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Natsuya Yoruhana firmly pursed her lips and remained silent.
Seiji racked his brain upon seeing her expression.
“Oh, that blondie.” He finally managed to remember him.
Takao Yamamoto was the name of that blondie whose ability to have children was crushed by him. He hadn’t even bothered remembering the name of that worthless scum.
“That guy disappeared? What’s going on?”
Although his injuries were extremely serious, it wouldn’t be something so easily cured, would it? Seiji wasn’t very familiar with this world’s medical capabilities, but he found it difficult to believe that blondie would be able to get out of the hospital so quickly.
“He left the hospital, and neither his family nor the police have been able to locate him. Normally speaking, he shouldn’t even be able to walk with his injuries.” Natsuya said lightly.
“That does sound strange… are you worried that he’ll come seeking revenge on Mika or me? Is that why you’re letting me know?”
Natsuya Yoruhana remained silent for a few seconds.
“This is one reason, but… actually it doesn’t have much to do with you guys anymore.” She sighed as something glittered in her eyes; it seemed like she had just made an important decision.
“Seiji Haruta,” she formally said his real name out loud, “how much do you know about ‘Yin Yang masters’?”
Yin Yang Master? (TL note: this is one of the top-ranked most popular cell phone games in Asia.)
That game doesn’t have legendaries at all!
He suddenly remembered his inability to discover any legendary creatures in that game during his past life, and Seiji almost felt like covering his face.
“Haruta-kun?” The perceptive Natsuya noticed the slight change in Seiji’s expression.
“Ah… nothing… you said ‘Yin Yang masters,’ right? Did I hear correctly?”
Natsuya nodded.
“About that… I can only think of what I’ve heard before in games and manga; are you asking about that?” Seiji was doubtful.
“Of course not.” Natsuya Yoruhana folded her arms with a serious expression on her face, “I’m asking how much do you know about real-life ‘Yin Yang masters’ that exist among us?”
The atmosphere changed.
Seiji furrowed his eyebrows.
In reality, he expected that something like this might happen when he had first learned about the history of this world.
The original Seiji’s memories also had some portions which were hazy and even mysterious.
But he didn’t expect that such a thing would appear in front of him so quickly.
He finished his tea and set the cup down.
“Do Yin Yang masters… really exist?”
“If you’re asking that question, it seems that you know nothing about this subject.” Natsuya Yoruhana continued to stare directly at Seiji’s face: “Even though you’re from the Haruta family, you know absolutely nothing about this subject?”
Seiji remained silent for a while.
“Honestly, I do have some strange inexplicable childhood memories, but that was a long time ago, and I might have been mistaken since I was only a child.”
“So that’s how it is… I suppose it’s only natural you would think that way. As far as I’m aware of, you were considered to have no talent, so you were never taught about it.”
Natsuya relaxed slightly and blinked.
“Yin Yang masters really do exist.”
She reached out her hand as she spoke, and the kodachi on the table suddenly began shaking and flew into her hand!
“Just like the ones you’ve read about in mangas and seen in animes, we conceal our existence from society, and we have the ability to control spirits to use various powers. But unlike those fantasies, us modern Yin Yang masters fight mainly against humans, not demons. Nor do we do anything like protect the balance of Yin and Yang or defend humanity. Instead, we use our powers for personal benefits, and protect our status in society.”
Seiji took his eyes off the kodachi that mysteriously flew to her hand, thinking that he had finally understood why she carried that around.
“It sounds… realistic.”
“Yes, we’re realists; it’s not romantic at all.” Natsuya smiled as she let go of the kodachi.
Before the kodachi dropped to the floor, it paused in midair as if something invisible was grabbing it and began flying again, while leaving a faint red trail that condensed into a mysterious marking.
“We choose to conceal ourselves from society, as this will maximize the benefits that we can obtain from our power in addition to minimizing the number of threats we face. Ordinary people that don’t know the existence of Yin Yang masters are easier to manipulate. And, of course, an existence that isn’t recognized to exist can’t be judged by the law. Therefore, the number one rule that we Yin Yang masters abide by is to conceal ourselves from society. Any information that exposes us will be instantly destroyed, distorted, or smoothed over, no matter where it comes from. Those that intentionally try to expose us to the public will face the full force of our retribution.”
Seiji nodded in understanding.
In some of the mangas he had read in the past, main or side characters with superpowers would always conceal their identity for some contrived ridiculous reasons. But in the real world, people concealed their identities for a simple, realistic reason—personal benefit.
Compared to being exposed to the public eye, it was much more advantageous to remain hidden—that was all there was to it.
“Do you feel like your fantasies are being destroyed?” Natsuya asked.
“No, I just feel like… this is how reality is.” Seiji shrugged.
“Even though you’re just an otaku.”
“It’s exactly because I’m an otaku.”
Natsuya and Seiji glanced at each other for a moment, before both of them broke out into laughter.
“What of it? Yin Yang masters exist, and they’re a secret society that uses their abilities to maintain their own status and authority like bastards, but so what? For those of lower social status, just about everyone in the higher echelons are considered bastards—what’s the difference between the ones at the top?”
“You have a magnificent ability to see through things, Haruta-kun.”
Natsuya summoned the kodachi that was twirling around in midair back to her hand, and those reddish rune markings faded away.
“As for normal people, maybe they will just resolve things normally. But as for us… since we aren’t bound by the law, disputes between us aren’t settled by the law either… we aren’t able to use normal ways to decide things.”
Seiji raised his eyebrows.
“Then, how do you settle things?”
“Duels between Yin Yang masters.” Natsuya said in a calm voice.
However, her eyes indicated that she wasn’t as calm as she appeared on the surface.
“Under certain rules that we Yin Yang masters abide by, we will duel with each other in order to determine a winner.”
“So… it’s like an all-or-nothing gamble?”
“That’s right, and just like I said earlier, Takao Yamamoto’s disappearance might be the beginning of a new duel—a duel involving me as one of the Yin Yang masters.”
Seiji felt a chill. Duel… this word sounded rather barbaric when used in real life.
“…Why?”
“As I mentioned previously, Takao Yamamoto’s injuries shouldn’t have allowed him to be up and about already, but he disappeared… only one security camera captured his back as he was walking by himself.” Natsuya continued to explain the details of what had happened. “It’s quite obvious that a Yin Yang master has intervened. Takao Yamamoto was under the control of a Yin Yang master rather than walking off using his own power. He’s a hoodlum scumbag with a strong grudge against me, as well as a former student of Genhana High School. I can only imagine that someone must be targeting me by using a Yin Yang master to take him away.”
Natsuya sighed deeply.
“This is my problem. Originally it shouldn’t have had anything to do with you, but… Haruta-kun, you’re also from a Yin Yang master family, not to mention one of the ‘seven major families’—a collection of the oldest and strongest Yin Yang master families. One of your family’s ancestors is the strongest Yin Yang master in Sakura Island’s history that even ordinary folk know about—Seimei Kamijou!”
Seiji was astounded.
What the hell was this situation?
Seimei Kamijou? Is that the Seimei Abe of this world!?
“Since the family name of ‘Kamijou’ was renowned to the extent that anyone with the name was considered to have mystical powers, your family decided at some point in time to change their last name to ‘Haruta,’ and only the strongest Yin Yang masters within the family are allowed to use the true family name of Kamijou.”
Seiji had no clue what his expression was anymore.
“Even though you were already kicked out of your family, you’re still a ‘Haruta,’ and you have a direct connection with this case, so I think there’s a chance you may end up getting involved in this again somehow.” Natsuya showed an apologetic expression. “Haruta-kun, I admit that when I helped you transfer schools here, I thought about my personal benefit, but I never expected such a thing to happen. I must truly apologize.”
Natsuya Yoruhana bowed deeply towards Seiji.
“Please be on guard from now on, and contact me if you notice anything strange happen around you. I’ll also arrange some protection around you and try my very best to not let you accidentally come to any harm.”
Seiji finally returned to his senses and looked at this young lady who was lowering her head towards him.
“Don’t be like that, President. Even if they’re targeting you, I have a connection with this incident as well, so I’m not exactly innocent, am I?” He smiled gently. “I was the one who severely injured that guy, so if he transforms into something strange and comes looking for revenge, I’ll face him head on.”
Seiji said it with such confidence mainly because he had the ultimate cheat that could take care of any situation.
He had the ability to save and load repeatedly! If they truly had any ability, then bring it on!
When Natsuya Yoruhana heard his confidence, it seemed like he had enough courage and resolve to face anything head on!
“Seiji Haruta…” She slowly stood up with a smile of relief: “…Thank you.”