Volume 1 Chapter 4 This Is My Path IV – Everyone Has Things They Don’t Understand
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”──Suzuri, Suzuri! Hey, wake up!”
The head of the Shiun family rushed into the forest, shouting in a panicked voice at the sight of his daughter, who lay limp and unresponsive.
He didn’t seem to care about the strong smell of ammonia; maybe he was too stressed or still recovering from the earlier ozone smell.
Seeing the situation made Naoshi feel that it was lucky he hadn’t noticed her wetting herself, as it showed a surprising amount of parental love.
”Naoshi-kun! You said you knew how to control it, and this is what happens!?”
”I know how to control it, alright? Nothin’s broken or torn, and she’s still breathin’, ain’t she?”
”What──!?”
Naoshi didn’t feel the need to explain anything else.
Before the impact, he had reduced the shock with his own barrier and even protected her from hitting her head when she flew away.
The reason she ended up needing discipline was because of her behavior and his inability to manage it.
”More importantly, Shiun-san. Since she brought up ‘discipline’ earlier, mind if I go ahead with it? Ah, and let’s keep it on the down-low; don’t want the others hearin’.”
”What do you mean…!?”
That was, in essence, a demand to hand over his daughter’s purity.
He hadn’t particularly about tortured her, but it was hard not to feel angry at the words of a man who knock his daughter.
”Are you mocking me!? Do you think I’ll just say, ‘Okay, I understand’!?”
”That’s why I’m askin’ ya to keep it down. Instead, I’ll train Suzuri-chan myself. Though, I’ve turned down all requests for disciples, so it won’t be any official master-student thing.”
Well, there are plenty of reasons he could come up with on the surface.
Shiun, based in Osaka, has a deep connection with Kazuramichi.
Especially, Naoshi’s mother and Suzuri’s mother are cousins, so there’s no reason for the two families to avoid each other.
”With this, if she gets mixed up with some strong folks or gets introduced to someone else, that could be a problem, right? ‘Sides, ya don’t have any connections to exorcists better than me, now do ya?”
”At this point, saying something like that…! Don’t you think it’s a selfish request…!”
”(──Still, what’s with this reaction?)”
He didn’t think the conversation would go smoothly, but the way they criticized the suggestion felt strange.
However, he didn’t have time to confirm it now.
If the other heads of families heard it, it could lead to unnecessary interference.
”Still, I don’t think it’s a bad idea for ya either, Shiun-san, don’t ya think?”
By the time he asked again, it seemed like the head of the Shiun family started to calculate.
While their expression remained tense, their voice was controlled.
”──Well, but that wouldn’t be good for you too, right? You’re not saying that you want to sleep with my daughter, are you?”
”‘Course not. But before I go into that──Shiun-san, what’s your take on Kansai right now?”
”…I recognize that the situation isn’t good.”
”That’s a pretty mild way to put it. Word is, since the Restoration, the quality of practitioners in the West has been goin’ downhill. From where I stand, save for a few, they’re all rubbish.”
It’s still okay that there’s no one who can match Naoshi himself.
The problem is that even lowering the standards, there are only a handful of real ones. Moreover, many are still inexperienced like Suzuri.
”U, um…”
And even knowing that the ones Naoshi calls trash include him, the head of the Shiun family couldn’t deny it.
It was a completely true fact.
That’s why there’s the bitter truth that he couldn’t stop his daughter from getting too full of herself.
”On top of that, while the East took advantage of the big air raid to beef up their spiritual defenses from the ground up, we’re here fussin’ over protectin’ cultural assets and scenery, makin’ the old and new barriers clash and mess up all over the place. Only around Kyoto is it peaceful, ya know?”
”Hey, don’t criticize Kyoto──.”
”Ain’t nobody listenin’ to ya──well, in a place that’s clearly fallin’ apart soon, we’re stuck dealin’ with all this chaos. And if we’re short on both quality and quantity when it comes to exorcists, ya get why I want at least a few more that’re actually useful, don’t ya?”
”I get that, but there’s no need for it to be my daughter…”
”Nah, nah, Kazuramichi and Shiun-san, we’re all in this together, like a community of shared fate.”
This is the crucial moment, Naoshi thought as he played his last card.
”And besides──don’t ya want this? A first-class exorcist from the Shiun family after a long time, and the big achievement for the head of the family who brought ’em into the world.”
The effect was truly immediate.
The head of the Shiun family crossed his arms and fell silent for a moment, then directed the most intense gaze of the day at Naoshi.
”──If you’re going that far, saying ‘I tried my best, but it was impossible’ won’t cut it, Acting Head of the Kazuramichi Family. You’ll take responsibility for your words, right?”
”Of course, when the time comes, I’ll put in a good word for her to get that first-class status. If she’s got the right skills, both the Touma and Kurushima families will definitely back her up, and I’ve got other connections too──how ’bout that? Sounds like good news, don’t it?”
”Having that talent in my daughter is much more believable than just being told so──well, if a ‘first-class exorcist of Shiun’ is really born from my wife, that would be a wonderful story.”
”Still feelin’ uneasy about it?”
”It’s good to train my daughter, but if that means more pawns for Kazuramichi, that would be a problem.”
”That’s unexpected. Suzuri-chan ain’t got a reason to choose me over her family. Even if I train her, I’m worried she won’t even listen to me.”
”──Are you serious?”
”Yeah. Am I sayin’ something weird?”
”No, it’s fine. If you think that way, then it must be true; that’s all that matters──understood. I can accept that.”
That was indeed a strange reaction.
The head of the Shiun family knows something he (Naoshi) doesn’t, or maybe something he overlooked.
But is it something that could ruin this conversation that was finally coming together?
──The answer is no.
If Kazuramichi Naoshi falls, it would mean a crisis for Kansai as well.
Then, paradoxically, the stability of the region might save Naoshi.
This thought just crossed his mind, but there is enough reason to act on it.
No matter how it turns out, at least it will reduce future burdens.
”That’s the most important thing, so──.”
”However, let me confirm my daughter’s will one more time. If she says she doesn’t want this, then I’m sorry, but that’s it.”
──Oh.
”I’m not the type to force a girl, so that’s that.”
As an exorcist, he might be something else, but as a father, Naoshi secretly reassesses him as not so bad after all.
”Ah, and could you prepare a room for us tonight? Suzuri-chan would feel more comfortable at her family’s place.”
”You really are a cheeky fella, ain’t ya…”
With a bitter expression, the head of the Shiun family accepted that too.
* * *
That night, in a room of the Shiun family’s annex, Naoshi was sitting knee-to-knee with Suzuri.
The room was set up for young couples to live at a different pace than the main house, basically a short-term getaway room. Similar setups exist in Kazuramichi’s house too.
Of course, there was one futon and 2 pillows in the room.
Both of them had already cleaned themselves and changed into the yukata prepared for them.
Everything was ready, but the problem was the big word “unhappy” written all over Suzuri’s face.
”──So, what’s got Suzuri-chan lookin’ all serious, huh?”
”Why don’t you ask your own heart?”
With her mature beauty and a sulky expression for her age, Suzuri narrowed her eyes.
”Girls are a real pain, ain’t they? You were the one who brought it up first, though.”
”That was to show my determination for the outcome, not because I agreed to make excuses to train me.”
”But you listened to the whole story and didn’t say no, did ya?”
”That’s true, but…”
”──So if you just said you wanted to do it, that’d be fine, but you don’t like it when it ain’t like that? How annoying.”
”Your way of saying it is too harsh…”
”I mean, I ain’t no lolicon. I don’t see what’s so great about uniforms or anythin’. I wouldn’t just hug a girl like Suzuri-chan’s age for no reason or scheme.”
”I see, then do as you like.”
She turned her face away, and when Naoshi placed his hand on her cheek to give her a kiss, she brushed it off roughly.
What did she mean by “do as you like”?
Well, she was definitely a virgin, so he thought he’d lighten the mood with some casual talk, and he opened his mouth.
”By the way, Suzuri-chan, you got a boyfriend or what?”
”I don’t have one.”
”Then how ’bout a girlfriend?”
”There’s no way I have one of those.”
”I thought you went to an all-girls school, right? Suzuri-chan, you look like you’d be super popular.”
”I’ve had confessions, but those are just games, a moment of confusion. I’m not interested.”
”Wow, it’s such a waste that someone as pretty as you is still single, ya know?”
As he said this with a teasing tone, she glared at him with a look that felt like it was filled with killing intent.
”What’s wrong?”
”…Nothing, really.”
”Then how ’bout a childhood friend who’s a boy?”
”He’s right in front of me.”
”Oh, I see how ya could think that… So, did ya promise to marry someone when you were little?”
”I don’t want to say.”
”So you did, huh…”
”More importantly, I can’t figure out what your questions are about.”
”Ah, well, I just wanna avoid a situation where you end up resentin’ someone later. I really can’t stand them cheating stories.”
”──Are you serious?”
That was something her father had confirmed too.
His reaction was a mix of disbelief, but Suzuri’s went from disbelief to anger.
There was definitely something going on.
”I’m serious! So, let me ask ya straight, is there a guy you like right now?”
”Ugh, yeah, there is! You know him, Kazuramichi Naoshi!”
”Nah, I don’t know, that’s why I’m askin’… Ah, but if that’s the case, maybe I should just drop it? That’d be rude.”
”Don’t mess with me! Who do you think I have besides you? I’m not that kind of girl!”
”──Huh?”
Suzuri, with her face bright red, looked up at me with a gaze that seemed filled with either anger or embarrassment.
She didn’t look like she was joking at all.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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