Having finished their conversation with the shop owner, the two exited the establishment as if nothing had happened.
Yet, Kutsuco seemed to have something on her mind, casting a sidelong glance at Yugen and asking in a hushed voice.
Yugen, noticing this, immediately deployed a portable sound-dampening field.
"Yugen, I thought the Kujou family, one of the Ten Master Clans, was responsible for the Kyoto, Nara, Shiga, and Kii regions. Can they not be relied upon?"
"About that... I did consider at first if we could make effective use of the Kujou family."
However, he had concluded that it would not only certainly worsen relations but could even destabilize public order.
Unlike when Retsu Kujou was the head, the current Kujou family head yearns for power.
Kousen, his youngest child, is a direct result of this ambition.
Retsu Kujou's decision to undergo magical enhancement countermeasures against his younger brother, and its success, was the genesis of the Kujou family's distortion.
The absence of a branch family system among the Ten Master Clans and Eighteen Assistant Houses (the Yotsuba outwardly conceal theirs, so it's effectively non-existent) largely stems from the desires of politicians and military officers who fear losing control if their influence expands unchecked.
However, this drawback has distorted not only the Kujou family but to some extent the Twenty-Eight Master Houses, allowing a peculiar pride unique to these families—in other words, a kind of elitist thinking—to take root.
Clear examples include Takuma Shippou's rivalry with the Saegusa family, or Kouichi Saegusa's feelings for Maya Yotsuba.
This influence extends even to the Hundred Families; Morizaki's attitude toward Course 2 students upon entering high school is the most straightforward example.
"I considered mobilizing the Kujou, Kuki, and Kuzumi families... but let me state my conclusion directly.
If the Kujou family itself shows no room for improvement, they will soon be forced to relinquish their seat among the Ten Master Clans."
"...Are you serious?"
"Of course.
For the most part, the Kujou family's standing was built upon the presence of Lord Kujou.
The other 'Nine' families also look solely to him, completely overshadowing the current head."
The Kujou family, if one were to make an analogy, is perhaps best likened to the Asakura family of Echizen during the Sengoku period, specifically Asakura Souteki.
While there might be differences in the minute details, what he found strikingly similar was the strong influence the elder, despite their age, still wielded over the family.
Even at nearly 90 years old, the influence of the former head, Retsu, remains robust not only within the family but also within the Magic Association and the National Defense Force, with some Ten Master Clan heads still relying on him.
While it might be morally questionable to push such an elderly person, it conversely implies that the current head of the Kujou family appears unreliable to others.
"There's nothing inherently wrong with those who possess power taking the reins.
The problem lies solely in the Kujou family and other Master Clans becoming overly reliant on Lord Kujou.
They're making a man nearing 90, possibly even 100, years old continue to work.
Do they feel no guilt about that?"
"That is... certainly true."
Essentially, the Kujou family's ability to retain its Ten Master Clan seat is largely due to Retsu Kujou still being alive.
Even when he tries to retire, some of his former students are current Ten Master Clan heads, clinging to him and preventing him from a peaceful retirement indefinitely... primarily due to the Saegusa family.
Additionally, Kousen's existence has also become a factor preventing Retsu's retirement.
"The current heads of the Kaminaga and Kagurazaka families are deciding on successors and fully retiring, you know.
If the pride of the Ten Master Clans is so important, I'd outright tell them to hone their skills as magicians."
The development of the Parasite Doll was advanced by both the current and former heads of the Kujou family.
However, the decision to accept continental sorcerers mediated by Zhou Gongjin was made by the current head, while Retsu orchestrated things to shift the responsibility to Zhou Gongjin, making the Kujou family appear as a kind of victim.
The current head's complex about power likely plays a significant role in this, including the ongoing secret development.
"After all, the first head of my former main family—my paternal grandfather—went through all the proper steps to ensure my father's shadow wouldn't be eclipsed, kept contact with the main family to a minimum, and retired to a place beyond the influence of the Ten Master Clans.
Given that Lord Kujou hasn't taken such a decisive step, the decline of the Kujou family, which is inferior in ability among the Ten Master Clans, is inevitable."
"Even with the training methods Yugen devised?"
"Teaching those without perseverance is just 'casting pearls before swine'."
To explain simply, he concluded that whatever was said to people clinging to the pride of the Kujou name would likely fall on deaf ears, and from the moment of their first meeting, they hadn't viewed him as an equal, so no reciprocal benefit could be expected.
On the contrary, he felt not the slightest inclination to teach them, especially given that they might presumptuously make demands without considering his position.
"We've strayed quite a bit.
Relying on the Kujou family or other 'Nine' families carries too great a risk, and the magical experiments of the former Ninth Lab heavily influenced the emergence of the 'Traditionalists'.
Even if we could do such a thing, the 'Traditionalists' in the Nara region might turn their anger towards Kyoto."
If the Kujou family were to lead and a reconciliation with Kyoto's 'Traditionalists' were achieved, the Nara 'Traditionalists' would find themselves contained from the north and west.
The Kii region is controlled by the Ise family, the leading branch of the Kagurazaka family, which oversees the Mie region, while the Gifu and Nagoya regions fall under the jurisdiction of the Yotsuba family, one of the Ten Master Clans.
If, feeling cornered, they were to lash out and riot, the legitimate ancient magic families and temples in Nara would collectively move to suppress them.
This is the worst-case scenario if orthodox ancient magicians were to act, leading to internal conflict in the Kinai region, centered in Nara.
In such a situation, Zhou Gongjin would be absolutely delighted, and it's clear he would actively involve himself with the Nara 'Traditionalists' to prolong the conflict.
That would only serve to please Gu Jie, his master.
"The Kagurazaka family's feud with the Kujou family isn't just about the former Ninth Lab incident.
The Kagurazaka family initially pushed for Lord Kujou's younger brother, who excelled in magical power, to be the head.
But someone interfered.
They installed the enhanced Lord Kujou as the next head and drove his brother out to the USNA... outwardly, it was for magical research cooperation with an allied nation."
Retsu's ability to become the Kujou family head was largely due to the support of certain individuals.
While that person is no longer alive, their offspring holds a high-ranking position in a certain organization.
The name of that organization is the 'Elder Council'.
The name of the offspring of the person who groomed Retsu Kujou to be the Kujou family head is Kazutaka Kashiwa...
This makes it unsurprising that Retsu would be aware of the Elder Council's existence.
"Speaking of which, there was a relative of the Kujou family... wasn't it Excelia Shields from First High?"
"Ah.
She and her twin sister are General Kujou's granddaughters, but it must be complicated for the Kujou family."
No talented magicians were born from the one who forcibly seized the headship, and they resorted to morally questionable means.
Meanwhile, the granddaughters of the person driven from their homeland both possess abilities that could make them strategic-class magicians.
If they hadn't done unnecessary things, the Kujou family might still have continued the lineage of excellent magicians, but it's already too late.
The existence of a younger brother superior to the elder brother has, in countless cases both real and fictional, stimulated the elder brother's pride and led to fatal outcomes.
Retsu is one such example.
During his meeting with Retsu, he hinted at the details of the Kujou family's succession dispute, but he had no intention of digging up what was already over.
However, knowing that she was Gouzou's granddaughter, the intent to kill, even if it was a test, was never a pleasant feeling.
"Well, I warned Lord Kujou not to interfere with Lina and Celia, but whether the current head will accept that is questionable.
At worst, for Lina, it might be better to have her taken in by another family."
"...You certainly have a lot on your plate, Yugen."
"Indeed."
The condition Yugen presented to Retsu for Kousen's treatment was for him to accept "at least 12 conditions" without any deficiency.
This, of course, included the treatment of Lina and Celia.
Celia has already been registered with the Kujukou family as Yakumo's adopted daughter.
Some might question the morality of having a former life's sister as a fiancée, but strictly speaking, she was his "cousin."
He learned this fact from the goddess who apologized during his reincarnation, but he honestly doubted his own ears.
When he confirmed the fact after their reunion, he realized the goddess's words were true (his sister had also met the same goddess and said she learned it then).
To some extent, he recognized his sister as a woman, but he still understood her to be his actual sister.
So, in the previous life, he had no intention of becoming lovers with her.
His difficult breakup with his then-girlfriend might also have influenced his lack of desire for a romantic partner.
After reincarnating, Celia also asked, "Are you really sure?"
But he was the only one who knew she was a reincarnator.
He had to accept taking on a stopper-like role to suppress her power by becoming her emotional anchor, given Miyuki's precedent.
Besides, the number of people he could interact with in a lighthearted manner was extremely limited, so having someone nearby who knew his true nature was a blessing.
If she got too carried away, he'd interject and silence her.
In short, he compartmentalized his past life and current life, and although she was family, he recognized her as a woman to some extent, and there was no need to disregard her feelings.
It was simply something that was never a problem, which he just hadn't known.
Perhaps his own spirit was unusually cynical, which allowed him to compartmentalize in such a way.
Anyway, moving on.
"Enough of these gloomy talks.
Where are we meeting Airi and Shiori?"
"Kyoto Station at 2 PM.
But... judging by their tone, I have a feeling we're going to be interrogated quite a bit."
"That can't be helped, can it?"
After all, they had been on official leave from school since yesterday for family business.
While there was no information exchange between First High and Third High outside of joint security, Kutsuco had been persistently asked by Airi during their lunch call, 'By the way, are you really alone, Kutsuco?'
Indeed, even if a female student possessed means of self-defense, it would be inappropriate reputation-wise for her to travel alone.
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