Chapter 21

A youthful but resolute voice rang out.

As the rhythmic incantation swiftly drew to a close, a round, crimson fireball struck its target in the courtyard. The target, made with a small amount of Sekkiseki fragments mixed in, soon displayed a corresponding number on its surface: eight.

That was the Rei'i Grade.

Objects capable of measuring Rei'i Grade were uncommon even among the upper nobility, let alone targets like this one that could also be used to test Kidō.

Though this place was remote, the Ise Clan members who owned it were no ordinary people.

"Slurp."

As Nanao Ise continued to practice Kidō, two elderly people sat on the edge of the house's veranda, quietly drinking tea and watching her. The age difference might have made it a little inappropriate to call her their daughter, but the two elders were indeed raising Nanao Ise as their granddaughter.

"Hadō #31: Shakkahō!"

Nanao Ise formed another Shakkahō.

Though she was somewhat unaccustomed to practicing without Haruto's help, Nanao Ise was a Kidō prodigy in her own right. Even the simplest repetition of Kidō helped her find her shortcomings and improve upon them.

Just then.

"Knock, knock."

A rhythmic knocking came from outside the courtyard. Though it was only the sound of knuckles striking the door, it briefly drowned out the explosion of Shakkahō.

"?"

The elderly couple exchanged a silent glance.

"At this hour..."

"Dear, our neighbors don't usually visit after dinner, do they?"

"I'll go have a look."

The somewhat stooped old man nodded and stood up.

And then—

"Excuse me, is this Nanao Ise's home?"

Before he could set down his teacup and do anything, a young voice rang out from beyond the door, full and strong.

"Huh?"

Nanao Ise visibly froze when she heard the voice.

"A-Qing!?"

Volume one: 013, Zanka no Tachi

"Oh my, oh my~"

Soy-sauce-flavored senbei and slightly sweet rice crackers were neatly arranged on an old, reddish-brown tray.

"You really shouldn't have."

Haruto was received with great formality in the Ise couple's living room.

As the saying went, you couldn't strike someone who greeted you with a smile. Haruto had made a point of bringing gifts: fresh tea leaves and authentic dagashi. Though neither was anything rare, they were exactly what the elderly couple liked... Manager Ōmaeda had thrown in that bit of information for free.

"Knowing my elders were at home, I naturally couldn't come empty-handed."

Haruto brushed the dust off his backside and, following their directions, sat on a cushion at the table, taking the opportunity to look around.

Though the couple seemed to live a rather frugal life, everything from their home to the old objects they used revealed a refinement peculiar to the upper nobility. Put another way, nothing was cheap; ordinary people simply had trouble telling.

"You certainly have a way with words, young man."

The old woman covered her mouth and laughed.

"With you helping look after Nanao, the two of us can feel much more at ease about her life at Shin'ō Academy."

"Auntie—"

Nanao, who had just sat down as well, was cut off by the old woman before she could object.

"All right now."

"I've heard quite a bit about you from Nanao. This girl was a little glum when she came home this afternoon."

"She must have thought you'd forgotten the promise you two made."

Though the Ise matriarch said it jokingly, there was some reproach in her words.

They paid close attention to their "granddaughter's" feelings.

"It's getting late."

Even though it was summer, it was already past seven by the time Haruto found Nanao's home. His pace was by no means slow, relatively speaking; an ordinary soul needed at least forty days to travel once around the Seireitei.

"If you two want to practice Kidō after dark... we certainly have the facilities, but the roads around here aren't easy to navigate if it gets too late. Would you like to stay the night with us?"

"...Then I'll gladly accept."

Haruto didn't refuse.

The Shin'ō Academy vacation lasted only seven days. If he returned to the academy dormitory to sleep and set out again at daybreak, he would waste another half day. The trip "home" was already a tight fit, so there was no need to waste that time for the sake of appearances.

As for lodging in the area...

Leaving aside how few inns there were in the Seireitei, none of them came cheap.

"Good."

The old woman nodded with relief.

Having just sat down, she immediately rose from her cushion again, supporting her lower back.

"Then I'll go prepare the guest room."

"I'll help too!"

Seeing this, Nanao Ise hurriedly stood up beside her.

Before long.

The room that had been so lively moments ago contained only Haruto and the old man across from him, who was sipping his tea.

"..."

Haruto could only follow his example and drink more hot water.

"Haruto."

"Yes, sir?"

When the old man finally spoke, Haruto knew they were getting to the heart of the matter.

"How much of Nanao's Kidō book have you read?"

"All of it."

"All of it?"

"Yes. Seventeen numbered Hadō and thirteen numbered Bakudō."

Though it was said to contain "Kidō numbered below seventy-five," that didn't mean it actually contained 150 different Kidō, especially since it also included information on quite a few advanced Kidō. In fact, detailed information on thirty Kidō was already an enormous amount of content for a single book.

"How many of them have you learned?"

"All of them."

Haruto wasn't exaggerating.

Though Raikōhō and Sajō Sabaku were the only advanced Kidō Haruto had chosen to train in specifically, they weren't the only two he had mastered. If they were only talking about having "learned" them, Haruto could successfully cast every Kidō in the book.

"...Remarkable."

The Ise elder voiced his admiration. Even his eyes, which had been hidden beneath his white eyebrows all this time, widened involuntarily.

"I thought you were just a brat with a little talent, looking for a shortcut."

"But now it seems..."

"Nanao's description of you was an understatement."

Clearly, Haruto's revelation had changed the old man's mind... though there was no telling what he had originally intended.

"With talent like that, even without the Kidō book's help, you could join the Kidō Corps without trouble after graduating normally."

"A hundred years..."

"No, you might even become Vice Kidō Chief within thirty years."

The old man's assessment of Haruto was even higher than Ginrei Kuchiki's.

The Kidō Corps was nominally equal in standing to the Gotei 13. The position of Vice Kidō Chief wasn't equivalent to a vice-captain's, but represented genuine Captain-level combat strength.

"You flatter me."

Haruto bowed his head with great humility.

"That's no flattery. I can still judge at least that much."

The old man shook his head.

Though he had retired, he had once been a bona fide priest of the Ise Clan. Most men who married into the clan's main branch met untimely deaths, but the collateral branches suffered no such "curse." As one of the three great priestly families of the Seireitei, an upper noble clan, the Ise Clan's entrusting him with such an important duty was proof enough of his ability.

With that background, he would have been another expert at the Vice Kidō Chief's level, at the very least, had he joined the Kidō Corps.

"After all, that book..."

"I compiled it for Nanao myself."

"!?"

Haruto hadn't even had time to show his surprise.

"Mastering every Kidō in that book would put you at Vice-Captain-level at a minimum, even without relying on a Zanpakuto."

The old man stroked the beard that hung down to his chest.

"I'd say..."

"With your current abilities, if you graduated right now, you could claim the sixth or seventh seat in any squad of the Gotei 13."

"...You really have a keen eye, sir."

"Hmph."

The old man gave a soft snort, paying no mind to Haruto's compliment.

"Back to the matter at hand."

"Haruto."

The old man's expression grew considerably more serious than before.

"Are you interested in Kidō numbered above seventy-five?"

"...Of course."

Advanced Kidō numbered above seventy-five.

Those were genuinely rare abilities, the kind only vice-captains proficient in Kidō had a chance to encounter and use.

High-ranking Seated Officers?

Even with secret teachings placed right in front of them, they wouldn't necessarily be able to master them.

Moreover, as long as Kidō of those numbers could be cast in full, they could pose a real threat to someone at Vice-Captain-level at the very least.

Haruto had never encountered Kidō of this level before. There was no way he didn't want to learn them.

"..."

"Thud."

After a brief silence.

An ancient-looking bamboo book appeared in the middle of the tea table, replacing the dagashi.

Haruto didn't immediately open the secret text. After lightly brushing his right hand over its surface, still unable to make out how it had appeared, he straightened his posture and sat properly.