Curses were so dangerous that they were taught only to Third Color practitioners and above. Hana and Nozomu, being students, didn’t know anything about curses. If Hana were to stick her nose in, she’d only succeed in weighing everyone else down and putting herself in danger. She could understand why they weren’t going to call for her help in this particular incident.
“You better behave yourself.”
“Yeah, got it. But be careful out there.”
“I will.”
Not understanding curses made Hana worry about Saku all the more. But this was Saku, a Fifth Color practitioner with an Obsidian rank, so he wasn’t going to be done in that easily. Hana just hoped this incident wouldn’t turn into a headache, but with the Skull of Nirvana subject finished, the family returned to their normal mealtime chat.
Preparations for the school festival were steadily coming along, and with them came a welling of excitement from the students that one could feel on their skin.
Hana thought that it being a school festival meant that students would be the ones operating stalls and exhibits, but apparently, the Ichinomiya clan lord had ordered those to be handled by hired workers, so there was no need for them.
The Ichinomiya clan lord, meaning Saku. Hana had also thought that the Ichinomiyas wouldn’t have anything to do with a school event, but it was the Ichinomiya clan who operated and funded Campus One, so the school festival was being carried out under Saku’s leadership. It was the same case when other campuses held the festival, with the school cooperating with that campus’s respective clan lord to ensure that visitors were well taken care of.
This was to be a massive event that would test the mettle of the Ichinomiya clan lord, and it was Saku’s first school festival since assuming the role. He was driven, refusing to let pass the slightest mistake that others might use to mock him for his inexperience, so he worked busily from dawn till dusk. Hana, however, knew little about the Ichinomiya clan and couldn’t help him. It was Mio who filled in for anything Saku lacked.
Hana had some complex feelings on seeing this, and she happened to murmur something to herself.
“Hmm. I’m supposed to be the clan lord’s wife, but am I just totally useless?”
Hana watched with concern as the industrial trucks poured onto the PE field and put up everything from food trucks to stalls to huge, flashy stages—for what purpose, she couldn’t imagine. Her murmur was quiet, but her shikigami Azuha, who was perched on her head like an ornament, was within earshot. However, she did not respond.
“What’s wrong, Hana?”
Suzu knew nothing of what Hana was worried about; she asked what was wrong with the honest expression one uses when concerned that a friend might need to use the bathroom.
“It’s nothing.”
That was the only answer Hana could give. Complaining to Suzu wouldn’t change how useless Hana felt. Both as Saku’s wife and as a practitioner.
If only she’d at least had some knowledge about curses, then she could’ve been useful. But being a student already took that off the table, so she had no luck there.
“Looks like the setup’s going smoothly. I can’t wait!”
Suzu grew excited as she watched the PE field transform into something new. Well, just about all the other students were thrilled, too, so she wasn’t alone there.
Only Hana was in low spirits, given that she had been selected for the Campus Cup team. She wondered if Kikyou’s intense talisman-crafting training could backfire hard enough to blow up the school, impossible as that clearly was. She didn’t know exactly how skilled Kikyou was, but if she was high enough up there to be a candidate for the next Nijouin clan lord, then she was sadly too skilled to screw up that easily.
Hana heaved a sigh and tried to pep herself up. But after taking another look around the PE field, she voiced a concern that’d been bugging her.
“Still, is it a good idea to let all these outsiders into Obsidian High? This is a practitioner school, so we’re kinda supposed to stay out of the spotlight, right?”
“Oh, Hana, don’t be silly. All the workers are Obsidian High grads who are employed by companies belonging to the five clans. Of course people outside the practitioner community aren’t going to be let into Obsidian High.”
Suzu, with a beaming smile, explained what was apparently the obvious, which Hana had no clue about. She was a bit shocked to consider the possibility that Suzu might have actually been more knowledgeable than her.
“What, is this supposed to be my wake-up call?”
Hana had to poke fun at herself. Saku and everyone else had been warning her about this for a while, but this was the point when she finally started to feel a sense of concern over her overwhelming lack of practitioner-related knowledge.
“Maybe I ought to hit the books a bit more…”
For some reason, Hana suddenly felt sorry for what she’d put Saku through.
“Hana, what’ve you been going on about?”
“Just reflecting on my past mistakes.”
“Hmm?”
Having no way of knowing what that was supposed to mean, Suzu tilted her head in confusion.
Just then something seemed to catch her attention.
“Oh, it’s Hazuki. Heeey!”
Suzu waved excitedly, not just to Hazuki, but also to Hazuki and Hana’s brother, Yanagi. The two followed Suzu’s voice over to where she and Hana sat.
“Hazuki, who’s the guy next to ya?”
Oh, Suzu, so innocent and so lacking in restraint. Hazuki had to introduce Yanagi before Hana even got the chance to wonder why he was here.
“This is my and Hana’s older brother.”
“Whaaa—?! Your brother? Meaning he set the amazing record for being the youngest person to make Lapis rank! That’s something even the Ichinomiya lord had to hand it to him for!”
Suzu was surprised; it turned out that while she didn’t know Yanagi’s face, she did know of his achievements. Personally, Hana was surprised that Suzu knew Yanagi at all. Until recently, she didn’t even know herself about his record in attaining Lapis rank or how he was favored enough by Saku to be a frequent guest at the mansion. But on second thought, the news of a practitioner being the youngest ever to achieve Lapis rank was sure to make waves throughout the practitioner world. It was another example of just how far removed Hana kept herself from both her family and practitioners.