"In a matter like this—" Inuyama He suddenly raised his head. His wrinkled face flushed red with fury and urgency, and his voice cracked slightly from shouting. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?!"
Angers answered calmly, "Because your Japan Branch has never been honest with me—I wasn't sure whether, when truly faced with the threat left behind by the White King, your choice would be to slay dragons—or whether you would crave that bloodline, seek to go further, even—to evolve into dragons.
"Until I could confirm your stance, I didn't dare take that gamble. Even now, if Specialist He had not—used his own methods to firmly seize control of the situation, I still would not have revealed this intelligence so easily."
"We never wanted to become dragons!" Inuyama He nearly ground the words out through clenched teeth. "That is the delusional fantasy of those maniacs from Nippon Stronghold, those fallen wretches who have betrayed the family's honor! It has nothing to do with the main house! You simply do not understand, Angers. You do not understand what will happen if a Second Generation Dragon of the White King's bloodline enters Takamagahara!"
Angers keenly caught a keyword, one well known in Japanese mythology, yet extraordinarily weighty when it came from Inuyama He's mouth at this moment.
"Oh, Takamagahara? I know it is the heavenly realm inhabited by the gods in your Japanese mythology—but I truly do not know the consequences. That is why I need to ask you."
Inuyama He's expression shifted. Anger, fear, and a reverence deeply rooted in his blood intertwined. His voice lowered, turning distant and mysterious, as though he were revealing a taboo. "God—the god is there."
Angers immediately pressed, "God? Where is Takamagahara? And what exactly is this god you speak of?"
"Clan Head Inuyama!" Ryoma