Everyone in the room was silent while Kanzei was fiddling with a red dagger between his fingers as he kept looking at Seijo in the corner of his eyes. Kiru raised her hand and the dagger vanished as he stood at attention once again. She said. "Now, now. I don't plan to dispose of any bodies for today. I still have an Image to maintain for my little brother." Turning her head to face Kanzei she said. "Kanzei the usual, please."

With a nod, Kanzei moved to the opposite side of the table and started to bring out objects from thin air some of them were a set of a teapot with intricate engravings and teacups, a large metal thermos, a loaf of bread in a plastic that didn't have a brand, a few condiments, a knife, a chopping board, and some assorted vegetables, cured meats that were tied in some rope and had different shades of skin, a small wooden box that could easily be open, one large silver plate, and small cuts of different types of cheese.

Making sure Kiru's side of the table was still empty, Kanzei said. "Ojou-sama what type of sandwich would you prefer today?" Placing her hand on her cheek Kiru said. "Hmm... Surprise me, oh I almost forgot. Make some extra little brother he might be interested in learning how to make it." With a nod, Kanzei started slicing up vegetables, meat, and some cheese at high speeds. He said. "Ojou-sama, would you like the crust on your bread to be on or cut off?"

Kiru replied. "Cut off, please." Kanzei took out six pieces of bread and sliced the crust off as the crust was cut off it vanished into thin air. Some of the bread was sliced diagonally, halves, and into three equal parts. With meticulous attention, Kanzei started to make different kinds of sandwiches, some had mayo on one side with some thinly sliced cucumber, others had mustard and thin slices of cured meat, and a few more of the same thing but with different fillings.

Kanzei opened up the wooden box to reveal grey colored tea leaves with a few white petals. He said. "Ojou-sama, how many cups do you feel like drinking?" Kiru lazily stretched in the chair and looked at the tea leaves she said. "This isn't the usual tea you brew." Kanzei said. "No need to worry Ojou-sama, I can promise you this would at least meet your standards." With a small shrug of her shoulders, she said. "I feel like drinking three cups." In the palm of Kanzei's hand, a small teaspoon appeared as he carefully placed eight teaspoons of tea leaves inside the teapot. Kanzei asked. "Would you like to drink now, Ojou-sama?"

Kiru said. "Not now, I'm waiting for my little brother. But make a few more sandwiches, I feel rather famished today." One of the mini sandwiches on the silver plate levitated and went towards her, with a small bite Kiru enjoyed her sandwich waiting for Reiki to return. Seijo frowned and was thinking about something, Arashi said. "Who are you?"

Kiru held a sandwich in her left hand that had a single bite on it, placing her right hand under her chin, she said. "Like you, I'm from the mainland. I guess the difference is that in my household it's a tradition for the heir to make something of themselves, you zodiacs, on the other hand, take this as an opportunity to sometimes find treasures but mostly train for some time."

Everyone except for Kiru and Kanzei was on their guard in case one of them tried something. Fuitchi, Enkei, and Igai were blocking the doorway while Arashi and Yuko were behind Seijo on his left and right. Fuitchi was hiding both his hands behind his back, Enkei was conjuring some mana that was going around his fingers, Igai cracked both his knuckles waiting for someone to make the first move. The temperature around Yuko became colder while Arashi was suspiciously seizing Kiru up and down.

Seijo on the other hand was still thinking of something as his eyes widened in realization he said. "... Ojou-sama... Are you from that institution?" Kiru swallowed a small bite of the sandwich. She lazily turned her head to face him and said. "I think you should make yourself clear. There are dozens of forces that have the name institution."

Seijo looked behind him as nodded towards everyone to calm down, all of them returned to their relaxed expression as they saw Seijo confirm they weren't facing a threat. Igai tapped both Fuitchi and Enkei's shoulders, Igai said. "Let's go watch the game. See who's playing next." As he was walking towards the living room.

Fuitchi made a pondering look for a bit and shrugged his shoulders and followed Igai, Enkei who was constantly looking towards them and in the kitchen said. "Should we even be watching right now? They might need our help." Fuitchi, who was walking towards the living room, didn't turn around and said. "Enkei as much as we would like to help we know... The three of us suck at politics. The best thing we can do is move to a different room to avoid giving anything away."

Enkei scratching the top of his head with one last look towards the kitchen he nodded towards everyone and went after the two in the living room. Seijo subtly waving his right hand, Yuko from the table took two of the farthest chairs next to Kiru. Sliding one to Arashi she placed the chair with its back on the wall, Arashi on the other hand caught the chair but didn't sit on it. Seijo said. "... Are you from..."

Trailing off he hoped he was guessing mistakenly. He continued saying. "Institution of Meiji?" Kiru with her head resting on her right hand on the table made a small smile and said. "Correct! No prize though, sorry." Yuko nearly fell out of her seat but after a few seconds processed what Seijo said, soon the chair and the wall behind her was frozen solid with dozens of ice spikes. Kiru turned her head towards her and said. "Yuko, don't be like that."

Yuko with a frosty expression indifferently said. "I have no opinion on... Your organization." Kiru lazily smiled and said. "We can bury the hatchet. The only grudge we have in common was our parents because of their falling out. We on the other hand could be better." Yuko stayed silent for a few seconds and said. "What's your game?"

Kiru let out a small sigh and said. "Nothing believe it or not. I just want to play nice for my little brother." Arashi, hearing it let out an audible scoff standing next to the chair Yuko gave her. Both Kiru and Yuko turn to face Arashi and said. "Like I'll ever trust you on anything you've ever said. And another thing-." Kiru interrupted her and said. "By the way. Where's the memory crystal?" All three of them tense up at the mention of the word memory crystal.

Seijo said. "Ojou-sama, I don't think the head-." Kiru interrupted him by saying. "Oh, you mean madam? You don't have to worry about that. Let me make a quick call to prove it." Picking up her phone on the table she made a few taps as the phone started to ring. She said. "Let me put it on speakerphone for you three." The sound of ringing reverted to the kitchen after a few more rings. The woman on the other phone excitedly said. "Kiru! Sweetheart, it's been a while. How have you been these past few days?"

Seijo, Yuko, and Arashi's eyes twitched at the sound of the familiar voice. Kiru said. "You know, same old same old. I do have something to ask you, well more like I need you to command... Mr. Inadequate to let me use the memory crystal for a peek." The voice on the other line said. "Honey, you know I deeply care about you. But the contents of that memory crystal is secret... Except for a few others." Kiru cheerfully said. "If you're talking about Reiki you don't have to worry about anything. I've already met him, made a deal, seen his potential, and I have something interesting to tell you."

Seijo suddenly started to sweat as he shouted out loud. "Madam whatever she's saying is-." The voice on the other line of the phone coldly said. "Seijo, quiet." Changing her tone back to lazily happy, the woman continued and said. "Kiru please go on and I'm sorry you have to see that I hope you don't pay any mind." With a small evil smirk on her face, Kiru said. "I don't mind at all, I mean..." Whispering her voice she said. "It is Mr. Inadequate who we're talking about."

The corner of Seijo's eye twitched for a bit as Kiru continued speaking. "You know, my household comes across some dragon meat and not just any dragon meat high quality at that." The phone on the other line said. "Yes, yes I know. I've eaten a few steaks from your business even for me it would take a month of intense exercise while eating a 1-inch cube roughly 30g three times a day. And let me guess... You let Reiki do the same." Kiru said. "Well, something like that." The other voice on the line spoke with interest saying. "Oh? Now you have my attention dear."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Kiru said. "Well, he ate the entire thing in one sitting." The voice on the other line was silent Kiru continued. "And surprisingly he lived. You should have seen it madam his skin turned red, steam was coming out of him to me it looked like he was being boiled alive... Not only that his mana! Madam, we need to discuss it at a later date but for now, I'll tell you the quality and you know you can always have my word when it comes to a person worth in mana."

The woman on the other line said. "True, True. You have been honest with me when it came to these things." Kiru smiled and said. "Easily magi grade." The woman on the phone said. "Really? It's that pure?" Kiru said. "Yes... Now about that memory crystal..." The woman on the other line said. "Kiru darling... I already told you it's top-secret. Can't you just request something else?"

Kiru made a pitiable face as she sweetly said. "But what would happen when I go back to my household to report? You know the rules if we didn't report something of this scale I would be in trouble. But if you show me what's in the crystal I would take it as you twisting my arm." The woman on the phone let out an exasperated sigh and said. "Honey, you're becoming more and more like me as time passes."

She let out a giggle and continued. "And I love it! Mr. Inadeq-." The woman on the phone coughed and said. "Seijo let her see the crystal. And don't try anything you'll regret either. I'll be holding the call until she tells me she saw it." Seijo stood still for a few seconds before exhaling out a big breath and tossed the crystal to Kanzei.

Yuko was busy thawing the chair and wall, she froze while Arashi's eyes were glued onto her without any emotion. Kanzei gently put the crystal on the table in front of Kiru placed her hand on the crystal as it started to faintly glow and a 48-inch screen popped out of it. As it started to play Sagyo's memories it showed Reiki pulling up his sleeve.

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In The Bathroom

Reiki was submerged in the ice bath for a few seconds as he moved to sit up in the bathtub making the ice move around. His hair was sticking to his face using his hands he combed his hair to the back as he took a deep breath to calm himself down. The voice said. [Since we're here after that little mistake. Got any questions on your mind?] Leaning on the side of the tub, Reiki asked. "What can you tell me about monsters?" The voice said. [They are loud, annoying, territorial, and taste delightful if you know how to cook each part. But I'm guessing you didn't mean it this way.]

Reiki said. "I'll take that as my fault... What I meant to say was. Half breeds, specifically half-monster half-human." The voice was silent for a bit and said. [Hmm... If you're talking about how they're made then I'll give you some close numbers. Let's see... 59%. Are born with abnormalities. One or maybe two of their parts of their body are entirely monster proportions... Picture a normal human now imagine if that 'human' had one leg that looked like it belonged to a 6-foot tall orc and it was surgically attached to him.]

[A good part of his skin is dark green, and half his face looks exactly like an orc's completely yellow teeth with sharp fangs. In your realm, there might have been a few of this that popped up here and there and were covered up by the... Government? Is that how you say it? Anyway, to this realm they are an abomination but in the higher realm, it's cheap labor. Tough bodies, that work for food, and cant reproduce because... Ah, who am I kidding if you've seen some of them you might even barf and that's considering some of the 'things' you've done.] Reiki took some time to picture that 'abomination' and said. "Go on... That took me by surprise but continue."

The voice said. [What? You thought they would either come out either a monster, human, or some sort of hybrid? No, there are dozens of monsters who kidnap other species. But don't worry though the females die after a few births their bodies could only sustain a few children before dying. And most of them turn into an abomination. What else did you expect when you try to mess with another species' genes that's been passed down for centuries?]

[Carrying on 40.5% comes out what you've watched on... Anime? Am I saying it correctly? They're basically what you've seen. Centaurs, minotaur, catgirls, humans that are more like dragons, half-elves, and more. Why am I even making a list if you've already seen plenty of them... But there is one thing you should note about though like in games it can be vice versa. Wolf folk are one of the many species that walk on two legs like you humans and have the same body structure but keep their fur, ears, tail, and head from their species.] Reiki said. "What about the remaining 0.5%? What do they look like?" The voice said. [I'm going to let you guess it. And here's a hint. I've said the word.]

Reiki thought. He said the word?... Most of them have abnormalities, catgirls, and wolf folk... Genes! The voice said. [Correct. But no prize other than an explanation. Let's say... A dragon has a child with a human. What do you think is one of the possibilities that could happen?] Reiki said. "Why specifically a dragon?" The voice said. [Oh, why a dragon when there are thousands of others? I once asked all the dragons to send me their strongest when I went to negotiate with Cthulhu.] Reiki made a small nod and realized what he said. Reiki said. "Wait. You weren't kidding when you said Cthulhu is real?" The voice said. [Don't worry, you'll meet him someday.] Reiki said. "Is he as evil as they-."

The voice interrupted. [Anyway! A dragon and a human have a child with each other. Other than it looking like a half-human half-dragon or humanoid dragon what do you think would the result be?] Reiki rolled his eyes as he pondered for a moment and said. "A new species." The voice said. [Picture this in your head. A human that looked completely normal but upon a closer look, you'll notice his pupils were vertical slits, golden iris, with white sclera. His skin has a healthy light brown color but when you try to pinch it, it'll feel as hard as a dragon's scale when you try to touch it.]

[It'll feel smooth in one direction but going the opposite it'll feel like sandpaper that could easily peel off your skin. Their nails are black but can change into sharp claws if they want to, they even have another organ to breathe fire with practice they could spew fire up to a 30 feet cone. Depending on their species they are to an extent immune to their respective element and only a handful of magic can even threaten them. It's not limited to just dragons, this 0.5% applies to all species goblins, dryad, merfolk, everything as long as they retain 80% of their respective species and a pure human. Now for how unrivaled they are you can compare them to-.]

Reiki interrupted and confidently said. "Hero." The voice said. [No. I said unrivaled, not cursed.] His eyes widened in surprise by the voice's reply. The voice said. [Even if they only had decent equipment on them they would be able to fight on equal ground with god's strongest apostles and demigods on par with Hercules. And don't be confused with that drawing of a movie the gods feared Hercules unmatched strength. Those 'labors' were attempts to get him killed but what they didn't expect was that Hercules was more human than god.]

[You see that's the thing about you humans that makes you special. Your species dilutes other species' bloodlines making an entirely new one. What makes your pure humans so desirable in the higher realms is this very thing. It makes their children as weak as possible but in return, they can be stronger than they could ever imagine. Depending on the species the female human dies in giving birth to a single child. They will always pick a human that's as pure as possible and hope for that measly 0.5%.]

[The odd thing about you humans is that as long as you don't mix your blood with anything you can grow stronger indefinitely. The other beings noticing that they kidnapped all humans in the higher realms and for thousands of eons gods failed to replicate the result but they've never managed to succeed until Zeus slept with Alcmene and left Hercules in a lower realm. Those 'strong' beings can train, meditate, or enlighten themselves for eternity but they've reached the end of their peak... When are you getting out of the bath? Your hands are pruning.]

Reiki stared at the ceiling and stayed silent while absorbing everything the voice said the ice around him was mostly water by now. After a few seconds passed, Reiki said. "I can't go out since Kiru didn't leave any clothes for me." The voice said. [Give it another minute the rich one will bring it to you.]

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Back At The Kitchen

The screen was already gone as Kiru was thinking of something while Kanzei had a look of approval on his face. Kiru said. "How long will, little brother stay in the bath?" Kanzei hearing this cough and said. "Ojou-sama you haven't given him any clothes yet." As he pointed at the brown bag next to her chair. Kiru turned her head to stare at it, blinking a few times while standing up from her chair, she said. "Little brother didn't seem like he'd go anywhere, but fine."

Kanzei let out a small sigh and chose to ignore her remark. While Kiru was walking outside the room Seijo said. "Mr. Inadequate? I make sure I always do all of my work?" Kiru whispered. "We were talking about you in bed but okay. Girls talk when someone doesn't measure up to their friends just so you know." Seijo's eyes widened like saucers while Yuko and Arashi stared at him in the corner of their eyes.

Kanzei's expression remained neutral but his gave it away that he was judging him. Kiru walked out of the room and went down the hallway to the left, she said. "Little brother I have your new clothes! I hope you have a good sense of style." As she left it outside of the hallway with a playful smirk on her face. Opening the door slightly when the footsteps were far enough Reiki hit the brown bag as he let his arm out and grabbed it and dragged the bag inside.

Searching the contents of it, Reiki said. "Oh, good. Brands that would deteriorate within a year." As he started to rummage to search for something that would look decent on him he mumbled. "I hate designer clothing..." As he wore his new clothes and placed the brown bag inside his tattered pouch.