I will tell him myself.

"But..."

"Why have so many young hybrids been popping up lately?"

Uesugi Eri felt a sense of bewilderment. He had always believed that the bloodline of the "Emperor" had not been passed down, so how could so many individuals with clearly extraordinary lineages suddenly appear in Tokyo, all catching his eye at once?

This, the strongest hybrid of the current age and the former Shadow Emperor, harbored deep doubts.

In truth, the reason he had chosen to move his stall was not the one he had given to Nagumo Uzuki. Ninety-nine point nine nine percent of the Katana-Hachike had long forgotten this strangest "Emperor" in their history; only a tiny handful even knew of his existence, and among that handful, only one or two were aware of his possible whereabouts—like Inuyama Ga, the head of the Inuyama clan, though even he only knew the general area. With his Spirit of Speech, "Black Sun," no one would dare come to collect debts from him.

The real reason Uesugi was so stubborn about moving his ramen stall to the backstreets of the University of Tokyo was that he had heard a corporation was planning to spend a full 1.2 billion US dollars to buy out the entire street. The land deeds for this street had remained unchanged for nearly sixty years, still bearing the name of Uesugi Eri. That was 1.2 billion dollars—converted to yen, that was over 150 billion. Yet, Uesugi did not want to sell.

Despite being impoverished all these years, forced to rely on selling ramen to support himself, this once-formidable figure possessed few valuables. Apart from the blades he had brought with him from the clan, this plot of land was all he had left. Uesugi had seen this street for sixty years. Sixty years ago, he had commanded all the hybrids in Japan from this very spot; sixty years later, he remained in the same area, merely transformed into a ramen chef. Even now, as he shifted his stall, he remained here. Having come from France to serve as the "Emperor" of the Katana-Hachike for eleven years, this street was, in his heart, the thing he could least bear to part with.

Uesugi heaved a long sigh. Twelve billion dollars would have been nothing to him in the past. But if he sold the street, these old-fashioned wooden houses on both sides, along with the paulownia and cherry trees he had planted with his own hands, would likely be leveled by bulldozers, and with them, all his memories would perish. He did not know how many years he had left, but he only hoped to see the entirety of this area one last time in his final days.

Originally, these thoughts always filled him with a touch of melancholy, but as he watched Nagumo Uzuki walk toward the young girl from earlier, he suddenly felt a spark of amusement.

"Young people."

Uesugi tidied up his stall. Night had fallen, and a new wave of customers would soon arrive. Unlike the students who visited after school, this crowd was mostly office workers. Some would hurry back to their companies to work overtime after a quick meal, rarely offering him a sense of vibrant life. Uesugi found Tokyo to be a disappointing and sorrowful city. Furthermore, with his medical reports showing multiple organ failure, he thought that perhaps interacting with students might keep his spirits up and make his eventual passing less painful.

"Boss!"

A new customer reached the stall. Uesugi gathered his thoughts and, with a smile, returned to his trade.

***

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Misumi Hatsune quickened her pace. Turning the corner at the intersection of the small alley and the wide main road, she finally spotted the person she had been speaking with on the phone.

Toyokawa Kiyotsugu stood under a streetlight, holding a briefcase. For once, he had not worked overtime and had carved out a little time. Seeing Hatsune, he waved.

"Over here."

Hatsune hurried over and stopped before him, her eyes filled with expectation. Kiyotsugu thought for a moment, deciding against using the term "sister-in-law"—even though that was technically what she was. He opted for a more formal address.

"Ms. Chu... no, Miss."

Would "Ms." sound more formal? Would "Miss" seem more intimate? Kiyotsugu, who had never interacted with a girl twenty years his junior other than his own daughter, felt a headache coming on. He changed his mind mid-sentence.

"Regarding that matter, I have already tested the waters with my father-in-law."

"I am not sure if he understood what I was implying, but I plan to be direct with him tomorrow."

"No... there is no need for that," Hatsune said, sounding a bit flustered. "Just please convey my gratitude. He must have put a lot of effort into the debut of the Sumimi group."

Kiyotsugu fell silent. Hatsune, unsure of what he was thinking, was about to speak again when he said:

"I have been performing quite well at work lately, enough to catch the eye of some major figures even beyond the Toyokawa Group. My father-in-law is aware of this, and his attitude toward me has improved significantly. Asking him about this personally won't be an issue. Don't worry."

"Ah... alright."

Seeing that Kiyotsugu had made up his mind, Hatsune said nothing more, only bowing deeply to express her thanks.

A long silence followed. They stood together under the streetlight, neither speaking first.

"Have you eaten dinner?" Kiyotsugu asked, tossing out a topic to ease the awkwardness.

"I just grabbed something quickly before rushing over," Hatsune replied.

The atmosphere turned silent again. Kiyotsugu checked his watch.

"It is getting late. You should go back and get some rest. Actually, I drove here; would you like a ride?"

"No, that is not necessary," Hatsune shook her head. "I can go back on my own."

Kiyotsugu did not press the matter. He waved at her and got into his car, departing. Hatsune watched his Maybach drive off, merging into the stream of Tokyo's evening traffic, before turning to walk toward her apartment.

On weekdays, she usually took the train to and from school. She hadn't originally had a student registration in Tokyo, but she had since been accepted into Haneoka Girls' Academy, which had both middle and high school divisions. She was currently attending the middle school. Since her debut, work had been busier than she imagined, sometimes leaving her, a middle schooler, feeling like she couldn't keep up. But whenever she thought of the encouragement from her childhood "best friend," Toyokawa Sakiko, she found the motivation to push on.

Hatsune felt exhausted today. Her apartment wasn't exactly close; perhaps taking a taxi, or at the very least the train, would have been the best way to get back and rest. But for some reason, she didn't want to. It felt as if something was pulling at her, urging her to continue walking home on foot.