Fear and unease—whenever humans faced an enemy far beyond themselves, these two emotions were inevitably born. Just as they were in Yukinoshita Haruno at this moment.
"Th-That certainly is a thorough investigation report. Should I say, as expected of the Doma Family? The Yukinoshita Family is truly honored to receive such generous treatment from the Doma Family!" Forcing her slightly trembling hand to place the coffee on the table, Yukinoshita Haruno tried to calm her agitated heart. After a long while, she finally spoke word by word, stressing the phrase "generous treatment" repeatedly.
It sounded rather sarcastic.
"Uh~! Well, you're our partner, after all, so we just did a little investigating into your assets. The momentum isn't bad either—actually, it's even a little better than the Doma Family's was back then..." Sogo Doma shrugged. Since this unauthorized appraisal of someone else's assets had only earned him a sarcastic jab rather than a beating, he could accept it.
Yukinoshita Haruno: "..."
So the Doma Family had made their move after all? Otherwise, how could they have gotten such a detailed assessment report? And the Doma Family had definitely planted a spy in the Yukinoshita Family. Those people from the Shinomiya branch families had been right—the Doma Family excelled at planting informants in other people's homes. So then, who was the mole within the Yukinoshita Family?
Damn it, what did he mean by "a little better than the Doma Family was back then"? Was he showing off Keiryu Doma's personal abilities? Or was he warning her that the Doma Family had grown from strength roughly comparable to the Yukinoshita Family's into a colossal powerhouse, that they had long since seen every kind of trick, and that she—the Yukinoshita Family—had better behave?
"By the way, rather than focusing on the Yukinoshita Family's assets,