Fearing to provoke Morpheus, people traced the spark of Voban's death.
Hachiman Hikigaya.
Without him, Morpheus wouldn't have intervened.
In the battle, Hachiman had displayed formidable power. Had he not been so inexperienced, Voban wouldn't have turned the tables.
Many believed Hachiman could rival Voban.
But Hachiman knew the truth: without Morpheus's power, he'd have stood no chance.
His ability to knock Voban back came solely from borrowing Morpheus's strength.
Others didn't know this.
They saw Hachiman repeatedly send Voban flying, concluding he matched the Campione's power.
After gathering Hachiman's profile and confirming he wasn't volatile, Japan's officials sent representatives to contact him.
They aimed to extract information about Morpheus from him.
To this end, they sent several mikos around Hachiman's age, transferring them to his school.
These were mostly mikos he'd saved days earlier.
On their first day, they shocked his classmates.
Surrounding Hachiman, they flattered him, calling him "Hikigaya-sama," melting his heart.
And shocking everyone else.
Hachiman couldn't handle it. Really, he couldn't.
As a single guy for over a decade, how could he resist such a honey trap? He quickly lost himself in their adulation.
In a slip, he revealed something he shouldn't have.
Realizing he'd been played, Hachiman confessed to Morpheus.
Morpheus laughed heartily at Hachiman's confession.
"It's fine, don't worry."
Hachiman had only revealed that his power came from Morpheus—a trivial detail, as Morpheus never hid it.
"Relax, eat, drink, and enjoy. If they want power, tell them to find me."
Relieved, Hachiman calmed down.
Meanwhile, Morpheus noticed people discreetly appearing around him while he wandered Tokyo's streets.
They seemed eager yet afraid to approach.
Morpheus paid them no mind, living leisurely.
Life was good.
Days later, while shopping, someone finally approached.
A striking woman in masculine attire approached gracefully, smiling. "Lord Morpheus, I'm Kaoru Sayanomiya. May I have a word?"
Morpheus recognized her: the head of the Tokyo branch of the History Compilation Committee, a key figure in the Kanto Committee and a prominent miko of the Sayanomiya family, one of the four major clans.
The others were the Seishuuin, Kuhoutsuka, and Renjou families, if he recalled correctly.
He wasn't sure if this world's four families had changed.
But judging by Kaoru's presence, the Sayanomiya family was doing well.
"What's the matter?" Morpheus stopped, looking at her.
Kaoru said, "We received word that Lu Yinghua, disciple of a Campione, arrived in Tokyo an hour ago by plane."
"If we're not mistaken, his target is likely you, Lord Morpheus."
"Would you like to meet him?"
Lu Yinghua, looking for me?
No, not Lu Yinghua—his master, Luo Hao.
Morpheus replied noncommittally, "What does his visit have to do with you?"
Kaoru said, "If you don't wish to see him, we can send him away."
"No need. I'm quite interested in his master, Luo Hao."
Morpheus waved dismissively. Though Luo Hao's name was plain, in the original story, she was a breathtaking beauty.
He wanted to meet this self-admired woman.
Kaoru's heart skipped. So this unfathomable lord even knew Luo Hao's true name.
She fell silent.
Soon, a boy in a suit, about fourteen or fifteen, approached Morpheus.
It was none other than Lu Yinghua.
Luo Hao's disciple.
To others, being her disciple was a stroke of luck. But to Yinghua, it was a tragic tale.
Luo Hao was an utterly unqualified teacher.
Her only teaching method was… beating.
Every time she met her disciple, her first act was to beat him.
Look up? Beat. Don't look up? Beat. Weak? Beat. Defiant? Beat. She found endless ways to "discipline" him.
She was either beating her disciple or on her way to do so.
Yinghua had lost count of how many times he'd teetered on death's edge. It was a miracle he hadn't been beaten to death.
There were benefits, of course.
Under Luo Hao's "tutelage," Yinghua mastered exceptional techniques, surpassing average Campiones in martial prowess.
Only Luo Hao and Salvatore Doni and maybe Marquis Voban outmatched him.
But this education had downsides.
Beaten by Luo Hao since childhood, Yinghua developed a dark, twisted personality, despising women despite his charm.
He was particularly hostile toward beautiful, capable women.
His future wife would surely be an ordinary woman.
"Lu Yinghua disciple of Luo Hao greets you Lord Morpheus."
Yinghua clasping his fists in respect upon seeing Morpheus.
"I come on my master's orders to invite you to her mount for a meeting. She heard you slew Marquis Voban and is delighted, wishing to share cups of wine with you. Will you accept?"
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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