The Yukinoshita family's dinner was lavish beyond imagination.
The long dining table was covered with top-class kaiseki dishes, every plate so exquisite it looked like a work of art. Yet almost no one at the table truly cared about the food.
Yui, Eiko, and the others were still reeling from the shock of the day's events, their worldviews overturned again and again. From time to time, they could not help sneaking glances at the boy in the main seat... the one quietly sipping his tea as if everything that had happened were no more than a mild inconvenience.
Hiratsuka had fallen into complete silence. She poured herself cup after cup of sake, as if she wanted to drown the remains of a worldview that had already shattered and was now painfully trying to piece itself back together.
As for the Yukinoshita couple, all of their thoughts were fixed upstairs, on their daughter's room on the second floor.
Natsume did not hurry to leave. He accepted their invitation to dinner with quiet composure, partly to give the Yukinoshita family a face, and partly because he wanted to personally confirm Yukino's condition after she woke up, to make absolutely sure nothing went wrong.
About an hour later, the family doctor came down from upstairs.
His face carried both relief and disbelief as he announced to everyone, "The young lady has woken up. Aside from some physical weakness, all her vital signs are stable. Her mental state has also... returned to normal. This is practically a medical miracle."
The news dropped into the dining room like a calming pill, instantly sweeping away the heavy tension that had been pressing down on the air.
Councilor Yukinoshita was so moved that tears streamed down his cheeks. He personally filled Natsume's cup with the finest sake in the house and once again expressed his deepest gratitude.
Once they had confirmed that Yukino truly was safe and sound, Natsume and the others rose to take their leave. The Yukinoshita family arranged the highest-level convoy to see each of them safely home.
...
That night, the lights in the Yukinoshita study stayed on late.
The couple stared at the detailed physical examination report in their hands. Once they had confirmed that their daughter's body showed no abnormalities at all, every last shred of doubt they had harbored toward Natsume's godlike power vanished.
"Dear, we must... at any cost, establish the strongest possible relationship with Master Natsume." Madam Yukinoshita's eyes gleamed with sharp calculation and resolve. The aura of a powerhouse from the business world had fully returned to her.
"I know," the councilor answered with a heavy nod. "I have already instructed my secretary to transfer the five million payment to him. But that is... far from enough."
For someone who could so easily resolve a "curse," a disaster that belonged firmly to the realm of the supernatural, simple money no longer had much weight. What they needed was a deeper, unbreakable bond.
Madam Yukinoshita fell silent for a moment, then spoke.
"The most valuable bargaining chip the Yukinoshita family possesses... what is it?"
The couple looked at one another and instantly understood the thought in the other's mind.
Their gazes drifted in the same direction... toward the two neighboring rooms on the second floor that belonged to their daughters.
...
The next day, in Yukino's room.
"...Mother, what did you say?" Yukino had just finished a bowl of porridge. Her face was still pale, and she stared at her mother in disbelief.
"I said," Madam Yukinoshita answered, gently wiping the corner of her daughter's mouth. Her tone brooked no argument, as if she were discussing a business deal. "Your father and I have discussed this. Mr. Natsume is an extraordinary man, the kind one encounters perhaps once in a hundred years. In ability, in appearance, in character, he is flawless. We believe he would be your ideal... marriage partner."
"Cough, cough...!"
Yukino choked violently on the last mouthful she had swallowed.
"Mother, are you serious?" Haruno, who had been peeling an apple for her sister, shot to her feet. Her face was a mix of outrage and disbelief. "Yukino just got out of danger. How can you, how can you immediately start thinking about something like this? How is that any different from using her as a tool for some political marriage?"
Yukino's expression also chilled.
"Mother, I am very grateful to Natsume for saving my life. I will repay that kindness in my own way. But my marriage is my own decision."
Faced with her daughters' simultaneous rejection, Madam Yukinoshita simply sighed.
"Children, do you really think this is only about repaying a debt?"
The door to the room opened. The councilor walked in, his face marked by deep fatigue and worry.
"Our decision was not made on a whim, and it is not because we see you two as tools," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed. His voice was heavier than ever. "Have you really not noticed? This world... is becoming more dangerous by the day."
"In the past year, across the entire country, serious disappearance cases, mass hysteria incidents, and bizarre deaths that cannot be explained by science have all increased at a geometric rate. Chiba, in particular, is a disaster zone."
His eyes seemed to pierce the walls, staring off at something far away.
"Do you remember Sobu High's old campus? The one that was shut down because of repeated cases where students suffered collective mental breakdowns."
"In the Hidden World, that place is now known as... the Cursed Womb Campus."
"It is said that something is being incubated there, something so dangerous that even the higher-ups of the Jujutsu world find it troublesome and hard to handle. Half of the Yukinoshita family's assets are in Chiba. If that 'thing' fully hatches, the consequences will be unimaginable."
"Our power and our wealth... in the face of a true calamity that can overturn the rules of reality itself, they are meaningless."
The councilor looked at his daughters. In his eyes was the deep helplessness of a father.
"So we are not only trying to repay a kindness. What we are seeking... is the strongest possible 'protection' for the family's future."
...
The next morning, Natsume's phone vibrated with a notification from the bank. When he glanced at the message, he saw that his account balance had just increased by five million yen.
He only gave it a calm look, then slipped the phone back into his pocket.
After school, in the Occult Research Club's room.
Natsume had just pushed the door open when he saw two unexpected figures inside.
Hōzuki Eiko. And Hōzuki Yashiro.
"Good afternoon, Natsume," Eiko greeted him with a smile.
Beside her, the genius grade schooler Yashiro was acting very differently from usual. She was not holding any plush toys, and her pitch-black eyes, normally unreadable, were fixed on him without blinking, filled with a burning hunger to learn.
"What is it?" Natsume asked.
"We want to work part-time for you," Eiko said bluntly.
Because of his past, Natsume technically owned a "Spirit Investigation Office." With everything that had happened recently, it was clear he would be going back into business. As an old friend, Eiko felt she absolutely had to seize this chance.
She nodded toward her younger cousin.
"Mostly for Yashiro's sake. After witnessing your godlike control over cursed energy, she... wants to learn from you."
Natsume's gaze moved to Yashiro.
This girl's talent with curses was something he had rarely seen in his life. Her innate sensitivity to souls was in no way inferior to his own. But...
"She is too young," he said, shaking his head. "This is not some after-school hobby class."
"I can pay tuition."
Yashiro finally spoke. Her voice was cool and flat, without emotion, yet it carried a rare, unwavering determination. "I can also help you capture low-level cursed spirits, as my 'homework'."
Looking at her small face, so clearly written with stubbornness and desire, Natsume fell silent for a moment.
One possessed an extremely rare spirit medium constitution. The other had a monstrous natural affinity for curses. If he guided them well, the Hōzuki sisters would become a formidable pair of allies.
"All right," Natsume said at last, finding a compromise. "I can let you join me, but Yashiro cannot be a full member. You, Miss Eiko, will sign a work contract with me. Yashiro will be your 'assistant' and take part in our activities."
"Deal."
Eiko agreed immediately. She knew this was already the greatest concession Natsume was willing to make.
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