However, just as Miyauchi Hikage said, the current Shinomiya family held no reputation within the Inner World. Establishing a firm foothold in this currently turbulent Inner World was no easy feat.
After all, today's Japanese zaibatsu only truly emerged after the war—or more accurately, after the colossal collapse of the Karasuma Group half a century ago.
Both the Shinomiya and Suzuki families could be said to have consumed parts of the legacy left behind by the Karasuma Group during their development, allowing them to reach their current status within just half a century.
Fifty years might be the better part of a lifetime for a single person.
But for those supernatural families with at least several centuries of history, it was not long at all.
After all, during the decline of mystery that lasted over a century, cultivating even a single supernatural being with available resources was troublesome; naturally, no new forces could emerge during this period.
Those old forces had been huddling together for warmth. Many weaker supernatural families either reverted to being ordinary people or merged with other forces to form new families just to barely survive.
The rise of the Shinomiya and Suzuki families was simply too astonishingly fast. Not to mention the inherently conservative Inner World, even in the Outer World, many people only realized these conglomerates had become unstoppable after the fact.
Even Shinomiya Gan'an, the current head of the Shinomiya family who single-handedly created this massive commercial empire, only realized the truth of this world after reaching the peak and witnessing the small disturbances caused by supernatural beings from the Inner World following the spiritual resurgence.
However, the Shinomiya family was still too young after all.
Even with wealth rivaling a nation, squeezing into the Inner World was not that easy.
Initially, the method Shinomiya Gan'an used was similar to those in power in the Outer World; he wanted to use marriage to let the Shinomiya family intervene in the Inner World bit by bit.
But he soon realized that it was no longer half a century ago.
Half a century ago, with the rapid development of various military technologies brought about by two world wars, the order of the Outer World was paramount, and the supernatural beings of the Inner World had to bow their heads to the Outer World.
For the continuation and survival of their families, those supernatural families had to agree to marriage alliances and cooperation.
But now that mystery had revived, intervening again was not so easy.
Spending over a decade, Shinomiya Gan'an only managed to support a small, half-dead family, and then relied on some opportunities to connect with Kyoto Jujutsu High.
That was until Shinomiya Kaguya suddenly came into contact with these matters, met some special friends through unknown channels, and personally demonstrated some special powers in front of him.
It was only after personally experiencing the healing effects of Hamon breathing and hearing his daughter's thoughts that Shinomiya Gan'an decided to bet on his youngest daughter and gave her considerable authority.
At the same time, he also somewhat implicitly expressed his thoughts regarding this daughter.
Originally, he just wanted her to grow up safely and rely on the Shinomiya family's wealth to freely choose her future life within a certain range.
But since Shinomiya Kaguya had made her decision and was determined to walk this path to the end, he would also make demands of her as the heir to the Shinomiya family's Inner World affairs.
If she were to choose a future partner for romance or marriage, it would be best if he were a supernatural being from the Inner World. Even if the other party was unwilling to marry into the family, it would be best to eventually have an offspring who bore the Shinomiya surname and possessed supernatural talent, allowing the Shinomiya family to truly transform into a supernatural family that could rely on bloodline inheritance.
For Shinomiya Kaguya, after Miyauchi Hikage's supernatural awakening, he was already very suitable to be the biological father of her future offspring.
After Miyauchi Hikage revealed this so-called "Projection Technique" and she learned of its power, Shinomiya Kaguya became even more tempted.
It could even project special-grade Cursed Tools, and clearly, this Projection Technique was a top-tier technique that would grow stronger with each generation.
Items projected in this generation would be passed down to the next, and the next generation would project new items to inherit. Accumulating generation after generation like this, heaven knows what kind of power and wealth a family mastering this technique could possess!
Just thinking about such a future made Shinomiya Kaguya feel a burst of excitement.
However, it was indeed too early to say this now.
The current Shinomiya Kaguya hadn't reached the point of being unscrupulous yet.
At least... let her make a name for herself in the Inner World first.
Anyway, Miyauchi Hikage was right here; he wouldn't suddenly disappear.
Although their relationship couldn't compare to the two childhood friends in Asahigaoka, and definitely couldn't compare to Shiina Mashiro who was pampered in every way, they could still be considered close friends.
Thinking of the possibility of "borrowing something" from a friend in the future, Shinomiya Kaguya exhaled slightly to make her expression look more normal.
Then she proposed an agreement to Miyauchi Hikage: "I really hope to become your client as soon as possible, Hikage."
First, she needed the ability to protect herself.
It would be best to reach the level of a Grade 2 supernatural being before the summer vacation; this would count as having basic self-protection ability.
In September, at the Jujutsu High Exchange Event, she must defeat that Miwa Kasumi and win that duel commission!
Regarding this, the girl currently training hard in sword techniques at Kyoto Jujutsu High was exchanging cultivation insights with the weapon in her hand.
That was a reward she obtained by accidentally snatching a commission from a certain diary holder during her last trip to Tokyo.
A long sword capable of self-thought and continuous growth during battle.
...
As the car stopped at the gate of Minegahara High School, Miyauchi Hikage got out and took a look.
Although that Grade 3 sorcerer's level wasn't great, his mastery of barrier techniques was quite good.
However, this was normal. A sorcerer responsible for patrolling their jurisdiction first needed to pay attention to their concealment issues and not expose supernatural power in front of ordinary people.
A "Curtain" capable of isolating outsiders' attention was a necessary measure for jujutsu sorcerers and even the supernatural forces of the entire Inner World.
At least before the Inner World was ready to be exposed to the world, these things needed to be suppressed.
It was precisely because of this that the pile of Ghouls killing indiscriminately in Tokyo during this period were suppressed by the supernatural forces of the Inner World using various violent means.
(Author's Note: My train of thought seems to have entered a dry spell recently. Both books are stuck, and the writing is painfully slow with no feel for it.)