They stepped out of Naobito Zenin's Head of the Family's Room and retraced their steps out of the Zenin Clan estate.
Perhaps they had breathed in too much of the alcohol evaporating in the Head of the Family's Room, but all three felt a little dizzy as they walked out through the gates.
"Maki-" Akutagawa Shang softly called to Maki beside him.
"Hmm? What is it?" Maki turned to look at Akutagawa Shang.
"What do you think about what the old man just said?" He had heard what Naobito Zenin said earlier, too, and was curious whether Maki still wanted to become clan head in the face of such enormous pressure.
Maki fell silent for a while before slowly speaking.
"I left home back then to get as far away from those disgusting people as possible."
"I wanted to become clan head to prove to those people in the clan that this worthless girl with no cursed energy was stronger than all of them."
"But... if it's like the old man said, once I actually become clan head, not only will I have to face those people every day, I'll also have to..." Just imagining that scene playing out sent a chill crawling up her spine. She instinctively hugged her arms, her whole body trembling slightly.
"That really would be a nightmare." Having spent longer in the Zenin Clan, Mai clearly understood it on a more personal level. Just imagining herself in that situation made her shudder with revulsion, too.
"So you want to become clan head to rub it in their faces, but once you actually get the position, you don't want anything to do with the clan's mess, right?" Rubbing his chin, Akutagawa Shang began analyzing Maki's current predicament.
"That's pretty much it." Maki rested her chin on