Tokyo, Japan.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko met with his teacher, who appeared to be in an excellent mood as he came to visit the studio his student had established.
His teacher handed him a pink diamond and asked him to design a gift suitable for Randou.
"A ring?"
"No. If it's going to be a ring, I'd need an even better diamond."
"Hmm…then how about a hair tie?"
"A hair tie?"
Asou Akiya had been expecting an ordinary piece of jewelry. The suggestion of a hair tie completely caught him off guard.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko showed him a set of hair tie designs he had already drafted.
His teacher praised them warmly. "Your sense of aesthetics is excellent, Tatsuhiko. A hair tie it is! I want one that Randou can use to tie up his hair!"
Asou Akiya's eyes lit up. He had never seen Randou with a single ponytail before.
Without changing his expression, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko said, "I'll make two for you. The second one can be a spare."
In an instant, Asou Akiya's imagination leaped from a single ponytail to twin tails.
With Randou's looks, he'd be absolutely stunning!
Not letting Wilde meet his wife, and successfully sending him away without a clue, had truly been the wisest decision he'd ever made.
The black-haired young man looked at his student with unmistakable warmth in his eyes.
"Tatsuhiko, is there anything you've been struggling to understand lately? Your teacher would be happy to answer your questions."
"Sensei... what is love?"
"Love is a goal."
"A goal?"
"A goal that you'll spend your entire life striving to uphold."
Drawing on the wisdom of his own life, Asou Akiya answered. As though he could see straight through his student's thoughts, he continued with an amused smile, "If you want to fall in love and experience what love is like, then I have one piece of advice.
Make sure you choose someone who's difficult to win over!
The harder they are to obtain, the more fulfilling it'll be when you finally do.
It doesn't matter how love begins. What matters is experiencing the joy of loving someone. The desire to conquer, to possess, to indulge in desire—those are all perfectly normal. We're human because we know how to restrain ourselves. The real tragedy would be losing those ordinary human emotions."
His fingers gently brushed the hair at Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's temple. The lily braid was still there.
"In the future...
Have the person you love braid your hair for you again.
This hairstyle doesn't need any embellishment. Tatsuhiko, you'll be more beautiful than any work of art."
The White Kirin was a lonely soul. If he could one day find someone who would stay by his side and love him, then the gemstone hidden within his icy heart would finally shine with a brilliance worthy of admiration.
As for the present... Asou Akiya couldn't think of anyone suitable.
Better to stay single for now.
Once Shibusawa Tatsuhiko matured enough to stand on the international stage and possessed the strength to hold his own, his intelligence and methods alone would be enough to attract any number of powerful figures. Many of those influential people weren't just wealthy, eligible bachelors—they swung both ways. As long as Tatsuhiko became strong enough, he could easily reel in a formidable ability user as his partner.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko remained silent, gazing steadily at the man whose thoughts never seemed to follow ordinary logic.
Back then, his teacher had advised him to read, to write novels, to take up tailoring and handicrafts.
Now he was outright encouraging him to fall in love.
Akiya-sensei...
Talking people into things is what you're truly best at, isn't it?
Unaware of his student's inner thoughts, Asou Akiya slipped more naturally into his role as a teacher.
"Tatsuhiko, how are things on the government's side? If I remember correctly, both you and your family agreed to participate in the government's plan."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko replied calmly, "Yes. I've joined the training program."
After a moment's thought, Asou Akiya brought up something Tatsuhiko had never been told.
"Then do you know the program's full name?"
A sharp glint flashed through Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's crimson eyes.
"The Transcendent Cultivation Program."
Asou Akiya placed his fingertips against Tatsuhiko's indifferent cheek and leaned in to whisper by his ear.
"Take it seriously, don't underestimate the government. Eiichi-dono is getting old and won't be able to protect you for much longer. Squeeze every last resource you can out of the government. That's your only hope of crossing that 'boundary.'"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko had finally heard the secret he'd been searching for.
His eyes never left Asou Akiya's as he asked, "A Transcendent?"
What is a Transcendent? Is that the name of the boundary? The government had never told him!
Asou Akiya lowered his hand, but Shibusawa Tatsuhiko refused to let the matter drop.
"Sensei," he pressed, "please continue."
Asou Akiya smiled and smoothly changed the subject.
"Tatsuhiko, your ability, Draconia, creates a mist that separates the abilities of everyone caught within it into humanoid manifestations. When an ability user dies, those manifestations become ability crystals, right? Do those crystals remain inside the mist, or can they be taken out?"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko answered truthfully. "I've never told anyone this before. They can be taken out, but they disappear very quickly. So far, I haven't found a suitable way to preserve them."
Asou Akiya fell silent for a moment before asking another question. "Can those ability crystals be transferred to an ordinary person?"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko answered as though it were self-evident. "How could an ordinary person possess an ability? Even if the crystals could be used, they'd only serve to strengthen another ability user."
The words struck his teacher like a knife to the heart.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko even elaborated.
"The human body is like a cup. If you want it to hold the 'water' that is power, the cup has to be large enough; ordinary people simply can't contain that kind of strength."
The second stab cut even deeper.
Suppressing the urge to expel him from his tutelage on the spot, Asou Akiya asked through gritted teeth, "So you're saying they're useful only to ability users?"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko lowered his head to look over the design sketches and replied as casually as ever,
"The ability crystals are in beautiful bright crimson. Keeping them inside my Draconia increases my own power."
Don't even think about it, I'm not giving you any.
Even if you're my sensei, if you tried to take them for yourself, I'd turn against you without hesitation.
Hearing the unspoken meaning behind those words, Asou Akiya flew into embarrassed indignation and pinched his student's impassive cheeks.
"Do you really think I'd covet your ability crystals?!"
He didn't even have an ability!
After thoroughly kneading the White Kirin's cheeks, Asou Akiya finally let go.
"I just wanted to have a look."
"A look?"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko looked puzzled.
Asou Akiya smiled and nodded.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko raised a hand. Mist swirled around it as he reached into Draconia and withdrew a ruby-like ability crystal. Each crystal represented the death of an ability user.
Asou Akiya had long heard of these legendary crystals. Unable to resist, he reached out and gently touched it.
It was cold, and surprisingly fragile.
"Sensei," Shibusawa Tatsuhiko asked, "why are you so interested in this?"
Asou Akiya offered no explanation. After lightly caressing the crystal, he returned it to him.
People are always fascinated by the things they can never have.
Without his status as Tatsuhiko's teacher, Asou Akiya would never have been allowed into the mist. In this lifetime, he likely would never have had the chance to see an ability crystal with his own eyes.
Its brilliant crimson hue embodied both life and death.
"Tatsuhiko, have you ever met an ability user capable of defeating their own ability?"
"No."
"If such a person existed, what do you think it would mean?"
"..."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko pondered the question. Flecks of light shimmered in his crimson eyes, delicate and mesmerizing.
Under Asou Akiya's guidance, he had learned to think more deeply about the true nature of ability users. An ability symbolized its user's soul and inner self. The more beautiful the light it reflected, the more extraordinary that person's existence must be.
If someone could overcome their own ability...
Overcome his Draconia...
"...It would be the resistance and struggle of someone stripped of their power against that very power.
It would be humanity."
So this is what I've been unconsciously seeking all along... Shibusawa Tatsuhiko thought. Every time I trapped ability users within the mist, was I hoping to witness this?
He wanted to see the light of humanity shine forth.
His thoughts becoming increasingly animated, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko couldn't resist entertaining a dangerous idea.
"Teacher, neither you, Ranpo-kun, nor Randou-san are affected by my ability. Could Chuuya-kun or Shuuji-kun produce that kind of light?"
Asou Akiya was so used to his student courting disaster that he could only think, Here we go again.
"The first one would beat you to death, and the second one would be beaten to death by you.
As for that 'light'? Forget it. You'd better pin your hopes on someone else."
After promptly stamping out yet another of Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's reckless impulses, Asou Akiya added,
"And stop calling him Shuuji from now on, he had already changed his name; have you found any trace of that child recently?"
"Once in a while," Shibusawa Tatsuhiko replied. "But after he started hiding from my people, I lost track of him."
Asou Akiya nodded in understanding, then casually steered the conversation elsewhere.
"Tatsuhiko, has anything interesting happened lately?"
"Your work has become a huge hit in France. Shibukawa Ryuuji has become quite famous as well. Would you like me to translate Tears of the Muse to English, German, and Russian for you?"
A quiet excitement welled up in Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's heart.
Asou Akiya pondered for a moment before saying, "Thanks for your hard work, but there's no need for a Russian edition."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko blinked. "Why not?"
Asou Akiya immediately suppressed his disciple's inclination to create extra work with the authority of a teacher.
"When your teacher gives an order, all you need to do is carry it out properly."
No backtalk.
I'm not looking to provoke those Russian rats!
...Though the "Crime and Punishment" twins separated from the mists are undeniably gorgeous...
—Illuminations warning.jpg