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"Huh? So this is what they call a corporate war—those power struggles between big families?"
Hana Yurikawa's eyes sparkled wide open. Gossip like this was exactly her kind of thing.
"I'm not too sure myself. Grandpa's always been the one handling family business. But after I go back this time, I'll ask him about it in detail."
In movies, business wars were all stock market tricks—buying and selling, hostile takeovers, crushing rival companies through numbers and strategy.
Reality? Reality sent creepy assassins after heirs. Brutally simple, zero glamour.
"If you need help, just say the word! We'll protect you!"
Hana pumped her tiny fist like a kid making a vow.
"Thank you."
Suou Yuki's voice softened, a little touched.
"It's nothing. After all, we're all Lord Rosen's people now. That makes us family, right?"
Saying that, Hana suddenly remembered something and scribbled down a phone number for Yuki.
"If you're ever feeling down, just call this number. Your worries will disappear right away."
Yuki carefully accepted it, treating it with utmost seriousness.
At home, aside from the faint care she sometimes felt from Kimishima Ayano, even her own mother couldn't show her warmth. Family rules demanded distance—no casual mother-daughter bond allowed.
But since becoming Rosen's follower, this was the first time Yuki felt genuine concern from someone.
Mai Sakurajima tilted her head, puzzled.
"Funny… Hana doesn't really seem like the type who cares about others."
"How rude! If someone needs help, I'm always happy to lend a hand!"
Hana puffed her cheeks, clearly offended.
Miko Yotsuya gave a helpless smile. "Hana is helpful, sure… but the number you gave Yuki, that's not your phone, is it?"
"Of course not. That's the number of my favorite dessert shop. Whenever I'm troubled, I call them. The moment the sweets arrive, poof—problems solved!"
Yuki froze. A second ago, she'd been deeply moved. Now she was staring at Hana, black lines practically scribbled all over her face.
A dessert shop's number?
Give me my feelings back, you scam artist!
The sun dipped low. Twilight spread across the sky.
After resting for a while, Mai Sakurajima stood up to leave.
"Huh? You're leaving already?" Hana blinked.
"Yeah. I'm still traveling with my mom, remember? This time I just got pulled here on short notice."
She gave a faint smile, then turned toward Rosen.
"Could I trouble you to send me back?"
Without a word, Rosen activated his divine step and returned her to the hotel.
Her mother, who had been waiting in their room, stood up the instant Mai suddenly reappeared with him.
"If anything comes up, contact me."
With that, Rosen gave a polite nod to her mother before vanishing again.
Later, Rosen also escorted Suou Yuki back to her family estate. He didn't linger there either.
Yuki found her grandfather, Suou Gensei, in the study.
The old man finally relaxed once he saw his granddaughter safe. A flicker of affection—barely noticeable—crossed his stern face before he slipped back into the aura of a patriarch.
"That man didn't come with you?"
"Lord Rosen left right after dropping me off."
"I see. To think such a huge problem was resolved thanks to him… and I haven't even had the chance to properly thank him."
His tone toward Rosen was nothing like before.
One evil spirit at a shrine had once been enough to leave the entire Suou family helpless. Yet even the so-called "god" that those spirits served had been handled by Rosen with ease. His power outstripped the fox god of the shrine by far.
To Gensei, who had weathered decades of political and business battles, the truth was clear: the Suou family needed to cling tightly to this man's leg.
Sure, Yuki herself was connected to him—but from Rosen's perspective, helping them was likely just for Yuki's sake, not for the family's.
If the Suou family ran into trouble again in the future, there was no guarantee Rosen would intervene.
Just like this time.
Through his investigations, Gensei had uncovered the instigator behind the attack.
The Kamishiro family.
A giant that had been rooted in Tokyo for centuries.
In recent years, they'd devoured or financed countless mid-sized and small companies.
The Suou family had once tried negotiating with them for business, but since no deal was reached, things were left hanging.
"The Kamishiro family, huh?"
Yuki repeated the name softly, committing it to memory.
But unless they made another move, she didn't intend to bother Rosen about it.
Meanwhile, back at Rosen's place…
Miko Yotsuya and Hana Yurikawa were horsing around in the living room. When Rosen returned, the two immediately quieted down.
Hana bounded over, smiling brightly.
"Lord Rosen! Can I pick whichever room I want here?"
"Other than the middle one and the one next to it, the rest are fair game."
Rosen chuckled.
Good thing he'd moved into this bigger house. Otherwise, if his followers wanted to stay over, the options would have been either sleeping on the floor or… sharing his bed.
"Great! Then I want the one with the window facing the pool! That way, when I wake up, I can just dive straight in for a morning bath!"
Her brain worked on wavelengths no normal person used.
Then she turned to her friend.
"Miko, let's live together!"
"Eh?"
Miko froze, then gave a helpless smile.
"But we have to go home at night. Do you really think your mom would let you stay out overnight?"
"Eh…?"
Hana's excitement, already conjuring images of pillow fights, instantly hit a wall.
"I'd love to, but until we sort things out with our families, staying out overnight is probably impossible, right?"
If they were boys, their parents might be more lenient. But as girls, things were stricter.
Even if it was Lord Rosen's house, neither Hana nor Miko had figured out how to explain that to their parents yet.
"..."
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