Chapter 112: Ursula Y Ddraig

The Tohsaka family once possessed a fortune even larger than that of the Yukinoshita family. However, due to the sudden death of the family head and the lack of a capable heir, the entire family lost its direction, and the family assets were gradually squandered.

At this time, it is said that the head of the Takamine family, who had been on good terms with the Tohsaka family head, appeared and helped the Tohsaka family overcome their difficulties.

However, as a condition, the Takamine family also used this opportunity to arrange a marriage between the eldest daughter of the Tohsaka family and the third son of the Takamine family.

Anyone could see that the Takamine family wanted to gradually swallow up the Tohsaka family. However, it was indeed a fact that the Takamine family had helped the Tohsaka family, so Yukinoshita Haruno couldn't say much about it.

But the third son of the Takamine family was a good-for-nothing from a prominent family, and she was worried that Tohsaka Touka would be bullied in the Takamine family if she married such a person.

'Touka is so outstanding; if they must arrange a marriage, they should at least find someone equally outstanding. Why does she have to marry that good-for-nothing?'

"I've thought it over. Actually, it doesn't matter who I marry. If it can help my mother escape her hardships, that's enough," However, Tohsaka Touka just looked up at the night sky, her expression somewhat melancholy.

In fact, for her, marrying anyone from the Takamine family was the same—they were all strangers she had no feelings for and had barely met.

The marriage alliance with the Takamine family was merely to fulfill the promise made when the Takamine family helped the Tohsaka family through their difficulties.

Once the promise was fulfilled, she should be able to gradually take over the burdens her mother had been carrying.

Because her father passed away early, her gentle and virtuous mother had to take on the family's responsibilities.

She often saw her mother struggling to maintain the family business, and with her two younger sisters still young, she was the only one in the family who could help her mother share the burden and personally rescue her from her hardships.

"If you really want to help your mother, you should choose a stronger marriage alliance. You have a strong personality, and it's not wrong to want to help your mother through your own efforts. But since you've already chosen a marriage alliance, not using the Takamine family's resources would be a waste. The Takamine family doesn't have good intentions toward your family either," Seeing Tohsaka Touka's calm yet stubborn demeanor, Yukinoshita Haruno couldn't help but feel somewhat helpless, lamenting her stubbornness.

Touka's personality is really just like her sister Yukino's.

Perhaps it was precisely because Touka was so similar to her sister Yukino that she took the initiative to interact with the aloof Touka, and their private relationship became so close.

However, in reality, all she could do was offer advice to Tohsaka Touka; she couldn't provide any substantial help.

She couldn't even control her own fate, let alone help someone else break free from their family's constraints.

In the end, the Tohsaka family only had three daughters. Once they considered marriage alliances, they would inevitably be gradually swallowed up by the other prominent families, unless they could find a highly capable husband to marry into the family, allowing the Tohsaka family to retain their fortune.

"Haruno, you don't need to worry about me," Seeing Yukinoshita Haruno so worried about her, Tohsaka Touka felt a warmth in her heart and softly comforted her, "Although I'm not very familiar with the third son of the Takamine family, I've met him a few times. Compared to the eldest daughter of the Rurikawa family, who was forced to yield due to being targeted by the Poiman family, I guess my situation is still somewhat better."

"The Rurikawa family...", Yukinoshita Haruno was somewhat puzzled as to why Tohsaka Touka was paying attention to the affairs of the Rurikawa and Poiman families, but following Touka's gaze, she quickly spotted the eldest daughter of the Rurikawa family in the crowd.

Rurikawa Tsubaki, with her chestnut-brown shoulder-length hair, delicate features, a slender waist, and an elegant, cold demeanor.

"It seems the Rurikawa family can't hold on much longer. I wonder if the Poiman family will ease up after dealing with the Rurikawa family," Yukinoshita Haruno couldn't help but softly sigh as she watched Rurikawa Tsubaki appear here with an expressionless face.

The circle of the wealthy and powerful is small. While Yukinoshita Haruno didn't know much about Tokyo, she was familiar with most of the active socialites in the Chiba area.

As a former noble family now in decline, she had naturally heard of the Rurikawa family. The eldest daughter, Rurikawa Tsubaki, was also studying at Sobu High School and seemed to be serving as the vice president of the student council.

In fact, the Rurikawa family's situation was very similar to that of the Tohsaka family in the past. However, no one came to help the Rurikawa family through their difficulties, and it seemed that for some reason, they had been targeted by the Poiman family, bringing them to the brink of bankruptcy.

Now that the sole heir of the Rurikawa family appeared at a Poiman family gathering, was she preparing to yield to the Poiman family...?

Yukinoshita Haruno pondered, though there was not much surprise in her eyes.

If the Poiman family, currently at the height of their power, truly wanted to destroy the already declining Rurikawa family, they would have done so long ago. The fact that the Rurikawa family had held on for so long was likely because the Poiman family was pressuring them to voluntarily submit.

After all, if they forced the other family to ruin, where would the Poiman family expand in the future? The local families might unite to resist the Poiman family.

"Rurikawa has been taken away," Tohsaka Touka watched as Rurikawa Tsubaki was led by a Poiman family maid deeper into the mansion and couldn't help but sigh softly.

If she didn't fulfill the previous marriage agreement, she would probably end up like the Rurikawa family, being attacked by the enraged Takamine family using all their resources and connections.

Although the Takamine family wasn't as powerful as the Poiman family, the Tohsaka family wasn't strong either.

To ensure her mother's efforts weren't in vain, to prevent her mother from being heartbroken...

She had to protect the Tohsaka family's fortune...

"Touka...", Yukinoshita Haruno could only shake her head in silence. Touka's personality was similar to Yukino's, but in terms of circumstances, she was more like herself.

Perhaps, when she grew older, she would also have to consider a marriage alliance.

Unless she could find someone she liked who also had sufficient strength, she would have to face a husband who was practically a stranger, just like Touka.

But fortunately, with her taking on the family's marriage alliance, Yukino wouldn't have to face these pressures. Otherwise, Yukino might also show the same vulnerable expression as Touka.

———

"Miss Rurikawa, the head of the Poiman family wishes to see you. Please follow me."

"Yes, lead the way. Shion, wait here for me."

"Understood, miss."

After speaking to her maid, Shion, Rurikawa Tsubaki left the bustling crowd and followed the maid with a calm expression, heading toward the location of the Poiman family head.

Tomorrow was the final deadline set by the Poiman family. However, if she didn't attend the Poiman family's gathering tonight, the Rurikawa family would likely suffer even greater losses tomorrow, forcing her to make the "right" choice.

She had pondered and thought hard all day, reaching out to many former connections in an attempt to find a solution, but after the family's decline, those connections were no longer useful. In the end, she still hadn't found a way to resolve the family's current predicament.

The Rurikawa family was too weak, unable to offer sufficient rewards to entice anyone to help. After all, helping the Rurikawa family would mean facing the Poiman family's attacks, and without enough benefits, no one would take the risk.

"Miss Rurikawa, we've arrived. The family head is in the study," The maid suddenly stopped, bowed to Rurikawa Tsubaki, gave her a sympathetic look, and then turned to leave.

The Poiman family head's strategy to suppress the Rurikawa family was something even the maids who served him daily had heard about. While the outside world speculated that it was to seize the large piece of land and the Shion estate owned by the Rurikawa family, they believed the Poiman family head was after Rurikawa Tsubaki herself.

"...", Rurikawa Tsubaki watched the departing maid, then turned back to look at the tightly closed door. She took a deep breath and slowly pushed the door open.

At this point, overthinking was useless.

It was better to yield to the Poiman family early and have them stop their attacks.

Rurikawa Tsubaki had already resolved to sacrifice herself for the sake of her family.

However, as soon as the determined Rurikawa Tsubaki entered the study, she was met with a scene that left her utterly shocked.

A tall man was lying prostrate on the study's carpet. If she remembered correctly, this figure... should be the Poiman family head who had ordered the suppression of her family.

And sitting in the chair that should have been occupied by the Poiman family head was a petite silver-haired girl.

"This...", Rurikawa Tsubaki stared blankly at the bizarre scene.

Was this some kind of prank? Or was it a test of her ability to handle unexpected situations?

She had thought the Poiman family head had some ulterior motive toward her, but now she was completely confused about what was happening.

"You're quite close to Hachiman, right? Call him over here, and as a reward, I'll deal with the guy on the floor and make sure he doesn't bother you anymore," The silver-haired girl, who had been sitting with her legs crossed on the desk, suddenly stood up and walked over to Rurikawa Tsubaki, smiling as she spoke.

"Hikigaya-kun?", Rurikawa Tsubaki's mind went blank. Did she hear correctly? Was this little girl looking for Kaede's childhood friend, Hachiman?

But how could Hachiman be connected to the Poiman family? Wasn't he just an ordinary person?

As the silver-haired girl approached, Rurikawa Tsubaki noticed that she looked somewhat familiar.

A petite figure, silver-gray disheveled hair, curved horns protruding from her head, and a tail swaying behind her...

"You... you're Ursula?"

Rurikawa Tsubaki looked at the silver-haired girl in front of her with great surprise.

Ursula Y Ddraig, the dragon transfer student.

As the vice president, Rurikawa Tsubaki had a deep impression of the transfer students from another world who had come to Soubu High School. She hadn't noticed earlier due to the distance, but now that she saw the distinctive features, she immediately recognized her.

Seeing that Rurikawa Tsubaki had recognized her, the dragon girl Ursula stuck out her pink tongue to lick her lips and urged Rurikawa Tsubaki, "Since you know who I am, hurry up and call Hachiman. I have something important to discuss with him."

Hikigaya-kun? Ursula?

How could he be connected to a transfer student from another world? There was no sign of it at all in daily life?

The day's events had been so unexpected that Rurikawa Tsubaki, who had already resolved to sacrifice herself for her family, was completely bewildered.

"Do you have any objections? If you don't want to be threatened by the guy on the floor, just obediently call Hachiman for me," Seeing the human female still standing there dumbfounded, Ursula couldn't help but pout.

"Don't worry, I won't harm Hachiman. His safety is crucial to a major plan of my race. I'm more concerned about protecting him," As the leader of the dragon race, she had transformed into a human and followed the elves and mermaids, these weaker races, to the human world as a student, not to play around.

The previous great war had cost her race many of their kin, and they needed to increase their numbers quickly.

However, what they wanted was not an ordinary male. The dragon race was powerful, so they needed a strong male who could impregnate all their members.

At the very least, he had to be capable of assisting multiple elves at the same time.

This was also why she had followed the elf princess Iris here.

Well... though a small part of it was also because she didn't want to deal with the responsibilities of being the leader and wanted to enjoy a happy life here for a while.

"Well, I'm not very close to Hikigaya-kun. We hardly ever contact each other privately, and it's so late now. If I suddenly call him, he probably won't come out...", Looking at the suspicious silver-haired dragon girl Ursula, Rurikawa Tsubaki hesitated for a moment and explained softly.

Although she also wanted to solve the Rurikawa family's problems, this dragon transfer student Ursula wasn't contacting Hikigaya-kun directly but instead went through such a roundabout way to have her call him. It was clear there was something fishy going on.

She couldn't let an innocent person get involved because of her.

"Whether you're close or not isn't for you to decide," Seeing that Rurikawa Tsubaki was suspicious of her and unwilling to help, Ursula didn't bother wasting time and rolled her eyes before turning to leave.

"Huh?", Seeing Ursula not following the usual script and just leaving, Rurikawa Tsubaki was momentarily stunned.

Was she really mistaken? Was Ursula not going to force her if she refused?

But she soon realized she was overthinking it.

Rurikawa Tsubaki suddenly felt her body move on its own. Her hands reached into her pockets, took out her phone, unlocked it, and opened her contact list.

She watched helplessly as her hands uncontrollably searched for Hachiman's name in her contacts and dialed the number she had saved but never called.

"I wanted to negotiate with you properly, but since you're not sincere, don't blame me for being rude," Ursula leisurely sat back in the chair, crossed her slender legs on the table, and comfortably waited for Hachiman to come to her.

In fact, she had already noticed Hachiman. The elf princess, in her breeding season, had been conducting frequent "assistance" activities. How could she not notice?

Perhaps ordinary people couldn't detect the strange behavior of the elf princess, but the scent of mating emanating from her was unmistakable to Ursula. Even if they used cleansing magic, they couldn't hide the scent of male life energy radiating from them.

Not only could she track Hachiman through that scent, but even the gossip about the elf princess and Hachiman being close recently made it clear who the elf princess's "assistant" was.

However, the elf princess and her guards were keeping a close watch, and she hadn't had a chance to act at school. She also felt that there were other powerful beings hiding at the school, so she couldn't just start a fight.

Coincidentally, she saw the Poiman family head coming to school to find Rurikawa Tsubaki, so she took a roundabout way to have Rurikawa Tsubaki call Hachiman out.

'At this time, those two elves probably wouldn't be so tightly guarding Hachiman, right?'

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