After all, taking security measures into account meant that procedures required extreme caution. In Yugen's case in particular, one of his fiancées happened to be a nationally recognized Strategic-Class Magician of the 'Thirteen Apostles,' making negotiations on that front particularly arduous... mostly due to the military side's selfish demands. Yet, even they feared the "Yotsuba," so a resolution was reached for Mio Go Rin to move in in early May.
On Tatsuya's side, there were no particular issues, but that left Yugen's remaining fiancées: Akane Ichijou and Mayumi Saegusa. Although Mayumi and Izumi had been removed from the family registry, their move was scheduled before the long holidays. Consequently, to adjust schedules, it was decided that Mayumi would move around the same time as Izumi.
In Akane's case, due to the middle school she was attending and the circumstances of the Ichijou family, it was decided that her move would align with her entrance into high school. Coupled with the fact that Gouki, the head of the Ichijou family, was injured and unable to move, Gouki was all the more reluctant to let Akane leave Kanazawa.
Akane's mother, Midori, seemed inclined to grant her daughter's wishes as much as possible, and the Isshiki family—Midori's maiden family—viewed Akane's engagement to Yugen favorably.
Tatsuya's fiancées began with Angelina Shields at the top, followed by Honoka Mitsui, Ayako Kuroba, Suzune Ichihara, Shiori Jyuunai, Kana Mitsuya, Kyoko Fujibayashi, the sisters Koharu and Chiaki Hirakawa, Eimi Akechi, Subaru Satomi, Kasumi Saegusa, and Haruka Ono—all as expected.
However, just when it seemed these were the final decisions, Maya's single comment threw Tatsuya's fiancée situation into even greater turmoil. She explicitly declared it to be a "provisional final decision." In other words, Maya speculated that knowing Tatsuya's nature, the number could very well increase further—a sentiment Tatsuya naturally wanted to object to.
One person who seemed likely to join was Shia Watatsumi, one of the adjusted magicians from the 'Watatsumi Series' whom Tatsuya had saved at Nantan Island last spring. He had assumed it would be Cocoa Watatsumi from the same series, but it seemed Shia held feelings for Tatsuya after he rescued her.
As a side note, Cocoa's first crush turned out to be Leo. When asked why, it seemed to stem from her connection with Erika, whom Cocoa trusted. But realizing that inquiring deeper would only drag him into unnecessary complications, Yugen refrained from prying. At this point, whether two became three hardly mattered anymore.
While the trend of early marriage was strong in magician society, that wave was not limited to the Guardians or the Ten Master Clans.
Toshikazu Chiba—who was smitten by Laura Curtis during the recent Okinawa incident and gained the approval of Wyatt Curtis—entered into an engagement on April 4th. Though there was an age gap between Toshikazu (27) and Laura (16), the ones most overjoyed were Laura's granduncle Wyatt and Toshikazu's direct subordinate, Inagaki.
On the other hand, Jouichirou, the head of the Chiba family, harbored complex emotions. After all, his intentions were not reflected in this marriage in the slightest. Despite his playboy nature, Jouichirou was strict when it came to female relationships, and the Chiba family was already struggling to manage top-tier practitioners of the Chiba Style.
Jouichirou had fathered a child with a mistress much younger than himself, and because that child became childhood friends with a direct descendant of the Ten Master Clans, he allowed her to take the Chiba surname. However, she fell in love with another man and ultimately ended up leaving home altogether.
As a result, every family member except the eldest daughter had left the household. Frankly speaking, the issue could be settled if the eldest daughter married into another family, but the fact that Jouichirou didn't proactively consider this showed he might simply be soft on his daughter.
As for Erika—born as the child of that younger mistress—her reaction to news of Toshikazu's engagement was to clutch her stomach in laughter. She laughed hysterically, deriving immense satisfaction not only from Toshikazu becoming involved with a much younger woman just like their father, but also from the fact that the eldest daughter—who despised Erika so thoroughly—was left as the only one practically unmarried.
Because of this, when Erika met Toshikazu and Laura, she warned Toshikazu, "If you don't make her happy, my second brother and I will beat you to a pulp, so be prepared." Erika and Laura were to become step-sisters, and Laura seemed to get the impression that she could get along well with Erika.
Speaking of Laura, since her birthday fell on April 4th, they finalized the engagement on that day. Furthermore, per Wyatt's request for her to properly pursue her education, she was enrolled at First High School. The Kamiizumi family acted as guarantors on behalf of the Chiba family, and Maimoto Mitsuya—Laura's savior—went out of his way to travel from Okinawa to Tokyo to witness the occasion.
As for who would inherit the headship of the Chiba family, since that was strictly an internal matter of the Chiba family, Yugen had no intention of getting involved.
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