The Special Division for Unusual Powers was an agency under Japan's Ministry of Home Affairs responsible for managing ability users. Ever since the government had formally proposed its Transcendent cultivation plan—and both the White Qilin and the Shibusawa family had agreed to cooperate—the White Qilin had become one of the hottest investments in Japan's political circles.
An ability user with the potential to become a Transcendent, a spotless background and an ability that posed no danger to ordinary people.
Looking across Japan's entire community of ability users, there was simply no one else who could be considered so utterly "safe and controllable."
The Special Division for Unusual Powers kept a close watch on the White Qilin's every move. At the same time, they sealed and encrypted all information concerning the Port Mafia's "Analyst."
Taneda Santouka trusted Natsume Souseki. Because of that trust, he had deliberately helped conceal his disciple's identity.
However, there was one principle on which Taneda Santouka would never compromise—his loyalty to the government.
If Asou Akiya ever proved unsuitable to serve as the White Qilin's teacher, the Special Division for Unusual Powers would never stand by and allow him to educate the boy however he pleased.
Every step of the White Qilin's apprenticeship was documented by intelligence agents and reported to Taneda Santouka.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko... had started buying sewing materials and learning how to mend clothes.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko... shut himself indoors, reading books and collecting reference materials on black magic.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko... was writing a novel?
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko... had leveraged his family's influence and won first place in the Seishun Award's long novel category??
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko... had gone to a bar to meet Asou Akiya and received a new test.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko... was going to teach a child how to write???
Was the White Qilin really this obedient?
The White Qilin, who had once ignored every government official, now faithfully carried out the requests of Asou Akiya—a man he had only met a handful of times. It was as though his soul had been stolen the very first day they met.
Natsume-sensei, is your disciple an analyst or a psychologist?
Taneda Santouka wore the expression of a man questioning reality itself.
"Is there something special about that child?"
One of his subordinates, who had recently been enjoying all the gossip surrounding the White Qilin, answered with obvious curiosity.
"I've looked into him. He's the sixth son of the Tsushima family from the Tsugaru region. His name is Tsushima Shuuji, and he's only eleven years old. He has received private education within the family since childhood, so very little information about him has been made public. As for Asou Akiya, after his parents passed away when he was sixteen, he traveled to Aomori Prefecture to recover from his grief. It's possible they met during that time."
Taneda Santouka nodded.
"Why do you think the Analyst wanted the White Qilin to teach him?"
The subordinate ventured a guess. "Perhaps it's to improve the White Qilin's personality. Based on his past behavior, he's never formed emotional attachments or bonds with people he considered unimportant."
Taneda Santouka said, "Keep watching him. Just don't let the White Qilin notice."
The subordinate gave a helpless smile. "That's easier said than done. The White Qilin is highly skilled in counter-surveillance himself. The slightest attempt to observe him, and he immediately senses that something is off."
Closing the folding fan in his hand, Taneda Santouka lightly tapped his subordinate with it.
"Then it's time you all improved your surveillance skills."
After a brief pause, he added, "Buy me a complete set of this year's Seishun Award winners. I want to see why the White Qilin couldn't even break into the top four."
As far as he knew, Japan's literary scene wasn't exactly overflowing with talent. The White Qilin excelled academically and possessed genuine literary ability. How had he ended up having to establish his own literary award just to gain recognition?
Unless... the entries in the Seishun Award were simply that unbelievable?
When the winning works and the identities of every prize recipient were delivered to him, Taneda Santouka finally realized they really were unbelievable.
First place: Edogawa Ranpo, son of the detective known as the "Clairvoyant."
Second place: Oda Sakunosuke, a former legendary assassin.
Third place: Sakaguchi Ango, a police academy student and reserve candidate for the Special Division for Unusual Powers.
Fourth place: Ozaki Kouyou, the Port Mafia's "Golden Demon."
The poor White Qilin had poured his heart and soul into writing a full-length novel about black magic, only to lose to a series of short stories. It was an utterly humiliating defeat. The only reason he hadn't made the first-place winner disappear from the world was because his Draconia simply couldn't overcome Edogawa Ranpo's Super Deduction.
Once Taneda Santouka pieced together the whole story, he burst into hearty laughter.
"How interesting!"
No wonder Eiichi-sama had lent a hand as well.
To secure this apprenticeship, the White Qilin had gone to extraordinary lengths, inadvertently elevating Asou Akiya's standing in the process.
The Tsushima family, however, knew nothing of all this. Tsushima Gen'emon instructed a servant to escort Shuuji back to his room before turning a suspicious gaze toward Shibusawa Tatsuhiko.
Could he know about Shuuji's ability?
The Tsushima family was one of the region's most prestigious old aristocratic houses, not some newly wealthy upstart. For generations, its heads had possessed at least a basic understanding of the world of ability users.
Tsushima Gen'emon himself was not an ability user, but he had cultivated a personal guard of ability users and spent enormous sums each year recruiting independent ones to serve the family.
The political struggles within great families were merciless. During the war years, they faced both internal strife and external threats. Those at the top were constantly being replaced. Every day, someone died under mysterious circumstances—some supposedly succumbing to illness, others found in their own homes with their throats slit.
Even with modern medical technology, his eldest and second sons had both died young. Publicly, their deaths had been attributed to disease.
As for the truth...
Tsushima Gen'emon knew it all too well.
Some exceptionally dangerous ability users could kill through blood, skin contact, or even by attacking the mind itself.
By pure coincidence, he had discovered the "abnormality" hidden within his youngest son.
At the time, several people had been wasting away and dying one after another. He himself had begun feeling unwell, yet somehow recovered completely without treatment.
The reason?
Once, in a fit of anger, he had slapped his youngest son across the face.
The neglected child, who had been overlooked since infancy, instantly became the family's savior.
The Tsushima family had produced a direct descendant with an ability.
Tsushima Gen'emon revealed this secret to no one. Instead, he arranged for Shuuji to receive private tutoring, claiming it was because he feared Shuuji might contract the same illness that had claimed his older brothers if he attended school outside.
He kept a tight grip on every aspect of Shuuji's daily life, instilling in him that the family always came first and that he must obey his father's every command. Bit by bit, he molded the boy into one of the Tsushima family's greatest hidden assets.
Based on the family's records and the testimony of his ability-user bodyguards, he stubbornly believed Shuuji possessed an exceptionally rare healing ability—one capable of curing harmful "curses."
The current Tsushima Shuuji was still an unfinished product of that upbringing.
He could not be allowed to mingle freely with outsiders.
And yet...
Tsushima Gen'emon hesitated.
Because the other party had offered terms that were exceedingly difficult to refuse.
"So, Shibusawa-kun, you're saying that you and Shuuji hit it off the moment you met, and you'd like to teach him creative writing. Then, using that experience as your subject, you intend to publish an educational book? And the Shibusawa family... plans to expand its banking and railway businesses into the Tsugaru region, with the hope of partnering with the Tsushima family?"
"That's correct," Shibusawa Tatsuhiko replied. "I'll teach Shuuji-kun within the Tsushima estate. I won't take him anywhere else."
As though he understood exactly what Tsushima Gen'emon was worried about, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko thoughtfully took a step back and made the concession himself.
"Please believe me. I've just won the Seishun Award, and my family fully supports my pursuit of a literary career. The moment I saw Shuuji-kun, I was overflowing with inspiration."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko glanced at his butler, who promptly stepped forward and presented a novel.
It was the Young Master Tatsuhiko's published work, the Black Magic Notebook.
Tsushima Gen'emon had seen the award mentioned on the television news before. He vaguely remembered hearing about the Seishun Award. Thinking of his youngest son's appearance, he could understand the appeal. Tsushima Shuuji possessed the kind of doll-like beauty that captivated the Japanese public.
"However, my youngest son has always been frail. He's also rather ill-tempered and doesn't know how to interact with strangers. In my efforts to protect his health and safety, I've neglected his ability to socialize..."
"Tsushima-san, the Shibusawa family has the finest doctors available. They can be on standby at any time."
A faint smile curved Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's lips. His snow-like features carried an almost imperceptible allure, while his eyes burned with unmistakable passion for literature.
"Give me one week at most. I'm confident we'll get along splendidly."
Not enough to persuade him?
Then he would simply keep adding to the offer until Tsushima Gen'emon is tempted!
Faced with the overwhelming influence of the Shibusawa family, Tsushima Gen'emon deliberated before finally agreeing.
"There is one condition," he said. "I'll prepare rooms for you and your butler. I'll give you one week, but whenever you're teaching Shuuji, one of the servants must remain present."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's gaze lingered on him for a moment.
"...Very well."
Just what secret is this child hiding?
The mystery only made him more interested.
As he rose to meet Tsushima Shuuji, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko casually asked, as though the question had only just occurred to him,
"Tsushima-san, does your family have any marriage ties with the Asou family?"
Tsushima Gen'emon thought for a moment.
"You mean the Asou family that owns Aso Group? They're related by marriage to the Miyazawa, Ishibashi, Hatoyama, and Ikeda families, but they've never had such ties with our family. I believe you've misunderstood."
As he spoke, a trace of regret crossed his face.
The Asou family was an exceptionally formidable one.
Even when the Tsushima family had been at the height of its prestige, none of his four daughters had been considered worthy of marrying into the Asou family.
There was a saying in political circles: the Asou family's in-laws were either the families of Japan's prime ministers or the Imperial Family itself. Their network of political connections ran astonishingly deep. Gaining entry into their circle was practically the same as receiving a ticket to become a future prime ministerial candidate.
Rumor even had it that Japan's next prime minister was very likely to come from the Asou family.
"I see. Then I was mistaken."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko let the matter drop with a casual remark. Asou was hardly an uncommon surname in Japan, and the "Asou family" he had been referring to was certainly not that Asou family.
Ten minutes later, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko was once again brought to meet the child the Tsushima family had kept hidden away.
The last time they had crossed paths, the servant attending the young master had immediately whisked Tsushima Shuuji away, as though Shibusawa Tatsuhiko were some terrifying beast.
Now, seated on the tatami, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko finally had the leisure to study the boy's appearance.
His hair was dark brown rather than jet black, and his eyes were a deep amber. Within them lingered a trace of emptiness that felt strangely familiar.
Wasn't that the very same expression he used to see reflected in the mirror?
The brown-haired boy sat across from him in a simple black kimono, gazing directly at the pale young man whose skin seemed almost luminous.
"You're the first person Father has ever permitted to meet me."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko answered evenly, "Because I offered him something he couldn't refuse."
Tsushima Shuuji, the brown-haired boy who had been raised in seclusion within the family estate, asked with innocent curiosity,
"So Father sold me to you? What was your price?"
The maid assigned to watch over them immediately paled.
"Shuuji-bocchan!"
Tsushima Shuuji turned toward her. Something cold seemed to drift through his eyes, leaving behind a faint, sticky residue before vanishing.
He abruptly lost interest in arguing.
"...Fine. I misspoke."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko silently observed the boy's demeanor within his family before beginning the customary conversation between strangers.
"May I call you Shuuji-kun?"
"Whatever."
"Do you know my name?"
"No. Though I suppose you probably have a surname that adults find 'respectable'."
The eleven-year-old Tsushima Shuuji spoke with perfect clarity, his words laced with quiet mockery. He was ridiculing the fact that Shibusawa Tatsuhiko had approached him under the protection of his family name. Without that surname, he would have carried no authority at all.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko wasn't the slightest bit angered by the child's barbs.
He truly was nothing more than a canary raised in a gilded cage.
The detached look in Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's eyes pierced Tsushima Shuuji like a needle.
[It hurts so much.]
[I want to run away.]
[I want to leave... but Father would never allow it.]
That was what Tsushima Shuuji was thinking.
The last time it had hurt this much was when he had secretly overheard a conversation between his father and his tutor.
The tutor had argued that Shuuji should attend school, go outside, and interact with more people.
His father had dismissed the idea with contempt.
"What could he possibly learn at school? What he needs is the education of high society. Those unruly commoner children would only corrupt my Shuuji."
Young Tsushima Shuuji had heard remarks like that more than once.
Little by little, he had been conditioned to believe that his father was simply being overprotective.
Only later did he realize there had always been an unspoken second half to those words—
"He only needs to be obedient."
Obedient...
His brothers and sisters had all been allowed to grow up normally.
Only he had been treated this way.
Tsushima Shuuji's gaze grew emptier and emptier.
How did everything end up like this?
It had probably begun when he was four years old.
Back then, he had begged a servant to take him outside to play. Along the way, they happened to meet a boy who looked remarkably like one of his older brothers.
On a childish whim, he had decided to play a prank and deliberately called out,
"Big Brother!"
Ordinarily, the trick would have failed.
Who could have guessed that the servants were either too foolish—or perhaps too clever?
Even though the boy clearly wasn't one of the Tsushima family's sons, they somehow convinced themselves that he was.
Shuuji spent the entire day outside before finally being brought home.
Afterward, his father flew into a rage and slapped him across the face.
And after that...
Everything seemed to change.
"My name is Shibusawa Tatsuhiko. I'll be your writing teacher from today onward."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's voice pulled Tsushima Shuuji back to reality.
Shuuji looked up obediently.
"Writing? You mean... compositions?"
A faint smile appeared on Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's face.
"No. I mean writing novels."
Tsushima Shuuji looked utterly bewildered.
Light reflected in his clear, transparent eyes, making them seem so pure that one could almost see straight through them.
"A novel... what's that?"
What a pitiful little canary.
I want to strangle him.
To hear a fledgling's cries.
To watch those beautiful downy feathers finally stop trembling.
After all—Tsushima Shuuji bore a faint resemblance to Akiya-san. His childish innocence only made the pleasure of destroying him twice as intoxicating.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko suppressed the darkness welling up inside him, once again admiring Akiya-san's choice of pupil.
To teach a child like this, he first had to overcome his own urge to destroy him.
Then he had to teach this hollow-hearted canary how to write novels.
In another sense, it was no different from confronting his own empty self.
"If you want to learn to write novels, you should begin by reading them."
Without the slightest embarrassment, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko handed over the novel he had written himself.
"This Black Magic Notebook should suit you."
Tsushima Shuuji accepted it.
His fingers, never having done a day's manual labor, were soft and delicate. His neatly rounded nails carried a healthy pink hue. Resting against the black cover emblazoned with a magic circle, his hand possessed the fragile beauty of a sacrificial offering.
For a long moment, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko couldn't take his eyes off him.
A lamb beloved by demons.
Tsushima Shuuji smiled at him shyly, as though the emptiness and confusion from moments ago had been nothing more than an illusion.
"I'll read it carefully."
Not that I want to.
Novels?
Of course he'd encountered them through his private tutors before.
Just a pile of self-indulgent drivel.
How boring.
He wanted to tear the book to shreds right in front of this man.
The author's name is Shikawa Ryuuji.
Was that directly related to Shibusawa Tatsuhiko?
If he tore it apart...
Would this man cry?
Just get lost.