Chapter 5 (1/2)

Chapter 5

Reunion/Utsusemi

Part 1

For those dwelling in the condominium, it had been three days since they met their new companion (?), the silver haired youth Vali——

“Jin? Jin, where are you?”

Early in thehad changed

——Jin wasn’t beside him

Since one far froated under the bed to as far away as the verandah…… ‘By so his voice, while also praying silently in his mind, but either way he had left and not come back

……The possibility that he had vanished, Tobio realized this wasn’t the case, as he could sense that they weren’t far apart When speaking of presence, this was so that could only be sensed outside of the five senses Day by day this sense had grown stronger

He kept in mind that, whenever he had called hiure had immediately appeared However, since this did not ……in what kind of situation would Jin not co no idea as going on, Tobio left the room to search for Jin

The door to the roooing to bed However, since the door was not locked as he was presently leaving the rooht occurred to hi if an ordinary dog could accomplish such a feat, but for Jin the protuberance fro the lock

So that Jin was neither on the communal floor nor in the kitchenette, he hastily walked towards Natsu the buzzer……but the door was partly open Feeling puzzled, Tobio ti the buzzer However, there was no reply ——But, fro

“————“

“————!!”

It was the voices of two girls ……Since one was likely Natsuiven as it was her room, wouldn’t that make the one with her Lavinia? For some reason their voices weren’t all that loud Just as Tobio was thinking about that, the door to the room was suddenly thrown open with a BAM

Rushi+ng through the partly opened door——was Jin! His whole body was soaking wet Upon seeing hishis whole body Tobio was blinded by a spray of water

“Jin, I was looking for you ……Were you taking a bath?”

While he hi he had slipped out of the room and proceeded to Natsume’s hat Tobio understood about the situation As it was, it seeiven hi, yet nevertheless Tobio felt this was a regrettable point

“……Ikuse-kun?”

Suddenly Natsuh the door that had previously been thrown co in the hallway

……With a slender body, such a figure was standing there And yet, there was a mass there that he had not previously noticed when clothed At the unexpected event, both Tobio and Natsume’s entire bodies became completely stiff……further lady caht

“What is it Toby? We were just welco Jin-chan”

Froirl——Lavinia! This one’s body stressed curves appropriate for a woman that didn’t lose to Natsume That which hadn’t become clear that time she appeared in his bed, it was now clearly visible

“…………NA, NANANANANANANA”

Steadily getting red in the face fro back into the bathrooy was soet a chance to do By no means, when he had been on the other side of the partly opened door, could he have predicted such a situation occurring

Natsume screamed from the bathroom

“……When I wake up in theinJin-chan! Such being the case……everyone was taking a shower together……yeah ugh!”

Natsuave an explanation This was only natural To be seen naked by a irl would be tre It was the same for Tobio

However, there was just one person present whose h the door and took Tobio’s hand

“Come take a shower Toby”

Instead of concealing her naked body she made such a proposal Unable to resist, Tobio faced Natsume and shrieked

“Minagawa-san! Lavinia-san stop already!!”

For a healthy young , while others ht see it as a trial

Thatroom——Tobio, Natsume, Samjima, Lavinia, and Vali

“……Geez, for you to be showing such a face here, what exactly happened……”

Sa like that with half closed eyes There was a sense of Tobio and Natsue in the pair’s attitudes wasn’t at all peculiar After all, Jin had slipped out of the rooht by the half-asleep Lavinia who had exited her own room, and had entered Natsuy, his curiousity over Jin’s behavior was inexhaustible ……Did he just go for a ht stroll?

Even after such things had happened that , Tobio still finished the preparations for breakfast

Dish after dish had been set up on the table On today’s prograarnish, grilled salmon fillet, a tossed salad, and delectably commonplace miso soup were all on the menu On top of that, the stock used for the e, and the salhtest bit burnt The white rice too, having been boiled in a dedicated pressure cooker, the outcorain of rice having risen nificently Incidentally, the salad had been topped with Tobio’s hand

“Is it okay that I wasn’t able to prepare anything other than this?”

Tobio ti previously not eaten anything not personally randmother or childhood friend Sae, he lacked confidence when it ca an entire meal

However, with it being identified as so a decent ht

“WOAH! As expected, it was the right decision putting Ikuse-kun on cooking duty!”

Before everyone could say ‘itadaki the miso soup At that moment he put on a broad smile

“In any case, this is scrumptious”

This was muttered with poor speech Much like Saape

“Tobi’s cooking is the greatest”

After saying “Itadakimasu”, Natsume quickly reached out with her chopsticks

“Uum, delicious!”

Natsume’s assessment was that today’s was the best yet With the result that no one could stop their chopsticks, it seehed in relief at this Since being appointed to food duty, Tobio had been endeavoring to produce a menu that wasn’t harmful to everyone’s health For the members ere present these excellent circumstances would be left behind in the near future So he hadlike a decent meal for them

——Then, watching Vali’s figure as he moved his chopsticks in silence, Natsume wore a mischievous expression

“What’s this, Va-kun, aren’t you surprisingly engrossed with eating? Weren’t cup noodles all that was necessary for a meal?”

“……Younourishment from this meal”

“It corief, you’re not honest at all”

Natsu down his chopsticks, had voiced his objection Indeed, for a boy his age it was unhealthy to only eat cup noodles froood, Tobio felt it would be beneficial for this child to eat this way every day

Seeing this exchange with Natsuh with a “Kukuku”

“Lucidra-sensei’s at the height of his cheekiness”

“Muu, Samejima Kouki What’s with this Lucidra? It that supposed to be me?”

Vali raised his eyebrows inquiringly at Samejima

“Yeah, aren’t you Lucifer and a dragon? In that case, Lucidra is good for short ain’t it?”

Hurt by the humor in Samejima’s words, the corners of Vali’s mouth lowered into a frown

“Mue it I aendary dragon known as the “Vanishi+ng Dragon {White Dragon}” within my body——”

“Ah, yes of course Lucidra Lucidra”

In response to Sas” (TN: As in personal history) the boy finally cried out

“Muu, Minagawa Natsume It is unacceptable that this insubordinate coly warned about my valuable nature”

At the childish exchange between Sah

“Geez, no fighting during a meal”

Natsues to Griffon, which the bird skillfully caught and gulped downThe independent avatar types consisting of Jin, Griffon, and Byakusa also partook of h there is no need to worry about things like hawk, cat, or dog food, as they eat everything given to them from meat to fruit Since they hadn’t observed any abnormalities up till now, it was likely there weren’t any restrictions like there would be on a real animal

In the first place, whether it was even necessary for Jin and the others to eat, of this Tobio was not sure For now, until they could discuss it with the ‘Governor General’, they were just going to ask around

“Va-kun, good boy good boy”

Lavinia was patting the pouting Vali’s head

“Like I said, don’t pat my head! I am not a child!”

This nor, was displaying a face appropriate for his age

Unexpectedly, as far as Tobio was concerned this

After each of the commenced

——After three whole days had passed, it was finally time to decide upon their next course of action

“And so, what’re we gonna do? We gonna do so today?”

Gulping down his after meal coffee all at once, Samejima inquired of Tobio and co

Natsume nodded, and spread the aforementioned file from the ‘Governor General’ out on top of the table There were notes written around a certain region on the map

Natsu the map

“Yes, we taking action First of all, as we previously discussed, we’ll be investigating the whereabouts of the bereaved families of our fellow students”

Indeed, three days earlier Natsu the bereaved families of the fellow students that had been turned into Utsuseed residences It had not been deterone

“Since the tireat accident, this ridiculous story of mass disappearance has not been noticed by the media”

This was roughly what Natsume had said before This was only a doone, one would expect thereported on It was to the unnatural extent that there wasn’t even any gossip about it

“……The Agency, that is those that were previously fro the infor?”

Tobio asked like this This was the group with supernatural powers that had been part of the underside of this country since antiquity Tobio felt that with that unusual power so of that extent was not impossible

To this Natsume nodded her head in confirmation

“……So for example if some journalist were to even become suspicious, it seems that they’d be erased”

“I am all but certain that they would be erased”

Lavinia cal words

Vali spoke while folding his arms

“For those ere dee the e of the Five Principal Clans, it is an absolute co to the ‘Utsuseency’, it would seeed by the present Five Principal Clans Simultaneously, the people froency of deficient individuals That is to say, their stance is to not exempt even those who merely have come into contact with the Five Principal Clans”

……Those who become involved, they would be coency, they included those who had become involved in the ‘Four Fiends Project’ for the sake of triu over the Clans……? In that case, then they themselves as well——

“…………”

“…………”

Arriving at the saht as himself, Natsume and Samejima’s expressions became subdued Not just themselves, it seemed they were also concerned about their close friends who had been unexpectedly drawn in

Concerning the faarding the circumstances of where those tere born and raised, it was a topic they didn’t want to discuss However, the organization of that ‘Governor General’ has been placing the people close to the survivors, like the ‘Four Fiends’, under their protection, so the present situation was that they should be able to iency’ were to try to lay a hand on them

It was simply the ‘present situation’ Hereafter, with circu may happen that it’s impossible to protect theht abduct their fa them out

It would appear to be fortune born froer had anyone he could call a blood relative At the ti he could call fa hiuys were there was a likelihood he would be seeing theeted him for that reason

After shaking her head, Natsu

“Either e mustn’t simply act aimlessly or ill fail to overturn the present situation ——Let us take action”

Tobio agreed with that opinion If they didn’t act, he could never ht in this situation, he would never be able to reunite with her

Natsume continued the conversation

“I think we should visit the hoht be able to find so would have vanished is surely impossible Besides——“

Natsuaze towards Lavinia Lavinia nodded once

“Indeed, by going to those hoic Surely, I believe I can find so”

She could use oals still had anization was supposedly pursuing, they were cooperating with the ‘Utsuseency’…… Those exiles from the Five Principal Clans, just how far did their influence extend……?

A group with supernatural abilities, e events…… How co it would be if it all turned out to be a dream

Samejima asked Natsume

“Within the sarade as us, there are over two hundred others Which place d’you believe we should choose? Just choose one at random?”

“That is——“

As Natsu to speak, she looked over at Tobio

Part 2

Having traveled by train and by bus, they had arrived in the vicinity of their destination fro towards a residential area A short distance up the main street was the house of Toujou Sae The house was a

Indeed, Tobio and coo to Sae’s house This was based on Natsume’s intuition

Natsume had said at the condominium

“Those guys mentioned the names of Samejima-kun’s co our fellow students they at least recognized that they were people especially close to us That is to say——“

Tobio continued her words

“They probably expect that we are likely to show up at a place we have a connection to”

Natsume nodded her head

So while they were proceeding to their destination, there was also a significant chance of an extre laid a trap They had already lured out two of their leaders and seen their faces, and since then had become to some extent aware of the details of their plan

In co in power day by day While re if they atching this place they had aconnection to in order to spring a trap on them

Up till now they had had the cooperation the ‘Governor General’s’ organization——the Grigori ere also observing those guys The inexplicable action of all the bereaved fa away simultaneously, this seems to have been within their expectations

Natsume spoke

“Apart froh, since they would understand that ould try to rescue our friends and acquaintances, they know that on’t just re”

Saed

“Since we’ve been furnished with power, it’s obvious those guys would use places we’re clearly connected to as bait for a trap”

While nodding towards Tobio, Natusme clearly declared

“Even greater than this poe have been furnished with is the irregular that is Ikuse-kun who has becoiven that this is the case, wouldn’t laying a trap be the minihtening, weclues in the homes of our fellow class soh”

Such being the significance of visiting their fellow students’ ho aside the last of what Natsu the least they would atte expectation

However, if you think about it from that side’s perspective, all of their traps so far have been ineffective so it seems there next move would be different This would seem to imply that this time the attack would exceed the previous ones

……With the power they had been furnished with, it would become a fierce battle…… He hadfor the past three days……you could say that his blade had been te closer to Sae one step at a tirown

And now, as a result of the discussion at the condo to Sae’s house on foot The reason, while it was certainly to uncover clues relating to the relocations, above all else for Tobio——it was to search for sorandmother

“……Baa-chan had been intimate with Sae’s parents, as when she was alive they would often be heard speaking about various things relating to after her death”

Indeed, after his grandmother’s funeral, he had been summoned by Sae’s parents, and was informed of what had been requested of them Fro

Within that was also contained an entreaty that she wished for her grandchild to be shown sorew up, which she had informed them of in advance

Sae’s parents had not been in touch with him as a result of the relocations, so their current location was unclear Now that he thought about it, Sae’s prosperous Oji-chan and Oba-chan (TN: Literally uncle and aunt but here is used by Tobio to refer to Sae’s parents) had also gone on a journey without so , so it was impossible for there to not be sorand Sae, when Oji-chan and Oba-chan to arbitrarily distance themselves from him it had filled his kind-spirited mind with fury

Because of that, Tobio had believed that these heirlooms had become lost It now appeared that these iteht they had alreadyin that house…… However, if the search for confir theher

These iteht be somehow related to the ‘Himejima’, or else perhaps connected to his supernatural power In the case of the for their opponents and his ancestry would become known In the case of the latter the nature of Jin’s ability would become clear

Presently, for Tobio and company it’s just as important to learn about his own ability as it is to find infor that into account, all o to Sae’s house

However, only Vali,

“Sorry, I have a personal request from the ‘Governor General’ which I am in position not to listen to Today, I auys”

Leaving behind such words, he had left the condominium before them

As a result, only the foursome of Tobio, Natsume, Samjima, and Lavinia were en route to Sae’s house For Sa by motorcycle, when they traveled by train,

“……In no way can I beco the train”

So he grumbled

And so, the fourso and had now arrived in front of Sae’s house……

Even just observing from a short distance away, there was no sense at all that anyone lived in this house The ere all shut and the narass on the lawn had grown unkempt

He rearden Oji-chan would sit on a chair in the garden on holidays reading a book

In this garden, this here he had had that hard fight against the golden retriever……Tobio s

While recalling that incident, he re at this house of hers was bringing his htened, and for ahis mood, he resumed his survey of the house

As far as he could sense, there wasn’t any human presence in the vicinity of the house Presently they were the only ones present, which felt extreh it was daytime, it had a dark atmosphere Previously this had not been the case However, the present surroundings did not trans that people lived here

The foursoate, proceeded until they had set foot jump in front of the front door They then confirmed whether the lock was secured The front door opened easily With Tobio and Natsu what it lances

Sa up at the house