Read Novel Full Vol 19 Chapter 2 Part 1
Vol 19 Chapter 2 Part 1
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Chapter 2 – Apology
Part 1
When Teruyoshi summoned Yuzuki, she immediately headed for the great hall.
“…Father, Yuzuki is here.”
“You’ve come.”
Teruyoshi addressed her in his usual cold tone.
Knowing this was to be expected, Yuzuki bowed her head silently.
Then, Teruyoshi suddenly announced,
“You will spend this year’s New Year’s holiday at the Kagurazaka residence.”
“Huh?”
Caught off guard by his unexpected words, Yuzuki repeated the question.
But Teruyoshi paid no heed to her reaction, continuing in a matter-of-fact tone.
“I have long wished to deepen our ties with the Kagurazaka family. I intend to use this opportunity to strengthen our relationship with them. I hear they have a daughter your age. Having said this much, you understand what your role is, right?”
“…Yes.”
Faced with Teruyoshi’s uncompromising question, Yuzuki quietly nodded.
Yuzuki’s role was clear.
She was to become intimate with the Kagurazaka daughter and guide her into the Komyoin family.
Despite her mother being a succubus and her own powers being sealed, Yuzuki possessed talent for influencing others’ thoughts and inducing simple hypnotic states.
Moreover, setting aside her abilities, Yuzuki’s sorcery was formidable; most people found it difficult to escape her spells.
“Well, we’re dealing with the Kagurazaka family. From what I’ve heard, their daughter is quite talented. Therefore, if your sorcery alone proves insufficient to draw her into the Komyoin family, you may use your succubus powers. But, naturally, I won’t tolerate any failures that reveal your true nature.”
“Understood.”
“Hmph… Very well then. Before you head to the Kagurazaka residence, I will adjust the seal on your succubus powers. Remember… Do not disappoint me.”
“Understood.”
Yuzuki bowed deeply, and Teruyoshi left.
＊＊＊
I was startled by the unexpected visitors, Youta and Sora. However, seeing their serious expressions, I decided to invite them in.
Lexia-san and the others were considerate and cleared a room so that Youta, Sora, and I could talk alone.
“I-I guess all sorts of people have started living here without me realizing it…”
“…Yeah. So? What brings you here?”
Considering not only the Red Ogre incident but also all the bullying I’d endured from them before, I asked this while bracing myself slightly. Their bodies stiffened.
Then…
“”We’re sorry!””
“!”
They knelt down and bowed deeply, apologizing to me.
“Back then—no, all this time—we’re really, really sorry!”
“We’ve done so many terrible things. We’re sorry!”
I was stunned, never expecting them to bow like that. But from their voices and expressions, I could tell they were sincere.
“Of course, we don’t expect you to forgive us, and we know this apology is just for our own satisfaction.”
“But even so, we just had to apologize. We’re truly, truly sorry.”
“…”
The two of them apologized earnestly, tears streaming down their faces.
Honestly, considering everything they’d done to me up until now, I couldn’t just forgive them so easily just because they apologized.
Above all, the Red Ogre incident caused major trouble for not just me, but Kaori and everyone at Ousei Academy, too.
But…
“──It’s fine.”
“Huh?”
My words made their eyes widen.
“You’re reflecting on it, right?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Then it’s fine.”
I smiled as I said that.
I didn’t know the full story, but I could easily imagine how much they must have suffered after the incident.
They probably faced anger and disapproval from many people. They must have gone through a lot of hardship.
But precisely because of that, if they were sincerely apologizing to me, I wanted to forgive them.
When they heard my words, they looked stunned at first, as if they couldn’t comprehend it. But as they gradually understood, tears welled up in their eyes.
“Ni-Nii-san…”
“Waaaaaah! I’m so sorry!”
And just like that, they burst into tears.
…I’d been through a lot with these two, but seeing them apologize like this and truly acknowledge me as their brother made me genuinely happy.
After they calmed down, I made sure to tell them one thing clearly.
“Youta and Sora, I know you understand, but you also need to apologize properly to Kaori and the people at Ousei Academy for the trouble you caused during that incident.”
“Yeah…”
“But… will they even see us?”
“I’ll talk to Kaori myself, and I’ll help you with the others, too.”
“Nii-san…”
“Thank you.”
Upon hearing my words, both of them expressed their gratitude, their eyes glistening.
“Speaking of which, how have you two been lately?”
“Um… Right now, we’re just doing our best with what we can manage. After what we did, we don’t know what will happen with our future studies.”
“I see…”
Indeed, that incident would likely be a major obstacle to their future education.
However, Youta and Sora seem to have accepted it and are moving forward.
“More importantly, how are you, Onii-chan? Are you enjoying yourself now?”
“Yeah, I’ve met great people and I’m having a really good time.”
When I said that, they both smiled gently.
Then, as if suddenly noticing something, Youta asked,
“Come to think of it, there were a lot of people I didn’t know. What’s your relationship with them?”
“Oh, yeah! Most of them seemed to be foreigners. And above all, they were all women, right!?”
“Also, do you have pets? I’ve been hearing dog and cat sounds coming from over there for a while now.”
“Uh, well…”
Faced with their barrage of questions, I didn’t know how to respond.
Explaining Night and the others was easy—they were just pets. But how could I explain Lexia-san and the others? That would be incredibly difficult.
Most importantly, there was no way I could tell them that we actually lived together under the same roof.
“Um, well, they’re classmates and juniors from school.”
“Is that so?”
“But when I saw them earlier, they seemed to be relaxing like it was their own home…”
“And isn’t it strange that they’re all women?”
There were a lot of women around me, but even I couldn’t explain this one.
As I muddled through my explanation, trying to gloss over things, Sora suddenly changed the subject.
“Come to think of it, Onii-chan, you really seem different lately. What happened?”
“Hmmm… Maybe dieting?”
“No way! That’s impossible!”
I thought so too.
Still, I couldn’t exactly tell them about the other world.
As I gave an ambiguous smile, Youta continued.
“Um… Did you get plastic surgery or something?”
“Nope, not that.”
“Well, yeah. I can’t imagine anyone changing their entire body, let alone their face, that much in such a short time.”
“But that’s the same with dieting, right? What really happened…?“
“Ahahaha…”
I was in for a tough time dealing with the two of them, who seemed utterly fascinated.
And so, though awkwardly at first, the tension between us gradually melted away. Before I knew it, I was having a genuinely enjoyable conversation with them for the first time.
As we chatted cheerfully, Sora suddenly said,
“Hey! About this year’s New Year’s holiday, are you coming back to our family home?”
“Sora!”
“Ah… S-sorry…”
“No, it’s fine.”
Youta scolded Sora, who stiffened.
Still… family home, huh…
Recalling the days I’d spent there, a sharp pang hurt deep in my chest.
I had almost no happy memories from that place.
For Sora, it was probably a gesture of goodwill, hoping that I could spend the holidays with them, too.
But I had no good memories of that family, or of my parents.
That must be why Youta reacted so strongly to Sora’s words.
Hmm…
“…Sorry. I’m happy about how you two feel, but I’m not comfortable going to our parents’ house.”
“Y-yeah, I guess… Sorry.”
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. Thanks for inviting me, but… Are Dad and Mom doing okay?”
When I asked, Youta and Sora both looked downcast.
“Y-yeah.”
“Huh? Did something happen?”
Seeing their expressions, I couldn’t help but ask, and Sora answered.
“Well… Lately, they’ve been acting weird.”
“Huh?”
“Like they’re constantly in a bad mood. Of course, I understand that they’re angry because of what we did…”
“But it doesn’t seem like they’re worried about the incident we caused. It’s more like they’re just being harsh with us all the time.”
“They never used to be like that. Maybe they got stricter because of the incident, but it feels like their personalities have changed.”
“Yeah, it just feels like something’s off about them.”
“That’s…”
What could it be?
Honestly, I was not close enough to them to really know how they’re doing. Even after hearing what they said, I couldn’t say much.
Still, if Youta and Sora, who live with them, said that, then it was possible that something had changed with our parents mentally.
Above all, they were always so lenient with Youta and Sora…
“Well, forget about home! Tell me about you instead, Onii-chan!”
“Y-yeah.”
The atmosphere became awkward again, but we changed the subject and continued talking.
And then…
“We shouldn’t stay too long. We should head home soon.”
As Youta and Sora got ready to leave, I went to the entrance to see them off.
Then, Youta and Sora started looking fidgety.
“Hm? Is something wrong?”
“Um, well, that is…”
They hesitated for a moment but finally spoke up.
“Th-that is, can we come over again?”
I hadn’t expected to hear that, so I couldn’t help but widen my eyes before breaking into a smile.
“Of course! Come visit again anytime.”
When I said that, their faces lit up.
“Really? Thank you!”
“Well then, we’ll come visit again!”
“Yeah. Take care, both of you.”
And so, unlike when they arrived at the house, they left in high spirits.
I watched them quietly.
“I’m glad I made up with them…”
I murmured, feeling unexpectedly melancholy. Suddenly, Kuuya-san appeared.
“Huh? Kuuya-san?”
“…”
He stared intently at the entrance where the two had left, a serious expression on his face.
“Um… Is something wrong?”
I asked without thinking. Kuuya-san opened his mouth.
“…It’s the presence of a demon.”
“Huh!?”
I widened my eyes at his unexpected words.
“The presence of a demon… You mean from those two!?”
“That is correct.”
“I didn’t sense anything, though…”
“It was concealed quite skillfully, and the trace was extremely faint. However, judging from their earlier behavior, it seems more likely that someone close to them is possessed than that they themselves are.”
“Someone close to them? Who could it be?”
Just as I was about to say that, I realized something.
“Could it be… Dad and Mom!?”
I didn’t know the details, but if Youta and Sora were right, could their strange behavior lately be related to this?
And if Kuuya-san’s words about the demonic aura were true…!
I rushed out of the house in a panic and chased after Youta and Sora, who were walking home.
“Youta, Sora!”
“Hm?”
“Onii-chan? What’s wrong?”
They tilted their heads at my sudden appearance.
“I’m going back to our parents’ place.”
“Huh?”
“Back to our parents’ place? Wait, are you coming?”
I nodded at their surprised expressions.
“Yeah, I’m thinking of going back to visit family for the New Year holidays.”
“W-well, we’re happy about that, but…”
“Are you sure? You’re not pushing yourself too hard?”
I smiled at the two of them, who looked worried.
“I’m fine. I’ve been thinking it’s time I talk to Dad and Mom about things.”
When I said that, they looked at each other and smiled.
“Got it! We’ll be waiting for you then!”
After waving goodbye, I finally saw them off. Returning home, I turned my attention back to Kuuya-san.
“I’m going to check on my parents at my family home this time.”
“I see. In that case, I’ll come with you.”
“Eh, really? That’s… reassuring, but…”
I looked at Kuuya-san, surprised by the unexpected words, and he nodded.
“I can’t just let demons possess my descendants.”
“Thank you!”
With Kuuya-san coming with me, I wouldn’t have to worry about the demons.
And so, I decided to spend the New Year holiday at my parents’ house.
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