“I’m not sure what you mean.”
Miyo pressed down on her kimono, feeling the protective charm from Kiyoka underneath.
Just then, however, one of the men snatched her hand.
“Eeek!”
“Come with us!”
The man who had grabbed Miyo gave an angry shout. Then he jerked her arm hard, and she felt her muscles ache.
“Ngh…!”
Although she tried to bear through the pain and resist the force pulling her, the man’s strength was too great, and he quickly began dragging her off.
In a vacuum, however, the only thing happening was Miyo getting tugged along by her arm. The charm didn’t respond at all.
So the charm won’t activate unless someone is explicitly trying to harm me…
She decided to let out a scream, but right before she could, another man narrowly managed to cover her mouth.
“Mrgh… Mmnh!!”
“We act all nice and humble, and you got the gall to hop on your high horse, that it…?! Just pipe down and join the Miyakoujis! We’re way more deserving of that Usuba blood of yours.”
“That’s for damn sure. Long as we get ahold of you, we can get Usuba blood in our family and totally disgrace those upstart Kudous. Two birds, one stone.”
“We’ll be sure to teach you some proper manners, ya hear?”
In the eyes and expressions of the men, Miyo saw the exact same tinge of thick, muddy hatred.
What is wrong with these people…?!
Her chills of terror wouldn’t stop. A terrible sweat broke out on her back.
“Get over here! Let’s go!”
Though Miyo desperately put all her strength in her legs, she couldn’t offer much resistance. To make matters worse, the three men had surrounded her on all sides. At this rate, she really would be carried off somewhere.
Kiyoka still wasn’t back.
No, no! Help!
They grabbed the collar of her kimono. The protective charm, her last ray of hope in that moment, tumbled down, and the neckline of her kimono was opened slightly.
“Mmhhh!”
She fervently struggled and groaned. The next moment…
“Miyo!”
…she finally heard someone call her name. With the men’s attention diverted, she had an opening.
Miyo feverishly channeled her Gift and directed it at the men. However, one of them noticed her movements, and he violently yanked her by the hand.
“Mngh…!”
Kiyoka rushed over and, at that exact moment, sent one of the men flying with his strongest punch.
“What the hell are you doing to my wife?!”
“Kudou…!”
The men instantly bared their hostility at Kiyoka, roughly letting go of Miyo and making the gestures to weave arts.
“Fools. You think that garbage will save you in a real fight?!” Kiyoka bellowed as he punched the men, knocking them back. Despite this, the men attempted to lash out at Kiyoka further, but Miyo used her Gift to knock them all unconscious, their eyes rolling back in their heads.
Seeing the men collapse and go motionless, Miyo exhaled the strained breath in her throat.
“Are you all right?!”
Kiyoka grabbed her by the shoulders with a frighteningly angry glare and checked her over to make sure nothing was wrong. When he saw the slightly disheveled neckline of Miyo’s kimono, his gaze grew razor sharp, and an indescribable look came to his face.
“…They’re dead meat.”
Kiyoka’s low tone was so icy cold, Miyo thought she would freeze just listening to it as her own face went pale.
If she didn’t stop him, he would slaughter the men sleeping in the dirt like lambs and turn them into silent masses of flesh. No matter how nasty they were, Miyo couldn’t bear to sit by and let her husband sully his hands and his morals with the men’s blood.
“K-Kiyoka, please calm down!”
“They need to pay for violating my wife.”
Miyo thought Kiyoka was seeing red, yet he appeared calm-headed in spite of his rage. Nevertheless, seeing his peerlessly beautiful features contorted in pure anger was so powerful that Miyo was the one who wanted to cower in fear.
“I recognize these faces. Must be Miyakoujis… I’ll make sure they get the punishment they deserve.”
“I don’t know why, but…they belittled the Kudou family horribly.”
“Quintessential Miyakoujis. Bunch of worthless imbeciles who are only good for bragging about their lineage.”
Kiyoka glared scornfully at the men on the ground as if to say that they had ruined their wonderful date. Then he casually gripped one of the men by the scruff and began dragging him along.
“Let’s go back the Miyakouji estate so you can fix your kimono. You deserve to be seen at your best.”
“Th-thank you.”
Miyo hastily put her ruffled collar in order and followed after Kiyoka.
The three men had been punched to the ground and knocked unconscious. Secretly watching it all unfold, Eugene brought a hand to his face to cover his smile.
The power to instantly make someone fall asleep.
He no longer had any doubt this was the person they were looking for, an outstanding talent who shined like the brightest star in the sky.
Curbing his own impatience, Eugene immediately left the scene and made for the villa where his boss was staying.
Within a thicket of trees, slightly outside the city itself and at the foot of a small mountain, a small red brick house quietly sat out of view. When he approached the building and crossed over a specific line, the air changed completely—he had passed over a barrier meant to keep people away.
Eugene went inside without taking any care to ring the doorbell or announce his arrival.
Walking along and reaching the end of the short corridor, he then knocked on the door to his boss’s study.
“Is now a good time?”
“Come on in.”
The interior was packed with books and tools needed for sorcery. His boss was in the position she had been in the other day and leisurely greeted Eugene.
“What’s got you in such a hurry?”
Eugene thought he was doing his best to feign composure, but it seemed his internal excitement was spilling over.
He coughed to evade the question and steadied his breathing. After a moment’s pause, he began his report.
“I was able to confirm the existence of the shaman princess.”
“Oh, is it that girl you had your eyes on?”
“Yes. While the method I used to make sure may have been a bit heavy-handed, there is no doubt. You don’t find someone with such a magnificent Gift every day.”
His boss opened up a drawer of her desk with a calm, leisurely motion and took out several documents.
They were most likely the investigation data Eugene had handed to her containing information on this country’s shaman. It detailed the family who inherited the shaman blood and the broad strokes about potential candidates who might possess said power.
Tracing the paper’s surface with thin, long fingers, his boss then landed on a specific section.