The Prime Minister slowly lowered his hand. “I… I don’t understand,” he stammered, looking from the masked figure to Karr. “How is he here? In our country? In this very room?”Karr, his cheek still burning from the slap, spoke with a hollow, defeated tone. “It’s a long story. Look, I made a terrible mistake. I underestimated the Order. They are… they are just as powerful as you claimed. More powerful than anyone I've ever seen.”The Prime Minister’s eyebrows shot up in shock. “Really? Just hours ago, you called them a ‘myth politicians use to scare each other.’”“I was proven wrong today,” Karr admitted, the words tasting like poison in his mouth. He gestured weakly toward Sebastian, who stood silently beside Barry. “See that man? The butler? He’s not a man. He’s… a demon.”A collective, sharp gasp escaped from the assembled ministers and advisors. They stared at Sebastian, their minds rejecting the claim.“He erected a dome-like barrier,” Karr continued. “It's like an invisible wall

Barry paced the length of his private study, the crisp vellum of the letter rustling softly in his hand. His eyes scanned the same lines over and over again, as though each reread might change their meaning, might erase the dreadful words behind Hikaru Yamamoto’s neat handwriting. The silence of the room pressed down on him, broken only by the faint rustle of the paper as he turned it over in his fingers.The door opened and Veronica reappeared, her silhouette framed in the soft light from the hallway. "The bath is ready, darling," she said softly.Barry didn't respond. He stopped his pacing and sank heavily into a high-backed leather chair, the letter falling to his lap. He dragged a hand slowly down his face, exhaling deeply as though trying to steady the thoughts raging inside him.Veronica approached, her brow furrowed with concern. She knelt beside his chair, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "Barry? What's going on? You've been reading that letter for over thirty minutes. Wh

Finally, Takeshi raised his hand.The auction hall fell into a hush as the sliding doors at the side creaked open. A team of five men appeared, their backs straining under the weight of what they carried. Slowly and carefully, they lowered a massive boulder onto the polished wooden platform at the center of the hall. The floor groaned faintly beneath its weight. The rock was almost the size of a small cart—uneven, jagged, its surface dull and blotched with grey, mud-brown, and moss stains. It was an ugly thing, lifeless, crude, and by all appearances completely worthless.Several guests leaned forward with furrowed brows, whispering among themselves. The contrast between the priceless porcelain, gold ornaments, and rare relics already sold—and this plain, ordinary lump of stone—was almost insulting.Takeshi Yamamoto, standing proudly in his ceremonial black kimono, gave a small wave of his hand toward the boulder.“This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Yamamoto family’s ancestral ro

The last of the guests' cars had disappeared down the lantern-lit drive, the silence they left behind thick and heavy. The moment the main gate slid shut, the elegant facade of the Yamamoto ryokan crumbled.Takeshi stormed into the inner courtyard where Akame was trying to make herself small, his face a mask of pure fury. In his hand, he held a thin, rigid bamboo cane."You stupid, ungrateful girl!" he roared, his voice echoing off the wooden walls. The first strike of the cane caught her across the shoulders, making her cry out and stumble. "You humiliated me! In front of the most important people in this city! You made a scene over a worthless piece of stone!"Akame curled into a ball, her arms protecting her head. "It's not worthless!" she cried, her voice muffled by her sleeves. "It was important to Grandfather! It's important to me!""Important?" Takeshi snarled, landing another stinging blow on her legs. "Are you calling my father stupid? He was the one who listed it for the au

The following afternoon, Barry returned to the Yamamoto ryokan. The serene atmosphere felt different now, charged with a tension that only he seemed to perceive. The carefully raked gravel of the garden and the silent sweep of the roof felt less like a welcome and more like a prelude.Takeshi Yamamoto was waiting for him at the entrance, his smile as polished and inscrutable as the day before. "Mr. Saber, thank you for coming," he said with a deep bow. "Please, follow me."Barry was led not to the main reception area, but to a secluded VIP room, hidden away from the main thoroughfares of the inn. The shoji screens slid open to reveal three other men already seated on cushions around a low table. Barry recognized them instantly—they were the other wealthy, persistent bidders from the auction. They exchanged curt, polite nods as Barry settled onto a cushion. For a while the air in the room thick with unspoken curiosity and competitive energy.Takeshi took his place at the head of t