"I-it's Lord Haimo..."
"Haimo? The familia's patron god?"
"So that silver-haired woman belongs to his familia?"
"Shh! Keep your voice down!"
"Stop staring! You'll get yourself into trouble!"
A wave of muffled exclamations immediately rose from the crowd.
Then.
The surrounding gazes, which had been curious and even somewhat frivolous, instantly changed.
Simple appreciation turned into deep wariness.
Even fear.
After all.
Someone who had caught his eye...
That silver-haired woman...
Could she also be some monster wearing human skin?
Just like Sasamori Aya?
Once that thought took root in people's minds, they could no longer shake it off.
Quite a few even subconsciously took several steps back, putting some distance between them, as though an invisible aura were repelling them.
The originally crowded road actually grew spacious because of that wariness.
At the sight.
Seitenshi could not help freezing.
Although she did not understand what those people were saying, nor could she make out their whispered conversations.
She could clearly sense the change in their gazes.
From blatant scrutiny to awe.
And all of this.
Was merely because the man beside her had gently taken her hand and stood there.
He had not even done anything else.
"It seems..."
"In this city where gods and mortals coexist."
"You're someone special too, my lord?"
Seitenshi said softly.
That feeling of being protected finally allowed her taut nerves to relax.
It was like a pack of hyenas that had been running rampant in the wilderness suddenly discovering a male lion had entered their territory, leaving them no choice but to tuck their tails between their legs and retreat with low whimpers.
She knew that feeling all too well.
Back in that lofty Imperial Palace, when she stepped out from behind the bulletproof glass to face those powerful figures and officials, the