CHAPTER 2
Know the Heart
“I’ll be going, then.”
Miyo bowed deeply to Yoshirou in the entryway of the Usuba home.
Ultimately, she spent three days and two nights at the Usuba estate, but now it was time for her to depart. She had obtained enough of a lead to decide where she was heading next.
Miyo borrowed her mother’s kimono and hakama from storage and got changed.
An ecru kimono with a maroon hakama and a light pink haori coat. The entirety of the outfit, including the dark brown leather shoes, had been cared for and maintained so they could be worn at a moment’s notice.
When she wrapped herself in her mother’s kimono, Miyo felt as if Sumi were there supporting her.
Miyo believed that the things Sumi had told her in the dream weren’t an invention of her consciousness but her mother’s genuine feelings.
“Be careful… Come back here at night.”
“I will.”
Nodding and bowing a second time, Miyo began walking down the snowy roads of the capital with Kiyo.
The snow had melted and pooled a bit since she’d first arrived, then it had frozen over again in the vestiges of the morning cold. As the soles of her shoes crunched with each step and she took extra care to avoid the smooth frozen patches, Miyo continued straight toward the capital’s business district.
It was currently late morning.
Perhaps owing to the hour, there were many people on the streets. Rickshaws and automobiles flew up and down the street. A bustling crowd had formed, consisting of people dressed traditionally in hats, gloves, and kimonos beneath haori overcoats, alongside people in scarves wearing thick jackets over Western-style clothes.
However, hardly any of the passersby looked cheerful or upbeat.
“How did you know?” Kiyo asked abruptly, walking next to Miyo with his hand in hers.
Not comprehending the intent of his question, Miyo cocked her head.
“Know what, exactly?”
“About where we’re heading right now.”
“Ohhh,” Miyo said, realizing what he meant.
After reaching one of the capital’s large boulevards, they turned almost immediately onto a narrow road then exited out onto the main street on the other side. This pattern repeated as they left the manor-filled residential area where the Usuba estate was located until they arrived at a section of the city filled with corporate offices and large stores with historic reputations.
Their destination was one of the area’s long-standing inns.
After finishing what they needed to do at the Usuba estate, Miyo and Kiyo both arrived at the same answer when they thought about where they needed to go next.
The Akitaya Inn.
This famous storied guest house had a history that spanned back to the early days of the shogunate, and it was frequented by the wealthy, along with celebrities from a variety of different disciplines.
Given all this information, Miyo wouldn’t normally have been aware of the place.
“…I saw it in my dream.”
Her direct answer to his earlier question surprised Kiyo slightly.
The familiar’s eyes widened, but he didn’t respond beyond that.
“Kiyo, you mentioned that we would leave the Usuba residence in two or three days. You had this all planned from the start, too, didn’t you?”
“Well, I did know about the inn.”
As they continued their somewhat protracted journey, a magnificent gate at last came into view along a street a block removed from the main road.
Before them stood a two-story wooden building—Akitaya. They passed through the gate into a beautifully maintained courtyard that was filled with large paper lanterns, each bearing the number of the room they hung outside of.
Continuing along the stepping stones that connected the gate to the entrance, Miyo quickly opened up an extremely old door that was composed of glass fitted into a dark brown wooden frame.
“Pardon me.”
“Hello, welcome to our humble establishment.”
It was still early in the day for any guests to drop in. The proprietress of the inn clearly hadn’t been waiting for Miyo and Kiyo to arrive, but she came out immediately to greet them regardless.
The middle-aged woman looked at Miyo and Kiyo and seemed to waver for a moment before her face tightened, as if she’d suddenly realized something.
“May I ask the nature of your visit to our inn?” she inquired.
“My name is Miyo Saimori. I have come with business for one of your guests lodging here.”
Straightening herself out and bowing slowly as she spoke, the proprietress put her hand up to her mouth with an “Oh my,” and nodded. “Miss Saimori, then. I was told to expect you.”
It appeared she had already been filled in. Miyo couldn’t help but be impressed by the tactful reception befitting the inn’s reputation.
The proprietress escorted Miyo and Kiuo to one of Akitaya’s detached cottages.
This was a special room, connected via a hallway that extended through the middle of the courtyard. Only one group could stay in the cottage at a time. In other words, anyone who lodged here was essentially reserving an entire building, a feat that would require a considerable amount of wealth at a luxury inn like Akitaya.
This building could be used only by a chosen, influential few, and it had the highest degree of confidentiality in the entire capital.
When Miyo thought about who she was about to meet, it struck her that the location shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise.
Miyo was enthralled by the beautiful pine garden, blanketed in snow with melting water drops echoing as they fell from the gutters, before she stepped inside the detached cottage together with Kiyo.
“Cough, cough. I’ve been waiting for you. It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it, Miyo?”
“It has. It’s good to see you again, Father.”
Coming to greet Miyo and Kiyo in the detached residence was a youthful-looking yet feeble middle-aged man—Kiyoka’s father, Tadakiyo Kudou.
They hadn’t seen each other in person since the end of last fall, but Miyo had assumed their next meeting would be for the wedding, so the reunion had come earlier than she had expected.
Tadakiyo wore multiple layers of haori and cotton-padded wear over his casual kimono, but despite the thick assortment of garments on his person, he would let out a dry cough every now and then.
He looked just as sickly and weak as he had been before.
Right after entering the cottage, Miyo placed her fingers on the floor and bowed her head, but Tadakiyo told her to relax in a soft, feeble voice.
“…Kiyoka, you’ve…certainly gotten a bit smaller.”
Tadakiyo laughed, and a vein bulged on Kiyo’s temple.
“I haven’t gotten smaller.”
Kiyo narrowed his eyes in anger, causing Tadakiyo to clutch his stomach and laugh harder, which made the familiar grow even more frustrated.
It’s so heartwarming.
It was as though Tadakiyo was reenacting how he’d interacted with Kiyoka during his youth. She found it calming.
Nevertheless, Miyo and Kiyo couldn’t afford to take things easy. The longer they dawdled, the bigger their problems would get, and even if they managed to settle everything cleanly, they would still end up having a hard time dealing with the aftermath.
Miyo quickly shifted her mindset and looked Tadakiyo in the eye.
“Allow me to apologize for bothering you like this.”
“It’s fine. It was all planned to happen like this anyway.”
Tadakiyo nodded calmly, gentle and meek as usual.
“Incidentally, where is Mother…?”
There were no signs of Fuyu in the room, and it didn’t seem like she would be making an appearance. The two were supposed to be staying at this inn together—had something happened?
Miyo’s worry for her mother-in-law’s safety was included in her question, but Tadakiyo shrugged his shoulders.
“Fuyu wasn’t in the mood, so she shut herself up in the bedroom. I don’t think it’s because she dislikes you, Miyo, so I hope she hasn’t hurt your feelings.”
“No, um, never. I don’t mind. I just hoped I could see her, even for a moment…”
“I understand. I’ll let her know.”
Miyo felt relieved to experience her father-in-law’s eccentric love for his wife again after so long.
She heard Kiyo mumble something along the lines of “better to just leave her be,” but she decided not to argue with him.
When all was said and done, Tadakiyo could occasionally be very strict with Fuyu, but he cared about her so much that he typically prioritized her wishes over Miyo’s without a second thought.
Miyo corrected her posture and broached the main subject of her visit.
“I have something I would like to ask of you, Father.”
Tadakiyo smiled in response to her statement, despite the sharpened look in his eyes.
“And what might that be?”
“Can you help me put a stop to the Gifted Communion?”
This was the purpose behind Miyo’s visit to the previous head of the Kudou family.
Tadakiyo was bound to have built up a considerable network of personal connections during his years of acting as the Kudou patriarch, serving the emperor, and carrying out his duties as a Gift-user.
Owing to her limited experiences interacting with other people up until now, this was something Miyo lacked, and while Kiyoka may have had many acquaintances himself, she couldn’t get his help while he was imprisoned.
But if she was going to face off against the Gifted Communion, she would need people who could fight.
The small group of elite soldiers who made up the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit would be nowhere near enough. The Gifted Communion could artificially bestow Gifts on large amounts of people, so they would easily crush the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit with sheer numbers in a fight.
To oppose them, Miyo’s only option was recruiting as many Gift-users who weren’t members of the military as she could.
“I do not have the strength to take on hundreds myself. I need just enough martial power to keep the Gifted Communion’s forces in check. For that, I would like you to reach out to all the other Gift-users you may know.”
“Hm.”
Tadakiyo closed his eyes and crossed his arms as he listened to Miyo’s request. She stared at him, trying to maintain her courageous mindset, as she waited to see how he would answer.
“Well, I suppose that would be how to do it.”
Letting out a deep breath, Tadakiyo slowly opened his eyes.
“I am technically retired from public life, but I am still acquainted with several families who have inherited Gifts, and I also have a few connections. Even if it’ll be difficult to compel them to take up arms, I can at least reach out to them. They’d probably come together pretty fast.”
“Does that mean…?”
“Yes. I can also reprimand the families who are complicit with Usui. A browbeating might be enough to coax them into helping.”
While Tadakiyo’s description sounded a bit ominous, it was clear that he was going to help her.
Miyo lit up at the news.
“Thank you very much!”
She hadn’t thought he would be so ready and willing to agree to her request.
While he may have been kind, Tadakiyo was by no means soft.
Given that she was an amateur, Miyo had expected that he would ask her many different questions to test her plan, and she’d prepared herself to be turned down two or three times.
“Hee-hee. Kiyoka, you brought Miyo all the way here, right? Did you not tell her that this was how it would go?”
Miyo looked down at Kiyo, wondering what Tadakiyo meant, but the familiar looked at Tadakiyo and shook his head.
“I didn’t say anything, and I didn’t bring her here, either. She told me she was coming here all on her own.”
At Kiyo’s answer, Tadakiyo looked completely taken aback and blinked in shock.
“Huh, you didn’t tell her? But then, in that case, Miyo, how did you…?”
It was then that Miyo finally picked up on what the two were talking about.
How had she known that Tadakiyo and Fuyu had come to the capital? Furthermore, how had she known where they were staying?
Anyone would have found it strange. Normally, she wouldn’t have been informed about this.
“I saw it in a dream,” Miyo answered quickly, smiling. “I’m finally able to see things in my dreams.”
Tadakiyo looked dumbfounded for a moment before he relaxed. Miyo sensed a palpable relief in her father-in-law’s amused grin.
“Really? That’s great.”
“I can’t see everything, though, so I wasn’t confident about whether you would agree or not. Thank you so much for helping me.”
“It’s nothing… Does that mean you also saw how things will play out?”
Tadakiyo’s question prompted Miyo to stop and think.
She doubted there was a Gift so powerful out there that it would allow someone to look across the past, present, and future. No matter how brilliant her Gift was, Miyo herself was still inexperienced, so she couldn’t become omniscient.
So while she could see glimpses of how things would go from here on out, if anything, there were even more areas that she couldn’t hazard a guess about.
Nevertheless, she had uncovered a means of saving Kiyoka, which was the most important thing of all.
“Yes, a little. I think I’ve seen a few important future paths.”
Miyo’s clear response appeared to confirm something for Tadakiyo.
Looking perfectly cheerful and carefree, he nodded in agreement then wrapped his hands around the teacup in front of him and brought it up for a sip.
“Well, that’s great news. I couldn’t be happier to see Kiyoka’s bride blossom into such a capable young woman.”
“Th-that’s not true…”
She may have been able to use her Gift, but “capable” was flattering her too much.
Miyo had been called “useless” a great many more times in her life so far. To suddenly be praised as the exact opposite felt unreal.
Tipping back his teacup for another sip, Tadakiyo slowly stood up.
“Well then, get some rest for a moment, you two. I’m going to have a chat with Fuyu.”
Miyo and Kiyo watched Tadakiyo leave the living room. A short while later, they were shown to a chamber facing the garden that had a lot of sunlight.
The room had Western-style furnishings, with dark wooden floorboards instead of tatami mats, a table etched with a stylish flower design and four-legged rattan chairs, vine-patterned wallpaper, and even its own fireplace.
One of the chairs was occupied by a noblewoman, reclining in elegant relaxation.
“It is good to see you again, Mother.”
When Miyo bowed deeply to greet Fuyu Kudou, the noblewoman narrowed her almond-shaped eyes and cast Miyo a glance.
“I believe I told you not to call me ‘Mother.’ You’re still the same inconsiderate girl as before, I see.”
Her voice was biting, and her displeasure was plainly evident in her tone. Based on Fuyu’s assessment of Miyo, it seemed that she was the same as ever.
That being said, Miyo suspected she had softened a bit compared to when they’d first met.
Watching Miyo and Fuyu’s exchange, Kiyo heaved an apathetic sigh then plopped himself down in the chair across from Fuyu, despite not having been invited to do so.
With a glance, he urged Miyo to sit next to him.
“Pardon me… Thank you, Kiyo.”
As she excused herself to Fuyu and thanked Kiyo, Miyo sat down beside the familiar.
Since spending time with Kiyo at the Usuba estate, she had gotten used to being by Kiyo’s side.
The position was comfortable, and it put her mind at ease.
“Well? What business could this unworthy bride, who can’t even manage to deal with her own family’s shame, have with me?”
Fuyu jabbed at Miyo’s wounds while fixing an icy glare at her. Even though she was almost fully retired from public life, her mother-in-law was as well informed on current affairs as ever.
Miyo had been prepared for Fuyu’s insults, but for a moment, she shrank back.
Her mother-in-law seized the moment to assail her even more.
“Though I may not look it, I’ll have you know that I am absolutely furious. You understand, don’t you? Not only have I been forced to stay in this drab inn, but you’ve blemished the career of the son I tenderly raised myself. Unforgivable.”
“…Yes, you’re right.”
Her accusation pricked her chest, stinging far more than any torrent of abuse.
Kiyoka had been arrested on false charges. However, even if Usui was overthrown, there was no telling if the suspicions cast on him would ever be cleared.
This had all happened because he’d taken Miyo as his fiancée, so the responsibility lay with her.
If Kiyoka suffered damage to his public image going forward and became the target of people’s criticism, it would be so agonizing, so unbearable, that she wasn’t sure she could mentally handle it.
Seeing Miyo only able to meekly agree, Kiyo glared at Fuyu.
“Quiet. My master doesn’t remember ever being tenderly raised by you, and whether his career is blemished or not isn’t Miyo’s responsibility.”
“My, what a contemptuous creature you are. A lowly familiar degrading its master’s mother? How outrageous.”
“This is my master’s will. It’s not my fault that he doesn’t respect you, even if you are his mother. Stop taking it out on other people.”
“What did you just say to me…?”
Miyo felt as though the temperature in the room had plummeted. Kiyoka didn’t get along with Fuyu whatsoever, even when he was acting through a familiar.
Kiyo was voicing outrageous objections with a blank face, and Fuyu looked ready to erupt at any moment.
Right as Miyo seriously started worrying if she could ever get this situation under control, Fuyu snapped the fan she was holding in her other palm.
“I have more important things to do than waste time arguing with a child. Hurry up and speak your business.”
Miyo snapped out of her flustered unease and straightened her posture.
“Y-yes, of course… I don’t have any business in particular. I just wished to see you, Mother.”
She was simply speaking the truth, yet Fuyu looked at her suspiciously.
Miyo couldn’t help tensing up; Fuyu’s disposition made it clear she suspected Miyo was up to something. Still, her explanation—that she had come because she wanted to see Fuyu—was the absolute truth.
Perhaps I wanted her to treat me harshly.
In complete contrast to her time spent growing up, right now everyone pampered Miyo. Kiyo had admonished her occasionally, but he always yielded to her in the end.
It was very comfortable. It made her want to simply rely on this kindness. But that feeling of comfort also made her uneasy.
She was worried that living a life of pampering, where she was treated like she was wrapped in silk, would send her down a path she could never come back from.
Because Miyo was unable to truly believe in herself.
“Well, I certainly didn’t wish to see you… Is something funny to you?”
“…My apologies.”
For some reason, Fuyu’s acerbic behavior had put Miyo’s mind at ease.
Having unwittingly broken into a smile, Miyo apologized in a fluster. She would come across as an unbelievably strange woman if she found herself enjoying such disparaging remarks.
“Hmph. You seem quite composed indeed if you can sit here with that silly grin on your face.”
“Oh, um…”
Right as Miyo went to apologize again, she changed her mind, thinking that Fuyu’s words might have been pointing somewhere else.
As expected, Fuyu paid no attention to Miyo’s attempt at a response and continued.
“You look better than I expected, I will say that, but I wonder where that woman I saw, the one who dramatically declared to me that she wished to support Kiyoka as his fiancée, has gone? The one in front of me appears like she’s made up her mind, but in truth, she doesn’t seem fully convinced of that herself.”
Hearing this, Miyo thought back to the past.
When faced with turmoil at the Kudou villa, she had, in fact, resolutely declared to Fuyu:
“Supporting him, so he can face his work without any lingering worries in the back of his head… That’s my role, something I can do to help him. And I want to do it properly.
“I want to prove useful to Kiyoka. I don’t want to take advantage of my position as his fiancée. I’ll do whatever I can, one thing at a time, so that eventually, I’ll be able to hold my head up high proudly at Kiyoka’s side.”
At the time, Miyo had been desperate to live up to her position as Kiyoka’s fiancée. Assessing her current self, Miyo felt that she had grown at least a bit compared to back then.
Solely as his fiancée, though.
Still…
Fuyu’s point was right on the mark.
Now that Kiyoka was in peril, she had resolved to finally make her affections known, to ensure she had no regrets.
However, she had wavered on revealing her affection to Kiyoka in the first place because she felt that her heart, and the feelings she carried within, was at odds with her position as a fiancée or a wife.
This indecision hadn’t completely subsided.
“Listen.”
“Yes?”
Miyo quietly responded to Fuyu’s address. Kiyo remained quiet, watching the exchange between his master’s fiancée and mother.
“The only thing we women can do to lead happy lives is love, for our entire time on this earth, what we’re given by our parents and family, and our husband and his family.”
“…I understand.”
“Our lot is to achieve happiness only by convincing ourselves that all the things laid out in front of us, even our marriage partners, are darling and dear. It’s all we have, so loving it is our only option. We all do that, and anyone who can’t is no different from a child throwing a tantrum. Do you understand?”
“I do.”
Fuyu’s solemn view, filled with a sense of reality, sank into Miyo’s chest.
Women couldn’t choose. Their lives simply continued onward, and they were unable to influence anything. Thus, the only choice they had was to do their best to live while caring for the things that were arbitrarily picked and presented to them by others.
Miyo believed that romantic feelings of love were most incompatible with such a life.
“Pushing yourself to feel love for the husband your parents picked for you and eventually doing so? That’s not romance.”
“…………”
Miyo closed her eyes, convinced. She and Fuyu shared the same opinion.
There was no need for romantic feelings between husband and wife. As long as they each respected each other, they didn’t need romance to build a warm relationship together.
Miyo was convinced this was what Fuyu was admonishing her for, but her thoughts differed greatly from what Miyo had expected.
“You simply have to think of them as two separate things.”
“What?”
“The heart is free. If your husband is someone that is decided for you, that you need to push yourself to feel love for, then you can always follow your heart and fall for another man instead. There isn’t anyone who can rein in feelings of love, so really, who’s to fault you?”
Miyo’s eyes went wide with bewilderment… Perhaps she was only imagining it, but at that same moment, she thought she heard a crash in another room, like something collapsing.
She never imagined that Fuyu would openly encourage her to be unfaithful.
Although this audacious comment was typical of Miyo’s mother-in-law, Kiyo’s eyes seemed somewhat cold as well.
“Th-that’s, not, um, well…K-Kiyoka and I, we—”
“Then what’s the problem?”
When faced with the question again, Miyo no longer knew how to answer and went quiet.
True love made one lose sight of their surroundings. She didn’t want to accept that she had such emotions in her own heart, so she hesitated to voice them aloud.
If she stayed silent, she could keep Kiyoka in his current position, as Fuyu had described—a partner chosen for her, whom she needed to push herself to love. That way, no one would end up hurt.
If she wanted to support her husband as his wife, then simply having a relationship where she pushed herself to care for him was enough.
When she had snapped at Fuyu before, Miyo hadn’t imagined the stirring in her own heart. She had simply asserted what she imagined her existence would be like as Kiyoka’s fiancée and wife.
That being said…
“Why aren’t you happy to have the person you truly love and the person you must push yourself to care for be one and the same? Do you have any idea how opulent, how privileged, these worries of yours are?”
“Privileged…?”
“That’s right. How fortunate it must be to be able to give everything to your husband, familial and romantic love. You get to show emotions that normally might have been split between different men to a single one, so really, this worry of yours is anything but taxing—it’s downright indulgent,” Fuyu spat, as if to say it was all nonsense. Hearing all of this from her, Miyo started to wonder if she was the one who had been mistaken.
Miyo couldn’t believe she’d be any match for Fuyu, who seemed like she could smash away any troubles and concerns with her bare hands.
“Most women gradually wither away, convincing themselves to compromise their whole lives. Love is nothing but affection that rises up slowly over years of sharing a life together. But it’s different for you, is it not? Who do you have feelings for—Kiyoka your husband or Kiyoka the man?”
Her answer was a given. Miyo lifted her face up.
“Both of them.”
“Greedy, aren’t we…? Though that isn’t that bad, either.”
Though she still seemed displeased, this must have been Fuyu’s way of encouraging Miyo. When Miyo realized this, a smile crept across her face.
Although it was difficult to make sense of it, this was how her mother-in-law showed affection.
“Thank you very much.”
“That wasn’t a compliment!”
At Fuyu’s abrupt outburst, Miyo smiled once more.
Tadakiyo stood up and called out to his daughter as she went to depart.
“Cough, you’re leaving already?”
Turning around, Hazuki wore a slightly lonesome, yet perfectly radiant, expression and smiled.
“I suppose so. When you told me Miyo was meeting with Mother, I thought she might need my help, but it wouldn’t be right to barge in after Mother gave some honest words of encouragement for once.”
Hazuki had only just arrived. Once Miyo and Kiyo came to the inn, Tadakiyo had contacted the Kudou main estate.
Hazuki had rushed over in a panic; she’d been concerned for her sister-in-law’s safety since Miyo had run away from the Kudou estate, leaving only a single note behind.
Hazuki had been ready to charge right into the room, but after listening in on Fuyu and Miyo’s conversation, she started to have second thoughts.
“It’s maddening. She could never bring herself to say that sort of stuff to me… However,” —Hazuki twisted her lips into a grin— “are you sure you’re all right, Father? After all, Mother was just advocating for infidelity in there.”
“Hngh!”
Tadakiyo made an exaggerated show of clutching his chest and groaning after hearing Fuyu’s shocking remark.
Then his legs gave out, and he went tumbling to the corridor floor, but of course, he wasn’t serious.
Fuyu would never have an affair.
He knew from the long years they had spent together that Fuyu had eyes only for him, despite how she had admonished her daughter-in-law.
He was also well aware that he and his wife shared a somewhat twisted form of affection for each other.
For better or for worse, this was the relationship that most suited them both.
“Same as ever, I see… Try to rein it in—you two aren’t young anymore, you know.”
Tadakiyo answered his daughter’s look of exasperation with a broad smile of his own.
He was struck by the same thought he’d had last fall—Hazuki’s attitude toward him and Fuyu had gotten gentler than it once was. Before her marriage and divorce, there had been a much deeper rift between them.
Had the change come with the passage of time, or because Miyo was joining the family?
Whichever the case, for Tadakiyo, it was a joyous one.
“Hazuki.”
“What?”
“Ookaito seems to be doing all right. More than all right, actually. On the political side of things, it sounds like he’s bravely fighting all the crooked politicians in the government, so you can rest easy.”
Almost as soon as he and Fuyu arrived in the capital, Tadakiyo had actually made sure to get in contact with a few different places before Miyo’s visit.
As a result, he had gotten wind of some details regarding the present situation in the military and the government. This included information regarding Ookaito’s current activities.
Hazuki bit down on her lip as if firmly keeping something in check, yet in an instant, her previous expression returned.
“Oh? That’s good, then. I heard no one could get in touch with him, so I thought maybe something had happened.”
“Cough. The core of the military has fallen into Usui’s hands, but on the government side of things, they’re still struggling against him and have reached a deadlock, so there aren’t any signs of potential bloodshed. I don’t think you need to worry about him.”
If Usui managed to take over the government, too, then the Empire itself would be finished. Just having the military fall into his hands could potentially lead to catastrophe if any foreign countries were to find out.
…It may lead to war.
The government’s control of information was still alive and well, so the fall of the military headquarters hadn’t gotten out, but at the very least, the great powers of the world were likely aware of some nondescript domestic disturbance.
Even if Usui was eventually deposed, a difficult diplomatic situation was unavoidable.
Given his important military post, Ookaito’s real hardships were likely yet to come. He would need to calm growing public criticism against the government and the military, soothe the chaos, and settle any disputes with foreign countries.
“…I wasn’t worried at all about him.”
“That so?”
“Father, make sure you keep it a secret from Miyo that I came here. I’d feel awful for causing her any more worry.”
Tadakiyo nodded, making it clear he never intended to, and Hazuki continued.
“Oh, right. How long will you two be here in the capital?”
Tadakiyo and Fuyu had traveled to the city when Kiyoka had contacted them before his arrest; apparently, he’d known that he was in danger. He’d asked his parents to be in the capital to help if anything happened to him.
Given that Tadakiyo had retired from public life, he hadn’t planned to get too involved himself and had intended to watch from the sidelines to see how everything ran its course, but now that he had agreed to Miyo’s request, he couldn’t afford to do so anymore.
It looked like it was going to be impossible for him to wrap everything up in a short trip.
“At this point, we may as well stay here until the wedding.”
“You should’ve just stayed in the main estate, then.”
Inwardly, Tadakiyo was shocked. As her previous remarks about Fuyu made clear, Hazuki disdained her mother, so Tadakiyo had assumed his daughter would be vehemently against living under one roof with his wife.
“We’ll head over once we’ve had our fill of the inn here.”
Appearing satisfied with Tadakiyo’s answer, Hazuki smiled and turned back around once more.
Watching her wave as she left, Tadakiyo slipped his hand out from his padded kimono and waved back.
A large crowd of people had gathered in front of the typically quiet and unassuming Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit station.
Miyo and Kiyo hid in the shadow of a nearby building to observe the scene.
“Waste of taxes!”
“Traitors! We want you out of the Empire!”
These shouts came from the everyday citizens of the Empire, who varied in dress, gender, and age.
Some members of the crowd were holding up signs and banners reading ENEMY OF THE EMPIRE, while others looked to be reporters, and still others were trying to climb over the shuttered gate.
They had all grown distrustful of the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit, thanks to the awareness-building activities of the Gifted Communion and their peacekeeping squads.
The way the protestors saw things, the government was hiding the existence of Gifts and Grotesqueries, while the members of the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit had the nerve to take wages while they let these Grotesqueries roam free.
Both groups were being criticized for not giving thought to the people.
Although the number of protestors had dwindled compared to the start of the New Year, articles touching on these controversies were still showing up in the papers almost every day.
“…There are so many people.”
Miyo sighed, adjusting her loosened scarf.
After leaving Akitaya that afternoon, Miyo and Kiyo had visited the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit station. This had been, of course, to try to do something that would allow them to move freely—or at least, that had been the plan.
In truth, while there didn’t seem to be any guards stationed on the lookout, the mob of people outside was enough of an obstacle. Miyo would get jostled by the crowd if she approached, so just getting close to the station would prove difficult.
“I never expected we’d be able to get in normally in the first place,” Kiyo murmured coolly.
“What should we do?”
“Go around back.”
At Kiyo’s guidance, they took the long way around to the rear of the station to avoid getting caught in the crowd. On the back wall of the station was a small door that normally didn’t see use.
If they managed to get the lock open, perhaps they could get inside.
In complete contrast to the front gate, this area was basically as quiet as the station usually was.
There weren’t any guards standing around, just a smattering of men and women who appeared to share the same mindset as the throng at the front gate.
“We’re lucky there aren’t any lookouts, but it’ll be hard to get in if the protesters are around to see us.”
Nodding at Kiyo’s grumbling, Miyo waited for a short while. Then, waiting for the perfect break in the passersby, she hurried to the door at Kiyo’s signal.
“It’s…unlocked.”
“Looks like it.”
Though this door was typically locked, it opened without any noticeable resistance when Kiyo pushed it, the hinges creaking slightly.
Feeling a bit guilty, as though she was trespassing, Miyo followed Kiyo’s lead and went inside the station grounds.
Cutting across the yard in front of the familiar watering pump and making sure to avoid going around the front gate just in case, they entered into the main building from the back entrance.
“I-is everything all right…?”
There were no signs of life at the rear reception desk.
From what Miyo had heard, Usui had restricted the movement of the members of the unit, preventing them from even returning home. Under his direction, coming and going from the station, as well as any contact through familiars, were under strict surveillance.
In other words, almost every member of the unit was essentially locked inside the station.
Miyo had assumed they would encounter someone as soon as they arrived, but the interior was so quiet, it made her uneasy.
“They might all be in a single place. I doubt that Usui’s own Gift-users have disposed of everyone,” Kiyo said, taking long strides down the corridor.
They reached Kiyoka’s office without coming across anyone else.
“Are you sure we can just barge in like this…?”
“We’re not barging in. My master told me it’s okay.”
Kiyo threw open the office door without so much as a knock.
“Huh?”
Miyo couldn’t do anything but let out a small gasp.
The interior of the office Kiyoka used for his desk work, which Miyo had gone in and out of multiple times a day just a month prior, was largely unchanged.
However.
In the middle of the office, a single man dressed in military garb was collapsed face down on top of a rug.
“Oh, hey there… Hmm?”
In addition to man on the ground, there was someone else sitting at Kiyoka’s desk, waving at them.
What is going on here? Wh-what should I do?!
Glancing between the two men, Miyo froze in place, at a loss for words. She was far too baffled by the current situation to say anything, and she couldn’t get her thoughts in order.
As she stood there perplexed, the young man waving at her from the desk came bounding over to her.
He was dressed like a playboy, and over his causal kimono he wore a vibrantly colored haori that was covered in a garish pattern depicting a butterfly freely fluttering from flower to flower.
It was none other than Kazushi Tatsuishi who had sitting been down in the chair of the commander of the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit as if it were his own.
Kazushi gingerly avoided the man on the floor and walked up to Miyo.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Miyo.”
“Um, h-hello, Kazushi.”
“Hello to you, too.”
Miyo greeted the man, and Kazushi greeted her back, though his eyes were locked on the familiar beside her.
Feeling as though Kazushi was staring a hole in him, Kiyo looked back in displeasure.
“Hmmm… Hey there, little boy. How old are you? Hmm, are you Kiyoka’s illegitimate child, perhaps?”
Right as the words left Kazushi’s mouth, Kiyo plunged his tiny fist full-force into the man’s stomach.
“Hnaugh.”
“Better think twice about who you tell that nonsense.”
Kiyo glared mercilessly at Kazushi as the man sank down, gripping his stomach. The look in his eyes was exactly like Kiyoka’s, completely absent of any shred of pity, more demonic than human.
Next, the man on the floor behind Kazushi slowly sat himself up, looking like a corpse possessed by an evil spirit.
“Ngggh, hrnnn.”
Even worse, he started letting out a strange groan as he slowly but surely closed in on Miyo and the others.
“Um, er, Kazushi. Behind you…”
When Miyo pointed at the man with a trembling finger, Kazushi staggered up from his crouch and turned around.
“Oh, Godou. You’re up.”
Apparently, the man wasn’t a walking corpse, but Godou.
Looking downtrodden and gaunt, Godou pushed past Kazushi, seemingly struck with some epiphany. Godou knelt down in front of Kiyo and forcefully gripped both of the familiar’s hands.
“I-I can see an angel… So you’ve finally come for me, have you? I have to say it’s bizarre that you look so much like the commander, but at this point, I don’t care. Okay then, I’m ready to go to heav—”
“Face reality, you idiot.”
Kiyo shook off Godou’s hands with an icy glare and slammed his fist into Godou’s head. Groaning in pain, Godou landed face-first on the floor.
Miyo covered her mouth in shock at the cruel scene suddenly playing out in front of her.
Yet just a moment later, Godou sat up again and looked a bit more like his usual self, as though the blow had helped him come back to his senses.
Then he noticed Kiyo once more and blinked exaggeratedly.
“Huhhh?! What happened?! The commander’s shrunk!” Godou shouted loudly in surprise, prompting Kiyo to cover both his ears with an annoyed glare.
“Tone it down…”
“No, but seriously, why? Commander, you’re waaaaaay too small. Ha-ha-ha, this is so fun.”
Godou clutched his stomach and began laughing, at which point Kiyo sent his fist into the man’s head again.
Kazushi, acting as if he hadn’t just taken a gut punch of his own, looked down at Godou with an exasperated grin.
Miyo wasn’t going to get anywhere like this. She took a deep breath and, after calming herself, spoke up.
“I think that’s enough, all of you.”
Her voice wasn’t booming, but it traveled clearly through the office, shutting the other three up.
There were a lot of things she needed to ask about, from what the current situation at the station was like to how best to act from here on out. If she didn’t get to the point, their shenanigans would drag on into the evening.
Everyone took a seat on either the office armchairs or the sofa, and Kiyo immediately got the ball rolling.
“So why exactly was Godou laid out on the floor, and what is Kazushi doing in my master’s office?”
Kazushi turned away with a smile, while Godou suddenly covered his head in his hands and burst into a fast-paced rambling stream of complaints.
“It’s been awful! I have to manage the entire unit since the commander isn’t here, and to make matters worse, those guys from HQ who Usui sent always have their eyes on us, so it’s impossible to even leave! Despite all that, the hot-blooded guys in the unit all started shouting, ‘We gotta go save the commander fast!’ and ‘We can send these guards packing, no problem!’ That would make everything worse, so I tried to rein them in, but now I’m the one they’re all mad at! On top of everything, we’ve got a huge crowd out there every day trying to break through the gate!”
Just imagining it all made Miyo sympathize with Godou’s hardship. The mental strain of being caught between the men and his responsibilities must have been quite extreme.
Miyo felt a twinge in her chest at the misery of it all.
“Everyone’s getting irritated about being locked up in here, and morale is getting worse by the day. We can’t do anything, and yet Grotesquerie-related work still keeps flooding in like always, so now people are complaining that we’re too lazy to go on patrol. I mean, first and foremost here, getting locked up like this with a bunch of guys and trying to live together is totally impossible! Luckily, they’ll let us out to go out to buy food, but the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and that sort of stuff? It’s supposed to be divided equally between everyone, and they still end up bickering about it!”
Godou was getting emotionally unstable, so Kazushi took over.
“While all this was going on, we got a message from Mr. Ookaito. Apparently, he negotiated to finally take down the military guard detail, and when Godou here heard everyone would finally be able to move freely again, he was so overcome with relief, he passed out and fell to the floor.”
After seeing how haggard Godou looked and listening to his complaints, Miyo could see him doing that.
Satisfied by their explanation, Kiyo sighed.
“So I’m guessing everyone’s off in the dojo or somewhere else under Mukadeyama’s orders to start preparing for battle?”
“Yeah, basically,” Kazushi said with a shrug, as if it was someone else’s problem.
This prompted Miyo to ask a question.
“Mr. Tatsuishi, why are you here?”
Kazushi gracefully crossed his legs, opening up his gaudy fan with a snap and squinting in delight.
“Oh, me? Well, you see, I figured that everyone must be having some trouble with Kudou captured, so once the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit got back from the Imperial Palace, I came over to the station to poke fun at them. But then I wound up getting locked in here with them all!”
“…Serves you right,” Godou quietly muttered, totally dejected.
He was right that Kazushi wouldn’t have gotten stuck here if he hadn’t been focused on needlessly belittling Godou.
In any event, this explained why there hadn’t been any guards around earlier.
Ookaito was safe and sound, and on top of that, he was exerting his influence to resist Usui. Now that the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit could move freely, Miyo had the perfect opportunity to petition them for help.
“Putting the jokes aside a minute, what are you going to do now? Is that little familiar going to give out orders for us?”
Kazushi completely ignored Godou, hiding his mouth behind his fan and looking at Kiyo.
Not ruffled by Kazushi’s searching gaze in the slightest, Kiyo blankly shook his head.
“No, I’m not giving any orders. I’m nothing but a familiar. Going forward from here…”
Kiyo turned to get Miyo to finish for him, and she gave a deep nod. Straightening her posture, she lightly stacked her hands on her lap and squeezed them slightly.
“This morning, we visited Kiyoka’s father and asked for his assistance. We’re going to save Kiyoka tomorrow before you confront the Gifted Communion.”
Godou gasped, and Kazushi widened his eyes in shock.
The room filled with tension, yet Miyo faced the two men without flinching.
She had nowhere near enough power to rescue Kiyoka alone, so their understanding and cooperation would be indispensable.
“That’s way too dangerous…!”
Godou was the first to object.
It was only natural. His superior’s fiancée, who he knew full well was powerless, was saying she would march into the jaws of death.
That was no different from when Miyo had thought about stepping right into Usui’s clutches.
However, compared to that morning, her state of mind and level of preparation were wildly different. Back then, her thoughts had been incoherent, but now her mind had cooled and cleared to its innermost core.
…I’m weak and not well educated.
There probably wasn’t a single person at the military headquarters who Miyo could best. Yet giving up wouldn’t solve anything.
“Even if it is too risky, I’m going.”
“Hold on, that’s not—”
Kazushi reined in Godou as he insisted on trying to stop her, holding out his shuttered fan in front of him to cut him off. Godou went quiet, glaring at Kazushi with suspicion.
“I understand. In that case, I will accompany you.”
At Kazushi’s nonchalant and casual declaration, Godou whirled around to look at him.
Miyo also never would have thought Kazushi, of all people, would make an offer like this, and the shock took her breath away for a brief second.
“Huh? You, wait—why?”
“Because I am the best fit for the job. You’re too thickheaded, aren’t you, Godou?”
Kazushi looked as nonchalant as ever, and Miyo really couldn’t determine if this was all a joke or not.
But everyone there, her included, could feel a touch of gravity in his words and sensed that he was likely speaking sincerely.
“Are you really sure about this?”
She hadn’t meant to, but Miyo’s phrasing of the question sounded condescending, like she was making sure he was prepared to put his life on the line.
However, Kazushi just nodded, not seeming to take her question with any particular weight.
“Of course. I would love to avoid any trouble, if I can. What else am I supposed to do, though? Without Kudou around, we’re nothing but a disorderly mob.”
A disorderly mob… Miyo parroted the words back to herself in a whisper.
Considering the hardship Godou had just explained to them moments before, she couldn’t help agreeing with Kazushi’s assessment. Perhaps Gift-users were like a pride of wild lions who always needed someone stronger than themselves to serve.
Of course, Miyo didn’t mean to suggest that Godou didn’t have the qualifications to lead such a group, either.
“Thank you very much. The truth is, I thought about asking for your help from the start, Mr. Tatsuishi.”
Miyo bowed politely to Kazushi.
While most people had largely forsaken the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit, Godou and the others didn’t have complete freedom to act since they were part of the military.
But a civilian like Kazushi wasn’t in any position where he would be held liable for his actions, nor would he be getting anyone else involved by intervening, either.
He truly was the most suitable person to ask for help.
“Oh, well. That settles it, doesn’t it?”
Godou cast a look that spoke volumes at Kazushi, who snapped open his fan with a smug smile.
To Miyo, it seemed Godou’s expression conveyed his complicated feelings of frustration at being unable to go save Kiyoka himself, his concern for Kazushi, and his apprehensions for the future.
Outside the now silent room, they heard people’s voices from afar.
Were they the voices of the unit members, preparing for battle? Or were they the voices of the citizenry, calling for the end of the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit?
After the mood in the roomed lifted a bit, Kiyo sighed.
“Godou.”
“…Yes?”
There was a sullen timbre in Godou’s reply.
“The rest is in your hands.”
“Got it.”
At Kiyo’s words, Godou quickly straightened up and gave a reverent bow. His visage had already transformed into that of a leader commanding a military force.
But then he let out a depressed sigh without skipping a beat.
“…Well, I can’t really say anything else when you tell me that, now can I?”
Godou replied with a slight wince, as if to say he had plenty on his shoulders as it was. The sight put Miyo at ease and prompted a slight nod from Kiyo.
From there, they worked out their plan going forward then settled everything they needed to discuss.
The first thing next morning, Miyo, Kiyo, and Kazushi would secretly slip inside the military headquarters, where Usui was lurking and Kiyoka was being held.
They had tossed around the idea of having Godou and the rest of the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit—together with the Gift-users gathered together by Tadakiyo—launch an attack first as a feint, but they ultimately dismissed it. If the fighting grew fierce, it would only make Miyo’s group, who couldn’t pass themselves off as members of the military, stick out even more, undermining their infiltration attempt.
Therefore, they settled on having Miyo’s group slip inside headquarters first. Once they reached Kiyoka’s location, Godou’s troops would create a disturbance for them.
With a large force of Gift-users breaking into the military headquarters, Usui would have to send his own soldiers to shore up his defenses, leaving the inner areas short-staffed, which would allow Miyo’s group to confront the man himself. That was what they concluded, at least.
If Arata shows up, then…
Miyo’s thoughts turned to her cousin, who normally wouldn’t be out of place with them right now.
He was the unknown element in Usui’s forces. When it came time for the Gift-user and artificial Gift-user forces to clash head on, would he be there on the front lines or stay back at Usui’s side?
Godou and Kazushi seemed to be thinking it could go either way, however…
I have no doubt that Arata will show up for me.
Miyo was convinced. Still, it was always a good idea to prepare for unlikely circumstances, and she didn’t plan to push the matter.
She simply wished to stop her cousin. Miyo’s feelings started and ended there.
“With all that settled, we’ll keep on preparing on our end, so I think it would be best for you three to leave here for the time being. We’ll probably be safe for the rest of the day, but we don’t know when the military will start surveilling us again.”
Miyo agreed with Godou’s warning.
After going to all the trouble of working out a plan where they acted independently, it would be a huge problem if Miyo’s group got trapped in the station.
Additionally, Miyo was concerned about how it would look for an unwed woman like her to spend a night in a station filled with men.
“Oh, great. I can come along, too, right? This place is so filthy that I was almost at my limit.”
Godou scowled at Kazushi’s overexaggerated exuberance.
“Oh, yes, I’m sooo sorry this place was dirty. Though in your case, I guess you’re unhappy anywhere without a beautiful woman for you to ogle at.”
“See, you get it.”
The two of them really did quarrel at all hours of the day.
This time, though, Miyo felt relieved to see them acting like usual. The only things missing from the scene were Kiyoka and Arata…
Miyo was going to succeed, at all costs. This time, it was her turn to help everyone out.
No matter how little power I may have, I’m going to do everything I can.
Godou and Kazushi’s arguments grew distant as images of a warm, everyday life played out in the back of her mind.
That evening, as the sun began to set and dusk closed in, Miyo and Kiyo left the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit station and returned to the Usuba estate with Kazushi in tow.
Yoshirou refrained from remarking on Miyo and Kiyo’s unexpected guest and gave them a warm reception.
“Huh, I always wondered what the Usubas’ home would be like, but it’s actually pretty normal, isn’t it?”
After learning from Miyo that they would be staying overnight at the Usuba estate, Kazushi had spent the entire trip there in a state of excitement. As soon as they arrived, he looked around at his surroundings and gave his appraisal.
Miyo couldn’t help but find it strange to see Kazushi, a longtime acquaintance of hers, standing in the Usuba home.
“Miyo.”
“Yes…?”
After finishing a simple dinner together, Kazushi went off to a guest room on the first floor. Just as Miyo headed with Kiyo to their usual room, Yoshirou stopped her.
“Where did you go today?”
“Oh. I paid a visit to Kiyoka’s mother and father then went to the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit station.”
Feeling Yoshirou’s concern for her, Miyo answered honestly.
Tomorrow, everything would finally come to a head. If things went poorly, Miyo could very well lose her life—the final destination of the tangled, twisted, and murky fate she had followed was almost like the border between life and death.
She felt intensely grateful for having a place to return to this evening, the last night before their final battle.
It would have been awkward to go back to the Kudou main estate, and Kiyoka’s house would have felt far too lonely.
“Really? So tomorrow’s the day.”
Yoshirou gave her a look that showed he understood the situation, to which Miyo nodded. When she did, a feeble smile came to her grandfather’s weathered face.
“I haven’t felt like this since the day I sent Sumi off to be married.”
Miyo’s breath caught in her throat.
It was agonizing to see someone off without being able to do anything for them. The image of Kiyoka being led away after being arrested on baseless charges flashed into her mind.
She had never been more cognizant of her own helplessness, cowardice, and regret than she was in that moment.
Yet even this pain and impatience were things she never would have felt back when she had almost nothing to hold dear.
“Thank you very much for your concern, Grandfather.”
“Miyo…”
“I’ll be back, no matter what. You’re going to be on the list of invitees for our wedding in the spring, so make sure to attend, okay?”
Miyo was living without knowing what tomorrow would bring for her. It was as if she were back to her time in the Saimori household.
However, there was one thing that was decisively different.
She had hope for the future. Now she could boldly proclaim that her frame of mind was completely different from how it had been in the past, when she’d spent almost every day hoping to be taken to the afterlife.
No longer did she believe she was better off dead. She would continue to go on living.
But I still need Kiyoka.
Miyo tried to give Yoshirou the brightest smile she could muster.
“Right, right… I’m looking forward to it.”
Leaving Yoshirou, Miyo went into her second-floor room and closed the door without making a sound. Instantly, all her exhaustion rushed to the surface, and losing her strength, she leaned on the door and collapsed to the floor.
“Haaah…”
Kiyo, who had accompanied her without speaking up at all, looked into her drooping eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
Despite her reply, her hands and feet were both trembling.
In truth, she was more anxious than she could bear. When she thought about the next day, she got so agonizingly worried wondering if everything would go well, or if everyone would make it out all right, that she thought her chest might burst.
She needed to put on a brave face, or she would lose the ability to take the next step forward.
“You know, you really are good at putting on a strong front.”
“Huh?” Miyo raised her head.
Kiyo’s manner of speech always sounded just like Kiyoka’s own, but these words truly sounded as if they had come from her fiancé.
That couldn’t possibly be true. Kiyo was a familiar modeled after Kiyoka’s appearance, not actually the man himself.
Seeing Miyo freeze with surprise, Kiyo gazed at her with kind eyes.
“Don’t be so scared. I swear that I’ll protect you, no matter what happens.”
Kiyo brought his forehead against hers. Though he had no body temperature and should have felt cold, she felt a slight warmth from him.
It’s so comforting…
Kiyo the familiar neither breathed nor had a heartbeat. Yet pressed up against him, she felt her paralyzed heart and body slowly begin to relax.
“Thank you, Kiyo.”
Her trembling had completely subsided. When she let out a puff of breath, though it may have just been her imagination, her body felt like it had gotten a little bit warmer.
“Rest easy. I’d be willing to sing you a lullaby, if it would help.”
“…A lullaby.”
That might not have been a bad idea. She thought back to how Hana, the servant who used to look after her when she was little, would sing for her. The prospect of Kiyo doing the same warmed her heart.
Letting down her hair and changing into her nightwear, Miyo lay down in bed.
Despite how anxiety-stricken she had been, she was now completely enveloped in nighttime drowsiness.
“Kiyo, you will sing me a lullaby, right?”
“Yes…if you insist.”
After Miyo pleaded to Kiyo, feeling as if she were a child again, the familiar nodded and began to quietly sing.
His voice was beautifully high-pitched and clear, like that of an angel.
The relaxed melody would have her drifting to sleep in no time—or so she thought.
Hmm…?
Perhaps it was just her imagination. She had thought she’d be able to relax a bit more and fall asleep while listening, yet there was something in the song that was grabbing her attention.
In contrast with his beautiful voice, Kiyo’s intonation was vaguely discomforting.
Is he singing off-key?
The tune Kiyo sang was unfamiliar to Miyo, but she could at least tell that it probably wasn’t in the right pitch.
However, when she slightly opened her eyes and peeked at Kiyo’s face, she saw that he was stoic and didn’t seem to be particularly concerned about the mistake.
…Tee-hee.
Apparently, familiars weren’t good singers. The new discovery soothed her, and she closed her eyes again.
Listening to the lullaby didn’t calm her completely. Nevertheless, before she knew it, a decidedly positive feeling took hold of her, calming her mind.
As she went along with the slightly off-key tune, her consciousness gradually began to fade.
Putting on a bold front was Miyo’s specialty. Tomorrow, and tomorrow alone, she would give everything—more than she ever had before—to put up the bravest front possible.
Not to smother her anxiety, but to give herself the strength to move forward.
Miyo drifted off, gently pressing down on the protective charm at her bosom.
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