Kiyoka’s question prompted a nod from Komon.
“That would be true. But the Kudou forebears who realized their mistakes early on were a wise bunch. That horrible research should’ve never gone on as long as it did.”
Even as some broke away from the family entirely, nothing could dissuade the other Miyakoujis from their research.
But transgressions on that level always came at a price.
One by one, the Miyakouji churned out successful experiments. The children who’d gained Gifts or strengthened powers from the procedures became adults and had children of their own.
It was then the aberrants began to be born.
They were born with horns on their heads and weak constitutions that would degrade every time they used their Gifts. At first, the aberrants were left alone, written off as coincidence. However, as the years went by and generations came and went, the number of children born with these traits became too numerous to ignore. Only then did a majority of the family at last realize what was happening.
The descendants of Gifts-users who had undergone experimentation were giving birth to aberrants.
By the time they put the pieces of the puzzle together, it was too late. Though the Miyakoujis called off the experiments, the fruits of their efforts had already been deeply incorporated into the family tree. There was almost no one in the family without the blood of experimentally altered Gift-users running through their veins.
“From that day on, the Miyakoujis were forced to shoulder the inescapable proof of our sins.”
A great many aberrants were born.
Most lived short lives and never left behind any descendants. Since a few individuals did make it to adulthood on occasion, however, some Miyakoujis adopted the practice of killing any child of theirs with a horn.
Eventually, the family arrived at a consensus that this was a meaningless tradition that only added to their sins, so the practice stopped at some point.
“Izuko is probably an aberrant. She doesn’t have many of the characteristic tells, of course. But she’s been saddled with that inability to get a good night’s sleep from birth. I don’t know how things’ll shake out from here, but if you hadn’t intervened, Miyo, she wouldn’t have lived for long.”
“That’s so sad…”
“Thank you, Miyo. I can’t begin to express how grateful I am that you banished the memories of our sins from her dreams and gave her a peaceful sleep.”
“Please… I didn’t do much at all.”
An indescribable agony came over Miyo as Komon bowed deeply to her.
Komon had not committed the transgressions of his forebears. Nor was he responsible for Izuko’s insomnia and stunted growth.
Yet because he was the head of the family, Komon was forced to shoulder everything himself.
Kiyoka gazed at Komon with a similarly grim look.
“…Did that answer the questions you both had?” Komon asked.
“It did.”
In all honesty, Miyo would have preferred not to hear the story. She was filled with a sense of regret, as if she had exposed a terrible secret purely out of curiosity.
Though this had all originated from things beyond her control—the disturbance caused by the Miyakouji men and the treatment Miyo had given Izuko—she still regretted learning the truth. She could feel an apology almost slip past her lips.
Komon seemed to pick up on Miyo’s feelings from her expression and gave her a feeble smile.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Miyo. All the blame lies with us Miyakoujis. That includes today’s incident. There was also one more reason I wanted to chat about this… I imagine you’ve picked up on it already, Kiyoka. Does the Miyakoujis’ research sound familiar to you?”
Kiyoka instantly replied to Komon’s leading question.
“Is there are chance that it was used as the foundation for the Gifted Communion’s research?”
“There’s something about them that rang a bell with me, see.”
Neither confirming or denying Kiyoka’s question, Komon stared vacantly into the air with dull eyes and let his shoulders droop.
“About sixty years back, an aberrant actually ran away from the family. They were a rarer case, with a comparatively sturdy body, so they managed to reach adulthood. They really must’ve hated the Miyakoujis. They up and left.”
“…Don’t tell me there were still records of the research left over, and this aberrant made off with them?”
“…There was somethin’ left over all right. Maybe someone figured it was a pity to dispose of all their research after they stopped the experiments… Me, I don’t know. In any case, the deserter snatched whatever data was in the Miyakouji estate and fled.”
Miyo lowered her eyes, feeling as if the back of her head had gone numb.
Naoshi Usui, once a potential fiancé for Miyo’s mother, Sumi. The man had established a group called the Gifted Communion and conducted research into Gifts.
Possessing technologies even the state couldn’t hope to attain, the group had schemed to use them to shake the country to its core, yet it was a complete mystery how they had managed to make such leaps and bounds in their research to begin with.
However, it was now clear the so-called aberrant had brought something with them when they left their family: the records of the Miyakoujis’ research from long, long ago.
The path these documents followed afterward was unclear. But somehow, they came into Usui’s hands. Inspired by the research to manifest and strengthen Gifts, he plotted to make Gift-users out of anyone wishing for the power and have the Usuba family take control over the country.
Komon was saying this was indeed a possibility.
Kiyoka pressed against his temple as if enduring a headache.
“Unbelievable.”
“The Gifted Communion and Naoshi Usui were heinous criminals who threatened the nation itself. If the sins of the Miyakoujis’ past are involved with their deeds, I can’t pretend not to know… The Miyakouji added to their sins once again.”
Miyo couldn’t figure out what to say to him.
Still, the Gifted Communion and Naoshi Usui were Miyo’s problem, too. Usui had committed his appalling crimes in an attempt to install none other than Miyo herself at the absolute top of the country.
If Komon felt he was to blame, then Miyo deserved far more of it.
It was impossible for her to pretend otherwise and tell him not to let it get to him.
“If you frame it that way, then the Kudous are to blame as well,” Kiyoka quietly declared. “The Kudous were involved with the Miyakoujis when they first began their research. It would stand to reason, then, that the Kudous are also responsible for everything that’s come afterward.”
“I don’t really see it that way, but I’m sure that’s going to do nothing to convince you, yeah?” said Komon.
“Right.”
Miyo never imagined she would hear someone invoke Usui and the Gifted Communion in a situation like this, let alone gain further insight into their origins.