(T/N: Second Chapter!)
As soon as Nanatsuki Katori arrived at the Mizutani family residence, he sensed something unusual—the Sound of Hell he carried reacted to the maid who answered the door.
Nanatsuki had come here precisely to inquire about information regarding the Reishi Shell students, and now, this strange reaction confirmed that the Mizutani household was hiding something.
He and Mizutani Oto waited briefly in the tea room before the maid returned, this time accompanied by a young girl in an exquisitely detailed kimono.
"Teacher Katori, I apologize for the inadequate reception," the kimono-clad girl said with a smile, her eyes subtly sweeping over the teacups.
"You're too polite, Mizutani-san. I hope my unexpected visit hasn't caused any inconvenience," Nanatsuki replied with a slight nod.
He discreetly extended his spiritual perception toward the Sound of Hell and confirmed that the spell inside it was still active—indicating the continued detection of Hell Reishi.
The girl in front of him had something suspicious about her too.
"I heard from the maid that you're here to ask about my division placement, Teacher Katori?" she asked, looking slightly puzzled. "I thought I'd already submitted that on the graduation form..."
"The Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy's archive room was recently cleared out, and your class's graduation forms were unfortunately misplaced," Nanatsuki lied effortlessly while expanding his spiritual perception to scan the estate.
"I see. I was placed in Squad Six," the girl replied politely. "I only made it thanks to the teachers' guidance."
"Your own effort was just as important," Nanatsuki replied warmly.
From his scan, he counted seventy to eighty people in the residence—far more than he expected.
The Mizutani family was considered a small-to-midsize noble household, and this was merely one of its branches. Including servants, the numbers shouldn't be this high.
However, judging by their Reiatsu fluctuations, not all of them were Reishi Shells.
According to the intel he had, the Reishi Shells' spiritual pressure wasn't yet on par with seated officers. Yet, someone in the estate had a spiritual pressure that reached seated officer level.
The girl in the kimono picked up the teaware and poured two cups of hot tea for Katori Nanatsuki and Mizutani Oto. "Please enjoy."
"Mizutani-san, I heard you're engaged to Aoki, and he listed this place as his home address," Nanatsuki said while accepting the tea. "His file is also missing, but I couldn't find him anywhere at the Academy."
"Aoki isn't in his dorm?" she asked, blinking in surprise.
Taking advantage of her momentary distraction, Nanatsuki quickly poured the tea into his sleeve and pretended to drink from the cup.
When the kimono girl turned back, she saw Nanatsuki had finished his tea and couldn't help but let the corner of her lips rise ever so slightly.
"Please excuse me, Teacher Katori. I'll send someone to fetch him." She stood and left the tea room.
Moments after she left, Mizutani Oto suddenly felt dizzy.
Although Nanatsuki had stopped her from drinking the tea poured by the maid earlier, he hadn't had time to explain why before the kimono girl entered.
And because Nanatsuki's tea-pouring sleight of hand was so fast, even Mizutani Oto hadn't noticed it. Thinking her teacher had drunk his tea, she followed suit and drank hers.
She fell backward and fainted.
'These Reishi Shells sure love drugging people…' Nanatsuki thought.
That was exactly how Nobutsuna Shigyō had been ambushed and assassinated. There was no way Nanatsuki would let his guard down. You never drank tea from a Reishi Shell.
After leaving the tea room, the kimono girl entered a room deep within the estate.
Inside, an elderly man with half-white hair sat solemnly at the center.
"What did he come here for?" the old man asked hoarsely.
"Said it was about replacing lost documents," the kimono girl replied softly. "But that no longer matters. Katori Nanatsuki has already drunk the tea."
"He's quite a prominent figure. If we could replace him, we'd be able to accomplish so much more with his identity."
"I've heard Katori Nanatsuki is strong. Using a Reishi Shell to impersonate him is risky—it'll easily get exposed," the old man said, clearly reluctant. "This seems like a reckless move."
"Have the replacement avoid combat. Let's see how long we can keep up the act. In the meantime, we squeeze as much value from his identity as possible," she said, her voice rising with excitement. "Katori Nanatsuki is the Head of the Swordsmanship Department. He holds considerable authority in the Academy. With his identity, we can manipulate the entrance exams and plant more Reishi Shells into the Academy!"
"And his recently graduated students are no nobodies either—many of them are seated officers and lieutenants!"
"If we play this right, we can even replace all of his disciples."
"And perhaps even the Shihōin Clan's heir..."
The old man shook his head. "The Reishi Shells are still too weak. Replacing high-ranking Shinigami is asking for exposure."
"Then let us be exposed," she said with a sly smile. "Even if we're discovered later, using these identities will allow us to achieve so much in the meantime. We might even be able to target some of the captains directly."
Just like how they had once used familiarity to eliminate Nobutsuna Shigyō.
The more captains they took down, the stronger Hell's faction would become.
"And if we could seize the spiritual body research data from Hikifune Kirio's lab, it would greatly advance Lord Miyamoto's research," she added.
Ever since Zhou's failure and exposure, Hikifune Kirio's lab had tightened security, and they hadn't had another opportunity in years to smuggle Reishi Shells into the lab.
Just then, the kimono girl noticed the old man's eyes widen in shock—he was looking past her.
"Behind you!" he warned.
She instantly realized what was happening and turned around in alarm.
But before she could fully react, a sharp pain pierced her neck.
She glanced down to find a syringe embedded in her skin—its contents had already been injected into her artery.
"You know quite a bit. I can't let you die just yet," Nanatsuki said, pulling out the syringe.
"How did you..."
Her shocked expression froze on her face.
The next moment, an overwhelming wave of drowsiness hit her like a crashing tide, and she lost consciousness.
The anesthetic to control Reishi Shells wasn't exclusive to Hikifune Kirio. Nanatsuki's lab had been researching Reishi Shells for some time—he had developed his own methods of control.
As soon as the kimono girl left the tea room, Nanatsuki had followed her, hiding in her shadow using his shadow-based ability, waiting to see what she would do.
But once he heard her mention Miyamoto Tetsuya, he acted immediately, taking her down and preparing to deliver her to the Detention Corps for interrogation.
"You're not a Reishi Shell, are you? Then why are you working with them?" Nanatsuki asked coldly, eyes on the old man now bound by shadow.