"I understand. Thank you for your trouble."
Although his uncle, Isayama Naraku, was far away from Kenmyo Isayama when he made the call, Kenmyo could still hear some fragmented information coming from the phone.
"Something happened to the Isayama Branch Family. Mr. Isayama Yu and Miss Isayama Mei are both missing."
"Although we will conduct a search, Mr. Naraku, please prepare yourself mentally." There were many such phrases.
Just as Kenmyo Isayama expected, burying the entire mansion and destroying all evidence successfully minimized the impact of this terrible incident on the entire Isayama Family. (Regarding the servants, when Kenmyo Isayama visited, there were already no survivors left in the Isayama Branch Family.)
Forget individual Jujutsu Sorcerers going missing; within the archives of the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association Headquarters, there are dozens of accumulated case files detailing bizarre incidents where entire families of Jujutsu Sorcerers vanished, so this is not uncommon at all.
Generally, the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association's procedure is to conduct a superficial search initially to appease the family members, but eventually, the case is dropped.
If there is no news within six months, the person is presumed dead, and then the funeral feast can be held.
Therefore, the truth behind Sister Mei's disappearance was known only to Kenmyo Isayama and Fushiguro Toji.
"Mei, the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association has notified me too."
"Yu and Mei, they... alas."
After Isayama Naraku finished the call, he seemed to have aged considerably, swaying and leaning on his cane as if about to fall.
Kenmyo Isayama noticed this and immediately went over to help, guiding Isayama Naraku onto the sofa. He handed his uncle a cup of water.
Kenmyo Isayama could hear his uncle constantly repeating one sentence under his breath: "The Isayama Family cannot be destroyed under my watch."
The Isayama Family was already small, and this sudden loss of the Branch Family dealt a heavy blow, reducing the population directly to three individuals. This situation could be described as a moment of life and death.
"Uncle?" Kenmyo Isayama suddenly felt that Isayama Naraku's gaze was somewhat frightening, making him uneasy, as if he wasn't being looked at like a person.
Isayama Naraku, in his desperation, turned his attention to his nephew.
Kenmyo Isayama possessed the pure bloodline of the Isayama Family and the lineage of the Kamo Family, one of The Big Three Families in the Jujutsu World. There was no better bloodline than this.
Although Kenmyo Isayama lacked Jujutsu talent, it was possible that his descendants might produce children capable of inheriting these Cursed Techniques.
"I apologize, Mei."
After such a drastic change, Isayama Naraku realized he had momentarily lost his composure. The method he had just thought of to revitalize the family was somewhat unorthodox.
Thoughts like "many children bring great fortune"—it seems people tend to overthink things when they get old.
"Mei, move here and live with us." Isayama Naraku cleared all the strange thoughts from his mind and changed the subject.
"There are more and more Cursed Spirits outside nowadays. Yomi-nee is out killing Cursed Spirits from dawn till dusk, but she still can't keep up with how fast these damned things are appearing."
"I'm not at all comfortable with you living there."
The disappearance of his younger brother, Isayama Yu, and his niece, Isayama Mei, truly sounded the alarm for Isayama Naraku and crossed his bottom line!
If he were to lose his nephew, Kenmyo Isayama, the Isayama Family bloodline would essentially be cut off. Isayama Naraku could not bear this price.
"It's fine, Uncle." Kenmyo Isayama immediately refused without hesitation. "I'm already used to living alone."
Are you kidding? Just having at least eight Cursed Spirits locked up on the third floor of his own house already constitutes illegally harboring Cursed Spirits—a single charge that could get Kenmyo Isayama executed dozens of times by the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association.
The Jujutsu Sorcerer Association might not be able to control Jujutsu Sorcerers belonging to The Big Three Families under its banner, but for civilians like Kenmyo Isayama, if they are involved in researching Cursed Spirits, they are immediately labeled and treated as Curse Users.
And then there are those Tyranid bugs, each one more adorable (terrifying) than the last; moving these things that cannot see the light of day... Ugh, it would give him a massive headache.
Therefore, it was absolutely impossible for Kenmyo Isayama to move in, and he naturally had to refuse.
"Then how about I have Yomi move in? The two of you can look out for each other." Isayama Naraku sensed Kenmyo Isayama's resistance and didn't force the issue, instead offering a compromise.
Isayama Naraku still recognized the strength of his adopted daughter, so having her protect Kenmyo Isayama was certainly not a problem.
Of course, the most important thing was that Isayama Naraku had a hidden motive: Isayama Yomi was the next Family Head he had decided upon.
"Protect who?" If Isayama Yomi knew Isayama Naraku was thinking this way, her eyes would probably pop out.
"Mei needs *my* protection?"
"Dad, you didn't see it, but last time Mei killed the Heavenly Restraints Tyrant in two'swoosh, swoosh' strikes."
After all, such a feat was too astonishing, so Kenmyo Isayama had asked Yomi-nee not to mention it to his uncle.
"Uncle, I appreciate the thought, but I really am fine on my own."
When he heard his uncle still wasn't comfortable with him living alone and suggested having Yomi-nee move over, Kenmyo Isayama said helplessly, "It would be better if Yomi-nee spent more time with you instead."
If he didn't produce some convincing evidence for his uncle soon, then tomorrow—no, tonight—Yomi-nee would probably be kicked out of the house by his uncle.
"You're worried about me having an accident while living alone?" Kenmyo Isayama chuckled softly and changed to a comfortable posture, slowly leaning back onto the sofa cushion, his legs crossed, looking quite languid.
Isayama Naraku wanted to say something more, but after hearing two sharp claps, the sight before his eyes made him swallow the words he was about to speak.
"Uncle, I have always been a 'law-abiding' good citizen."
Kenmyo Isayama looked directly at Isayama Naraku and stated matter-of-factly, "I don't cause trouble, but I'm not afraid of trouble either! I can protect myself."
Isayama Naraku fell silent.
Mei had given him an incredible "surprise."
Three terrifying monsters, possessing a dreadful aura similar to the Isayama Family's generations-old Cursed Spirit, "Nue," were now quietly and "obediently" standing beside Kenmyo Isayama like trained Hounds.
But that was only in Kenmyo Isayama's view; Isayama Naraku felt his heart pound just being stared at by them.
These gigantic, terrifying beasts, whose massive bodies were covered in hard scales, had scarlet, brutal vertical pupils that curved and emitted a faint red glow, and their mouths, full of sharp fangs and teeth, exhaled an aura as hot as lava.
These three Hounds, symbolizing the wrath of the Blood God, were undoubtedly the answer Kenmyo Isayama presented to Isayama Naraku regarding his concerns.
"Uncle, I have things to do, so I'll be leaving now." Kenmyo Isayama stood up and excused himself.
"I will come back to visit you often in the future."
Isayama Naraku watched his retreating figure and simply gave a helpless smile.
After leaving the Isayama Family estate, Kenmyo Isayama immediately made a phone call.
The call was quickly connected. "Kenmyo?"
However, it seemed a bit noisy on the other end, and Kenmyo Isayama heard another person's voice, sounding slightly excited.
"Who is it? He, it's rare for someone to call you."