“Well, no. I haven’t had any suspicious guests since then.” Minami paused and then added, “Not during my waking hours, at least.”
“I don’t believe Minoru has given up on trying to help you,” Miyuki said anxiously. “Tatsuya, do you think he could be planning something or gathering support of some kind?”
“It’s possible.”
A week had passed since Minoru’s attack, and it was unlikely he had been inactive this whole time. Although Tatsuya hadn’t confirmed it yet, Minoru seemed to have inherited knowledge from Gongjin Zhou that surpassed the limits of magic.
Since the Kudou family and all the other “Nine” families were unlikely to betray the Master Clans Council, it would be challenging for Minoru to recruit allies from there. Minions from Gongjin’s intelligence network, however, were a different story.
“Maybe I should ask Aunt Maya to teach me how to seal parasites,” Tatsuya murmured.
Miyuki and Minami gave him apprehensive looks. Minami’s unease stemmed from her worry that Tatsuya would use the parasite-sealing ritual on Minoru. Miyuki, however, had a different concern.
“Do you think Minoru is trying to spread the parasites like last winter’s vampire incident?”
“I doubt Minoru would attack people indiscriminately,” Tatsuya replied. “But I know he isn’t the only one who desires power enough to willingly give up their humanity. In fact, finding people like that might not be as hard as it seems.”
Neither Miyuki nor Minami disagreed. It wasn’t that they believed everything Tatsuya said—they both simply understood that human weakness.
“Oh!” Miyuki exclaimed suddenly. “We forgot to tell Erika and the others about this whole thing.”
“You’re right.” Tatsuya nodded. “That was careless of me.”
Erika, Leo, and Mikihiko had met Minoru the previous autumn as allies, not enemies. They wouldn’t bat an eye if Minoru appeared in front of them. Moreover, Minoru could conceal the presence of his parasite. Even if Mikihiko happened to recognize it, Erika and Leo would likely be deceived. Not foreseeing the possibility of Minoru manipulating the three was careless to say the least.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. I am as much to blame,” Miyuki said. “Shall I be the one to inform them of the situation?”
“No, I’ll talk to them,” Tatsuya said. “I’m taking the Aircar on a test run tomorrow during the day. Wait for me at Einebrise after school.”
“Are you sure you want to go there?” Miyuki asked.
Going to Einebrise meant questions from the owner.
“Absolutely.” Tatsuya nodded. “It’s much safer than talking on campus, where we could be overheard. Besides, we might need to ask the owner for help.”
Tatsuya had heard the Einebrise owner’s father was a skilled information broker while he himself dabbled in information trading. He wasn’t sure if this was true, but he knew the owner’s activities were not entirely respectable. Miyuki may not have realized it, but Tatsuya sensed that some of the owner’s business was under the table.
“How could the owner help?” Miyuki asked before quickly shaking her head. “Actually, never mind. I trust you.”
She decided not to pry into the owner’s identity. If there was something she needed to know, Tatsuya would tell her. The reason he had not divulged anything so far was surely because he decided she was better left in the dark for now.
“I will take Erika, Leo, and Mikihiko to Einebrise, as you wish.”
Miyuki paused before adding: “Would it be all right to bring Honoka, Shizuku, and Mizuki, as well?”
“I don’t want to involve too many people.” Tatsuya paused. “But I guess it would be riskier not to tell them. Fine. Bring the whole gang.”
“All right.”
The siblings nodded before turning to stare at Minami in silence.
“What is it?” Minami asked nervously.
“Sorry for the sudden question,” Miyuki began cautiously, “but how do you feel about Minoru?”
“Wh-what do you mean?” Minami blushed. She froze up.
“I think Minoru likes you,” Miyuki said.
“He likes me?!”
Unable to think straight, Minami could only echo Miyuki’s words.
“Do you like him back?”
“Me?! Like him?!” Minami yelled despite herself. “I—I could never…!”
“You just haven’t thought about it before,” Tatsuya corrected. “Do you like him? Dislike him? Utterly indifferent toward him? Or have you never thought of him that way?”
“We are not simply asking you this out of idle curiosity,” Miyuki said firmly.
“……”
Minami fell silent. She didn’t understand why they were putting her on the spot like this, much less how she should answer.
“I don’t think you dislike him,” Miyuki continued, “but if you’re in love with him…”
“We need you to be prepared,” Tatsuya said, completing his sister’s sentence.
“You mean…you want me to get ready to fight him?” Minami asked.
“No. We’ll be the ones fighting,” Tatsuya said firmly. “I’d like to avoid killing him, if possible, but I’m not going to be the only one on the battlefield.”
Minami nodded. No one had told her the Juumonji and Saegusa families would be supporting the Yotsuba clan in the fight against Minoru, but she had a feeling that, at the very least, the Saegusa family would be involved.
It helped that Izumi mentioned her role as Minami’s bodyguard. But even if she hadn’t, Minami wasn’t the type to get visited by her classmates, the Saegusa twins.
“Besides, Minoru is strong,” Tatsuya continued. “Trying to subdue him without fighting serious would be foolish.”
“You must do what is required of you. I understand,” Minami replied.
“I don’t doubt you understand the situation, but how do you feel about it?”
“……”
Minami didn’t know what to say.
“That’s what I mean by preparing yourself,” Tatsuya explained. “Minoru sacrificed his humanity to save you, but you didn’t ask him to do that. He made that choice selfishly.”
“……”
“Still,” Tatsuya continued, “it’s not an easy distinction to make. And now you know how he feels about you.”
“Right…” Minami replied, staring at the ground.
“Minami,” Miyuki interjected softly. “It is completely normal to be conflicted about this. Please do not feel bad.”
She gave Miyuki’s hand a squeeze.
“All right,” Minami replied with a weak smile.
“That said, if you do not reciprocate Minoru’s feelings, you must prepare for the worst.”
“In other words,” Tatsuya explained in clear-cut terms, “if we have to kill Minoru, you can’t intervene.”
He refused to let his sister say the awful truth out loud.
“What if I said I had feelings for him?” Minami asked.
“Then we’ll think of a way to avoid killing him,” Tatsuya replied. He paused before adding, “But there will probably be sacrifices along the way.”
Minami paled and apologetically tried to jump to her feet.
“I’m sorry! That was a foolish question!”
“Calm down,” Miyuki said, catching Minami before she fell. Her legs were still not strong enough to handle sudden movements.
“It wasn’t foolish,” Tatsuya said. “It’s natural to be thrown off by something like this when you’ve never thought about your own feelings.”
“It’s not that!” Minami said, still in Miyuki’s arms.
She looked up at Tatsuya, eyes blazing with steady resolution.
“I’m not in love with Minoru.”
Tatsuya could tell she was speaking impulsively. She probably wouldn’t admit that, even if he pointed it out.
He simply nodded and said, “All right.”