Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon - Volume 2 - Chapter 11

Hint: To Play after pausing the player, use this button

Add to favorites

Chapter 11 - Plan

The large tatami room was completely silent.

This room which oozed with extravagance was extremely bare, with only a futon in the middle, on which an elderly man lies asleep.

「Disgusting; what an eyesore.」

A man grumbled under his breath hatefully, his haggard sunken eyes darted around. However, that man's body was as thin as a withered tree and his words only sounded like weak breaths despite the begrudging tone.

That was the noblest and feted man in the Empire; until recently, this man was still surrounded by people. But now, how ironic was it that he was all alone?

「May I, Your Majesty?」

Suddenly, a voice came from outside the room. That man simply replied with a「Yes」 and the sliding door opened; a distinguished-looking young man entered the room quietly.

That man's eyes moved again to look at the young man.

This chestnut-haired young man, who could easily pull off a three-piece suit, although rather hard for the man to handle, was a critical pawn in this issue.

「...What do you want?」

「It's about time for us to receive your permission.」

Ah right, he had told this pawn to wait for a while.

That man searched through his memories-which tend to fade away quite often recently- and finally figured out why the young man came to look for him.

「Is that so?」

That man asked in turn, to the young man who was bowing by his pillow.

They're almost ready. They'll have to catch up more to make the other party lose the lead over them.
「Please give me your permission. There,s no reason for my cousin30 for my cousin to suffer any longer; she's too pitiful.」

「Be quiet, watch your words.」

「...I sincerely apologize for my mistake.」

Although it was a weak scolding, it was enough to silence the slightly agitated young man.

His body may be on a decline but the innate air of authority and majesty that man had was still there.

「Things are starting to move; I will allow you to take action.」

That man said so bitterly through teeth clenched in frustration and humiliation.

Why did he have to care so much about some mere little girl? Why did he have to let his emotions be affected by such an insignificant existence? That's not something he's willing to go through.

It was utterly abhorrent, disgusting, and loathsome.

However, if they gave up now, everything would go down the drain.

In order for their blood to continue to be passed down to future generations, unthreatened by anyone, to leave behind a legacy—all threats had to be eliminated.

「Don,t miss the chance.」

「...Understood, then, we shall start acting as planned.」

The young man bowed again and left the room with light steps.

The large tatami room was once again enveloped by silence.

That man thought about the future. Even if he closed his eyes, he couldn't see anything anymore.

However, God has never allowed him to see the future of his descendants, to begin with, that's why he had to take matters into his own hands to get the future he envisages.

「You wanted to see me, Your Majesty?」

He rang the bell beside his bed and a chamberlain appeared.

「...Lead the spirits of『Oktsuki』to the village. It doesn't matter even if it results in deaths.」

「Very well, Your Majesty.」

The chamberlain showed no emotion at all as he solemnly accepted that man's order.

「Be sure to completely destroy that ability...」

It's unnecessary in this country that his son is going to govern.

That man's eyelids slowly lowered as his consciousness gradually faded deeper and deeper into the darkness.

A man was dispatched from the Ministry of the Imperial Household to Kiyoka from Ookaito. Three weeks had passed since Oktsuki was exposed.

「Pleased to make your acquaintance, Major Kudou, I'm Tsurugi Arata.」

The person who visited the military base where the Anti-supernatural Special Task Force was located was a young man.

When Kiyoka met him in the reception room, that person introduced himself with a harmless smile. Kiyoka sized up the man in a subtle manner without being rude as he thought to himself.

Tsurugi Arata, twenty-four years old.

The Tsurugi family runs a medium-sized trading company. The company known as 『Tsurugi Trading』which was established after the Meiji Restoration once faced the crisis of bankruptcy due to poor business performance some 30 years ago. But they have since recovered and their business is doing quite stably. He is also the son of a distinguished family and there wasn't anything suspicious about his education and the like.

In addition to the basic information that Ookaito provided, Kiyoka had also done some investigation on this man beforehand. However, he didn't seem to be someone working for the Ministry of the Imperial Household so Kiyoka did not know just why he was sent over.

But when he actually met the other party face-to-face, the impression that man gave him was not too bad.

He's a good-looking young man with a friendly smile that doesn't make people wary of him. His chestnut-coloured hair and the high-quality suit he donned all suited him very well. The impression was so good it almost seemed fishy.

「Kudou Kiyoka, I'm the Captain of the Anti-supernatural Unit.」

「I am quite familiar; you're pretty well-known in the social circles--I've heard that you're cold as frost and keep all women beyond arm's length.」

Kiyoka narrowed his eyes at Arata's words which were bordering the line of being disrespectful.

Was it just some cheap provocation or was he trying to test something? Or perhaps there's nothing between the lines but Kiyoka couldn't read anything from the innocent smile that man had on his face.

「Small talk and all are fine but all I want to ask about is Oktsuki.」

「Ah, yes, of course, my apologies.」

Arata apologised without a hint of penitence and got right down to business.

「--Oktsuki was unsealed by someone at midnight about three weeks ago. Since then, the Ministry has been doing its best to recover the spirits and identify the culprit as quickly as possible. However, the recovery rate is only about 70% and the culprit is still unknown.」

「...Why has the Ministry suddenly decided to give us information on the situation? They must have been very reluctant.」

「The number of technique users working for the Ministry is little and we're experiencing a shortage of hands as can be seen by the recovery rate of only 70%. WeVe finally managed to get the higher-ups in the Ministry to understand that.」

Arata said that so casually.

They should have known from the start that they would be short-handed. Moreover, Oktsuki was where virtually all the souls of the ability users who weren't able to enter Nirvana rested. Even if not all of them escaped the Forbidden Zone, it was still a significantly large number.

It would not be surprising that a large number of resentful spirits were now attacking villages and causing damage.

「Has the Ministry finally given up on the idea of settling this in private and ask for our cooperation?」

「Yes, you can see it that way.」

(I see.)

Then, Kiyoka posed another question that had been bothering him to Arata.

「...I understand what you,re saying. This is a matter of life and death; allow us to assist in resolving this issue. But, if you don't mind my asking, how did you come to be here? You're not someone from the Ministry, are you?」

Naturally, he's not someone affiliated with the military either. Kiyoka had never heard of the Tsurugi family being a line of ability users or of Arata being an ability user himself.

That was the one thing that had been bugging Kiyoka this whole time.

Although Kiyoka more or less had some information on this man, he couldrVt trust him unless he knew this person's stand.

Faced with this question, Arata said 「I knew you'd ask」 with a wry smile.

「Well, unless you're a fool, of course you'd be bothered... I'm what you call a negotiator. I'm usually involved in negotiations for my family's trading company, but every once in a while, an acquaintance will ask me to do a job like this. My role is to be the voice for matters the respective parties find hard to speak of.」

「But you seem to know a lot about Oktsuki and ability users.」

To begin with, special abilities were something obscure to the general public.

Many matters have been classified as confidential and now that the number of supernatural beings dwindles, even their existence is often forgotten.

The situation is not as bad in the upper-class as ability users make up for much of the prominent families. But it's not as familiar to families that emerged after the Meiji Restoration, such as the Tsurugi family.

Even if he was a negotiator commissioned by the Ministry of the Imperial Household, it still seemed like he knew too much.

「That's the art of negotiation~whether it's through bluffing or pretending to be in the know, it's important to make people think you are familiar with the situation. If they think you're ignorant, you're finished.」

「I see.」

Seeing Kiyoka nod his head, Arata smiled.

「Finding out about the person you're dealing with is the basics of the basics. I know a little about Major Kudou too, like for example, you recently got engaged. Ah, but this is information that has been circulating around even without investigation.」

「I suppose.」

Even Kiyoka who doesn't really attend social events could imagine what it,s like.

「Ah, I'm so envious of you. I want to find the right person and settle down as soon as possible too but it,s not easy... Marriage is a difficult thing.」

For a brief moment, Arata's gaze became rather piercing.

Although it should just be an ordinary conversation Arata's tone somehow felt rather thorny. While it wasn't to the point of hostility... Kiyoka felt a hint of opposition directed at him, but in the next moment, Arata's face went back to its original harmless expression.

Kiyoka made a mental note of this strange incident but didn't deliberately point it out as he realised that he was at a disadvantage because of the difference in the amount of information between them.

「In any case, we will take part in dealing with this matter since we've received an official request. Has the Ministry of the Imperial Household specified a method of recovering the spirits?」

「A special tool is used for the recovery of spirits. I think it will arrive from the Ministry soon. However, there are many aggressive spirits with strong resentment wandering around, so depending on the situation, the use of abilities for battle and destruction is allowed. Rather than the Ministry, the Emperor seems to prefer the latter—leaving those troublesome things behind will only lead to more major problems like now.」

「This makes me feel bad but it can't be helped.」

Since what they were dealing with were the spirits of ability users, it naturally included Kiyoka's ancestors. However, the dead who remain in this world indefinitely are only a nuisance. It's no wonder the Emperor ordered for them to be destroyed.

It is the living that ought to be placed in top priority, not the dead.

Arata took out some documents from his bag beside him.

「For more details, please refer to this document. The order is also in there; it's a formal order from the army through Major General Ookaito.」

「Understood.」

Kiyoka took a quick look at the papers placed on the table and accepted it politely.

Now the platoon could move out in the open.

Although the document still states that entry into the Forbidden Zone is prohibited, just being involved with the security was a big step for them.

Afterwards, the two shared a few more simple exchanges before Arata went on his way back.

From beginning to end, there were no problems at all and the air between them was peaceful, but just as he was about to leave. Arata left Kiyoka with these words.