Sometimes Rika would even sit there for quite a while, simply watching Mimiko and Nanako as they laughed together or waved their tiny hands innocently in the air.
Seeing all of that made me even more certain that bringing Mimiko and Nanako with us had been the right decision.
At the very least, here they received attention, warmth, and someone who genuinely cared about them.
If they had remained where they were before, they probably would not have received this much attention.
Then another thought crossed my mind.
If that was the case… what would happen if I also brought Maki and Mai here?
Wouldn't that mean Shizuka and Rika would have more people they could care about?
Besides, Mimiko and Nanako would also have more people around them. This small house might become much livelier, but for some reason that image actually felt rather pleasant.
Thinking about that possibility made me smile faintly.
However, for now, everything still depended on one thing.
All I could do was hope that Mei Mei would return soon with good news about a way to bring Maki and Mai out of the Zenin Clan.
...
...
...
Ten days had passed since Mei Mei left to look for a way to bring Maki and Mai out of the Zenin Clan. During those ten days, there had been no news from Mei Mei at all. No messages, no information, not even a simple sign that Mei Mei had found something.
That made the atmosphere in our temporary base feel slightly tense. Not because we doubted Mei Mei's abilities, but because dealing with the Zenin Clan was not something that could be taken lightly. That clan was known for being stubborn, strict with its rules, and not easy to negotiate with.
But today, Mei Mei had finally returned.
And this time, Mei Mei came with news about a possible way to bring Maki and Mai out. Or at the very least, to give them the chance to leave the Zenin Clan openly without having to run away in secret like fugitives.
Right now, we were in the living room of our temporary base located in Akiruno City. It was still early morning. The sun had just risen over the eastern horizon, and its light slowly streamed in through the large window on the side of the room.
That golden light illuminated the smooth wooden floor and the low table in the center of the room. Its reflection made the room look warm and calm, in contrast to the topic of our conversation, which was actually quite serious.
The morning air also felt rather cool. A gentle breeze occasionally slipped in through the slightly open window, causing the thin curtains there to sway slowly.
I sat leaning back casually near the table while holding a glass of cold iced tea in my hand. Condensation clung to the surface of the glass, and a few droplets slowly slid downward.
The ice cubes inside the glass made soft clinking sounds whenever I slightly moved it.
"So... what news did you bring this time? Is it good news?" I asked Mei Mei while casually taking a sip of my iced tea.
The cold taste of the drink felt refreshing in the morning.
Right now, we were all sitting together in the living room. Mimiko and Nanako were still asleep in their room. That was because they had gone to bed quite late last night after talking for a long time about various trivial things.
So at the moment, only Shizuka, Rika, Mei Mei, and I were gathered in the room.
Mei Mei, who was sitting across the table, casually crossed her legs. Her attitude looked as calm as ever, as if dealing with one of the great clans of the Jujutsu world was nothing more than a small task for her.
Mei Mei's light-colored hair fell neatly over her shoulders. A few strands moved gently as the morning breeze drifted into the room.
Mei Mei then looked at me for a moment before giving a faint smile.
"Yes... you could say this is good news..." Mei Mei said in a calm tone.
That small smile made me a little curious. Mei Mei sounded relaxed, but whenever she spoke in that kind of tone, it usually meant there was something interesting behind it.
"So what's the good news?" I asked again while placing my glass of iced tea back on the table.
The glass made a soft sound when it touched the wooden surface.
Shizuka, who was sitting on the left side of the room, also turned her head toward Mei Mei. Shizuka's expression looked calm, but her eyes were clearly paying attention to every word that was about to come out of the woman's mouth.
The same was true for Rika, who was sitting not far from me. Rika tilted her head slightly, looking curious about what Mei Mei was going to say next.
Mei Mei looked at each of us one by one, as if making sure that our attention was completely focused on her.
After confirming that no one else was speaking, Mei Mei finally opened her mouth.
"The Zenin Clan wants to negotiate," Mei Mei said.
The sentence sounded simple, but the meaning behind it was quite significant.
However, after a brief pause, Mei Mei's expression became slightly more serious.
"But they want to meet you first."
"Why?" I asked, my brows furrowing slightly. The request felt rather strange.
If they wanted to negotiate, they should have spoken directly with Mei Mei as the intermediary.
Mei Mei let out a quiet sigh before beginning to explain.
"They know that my identity as the person selling various items—or more precisely, Cursed Tools—at the auction is only someone standing at the front," Mei Mei said slowly.
Her voice remained calm, but there was a faint hint of irritation hidden beneath it.
"They suspect that I'm just someone working under orders." Mei Mei paused for a moment, then slightly shrugged with an expression that looked somewhat indifferent. "Even though I already told them that I was the one who created all those Cursed Tools."
I raised an eyebrow slightly when I heard that.
"They still don't believe it," Mei Mei continued, her tone sounding somewhat annoyed. Normally the woman always looked relaxed, but this time there was a slight trace of irritation in her voice. "They even forced me to use a Binding Vow to say the truth."
I immediately understood what that meant.
A Binding Vow wasn't something that could be used carelessly. If someone made such an oath to declare the truth, then even the smallest lie could turn into a rather serious consequence.
In other words, they truly wanted to confirm whether Mei Mei was lying or not.
Mei Mei then leaned back slightly in her chair. Her movement looked relaxed, but it was clear that she didn't particularly like the way the Zenin Clan had treated her.
"Of course I refused." After saying that, Mei Mei looked directly at me before continuing.
"Because I refused, they became even more convinced that I'm only an intermediary." Mei Mei raised one eyebrow with an unpleasant expression. "They believe that there is someone else behind me."
Mei Mei then let out a quiet sigh, as if trying to calm her own irritation.
"So they said that if you truly want to take Maki and Mai out of the Zenin Clan, then they want to meet you directly." Mei Mei paused for a moment before adding in a slightly sharper tone, "with the person they believe to be the creator of those Cursed Tools."
"I see..." I nodded slowly, finally understanding the real situation.
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[Note: This novel is updated on every even-numbered date]
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