160 Utter Confusion (2/2)

Was it really alright for her to be using such a power in this residence’s main hall?

It seemed that it would be at least somewhat of a problem, since the floor now had two huge holes in it. Who was going to fix this?

”Meow~” Rana moved her body and rubbed her face against his thigh.

Ah, he accidentally touched them.

Because the cat girl had turned her head slightly, Seiji had touched her large cat ears, which gave him a wondrously smooth and soft feeling.

Ear patting~ Ear patting~~

Yep... He was satisfied! His gentlemanly heart had obtained everything it desired.

And so, he joyously passed some time together with Rana like this.

Lunchtime.

Seiji took a tray of food to Shika’s room in order to eat together with her.

Although he probably could take Shika to the dining hall to eat with everyone if he wanted to, as he didn’t think Natsuya and the others would refuse, it was probably better for everyone if he didn’t burden them with more underlying pressure.

While eating lunch together with Shika, Seiji informed her that his cultivation process was going well and that he was going to do his best to reach a power level necessary to become Natsuya’s temporary Spirit-branded Retainer.

”Brother Seiji... is amazing. But to become a temporary retainer and do battle... such a thing...”

Shika was delighted at Seiji’s rapid improvement but concerned about the fact that he himself was planning on doing battle.

”President Yoruhana is confident that we have a great advantage and that the situation will be fairly safe.” Seiji smiled reassuringly. ”She doesn’t expect much out of me; she’s merely allowing me to be a spectator and gain knowledge about the life of a Yin Yang Master.

”I feel like it’s a great chance... I was going to join their ranks sooner or later regardless, but opportunities like this are hard to come by.

”That’s why I must go. And even if the situation turns dangerous, I’ll simply run away at the first chance I get.”

Shika continued to stare at his face.

‘Will she detect my true motive?’ Seiji felt nervous about this possibility.

While everything he had just said was the truth, there was actually one more reason, and this was the most important reason: he really wanted to give that Okubo Yoshiaki bastard a vicious beating!

He felt that Shika definitely wouldn’t accept this reason for joining the battle.

She wouldn’t want her adopted brother to be placed in such a dangerous situation for the purpose of taking revenge for her. If she knew his true reason for joining, it was almost certain she'd try and stop him.

That was why Seiji didn’t tell her.

Even if Shika didn’t feel like it was a big deal if harm befell her, Seiji didn’t want to simply let it go. If he really didn’t have any chance to personally deal with Okubo, then he would forget about it, but since he had a chance, he definitely wanted to give things a try.

”You’re lying,” Shika stated calmly.

Seiji’s heart skipped a beat. Had she seen through him?

”Brother, you’re lying. If the situation turned bad, you’d never run away. You’d definitely help President Yoruhana and the others... fight until the very end.”

”Er...” Oh, so she was referring to this. Seiji scratched his face .

”Of course I wouldn’t; I'm aware of my limits. If it’s a situation that’s difficult for even President Yoruhana and the others to deal with, then I’d be nothing more than a burden on them, so I’d escape immediately.”

Shika’s expression showed that she obviously didn’t believe him.

Seiji was instilled with a sudden sense of curiosity. ‘Just what is Shika-chan’s impression of me like?’

”I promise that I won’t go overboard! So you don’t need to worry too much about me,” he said reassuringly. ”Besides,” he consoled gently, ”it’s unlikely that the situation will be dangerous in the first place, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

”Mmm...” Shika was forced to accept this.

But she still felt rather anxious inside, and she wanted to do something for her adopted brother’s sake...

She silently thought about what she could do.

After lunch.

Seiji returned the lunch tray and sought out Mai.

For the second time, he was guided to the hidden underground basement where the Spirit Image was located.

”This time I won’t be accompanying you, so you need to be careful. If there’s any significant danger during your Visualization, or if there are any other strange-seeming situations, make yourself wake up immediately,” Mai warned him with a serious expression.

”I will.” Seiji nodded.

He then sat on the sofa, stared at the hanging watercolor painting, opened his system, and chose [Visualization].