"She's not home again… Even during the first few days after school started, Yukino wasn't like this."
Sighing softly, Haruno sat down on the living room sofa. She opened her phone and began reviewing the information her subordinates had sent her.
Displayed on the screen was Luo Yu's personal profile.
"So this is the boy from Yukino's class…"
She studied the photo carefully.
"He does look quite handsome, and his temperament isn't bad either. The question is whether he really has anything to do with Yukino."
Originally, she had planned to come over and have dinner with her younger sister.
But now that Yukino wasn't home, she had no choice but to order takeout.
After ordering a pizza, Haruno waited for the delivery while dialing Yukino's number.
At that moment, Yukino had just finished dinner at Luo Yu's house. She was drinking tea, relaxing, and playing with the kitten.
When she saw her sister's name on the screen, she suddenly realized how late it had become.
Handing the cat toy to Ranni, Yukino answered the call.
"Haruno?"
"Little Yukino, you're still not home yet?"
Yukino paused briefly before replying,
"I'll be back soon. Haruno, you went to my apartment again, didn't you?"
"Ah~ I wanted to have dinner with you," Haruno replied playfully. "But you weren't home, so I had to order takeout like a poor lonely person."
"So where exactly are you, Yukino?"
Just as she asked the question, the sound of a kitten meowing came through the phone.
Hearing that, Haruno spoke thoughtfully.
"Yukino… don't tell me you're at some cat café again?"
Glancing at the kitten—currently floating in midair under Ranni's magic and waving its paws excitedly—Yukino calmly replied,
"No. This is my personal matter, so you don't need to ask too many questions. I'll be back in half an hour."
Without waiting for Haruno's response, she hung up the phone.
Ranni gently lowered the kitten from the air, then looked at Yukino.
"You're not planning to tell your family about any of this?"
Yukino shook her head.
"The situation in my family is still unclear. I'll wait until I have enough strength to protect myself before I say anything."
As she spoke, she picked up the kitten and placed it on her lap, smiling softly at the small creature.
Miko Yotsuya had already left shortly after dinner.
Yukino stayed a bit longer only because she wanted to spend more time playing with the kitten.
After another ten minutes, she finally stood up reluctantly.
Looking at Luo Yu and Ranni, she said,
"I should head back now. Luo Yu, thank you for the guidance today—and for dinner."
"Ranni, I'll wash the clothes and return them tomorrow."
Ranni shook her head.
"That won't be necessary. It's only a set of clothes. Since it fits you well, just keep it."
Seeing Yukino about to refuse, Ranni continued,
"If you feel bad about it, didn't you say you can cook? Next time, let me taste your cooking."
After experiencing Luo Yu's meals, Ranni had regained her interest in food.
Luo Yu also smiled and added,
"Ranni's right. None of us are short on money, so there's no need to worry about something like that."
"Just cook for us next time."
Yukino nodded firmly.
"Alright. Then it's settled. See you tomorrow, Luo Yu."
"See you tomorrow."
After leaving Luo Yu's house, Yukino looked up at the darkened sky.
Carrying her schoolbag over one shoulder and holding a bag containing the clothes she had changed out of, she walked toward her apartment in a cheerful mood.
Around her neck hung a deep-blue pouch identical to the one Miko Yotsuya carried.
Inside it were several items Luo Yu had given her:
The dagger she used during training.
The Reverse Thorns she had accidentally manifested earlier.
And a black dagger with three curved spikes extending from the blade—known as the Black Knife.
As for other weapons such as the Cipher Pata and the Red Bear Claw, she had not yet mastered them, so Luo Yu had not given them to her.
Before long, Yukino arrived at her apartment.
Hearing the door open, Haruno—who was eating pizza—turned around and immediately spotted Yukino entering the room.
"Hm?"
After swallowing her food, Haruno widened her eyes.
"Yukino, why did you change clothes?"
Yukino replied calmly,
"I exercised a bit after school. I was sweating, so I changed."
Walking over to Haruno, she glanced at the pizza, then slowly turned in place.
"How does it look?"
Haruno immediately gave a thumbs-up.
"Very cute! Yukino's taste in clothes has improved a lot."
But the next moment, Yukino said flatly,
"I didn't choose it. Someone else picked it for me."
"You can continue eating. I'm going to my room to do my homework."
Haruno watched her younger sister return to her room.
After the door closed, she took out her phone again and reopened Luo Yu's profile.
Could it be that Yukino had been spending time with this boy during the past few hours?
That didn't sound good.
Fifteen minutes later, after finishing her pizza, Haruno stretched lazily and walked over to Yukino's bedroom.
Knock knock.
"Yukino~ take a break for a moment. I have something to tell you."
Inside the room, Yukino paused her homework and looked toward the door.
"Come in."
As Haruno walked inside, Yukino asked,
"What is it? Something related to the family?"
"Exactly."
Haruno nodded and sat down on the bed.
"After school on Friday, keep your schedule free. We're going to Tokyo to attend a banquet."
Yukino frowned slightly.
"Tokyo? A banquet?"
"Don't you usually go to these things without me? You could just go yourselves."
Haruno shook her finger.
"If it were an ordinary banquet, skipping it wouldn't matter."
"But this one is hosted by the Shinomiya family."
"Only families with real status were invited. In Chiba, our Yukinoshita family was the only one invited."
"Father and Mother will be attending too. So think of it as a rare family outing."
"The Shinomiya family?" Yukino asked.
"You mean the Shinomiya family from the Four Great Zaibatsu?"
Hearing that, Yukino knew refusing was probably impossible.
"So what exactly is the banquet about?"
At that question, even Haruno looked slightly confused.
"I'm not entirely sure either."
"The strange part is that the invitation wasn't delivered by someone from the Shinomiya family."
"It was brought by someone from a religious organization in Tokyo called the Star Religious Group."
"If we hadn't confirmed later that it really was the Shinomiya family's event, we might have thought it was a scam."
"The Star Religious Group?"
Yukino instinctively sensed something unusual.
Why would a powerful financial family like the Shinomiya family be connected to an unfamiliar religious organization like that?
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