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From whispered gossip to bowed submission took less than twenty seconds total.
The moment Bokue Keikain took the family head's seat, the entire atmosphere in the council hall transformed.
All the rumors and whispers combined couldn't match the weight of a single Great Demon's severed head.
Saeko Busujima couldn't help but feel secretly astonished.
As the daughter of the Busujima style, she'd witnessed similar scenes before.
Her father—the current master of the Busujima style—had many disciples under him. Back when they were still in Japan, he often held public demonstrations at their dojo, with students kneeling on both sides watching senior disciples spar with the master.
But that level of "many disciples" couldn't even compare to the current scene at the Keikain estate.
Moreover, compared to the oppressive presence Bokue exuded sitting alone on the main seat—dominating the entire room—the atmosphere during her father's sparring sessions at the dojo had been relaxed and pleasant, like a kindergarten teacher playing games with children.
"Yura and Busujima-senpai, come in and sit down too. Senpai, you can sit next to Yura."
Glancing at the two girls still standing outside the doorway, Bokue waved his hand casually.
"..."
Without needing to respond, Yura only began walking once Bokue had given permission, stepping into the council hall.
Saeko beside her hesitated for just a moment before quickly following along.
The two girls entered the council hall one after the other.
Yura sat in her usual spot—the first seat to the right of the main chair, reserved exclusively for the family's heir apparent. Saeko, meanwhile, moved to Bokue's original position.
But before the swordswoman could sit down, a handsome, white-haired young man from the left side suddenly stood up.
"Acting Head Bokue, perhaps many within the Keikain family have complaints about your personal conduct, but I can overlook all of that. However, there's one thing I absolutely cannot accept!"
"Today we're holding an internal Keikain family meeting. I believe outsiders should not be present!"
Hmm?
From the main seat, Bokue propped his cheek on one hand and slowly turned his head to glance at the white-haired young man standing in the crowd.
"Oh, and who might you be? Ah, Akifusa... When you say 'outsider,' are you referring to me?"
"Of course not. I'm talking about—"
Bokue cut him off before Akifusa could finish.
"Or do you mean Busujima-senpai? But Senpai isn't an outsider. She's a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer from the Jujutsu Association. Considering our current partnership with the Association, I'd say Busujima-senpai counts as one of our own."
"Besides, you said you 'don't care about my personal conduct issues,' but if I'm not mistaken, when I came back for the start of summer vacation a month ago, you criticized me for being late. That happened, didn't it? Did I remember wrong, or did you forget?"
"That... has nothing to do with what we're discussing now!"
Akifusa's creamy, pale face flushed with traces of red from anger.
"This meeting is undoubtedly an internal Keikain family affair. Even if we've formed a partnership with the Jujutsu Association, that's merely a normal cooperative relationship. Our internal family matters shouldn't be leaked to outsiders!"
"Are you afraid of losing face?"
Bokue spoke bluntly.
"Though I guess that makes sense. You just formed this partnership with the Jujutsu Association, probably already planning how to act like senior experts in front of them, and then you immediately get five whole branch families wiped out in one go. Yeah, that's pretty embarrassing."
"You...!"
Hearing the mocking yet detached tone from the young man on the main seat, Akifusa's face turned completely red with rage.
"What, did I count wrong?"
Bokue's gaze swept across the hall once more.
"No, I didn't miscount. Masatsugu from the Fukuju style, Yahado from the Manaka style, and you, Akifusa... Hmm, at least all three of the branch family 'Big Three' survived. How wonderful. Congratulations."
"..."
"..."
The Big Three maintained their silence. They were well aware that while Bokue's words said "congratulations," whether he actually meant it was something only he knew.
After a brief, deathly silence, Masatsugu Keikain from the Fukuju style—one of the branch family Big Three—pushed up his glasses.
"But it's only temporary. Now that Hagoromo-Gitsune has been resurrected, she'll inevitably reclaim all her power and return in full force. According to my predictions, if nothing unexpected happens, Hagoromo-Gitsune's next target will be Rokuon-ji."
Masatsugu was a rather upright, scholarly-looking young man. His expensive kimono combined with the folding fan in his hand made him look like some young, distinguished nobleman.
But Bokue merely glanced at him once before looking away.
"Oh. So what?"
His attitude was one of complete indifference.
Though he'd already anticipated this attitude from the young man, Masatsugu pushed up his glasses and continued anyway.
"Therefore, I believe we should gather all the Keikain family's forces to defend Rokuon-ji—the most likely target of Hagoromo-Gitsune's next attack. At the very least, we can't let her reclaim all her power."
"Good idea. But I refuse."
Bokue said flatly.
"If we all go defend your Rokuon-ji like you're suggesting, what happens if Hagoromo-Gitsune chooses to attack Shōkoku-ji—the second seal—instead? Or what if she directly attacks the first seal, or even the main estate? What then?"
"Yeah, exactly..."
The moment those words left his mouth, discussions erupted throughout the council hall.
This was an extremely practical problem. First of all, Hagoromo-Gitsune—as the peak Great Demon who'd ruled Kyoto four hundred years ago—obviously wouldn't think as simply as an AI, mechanically breaking through seals in order from back to front.
If the Keikain family gathered all their forces and bet everything on defending Rokuon-ji, only for Shōkoku-ji to fall or the main estate to suffer a devastating blow, the consequences would be unacceptable.
Bottom line: if we all go help you defend your place, what happens if our own homes get blown up?
"Everyone, please calm down. Regarding Hagoromo-Gitsune, I have two proposals."
Seeing the voices opposing him growing stronger throughout the council hall, Masatsugu pushed up his glasses for the third time.
"The first is that, considering Acting Head Bokue's exceptional strength, I hope he can temporarily station himself at Rokuon-ji during this period..."
"No."
Bokue rejected him without a second thought.
"As the acting head of the main family, defending the main estate is my primary duty. I can't abandon it to guard Rokuon-ji for you."
"In that case, let's go with the alternative."
As if he'd anticipated the young man's refusal, Masatsugu calmly continued.
"I believe the main family can request Lady Yasaka's protection. That way, Acting Head Bokue would be free to station himself at Rokuon-ji."
"...Oh, is that how you see it?"
Bokue paused briefly, looking up to glance at him.
"That raises a question, though. Who's going to ask Yasaka for her protection?"
"Obviously—"
Masatsugu's words caught in his throat halfway through.
Everyone in the Keikain family knew that Bokue had been extremely close to Lady Yasaka of Yasaka Shrine since childhood. Any request he made would never be refused by her.
But that led to a new problem: would Bokue be willing to request Lady Yasaka's protection for their sake?
"I remember you saying just now that you didn't want the Jujutsu Association to know because it's embarrassing. So letting Yasaka know about this wouldn't be embarrassing?"
Bokue's fingertips tapped lightly against the armrest of his chair, producing somewhat muffled sounds.
"Besides, if an Onmyōji family that's been stationed in Kyoto for a thousand years can't even defend its own seals and needs Yasaka to step in, I think the Keikain family might as well just disband or change its surname to Yasaka."
"Handle your own family problems yourselves. Do I need to spell it out any clearer?"
"..."
Masatsugu fell silent. Akifusa also lapsed into silence.
They'd completely understood the subtext of Bokue's words.
—Why the hell should I care if you all die?
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