Volume 7 Chapter 13 Kazuramichi Naoshi’s Woman Troubles (As Usual) ⑥
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Acting Head!”
My uncle Yoshiya hurried into the garden with a member of the household staff at his side. He wore the same look of tragic distress that seemed to find him far too often these days, and the moment he spotted me sprawled across the ground, the color drained from his face.
”Are ye alright, lad?” Yoshiya asked, his voice thick with concern.
A few years ago, he had stood beside me when relatives from the Touin family launched an ambush. Perhaps that memory still lingered. The tension in his voice certainly suggested as much. No matter the gap between our abilities as exorcists, the worry on his face was that of family.
”Right as rain,” I replied with a grin. “Total victory, aye.”
When I pushed myself upright and answered lightly, Yoshiya finally let out a long breath. Only then did he turn his attention toward Suwa Ryuju, who still lay unconscious while receiving treatment.
”And the duel?” he asked.
”I do not think it happened in the end.” I pointed at the wound on my neck. “Itsuki stopped it with one hit.”
”I see.” Yoshiya’s brow furrowed. “That is fortunate under the circumstances…”
As he fell silent in thought, he drew a white handkerchief from his breast pocket and held it out.
”Acting Head, please tend to your wound first.”
”Aye, much appreciated.”
I could not help offering a wry smile at his unwavering devotion to proper procedure. Fortunately, the bleeding had already slowed, and the cut was dealt with quickly.
”Sorry about the commotion,” I said. “How are things with the Oku?”
”They are both present, and I have already informed them of the situation.”
As expected of him, the distribution of Reiryoku1 had been flawless.
”Is that so?”
”The family head appears calm, and with Oku-sama beside him, I believe everything will be fine.”
I nodded. His daughter had clearly inherited the same effortless tact.
”Do I really look that troublesome?” I asked.
”Enough to make Reiryoku your first priority, yes.”
He answered with a perfectly straight face before his expression shifted.
”Now then, Acting Head, how shall we inform the Suwa family?”
”If they can keep a tighter leash on her from here on out, that is good enough for me,” I replied. “Besides, it was nice getting some intense training close to home for a change.”
I doubted a single loss would break Ryuju. Personally, I welcomed the chance to fight strong opponents, though that depended on the person. There was also the matter of history. Years ago, I had defeated her younger brother, and that defeat had become the root of her obsession. I had no desire to make matters worse and provoke the Suwa family further.
”Understood. I shall speak with Ako and make certain they feel indebted to us. Will that suffice?”
”Leave the delicate parts to you.”
At that moment, Itsuki returned after helping the household staff.
”Ah, pardon the intrusion.”
”Well now…” Yoshiya began, sounding oddly unsettled.
”Something wrong?” I asked.
”No. Nothing at all.”
”Naoshi.” Itsuki fixed me with a sharp look. “Do you remember last autumn?”
”The gold-bikini girl who tried to ambush me and embarrassed herself?”
Thump.
Itsuki kicked my shoe.
Narrowing her eyes, she shot back, “That makes it sound like I was the one running around in that outfit. That is not what I meant.”
”Acting Head, it concerns the marriage proposal,” Yoshiya interjected. “The one from the Mibu family.”
”Ah.”
The memory returned immediately.
Back then, while I was deliberately keeping some distance from the Yoshiya family around the time of the battle with Suzuri, I had left the matter to the household staff and instructed them to refuse it.
”Right. That was a thing.”
”I apologize for the trouble we caused at the time—”
”No, no,” Itsuki cut in. “From what I understand, that was a direct decision from the Acting Head.”
As Itsuki later explained, the Mibu family had descended into complete chaos while trying to determine whether something had happened between us. I had intended to spare my uncle extra work, yet somehow I had only given him more reasons to develop stomach ulcers. Considering that Itsuki would likely move into the Kazuramichi estate as my mistress someday, Yoshiya’s pained expression made perfect sense.
”Thinking back on it, what would have happened if we had gone through with it?” I asked.
”Me personally? Or the family?” Itsuki replied.
”Both, I suppose.”
”Hmm.” She considered it for a moment. “I probably would have explained the circumstances first, then attended the meeting in a formal kimono.”
”Oho. Sounds like I missed something interesting.”
”Please do not treat me like a circus attraction.”
”Then why not wear it after you move in?” I suggested. “You never really had the chance as an adult Shikigami, thanks to all the cross-dressing.”
”That is true,” Itsuki admitted with a sigh. “But do not laugh at me.”
”How rude. Do I really look like that much of a man to you?”
”I can picture it perfectly.” Itsuki folded her arms and smirked. “You would be sitting there with that stupid grin on your face.”
Itsuki narrowed her eyes at me, and beside her, Yoshiya quietly nodded in agreement.
I spread my hands.
”What a coincidence. I can picture it too.”
”Picture what?”
”You, of course. Complaining the entire time while looking like you do not actually hate the attention.”
”…You really are an idiot.”
Itsuki’s face turned red.
”Oh? You did not deny it.”
”Just shut up already.”
As she muttered her protest with a faint blush on her cheeks, I let out a low laugh.
”What is the meaning of this?”
The voice carried a thin edge of irritation, sharpened into something closer to an interrogation.
It was a spring night.
A lone figure stood upon the veranda, looking down at the two people kneeling on the gravel path below. She appeared to be around twenty years old, with glossy black hair and a straight fringe that curved neatly inward.
”Explain yourselves. Ariake. Tsuitachi.”
The young woman addressing them was Akiko, eldest daughter of the Kyoto Tsuchimikado family and the woman who had once attacked the Southern Suzaku of the Four Sacred Guardians. Her voice possessed the refined clarity of a trained mezzo-soprano, elegant and controlled. Yet despite her beauty and poise, her eyes seemed strangely empty, as though some essential spark had long since faded.
”As you command, my lady,” Ariake replied, bowing his head.
”But we implore you, Princess,” Tsuitachi added. “Please calm your heart—”
”—Hk.”
A sharp breath escaped her lips.
Standing on the verge of an outburst, Akiko forced herself to inhale deeply and cling to what remained of her composure.
”From the end of last year through the New Year, and now after everything that has happened in Kanto…” Her voice trembled despite her efforts. “Are these achievements still not enough for you?”
She did not wait for an answer.
”Who else has accomplished what he has?” she demanded. “Not only in Kyoto, but in all of Japan. Has anyone achieved anything even remotely comparable?”
”No, my lady. However—”
”But?” Akiko snapped.
”The timing is poor,” Tsuitachi answered quietly.
”Indeed,” Ariake continued. “With the Eastern incident and Kyoto’s involvement, suspicion has naturally fallen upon our House as well.”
”Your brother would never allow such a move under the current circumstances,” Tsuitachi concluded.
”I see.”
The temperature in her voice dropped.
”So my brother would not permit it. Tell me, then… whom do you truly serve?”
It was a direct accusation, yet neither attendant reacted. Both remained bowed.
”…Forget my brother.” Akiko paced slowly across the veranda. “What of the other three families? What of Kansai itself? If Naoshi-sama became our Kirin, would that not bring order to this chaos?”
”Forgive us, Princess.”
Ariake did not move.
”The winds have not yet shifted in that direction—”
”Then when?!”
Her composure finally shattered.
”How much longer must I wait?!”
Fury burned in her eyes as she glared down at her attendants. The Hannya masks they wore seemed to float in the darkness, their expressionless faces made all the more unsettling by the black robes surrounding them.
”Again, we ask your indulgence,” Ariake replied calmly.
”That is not something even we can answer,” Tsuitachi added.
Their voices carried no emotion. Like the masks they wore, they remained perfectly still and impossible to read. Even Akiko, who knew exactly who they were, felt a chill run through her.
”…Are you truly doing what is necessary?” she whispered before she could stop herself.
”Of course, my lady.”
”Our master is you, Princess. Everything we do is for your sake.”
The answer came smoothly, and precisely because of that, it sounded hollow.
Akiko did not even believe in the stagnant order she had been born into. The Tsuchimikado main house, descendants of the great Abe no Seimei, had long since lost much of its former power. Her father had been forced into retirement under suspicion of involvement in the recent incident. Her brother would never inherit the title of Suzaku.
With every passing day, the paths before her seemed to narrow.
”Please…”
Her voice broke.
”Let me meet… Naoshi-sama.”
”As you command. However, as we have said before, there is a time for all things.”
”We ask only for a little more patience, Princess. Please understand.”
Ah.
A groan echoed through the depths of her soul.
She had heard that tone countless times before. Again and again, the world had spoken to her with that same voice. Give up. Do not choose. Accept your place. Submit to your bloodline.
(Is even he forbidden to me?)
(Is even this love something I am not allowed to have?)
(————, ————)
Crushed beneath despair and the resignation clawing at her heart, Akiko could do nothing but repeat the name of a single man over and over again.
—
Summary:
Naoshi recovers from his recent clash in the garden with the help of his uncle Yoshiya, discussing the fallout with the Suwa family and Itsuki’s personal matters. Meanwhile, in a tense night scene, the young Akiko of the Tsuchimikado family fruitlessly pleads with her emotionless, masked attendants to secure a meeting with Naoshi. The chapter ends with Akiko internally devastated by the lack of agency in her situation and her forbidden longing.
—
Trivia:
Yoshiya previously witnessed an ambush against Naoshi by the Touin family.
Itsuki is expected to move into the Kazuramichi estate as Naoshi’s mistress.
The Suwa family holds a grudge because Naoshi defeated Ryuju’s brother years ago.
The Kyoto Tsuchimikado main house has fallen from grace and lost its power following the recent incident.
Akiko’s brother is expected to never inherit the Suzaku title.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Yoshiya – An uncle to Naoshi who serves as a family member and caretaker. He is deeply concerned about his nephew’s safety and family protocols.
• Touin family – one of the prominent families mentioned in the text as part of the Kansai 8 families, a group of powerful exorcist clans in the Kansai region of Japan. The head of the Touin family is Touin Soji.
• Ryuju – The eldest daughter of the prestigious Suwa family and a First-Class Exorcist, Suwa is a tall, beautiful woman with long black hair, golden eyes, and a powerful physique. Linked to water deities, this living legend serves as a dragon god and primary antagonist for Naoshi. She possesses monster-like strength and a Lake Suwa barrier, though she was left unconscious after a failed duel.
• Suwa – A militant clan of Nagano exorcists descended from the Dragon God welcomes their eldest daughter to the training hall. Possessing golden eyes and black hair that shifts to red when using higher spirit energy, she wields wind-based abilities originating from her four limbs.
• Itsuki – A 177cm-tall Mibu swordswoman with an asymmetrical bob and gray-and-blue eyes, she left her “handsome boy” past to live at the Kazuramichi house as Naoshi’s sharp-tongued, deeply possessively devoted mistress candidate. Serving as his loyal medical support and companion, she uses silver-bladed weaponry to protect him, remaining keenly observant yet frequently exasperated by his reckless behavior.
• Ako – Naoshi’s younger stepsister, a sharp-minded exorcist and acting head assistant training in Nara, is associated with the Suwa family negotiations. Carrying Yuki-onna blood, she possesses a striking outward appearance and supernatural identity. Lacking Spiritual Power, she coldly seeks power—including Shinobi techniques—for her stepbrother, harboring a hidden, intense obsession with him.
• Naoshi – As the pragmatic, blunt acting family head and exorcist, Kazuramichi navigates messy relationships with women, including his step-sister Ako’s possessive affection, alongside complex political ties. Currently in high-stakes combat on a frozen lake barrier, the lightning-wielding strategist hides his burdens behind a deflective, comedic demeanor and a faux-Kansai accent to face overwhelming supernatural threats.
• Mibu – The Mibu family name, carried by Itsuki. The lineage is based in Otsu City, Shiga, and is a prominent house of exorcists.
• Suzuri – A practitioner who accompanied Ako during a past confrontation. A woman referenced as a likely future bride of the protagonist.
• Kazuramichi – Naoshi Kazuramichi is a resilient exorcist from the prestigious Kansai Eight Families lineage, which he shares with Ako. A practitioner of the Seto-Jinmei martial arts style, this sardonically witty man utilizes powerful lightning-based techniques like Raikiri to maintain his family’s significant position within the hierarchy.
• Tsuitachi – An attendant to Akiko who wears a black robe and Hannya mask.
• Ariake – An attendant to Akiko who wears a black robe and Hannya mask.
• Akiko – The eldest daughter of the Kyoto Tsuchimikado family. She possesses a cold, refined demeanor and holds a high status.
• Kyoto – A girl referenced as a vocational student who plays around with the protagonist.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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