"Mr. Ryuji!"

  As she looked at Ryuji, there was a noticeable sparkle in Kaguya Shinomiya's eyes. She wasn't sure if she simply hadn't noticed it before or if he had bee even more impressive. But now, Ryuji seemed more handsome, more anding.

  People admired strength. Kaguya once believed her father was the most powerful person she knew, but the Ryuji in front of her , even her father had to treat him with caution. How could Kaguya not have a few other thoughts stirring in her heart?

  "Just call me by my name," Ryuji said with a nod and a slight smile.

  This was the famous "Ice Queen" of the Shinomiya family, Kaguya Shinomiya. He was curious how she would act if she dropped that icy demeanor.

  "Then... Ryuji-san!"

  Hearing his words, Kaguya's face lit up. Calling someone by their first name felt intimate, even special.

  Ryuji noticed Gan'an, Kaguya's father, watg their exge with an increasingly pleased expression. This was exactly the oute he had hoped for. But not everyone in the family leased.

  From a distance, Oko watched the se with frustration. If Kaguya really ended up with Ryuji, his own hopes of iing the Shinomiya estate would be all but gone.

  No, he couldn't let that happen. g his fists, he muttered, "Damn it!" Where was Hayasaka Ai? Had she ignored his orders? He had told her explicitly to seduce Ryuji. Did she think he wouldn't take a against the Hayasaka family if she failed?

  Despite his rage, Oko had no choice but to swallow his anger for now. He po front Ai ter, ohis event was over.

  On Ryuji's end, with his heightened senses, he could hear every murmur in the hall, including Shinomiya Oko's curses. Narrowing his eyes, he looked in Oko's dire, realizing that this was the man who had been threatening Ai.

  Yet Ryuji didn't feel the o act himself. This was Ai's enemy. He'd rather let her ha. Sometimes, to grow, one had to front their own demons. Ai, like Mimiko and Nanako, was capable of much more. This was the perfect opportunity to give her some real-world experience.

  Ryuji imagined Oko's rea when Ai iably defied him, and the thought brought a smile to his face.

  Misinterpreting his smile, Kaguya thought Ryuji was smiling at her, and she flushed, l her head to hide her embarrassment. But then she mentally scolded herself — she was the daughter of the Shinomiya family! She couldn't afford to be timid.

  With her eeled, Kaguya looked back at Ryuji, her faposed once more.

  "Ah! Are you the famous sorcerer?" A voiterrupted them. Chika Fujiwara, with her distinctive pink hair, was looking at Ryuji with wide, curious eyes.

  So this was Chika Fujiwara, the so-called "Earth's Problem Child" and Kaguya's friend. Her bubbly personality and notable family backgrou her presence here wasn't surprising.

  Ryuji simply nodded. "Yes, that's me. And you are?"

  "I'm Kaguya's friend, Fujiwara Chika!" Unfazed, Chika reached out her hand for a handshake.

  "Chika! That's—" Kaguya began, about to scold her friend for being too forward. But to her shock, Ryuji reached out and shook Chika's hand, something Kaguya herself hadn't do. She felt a pang of jealousy.

  "Just call me Ryuji, like Kaguya does."

  "Alright, Ryuji-kun!" Chika replied cheerfully.

  Kaguya's eye twitched at how casually Chika addressed him. She had called him "Ryuji-san," yet here was Chika skipping formalities entirely. How had she ever thought bringing this woman along was a good idea?

  Meanwhile, Gan'an looked at the iion with satisfa. He knew Chika and Kaguya were close friends, and if it helped strengthen Ryuji's i in Kaguya, then he had no pints.

  Over to the side, Sonoko Suzuki, atg all of this, whispered to Mei Mei, "Aren't you going to do something about this Sister Mei?"

  "Why should I?" Mei Mei didn't mind Sonoko calling her "sister," given Sonoko's straightforward nature and the decy of the Suzuki family. It was why she had accepted their job offer in the first pce. She liked money, yes, but she wasn't desperate enough to work for just anyone.

  "I mean, don't you like Ryuji-san? Aren't you worried he'll be charmed by other women?"

  Sonoko's idea of romance was simple and traditional. Although she respected Ryuji, she was much more ied in her boyfriend, Makoto Kyogoku, precisely because she believed he cared for her alone.

  "Why would I be worried?" Mei Mei shrugged, uned. "Men like to py. But in the end, a sorcerer's true partner will only be another sorcerer."

  Mei Mei didn't know about Ryuji's ability to grant others sorcerer powers. She was fident that while other women might be around, only she would have a pce at his side as a true equal.

  Sonoko, slightly stunned, stammered, "You're… not like any heiress I know…"

  Mei Mei just ughed. Sonoko's ho and ure was truly rare among the elite. If only more people were like her.

  "Alright, enough." Tomoko Suzuki, Sonoko's mother, finally intervened, pulling her daughter away. She hadn't expected that a woman as sharp as herself would end up with such a guileless daughter.

  "I apologize if we caused any offense, Mei Mei-san."

  "It's fine," Mei Mei replied with a wave, clearly unfazed. Sonoko, though, still looked displeased.

  "What? I didn't do anything wrong!" she muttered under her breath, crossing her arms.

  Tomoko sighed. While she uood her daughter's feelings, she khat retionships among the elite were rarely simple. The truth of the world, as she saw it, was that stability mattered more than fidelity. Even though Tomoko and her husband loved each other, she knew he had mistresses on the side. So long as her family remained intact, she didn't mind.

  Meanwhile, hidden irees outside the Shinomiya manor, a figure watched the proceedings with a calm gaze. It was Jogo, the cursed spirit with a volic head, and Kenjaku now occupying Kaori Itadori's body after failing to secure Suguru Geto's.

  Behind Jogo were Hanami and Mahito. Hanami watched quietly, while Mahito lounged on a branch, looking ued.

  "I still don't get why you sent that cursed spirit to front Ryuji," Jogo grumbled, gring at Kenjaku. "You know he doesn't stand a ce against that human. You're just sending him to die."

  Kaori, now inhabited by the scheming curse spirit Kenjaku, only smiled serenely, ign Jogo's irritation.

  Mahito chuckled from his perch. "Hey, don't look at me. I've had enough to fight that guy without the right power-ups."

  Indeed, Mahito had no pns to face Ryuji again until he'd grown strong enough to wield domain expansion.

  Retly, ypes of special-grade cursed spirits had begun appearing, like a cursed spirit born from humanity's collective fear of firearms. This "Gun Curse" had destructive power on par with Jogo.

  Just moments ago, Kenjaku had maniputed this firearm-based cursed spirit into going after Ryuji, g Ryuji was the most powerful humao face. Jogo knew full well the Gun Curse wouldn't st against Ryuji's strength.

  But Kenjaku's schemes were far from over.

  "Listen," Jogo hissed. "We're here to take down the humans, not to let you throw curses at Ryuji just to get sughtered."

  Kenjaku's smile didn't falter. "A, you didn't stop him. Isn't that right?"

  Jogo bristled, fists ched. He had iood by and dohing, too focused on his own grievances with humanity to care about the fate of his fellow cursed spirits.

  "Why, you—!"

  AnnouChey new books:

  ☆DC: Rise Of The Kryptonian Tyrant

  ☆GOT/ASOIAF: Ruler Beyond the Ice

  ☆Drift Of The Multiverse

  Check my profile, under Series.

  Junkdog