The first day of the new semester at Sobu High School passed quickly. After school, after greeting the Five Sisters, Nakano Yu got into the Tachibana family car.
"Miss Marika... does Young Master Yu-chan plan to visit the house?"
Sitting in the driver's seat, Honda Mori noticed Nakano Yu getting into the car along with Tachibana Marika and asked.
"Mhm, Yu-chan is going to meet his future father-in-law... and mother-in-law!"
Tachibana Marika nodded, saying this as she gently approached Nakano Yu, slipped her hand through his, and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Hmm? Is Aunt Tachibana also there?"
Hearing this, Nakano Yu did not hurry to deny his relationship with Marika. Instead, he looked at the beautiful girl beside him and asked, "Mother hasn't returned to Kyushu Island yet, right?"
Tachibana Marika thought for a moment, then said with a hint of uncertainty.
"That's right."
Hearing this, Nakano Yu said no more.
Tachibana Marika's mother, Tachibana Chika, is the head of the Tachibana family from Kyushu Island, in the southern part of the Japanese archipelago. According to what Nakano Reina had mentioned when he was little, the Tachibana are a samurai family, and each generation has a female head.
In Japan, such a family is quite rare.
However, Nakano Yu did not expect Tachibana Chika to return to Tokyo.
Tachibana Chika, like Tachibana Marika, has a very weak constitution. Nakano Yu had rarely seen Tachibana Chika; not only him, but even Tachibana Marika herself had seldom seen her mother.
He remembered that Tachibana Marika had told him when they were little that she had not seen her mother until she was seven years old. Before that, she was raised by a wet nurse.
Because of this, Nakano Yu did not have a good impression of Tachibana Chika. In his perception, Tachibana Chika was an irresponsible mother, and even her marriage to Tachibana Gen was only to solidify her position as head of the Tachibana family.
This led Nakano Yu not to like Tachibana Chika very much. If someone gives birth to a child but does not raise them, then Tachibana Chika cannot be considered a competent mother for Tachibana Marika.
"Yu, what are you thinking about?"
Seeing Nakano Yu lost in thought, Tachibana Marika leaned in and asked.
"I'm thinking about how to talk to Aunt Tachibana later... she's not easy to get along with."
Tapping Tachibana Marika's forehead with one hand, gently pushing her away a bit, Nakano Yu explained.
"Don't worry, Mother is really hard to deal with, but when the time comes, just pretend she doesn't exist!"
Hearing this, Tachibana Marika first flinched, then immediately reacted, patting Nakano Yu on the shoulder and said.
After that, she nervously straightened up.
It was fine until Nakano Yu mentioned it, but she suddenly remembered that she would soon have to face her mother again.
Tachibana Chika returned to Tokyo yesterday, and staying at home last night had been incredibly hard for Tachibana Marika!
Marika knew her mother's strictness very well because she had personally experienced it. Tachibana Marika had rarely felt maternal love from Tachibana Chika. Sometimes she even wondered if Tachibana Chika had given birth to her just to inherit the Tachibana family?
Thinking about this, Tachibana Marika sighed, her entire spirit drooping, no longer as lively as before.
Noticing the change in Tachibana Marika, Nakano Yu gently took her hand and said:
"It's okay, I'm here."
Hearing this, Tachibana Marika looked up at Nakano Yu, and seeing the young man return her gaze, she nodded strongly:
"Mm! Yu-chan is the best!"
After that, Tachibana Marika suddenly threw herself into Nakano Yu's arms.
"Marika, what are you doing?!"
"Yu-chan, I'm curious, let me see!"
"Get lost!"
Arguing in the car, the vehicle soon stopped in front of the building where the Tachibana family lived.
Tachibana Gen is the superintendent of the Japan Police Department, the only one in the entire country, and the highest-ranking person in the police system. Literally, no one is above him. Because of this, the Tachibana family apartment is also extremely luxurious, no worse than the Nakano family.
Although they do not occupy an entire floor, Tachibana Marika usually recovers abroad, and Tachibana Chika lives in her hometown, so Tachibana Gen's apartment is more than enough for himself.
"Miss Marika, Young Master Yu, I'm finishing my shift now."
After leaving Tachibana Marika and Nakano Yu in front of the building, Honda Mori apologized and left. She was originally a police officer in the Police Department but was usually responsible for Tachibana Gen's security. After all, since the superintendent position fell into Tachibana Gen's hands, he constantly attracted enemies.
There was nothing special about that; he simply did not allow certain beasts to remain free. Chief Tachibana had Nakano Yu's support, so even representatives of other top systems could not surpass Tachibana Gen. Some were even caught with evidence by Tachibana Gen and sent directly to prison.
Honda Mori was quite satisfied with this because, with Nakano Yu nearby, she spent most of the month resting. After all, no one was brave enough to attempt an assassination on Tachibana Gen. As for Chief Tachibana, no one knew what he was actually protecting against.
However... according to him, he was guarding against a terrifying guy who can smile while opening your stomach with a scalpel, and then brag about how wonderful his wife is.
Honda Mori didn't quite understand this but simply followed the situation and didn't ask too many questions.
After seeing Honda Mori off, Nakano Yu and Tachibana Marika entered the building. While riding the elevator, Tachibana Marika nervously held Nakano Yu's hand.
"Marika, we're going to your house, why are you more nervous than me?"
Seeing her like this, Nakano Yu laughed and teased her.
"I'm not nervous, just... afraid of Mother..."
Hearing this, Marika pouted her lips, and as she spoke, swallowed a lump in her throat.
"Don't worry, I'm here."
After comforting her, the elevator soon reached the top floor. Walking down the hallway, Nakano Yu and Tachibana Marika arrived in front of the Tachibana family's door.
"Father, I'm back."
Taking a deep breath, Tachibana Marika opened the door and brought Nakano Yu inside.
"Hmm? Marika is back... Yu! You little brat, trying to steal my precious daughter again?!"
In the Tachibana family living room, hearing Tachibana Marika's voice, Tachibana Gen, who was reading the newspaper and drinking tea, showed a gentle fatherly smile and was about to greet her when he suddenly saw Nakano Yu.
Looking at Nakano Yu, Tachibana Gen immediately raised a slipper, ready to throw it at him.
But as soon as he lifted it, the slipper was snatched from behind.
"Tachibana Gen, you've become insolent, daring to be so disrespectful to Yu-sama."
A cold female voice echoed, causing Tachibana Gen to shiver. But seeing both Marika and Nakano Yu there, he couldn't back down. With a dark expression, he smiled while taking the slipper from the woman's hand and sat down.
"Chika, that kid... Yu-chan is still my junior, I'm just teasing him a little."
Tachibana Gen said with a laugh, putting the slipper back on.
The woman only snorted coldly and slowly approached Nakano Yu, bowing to him respectfully:
"Tachibana Chika, head of the Tachibana samurai family, greets Yu-sama."
Looking at the cold woman in front of him, who shared six out of ten similarities with Tachibana Marika, Nakano Yu exchanged a glance with Tachibana Marika. Seeing Tachibana Marika avert her gaze and cautiously retreat toward the living room, Nakano Yu had no choice but to ask Tachibana Chika to stand:
"Aunt Tachibana... you and my mother are old acquaintances, just call me Yu, like Uncle Tachibana."
"Yes, You... Yu-sama..."
Hearing this, Tachibana Chika's body stiffened, but as if remembering something, her posture remained extremely respectful.
Seeing her persistence, Nakano Yu could say no more and followed Tachibana Marika into the living room....
"Hmph! You little brat, what are you doing here?"
As soon as he sat next to Tachibana Gen, he leaned toward his ear and asked.
"I heard I have an engagement with Chika, so I came to ask."
Nakano Yu hid nothing, glancing at Tachibana Marika who was making tea in the kitchen, and said.
"You learned that so quickly?! Didn't Nakano Maruo say it was a secret?!"
Hearing the reply, Tachibana Gen's serious expression immediately looked betrayed, holding his heart, seeming to endure great pain.
"Chika told me, not my Father."
Seeing Tachibana Gen's act, Nakano Yu felt a little helpless and explained, simultaneously realizing why Nakano Maruo later kept silent; it turned out he promised Tachibana Gen to keep it a secret.
"Oh, it wasn't that Nakano Maruo, then he's not completely heartless. Wait, Chika, why was it you?! My precious daughter! Why are you in such a hurry to marry?!"
Hearing this, Tachibana Gen immediately returned to normal, but in the next moment reacted, clutching his heart, almost shedding tears.
"Applause! We have guests, sit properly!"
Just as Tachibana Gen acted like a clown, Tachibana Chika suddenly approached, and with one strike of a wooden ruler hit him on the head.
After that strike from his wife, Tachibana Gen immediately stopped all movements, sat upright, and looked straight ahead.
Seeing this, Nakano Yu sighed. Tachibana Gen was sometimes really stubborn. For example, Reina once said that this guy was shot during a raid and pulled the bullet out himself with a knife. He was a ruthless person.
But he was also a bit foolish, because Nakano Maruo later added the detail: after he pulled it out, he realized there was medical support for the operation, and that support was Nakano Maruo himself.
"Yu-sama, may I ask you a question?"
Sitting aside, Tachibana Chika looked at Nakano Yu and asked.
"Go ahead."
Nakano Yu nodded, giving her the sign to ask.
Tachibana Chika then took a tablet from the table, opened it, played a video, handed the tablet to Nakano Yu, and asked:
"Yu-sama, is the person in this video you?"
Hearing this, Nakano Yu took the tablet, and Tachibana Gen, curious, also leaned in to look.
On the video, an enormous ocean appeared under dark clouds, obviously somewhere by the sea. Seeing the familiar scene, Nakano Yu immediately recognized it as footage of his killing of Freyja on the Faroe Islands.
He just did not expect that the strange mist Freyja summoned could make her visible to the human eye and even recorded by a camera. This was far stronger than Tsukuyomi illusions. Could it be the effect of the incarnation [Truth]?
The video seemed to be filmed just as he and Freyja had faced each other in the Crystal Palace. The sky opened, a huge wolf's head and the Crystal Palace appeared in the air. The shaking of the footage showed the nervousness of the person filming.
The video ended the moment the wolf's head swallowed the Crystal Palace. It seemed the result of his battle with Freyja had destroyed the recording device.
After watching the video, Tachibana Gen looked at Nakano Yu with a shocked expression. This guy made such a huge commotion abroad?! Why didn't he know about it? Could it be that it happened during this kid's engagement party, damn it! He should have been smarter and left the case to someone else!
"Yes, that's me. Is this video blocked? I haven't seen it on Japanese internet."
Returning the tablet to Tachibana Chika, Nakano Yu nodded sincerely, admitting. His affairs were not a secret to the Tachibana family.
However, he was more interested in why Tachibana Chika was showing him this video at this moment. Could it be... that the Tachibana family encountered some problem? And a problem that ordinary Onmyoji cannot resolve...
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