Kaoru had obviously noticed Akuto's rather direct gaze as well, but thanks to her superb self-control, she simply ignored it.
"According to your request, we've compiled twenty-seven sites across the country that may be connected to gods. Four of them require priority investigation."
Kaoru smoothly swiped through the screen, her professional bearing forming an interesting contrast with the faint redness at the tips of her ears.
Touki silently handed over the printed documents. The cuff of her kimono slipped back slightly, revealing a slender wrist. The girl who usually kept her head lowered had, for once, tied up her hair today, exposing the pale line of her neck.
Akuto took the file and flipped through it casually, his gaze pausing for a moment on one set of coordinates.
"Have Erika lead a team to Izumo Grand Shrine. Liliana will handle Kumano Hongu."
He abruptly closed the file and then looked toward Kaoru and Touki, a meaningful curve rising at the corner of his lips.
"As for the two of you, come to my room later. If I'm not mistaken, you have something you want to report to me in private, correct?"
That single sentence made both girls stiffen at the same time.
"A problem?"
His voice was light, but the air instantly froze.
Kaoru immediately bowed. The collar of her suit jacket opened slightly with the motion.
Touki hurriedly lowered herself as well.
"No. Understood."
Akuto said nothing more and turned toward the VIP lounge exit. Erika and the others followed at once. As the girl in red passed Kaoru, she shot her a half-smiling, half-knowing glance.
Ena hurried after Akuto with Ame no Murakumo in her arms. Her legs, wrapped in black thigh-highs, gleamed softly under the lights. She deliberately kept half a step behind him, moving with the lightness of a young deer, her skirt swaying with youthful energy.
When they parted ways near the terminal entrance, Akuto suddenly reached out and ruffled Ena's hair.
He really did like long black-haired girls in black stockings. And Ena, on top of that, had both an innocent side and a quietly alluring side.
But when Akuto said he liked her, it was not just about liking how she looked in a school uniform. It also meant he liked the fact that she was willing to wear the uniform of his school's high school division in the first place. That attitude itself carried meaning.
Ena nodded, ears burning red, then ran off with the sword in her arms, her retreating figure almost visibly buoyant with delight. The black stockings on her legs caught and reflected the light as she moved, and the line of her calves tightened into a graceful curve.
"Let's go."
With that single order from Akuto, the group, not especially large to begin with, finally started moving.
Almost as soon as the cars pulled away, Erika found a chance to lean close to Akuto's ear and let out a warm breath.
"Lord Akuto, you really do enjoy teasing pure-hearted girls, don't you?"
Today Erika wore a red dress, with the tops of her garter stockings faintly visible beneath the hem. Not far away, Liliana, dressed in a knightly outfit, frowned as she adjusted the silver clasps on her uniform.
Both of them had seen that Akuto had taken a liking to Ena. But because of the difference in their personalities, Erika chose to tease him directly, while Liliana busied herself with tidying her attire.
Even from the way they dressed, it was easy to tell that the two of them defined themselves differently. Erika, clearly, did not see herself as merely Akuto's knight.
Akuto chuckled, having already noticed the faint hint of jealousy in Erika's tone. Quite naturally, he let his hand rest at the top of her white garter stocking, briefly enjoying the soft fullness of her pale thigh.
Of course, since they were still in motion and the Japanese girls were leading the way in front, the only ones who noticed the intimate exchange between Akuto and Erika were the members of his Italian harem.
...
Not long afterward, Akuto returned to his luxury apartment.
He took off his coat and tossed it onto the sofa, his gaze passing over the ukiyo-e painting on the wall depicting gods in dance. He was certain that before long, the goddesses of Japan would all become part of his collection.
As for the male gods...
With his myth-usurping ability, once he was done, there would only be one god left among them, Akuto himself.
During the trip back, Akuto had already sent Erika and the others to inspect several divine ruins reported by Kaoru, while he himself returned first to the apartment.
Next, he planned to fully investigate every divine ruin in Japan and pull down every god that could still be dragged out of the divine realm.
According to the information Athena had provided, even the strongest gods in the divine realm were no more than peak pseudo-dragon god level.
The chief gods and top-tier deities of normal pantheons were mostly around mid pseudo-dragon god rank. Athena herself was in that range, though if she could restore her trinity form, she would also be capable of reaching the peak of pseudo-dragon god rank.
Even if there were some hidden powerhouse lurking in the divine realm, Akuto estimated that at most they would only reach the level of an early dragon god to a mid dragon god. If he truly went all out, he could probably still just barely handle them.
What he feared was the gods of the divine realm joining forces to settle accounts with him. Two fists could not beat four hands. Before eroding enough myths and securing the support of enough goddesses, Akuto had no interest in taking that sort of risk.
So his plan was to first search the human world for everything connected to gods.
With the evolved power of the Disk of Usurpation - End, even divine tools or miracles merely related to a god should be enough to drag the connected deity down from the divine realm.
Once they were pulled down, male gods would have their myths directly usurped. Female gods would be defeated, then have their Authorities taken in the same manner he had taken Athena's, after which he would bind them with the Great Pact and make them his allies.
To achieve all of that, he first needed complete dominion over this land.
Akuto knew very well that the information Kaoru had submitted could not possibly represent every location in Japan connected to Heretic Gods. To fully control Japan, Susanoo had to disappear, and with him the faction that supported him.
At this stage, though, Kaoru had already turned over quite a large number of divine traces, so Akuto expected to stay busy for a while. For the moment, he had no particular intention of going out of his way to deal with Susanoo.
But even if he had no plans to move against Susanoo right now, Akuto had already fixed the date of his death in his mind.
Once Luo Hao arrived in Japan, Susanoo's life would enter its countdown.
...
As he sorted through everything that needed to be done in the world of Campione!, Akuto poured two glasses of red wine.
At the same time, two young women arrived at his door.
Kaoru and Touki had come in accordance with his summons.
At the entrance, Kaoru's efficient look, with her suit trousers and hidden sheer stockings beneath, formed an interesting contrast with the glimpse of white tabi visible beneath Touki's kimono hem. But both girls were equally tense.
After staring at each other for several seconds, Kaoru was the one who finally raised her hand.
Knock knock knock.
"Lord Akuto, there are some matters I would like to report to you in person."
When the knock came, Akuto deliberately waited a moment before answering.
"Come in."
Click.
Kaoru's heels left faint impressions in the carpet, while Touki's white-socked feet made almost no sound at all on the floor.
Kaoru chose the edge of a single-seat sofa, sitting with her legs together and angled to one side in perfect formal posture. But the fingers that kept rubbing at the side of her glass betrayed her nervousness.
Touki knelt by the tea table, busying herself with the tea set. The hem of her kimono had slipped slightly, revealing more of the white tabi beneath.
As he sipped his wine, Akuto watched the taut lines of both girls' shoulders. It was obvious that facing him alone made them even more nervous than before.
"There's no need to be so stiff."
Akuto suddenly leaned toward Kaoru, startling her enough to make her lean back. He braced one hand on the back of the sofa, his gaze sliding across the faint creases where the sheer fabric beneath her slacks tightened over her thigh.
"Setting aside the next head of the Lenjou family, Kaoru, you and I go back a ways. I have no intention of putting on airs in front of an old acquaintance."
"In the future, if it's not official business, you can address me the same way you used to."
"Yes, Akuto-kun. Understood."
Inside her heels, Kaoru's toes finally relaxed. The moment she heard him still call her Kaoru, her mood lightened all at once.
Touki's hand trembled slightly as she poured the tea, sending ripples to the rim of the cup. Wrapped in white tabi, her ankles looked so slender they seemed as though they might break with a touch.
Touki herself was just as fragile as those delicate ankles suggested.
After all, she had grown up without ever awakening cursed power and could not use sorcery, yet she had still become the next head of the Lenjou family. With all those factors combined, Touki could almost be described as someone who looked stronger on the outside than she truly was.
When she was with Sakura, she was a proud and poised young lady.
But in front of Akuto, Touki turned into a little rabbit.
And after seeing how lenient Akuto was with Kaoru, she became even more timid.
Because...
She and Akuto were not close at all. They had only met a few times at important functions. That was the extent of it.
...
"Kaoru, do you know why I called the two of you here?"
"Because with your insight, Akuto-kun, you already realized we had something we wanted to report in private."
Once she had gone back to calling him Akuto-kun, Kaoru's respectful stiffness eased, replaced by the composed confidence she normally carried.
"Exactly. I saw through it."
"So whatever it is, just say it."
Akuto nodded and looked between Kaoru and Touki.
His gaze moved back and forth between the two girls. Kaoru's legs beneath her slacks caught the light with a faint sheen through the sheer fabric underneath, while Touki's tabi-covered toes curled uneasily against the tatami.
He had to admit, the contrast of black and white made for a very pleasing picture.
And one more thing...
The custom of changing into indoor footwear upon entering a home in Japan really was a fine bit of civilization.
Otherwise, while he could simply see through their shoes if he wanted to, that sensation was completely different from what was voluntarily revealed.
(End of Chapter)
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