Chapter 4: The Kamo Clan's "Gojo Satoru"
"How many times have I told you, you of the Kamo Clan don't need to bow to me."
Hikigaya Hachiman looked at the group of men who resembled Yakuza, his tone full of exasperation.
"And stop calling me Young Master."
"Understood, Young Master."
The leader, a man in a black suit and dark glasses, looked almost proud despite Hikigaya Hachiman's clear distaste.
"It's fine, we all came voluntarily to pay our respects to the Young Master."
The Elders had said that if they appealed to his reason and moved him with their courtesy, they would eventually persuade Young Master Hachiman to return.
If the Shinomya family is the king of the surface world, then the Kamo Clan, to which these men belong, is the king of the hidden world, known as one of the Three Great Families.
The Sorcery world is essentially composed of the Kamo Clan, the Zen'in Clan, and the Gojo Clan, who have controlled the land of Japan for nearly a thousand years.
Such thousand-year-old aristocratic families sound unrelated to ordinary folks like the Hikigaya family.
However, the Hikigaya family was once a branch of the Kamo Clan, similar to a separated lineage from years ago.
Hikigaya Hachiman was detected early on as having the qualification to inherit the Kamo Clan's inherited technique, a Cursed Technique called Blood Manipulation.
The number of clan members who can awaken an inherited technique is extremely small in Japanese sorcerer families. This essentially leads to any member detected as being able to inherit the ancestral technique being groomed as the next Clan Head.
The Kamo Clan was relentless, always wanting Hikigaya Hachiman to return and inherit the mantle of the family.
It should be noted that the Kamo Clan already had a backup candidate trained from childhood, yet they still wanted to pull Hikigaya Hachiman, a latecomer, into the fold.
Naturally, he was unwilling.
The Kamo Clan even considered using force, but the people they sent were severely disciplined by Hikigaya Hachiman.
They thought the other party would restrain themselves, but unexpectedly, the opposite happened: they became increasingly excited, like perverts, and even more obsessed with Hikigaya Hachiman.
Hikigaya Hachiman vaguely remembers those old men, battered and bruised with missing teeth, laughing maniacally back then.
They were shouting things like,
"The Kamo Clan's Gojo Satoru has been born."
"Our Kamo Clan has a Gojo Satoru too!"
"Heaven protects our Kamo Clan!!!"
Such nonsensical words made Hikigaya Hachiman's scalp prickle just thinking about it.
Thus, the stalemate has continued to this day, evolving into a new approach.
The Kamo Clan changed to a softer approach toward Hikigaya Hachiman.
"It doesn't matter if you don't acknowledge it; we do."
Although Hikigaya Hachiman is not officially the next head of the Kamo Clan, he receives resources according to the standards given to the heirs of the Three Great Families.
For example, Hikigaya Hachiman had initially planned to attend a public school, but with the Kamo Clan's guarantee, he could attend the more educationally superior Shuchiin Academy.
Hikigaya Hachiman actually refused at first, but he realized that while he was an Astartes standing at the peak of all laws in the Warhammer world, that was understandable.
But in this relatively peaceful world, Hikigaya Hachiman can only follow everyone's rules of the game.
Furthermore, Hikigaya Hachiman's ordinary parents all received benefits. Promotions, raises, and appreciation from their leaders were minor things.
The most important thing was the protection from the Kamo Clan.
After all, this world has Curse Spirits, creatures that defy logic.
It's impossible for Hikigaya Hachiman to be around his family all the time to protect them, but the Kamo Clan, as one of the Three Great Families, can easily do so.
With the Kamo Clan, the local powerhouse, Hikigaya Hachiman has access to a considerable amount of resources.
This is why, even though Hikigaya Hachiman joined Shuchiin Academy as a relatively common student, he holds a Super VIP status.
Shuchiin's Super VIPs are basically all children of famous figures in the business, political, and military fields, possessing distinguished status and enjoying special school privileges.
For Hikigaya Hachiman, the problem is that the Kamo Clan people are too clingy, popping up now and then to show their presence, signaling that they are always there, and they really enjoy performing the ancient custom of bowing like subjects to a lord.
This has led some uninformed neighbors and students to believe that Hikigaya Hachiman, like another Super VIP student in the school, also comes from a top-tier Yakuza family.
However, based on Hikigaya Hachiman's mature and cold demeanor, he does look quite like the young master of a Yakuza family.
After paying their respects, most of the Kamo Clan's motorcade left, while a small contingent remained in the vicinity for continuous surveillance.
"Onii-chan, why don't you just give in to them and become the Young Master?" Komachi Hikigaya joked.
"Let them be."
Hikigaya Hachiman sees through the situation clearly.
The Kamo Clan simply wants a monstrous existence like Gojo Satoru of the Gojo Clan.
And Hikigaya Hachiman is their Gojo Satoru of the Kamo Clan in their eyes, the savior who can rescue the Kamo Clan from its decline.
"As soon as Brother comes home, Kamakura hides in the cage and won't come out."
Komachi Hikigaya felt helpless seeing the gray, black, and white cat hiding in its cage, refusing to come out.
Animals are naturally more sensitive than humans. When the cat sensed the great terror nearby, it naturally didn't dare show its head, curling up and trembling inside the cage.
This result is due to Hikigaya Hachiman not being able to control his power very well. This is also why the first impression he gives people is like a drawn, sharp sword, inspiring awe and fear.
"How about now?"
Hikigaya Hachiman reached into the cage to grab Kamakura. The trembling cat no longer resisted and obediently allowed itself to be picked up.
He had merely concealed the power around him, a technique he created after being inspired by the Cursed Technique used by Suguru Geto that afternoon.
"Such a good boy."
Hikigaya Hachiman rubbed the cat's chin.
There were no such docile creatures in the Warhammer world. He is a cat person, but he doesn't dislike dogs; he just doesn't like them as much as cats.
"Alright, I'm going to cook."
Hikigaya Hachiman handed Kamakura to Komachi. Cooking is one of the few stress-relieving activities for him.
Hikigaya Hachiman's movements were very skilled, and soon, four dishes and one soup for the two siblings were ready.
The television was broadcasting the news, reporting events like gas pipeline leaks causing explosions here and there, or factory collapses.
"There's so much news like this."
Komachi Hikigaya snatched the remote control and switched to the comedy variety show she usually watched.
"Hmm, that's why you generally shouldn't go out at night."
Hikigaya Hachiman cautioned Komachi Hikigaya, "Even if you want to go out, you must have them accompany you."
Thanks to the Kamo Clan's intelligence network, Hikigaya Hachiman knew that these so-called explosions caused by old gas pipelines were actually incidents of Curse Spirit attacks.
High-grade Curse Spirits can cause powerful destruction, sometimes altering the very terrain in the process of eliminating them.
"Don't talk about that, Brother, come watch the variety show with me.
This comedian Takaba seems to be new."
Seeing Komachi's expression, she clearly hadn't taken his warning to heart, and Hikigaya Hachiman could only shake his head.
"Remember to do your homework."
"Onii-chan is so annoying!"
The siblings watched a variety show for a while. Then, Hikigaya Hachiman helped his sister with her homework. Before long, their parents also returned.
Hikigaya Hachiman checked the time and said to Komachi, "Komachi, I should probably go now."
"Aww, Brother, stay a little longer."
Hikigaya Hachiman only lightly tapped his sister's forehead with his finger.
"Next time."
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Even as early summer approached, the nights on the streets of Tokyo still had a slight chill.
Hikigaya Hachiman rode his bicycle back to Minato Ward. Since Shuchiin Academy is in Minato Ward, he bought an apartment there for convenience commuting to and from school.
Hikigaya Hachiman's home is on the twenty-fourth floor of this luxury apartment building. He parked his bicycle in the nearby bike shed.
One must scan their ID card to enter the apartment building. Just as Hikigaya Hachiman stepped into the elevator, he heard footsteps behind him.
Out of courtesy, Hikigaya Hachiman held the elevator door open.
The result was Hikigaya Hachiman seeing a black-haired girl, also wearing the Shuchiin Academy uniform, walk in.
The other party was equally surprised, and after recovering, immediately expressed her thanks to Hikigaya Hachiman.
"Thank you, Hikigaya-kun."
"You're welcome, Yukinoshita-san."