Several days later, news of the unfortunate passing of Zouken Matou, the old master of the Matou Family, quietly spread among Fuyuki City's prominent families.
Many upper-class figures associated or partnered with the Matou Family went to pay their respects.
The funeral was held at the Matou estate, with Ryudoji Temple's head priest, Ryudoji Zero, and his monks assisting with the arrangements. It was thoroughly Japanese in style.
Because Matou Family servants had repeatedly resigned or disappeared without reason, they were severely understaffed.
Early in the morning, Byakuya Matou, the head of the Matou Family, dressed in black mourning clothes and stood beside his son Shinji Matou, receiving family friends who had come to offer condolences with grief written across his face.
As Zouken Matou's grandson, Shinji Matou could not say he was particularly saddened by his grandfather's sudden death. If anything, he felt as though a heavy stone had been lifted from his heart, allowing him to breathe freely again.
After all, in his memories, his grandfather had been an old man who was rigid and gloomy, with no affection for his descendants. Shinji's feelings toward him had always contained more fear than closeness.
Whenever that gaunt figure appeared, the atmosphere at home became oppressively dark and sinister. Whenever that gaze from the shadows swept over him, Shinji Matou felt as though slimy slugs were crawling over his skin, filling him with terror and revulsion.
But none of that would happen again. What a cause for celebration.
Besides, there was something else worth being happy about.
The boy with blue seaweed-like hair secretly turned his head, his violet eyes excitedly glancing across the way. Several times, he covertly studied the tall figure welcoming mourners alongside his father, his heart brimming with excitement.
That was his second uncle, Kariya Matou.