This was a far cry from the Kudou family. Tadakiyo, the previous patriarch, had made a name for himself as a powerful Gift-user, and his son, Kiyoka, had distinguished himself from a young age.
There were more than a few in the Miyakouji family who were displeased with a mere branch family having that much success. The fact that Kiyoka had married a girl with Usuba blood was sure to make that displeasure balloon even further.
Although there was nothing he could do about it, this still didn’t sit right with Kiyoka.
“That reminds me, what did you do after that incident last night?”
“One of my men studied abroad previously, so I contacted him. I think we should know about what shaman means in due time.”
“Well now, you sure work fast. Be sure to tell me if I can help, you hear?”
“I will.”
The men around him were all glaring at Kiyoka, vaguely irritated that he was whispering with the family patriarch.
Annoying gazes were following him everywhere. Telling everyone off for being stupid and foolish was the easy solution, but given the interfamilial relationship at play, he couldn’t afford to be so direct.
It was a nuisance. Kiyoka heaved a sigh.
With noon past and the tea ceremony over, the Miyakouji men went out into town to drink some more.
The loud, already drunk men, walking in a large group, stood out from the crowd bustling along the main boulevard, and while some passersby frowned at the sight, the men didn’t seem to care.
They headed for a luxurious traditional restaurant downtown.
The establishment had a long, well-established connection to the Miyakouji family, but normally at this time of day, just past noon, their doors were closed.
“I am terribly sorry. We are busy getting ready at the moment…,” said the proprietress.
Having grown cavalier in their drunkenness, the men dismissed her with a snort.
“That doesn’t matter, just let us in.”
“Are you sure you want to treat us poorly? Your restaurant stands to lose out if you turn us down, you know.”
There was no way the proprietress could resist the men now that they were throwing around their lineage to get what they wanted. She grimaced a moment before leading them into a tatami dining room.
She offhandedly asked her staff for help and made sure to instruct them to complain to the Miyakouji estate.
The men ordered drinks and food as they saw fit, descending into cacophony.
Their conversation consisted almost entirely of complaints aimed at the Kudou family.
“Those Kudous’re an impertinent bunch. Sounds like a bit of discipline’s in order, yeah?”
“That’s for sure. And what was with that bull about the Usuba girl? I bet they’re just trying to put on airs. Damn branch family looking down on the main family like that.”
“Them Kudous are all bark and no bite anyway. Nothing’s more offensive than watching ’em get all puffed up.”
“Wait ’til they get a load of our arts. This is what’s coming to ’em.”
One of the men threw the sake cup in his hands at the wall. The refined, expensive drinkware shattered tragically against the wall.
Its design matched the serving bottle, so now that was useless, too.
“More sake.”
The young waitress trembled as she placed a new bottle on the table. In a reckless move, she then admonished the men.
“U-um, I ask that you please treat our drinkware with care…”
“What?”
The men glared at the waitress like wounded beasts. The woman let out a stifled shriek.
“You disrespecting the Miyakoujis, is that it? Huh?”
“N-no, I would never…”
“Then you wouldn’t dare order us around, ain’t that right?”
Browbeating the woman, one of the men then slapped her on the cheek with his palm. The waitress fell to the floor with a scream.
“Women need to keep their mouths shut and do what the men tell ’em, you hear?! Keep your yapping to yourself!”
“Ohh, someone’s feisty. Go on now, give her some more of that.”
As the other men cheered him on, the woman’s face darkened with despair.
However, right as the man brought his hand toward the back of her neck…
“Sirs, we have a guest who wishes to speak with you all. Shall I bring him back here?”
…the proprietress’s voice came in from the other side of the door, and the men stopped.
“Who is it?”
The men all exchanged glances.
Although they worried the restaurant had contacted the estate to get the patriarch to come berate them, if that were the case, he would’ve been immediately let through without the staff coming to ask their permission.
As the men sat their in confusion, the sliding door opened, and a single young man stepped inside.
“Good afternoon,” he said, giving a bow.
He had attention-grabbing blond hair and blue eyes. The men all relaxed upon seeing the familiar face come in.
“Oh, it’s just you, Mr. Wood.”
“Hello. Glad to see you’re all here. I’ve come with a bit of a proposal…”
“Yeah? Well, let’s hear it. Come on in and tell us over a drink or two.”
While the men focused on the new arrival, the female waitress managed to escape the room with the help of the proprietress.
The exotic young foreigner shared drinks with the other men while listening to their complaints.
“Is that right? I had no idea. That is certainly a predicament,” he said.
“Damn right it is. Just because we’re all smiles, this upstart branch family gets it in ’em to act high and mighty. Eyesores, every last one of ’em.”
“Indeed.”
“Sure, but with our arts, that puny branch family would be a total pushover.”
“Just take their necks like this, and snap. I’d kill to see their faces twisted in terror like that girlie just now.”
“A splendid notion.”
“Since we’ve got this opportunity, why don’t we rough ’im up a little? Together with that so-called Usuba girlie of his.”
Though the young man was sick of the group’s vulgar banter, he never dropped his smile and suggested something to the group.
“Then what do you think about this…?”
As the men listened to the foreigner’s proposal, they let crude looks of excitement come to their faces, practically licking their lips at the prospect.
“Now there’s an idea.”
“Yeah, let’s go with that.”
As more of them chimed in, terrible whispers of elation filled the private dining room.
Only the young man who’d originally proposed the idea stood away from the group of slimy men, shrugging with disgust and watching them grow giddy.