Chapter 333: Poverty is the Main Reason
While Hikigaya Hachiman and Tsuchimiya Kagura were rushing toward Tokyo, the hospital where Isayama Yomi was being held had become incredibly chaotic.
"Damn it! Who on earth did this?!"
Looking at Isayama Mei—whose condition in the ward was exactly the same as that outsider's—Isayama Yuu punched the wall in a fit of resentment.
"Calm down, Yuu. This matter is no longer as simple as we thought!"
Watching his younger brother's outburst of rage, Isayama Naraku sighed inwardly, yet he maintained the dignified aura of the family head.
"But Brother, Mei, she..."
"I naturally understand how you feel right now. I am equally pained by what happened to Mei. But in times like these, we must remain calm, mustn't we?"
"Indeed. Please forgive my rudeness just now!"
Isayama Yuu, who had been suppressed by Naraku for years, saw his anger fizzle out under Naraku's authority, and he was forced to compromise.
Naraku shifted his gaze back to the ward. Seeing Isayama Mei's hollow, vacant eyes, he finally couldn't help but sigh again.
"Have the heads of the branch families been notified?"
With his back to Yuu, Naraku inquired about the current status of the Isayama family, trying his best not to let his emotions show.
"When the incident happened to Mei, the heads of the three branch families were notified. I expect they will arrive very soon."
"Is that so? And the other families in Tokyo?"
Although Yuu's constant coveting of the family head position gave Naraku a poor impression of his brother, his high efficiency in handling matters made Naraku's expression soften slightly. After all, with both heirs of the main house out of commission, the Isayama family couldn't afford any more accidents.
"The Tsuchimiya family and the other families have all been notified. As for the Isahama family..."
At this point, a look of difficulty appeared on Yuu's face.
"What's wrong with the Isahama family?"
It was unexpected for Naraku that a hitch would occur specifically with the Isahama family. After all, the Tsuchimiya, Isayama, and Isahama families had been allies for over a hundred
years; their mutual loyalty was supposedly very high. Not to mention, his adopted daughter, Yomi, was engaged to the next head of the Isahama family.
By all logic, the Isahama family shouldn't be causing problems at a time like this.
"The head of the Isahama family said he hopes his son can break off the engagement with Yomi..."
If this had been before Mei's accident, Yuu would have been delighted to hear such news. Without the support of the Isahama family, it would have been much easier for Mei to seize the position of family head.
But now, at the critical juncture where both Yomi and Mei had met with disaster, the Isahama family's proposal to break the engagement was a clear sign that they had no confidence in the Isayama family's future and wanted to sever ties immediately. For a man of the Isayama family, such an act was an intolerable slap in the face!
"Break the engagement?"
Compared to the abnormally agitated Yuu, Naraku was also burning with fury, but he ultimately endured it. There was no other reason. Just as the Isahama family feared, if the main house couldn't find a way out of its current predicament, the massive family would fall apart before long.
"If they want to break it, let them."
After a moment of silence, Naraku agreed to this humiliating request. Even if he didn't expect the Isahama family to lend a hand, he at least had to prevent them from kicking the family while it was down.
"Brother!"
"The matter is decided! Go give the Isahama family their answer."
"Yes... I understand..."
No matter how unwilling he was, Yuu could only grit his teeth and execute Naraku's order.
"The Isahama family..."
Watching his brother's retreating back, Naraku's grip on his cane tightened. He didn't know why they would betray the alliance so easily, but if the Isayama family could survive this crisis, he would absolutely return this insult twofold!
-
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By the time Kagura brought Hachiman to the hospital, Naraku and Yuu had already returned to the Isayama estate to deliberate with the branch heads.
"Big Brother, I'll leave the rest to you."
Using her status as the Tsuchimiya heir, Kagura easily brought Hachiman into the ward, which was under heavy guard by Isayama spiritualists. Looking at the two soulless girls in the room, Kagura dismissed the guards and made a sincere plea.
"I'll do my best."
Hachiman didn't make any grand promises. He didn't actually know anything about medicine; the real diagnosis would come from the System in his mind. If the System didn't know the cause, or if the treatment was too complex, he could only apologize.
Seeing that Hachiman was about to begin his "diagnosis," Kagura tactfully left the room. The spacious ward fell silent the moment the door closed.
System, what's wrong with these two?
Silently prompting the System to scan the two figures on the beds, Hachiman asked for the cause.
[Detection shows all physical functions are normal, but there are vacancies in their souls.]
"Vacancies?"
[Simply put, the two before the Host are merely husks; their souls are missing. Incidentally, the System has also detected "Command Marks" on their bodies. Based on these clues, it is highly likely they have been turned into puppets.]
"Puppets!"
Hearing the System's deduction, Hachiman turned sharply to look at the two on the beds. He didn't know Mei's exact strength, but it was certainly high-level, and Yomi was infinitely close to Special-grade. Their strength placed them at the peak of humanity, excluding the five Exorcists. If even they were turned into puppets, then...
"Is there a way to save them?"
Learning this bad news put Hachiman in a foul mood. However, the priority was to wake them up. As for whether there were other puppets or who was behind this, those questions had to wait until they were conscious.
[There are many methods, but the Host currently meets the requirements for none of them.]
The System's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Hachiman's head.
"Why?" Hachiman frowned. If there were many methods, surely he'd qualify for at least one?
[Because the Host's current Spirit Coin balance is severely insufficient.]
"........"
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