.

“You won’t regret declining our offer, will you?”

“No. I won’t.”

Eugene came to her side after she exited the gazebo. He smiled at Miyo and pointed.

“The exit is that way… Farewell, until we meet again, milady.”

“Farewell.”

Miyo walked through the flower field without looking back.

The scenery remained the same for a while, but gradually, her surroundings began to be blanketed in light, until the entire landscape dissolved into it. As her vision went white, she shut her eyes tight against the blinding glow.

Back at the gazebo, Diana let out a small sigh, a smile still stretched across her face.

Miyo Kudou.

The quiet and vivacious beauty of this girl, who possessed the blood of Far Eastern shamans and a mighty Gift, was obvious even to another woman like Diana.

Miyo’s well-maintained long black hair was sleek and lustrous, and her large-pupiled eyes gave off a powerful, completely unwavering brilliance.

She was the complete opposite of Diana, this modest and ladylike woman who wore a kimono decorated with a tiny flower petal design.

And she was one of the last of her kind: a pure and powerful shaman.

Reflecting on their conversation, Diana couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Hee-hee.”

“She turned you down, then,” Eugene called out to her cheerfully. Her cheeky underling must have been thinking this served her right.

“She did indeed. ’Tis difficult to tempt someone who doesn’t want for anything, it seems.”

“But she is needed for the ritual. With her around, we probably won’t need any other shamans, will we?”

“That’s right. There’s no one more suited for it than her, I’m afraid.”

Diana wanted Miyo. She felt it even more strongly after having the chance to meet and converse with the woman.

No one else could match Diana’s ambitions so well. Though they were complete opposites, she had a feeling they might actually get along better than expected.

“In that case, Diana, we need to come up with another method of getting ahold of her.”

“Another method… Let’s see. We can either force her into cooperating with us, or create a situation where she would do so of her own volition.”

What would Diana need to do to get Miyo to waver?

As she grew excited, Diana closed her eyes. It was time for her to wake up from the dream.

Chapter 7. The Past Catching Up

Her body felt heavy. As did her eyelids.

When her consciousness returned, the very first thing her senses picked up were the sounds of summer cicadas and the sluggishness of her body. It was hot for morning, and the light she felt through her eyelids was harsh.

Miyo slowly opened her eyes.

Contrary to her expectations, the sunlight filtering into the room was clearly not the light of dawn. The air suggested it was already afternoon.

As her foggy mind began to grasp the situation, Miyo shot up from bed in shock.

Or at least, she tried to shoot up.

More accurately speaking, her body was so leaden that she couldn’t raise herself from bed.

“Nhh…ngh.”

It wasn’t simply that her body felt heavy, either. Her throat was parched and only capable of producing hoarse moans, and when she did try to sit up, her temples throbbed with pain.

Unable to get herself more than halfway out of bed, Miyo rested her elbows on her futon—anything to support her body as it threatened to tumble down again.

She couldn’t fathom what had happened to her.

Miyo froze in place for a short time, unable to move any farther. Before long, however, the sliding door to the room opened.

“Miyo! You’re awake.”

“Ah… M-Miyako.”

It was Miyako. She frantically rushed over to Miyo and helped her come to a full sitting position, firmly supporting Miyo’s back.

“Thank goodness you’re awake. Let me tell you, I was so worried.”

“U-um, what time is it…?”

“Ah, right. Of course you wouldn’t know that. It’s about four in the afternoon.”

Miyo had the wind knocked out of her. Now she was completely frozen; even her eyes were unable to blink. Not four in the morning, but four in the afternoon. It was practically evening.

Wh-what’s going on? Did I sleep in that late?!

This went far beyond just oversleeping—she had spent well over half the day asleep.

“I—I can’t believe it…”

Miyo had been careless. The passage of time in the dream world was different than in the real world. Typically, no matter how much time she spent in a dream, she would wake up to find everything had occurred in the span of a single night.

As such, she hadn’t remotely considered the possibility her conversation with Diana and Eugene would last beyond morning.

In reality, however, it had taken not just a single night but nearly an entire day.

Miyo unconsciously dropped her head into her hands.

“Um, where is Kiyoka…?”

“He stepped out. Told me, ‘Please look after her’ before he left.”

“Oh, Miyo’s awake. Phew, now that’s good news.”

Komon appeared in the open doorway.

“Lord Komon…”

“Apologies. I hate to peek into a lady’s bedchambers, but I need to make sure you’re doing all right and let Kiyoka know.”

While they had decided yesterday that Miyo would be left in the care of the Second Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit, they obviously couldn’t carry her to the station while she was locked in sleep.

It sounded like Kiyoka had directed Komon to protect her before he had left the estate.

…Bossing around the main family patriarch. I can’t believe it.

Komon was a truly good man to agree to such an unreasonable request, given how busy he must have been, too.

However, he was likely the only person Kiyoka could trust to keep Miyo safe.

“Looks to me like you’re doing just fine.”

“Y-yes, I’m all right.”

“Then I’ll let Kiyoka know right away. Miyako, I’m leaving her with you.”

“You can count on me.”

When Komon departed, Miyo heaved a sigh.

Why did things end up this way?

Miyo was sure Kiyoka must have been terribly worried when she didn’t wake up that morning. If their positions had been reversed, she would have been beside herself in terror—to have your spouse sleeping at your side, only to suddenly refuse to wake up.

Kiyoka, I’m sorry.

If she had known this would happen, she would have finished her conversation with Diana and Eugene much earlier and returned to the waking world. Especially since there was no way she would have agreed to their invitation.

“You all right, Miyo? No pain or anything?”

Miyako rubbed Miyo’s back out of concern. Still, Miyo could only shake her head.

When she imagined the unnecessary anxiety her own blunder had caused Kiyoka, the regret and guilt felt unbearable.

“Listen, Miyo, you hungry at all?”

“Oh…”

Now that she thought about it, Miyo had been asleep the whole day, so she hadn’t had a bite of anything since dinner the night before. While she had drunk that cup of black tea in the dream, it didn’t carry over into the real world.

“You haven’t eaten or drank the whole day, so even if you’re not feeling hungry, you should at least get some fluids in you.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Now that she was conscious of it, her empty stomach suddenly started rumbling. Thankfully it didn’t growl audibly, but given how empty her belly was, there was no telling when that would start to happen.

Miyo finally managed to get out of her bed, and she changed from her nightwear into a casual tsumugi kimono.

As if she had perfectly estimated how long it would take Miyo to change, Miyako returned a moment later with water and a light meal.

“Help yourself. I tried to choose something that’d be easy on the stomach, but let me know what you think.”

Miyako had brought egg rice porridge in an earthenware pot and umeboshi plums. Upon closer inspection, there wasn’t just egg in the porridge, but tofu skin as well.

Miyo immediately brought her hands together to express gratitude for the meal and started eating.

“It’s delicious…!”

The thick egg porridge was at the perfect temperature, not piping hot yet not lukewarm. The soup stock flavor came through well, and it wasn’t too salty. Eating the porridge with the umeboshi added just the right amount of salty and sour, making the dish even more savory.

Impressed that the porridge was so much tastier than the kind she made, Miyo brought one spoonful after another up to her mouth, emptying the earthenware pot in the blink of an eye.

“Thank you very much.”

Miyo felt more like her usual self now that her stomach was full.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m glad to see your appetite’s still okay, at least.”

“The porridge was simply so delicious, I just couldn’t stop… How embarrassing.”

“Nonsense. If you’re able to eat, it means you’re fit and healthy.”

After fully indulging in Miyako’s considerate offering and regaining all her energy, Miyo waited for Kiyoka to return.

What would it be best for her to say when she first saw him? Surely she should apologize, right?

She didn’t want to leave Kiyoka feeling sad or hurt. As far as she was concerned, it was completely unacceptable for her to be reason he was upset.

Kiyoka told me not to listen to anything Eugene had to say; I should have never gone along with him in the first place. What a fool I am.

She had gone into the dream with the idea that it would be best to attempt to get more insight into who Eugene was, but since all she had accomplished was making Kiyoka worried, it seemed clear to her it was a mistake in the first place. No one was dearer to Miyo than Kiyoka.

Miyo wasn’t sure how long she spent agonizing like this.

All of a sudden, she heard the sound of the sliding door being pulled back, and she raised her head.

The sun was at the new arrival’s back, and it cast a long shadow over them, obscuring their face and figure. Nevertheless, there was no doubt in Miyo’s mind who this was.

She automatically stood up and threw her arms around the person—around Kiyoka.

“Kiyoka! I’m sorry, I—”

“Miyo.”

His voice was trembling. No, that wasn’t all—the fingers brushing Miyo’s cheek were shaking, too.

She didn’t need to ask him anything to know how much terror her indiscretion had brought to Kiyoka. If Eugene had made off with Miyo in the real world, Kiyoka still wouldn’t have been so driven to the brink as he was now. There were very few in the waking world who could hope to best him.

Inside the dream world, though, things were different. There was no way for Kiyoka to know what was happening or what would happen to Miyo while she was asleep.

She had caused her husband to suffer more than she imagined.

“Kiyoka, I am so very sorry… I’m fine. I woke up without any trouble. I’m right here.”

Miyo looked up at Kiyoka.

Seeing his beautiful face contorted and twisted, as though he were persevering through something, Miyo, too, felt her eyes well with tears. However, as the very person who harmed him, Miyo couldn’t let herself cry.

“I’m sorry for making you worry again.”

“…My mind went blank when I found you this morning, and everything in front of my eyes went dark.”

“I understand.”

“You always seem like you’ll disappear from my side at any moment. Each time it happens, I grow so hopeless that I feel like I can’t live on any longer.”

Miyo was certain Kiyoka was remembering the time when Kimio, her former schoolmate, had attacked her immediately after their wedding.

Back then, Kiyoka had said if Miyo had died, he doubted he would live much longer himself.

Miyo’s life was his life. Each of them was keeping the other alive. So if either one was missing, almost everything would be lost with them.

She reflected on her carelessness.

“I’m sorry for suddenly leaving you on your own… Please forgive me.”

Miyo put more strength into her arms, wrapped around Kiyoka’s back, and he hugged her even tighter.

“If the same thing happens next time, I might not be able to let it slide. I’m not as strong as you think I am.”

“I know. I won’t do anything like it again.”

After squeezing her tight one final time, Kiyoka heaved a big sigh and separated from her.

“We both have things to talk about, right? Can you tell me what happened?”

Miyo nodded meekly.

Miyo, Kiyoka, Godou, and Komon got together immediately to review everything that had happened. Godou was included even though he had just arrived in the Old Capital while Miyo was asleep, and Komon was asked to join because of his understanding of the circumstances at play.

First, Miyo went over what she had experienced in her dream: her conversation with Eugene, meeting Diana, and their chat over tea. She outlined it all without concealing anything from them.

When she began talking, Miyo realized she had much more to discuss than she thought, and she couldn’t help but be aware of just how long she had been asleep.

“Then, after leaving that gazebo, I woke up.”

When Miyo had finished recounting her dream, the men listening let out a sigh, wearing the same conflicted look on their faces.

“A witch, huh…? I guess that makes sense, though.”

Godou was the first person to make a comment, roughly scratching the back of his head.

“Mind filling me in on this Goddess cult and witch business? I’m far too ignorant on what happens overseas to keep up with this,” Komon urged Godou with a self-deprecating smile. Godou looked up at an angle, as if trying to pull out everything he could from his memories.

“Let’s see… As far as witches go, what Miyo heard in the dream pretty much covers it. There are several different sects of witches, and one of them worships a Goddess. I believe this Diana woman is associated with that sect. Eugene’s probably part of it, too—either that, or he’s cooperating with them. Shamans and witches have a lot in common to begin with, so it wouldn’t be strange for someone from a shaman family like Eugene to believe in the same Goddess as these witches.”

“Did Eugene Wood always believe in this Goddess?”

Godou cocked his head at Kiyoka’s question.

“No clue. At least, I never heard anything like that when I was abroad. He might not have been a follower at the time, or he could’ve been and just didn’t declare it openly.”

“You two weren’t close?”

“Sheesh, Commander, that’s a terrible joke. I’d sooner drop dead than be friends with someone that pompous.”

Godou’s face twisted with disgust, and he stuck out his tongue.

“That said, summoning a god into our world is some real disturbing stuff. I don’t know how the process works abroad, but I do know it’s nothing easy. For something like that, you’d need to produce sacred artifacts of some kind or perform a real nasty ceremony with a massive number of sacrifices…,” Komon said with a solemn look. As the head priest of a shrine, he was very knowledgeable in the supernatural.

In response, Godou offered his own point of view.

“Generally, invoking a god doesn’t vary wildly from country to country. You do a bunch of laborious preparations, go through some annoying steps, and even then, there’s no guarantee it’ll be successful—absolutely not worth the hassle.”

“The thing Diana said about the Goddess granting any wish sounds fishy, too,” Kiyoka spat, crossing his arms.

Miyo felt the same way. It sounded way too convenient to happen. However, something was still bothering Miyo on this point—Eugene and Diana’s attitude.

The pair acted and spoke as if invoking the Goddess was bound to succeed. As though they were convinced it would work and had never imagined the possibility it would fail.

Such was the power of faith; perhaps they simply had no doubts the Goddess was an omnipotent being.

“The question is whether these witches have given up on Miyo or not.”

Everyone nodded in agreement at Kiyoka’s remark.

“If this means they’ll call it quits and return to their homeland, then all’s well that ends well, but if they try to do something to Miyo, or if they seem like they’re trying to instigate something in this country, we need to stop them… That’s essentially our view of things at the moment.”

Godou was focused mainly on Komon and Miyo as he got the conversation going.

Apparently, Godou and Kiyoka had tapped into their military authority to track Eugene’s movements. Using the hotel restaurant where they first met the man as the starting point, they had investigated as much as possible into his activities since that day.

“Ultimately, we located the hotel where he is staying. We have a familiar watching him right now to ensure he doesn’t leave. Eugene’s never outsmarted me when it comes to using familiars, so you can rest easy—there’s no way he’ll give us the slip!”

“Well, that is something. Leave it to the commander and adjutant of the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit to work so fast.”

Komon clapped, looking genuinely impressed. Ignoring him with a single glance, Kiyoka continued where Godou had left off.

“Lord Komon got in touch with us shortly after we located the hotel… We decided to come back to the Miyakouji estate after hearing Miyo was awake.”

“Gotcha. So you located his hotel, and you’ve got eyes on it. Now what’re you going to do?” Komon asked.

“It would be dangerous to cause a commotion inside the hotel, since innocent civilians could get involved. Our best bet is to stake out the hotel and capture Eugene Wood the moment he leaves,” Kiyoka explained to Komon, who appeared to be an amateur in actual combat like this.

The lookout team would generally consist of Kiyoka and Godou rotating in shifts. If more manpower was required, they had preemptively spoken with the Second Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit about borrowing some of its members.

Both Godou and Kiyoka were efficient and prompt, likely because they were used to these scenarios as soldiers. Komon was profoundly impressed.

“Um, I’d…like to help out with the ambush.”

Miyo then raised her tiny hand.

She could handle watching the hotel and notifying everyone as soon as she caught sight of Eugene. There didn’t appear to be anything else she could do, so she at least wanted to help out with this.

That was the rationale behind her offer, but Kiyoka resolutely shot it down with a shake of his head.

“Absolutely not.”

“B-but…!”

Miyo wanted to do something. It was frustrating she only made Kiyoka worry and was never useful. She hated the idea of being left behind to wait.

However, Kiyoka sent a calm but piercing stare at Miyo.

“Staying on lookout requires a surprising amount of stamina and concentration. It’s not something a civilian can do right off the bat. Besides, what would you do if a fight breaks out? First and foremost, you’re the one Eugene and Diana are after first, so from their point of view, you’d be falling right into their lap.”

Miyo couldn’t find any objection to Kiyoka’s argument.

In short, someone who hadn’t been trained for real combat would just be a hindrance. Faced with such clean and thorough reasoning, Miyo had to acquiesce. Her intention wasn’t to cause trouble for Kiyoka and the others.

“…Sorry for acting like a child.”

Watching Miyo grow so dejected, Kiyoka shook his head.

“No. You’ve already been more than enough help. Learning Eugene’s motives in your dream was a huge accomplishment, and you’re the only one who could make it happen… It’s my lack of composure that’s left you feeling so obligated. Sorry.”

“Kiyoka’s right, Miyo. If you were one of the unit members, why, this kind of work would normally be cause for praise! There’d be talk of promotion, definitely. I swear, as soon as something involves you, Miyo, the commander here immediately falls to pieces.”

Godou sent a teasing grin at Kiyoka, and Kiyoka glared back with eyes screaming at him to stay silent before he wordlessly elbowed his subordinate.

Around sundown, Kiyoka and Godou headed for the hotel where Eugene was staying.

Miyo was in the care of the Second Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit. With both Koumyouin and Kaoruko Jinnouchi protecting her, Kiyoka could focus on confronting Eugene without any anxiety about his wife’s safety, compared to the alternative of leaving her at the Miyakouji estate.

Godou and I have been taking turns watching the familiars, but there are no signs yet.

The familiars were placed around the window of Eugene’s room, directly outside it, and on the ceiling near the door. If Eugene went outside, they would be able to detect him immediately.

“Sheesh, this guy… He really came all this way just to cause me more trouble.”

In a rare moment, Godou mumbled his discontent beside Kiyoka.

While Godou said they weren’t friendly, the way he spoke made it seem like they had some sort of relationship. Assuming they were truly not friendly, then what sort of relationship was it?

I’m sure he won’t tell me even if I ask.

Kiyoka himself wasn’t very interested in finding out, either.

More than that, Kiyoka needed to ascertain how skilled Eugene actually was. From what Godou had told him, Eugene’s marks in school had been excellent in all subjects, and he had been known as an honors student.

However, when it came to his abilities in combat, the accuracy of the information they had to work with was somewhat lacking.

“Would you be able to beat Eugene Wood in a head-on battle?” Kiyoka had asked Godou earlier.

“Hmmm. It’s been a long time since we last saw each other, so I don’t know how strong he is now. If he’s just like he was back then and hasn’t closed the gap between us, I’m probably stronger. He’s definitely not as strong as you, that’s for sure.” Godou had then broken into a smile. “I was an honors student, too, you know.”

But like Godou had said, this was all just speculation based on the assumption the gap in skill between them had stayed the same. On top of that, Eugene might have prepared some sort of ace up his sleeve, knowing he was going up against a superior opponent, so they couldn’t afford to take him lightly.

The sun had completely sunk below the horizon.

Darkness covered the area in an instant. The light from the gas lamps lining the road and the light leaking out from the nearby buildings were the only illumination they had to rely on.

It was then that Eugene finally made his move.

“He’s left his room. Godou, get ready.”

“Roger.”

Sharing the familiar’s senses, Kiyoka immediately trailed Eugene. The man didn’t appear cautious of his surroundings whatsoever, simply exiting his room clad in a suit and entering the elevator to descend to the first-floor lobby.

Kiyoka signaled Godou after confirming Eugene was heading outside through the entryway.

“Go.”

It was dinnertime, but there were surprisingly few people around the hotel. This was a convenient set of circumstances for Kiyoka and Godou, since depending on how the evening played out, things might get dangerous.

“Eugene Wood.”

Kiyoka and Godou stepped out, blocking the path where Eugene was heading. Eugene wasn’t visibly surprised at all and gave an exaggerated bow.

“Why, good evening! ’Tis quite a marvelous coincidence for us to run into each other here. I do apologize for my untoward behavior toward your wife the other day.”

“You really think this is a coincidence?”

Kiyoka couldn’t stop himself from taking a stern and intense tone with Eugene. This man was, after all, the impetus behind the terrifying experience of his wife not waking up. Forgiveness would not come easy.

Nevertheless, Eugene didn’t flinch from this degree of intimidation.

“Oh, have you come to express your grievances regarding that matter…? If you truly insist, I will gladly offer my apologies again.”

“That’s not it. You’re coming with us to the military station, and you’re going to spill everything about what’s going on here.”

“…What am I being charged with?”

“You haven’t violated any specific laws. However, there is a chance you used your Gift inappropriately. We’ll take your name down, and you’ll be given a strict warning.”

Eugene nonchalantly shrugged.

“I’m afraid I haven’t the faintiest idea what you’re talking about.”

“Complain all you want; it won’t change a thing. If you refuse, we’ll be more than willing to take you by force!”

Godou took a step forward and spiritedly threatened Eugene.

Eugene had certainly noticed Godou’s presence from the start, yet he made of show of surprise, as if he had only just noticed the man.

“Godou! Is that you? My, it’s good to see you. How many years has it been?”

“Don’t stall for time. If your conscience is clear, then come with us and explain everything.”

“You make it sound so simple. I have my own business to attend to at the moment…”

Godou scoffed as Eugene cocked his head and gave him a theatrical look of concern.

“Business? Is any business more important than proving your innocence? All right, then. By force, it is.”

Godou grabbed the saber at his waist. Exasperated, Kiyoka stopped him, scolding his subordinate in a hushed tone.

“…You’re way too quick to resort to force. Itching to fight Eugene that badly?”

“That’s not really it, but… Seeing his face just ticked me off, so…”

“You idiot.”

Kiyoka rebuked Godou, then approached Eugene, getting about two paces away from the man before stopping.

Eugene didn’t make to run away. He simply stood in place, wearing a cheerful grin.

“Enough drivel. You’re going to pay for the harm you’ve caused my wife.”

“Personally, I never intended any harm to her at all,” Eugene murmured in reply.

They weren’t getting anywhere like this—arriving at this conclusion, Kiyoka attempted to capture Eugene. Right before he could put his hands on the man, however, a sweet fragrance assaulted his senses.

What is this smell…?

It wasn’t very strong, but he reflexively scowled from the scent as it hit his nostrils. Catching Kiyoka off guard, Eugene put space between himself and the pair with lithe footwork.

So he was trying to escape. Before Kiyoka could lean forward to pursue him, Godou rushed ahead and closed in on Eugene.

“You’re not going anywhere!”

Even Eugene couldn’t stop himself from looking a bit panicked. Nevertheless, Godou grabbed Eugene’s arm and twisted it behind him.

“Ngh…!”

“No use putting up a fight, Eugene Wood. You can’t even best me, let alone our commander here.”

As he endured the pain from his twisted arm, a cold sweat beading on his forehead, Eugene looked up at Godou.

“Ha-ha-ha. Go ahead and threaten me all you like; there’s nothing scary about you now. You’re not menacing at all… When I last saw you, just before you returned home, you looked like a keenly sharpened blade, ready to cut at the slightest touch. When did you turn into such a spineless wimp? Please, do tell.”

Godou didn’t respond to the man’s taunts and tightened his grip on Eugene’s arm.

“Ngh… Ow!”

“Who cares if I’m a wimp. I’m satisfied with who I am right now. I don’t have to listen to your crap.”

“Hmm, I wonder… Have you taken your revenge yet?”

Godou’s eyes widened. Even as he writhed in pain, Eugene’s laughter echoed quietly.

“Ha-ha, I was right—you were after revenge. The truth is, at first, I didn’t care about you at all. Everyone used to tell me you were a worthy rival, but it was laughable, watching you enjoying yourself without experiencing any hardship.”

“…”

“But then one day, you changed completely. It was only for the short time before you returned to your homeland, but you suddenly transformed into a bared blade, with every pointless frivolity scraped away. I found it so appealing…it made me think this new you finally had what it took to compete with me.”

Kiyoka listened to Godou and Eugene’s conversation as he waited for his opportunity to intervene.

All of a sudden, a strange air began to float in, and Kiyoka went on guard.

Who’s doing this…?

The fragrance again. This time the saccharine smell that almost made his nose numb was accompanied by a white mist, which began to permeate the area.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kiyoka spotted what appeared to be a butterfly made out of light, floating toward him.

He immediately drew the short sword he kept in his clothes and sliced the butterfly with a single stroke. A scrap of paper fluttered down onto the pavement.

A familiar.

Just as he realized what was happening, several more of the light butterflies appeared, flying about the area, and the white mist and saccharine smell began to thicken.

“Godou!”

Kiyoka sensed danger from this mysterious attack.

Godou seemed to return to his senses after Kiyoka called his name, but right as he did, he coughed violently and let go of Eugene’s hand. Looking closer, Kiyoka realized that an especially thick mist had enveloped the area around Godou.

Eugene was free from Godou’s grasp. Kiyoka rushed forward in an attempt to prevent the man from escaping, but the thickening mist completely obscured his vision, and the strong smell irritated his nose and mouth no matter how hard he tried to fight it.

“Cough, cough… Wait!”

Despite his coughing fit, Godou also attempted to stop Eugene, but his efforts were in vain.

Eugene quickly dissolved in the mist, disappearing completely.

The mist thinned shortly afterward, and there was no sign of Eugene or the light butterfly familiars. As if it had all been but a figment of their imagination.

“Dammit… Sorry, Commander. I let him get away.”

“No, this is on me. I failed to notice someone else was intervening.”

That fog was definitely the work of another arts practitioner, not just Eugene.

With its pungent fragrance, the mist disrupted one’s movements far more than regular fog. It likely wasn’t poisoned, but like a tear gas bomb, it seemed capable of temporarily incapacitating an opponent.

Kiyoka was sure the helping hand had been sent by a comrade of Eugene’s, hiding close by. It could have very well been the work of the witch Miyo had talked about, Diana.

Their arts weren’t exceptional, but…

The arts one used spoke to the quirks of the caster. Arts created with both ingenuity and whimsy were almost always the sign of a formidable practitioner. If the practitioner here was indeed Diana, then she could prove a confounding foe to deal with.

“…Argggh! That guy seriously ticks me off!” Godou shouted, tearing at his hair.

Eugene held down his aching arm as he fled, heaving a sigh of a relief.

He still felt a dull, throbbing pain in the arm Godou had twisted behind his back. What tremendous brute strength.

How disappointing, Godou. You have that tepid, coddled look on your face again.

Godou’s movements were even more polished and refined than they had been the last time Eugene saw him. But his sharp edge was gone. For better or worse, Godou had grown comfortable with battle and had turned into a respectable adult with the ability to control his own emotions.

Even though it was laying bare one’s feelings—for the sake of one’s desires and objectives—that made confrontation such an adrenaline rush.

How depressing.

Eugene thought toying with Godou would have been more enjoyable.

For him, Godou was hardly a worthy rival. The man was simply a good way to kill time, an inferior Gift-user in every way.

“My, my, that’s a good look for you, Eugene.”

“Diana.”

At some point, the slender women, smiling and clad in a jet-black dress that melded into the night, had appeared right next to him.

“I think some words of gratitude are in order, no? If I hadn’t intervened, you wouldn’t have been able to escape.”

“Ha-ha-ha, please, you must be joking. I could have managed my flee even without your help.”

“From where I was sitting, you seemed to be in quite a bit of danger… You weren’t stuck daydreaming, were you?”

Diana, cocking her head to the side, was being a bit more childish than usual. It was plain as day to Eugene that she enjoyed seeing him in danger.

“You needn’t worry. If I feel like it, I can get myself out of anything.”

“Hee-hee, I pray you aren’t simply making excuses.”

“That aside.”

Interrupting their conversation, Eugene peered into the darkness behind Diana.

Blanketed in the night, the outskirts of the city were dark even with the gas lamps around. The deep, thick blackness swirled behind Diana as well, but for a few moments now, Eugene had sensed an unfamiliar presence within.

“Who might this be?”

“Right. I was actually just thinking about introducing you. Come here.”

With Diana’s simple phrase, a lone man emerged from the darkness.

He had the subdued facial features characteristic of the people in this country, but he was tall, with his back hunched over.

His hair was gray, and his eyes were clouded, dark and murky. He had unkempt facial hair, the same gray as on his head, and he didn’t appear to have very good hygiene.

The man fixed his hollow gaze on Eugene.

“You see, this man is collaborating with us. He said he wants to do something fun.”

“Fun?”

“Yes. Despite how he may look, he’s capable of all sorts of things, so I’m sure he’ll prove useful.”

If Eugene was being honest, judging by the man’s appearance, he was a poor match for Diana. To start with, he didn’t seem the type of person who would normally have cause to be involved with her. Where in the world had she picked up this suspicious man?

Few people would use an unreliable tool they were handed simply because it “might work.”

Godou aside, they would need fighting power to battle the head of the Kudou family, but Eugene decided not to count on this man.

After inwardly making his decision, Eugene approached the man.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, um…”

“Takao. Just Takao. Call me that.”

The man introduced himself with a startlingly earnest look on his face.

Epilogue

The summer rays shined down on the garden of the Miyakouji estate.

Clangs and clanks of hard objects slamming together echoed across the normally still garden.

“Hah! Not done yet!”

Naked above the waist and dripping in sweat, Godou thrust at Kiyoka with a wooden training sword.

Across from him, Kiyoka was also lightly dressed in just a shirt and pants, fighting back against Godou’s strikes with his own training sword. Sometimes he parried the blows, and other times he guarded them.

Miyo gazed out from the open veranda of the Miyakouji estate annex and watched them spar.

Did something happen with Godou?

It had been very late at night when the two returned from their attempt to arrest Eugene at his hotel.

Miyo was relieved to see them both come home safe and sound, but since they had let Eugene get away, they had both looked a bit dejected.

Godou especially.

He’d been frowning, and he’d asked Kiyoka for coaching immediately after returning home.

“Commander, it looks like I really have gotten sloppy. Can you spar with me and help me de-rust?”

Godou had asked this with complete earnestness, his usual wisecracking self nowhere to be found.

Miyo guessed he must have felt some amount of responsibility for letting Eugene get away. Maybe he was convinced he wasn’t strong enough.

It was a very rare sight to see Godou and Kiyoka sparing together to practice their swordsmanship, and Miyo found it novel.

“Hah!”

In each of Godou’s attacks, Miyo could see the power, speed, and heft behind his blows. Kiyoka safely responded to them all. The two men continuously moved in ways the average person could never imitate.

However, it appeared that fatigue had caught up with Godou, as a short while later, Kiyoka knocked his subordinate’s sword out of his hand.

Godou sat heaving his shoulders, out of breath, and Kiyoka picked up the sword in his stead. Kiyoka, too, was panting ever so slightly himself.

“Godou, you’re overexerting yourself. You’re putting unnecessary strength into each one of your movements.”

“…Yeah, you’re right. Haah.”

Godou dropped his shoulders, dejected, before Kiyoka said it was time for a break, and came over to the outside corridor in the shade, sitting with Miyo.

Miyo passed a hand towel to Kiyoka, and then another to Godou, following up behind him.

“Sorry for asking you to spar with me out of the blue.”

“I don’t mind. It’s what you needed right now.”

A stillness fell over the veranda, and the faint babbling of the stream running through the garden resounded loudly in Miyo’s ears. Kiyoka was gazing vacantly out into the garden when he casually broke the silence.

“It’s been a long time since we sparred together.”

Godou wiped his forehead with the hand towel and finally returned to his usual bright smile.

“It sure has been. Right after I returned from abroad and joined the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit, I badgered you to train with me nonstop, though.”

“How many years has it been now?”

“Five or six at this point?”

The two began to reminisce.

Miyo listened attentively beside them, giving herself over to the brief moment of tranquility.

Afterword

Hello, everyone.

Akumi Agitogi, at your service. It has been six years since My Happy Marriage first debuted, and I’m beginning to finally feel accustomed to this strange pen name of mine. (Is that really okay, though?) A whole year has passed since last we spoke.

Coming a year after Volume 8, the short story collection, Volume 9 serves as a continuation from Volume 7 and tells a brand-new chapter of the main story! What did you think?

I’m sure for longtime readers, a few moments may have given you pause. There’s a chance the flow of the story and the reading experience seemed a bit different from that of previous volumes.

For the first seven volumes, my priority was showing changes in Miyo and Kiyoka’s relationship and their feelings. I thought about plot progression as centered around the hearts of the characters. However, after overcoming many troubles together and marrying in Volume 7, Miyo and Kiyoka have become a flawless couple—ironclad, stable, and peaceful. Their feelings for each other won’t easily change. Starting with Volume 9, the series has entered a different phase of narrative composition.

I assume some of you prefer this style of storytelling, just as there are surely those who prefer the previous style. However, this all comes from Miyo and Kiyoka carving out their future together, and the result of everything that this story has been building up over the years, so I do hope you are enjoying the new direction.

By the time this volume goes on sale, the second season of the anime adaptation will be airing and most likely entering its climax. The anime is truly fantastic, isn’t it? I mean, those gorgeous visuals! The well-paced story beats! The wonderful music! Every week is a must-see spectacle, and my eyes always end up glued to the screen. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the staff behind the anime for putting so much effort into this story and respectfully elevating the novel into a fantastic anime.

The manga adaptation by Rito Kousaka is also still progressing wonderfully as well. It continues to bring fresh emotion and ephemerality with each new chapter! Its beautiful direction is brimming with a flavor of Miyo and Kiyoka that differs slightly from the anime, so you absolutely cannot miss it. Kousaka, thank you as always.

Allow me to thank everyone who supported me in publishing this volume.

First, to my editor, I am absolutely mortified for causing you more trouble this time than I ever have before! I apologized in advance in the last volume, but not only did I use up all my stored apologies, I’ve needed more than ever before! I’m sorry, and thank you for everything you do.

Next, to Tsukiho Tsukioka, for the cover illustration. Thank you as always for a truly, truly fantastic illustration. I was instantly reduced to a writhing mess when I saw it—they’re a real married couple! Husband and wife! They’re too precious! I love it! Summer!

And finally, to all the readers who have followed along until now, I give you my most heartfelt gratitude. I never dreamed this story would continue for so long, especially into a brand-new arc. I hope to press on forward from here, never putting down my pen until this tale reaches the end, so I would be honored if you continue to come along with me.

Now then, until we meet again in the next volume.

Akumi Agitogi