"The Idea of a Woman Stealing Someone Else's Partner is Ridiculous," I laughed. But After Being Reborn, I Became a Victim of Such a Woman. However, My New Fiancée was Absolutely Amazing. - Episode 7
“Captain~! Can I talk to you for a second? My mom made this rice ball for you. The daughter of the family she’s helping is apparently a girl with very high spiritual power, and the spiritual energy in the food is also said to be strong. Since she was dumped after her engagement was broken, my mom thought it was sad and wanted to give this to you, thinking you’d like it as a potential future wife!”
“………”
“Please don’t make that face. I’m worried too, you know? Your lack of appetite.”
Isto shrugs dramatically and sighs deeply.
His raven-black hair, which looks like a wet crow’s, falls from his flask as his sharp eyes glimmer with a cold intensity. Standing well over six feet tall, his limbs are long for someone from the Tennou Kingdom.
With a noble background and a handsome appearance, he’s known as the “prince of the battlefield.”
Although many admire him, he certainly has flaws.
“………”
“What’s wrong? Huh?”
“Kouga! Ito’s right. You really haven’t been eating recently.”
“Vice-Captain!”
The Vice-Captain, Suzurugi Kouu, approaches while Ito looks lost for words.
He ties his dark iron-blue hair up high, and his striking red eyes give him an undeniably handsome look.
Coming from the elite Suzurugi family, a well-respected military name.
Kouga, the “captain,” who should be above Kouu in terms of ability, pouts like a child and hugs his knees.
“Stop acting like a sulking elementary schooler! It’s true you haven’t been eating! If you don’t eat, you’ll not only weaken your spiritual power, but your body too. Ito’s mother is worried about you and asked that high-energy girl to make these rice balls for you. She’s just looking out for you. If you still have the sense that you’re responsible for your subordinates’ lives, then just eat it! If you’re worried about poison, I’ll taste it for you!”
“………”
Mumbling something under his breath, Kouga reluctantly accepts the rice ball wrapped in bamboo leaves from Ito and starts eating slowly.
Seeing this, Kouu, who had his hand on his hip, lets out a relieved sigh.
The reason Kouga hadn’t stopped Ito from running off on his own to act as bait was because Kouga had been dealing with the curse demons to protect the other subordinates. At that time, Kouga was protecting Ito.
Since then, Kouga hadn’t eaten lunch, and his team had been worried about him.
Now that he’s finally eating, even the other members of the unit give a relieved smile.
“By the way, who is this girl who got her engagement broken?”
“She’s the daughter of a branch family of the Kuujou family. My mom was praising her a lot, saying she’s a really good girl who’s kind, humble, and thoughtful. If I were still single, she’d be my ideal wife.”
“Ito’s mother is a pro matchmaker, right? I’ve heard she helped arrange my wife’s cousin’s marriage.”
“Yeah, she’s always helping people with matchmaking. Seems like she enjoys it.”
“Hmm, if someone like her is recommending her, she might really be a good match for you, Kouga. Why not meet her?”
It’s probably said half-jokingly, but Kouga glares lightly at Kouu with a cold expression.
Ito, knowing Kouga’s personality, flinches, even though it was just a casual glance.
While popular with young women, Kouga has trouble finding a good match due to his emotionless face and lack of social skills.
Additionally, he’s somewhat afraid of women, due to growing up in a female-dominated household. His mother and aunt were sisters, so Kouu knows all too well about his situation.
In Kouga’s family, there’s little respect for men, and the women are so loud and domineering it’s almost impossible to have a peaceful life. He’s witnessed his father and him giving up on everything, making it understandable that Kouga has trouble dealing with women.
It’s also why Kouga’s mother has rejected countless engagement proposals—more than a hundred, in fact.
“Hey, Kouga. Don’t you think it’s becoming a problem that you haven’t married by now? You think your sister can inherit the family, but you’re the only man left in the Ichijou family. Aunt wants to hold your grandchild. Don’t you think meeting someone now is just a formality? Aunt already said she doesn’t care about the other family as long as you get married and have kids.”
“I’m starting to give up on that…”
“Well, you’ve probably realized you completely ruined your chance at marriage by being too picky when you were younger.”
“That’s true, but I’ve never even met the girl my mom’s talking about, so I have no idea what she’s like. All I know is that she’s from a branch of the Kuujou family, she’s a good person, and she has a lot of spiritual power.”
“Hmm,” Kouu says, crossing his arms and tilting his head.
Even if she has a lot of spiritual power, it’s probably only at level four or three.
Spiritual power in the daughters of today has been steadily declining.
The methods for strengthening it disappeared five hundred years ago, and the teachings were lost. Now, all they do is maintain the protective barriers.
But the number of curse demons hasn’t decreased.
For those fighting on the front lines, external sources of spiritual power are still crucial.
Currently, they rely heavily on those with exceptional spiritual power like Kouga and Kouu.
“…I’ll go.”
“Was it good? Want to meet her? Want to meet her?”
“I won’t meet her.”
Ito, despite that, looks up at Kouu’s face and says, “I’m glad it was delicious. Please tell Auntie I said thank you.” Kouu then translates this for him.