I'm Not a Devil Either

Let us turn the clock back just a little bit.

Sogo Doma, having just been expelled from Totsuki, was idling away his time wandering around the Doma Main Residence.

"Dee-dee-dee, dee-dee-dee-dee," he hummed a tune no one could understand. Although his true nature was cautious (cowardly), Sogo Doma was always this cheerful; he always knew how to find his own fun. If there were a breeze to accompany him, he could become a happy wind-walker, dashing back to the Middle Kingdom.

He hadn't been wandering long before he spotted a large building.

"Council Hall? A place for a bunch of old fogies to spout nonsense. Boring."

Just as he was about to leave, he heard the sound of arguing coming from inside.

"The young master of the Shinomiya Family is a fine choice..."

"No, the young master of the Suzuki Family is the superior candidate."

These discussions made the smile on Sogo Doma's face grow increasingly "nuclear-friendly," until—the people from the Doma Branch Family came out to talk, and he finally burst in.

With his hands in his pockets and a single-footed kick to the door, he made a glorious entrance into the Council Hall of the Doma Family.

To put it in slightly chuunibyou terms:

Sogo Doma, reporting for duty!

The massive vibration caused the heads of the various families inside the Council Hall to look over in unison.

They stared at the intruder.

The first to react were the people from the branch family: "Yo, Young Master Sogo."

Sogo Doma wore a face full of smiles: "Ohayou, everyone. I heard you were having such a lively discussion that I decided to invite myself in. So, what are we chatting about?"

Some of the family heads also reacted, whispering to one another:

"Is that the Doma, Sogo Doma? The disgrace of the Doma Family?"

"I heard he's an idiot who fails at everything he tries."

"Keiryu Doma has had his hands full worrying about him."

"Has he even lost his sense of etiquette?"

"To think he'd just barge into the Council Hall like that? Even Young Master Taihei wouldn't dare do such a thing."

Yet, looking at the smiling Sogo Doma, some couldn't help but shiver...

"What, what is Young Master Sogo trying to do? Is he rebelling?"

"If Keiryu Doma finds out..."

In the end, it was an old man from the branch family who stepped forward.

"Young Master Sogo, this is no place for your antics. If Keiryu Doma were to find out..." His tone carried a sense of relying on someone else's power to bully others.

But before he could finish, Sogo Doma clapped his hands together:

"Soka, so you still acknowledge Keiryu Doma after all."

Before the words had even faded, Sogo Doma lunged forward, appearing behind that branch family member: "Since you still recognize Keiryu Doma as the head of the family, how dare you privately discuss the marriage of the Doma Family's 'treasure'?"

"I, I didn't..."

"You old fool, I know you. Your name is Niwa Doma, right? As a member of the branch family, it's bad enough that you don't properly guard the main family, but you even bring a bunch of small-timers to try and coerce them..."

As he spoke, Sogo Doma suddenly exerted force with his hand.

"No, Young Master Sogo..."

Snap!

A crisp sound rang out!

"Since we are all of the Doma clan, I'm not a demon or anything. I'll just break one of your arms."

The crisp sound of breaking bone, combined with Sogo Doma's words, made the heads of the families in the Council Hall shiver in unison. Why did he dare to do this?

How could he possibly dare to do this?

Even if Taihei Doma were here, he wouldn't be able to do something like this! To put it flatteringly, they were all considered respectable people in the eyes of others.

No one could find an answer to that question.

The reason was that the arm-broken Niwa Doma was wailing on the ground: "Ah, my arm, my arm..."

Sogo Doma's smile didn't fade: "Don't worry, it's just a fracture. I'm a man of my word, but if you keep moaning, it might just..."

"Do, Doma Sogo, e, even Keiryu Doma wouldn't..."

"Bang!" He didn't let him finish his sentence; Sogo Doma stomped on him again: "Is that so? That old man really is soft-hearted."

After the stomp, he lifted his head, and Sogo Doma's gaze swept across everyone present one by one.

"Young Master Sogo, w, we didn't mean to..." Someone was the first to buckle under that gaze, taking two steps back.

Before he could finish, Sogo Doma interrupted with a face full of "nuclear" kindness: "I know you, head of the Murakami Family. I hear your construction business has been doing quite well lately?"

What did that mean? The head of the Murakami Family retreated again, thinking, Young Master Sogo is joking. It's just a small business, a small business...

"Actually, I've been thinking about dabbling in the construction industry myself. Do you think I need to destroy Murakami Construction Company first?"

"No..." Although his reason told him Sogo Doma couldn't possibly do it, for some reason, looking at that smiling face, the head of the Murakami Family felt a sudden palpitation.

Sogo Doma suddenly stepped forward and whispered, "Chiba Bridge, Mutsu Plaza—it seems Murakami Group is in charge of both, right? I heard there are some massive bad debts buried in those two projects."

"Thump, thump, thump!"

This time, the head of the Murakami Family stumbled back several steps: "You—how could you possibly know that?"

Sogo Doma stepped forward again, leaning in close to the head of the Murakami Family: "Tell me, with me holding this information, could I destroy the Murakami Family?"

"..."

"No, please don't do that!"

"Oh my, what a lack of sincerity in that request."

"I beg you!" As he spoke, the head of the Murakami Family moved to perform a dogeza.

However, a hand stopped him.

He looked up.

It was Sogo Doma's smiling face: "Relax, I said it before, I'm not some devil. Since Niwa Doma lost an arm, you can just lose a leg."

Snap.

Another crisp sound of breaking bone echoed.

"Hiss~!"

Everyone present gasped. The head of the Murakami Family had just had his leg broken like that. What on earth had Sogo Doma said to him?

"Ah~!" The pain of the broken leg forced a scream from the head of the Murakami Family. Yet, what made the crowd even more uneasy was that the man, despite his broken leg, was frantically apologizing: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"Relax, I said it before, I'm not some devil. So, who's next?" Sogo Doma looked up again.

The crowd of respectable figures was so terrified they scrambled backward.

The disgrace of the Doma Family? Who on earth said that?

They didn't know about the disgrace, but this level of bloodthirst and ferocity was truly terrifying! Did they think they didn't want to resist? But that figure of Sogo Doma, who had moved behind Niwa Doma in an instant—how the hell were they supposed to fight that?

At this moment, they missed their bodyguards dearly. Why weren't bodyguards allowed at the meeting?

After waiting for about ten seconds, Sogo Doma spoke again.

"No one speaking? Then this time, we'll move on to Matsuzaki." He pointed at a slightly plump man near the front and said with a smile: "Today is Matsuzaki's lucky day. Out of so many family heads, he was picked on the first draw. Such good luck."

Matsuzaki: "..."

Good luck my foot. You mean the exact opposite, don't you?

"Matsuzaki is in the catering business..." Sogo Doma paused: "Catering is good. There's an old saying in the Middle Kingdom: 'Food is the people's heaven.' Matsuzaki's processing turns ingredients into delicious Cooking; it's truly a great contribution, a great..." He sounded slightly exaggerated.

Even Matsuzaki felt embarrassed: "You flatter me, you flatter me."