The more this happehe heavier the guilt Ai felt towards Kaguya. Though she'd bee adept at hiding her emotions, she couldn't shake the weight of betraying her mistress, someone she had grown close to despite their formal retionship.

  By the time she left the bathroom, Ai had posed herself, her expressiourning to its usual calm, detached demeanor.

  Returning to Kaguya's room, she was greeted by an ued sight.

  "Hayasaka! Hayasaka!" Kaguya called out excitedly, her usual reserved tone repced with eagerness. "e here, quickly! I want you to teach me how to use a smartphone!"

  Ai blinked in surprise. "Why the sudden i?"

  Kaguya, brilliant as she was, had always been something of a teological klutz. Despite her vast knowledge in other areas, smartphones and social media were uncharted territory for her. Up until now, she'd never shown any real i in learning.

  Kaguya hesitated for a moment. "Well… ime we meet, I'd like to add Mr. Ryuji on Li seems I o have the right kind of phoo do that."

  Up until now, Kaguya had been using a PHS flip phone, something a by today's standards, which could only make calls and send basic text messages.

  "Ah, I see." Ai suppressed a knowing smile, quickly grasping Kaguya's iions. "Alright, I'll help you get set up."

  ---

  Meanwhile, across town at the Izumi residence, Izumi Sagiri was looking at Ryuji with wide, admiring eyes. "Ryuji-nii, was that really you in the live broadcast today?"

  Izumi Sae, Sagiri's mother, was setting the table, but she couldn't help gng over as well, curious. They had watched the live stream earlier, and seeing Ryuji's abilities on full dispy had been nothing short of shog.

  "Of course," Ryuji replied with a smile, nodding. He hadn't go of his way to hide his strength, and now everyone had seen it firsthand.

  "Wow… that was amazing!" Sagiri excimed, her face glowing with excitement.

  pared to how shy and withdrawn she'd beehey first met, Sagiri was now much more cheerful. The discovery that her mother was alive had lifted a huge weight off her, and her fidence had blossomed as a result.

  "Alright, alright. Let's eat first," Ryuji said with a chuckle, ruffling her hair as she beamed up at him.

  As the family gathered around the diable, Sae took a moment to ask, "So, does this mean you won't be going to school for the few days?"

  Ryuji sighed. "I'd rather not feel like an animal on dispy."

  He had no problem with people knowing about his powers, but he wasn't ied in being swarmed by curious cssmates gawking at him as if he were in a zoo. He could already imagihe crowds that would gather just to catch a glimpse of him.

  Sae houghtfully. "That's uandable. Maybe this is a good ce to take a break and rex for a few days."

  Ryuji just smiled, not b to expin further. Rexing was all well and good, but he had no iion of letting his training slip. If any powerful cursed spirits emerged, he'd be the first to front them. Power and strength were things he stantly pursued, knowing they were essential to his freedom and goals.

  "Well, at least this means I'll have more time to spend with both of you," Ryuji added, gng first at Sae and then at Sagiri.

  Sae's cheeks reddened slightly at his words, though she tried to hide it by fog on her food. She knew he was including Sagiri to be polite, but the underlying warmth in his words wasn't lost on her. Despite herself, Sae felt a flutter of excitement.

  "Hehe, Sagiri likes spending time with Ryuji-nii too!" Sagiri said cheerfully, pletely oblivious to the uones in the versation.

  "Sagiri, you should really call him 'uncle,'" Sae interjected, though there was a slight awkwardness ione.

  "No way, I want to call him brother!" Sagiri pouted, crossing her arms defiantly.

  Sae was about to insist, but Ryuji ughed, cutting her off. "It's fine. I like it when Sagiri calls me 'brother.'"

  Sagiri gririumphantly, stig her to at her mother, clearly pleased by Ryuji's support.

  Sae just rolled her eyes, letting it go. It was just a title, after all, though she couldn't shake the slight unease she felt about it.

  ---

  After dinner, while Sae was ing up i, Ryuji eained Sagiri by using his shadoution teique, creating little figures that danced around in his hand. The shadows shifted, f into shapes like horses, cats, and puppies, much to Sagiri's delight.

  "Amazing!" she said for the huh time, g her hands in wonder.

  When Sae finally finished washing the dishes auro the living room, she paused to watch the se, a soft smile on her face. For a siher, moments like these seeing her daughter so happy were priceless.

  But then she cleared her throat, putting on a stern face. "Alright, Sagiri. It's getting te. Go wash up ao bed. You have school tomorrow."

  "Aww… okay," Sagiri grumbled, though she didn't put up too much resistance.

  As she headed to the bathroom, Ryuji reassured her, "Don't worry, Sagiri. I'll be around more often."

  Sagiri's eyes lit up. "Really? Promise?"

  "Promise," Ryuji replied with a smile.

  Sagiri ran off happily, and Ryuji watched her go before turning his attention to Sae, who was standing nearby.

  "Don't you want to e over?" he asked, reag out his hand and smiling invitingly.

  Sae hesitated, gng towards the bathroom where Sagiri was washing up. "Sagiri hasn't goo bed yet…"

  "Don't worry," Ryuji replied with a smirk, gently pulling her closer. "Just keep your voice down."

  "You…" Sae blushed deeply, but didn't pull away, leaning into him instead.

  ---

  The day, Ryuji had inteo rex, maybe even spend some more time with the Izumi family. But just as he was settling iiced Sae sitting on the sofa, looking unusually tense. She held a piece of paper in her hands, her face etched with worry.

  Wheiced him, she quickly tried to hide the note behind her back.

  "You… why are you here?" she stammered, looking caught off guard.

  Ryuji raised an eyebrow, seeing right through her attempt. "Is that a letter… for me?"

  Sae hesitated, clearly flicted.

  "Don't worry," Ryuji said calmly, giving her a reassuring smile. "You know my strength, don't you? I'd like to see who sent this letter."

  After a moment of hesitation, Sae handed him the envelope. "Alright… but just be careful."

  Ryuji ope and quickly skimmed through the tents. It was a request for him to join a certain family, with promises of wealth, power, and any other luxuries he could imagine.

  The letter was signed by the Bck Dog family.

  "Bck Dog?" Ryuji muttered, frowning. He'd never heard of them before, but from the tone, he could tell they were some kind of iial anization, possibly even a crime syndicate.

  However, something else caught his attention. Sae handed him a sed piece of paper a photograph.

  Ryuji's eyes narrowed as he looked at the picture. It was a did shot of Sagiri, taken from outside her window. The angle suggested that whoever took it had been watg her for some time.

  Clearly, the Bck Dog family wasn't just him an invitation they were using Sagiri as leverage.

  Realizing that they inteo threaten him through the people he cared about, Ryuji ched the photo tightly, his expression darkening.

  "Those bastards…" he muttered, his voice filled with barely restrained anger.

  He g Sae, who looked visibly shaken. "Were you pnning on hiding this from me?"

  Sae lowered her head, guilt fshing in her eyes. "I… I didn't want you to get hurt because of us."

  "Idiot," he said softly, pulling her into a f embrace. "I don't think you fully uand my strength."

  Sae let out a shaky breath, her ay slowly easing under his touch. "You're… you're really going to hahis?"

  "Of course," he replied, his voice calm and resolute. "Leave it to me."

  Seeing his fidence, Sae's worries finally faded. As long as Ryuji was there, she felt certain that everything would be alright.

  After spending a few more moments with her, Ryuji left the house, his mind focused ohing: finding out more about the Bck Dog family.

  ---

  Back at Ryuji's house, Mimiko and Nanako were lounging on the sofa, watg TV. Since Ryuji wasn't going to school, they'd decided to skip as well. When Ryuji walked in, they immediately noticed the hard look in his eyes.

  "What's wrong?" Mimiko asked, sensing his tension.

  "Do you two know anything about the Bck Dog family?" Ryuji asked, his voice low and dangerous.

  Mimiko and Nanako exged a look, searg their memories. After a moment, Mimiko's eyes lit up as she recalled something.

  "ht!" she said. "When we were with the Star Religious Group, the Bck Dog family was one of the groups that sought our help."

  Nanako nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I remember now. The Bck Dog family is a sortium that made its fortune in the underworld. They were involved in all sorts of shady business, smuggling, bck market deals, you ."