Chapter 364: A Lack of Common Sense

In a Western-style restaurant in Shibuya, Rinji and Karura were having lunch with her family.

In addition to her parents, Karura's younger brother was also there.

His name was Kure Sarla, a middle school boy.

"Brother-in-law, you're amazing—snatching my sister from that 'mentally ill great-granddaughter-obsessed old freak'," he said while sipping his drink.

"Ah, you flatter me, little brother. It was nothing."

Rinji smiled back at Sarla.

Despite being a middle schooler, as a member of the Kure clan, Sarla was already an independent assassin.

A whole family—or rather, a whole clan of assassins. That was pretty rare.

"I heard about you before, brother-in-law," Sarla grinned. "The first time I heard your name was four years ago. Apparently, you held off our entire clan by yourself until Great-Grandpa canceled the order."

"That was ages ago. I was just a clueless brat back then. Honestly, the conflict with your clan was more like a small scuffle."

It really was a small scuffle. None of the Kure clan members who had come to kill Rinji back then died—all thanks to his bet with Fusui.

"So, little brother, you satisfied with your brother-in-law?"

"Of course! You're strong, and more importantly—rich."

"Hahaha, good taste."

Yakusha, elegantly cutting her steak in her lavender kimono, smiled. "Rinji, are you free during winter break?"

"Of course."

Winter break in Japanese schools usually starts just before Christmas and runs through January.

Even though Japan doesn't observe Chinese New Year, Rinji didn't care. When the time came, he would definitely go home to celebrate.

That meant Rinji's winter break would begin with the school holiday and last until February.

"If you're free during winter break, you should visit the base of the Kure clan," Yakusha said with a smile. "You're Karura's boyfriend, after all. It's about time you came to visit."

"Of course, no problem. I'll come as soon as the break starts…"

"Oh right—just be careful once you're there."

"Hm?"

Seeing the confusion on Rinji's face, Yakusha's smile deepened. Her eyes, usually squinted, opened slightly to reveal black sclera.

"You know, no matter how normal they seem, Kure clan women have absolutely no resistance to strong men. A handsome, powerful, and young guy like you… well, once you step foot in the base, don't be surprised if a whole group of women start plotting things."

"…Huh?"

"Getting night-raided a dozen times a night is a common thing."

"Wait…"

"Better bring some stamina pills before you go, or you might not survive~"

"Hold on, I'm already Karura's boyfriend! We're going to get married! Knowing that, would they really still make a move?!"

"They won't care about things like that."

"…Just how broken are your clan's ethics?"

Rinji rubbed his temples, starting to reconsider the idea of visiting the Kure clan's base.

But speaking of their base…

"I remember your clan's base is pretty far from Tokyo, right?"

"Yeah, it's near Kyoto."

"Kyoto, huh…"

That's where the main house of the Shinomiya family was.

If he went there, there'd probably be a conflict with them. And whether someone would die… well, who knew?

When it came to the Shinomiya family, Rinji wasn't always good at suppressing his killing intent.

He glanced at Karura, who was leaning on him, and asked, "By the way, Karura, you attend high school in Tokyo, right?"

"Yup."

"That's good. I thought you were traveling back and forth from Kyoto every time. That'd be a bit far."

"Mine's pretty close, but it's not that convenient for Fusui," she said. "Her university is in Shizuoka, which is a bit far from Tokyo."

"…Why the hell is she so diligent?"

No idea why Fusui would spend hours on the Shinkansen just to come here.

---

"I'm home."

Rinji opened the door and walked into his house.

"Welcome back."

Wearing her maid uniform, Hayasaka was sweeping the floor. The house was already quite clean.

"Karura's not back yet?"

"Nope, she returned to her school. Her parents and brother also went back to Kyoto after lunch." Rinji sat down on the sofa.

"By the way, have you eaten yet?"

"I'm not a kid anymore—I can handle lunch myself," Hayasaka replied. "Though someone here still acts like a kid with no self-control."

"Hm?"

Hayasaka pointed toward the dining table, where Fusui was passed out, next to an empty cup and a wine jar.

"Seriously? You drank the wine I stole from home?"

Rinji walked over, took back the wine jar, and shook the sleeping Fusui with a frown.

"Mmm…"

Fusui slowly opened her eyes, rubbed her tired lids, and saw Rinji.

"Oh, you're back. Did you meet everyone you needed to?"

"Yeah. Including your punchable brother." Rinji sat across from her. "So you really come here all the way from Shizuoka?"

"Yup, I take the Shinkansen from Izu. Moved by my dedication yet?"

"Not at all. Anyway, shouldn't you be heading back? It's Monday tomorrow. Don't you have class?"

"No class in the morning, so I can go back later."

Fusui yawned, then suddenly gave a sly smile.

"Say, Rinji, have you decided which university to apply for?"

"Not yet. I'll just pick something easy and chill."

"Then why not come to mine? We'd be schoolmates."

"Your university…? Eh, sure, whatever."

Most of his current student council friends would scatter after graduation. A few might do internal progression, but that'd include Kaguya and Fujiwara—the very people he didn't really want to deal with.

He wasn't about to follow Shirogane to Stanford either. Going to the US would just mean another bloodbath.

"So which university are you in? I'll consider it."

"Seikai Women's University."

"…Women's university?"

"Yeah."

"For women?"

"Yup."

"Do you enjoy messing with me this much?"