When the maid bathed Tan Man and saw his body covered in bruises, she could not help drawing a sharp breath.
Working for the Zenin Clan meant beatings and verbal abuse were hardly uncommon, but Tan Man was only six years old. She could scarcely imagine what kind of life he had led before this, and it was hard not to feel sorry for him.
Besides, when the two maids were temporarily assigned to attend to Tan Man, Naobito Zenin had subtly indicated that the boy was very likely his own child.
That only made the maid more curious about Tan Man. Just what kind of person was his mother?
After a quick wash, the maid dressed Tan Man in the clothes the Zenin Clan had prepared for him.
They were not comparable to the expensive, custom-made clothes of fine fabric that Naoya wore, but they still brought out a touch of Tan Man's distinctive, mixed-race charm.
The breakfast prepared for Tan Man afterward was only what an ordinary Zenin Clan member would receive, but he still ate with relish.
After all, even their lowest standard was far better than the irregular meals he had lived on with his mother. At least he no longer had to choose between eating and getting diarrhea or going hungry.
If mothers were graded, Tan Man's mother would undoubtedly have failed. But there were many things in this world that people had no choice about.
After the brief meal, the Kukuri member spoke up.
"Young Master Tan Man, my name is Hiroya Zenin. I'll be showing you around the Zenin Clan."
Hiroya had settled on "young master" after some consideration.
Even if Tan Man proved not to be Naobito Zenin's biological son, the arrangements Naobito had made for him were enough to demonstrate his value.
Whether he eventually joined the Hei or the Akari, he would be far beyond someone like Hiroya, who had no talent for cursed techniques.
And so Tan Man followed Hiroya around the vast Zenin estate, frequently drawing glances along the way.
For one thing, Tan Man was an unfamiliar face. His mixed heritage also made his features noticeably different from those of Japanese people, making him all too easy to spot.
For another, boys his age were rarely seen around the Zenin estate.
Or rather, most children his age were unlikely to have an opportunity like Tan Man's, touring the Zenin estate as though conducting an inspection. Almost all of them had their own training to attend to.
At this stage, however, the vast majority still knew nothing of Tan Man's identity. Naobito Zenin did not intend to announce his existence until the paternity test results came back.
The unusual identity of Tan Man's mother also meant that Naobito Zenin would never introduce him in too much detail.
Instead, another piece of news spread quickly: Naoya, the Zenin Clan's young master, had wet his pants and been carried away.
But the doctor and the Kukuri member who had witnessed the incident would never spread the story of what had happened between Tan Man and Naoya indiscriminately, so most people still had no idea how Tan Man was involved.
Tan Man and Hiroya happened to run into Ogi Zenin, who had just returned from a mission.
Hiroya greeted him respectfully. "Mr. Ogi."
Ogi did not remember every Kukuri member, since he was not primarily responsible for managing them, but Hiroya's face was familiar to him. Tan Man, standing beside him, was another matter entirely.
Ogi frowned slightly, puzzlement showing in his eyes.
Noticing Ogi Zenin's questioning gaze, Tan Man bowed slightly and addressed him respectfully.
"Mr. Ogi."
Hiroya knew Ogi's volatile temper well. Worried that Tan Man might get into an unnecessary conflict with him, he hurried over and respectfully leaned close to Ogi's ear to explain what he knew about Tan Man.
Tan Man did not mind their deliberate attempt to keep him from overhearing.
After listening to Hiroya's explanation, Ogi looked at Tan Man with an even stranger expression.
Seeing Hiroya's pleading look, Ogi waved a hand casually and did not stop them further.
Ogi understood his older brother Naobito Zenin's personality and way of doing things.
He was simply waiting until their relationship was confirmed before making it fully public within the Zenin Clan.
Besides, Tan Man was the clan head's son, after all. Once that was confirmed, every elder in the Zenin Clan would have to be informed.
Watching Tan Man and Hiroya walk away, Ogi muttered to himself.
"A son, huh..."
Along the way, Hiroya told Tan Man a great deal about the Zenin Clan, including its three organizations: the Kukuri, the Hei, and the Akari.
The distinction was that the Kukuri primarily consisted of Zenin men with no talent for cursed techniques. The Hei consisted of sorcerers who possessed cursed techniques and had reached Grade 1, while the Akari consisted of those with cursed techniques who had yet to meet the Hei's requirements.
Although Tan Man already knew all this, he listened quietly.
As they passed a pond on the hill behind the estate, Tan Man saw a man sitting beside it, idly tossing stones into the water.
Tan Man's pupils contracted slightly. He asked Hiroya, "Who's that over there? Everyone seems busy at this hour, so why is he here?"
Hiroya looked at the man's back. Once he had confirmed who it was, an awkward expression crossed his face.
After all, that man was an extremely unusual presence within the Zenin Clan.
Though he was immensely powerful, his lack of a cursed technique made him something of a stain in the clan's eyes.
For a moment, Hiroya did not know how to introduce Toji to Tan Man. Not long ago, Toji had even had an unpleasant dispute with those old men in the Zenin Clan.
[A note to head off nitpicking: At this point in the story, Toji is close to leaving the Zenin Clan. However, the original work never specified the exact timing, so this story follows my timeline.]
Tan Man merely glanced back at Hiroya and cast an Evil Eye illusion on him, using that minute to approach Toji.
With his superhuman senses, Toji had long since noticed Tan Man approaching.
He did not know what Tan Man wanted, but it made no difference to him. Without turning around, he spoke to the boy in a low voice.
"Get lost."
But Tan Man did not stop. Instead, he waved a hand and unleashed Eight Hot Hells: Reviving Hell directly into the pond in front of Toji.
A Corpse immediately rose from the water, the scorching black flames on its body sending up great clouds of steam as they touched the pond.
Toji froze for a moment at the sight of the Corpse. Though he could not precisely detect cursed energy, he could sense its presence in a subtle way.
[Like a sixth sense: He uses intuition to judge whether someone is a sorcerer, then relies on his powerful five senses to determine whether they are using cursed energy.]
Yet somehow, he felt that this thing was not purely cursed energy or a cursed spirit.
[The essence of the Eight Hot Hells is a cursed technique that uses the innate technique engraved in Tan Man's body to form a contract with hell, expending cursed energy to bring things from hell into reality. Thus, the Corpse itself is not a product of cursed energy, and even Toji can perceive it with his naked eyes.]
At that point, Toji turned to look at Tan Man, the one responsible for the disturbance.
And the moment Toji turned toward him, Tan Man used his final Evil Eye of the day on him.
Tan Man had unleashed Equal Lives precisely to make Toji turn around, giving him a chance to use Evil Eye.
He placed everything he wanted to tell Toji inside the Evil Eye illusion.
The reason Tan Man used an Evil Eye illusion to convey the information was to keep it sufficiently covert.
For one thing, Tan Man did not know exactly when Toji would leave the Zenin Clan, but he knew it would not be long.
If he waited until Toji left, making contact afterward would be much more troublesome, as well as more conspicuous and likely to draw attention.
Yet he could not approach Toji too abruptly, either, or others in the Zenin Clan might notice.
That made Evil Eye the best option available to Tan Man.
When the minute ended and Toji emerged from the illusion, Tan Man had already left with Hiroya, who had come out of his illusion earlier. Both were nowhere to be seen.
Perhaps the steam raised by the Corpse had caught the attention of Jinichi Zenin nearby. He slowly walked over to his younger brother and rubbed his chin as he examined the pond's surface.
Out of nowhere, Toji asked Jinichi a question.
"Do you know someone named Tan Man Zenin?"
"Tan Man Zenin... Tan Man?"
Jinichi paused, quickly searching his memory. But the name Tan Man genuinely rang no bells, so he could only shake his head at Toji.
Before you continue