Yōkai Domain, Shuzen family manor.
Seeing Shuzen Issa still hesitating, Arthur smiled faintly.
"Father-in-law, you should already understand — if I wanted to do this the hard way, this entire Shuzen estate would be gone."
"And you'd be gone with it."
"Alucard's true body is something I must take."
"You're Ya'ai's biological father and Moka's adoptive father, so I don't want to make this ugly between us."
"I hope you make the smart choice."
"And besides… you don't really want your daughters to lose their father, right?"
"You—"
Shuzen Issa's expression changed.
Then, hearing that last line — the light threat tucked into it — his face shifted again and again.
"…Fine. I'll take you."
He took a deep breath and chose to compromise.
He wasn't a thick-headed idiot.
And in the monster world, the most basic rule was still the strong eat the weak.
He was not Arthur's match.
Even if he was extremely unhappy that the other party had snatched away two of his daughters…
Things had already come to this; there was nothing he could do.
As for handing over the "Alucard" true body they had guarded for over two hundred years…
Whether he wanted to or not didn't really matter anymore.
Because Arthur was right.
If it weren't for Ya'ai and Moka's sake, the Shuzen estate might already be a smoking crater.
"Father-in-law, very smart."
Arthur saw Shuzen Issa choose the "you win, I win, everyone lives" option, and the smile on his lips deepened.
He withdrew his psychic grip.
"…"
Shuzen Issa's mouth twitched.
His face involuntarily darkened.
"Calm down. Calm down. You are not his opponent…"
He took slow breaths, talking himself down in his heart.
"Follow me."
Without looking at Arthur again, Shuzen Issa tossed down those words and turned, flying toward the great castle at the center of the estate.
Arthur and Shuzen Ya'ai followed.
Inside the castle, Shuzen Issa led them into his own room, opened several layers of barriers…
A passage leading underground appeared.
The three of them descended the steps into a hidden space covered in layers of concealment and sealing arrays.
In the very center stood a stone coffin.
Strange runes covered its surface; energy flowed between them, forming a complete sealing-and-concealment structure.
Arthur released his spiritual sense.
He could clearly feel the overwhelming, almost-bursting life force sleeping inside that coffin.
He pulled his sense back.
With a thought, he summoned the Mist Gate.
Then he stored the stone coffin containing Alucard's true body inside.
Seeing that, Shuzen Issa's eyes flickered.
Shuzen Ya'ai's eyes, on the other hand, were full of curiosity.
She didn't know about the Fog Realm yet.
After all, she'd only become Arthur's retainer last night, and they'd been busy ever since.
Once the thing he wanted was secured, Arthur was satisfied.
He turned to Shuzen Ya'ai.
"Do you want to stay here for a bit, or come back with me?"
He'd already achieved both goals for coming to the Yōkai Domain this time.
So it was time to go home.
He could come back later.
"I'll go back with you."
Shuzen Ya'ai didn't even hesitate.
Shuzen Issa: "…"
That… stung. A little.
"Wait."
Suddenly remembering something, Shuzen Issa spoke up:
"Did you two meet Kokoa?"
Shuzen Kokoa — his youngest.
Fourth sister.
Third was the adopted Moka.
Eldest was Ya'ai.
Second was Kahlua.
All daughters.
"Kokoa…"
Shuzen Ya'ai's eyes moved. "No. Why?"
Arthur looked mildly curious, too.
"That's strange…"
Shuzen Issa frowned. "When the stone coffin reacted before, I suspected Moka's seal was loosening, so I sent Kokoa to the human world to find her."
"By now she should have found her."
"This doesn't add up…"
He really couldn't figure it out.
Shuzen Ya'ai's brows drew together. "When was that?"
Shuzen Issa: "About… six days ago."
Hearing that, Shuzen Ya'ai's eyes flashed.
Six days ago — that was exactly when she made the deal with Fujisaki Miyabi and went to the human world to help him look for "Moka."
So Kokoa had gone too.
Shuzen Ya'ai shook her head. "I didn't see Kokoa."
Shuzen Issa turned to Arthur. "Did she contact Moka?"
Before Kokoa left, he'd given her Akashiya Moka's phone number and told her to call when she reached the human world.
Arthur said, "No."
Moka hadn't mentioned it at all recently.
If Kokoa had called, Moka would have brought it up while they were chatting.
But she hadn't.
"What's going on, then?"
Shuzen Issa frowned deeper.
Arthur spoke again:
"How about this — give me Kokoa's number. Once I'm back in the human world, I'll contact her and help you look for her, father-in-law."
"…Fine."
Hearing him call him "father-in-law" again, Shuzen Issa felt that same little spike of irritation — but he still agreed.
He looked Arthur over.
Mm. Very handsome. Very good aura.
Looking at him, it was like seeing himself when he was young.
Young, handsome, powerful.
Having a son-in-law this good… didn't seem entirely unacceptable.
Wait. Unacceptable your head.
This brat took two of his daughters!
The moment he thought of that, the irritation came back.
Arthur took out his phone. Shuzen Issa quickly gave him Kokoa's number, then said in a low voice:
"Alright, you can go."
"I won't keep you for dinner."
Sensing Shuzen Issa's bad mood, Arthur's lips curled.
"No need to be so polite."
"Ya'ai, let's go."
He said it to Shuzen Ya'ai, then turned to leave.
"...I'm going."
Shuzen Ya'ai glanced once at Shuzen Issa, tossed down two words, and followed Arthur out of the underground chamber.
"Haah…"
Once they were out of sight, Shuzen Issa couldn't help a sigh. Then he frowned slightly.
"How strange… just standing near that Arthur, I had this faint urge to drink blood."
"What on earth is he?"
He could control it.
And as Arthur left, that impulse faded away completely.
Suppressing the many thoughts in his mind, Shuzen Issa glanced at where the stone coffin had once rested; his eyes flickered.
After a moment, he turned to leave.
"Mm… wait?!"
He'd only walked a few steps when something hit him and he frowned again.
"Letting Arthur go look for Kokoa… what if Kokoa also ends up liking him like Ya'ai and Moka…?"
"No, shouldn't happen."
"She knows that's her sisters' man. Kokoa should have boundaries…"
He comforted himself and shook his head, refusing to think about such an "impossible" scenario.
"Damn human brat…"
He couldn't help cursing under his breath, his face full of annoyance.
Snatching away two daughters in one go.
He really did still hate humans.
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