A night of unrest in every sense quietly slipped away.
The next day, just as dawn broke, the priests of the Shichio Shrine began their work, starting the cleanup and recovery efforts for the mysterious destruction that had occurred on the shrine grounds.
They could be considered part of the world of sorcery. Although they didn't know what had happened last night, they were clearly aware of their roles—knowing what was theirs to do and what was not.
Thus, the priests simply went about their tasks in silence, slowly restoring the Shichio Shrine to its original state.
Meanwhile, in the shrine office, the three people—Kaiser and the two girls—had all woken up.
"Here, breakfast."
Inside the living room, Mariya Yuri placed the prepared breakfast on the table and called Kaiser and Seishuin Ena over to eat.
"Wow! Smells so good!"
Seishuin Ena was the first to sit down, yet her posture didn't come off as impolite; her movements and sitting position were all very graceful.
However...
"E-Ena! There's a man here! Hurry and put on your clothes!"
Mariya Yuri shouted in embarrassment and slight panic.
Looking closely, Seishuin Ena's attire was indeed somewhat improper at the moment. Her upper body wore only a sleeveless undershirt, and her lower half had on thin pajama shorts—not dignified attire at all.
Still, while it wasn't dignified, she wasn't exactly exposed either.
Kaiser glanced sidelong, and all he could see was a delicate body cloaked by thin fabric—yet that delicate body was undeniably alluring.
Seishuin Ena—this girl's figure was also on the slender side, but where curves were meant to exist, they did. Her proportions were stunning. Especially with only a thin layer of clothing in between, her beautiful body lines were clearly visible.
Mariya Yuri looked at Seishuin Ena's body with a trace of envy and awe in her eyes.
Seishuin Ena herself was completely unaware. Holding her chopsticks and bowl, she casually said,
"It's no big deal. This body is meant to be offered to the King anyway. Letting the King see it now doesn't count as a loss."
An impressive, and powerful, justification.
Kaiser nodded unconsciously.
"Wh-What shameless things are you saying!" Mariya Yuri shot Kaiser a glance and quickly turned to Seishuin Ena. "A proper young lady who isn't married shouldn't behave so inappropriately! Hurry up and get dressed!"
"This counts as inappropriate?" Seishuin Ena looked down at herself, sounding puzzled. "But what you saw last night was way more—"
"Ahhhhhhh!" Mariya Yuri suddenly shrieked, cutting off Seishuin Ena mid-sentence, her face turning beet red. "You're not allowed to talk about last night! Eat your food already!"
At that, Kaiser raised an eyebrow.
"What did you two do last night that can't be talked about?" Kaiser glanced at Mariya Yuri, then at Seishuin Ena, suspicion all over his face. "Looks like it's something I'm not supposed to know?"
Seishuin Ena opened her mouth, about to speak, when Mariya Yuri physically stopped her.
"Try this! I made it specially this morning!"
Mariya Yuri's face was red to the point it looked like it might start bleeding. She was both desperately trying to stop Seishuin Ena and clearly terrified that she'd say something shocking again, all while turning to Kaiser.
"You too! You try this!"
Mariya Yuri kept serving food, one moment feeding Seishuin Ena, the next feeding Kaiser—completely unaware she was using the same pair of chopsticks, effectively causing an indirect kiss between Kaiser and Seishuin Ena.
"Delicious!"
Naturally, Seishuin Ena didn't notice anything. After being fed a few bites, her eyes sparkled on the spot.
"Yuri's cooking is still as delicious as ever. No wonder she was chosen as the King's first concubine. Marrying you will surely bring blessings."
Seishuin Ena no longer let Mariya Yuri feed her and began eating on her own.
Over the past six months, Seishuin Ena had been training deep in a spiritual land in the mountains. She maintained her spiritual purity, kept her body and mind clear, and honed her swordsmanship, striving to surpass her physical limits and reach a state of no-mind.
For that purpose, she had been living a grain-free diet, consuming only wild fruits and mountain vegetables. Her training was far more rigorous than that of an ordinary Hime-Miko.
To her, Mariya Yuri's cooking was practically a divine delicacy.
"It is really good."
Kaiser stopped paying attention to what happened last night and nodded in agreement with Seishuin Ena's praise.
As far as he knew, Mariya Yuri's parents both worked—her father at a fast-food chain, and her mother as a culinary instructor. Both were in the food industry.
Thanks to this, Mariya Yuri had decent cooking skills and often helped out her busy parents by cooking at home, preparing lunchboxes daily for herself and her younger sister.
"Though she may not be a professional chef, the food she serves to guests will never be lacking."
Kaiser chewed on a side dish and offered his commentary freely.
"Exactly."
Seishuin Ena nodded repeatedly as she ate her rice.
"It's just plain and simple food. You don't have to praise it that much."
Mariya Yuri felt both relieved that the earlier topic was dropped and a bit embarrassed by the compliments.
"By the way, the Mariya family isn't a prestigious household like the Seishuin family, right?" Kaiser recalled something and looked at Mariya Yuri. "With you making food for me every day, do you have enough money for groceries?"
The Mariya family did have some fame in Japan's sorcery circles, but the fact that her parents held regular jobs made it clear—they weren't some grand noble house, just a small family with some heritage.
Mariya Yuri was indeed the Hime-Miko of Musashino, but was that role even salaried?
He was just freeloading like this—was it putting a strain on her finances?
Kaiser let his mind wander on such thoughts.
"It's just cooking for one or two extra people. It's no big deal." Mariya Yuri shook her head and said, "Besides, Kaoru already called yesterday. She said all of the King's expenses in this country will be fully covered by the Sayanomiya family."
"If the King ever needs anything, Ena can also speak with her family." Seishuin Ena smiled adorably at Kaiser and said, "In terms of wealth, the Seishuin family won't lose to the Sayanomiya family. Whatever the King needs, just give the word."
The Sayanomiya family and the Seishuin family...
Two of the four greatest families in Japan's sorcery world had just become his personal sponsors?
Did this count as living off of Mariya Yuri and Seishuin Ena?
Kaiser bit into a meatball, his expression turning strange.
"Forget it. A meal or two is fine, but I'm not interested in being raised long-term by others." Kaiser shook his head at the two girls and said, "The Sayanomiya and Seishuin families aren't my subordinates. Mooching off them in such a dignified way—leave that to other Campione."
"Then the King might as well just accept the Seishuin family," Seishuin Ena said, speaking around her chopsticks. "I said it yesterday too—whether it's Ena or the Seishuin family, we both want the King to take us in."
"I'll think about it." Kaiser said calmly, "While I don't mind recruiting some subordinates, taking in an entire faction is something that needs careful consideration."
If he planned to stay in this world for the long term, it would certainly be necessary to absorb some factions to handle various errands for him.
But he didn't yet know how long he'd remain in this world, so there was no need to make a decision too hastily.
For now, Kaiser only needed a few capable subordinates to maintain contact with the outside world.
Take Erica, for example—with her around, moving around Italy was undeniably convenient.
The Seishuin family wielded great influence in this country. While they might not control an official authority like the History Compilation Committee, as the Sayanomiya family did, they were still a comparable power with sway in both politics and the sorcery world.
Kaiser didn't want to get too close to the History Compilation Committee—it would tie him to the country. But taking in the Seishuin family... might not be a bad idea?
With that in mind, Kaiser looked at Seishuin Ena.
"By the way, how's your injury?"
Kaiser sized up Seishuin Ena's whole body.
"All healed!" Seishuin Ena set down her bowl and chopsticks, stretched her body, and smiled brightly. "Yuri's magic was very effective. Ena only suffered some surface wounds. One night was enough to recover!"
As she said this, Seishuin Ena looked a bit regretful.
"Too bad Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi no longer acknowledges me. I can't use the divine blade anymore. My power is going to drop quite a bit."
For the Hime-Miko of the Long Sword to lose her divine blade—this was no joke.
After all, Ame no Murakumo was a divine weapon. With it in hand, even when facing a Heretic God, one wouldn't be entirely helpless. If used properly, it could even weaken a Heretic God and potentially seal them. Having it or not made a huge difference for Ena.
Of course...
"Even without Ame no Murakumo, don't you still have spirit descent?" Mariya Yuri offered comfort. "With the guardian spirit of the old man, even if your power drops, Ena should still be able to keep her place as the top Hime-Miko."
"True." Seishuin Ena was very open-minded and immediately perked up. "In that regard, Ena is still very confident."
Even without being the Hime-Miko of the Long Sword, Seishuin Ena was still the Miko of Susanoo-no-Mikoto.
As long as she used spirit descent and called upon the divine guardian spirit, she could still wield divine power.
At the very least, someone like Erica likely wouldn't be her match.
"Please don't abandon this Ena. Grant me your favor, my King."
Seishuin Ena bowed to Kaiser, bringing up the old topic once more.