"I received an email with similar content from Honoka. They probably want us to concentrate on the meeting with our seniors. Also, it seems Yugen's older brothers and sisters will be joining her rescue team." "...I see. We cannot let Yugen-san's thoughtfulness go to waste here. Are you truly fine with that, Onii-sama?" "According to Master, the strength of Yugen's elder brother, Mototsugu-san, alone is at a 'cheat tier'. I can't help feeling that the opponent might end up traumatized... (Sorry, Yugen)."
Inside Tatsuya's mind, since Miyuki's time originally reserved for him over the weekend was stripped away, his top priority concern surfaced: tomorrow, Miyuki might stick to Yugen and refuse to leave his side. Even if Shina's safety was guaranteed, Tatsuya mentally apologized for the state of affairs where, in exchange, Yugen's peace of mind would evaporate.
"Besides, Erika seems fired up as well." "In that case, it looks like the police will be moving too." "That will likely be the case."
However, there was a slight difference between the email Shizuku sent to Miyuki and the one Honoka sent to Tatsuya. That was, Tatsuya understood that one of the perpetrators involved in this incident was connected to the Toyama family, whereas that detail was not mentioned in the email sent to Miyuki. The sanction against the party who caused this incident was something the Mitsuya family should be involved in, while the Yotsuba family stood in the position of a victim, so to speak. No matter how much strength the current Yotsuba family possessed, the intention to clean up their own mess as the party caused trouble was included to a greater or lesser extent.
If Erika moved, the police would move through the Chiba family's connections, and through Yugen's connections, there was even a possibility that Yakumo would move. At this point, Tatsuya felt a faint sense of sympathy, realizing that the party who took Shina away was already in "checkmate."
Erika was naturally close, but even for Yugen, visiting the main Chiba house after a long time was not very comfortable. After all, they hadn't just brought up a rejected engagement again, but had made an offer that threatened to shatter a relationship both sides were satisfied with. In the end, it was settled that Toshikazu would succeed as the next head of the Chiba family, and Shuji would succeed as the master of the Senjin-ryu school. With this, it was confirmed that Erika would abandon the Chiba surname in the future, but since it was something that had sprung up out of nowhere anyway, far from regretting it, she bluntly declared, "I'm actually relieved." Even so, while convincing himself that "beggars can't be choosers" when it came to rescuing Shina, he set foot inside the premises. Caring for her childhood friend, Erika, standing beside him, spoke up.
"...Sorry about this." "Don't worry about it. Given my origin, your involvement was within expectations. Still, to revive an engagement that was politely declined... I really doubted the sanity of the family head." "They probably thought they could push it through because of Izumi, right?" "The circumstances are obviously completely different."
In Izumi's case, both sides entered an engagement through a peaceful process, which was once canceled due to a blunder by the head of the Saegusa family. In the case of the engagement proposal with Erika, neither party was interested, yet the Chiba side aggressively pushed for it while the Mitsuya side politely declined. Believing that a once-broken engagement could be revived simply because another was restored seemed somewhat lacking in thoughtfulness for a swordsman.
"Besides, if things continue like this, Shuji-san will indirectly gain a connection to the Mitsuya family. Even if Erika and I were to get engaged, even if the main stream of the Hundred Families becomes a maternal relative of the Ten Master Clans, I am guaranteed to leave the Mitsuya family regardless. In other words, even if they get desperate, it's meaningless." "So both you and I got dragged into a total miscalculation, huh." "That's how it is. If they tried to force it on us by any chance, I would have personally crushed your father using my sword."
No matter what, there was a limit to the number of fiancées he could take, even if his current mother told him, 'I don't think anyone would blame you if there were a few more.' That alone was overwhelming enough, yet he was also supporting three mistresses who doubled as exclusive servants. Honestly, after graduating high school, he felt like retiring deep into the mountains. Furthermore, in an email from Miyuki that seemed to have been sent before their meeting, a single sentence was written: 'Let's be together tomorrow.' Being able to realize what would happen if he returned to the Shiba household at that point, he thought he had probably been quite corrupted himself.
"It feels like it's going to physically collapse, that... Somehow, back when the three of us, including Miki, were making noise together was the most peaceful time." "Indeed."
Born into the Ten Master Clans' Mitsuya family, Yugen became the head of the Guardian Kagurazaka family. Born into the Yoshida family skilled in Spirit Magic, Mikihiko was regarded as the next head of the Todo family. Born as a hidden child of the Chiba family—the main stream of the Hundred Families—Erika was scheduled to become Leo's mistress in the future (furthermore, regarding swordsmanship, the Kamizumi family seemed to be moving to see if adoption was possible).
Each following their own path, the trio of childhood friends had in common that they left their birth houses to live as Magicians. In response to Erika's words expressing nostalgia for the lively days when they first met, Yugen gave a brief reply, expressing his agreement.
(To be honest, maintaining the old-fashioned order completely ignores the circumstances of foreign countries. Speaking of which, this is based on reading the original sequel up to this stage. Next time, it will include parts not depicted in the original work and some original elements.)
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