My Happy Marriage (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 2

  CHAPTER 2  

The Imperial Palace and a Restless Day

The first three days of the New Year’s holiday still weren’t over, and yet Kiyoka was dressed in his usual military uniform and working at the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit station.

He felt guilty about Miyo as he headed to work that holiday morning, but he figured she had her own things on her mind as well. She had even made him lunch today, never once showing any hint of being annoyed or troubled.

Inside the station, every member of the unit was present, even those who weren’t on duty for the day.

Although they were all involved in the matter, there wasn’t anything that a small division like the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit could do about what was being reported in the papers.

That meant most of the people there didn’t have anything in particular to do, but Kiyoka suspected that they all had refused to just sit around doing nothing in light of the situation.

“Commaaaander, Major General Ookaito’s going to be here soon,” said Godou.

Kiyoka nodded slightly at his subordinate, who had gotten there ahead of him.

His office was already a mess, littered in documents collecting the complaints and inquiries that had been sent to them.

These were mostly anonymous, so they could be ignored after giving a broad-strokes report on what they said, but there were just so many to go through.

On top of this, even outside the incidents involving the Gifted Communion, there were several times more reports involving Grotesqueries than usual, to the point where even the military headquarters was struggling to handle the situation.

However, they couldn’t just yell at the papers to stop, and they couldn’t retract a story that had already spread far and wide. Kiyoka and his men couldn’t do anything beyond handling each situation as it came.

Godou carelessly tossed some more papers onto Kiyoka’s desk, an absolutely fed-up look on his face.

“…I’m going to receive Ookaito once I’ve sorted out a few more of these documents,” Kiyoka said.

“Whaaat? Can I come, too?” Godou whined.

He was purposefully trying to procrastinate.

Though Kiyoka perfectly understood that Godou was just trying to escape from this torturous paperwork, he didn’t think it would be a bad thing to bring his aide along with him.

Going forward, Kiyoka wouldn’t necessarily be able to take command in the field and issue orders all the time.

“Okay. In that case, pass on some amount of the busywork to the men who came into the station without anything to do.”

“Got it. All right!”

Kiyoka sighed and rose from his seat.

While they were conversing, Ookaito’s time of arrival drew near. The two left Kiyoka’s desk a mess for the time being and headed for the entrance of the station.

A short while later, Ookaito’s automobile came into view.

“Sorry about scheduling a meeting on a holiday, Kiyoka,” he said, getting out of the car.

“Not at all, thank you for making your way out here.”

“Appreciate you working today, too, Godou,” Ookaito added.

“Oh, not at all, sir. You don’t need to worry about me,” Godou said.

As a member of military leadership, Ookaito had been pulled into prosecuting the Gifted Communion and handling the news about them, so he had given up his New Year’s vacation to work nonstop. There was a slight hint of exhaustion mixed in with his stern features.

“Still, Kiyoka, you could really use a break. I’m sure you wanted to relax.”

The commander feigned impassivity and responded to his boss by saying, “Work is work, sir.” This prompted a glare from Ookaito, as though he was reproaching him for being obstinate.

He really wished the general wouldn’t press the point any further. Otherwise, it would shake his convictions after he had persuaded himself that the situation was unavoidable.

As the three men walked to the reception room, Kiyoka mumbled something in an attempt to get a bit of revenge.

“You’re working on your vacation yourself, aren’t you, Major General? As busy as you normally may be, I’m sure you would’ve been able to take some time off during the first three days of New Year’s.”

At this, Ookaito’s grimace deepened.

“…Right. Sorry.”

“My sister seemed to be somewhat lonely, so please go pay her and Asahi a visit if you can.”

Last night, when the sun had long set below the sky, Kiyoka stopped by the Kudou estate to exchange New Year’s greetings with his older sister Hazuki before he went home.

While they had just seen each other at a private party near the end of the year, his sister seemed to be worried, in her own way, about her former husband Ookaito’s inability to come greet her in the New Year. She was also anxious about not getting to see her son, Asahi.

At Kiyoka’s words, Ookaito’s expression took on a hint of sorrow, much like the one he had seen come to his sister’s face the night before.

“Yeah. I’ll go see her when things settle down.”

Ookaito and Kiyoka entered into the tidy reception room and sat down on the sofas to face each other, while Godou declared he would go pour some tea and started back down the route they had come.

Without waiting for their tea to arrive, Kiyoka and Ookaito immediately got into the matter at hand.

“You’ve already been told that Takaihito’s plan was accepted, right?”

“Yes.”

Preparations were already underway to transfer the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit to the Imperial Palace on the seventh.

There’s no question that the Gifted Communion are trying to capture Miyo and take Takaihito’s life.

Almost all the people aware of the Gifted Communion’s activities had the same view on the situation.

They were convinced that Usui’s organization had kidnapped the emperor to exploit the authority he held.

If they could kill the imperial heir and wielder of real state power, Takaihito, after abducting the emperor to use as a puppet, then there would be no one to hinder them. The Gifted Communion would be able to run the country in the emperor’s name according to their will.

This was because there was no other individual of suitable standing to lead the nation. While there were a number of other people with noble status, they lacked the Gift of Divine Revelation, which barred them from ascending the imperial throne in the first place.

Although there was a formal line of succession, it was plain to see that debates over the potential successors’ abilities to manage the country or not, their presence or lack of a Gift and Spirit-Sight, and their popularity or unpopularity would sow discord in the central government

Rotten royalty was still royalty. Since there currently wasn’t a system in place to recognize a change in succession outside the previous head of state dying, whoever held the title of emperor would still hold power over the country, even if the power of Divine Revelation was lost.

For this reason, abducting the emperor and assassinating Takaihito had become the Gifted Communion’s objective.

Miyo couldn’t be ignored, either. She possessed the power of Dream Sight.

Her Gift allowed her to enter and manipulate people’s dreams. It was simple for people with Dream Sight to brainwash someone in their sleep or seal them away in the dream world to prevent them from ever waking up.

Of course, while Miyo wouldn’t do anything of the sort, if the Gifted Communion took her hostage or trapped her into some other situation where she was forced to use her power, it wouldn’t matter.

I can’t exactly say I’m completely impartial here, but…

His feelings for Miyo aside, Kiyoka had to acknowledge that it would be quite dangerous if Miyo were abducted.

Concentrating everything in the Imperial Palace felt a bit like fighting with their backs up against the wall, which didn’t exactly thrill him. However, Takaihito’s proposal did seem like the most efficient way of protecting him and Miyo.

“The government and the Ministry of the Imperial Household have signed off on the plan. Keep on moving ahead with it as scheduled.”

Kiyoka nodded obediently, making sure his displeasure didn’t show on his face.

“Understood.”

Ookaito must have surmised that Kiyoka was hiding some dissatisfaction, but he didn’t point it out.

Their conversation hit a lull, and Godou came into the room with a tray, as if he had been waiting for his moment.

“I’m back!”

He put down a tea set with accompanying cakes for the two of them, and they transitioned into the next topic of discussion.

“Now then, regarding the Gifted Communion’s activities and the newspaper articles.”

Tension ran through Kiyoka’s whole body like a pounding heartbeat.

They were currently on the back foot cracking down on the Gifted Communion.

The investigation into how people could see Grotesqueries without Spirit-Sight was getting nowhere, and propaganda about the Gifted Communion was being spread with abandon. This was a failure on Kiyoka’s part as the commander of the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit tasked with handling all supernatural incidents.

Things would have never turned out this way if he had been able to predict what Usui or his subordinate Houjou would do next. Clearly, he had mismanaged his opportunities to get the upper hand on the pair.

Kiyoka had no excuses to give.

“Relax, relax. This is an extremely abnormal situation, and I don’t really mean to criticize you about it. It’s definitely not your fault that we’re so far behind in our research on Gifts and Grotesqueries. Prince Takaihito even said there wasn’t much else that could’ve been done.”

“Still, there was surely a defter way of handling things.”

It wasn’t productive to go back and forth about something that was already in the past. But Kiyoka had already been bested by Usui several times at this point, so he couldn’t just shrug off his past mistakes.

Ookaito lifted his lips into a grin as he watched Kiyoka reprimand himself.

“It’s not like you to say that. Instead of agonizing over things, you’re the type to think about what to do next instead, aren’t you? That’s what you should be doing here, if you ask me.”

“…My apologies.”

Kiyoka bowed slightly, to which Ookaito heaved a sigh and rubbed his chin.

“That said, this latest incident has been strange right from the get-go.”

“Strange, sir?”

“Information about Grotesqueries is supposed to be strictly controlled, you see.”

The subject of Gifts and supernatural creatures was usually under governmental control.

Information would occasionally leak from their regulatory network into the public, but it was generally something small enough that the government could laugh off as nonsense.

If newspaper companies and journalists made a lot of noise about leaked information, they were guaranteed to have government eyes on them.

So despite the Gifted Communion’s propaganda push, it should have been inconceivable that every last newspaper would publish articles on Gifts and Grotesqueries as if they were credible.

“Where, and how, did the regulations slacken…? We’re already putting pressure on the papers and making them prep a correction, but I don’t expect it will have much of an effect.”

By issuing a correction, the best they could hope for was to end the rumors with the credibility of the article strengthened. It would convince people that the government was threatening the papers to prevent the inconvenient truth from getting out.

It didn’t help that a majority of papers had ran multiple articles on the Gifted Communion’s assertions—that sustained news push was more than enough to get the public to accept the information as true. It was far too late for corrections.

“At this point, the only way we could reverse public opinion would be to get the people to focus on some sort of great military achievement.”

“That’s right. But we can’t just pull a feat like that out of thin air.”

If they were going to create some great military achievement to report on, they’d have to start a war of some kind.

Thus, in this case, the optimal solution was…

“So our only choice is to clamp down on Grotesquerie-related news and wait until the uproar dies down on its own?” Godou chimed in from Kiyoka’s side.

“Indeed,” Ookaito responded, his face clouded.

But that won’t go very well.

Information control had never slackened enough to invite a situation like this before, which meant that someone must be deliberately letting things slide.

And that person had to be someone with close ties to the government and the management of the state.

This mysterious figure also must have had an objective, one that requires they show contempt for the government, for the military, and for the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit.

Whoever this person was, they weren’t going to sit quietly while the military waited for the people’s memories of Grotesqueries to fade.

On top of this, if the Gifted Communion’s accusations and their activities continued to spread, it was only a matter of time before the existence of Gift-users would start to be credibly reported on throughout the country.

“The Founder is trying to create a whole new world. One where every human is given the chance to receive supernatural abilities.”

Houjou’s words replayed in the back of Kiyoka’s mind.

It was easy to imagine.

To create a world where everyone could have a Gift, Usui would first need everyone to know that Gifts existed.

Grab power, make the existence of Gifts and Grotesqueries known throughout the country, and increase the number of artificial Gift-users. From there…

Usui’s actions up until then had naturally led to that objection.

First, he would abolish the current structure of the country using the emperor’s authority.

The Gifted Communion would espouse preferential treatment for Gift-users.

The management of this new country would fall to the Gift-users whose physical and supernatural abilities surpassed that of the ordinary person, while on the other hand, those without a Gift would be able to rise up the ranks as artificial Gift-users if they so desired.

And at the top of this hierarchy would sit the Usuba family.

Usuba Gift-users could control the human heart and mind. They were superior in ability to every other Gift-user and every other human being.

Gift-users would control the common people without any Gifts, and those Gift-users would in turn be controlled by the Usubas. Kiyoka suspected that this was the organizational structure the Gifted Communion was trying to create.

Everything Usui has done up until now has laid the foundation for this type of society, too.

As had the abduction of the emperor, and extending his influence inside the government. As had spreading information about the existence of Gifts and Grotesqueries.

It appeared that Usui’s plan was more or less bringing Japan back to square one in order to lay the groundwork for a new system where Gift-users, and the Usuba family above them, reigned supreme.

If the Gifted Communion could achieve that, they would have no use for even the emperor himself, and they could safely dispose of him.

Right now, it was as though all the Gift-users in the state, and even the imperial throne itself, were pawns in Usui’s hands.

Were Kiyoka and the government truly continuing down the correct path? He couldn’t be sure.

“Kiyoka.”

“Yes, sir?”

“You need to be emotionally prepared for this,” Ookaito said with a stern expression.

The general’s words were heavy. Kiyoka didn’t have to ask what he needed to be prepared for, exactly. He knew without hearing it for himself.

There was only one thing that a soldier needed to ready himself for.

Kiyoka tightened his fist. He glanced at Godou to find that his subordinate’s face was scrunched up as well.

“Will it devolve into civil war? Oh, my apologies, sir, I—”

Godou hastily apologized for voicing his thoughts, but Ookaito held up his hand to cut him off.

“No, it’s fine… There haven’t been any clear omens as of yet, it sounds like. However, apparently Takaihito has a premonition that some sort of large political change is going to happen.”

If Kiyoka’s speculation was correct, then there absolutely would be political tumult.

A sea change enabling the Gifted Communion and Usui to overthrow the country…one that would let them abolish everything and take over.

Once that occurred, even if Usui’s schemes should ultimately fail, neither the government nor the military would make it out unscathed. Naturally, that extended to the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit, too.

Kiyoka rubbed his brow.

What I need to do is…

The role he needed to play as a military man, as a Gift-user serving the imperial family, hadn’t changed.

And yet he found himself thinking of his fiancée before his duties, or anything else, for that matter. A part of him thought that as long as he could protect her, maybe that was enough.

Perhaps he was a failure as both a soldier and a Gift-user.

A soft breeze caressed her cheek, accompanied by the faint scent of verdure.

When she came to, Miyo found herself standing in the middle of a blurred landscape, the kind she would see between sleep and reality.

Is this the Usuba house?

The only sound she could hear was the rustling leaves and grass. She had a feeling she had seen the quaint, scenic garden before.

This was the house that her real mother, Sumi, had lived in before she was married off to the Saimoris. Though the exterior had since been remodeled, the building was currently under the protection of her grandfather Yoshirou and her cousin Arata.

But this version of the house from the past didn’t just look different—it also had a different atmosphere.

This is a dream, isn’t it…? That’s right. I saw the Usuba house in a dream once before.

She had come to this place just once in the past, right after she had encountered Usui on her trip back from the Kudou family villa.

In that dream, Sumi and Naoshi Usui had talked intimately together. What was she going to see this time?

Her consciousness still hazy, Miyo looked down at both her hands, which were vague and out of focus, before thinking about the situation.

She didn’t understand why her dreams would take her to the Usuba house of the past.

Miyo had gained much control over Dream Sight, though it still wasn’t perfect. At the very least, she no longer had to worry about her Gift activating against her will.

In which case, that meant she was using her powers unconsciously. But was something like this even possible?

“I’m not sure if this house will be okay, the way things are going.”

The questions in her head were interrupted by a young girl’s voice.

The voice she heard was one she had undoubtedly no real memory of, yet had encountered many times within her dreams, enough to recognize it immediately—her mother’s.

This dream had to be taking place a number of years after her previous one.

The guilelessness Miyo had heard in Sumi’s voice before had been replaced by listlessness.

“Don’t worry, Sumi. I’ll figure out something, just watch. I don’t like the Usubas or the Usuis, but if it’s for your sake, I will.”

Next, she heard Usui’s murmurs on the wind.

She walked ahead a bit more and spied the two of them in the shade of the garden.

Sumi was sitting on the roots of a tree, hanging her head slightly. Usui was crouched down in front of her, taking her hand and trying to cheer her up.

“Thank you, Naoshi. But I’m sure there’s nothing that can be done about this. It’s possible the person pressuring our family…is someone very, very high ranking, the kind we could never touch.”

From Sumi’s words, Miyo gathered she was dreaming of the point in the past when the Usuba family had begun to fall on hard times.

She’d already heard about what had happened from Yoshirou. Sumi’s apprehensions had become reality for the Usubas.

The high-ranking person she’d mentioned was none other than the reigning emperor himself.

Was Naoshi still trying to cheer Sumi up? For just a moment, Miyo thought she had seen a sharp, and cold, glimmer in his eyes.

“Sumi. You don’t have worry about all that stuff. I’m going to destroy it all—everything troubling you, everything that’s making you distressed, everything making you sad.”

“I told you not to be violent, didn’t I?”

“Violence isn’t always a bad thing, you know. If you destroy everything bad, grind it into dust until there’s nothing left, then you can collect everything you love and rebuild it all anew. You and I can rebuild everything—we can make a world all for you. A place that’s kind to you.”

A terrified shiver ran down her spine.

But Miyo was the only one who felt that way, for Sumi herself just gave a feeble smile of exasperation.

“Sheesh, you know there’s no way you could do that. Enough with the childish jokes, okay? Believe me, I know your feelings on the matter.”

She was wrong. What Usui had just said had been anything but a joke.

They were his truest feelings. After this period of time, he would go on to create the Gifted Communion, which was working all these years later to create a new world.

Miyo took a single step backward. In that brief moment, her foot crunched against the gravel on the ground.

“Ah…”

A lone sound escaped her lips.

This was her dream, so there shouldn’t have been any chance that Sumi and Usui would realize Miyo was there, yet she couldn’t help but worry for a second that they would realize she was eavesdropping.

She instantly brought her hands to her mouth, despite the fact it was unnecessary. Or at least, it should have been.

Huh?

For some reason, Usui slowly turned his head, before he stared assuredly right where Miyo was standing. Of that, there was no doubt.

Why…?

The young man had turned his eyes, filled with an abnormal gleam, toward her.

Her heart nearly stopped from the shock as she froze, as though she were a frog being stared down by a snake. Then everything went black.

The morning they were to go to the Imperial Palace was a clear winter’s day, the sky cloudless and blue.

Miyo and Kiyoka both hastily finished their early-morning breakfast and dressed themselves before they locked up their house in preparation for their temporary absence.

There was so much to do that Miyo didn’t have a spare moment to analyze the dream she’d had the night prior.

I can think about what it means later… That should be fine.

She recalled Usui’s stare from the dream.

It had seemed like he was looking straight at her, but ultimately, it was still a dream. She must have been overthinking things. Besides, it wasn’t an urgent matter.

In an attempt to distract herself, Miyo examined her luggage, which she’d packed with everything she would need for her stay.

After double-checking the contents of her bags, she carried them one by one to the doorway. Kiyoka then piled them into the open space inside his automobile.

When he finished loading everything, the inside of the car was packed so full that there was barely enough room for the two of them.

“Should’ve sent some of the bags ahead of us,” Kiyoka mumbled after climbing into the driver’s seat, grabbing the wheel and glancing behind him.

Miyo smiled slightly and nodded.

“I agree. By the way, we’re meeting up with Sis and Yurie there, right?”

“Yeah. I already told them we’d all get together at the Imperial Palace.”

He drove slowly down the road, which was damp from the melting snow.

Their destination, the Imperial Palace, had already been converted into a simplified branch station for the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit.

Kiyoka and the rest of his troops would stay in a makeshift campsite there, arranging chances for them to return home in shifts.

Conversely, Miyo and her attendants, Hazuki and Yurie, would be staying in a separate building that was attached to Takaihito’s residence at the Imperial Palace by a roofed passageway. It had been emptied out for the three of them.

The building was hardly meant for lodging, as it was typically used as a small venue or waiting room during festivals and other functions, but now wasn’t the time to be voicing any complaints on the matter.

The Gift-users in the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit were utilizing their abilities to set up a barrier around Takaihito’s residence, along with the building where Miyo, Yurie, and Hazuki were staying.

Miyo felt so unworthy to be residing in the same Imperial Palace that housed the most august family in the Empire while also receiving the same protection as the imperial heir, Takaihito, that she was on the verge of freezing up.

Nearly forgetting how to breathe, Miyo let out a sigh, at which Kiyoka consoled her.

“It’s okay. Prince Takaihito himself said he would accommodate you as much as possible. The prince isn’t very formal, either, so just think of it like you’re staying at an inn.”

“…Like an inn? I could never.”

A normal lodging house wouldn’t have made her anywhere near this nervous. There was no way she could trick herself into thinking that the Imperial Palace was just another place to rest her head.

It would be one thing for Kiyoka, who was familiar with Takaihito since they had been acquainted from a young age.

I’m not in any position to get close to someone like Prince Takaihito in the first place.

While Miyo had been raised in a Gift-user family, the Saimoris no longer gave birth to strong ones, and had become unable to fulfill their role. On top of that, Miyo had once been a poor-mannered woman without any true education to speak of.

Normally, a family of that standing would consider a daughter like Miyo a disgrace. They would resort to either marrying her off to a family with extenuating circumstances, driving her out, or keeping her in their estate until she died.

And indeed, Miyo had been no exception, and was married off to the infamously coldhearted Kiyoka in place of her stepsister.

Kiyoka had been kind, and now she was able to live happily, but if that hadn’t been the case, she would’ve spent her whole life in misery.

Given her circumstances, it was absurd that she had even been given the opportunity to exchange words with Takaihito, much less stay in his residence.

“Believe in yourself. Remember that you’re betrothed to the head of the Kudou family. Walk as though looking around the Imperial Palace is beneath you.”

She widened her eyes with shock at Kiyoka’s suggestion.

Her fiancé had lived as a Gift-user his whole life. Gift-users pledged their loyalty to the ones bestowed with Divine Revelation, such as the emperor and crowned prince.

That was why she was baffled to hear him describe the Imperial Palace as “beneath her.”

Still, she understood that he was only exaggerating to cheer her up, and her lips softened into a smile despite herself.

“Thank you very much. I’ll work hard and try to be confident.”

“Right, well. I’m not really sure that comes to you with hard work. Hazuki will be there with you, so if you’re ever unsure, just act like she does or do what she tells you, and you’ll be fine… At least I think so.”

“Okay. I’ll follow Sis’s lead.”

“Good, but, well, don’t take after her too much…”

As they spoke, the automobile came upon a road that Miyo wasn’t very familiar with.

A place that normally she’d almost never approach. At last, the Imperial Palace came into view.

The scenery around the palace was unlike any other place in the capital.

Compared to the hustle and bustle of downtown, there weren’t nearly as many pedestrians, and the buildings were more uniformly Japanese in appearance. Upon closer inspection, Miyo saw that there were many large corporate offices in the area, along with office workers dressed in suits. The atmosphere was calm and composed on the whole.

In front of the solemn gate that separated the Imperial Palace from the outside world, she could see a number of people dressed in military garb standing with the gate guards.

The men, who she vaguely recognized from her stay at the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit station, stood at attention and bowed the moment they spied Kiyoka in the driver’s seat of his automobile.

Kiyoka stopped the car close to the soldiers.

“Good work.”

“Good day, Commander!”

“It’s okay if I park nearby for a little while, right?”

“Yessir! Not a problem.”

After speaking with one of the soldiers from the group, Kiyoka once again started the automobile and parked it just past the gate, parallel against the fence that encircled the palace grounds.

“We need to pass through two more gates from here. Is that okay?”

Miyo nodded in response to Kiyoka’s question.

They did have a lot of luggage, though. Her things alone comprised three bags total, far more than she could hope to carry in one trip. Just as this occurred to her, two members from Kiyoka’s unit arrived and offered to take their bags.

A telekinetic Gift of some kind would have easily taken care of things, but Gift-users had a tacit agreement to avoid using their powers in front of commoners as much as possible. Obviously, times when they were left with no choice, like emergencies or expelling Grotesqueries, were the exception.

Miyo insisted on carrying the bag that held her valuables and personal effects and followed behind Kiyoka as he boldly strode through the Imperial Palace gate.

To enter into the palace grounds from the very first outer gate, they would need to cross a large bridge.

This structure extended across the deep, wide moat that circled the periphery of the Imperial Palace grounds, wide enough for two automobiles to drive past each other with ease, and it took about a hundred and twenty paces to cross on foot.

Tearing her gaze from the view in front of her, she glanced down at the moat below the bridge to find that it was green and cloudy.

After they finished crossing the bridge, another came into view. They had just passed through the outer gate and were now at the inner one. Inside this layer of the palace they saw that the grounds were divided by several layers of moats, ponds, and fences, which would serve as a defense mechanism against invaders.

They passed through the second gate and stepped out onto a well-maintained road, which was surrounded by several gardens. Though they weren’t much of a sight in winter, the beautiful trees and flowers planted here would have been a sight to behold in spring or summer.

Up ahead, they saw a single parked horse-drawn carriage.

They weren’t going to ride in that, were they?

The sight took Miyo by surprise, but Kiyoka offered an explanation.

“This carriage is used for transporting people around the grounds of the Imperial Palace. It’s typically reserved for imperial guests, but Prince Takaihito had it sent for us.”

“I-incredible…”

Horse-drawn methods of travel were slowly but surely falling out of favor, replaced by automobiles, bicycles, and even trains.

Since Miyo had lived without ever leaving the grounds of her home up until recently, this was also her first time seeing a horse in the flesh.

“We’ll take the carriage to Prince Takaihito’s residence.”

Saying that, Kiyoka immediately approached the vehicle, and Miyo followed after.

The horse at the head of the carriage was not one native to the Empire, but a breed from the West with a large and powerful body. Miyo felt almost overwhelmed next to it, knowing the horse could easily send someone her size flying.

The carriage itself, meanwhile, wasn’t in the usual box-shaped style. Instead, it was similar to a rickshaw, with open-air seats that were covered by a hood. Befitting the Imperial Palace, however, it was far from cheap; even the fabric covering the seats was clearly of the highest quality.

Miyo took Kiyoka’s hand and stepped up into the slightly elevated passenger seat first, before he hoisted himself up into the carriage.

After making sure the two of them were seated properly, the driver took the reins in his hands and urged the horse forward.

Miyo looked around while listening to the carriage wheels clatter in accompaniment with the hooves of the horse. Across a small moat partitioning the grounds, she saw what were likely facilities that related to the Imperial Palace itself, a couple of governmental-looking buildings replete with people scurrying about.

Far in the distance, she could see an area that resembled a forest, whose thick trees were a departure from the other gardens.

Above all of this stood a strikingly large palace. This had to be where the emperor lived. To Miyo, the Imperial Palace grounds were practically a town or small nation of its own.

The carriage ran along the well-maintained pathway, crossing over several bridges that spanned ponds and moats, and passed by the large central palace before stopping in front of the building right behind it.

This was Takaihito’s—the crown prince’s—residence.

It was one size smaller than the emperor’s residence, but still magnificent and expansive, nonetheless.

When Kiyoka and Miyo alighted from the carriage, they were immediately approached by several people they knew well.

“Oh, Miyo!”

“Sis.”

The first to walk up to them was Kiyoka’s older sister, Hazuki.

Since Miyo had been spending most of her days at the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit station as of late, she’d had less time to spend on Hazuki’s etiquette lessons. Miyo couldn’t have been happier that the end of the year and the New Year’s holidays had given her more chances to see Kiyoka’s sister.

On the other hand, Kiyoka gave an icy greeting to his older sister like always.

“Sis…”

“Look who the cat dragged in. All your men are already hard at work, you know. Shouldn’t you hurry up and join them?”

“I don’t need you to tell me that.”

At his sister’s officious comment, Kiyoka furrowed his brows in displeasure.

Right as a hint of tension came over the group, Yurie suddenly poked her head out from behind Hazuki.

“Young Master, Miss Hazuki, I don’t believe this is the place to quarrel with each other.”

The siblings put their grievances aside and ceased arguing once Yurie made that reasonable observation.

Miyo carefully waited for calm to return to the group and greeted the two women with a slight bow.

“Good morning, Sis, Yurie.”

“Good morning to you, too, Miss Miyo.”

“Morning, Miyo.”

“Um, thank you both for being here for me.”

They had both come here as Miyo’s attendants.

The pair hadn’t hesitated to come live with her, even though they both knew that the stay had the potential to last longer than the two weeks’ estimate they had been given. Miyo had to show them her gratitude.

To her surprise, however, neither women seemed bothered by the arrangement in the slightest, and they cheerfully smiled back at her.

“You don’t have to worry about anything, Miyo. You’ve done nothing wrong, and this is what the situation called for. We’re family, so let me help out.”

“It’s exactly as Hazuki said, Miss Miyo. I’m nervous about being in a castle for the first time myself, but I promise to ensure you’re able to live here in peace.”

Hazuki was her usual dependent self. The fact that she could be so confident in a place like this would leave anyone self-conscious. Unable to follow her example, Miyo was struck with admiration for her.

And though Yurie had to be nervous to be in such an imposing place for the first time, her expression was as gentle as ever.

When Miyo tried pointing this out, Yurie gave this response:

“Oh please, Miss Miyo. This old woman has been around for many, many years. It takes a lot to unsettle me these days.”

It was truly encouraging to have them both as her attendants.

“Thank you, both of you. I hope our time together goes well…,” Miyo said.

A short while later, the unit members who had been entrusted with carrying Kiyoka’s and Miyo’s luggage appeared. After Miyo and Kiyoka accepted their bags, they entrusted themselves to the courtiers in Takaihito’s residence.

With their general salutations out of the way, it was then decided that Miyo and the others would have a meeting to discuss how she would spend her days going forward.

Perhaps “meeting” was overselling things. It wasn’t a strict affair, but more of a brief check-in. The participants would be Kiyoka, Miyo, Hazuki, and Arata.

Speaking of Arata, he showed up right before the others were about to be on their way. Kiyoka eyed Miyo’s cousin with suspicion.

“Arata Usuba. Where have you been?”

“Hah-hah-hah. Your hair will start falling out if you sweat the small stuff.”

Miyo stared hard at him.

His slim figure looked especially refined in the light-colored vest and black suit he had on, which was complemented by his necktie and coat.

Coupled with his affable and gentle smile, Arata looked the picture of a dapper young gentleman.

She had met with Arata both at the same year-end party as Hazuki, and also when she visited the Usuba house to give her New Year’s greetings. In both instances, he had been his usual self, not the slightest bit different.

Normally, this would have been cause for celebration. It would suggest he wasn’t working himself up over the fiasco of the emperor being snatched away right before his very eyes.

However, she couldn’t help feeling uneasy when she looked at Arata’s countenance.

I hope I’m simply under the wrong impression…

Arata was the type of person to sacrifice himself out of a sense of duty. Though he lived under a unique set of rules, he was still a Gift-user.

Consequently, he had just as much of an obligation as his peers to obey and protect the emperor. Was Miyo the only one who felt a perilously false cheer about him?

No, no, I should stop worrying about things I don’t need to. If it’s enough for me to notice, then someone who knows much, much more than me, like Kiyoka, would definitely have immediately inferred the same thing.

She needed to focus on herself. She was fully aware that she wasn’t clever enough to worry over multiple things at once.

“Miyo.”

“Y-yes?”

Miyo shook herself out of her mental digression as the source of her concerns addressed her with a smile.

“I’ve been tasked with being your personal security.”

“So I heard. Thank you.”

When she replied, Arata’s smile grew even brighter.

“I’m thrilled I get to spend time together with you. We’ll be continuing your studies about Gifts, too, so I hope you’re ready.”

Ever since Miyo had awoken to her Gift, Arata had continued to give her lectures, teaching her about the supernatural powers. Her studies had stagnated recently, with a majority of her time being spent at the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit station, but it appeared that they would be able to begin again while she was staying at Takaihito’s residence.

Miyo automatically straightened up her posture and nodded.

“Yes, I’ll do my best.”

That said, the fact that Kiyoka had agreed to the idea of having Arata be Miyo’s bodyguard, after being so reluctant to do so before revealed just how very serious he was about the situation.

It also showed just how formidable of opponents the Gifted Communion and Naoshi Usui were.

“If you destroy everything bad, grind it into dust until there’s nothing left…”

What exactly were the bad things Usui had referred to?

He said that he had come for Miyo. In which case, “destroying”…or rather, killing her, couldn’t have been his aim.

But what about everything else? The things and people who were precious to her, that she was terrified of losing? What would happen to them?

It was too horrifying for her to imagine.

“Is something wrong, Miyo?”

Her cousin was staring at her.

Arata was a member of the Usuba family. Their Gifts had the unique ability to control the mind, just like the powers passed down in the main Usui line.

In which case—Miyo asked the question that had been on her mind in a whisper.

“If you’re protecting me, that means he’s trying to come after me, right?”

“Naoshi Usui, yes. Personally, I’d like to always be at your side protecting you, but that would be why I’m here now.”

“His Gift is very powerful… Do you know some sort of way to counteract it?”

Whether there was some way to overcome it or not, it likely wouldn’t change what Miyo needed to do, nor would it change Kiyoka’s decision or Arata’s role. Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but ask.

She didn’t want to believe that it was impossible to resist someone who so boldly asserted his capacity to destroy everything.

“I have thought of various possibilities myself.”

“…Do any of them seem like they’ll be effective?”

“I’m not sure. That being said, I’m reluctant to discuss things that are indeterminate, so I can’t give you an answer right now.”

That made sense. Even if Arata did have a way of countering Usui in mind, it wasn’t the best of ideas to talk about it in the open, where someone could be listening.

Miyo hung her head, reflecting on her impudence.

“Now then, let’s head to our meeting. Everything starts there.”

At Arata’s insistence, they crossed the threshold into Takaihito’s residence.

Miyo couldn’t afford to feign indifference as an outsider. She was unbearably impatient. She had regretted causing such a fuss during the incident with Kaoruko, but when it came to Naoshi Usui, she was undeniably a central figure in the affair.

Perhaps there was nothing she could do. Not when she was so weak and hadn’t mastered her Gift.

Yet she couldn’t stand to sit on the sidelines and let the others protect her without doing anything for them in return.

But maybe it would be best if I didn’t do anything at all.

The last time she’d confronted Usui, she had jumped out in front of everyone without thinking.

Things had only ended well because fortune had been on her side. Her last-ditch effort could have gotten everyone else killed, and if Kiyoka hadn’t arrived in time, then Usui would’ve carried her off.

But what exactly was she supposed to do if she was essentially powerless?

With these doubts still in her mind, she entered the sitting room they had prepared for their meeting and sat down on one of the floor cushions.

“Now, this may not be the most important topic, but…,” Kiyoka said, before he began listing the things they needed to agree upon.

The first thing that Miyo would have to be careful about at Takaihito’s residence was to avoid leaving the grounds of the residence on her own. Permission or not, the only places she could go were the building where Takaihito resided, the detached structure where Miyo and the others would be living, and the area in between them. In essence, these two edifices would serve as the focal point of the barrier that would be projected around them.

The second stipulation was to not invite anybody in without advance notice, even if it was someone she was familiar with. This was, of course, a precaution against a trap from Usui.

The third rule was to obey all of Takaihito’s orders.

“There are instructions…from Prince Takaihito?” Miyo asked Kiyoka, unable to really grasp what he meant.

The military, specifically the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit under Ookaito, was playing a central role in this operation. Normally the Ministry of the Imperial Household would employ their own specialized techniques to protect the emperor and the royal family, but they were going up against the Gifted Communion this time.

The organization consisted entirely of Gift-users, from their founder, Naoshi Usui, to members of the Houjou family, to people who had been given artificial Gifts. Guards who had been trained to fight normal humans would be ineffective against these foes.

Because of this, Takaihito was entrusting security to the army, even though he had developed this plan himself.

“Yes. He said something to the effect of wanting to talk with you about something.”

“W-with me?”

“That’s right.”

“Just what could he want to speak with me about…?”

“Who knows?” Kiyoka replied, looking puzzled.

Miyo couldn’t believe she had anything in common with Takaihito to talk about. To be honest, it didn’t seem like they would really be on the same wavelength with each other. Takaihito’s personal dispositions, circumstances, his way of thinking… Miyo imagined that they were all completely different from her own.

“In any case, if Prince Takaihito asks you to do something, please obey his wishes,” Kiyoka said.

“I—I understand. I’ll do my best,” she replied enthusiastically.

Hazuki chuckled.

“It’s fine, you don’t have to get so worked up. If he says anything inappropriate, then I can help you, too, after all. Leave it to me. And while I’m at it, I can raise a complaint or—”

“Sis! Please don’t tell me… You’re not planning on scolding Prince Takaihito, too, are you?”

“What? Even he has a weakness or two, you know. Stuff from when he was little, for example.”

“Stop jumping at the chance to poke and prod at people’s insecurities like that, seriously.”

Despite the deep wrinkles forming on Kiyoka’s brow, Hazuki was all smiles.

I—I’ll definitely have to stop Sis if she starts lecturing Prince Takaihito.

It was imperative that she avoid a situation where Hazuki exploited the weaknesses of the imperial heir apparent to get him to submit to her. The dignity of the Empire was on the line.

Miyo swore this to herself while feeling a different kind of nervousness pound loudly in her chest.

“Now then, Commander Kudou. I imagine you have some arrangements to make regarding me, as well?” Arata remarked, casually raising his hand.

He would be serving as Miyo’s personal bodyguard, but he wasn’t part of the military, and though he was physically strong, he didn’t have the same level of knowledge about guarding others that Kiyoka and his men did.

“I do. We’re going to restrict your contact with the outside world, too, Usuba. Though, given that you’ll be at Miyo’s side all day long, I can’t imagine you’ll have much opportunity to be out and about anyway.”

“Good point… If, by any chance, I am to confront Usui, how should I handle him?”

Startled, Miyo looked over at Arata’s face.

Was such hypothesizing really necessary? After tightening up the security so much, was there were any possibility of Usui finding his way here?

No, no, there obviously is.

Usui could manipulate people’s senses with his Gift. No matter what sort of people they had standing watch, Usui could slip right under their nose by confounding their sight or hearing.

Although the people in charge of the barrier had designed it to repel Usui specifically, they couldn’t be certain that it was foolproof.

A stern look suddenly came over Kiyoka as well.

“You think that’s really necessary after all.”

“Of course it is. I won’t say that anything is possible for Naoshi Usui. If he was truly all-powerful, then he would have taken control of the Empire long before this and eliminated anyone who could interfere with his plans, but none of that’s happened yet. His Gift must have some kind of restriction.”

Arata paused to take a breath, and looked straight at Kiyoka.

“However, I can’t say there’s zero chance that he’ll slip through the defenses here and be allowed to sneak in this far, either.”

“…You make a fair point. I fully agree. If worse comes to worst and Naoshi Usui appears before you and my fiancée within this residence, you need to protect Miyo. If that time comes and you have any strength to spare beyond that, then…”

The words kill him never left Kiyoka’s mouth, but everyone could pick up on what he was implying.

“I don’t need to capture him?”

“I’ll put it like this instead— Do you think you can actually capture that man?”

Kiyoka and Arata exchanged glares, their gazes so intense that sparks seemed to fly between them.

At some point, either Hazuki or Miyo gulped loudly in the face of the tension in the air. Arata’s and Kiyoka’s auras were so intense that Miyo couldn’t tell who had made the sound.

The two men rammed their wills against each other solely through their unblinking gazes, until Arata finally closed his eyes, dispelling the tension.

“No, I don’t think that’s happening. Just capturing and holding him? Absolutely out of the question.”

“That’s what I thought. Still, there’s no need to be proactive about killing him. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”

“Got it. I’ll keep that in mind.”

After confirming two to three more matters of discussion, the meeting adjourned.

Unlike Miyo and Hazuki, who only needed to prepare for their lives in the imperial residence by unpacking and handling other chores, and unlike Arata, whose task was only to watch over Miyo, Kiyoka was very busy.

The military operation, particularly when it came to the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit, couldn’t begin without him.

Despite understanding how impossible it may have been, Miyo hoped that Kiyoka wouldn’t wear himself too thin from work as she watched her fiancé head off to the base camp outside the residence.

“Well, now that my fussy little brother’s gone, why don’t we hurry up and finish the unpacking so we can let our hair down a little?”

Hazuki flashed a smile shining with vitality.

“Letting your hair down, even at a time like this? Color me impressed.”

From how Arata put it, Miyo couldn’t tell if he was simply being sarcastic or not, but she agreed with him. In the simply impressed sense of his comment, of course.

Miyo was so nervous that letting her hair down seemed all but impossible.

In fact, merely looking around her made her overwhelmed by the majesty and solemnity of the building.

It was an archaic, one-story wooden structure, bereft of any easily understood ostentation or splendor.

Instead, the craftmanship of the building was impressive, like with the wood planks used in its long corridors and the ceilings. The lengthy pieces of lumber had been transported without being cut anywhere, a feat which must have been unbelievably expensive.

There was also the fact that the lintels and columns, which were ornated with ranma transoms engraved with detailed designs of flowers, trees, birds, and beasts, weren’t blemished at all. Nor did the tatami flooring show the slightest suggestions of fading or wear…the list of examples went on.

The endless amount of spotless details made clear to Miyo that there had been a significant amount of time and money spent on both the construction and administration of the building.

Along with the quality of the courtiers, even the very air was different not only from the house of the average commoner, but a cut above even the estates of the average rich man.

“Well, I’m quite used to it,” Hazuki responded. “When my father was still actively serving His Majesty, Kiyoka and I would often come and go from the Imperial Palace. We were also around Prince Takaihito, too.”

“That makes sense.”

As expected of the Kudou family. Their status as the highest ranking Gift-user family was well-earned. That was simply how often they had the chance to have audiences with the emperor.

However, when Miyo considered that the emperor the previous Kudou family head, Tadakiyo Kudou, served had brought hard times down on the Usuba family and brought a great number of people pain, her mood immediately dowered.

Thinking that there was someone with even more feelings on the subject than her, Miyo looked over at her cousin. Although he wore a smile on his face, she sensed a coldness contained within it.

Hazuki must have picked up on their subtle reactions, for her face darkened.

“I’m sorry. You two both must hate to hear about the emperor. It was thoughtless of me to bring him up.”

“Not at all…”

Hazuki wasn’t at fault here. Casual words innocently spoken often brushed against topics that someone might not want to touch on.

Miyo shook her head side-to-side.

“It’s okay. We’re here in the Imperial Palace right now, after all. We can’t let it bother us every time his name comes up.”

Arata nodded in agreement.

“Miyo hit the nail on the head. Besides, we can’t move forward if we let ourselves get hung up on this every time. It’s clear that the principles behind Usui’s actions involve our family’s past. And His Majesty is the root of those problems. We can’t afford to avert our eyes with mixed feelings on our faces.”

“Still, that wasn’t very considerate of me. I’m sorry.”

Miyo’s chest ached as she watched Hazuki slump.

However, while her heart darkened when she thought about the Usubas and Usui, she was still interested in hearing about the Kudou family’s past, about Hazuki and Kiyoka, and about their father Tadakiyo.

“Please don’t worry about it, Sis. Tell me more stories from your past. I’d like to hear them.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

Miyo consciously raised her lips into a smile, and Hazuki let out a relieved sigh.

“Thank you, Miyo. In that case, I’ll tell you some of the really valuable ones.”

“Valuable?

“That’s right. The juicy details about when Kiyoka was little.”

Miyo agreed that those stories were indeed valuable. Her interest was very, very piqued.

She wanted to know everything and anything about her fiancé. She was sure it was a normal feeling to have. Not special at all.

I’m going to continue supporting Kiyoka from now on. I’m going to become a wife who can do that for him. That much is plenty.

She didn’t need anything else, so Miyo avoided going down that line of thought.

Ignoring the emotions that threatened to bubble over when uncovered, she sealed them away once more.

Miyo was given a large parlor room to stay in.

If she took away the sliding screen doors, which was adorned with a pine that must have been painted by a famous screen artist, the space would have been one continuous room, large enough to hold a banquet. It was clear the magnificent hall wasn’t meant to be used as lodging space.

Judging by the way the courtier had spoken when showing them their rooms, the Imperial Palace must have given her this space under the assumption that a daughter from a respectable family would be accustomed to such space, but Miyo was completely unable to feel relaxed in the room.

“Quite spacious, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Very.”

Miyo sincerely agreed with Yurie’s comment, who had come along to assist Miyo with her unpacking.

I wonder how many times bigger this room is compared to my room back in my old home…?

Even when she closed the screen door, it was huge. To the point even where the luggage she had placed in a corner of the room seemed out of place.

“Now then, if you’ll pardon me, I will be using this room here.”

In the end, it was decided that Miyo and Yurie would use these two rooms, separated by the sliding screen door.

There was talk of Yurie having a separate room of her own, but the advantages ultimately aligned for Yurie and Miyo, since it would be easier for Yurie to serve Miyo if she was nearby, and they’d actually be able to use the open space in the room properly.

“Absolutely. Thank you for being here to help me.”

“It’s my pleasure. Why, I’m looking forward to having the chance to look after you around the clock, Miss Miyo.”

Miyo was about to say that she didn’t need to always be at her beck and call, but she swallowed her words when she saw Yurie happily start humming to herself.

The interior of the room had been furnished with bedding and a dressing table, a kimono rack, and a rattan box to hold smaller items.

After graciously rejecting the courtier’s offer of assistance, Miyo started to take out the small number of belongings she had brought with her from her bag. By the time she had finished tidying up, it was long past noon.

“How’s the unpacking going, Miyo?”

She heard Hazuki’s voice from outside.

Worried that she may have kept Hazuki waiting, Miyo hastily opened up the screen door into the hallway.

“I’m all done.”

“Did you have any issues?”

Miyo shook her head side to side.

What could possibly be a problem? Putting aside the room’s excessive size, it was perfect in every single way, and she could feel the courtiers’ and Takaihito’s care and consideration toward her at every turn.

“Not at all. They seem to be treating us exceptionally well.”

“That’s true. What about you, Yurie? Will you be able to live here just fine?”

Yurie nodded with a smile at the question, having stepped up behind Miyo without her catching on.

“Yes, I’ll be all right.”

“Really, that’s good to hear. Why don’t we have lunch, then? I had them prepare it for us in my room.”

“I’m allowed to come with you for that, right?”

Miyo was startled to hear Arata’s voice. He must have been acting the part of bodyguard, standing at the ready along the wall next to her room.

“What about your unpacking, Arata…?”

He greeted Miyo’s question with a smile.

“It’s all right. With my line of work, I’ve grown used to staying in places beyond the walls of my home. It won’t take me too long.”

“Right, the Usubas operate a trading company as their public identity, right?”

Arata nodded at Hazuki’s question.

“Yes. That said, my Giftless father leads the company, and I simply help him out as a negotiator.”

In the Gift-user sphere, the Usubas had recently begun to go by their own family name, but in larger society, Tsurugi and their trading company was the more well-known name. Most likely, even if the Usuba name permeated more than it had now, they would continue to use their multiple family names as they had been. This was just the reality of the situation.

Hazuki’s room lay beyond a bend in the hallway, some number of chambers removed from Miyo’s.

Its size was about the same as Miyo’s. It was similarly divided in two by a sliding screen as well, with one portion being used as a luggage storage area and the other for everyday use.

A dining table for four had been set up in the parlor room, which was spacious even after it had been split in two.

“Time to see what sort of food’s served in the Imperial Palace.”

Miyo cocked her head at her sister-in-law and her excited anticipation.

“Is this your first time eating in the Imperial Palace, too, Sis?”

“No, I’ve attended dinner here before. There was a large number of dishes to choose from, and they were all as luxurious as you’d expect. But I’ve definitely never had lunch here before.”

Hearing this, Miyo keenly felt just how valuable this experience was. If she stopped to think about it, it was obvious. It was exceedingly rare that someone like her, neither royalty nor even a courtier, would be spending several nights in the Imperial Palace.

Just then, she wondered what Kiyoka was doing for lunch.

I hope he makes sure to get a meal in…

Knowing him, he might easily skip out on a meal or two when work was busy.

She couldn’t be at his side to look after him, so there was nothing she could do, but she would need to interrogate him about his eating habits the next time they saw each other.

Once everyone sat down and gave thanks for the food, the lids were removed from the dinnerware that lined the table.

The contents of the lunch were much more mundane than Miyo had anticipated.

There was freshly cooked white rice, and warm soy sauce–flavored clear soup. The main dish was a piping hot white fish boiled in soy sauce, and the sides consisted of chopped seasonal vegetables with dressing, along with simmered root vegetables that looked rich in flavor.

However, the attractive display, from the dinnerware to the food presentation, clearly showed an attention to the lunch spread’s beauty, and Miyo could vividly see this meal was a step above the average lunch.

She first took a sip of the steaming bowl of clear soup.

“Delicious…”

Was the broth different? The subtle and refined fragrance of bonito fish spread from inside her mouth and up to her nose.

The boiled white fish, the seasonal veggies, and the root vegetables were all perfectly seasoned, their flavors neither too weak nor too strong. She felt like her own social status was rising with each bite.

“The Imperial Palace really is something else, if they’re preparing such delicious food not only for banquets but lunch as well.”

As Hazuki gave her spellbound praises, Yurie nodded along repeatedly to every word.

On the other hand, Arata didn’t react at all and silently continued eating his meal.

Now that Miyo thought about it, he didn’t seem to have much interest in food. Back when she had temporarily lived with the Usubas, he didn’t pay much attention to his meals, either.

“Arata. Is the food not to your liking?”

Miyo’s question prompted him to widen his eyes for a moment, before he shook his head with a smile.

“No. It’s very tasty.”

“But…”

She faltered, hesitant to come out and clearly say that he didn’t seem to be enjoying it much. However, Arata evidently picked up what was on her mind.

“Forgive me. It’s not that the food isn’t tasty, it’s more of a vocational curse, so to speak.”

“Vocational curse?”

“I travel all around the world for my work. There are countries I go to where the food they provide is delicious of course, but there are other times when I don’t find it to my taste. In those instances, I need to make sure I don’t insult the local people, so I strive to keep my reaction the same whether I enjoyed the food or not. It’s become a habit of mine.”

His reasoning made sense.

Miyo herself hadn’t ever stepped foot out of the Empire, and the only Western food she had sampled had been modified to appeal to the Empire’s citizens, so it didn’t feel like the actual thing to her. Nevertheless, she knew in theory that each region had their own climate and customs, and that the cuisines they had developed to appeal to their people wouldn’t necessarily be appetizing to the palettes of visiting foreigners.

Arata’s explanation offered Miyo a glimpse of the difficulties he’d experienced working as a trading company negotiator and needing to accept the hospitality of people from a variety of different regions.

Once they had gotten through most of their meal, Hazuki spoke up.

“About our schedules while we’re here.”

Yurie and Miyo sat upright, and Arata slowly turned his attention to Hazuki as well.

“We want to try to keep our lives as normal as possible while living here, right? The only thing is, we’re being treated as guests, so we don’t need to do any chores… Though really, the Imperial Palace has its set customs and traditions and functions on a minutely tracked daily schedule, so if we jump in to do things ourselves, we’ll just be causing extra work.”

When she’d first arrived at Kiyoka’s house, when she’d visited her father and mother-in-law at the Kudous’ villa, and when she’d started spending her days in the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit station—

—Miyo always helped out with the chores everywhere she went, but this was one situation where she couldn’t do so.

I have to be extra careful about not doing anything unnecessary.

She felt more at peace when she was working, but if she would just be causing problems, she couldn’t really call that work anyway. She would need to be prudent about it.

Miyo would have a different set of tasks to attend to while she was here.

“You’ll be studying with myself and Arata. And hard, too,” Hazuki said to Miyo.

“Okay.”

“As for you, Yurie, we can’t really afford to take up the courtier’s time, so can I leave in you in charge of cleaning our rooms and the like?”

“Yes, absolutely. Leave it to me.”

Yurie thumped her chest, full of pride. Her lack of nerves was so out of place with the grandness of the setting that Miyo had to stop herself from bursting into laughter.

“And lastly, Arata. What sort of orders have you been given?”

He lightly nodded at Hazuki’s question before answering.

“I’m generally going to be teaching Miyo while I remain at her side guarding her. However, as an Usuba, and a member of the main family that Usui’s is branched off from, I imagine that the military will want my counsel or support from time to time, as well.”

“Right. So you’ll be guarding Miyo, but if there’s some other business you need to deal with, you’ll be away from the residence, then?”

“Well,” Arata continued, seeing the grim countenance on Hazuki’s face as she confirmed his reply. “I don’t plan on being away for significant lengths of time, and there should be someone else to guard Miyo in my stead while I’m gone. I’m sure that it’ll be someone you’re familiar with, too, and not some unknown face.”

When she heard it would be “someone familiar,” the first person that came to Miyo’s mind was the woman with whom she had reaffirmed her friendship with, Kaoruko Jinnouchi.

She was still working in the capital as a member of the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit.

Kaoruko had originally been dispatched from the old capital to work in Godou’s stead while he was hospitalized, but even after Godou had returned to action, it was decided she’d remain here.

Rather than oust her in light of the fact that she’d betrayed the military, albeit under duress, the top brass was having her remain in the capital, where there would be more eyes on her.

I hope Kaoruko is getting along fine…

Considering her deeds, it would be difficult for her to return to her position as Miyo’s bodyguard. Moreover, she typically patrolled around town outside the station, so she wouldn’t be able to enter the Imperial Palace, much less Miyo’s temporary residence.

However, Miyo felt a bit dejected to think that she wouldn’t be able to see her at all like this.

Be that as it was, she wasn’t in any position to request a visit from Kaoruko, so there wasn’t anything she could do about it.

“What I mean is, there’s no need to worry, Miyo.”

“Okay.”

Miyo nodded, though it was nearly impossible for her to not worry about Kiyoka and company while they labored tirelessly.

There were a great many people doing their utmost to keep her safe. Miyo couldn’t possibly raise any objections to that.

The Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit had set up camp in two places—a section of the grounds where the various facilities that presided over the Imperial Palace administration, the Ministry of the Imperial Household, and the Office of the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal were crowded together, as well as in a garden situated right across from Takaihito’s residence.

The former, the advanced guard, was closer to the gate than the crown prince’s palace, had lax security restrictions. But the latter, the rearguard, was so close to Miyo and Takaihito that anyone who wanted to enter would have to undergo a strict search to be let in.

After his meeting at Takaihito’s residence finished, Kiyoka first popped his head in at the rearguard camp.

“How are things going?”

As soon as their superior came to check on them, Kiyoka’s subordinates straightened their postures and bowed with a “Good morning, sir.” He questioned them as he passed through their midst and stepped into the central tent of the camp.

“Oh, gooood morning, Commander… We’re almost finished stationing everyone. No problems as of yet,” greeted Godou, who had been charged with overseeing the rearguard.

The Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit was stretched very thin at the moment. The soldiers posted to the two camps in the Imperial Palace and maintaining the barrier were indispensable, but they’d also needed to leave some troops behind at the station. On top of that, their regular workload hadn’t lessened, either.

If the Gifted Communion didn’t attack the Imperial Palace, it would mean Godou and the other skilled unit members had been stationed here for nothing. Nevertheless, they obviously needed to be prepared for the possibility of being raided.

Kiyoka had been quietly mulling over the situation.

“Good work. Make sure you don’t forget to take breaks in shifts.”

“Understood.”

Despite Godou’s serious reply, Kiyoka glared at his subordinate a moment later as a sickening grin spread across his face.

“What?”

“Oh, no, no, it’s nothing. It’s just that, you get to have Miyo so close by while you’re working, and it’s a real shame you don’t get to guard her yourself, that’s all.”

“…………”

No matter what, he couldn’t snap and say something like, “If you feel that way, why don’t you show a bit more sympathy for your boss?” If he did, it would suggest he truly did wish to be by Miyo’s side guarding her.

Though that was, in fact, the truth.

It’s frustrating to leave Miyo in someone else’s hands.

Kiyoka didn’t necessarily distrust other people. But he couldn’t help thinking she’d be safer if he had joined her in Takaihito’s residence, and it annoyed him that he was unable to do so.

“But, Commander.”

“What?”

“You still gotta be sure to drop in and see Miyo’s face at least once a day, okay? She’s your fiancée, after all.”

His subordinate had grown curiously meddlesome. If he wasn’t here, the extra work would be a nuisance, but when he was around, he was obnoxious.

Fed up with Godou and his teasing, Kiyoka glared at the man to vent his frustration.

“I was planning on it anyway, I don’t need you to tell me that.”

“Huh?!”

Godou’s exaggerated surprise rubbed Kiyoka the wrong way, too. If Godou had the time to make fun of him like this, then maybe he needed to give him something else to take care of.

Sensing Kiyoka’s fouling temper, Godou slumped his shoulders and wiped away his smirk.

“…Apologies. I got carried away.”

“That’s better. As long as you get it.”

“But this just means that you’ve really grown, Commander. In the past you would’ve just told me, ahem, ‘Nonsense. Why do I need to waste time on something like that?’”

A number of the unit members standing by in the tent burst into laughter at Godou’s impression.

“…Oh really?”

Putting aside the neck-wringing they’d all earned for later…

Kiyoka agreed that if it had been anyone else besides Miyo, he certainly would’ve responded in such a fashion. Such was how little interest he had in the subtle emotions of others.

So as loathed as he was to admit it, Godou was exactly right.

I probably should’ve shown more interest sooner.

He vaguely sensed that she had begun to turn her feelings his way. Despite how embarrassed she felt, she responded to his kisses, and every now and again, she would look up at him with upturned eyes and pink cheeks, as if something was on the tip of her tongue.

However, she would never voice the most crucial words. Kiyoka was still finding it difficult to decipher her heart.

I doubt there’s any guilt at this point, either.

Despite the ongoing Usui problem, Kiyoka had purposefully kept insisting that he was unconcerned about the nature of his fiancée’s Gift, and Miyo must have understood that.

In which case, what exactly was keeping Miyo’s lips sealed?

Is it Usui’s fault, then…?

At this point he had begun to see the Gifted Communion’s founder as the source of it all. He didn’t deny that, in part, he was simply blaming the man for his frustrations.

If the source of Miyo’s worries was truly the notion that she shouldn’t be open with her frivolous emotions at a time when everyone was busy dealing with the Usui threat, then he would take out all his anger and then some on the man when the time came.

“Commander? You’re not kicking around some salacious thoughts in there, are you?”

Godou’s impertinent question brought Kiyoka back to reality.

He still had time. Moreover, he planned on going to see Miyo once a day at the very least, so if slowly, day by day he prodded her about it, then— No, no, that could lead her to see him as an obsessive and nasty man.

His thoughts began to go off the rails yet again. Kiyoka cleared his throat for a moment and dodged the question.

“Enough of this nonsense. Don’t you have something to report to me?”

“Report? Oh, right, I sure do.”

Godou cocked his head for a second before he clapped his hands together in recollection.

“They just keep coming—the Gifted Communion and those visible Grotesqueries of theirs, I mean.”

“Well, hurry up and make your report then.”

The “visible Grotesqueries” Godou had referred to were the creatures that the Gifted Communion were using in their propagandizing. Even people without Spirit-Sight could see them.

It was possible that the technology developed by the Gifted Communion was merely making normal Grotesqueries appear in the eyes of the common people, but they referred to them with this separate moniker for the sake of convenience.

“The troops on patrol in the city have cracked down on two incidents today alone. They were able to book the perpetrators of the first incident, but the other group got away. It’s not even noon yet and we’re already at two, so we could see close to ten incidents today.”

“Any damages?”

“Nope. No real injuries to speak of. The groups don’t really get violent or fight back, either.”

Godou shrugged, looking a bit fed up with the whole matter.

The Gifted Communion had to be trying to improve their image with the general population if they weren’t putting up any resistance. By passing themselves off as obedient, they could make the soldiers taking them away look hostile instead.

That could inspire journalists to write more articles expressing hostility to the military. The headline would probably read something like, Army Forcibly Imprisons Nonresistant Citizens.

Just who within the government had deliberately loosened the restraints on the press?

There wasn’t any communication yet from Ookaito that they had actually identified the perpetrator. If the person in question was in a position of significant power, there was a chance that they would go forever unidentified.

I can’t do anything about that, but…

Gift-users tended to go into the military and stick to fighting, so it was difficult for them to work as bureaucrats. That held true for Kiyoka as well, and he had no idea who in the bureaucracy could influence the government.

The only option was to leave the political side of things to Ookaito.

“Oh, one other thing. So those easily visible Grotesqueries? Turns out they aren’t normal Grotesqueries after all. According to the analysis team, it seems like Gifts aren’t as effective on them.”

“…That’s terrible. Is it the same with arts?”

“Looks like it. Evocation, sorcery, expulsion, exorcism, onmyodo—they’ve already tried various types of arts on the creatures, but none of those techniques did much damage.”

Arts and Gifts were distinctly mediums.

Gifts depended on an individual’s innate nature, but arts could be used by not just Gift-users but anyone with Spirit-Sight—or anyone with the power to sense otherworldly and inhuman presences, rather—given the proper study and training.

Arts could be used to create flying familiars and establish barriers, among other things, and while there were limitations and fluctuations in power based on the user’s talents, to those with Spirit-Sight and Gift-users, they were the most fundamental, which they learned at the beginning of their training.

Many members of the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit were arts specialists who had mastered a variety of different arts, despite having no Gift of their own. Since they were also assisting with the analysis team’s investigation, there was little room to doubt that both Gifts and arts were less effective on these Grotesqueries.

“Right now, they appear to only react to barrier arts, at least.”

“Barriers…”

Despite the analysis team’s findings, the Gifted Communion had used Gifts to destroy visible Grotesqueries during the incident on New Year’s Day and other similar acts of propagandizing.

In other words, the Gifted Communion’s Gifts would have an effect, but Kiyoka and his men’s Gifts would be dampened.

Kiyoka massaged his brow.

This is a much bigger nuisance than those artificial Gift-users.

If the Gifted Communion turned these visible Grotesqueries against the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit in combat, Kiyoka and his men wouldn’t have any means of fighting back. All they would be able to do in that situation was defend themselves with barriers.

If that happened, there was a high chance that his unit would be sent packing, and confidence in Gift-users would plummet.

They had to move faster with their research to figure out the trick behind these visible Grotesqueries, or they would be at a significant disadvantage.

At this point, the Gifted Communion sat in an unchallengeable position.

“Just tell them to speed up their investigation and analysis for now. Oh, and if they think they’re on the verge of finding some way to fight against the resistant Grotesqueries, they should investigate that immediately,” Kiyoka ordered.

“Got it. I’ll let them know,” Godou said.

After getting through several more work updates, he left the rearguard tent behind.

Right now, the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit was divided into separate teams.

For example, each of the advanced guard and rearguard camps within the Imperial Palace had their own teams stationed there, and there was also a group patrolling the capital and cracking down on the Gifted Communion, as well as a team handling their usual duties at the station.

Although these groups could theoretically communicate with each other via flying familiar, they needed to frequently contact each other in person to make sure nothing was amiss. This was particularly important for the team stationed in the grounds of the Imperial Palace.

With the threat of Usui looming over them, the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit couldn’t overlook the slightest change or suspicion that something was off.

The advanced guard had set up camp near the first gate, and there was quite a distance between them and the rearguard and Takaihito’s residence.

Kiyoka had ridden in a carriage to the residence when he’d been with Miyo, but he couldn’t leisurely ride along in a carriage every time he went back and forth.

Instead, he made use of his superior physical abilities as a Gift-user to run straight through the grounds to the advanced guard camp.

“Good morning…Commander.”

Kaoruko Jinnouchi stood in front of the advanced guard tent, waiting to receive Kiyoka.

The simple and innocent smile she’d worn in the past was gone, replaced by a shadow in her expression.

“…Good morning, Jinnouchi.”

Kaoruko had been charged with betraying the military and had been taken off the team that would protect the Imperial Palace.

So why was she here now?

That was because she had requested a meeting with Kiyoka to convey something to him.

“All right, why don’t you tell me over there?”

Kiyoka pointed to a small outdoor bench that was commonly used by the people working at the Imperial Palace.

There were accommodations inside the tent to sit and discuss things, but he couldn’t allow her inside.

“Sit.”

“…Yessir.”

Kiyoka had Kaoruko sit by herself on the bench while he stood beside her. As a soldier, he needed to stay on guard when dealing with traitors.

I’m sure Miyo would dislike my behavior, though.

She had a bit of a tendency to be slightly too enthusiastic about her very first friend. While Kiyoka could understand her feelings on the subject, this was one thing he couldn’t let slide.

Correctly understanding how she was being handled, Kaoruko looked up at Kiyoka and let out a dry chuckle.

“I’m sorry. I know how busy things are, and here I am having you make time on short notice to hear me out…”

“It’s fine. You already talked to Major General Ookaito, right?”

“In a broad sense. But what I’m going to speak to you about is little more than my own shoddy speculation. I only told General Ookaito the facts.”

Sure enough, she wanted to talk about the Gifted Communion. The military was keeping her alive in the hopes that she would share information on Usui’s organization like this.

“First off, regarding my father…”

The impetus for her assisting the Gifted Communion in the first place. She had been tricked into believing her father, who ran a dojo in the old capital, had been taken hostage by the Gifted Communion.

“I didn’t believe what Naoshi Usui told me at first. My father isn’t a Gift-user, but his skills as a swordsman are unquestionable, so I didn’t think he’d be taken hostage easily.”

“But you couldn’t get in touch with him, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

After Usui first reached out to her, Kaoruko had immediately requested the telephone switchboard operator to get in contact with her father so she could confirm his safety and see if Usui was telling the truth. Ultimately, though, she never received a reply.

“If the telephone wouldn’t work, I thought I’d send a telegram. I sent a letter through the post, too. Nothing came from any of them…”

“Still, your father works as a military collaborator in the old capital, doesn’t he? There must have been other times when you couldn’t get in touch with him immediately.”

In addition to operating his dojo, Kaoruko’s father had been collaborating with the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit in the old capital, the Second Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit, for several decades already. He’d been scouted for his skills with the sword. It was conceivable that he’d be unable to be contacted for a long period of time now and again when he was called in to assist with a mission and agreed to help.

Kaoruko shook her head at Kiyoka’s question.

“No, even then. My father would have told me before I came to the capital if he was going to be away from the house for an extended period of time. I asked the Second Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit about it, too.”

When she did, the answer she got was, “We haven’t requested his help on our end.”

“I contacted the neighbors around my family’s home, too. They all told me they hadn’t seen him at all since I left for the capital.”

He had been away from home for several days, without having a job or mission. On top of that, he hadn’t even contacted his daughter about his departure.

Considering how anxious she must have been about her father being kidnapped, along with being forced into cooperating with the Gifted Communion, Kaoruko had handled things with as much composure as possible.

“…I—I believed the Gifted Communion. With my father’s life potentially on the line, I had no choice but to believe them. I’m sure this just sounds like I’m making excuses, though.”

“No, you’re right. It was a natural judgment to make, given you did your due diligence to ascertain if they were telling the truth.”

In Kaoruko’s position, it was all she could’ve done. If her father really had been taken hostage, she could have put his life at risk by consulting with someone about it.

It sounds like Usui’s ability to delude others extends beyond just the power of his Gift.

Usui didn’t stop at distorting people’s senses with his Gift. Taking advantage of people’s psyches, their personal situations—he exploited everything he could to manipulate others. What a nasty way of doing things.

“But then, the hostage talk turned out to be a lie on Usui’s part, right?”

Kaoruko awkwardly dropped her eyes down to her feet.

“Yes. My father was safe… Apparently, he had gone away at the request of the military.”

It was hard to imagine the Second Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit had lied when answering her. Since that was where Kaoruko was originally stationed, she would have immediately realized if her fellow soldiers were lying.

In short, it was clear that Kaoruko’s father had been given a mission from someone outside the Second Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit.

“The written directive sent to my father was genuine, and his mission was truly urgent. Those kinds of jobs aren’t unusual for him.”

Kaoruko broke off for a moment and looked up at Kiyoka, holding back tears.

“So what exactly is the meaning of this, then? Why was a request sent by the military to my father right when it was most convenient for the Gifted Communion? Why…?”

Her voice tapered off and went quiet before she again cast her eyes to the ground.

Kaoruko herself likely had already imagined the answer to that question. Nevertheless, she didn’t want to believe it.

Kiyoka thoroughly understood her feelings.

“The Gifted Communion has wormed its way into the inner circles of the Empire.”

In as quiet and composed a tone as he could muster, he clearly vocalized the doubts in his subordinate’s mind.

He made this declaration without looking back down on Kaoruko sitting on the bench below him. Then a feebly whispered “that can’t be” reached his ears.

“There’s too many things that defy explanation if that isn’t the case. The upper ranks of either the government or the military, perhaps both, are connected to the Gifted Communion, and there are people aiding their cause.”

“But that means there’s no way we can stop them.”

“Let’s set aside the question of whether we can defeat them or not for now. We aren’t sure how many people have shifted their allegiance to the Gifted Communion at the moment. Though I will agree that this is the worst-case scenario.”

If members of the Gifted Communion had infiltrated the central government, it would be all too simple for them to send out genuine orders that would benefit them, just as had been done with Kaoruko’s father. They would also be able to manipulate information with ease.

And that was just the beginning. In a position as powerful as that, they could conceivably send overt support to the Gifted Union.

The enemy was steadily gaining power and growing formidable.

Enough to make Usui’s grand goal of overthrowing the government a conceivable reality.

“Just what have I done…?”

Kaoruko’s fists, clenched in her lap, trembled slightly.

She had invited Usui inside the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Station, and while Kiyoka was tied up by that threat, the emperor had fallen into the Gifted Communion’s hands.

It was certainly an unforgivable act of betrayal, but things would have ended up like this no matter what.

Usui likely could have coerced any of the unit members into cooperating with the Gifted Communion by making them believe their blood relatives were taken hostage. Kaoruko, having just arrived in the capital, simply proved an easy target for his deception.

The problem was how to proceed from here.

Right now, the Gifted Communion had both the authority of the reigning emperor and the influence on the government in their grasp. They could easily start a coup if they so pleased.

Their immediate goal was likely…

Stoking the populace’s distrust in the current state of the government and the military through Gifts and Grotesqueries to remake the current power structure.

And they were making steady progress to accomplish that.

Say, for example, that the Gifted Communion were able to sway a hundred new members to the fold through social maneuvering. That in and of itself may not have been cause for concern.

But what if every single one of those new members were able to become artificial Gift-users?

It would mean the instant birth of a hundred new Gift-users.

By increasing the amount of people who possessed Gifts, a power that could be used as a weapon, in such a manner, the Gifted Communion would be able to shift the power dynamics in the country overnight.

“At any rate, I understand what you’re saying. Don’t get close with any of the Gifted Communion from here on out. If they make any contact with you, then you better report it immediately.”

“Absolutely! I won’t ever waver again.”

Though she hadn’t been notified of this herself, Kaoruko was already being surveilled in secret. If she did try to connect with the Gifted Communion again, Ookaito would immediately be notified.

Their conversation was over. Kiyoka went to urge Kaoruko back to her post, but before he could, she spoke up with a slightly reticent “um.”

“What is it?”

He could see indecisiveness in her expression. She was wavering over saying something or not. Her eyes wandered to and fro, and she was clenching and unclenching her fists.

But Kiyoka didn’t have the time to indulge her indecisiveness.

“If you don’t have something to say, then—”

“No, I do! Um, it’s actually a personal matter and totally unrelated, but there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

Kaoruko raised her head, looking as though she had found her resolve.

Kiyoka would have fewer and fewer chances to speak with her going forward. She had been dispatched to fill in for Godou while he was wounded, but she had already been removed from the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit’s core group.

This could be his last chance to listen to whatever questions she had.

Kiyoka replied with a nod and indicated his approval.

“…A long time back, before I had been transferred to the old capital, you got an offer to marry me.”

“I did.”

“Is it all right for me to ask…why you rejected that offer?”

Kaoruko followed this question up with an apology for asking about this now, of all times. Kiyoka looked down at her for the first time that day.

He thought back several years ago, when he had rejected every marriage proposal that came his way.

As usual, his father Tadakiyo had learned about the offer somehow and brought it to Kiyoka’s attention. But how had he thought about it at the time?

He hadn’t, of course, had any romantic feelings for Kaoruko, despite what Miyo had believed.

As for why, that was because…

“I wanted to prevent the slightest chance of letting personal feelings interfere with my work.”

Kaoruko herself wasn’t a bad person by any means, but she was simply his colleague, nothing more and nothing less.

However, it wasn’t realistic to think that if they were married, established a home for themselves, and spent more and more time together, he wouldn’t develop feelings for her.

He’d wanted to avoid bringing any familial emotions he might develop into the workplace, especially into a military one, which sometimes called for making rational and coldhearted decisions above all else.

“…R-right. Knowing what you’re like, I had an inkling that something like that was the reason.”

“I didn’t have any problem with you specifically, or anything.”

Thus, there’s no need to lose confidence—the words Kiyoka tried to follow up with were interrupted by a shout from Kaoruko.

“In that case…! If I hadn’t been working as a soldier, would you have accepted the offer?”

“Yeah. Most likely.”

Kiyoka tried to reply as matter-of-factly as he could.

Last year, when he had been reunited with Kaoruko, who had arrived to fill the hole Godou had left behind—he had been convinced of feelings she had for him, though in truth, he had somewhat sensed them long before that.

It was because Kiyoka had watched Miyo.

When he watched her, he noticed the jealousy in Kaoruko’s eyes when she looked at Miyo, and understood that it was caused by Kaoruko’s affection for him.

He was fine with her having feelings for him.

But what if, just as Kaoruko had said, there had been some future where they had been married? He didn’t believe he would end up feeling the same way for Kaoruko as he did for Miyo now.

“But I’m sure that it wouldn’t have ultimately ended up as you wanted it to.”

“…Ah.”

“I can’t say whether that would’ve ended up a good or bad thing for us, though.”

There was only one reality. Worrying about hypotheticals wouldn’t accomplish anything. The one thing Kiyoka understood was that right now, he had no regrets.

He said what he had to say. Kiyoka turned his back to Kaoruko sitting on the bench.

“Commander.”

The voice he heard from Kaoruko, contrary to his expectations, didn’t have the slightest quiver to it.

Turning around after a brief moment of indecision, the woman who was once a marriage candidate and now his subordinate, flashed the same beaming and cheerful smile that she used to wear.

“Thank you very much for answering me.”

“Now that you’re satisfied, return back to your post and do what you need to do.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kiyoka swung around on his heels and turned his back on Kaoruko, for good this time.