SCIAW: Chapter 130/131

Chapter 130: Family Outside the Port
Around 4 p.m., the return ship had already docked at the port.

By the time they arrived, a large group of people was already waiting outside.

"Kaguya-sama."

Hayasaka Nao had known about this trip in advance and had been waiting at the port early.

"You really do keep up with things, Aunt Nao."

Kaguya had originally hoped that no one would find out about what happened during this weekend trip.

But now, it seemed impossible to keep it a secret.

"The Metropolitan Police Department contacted us as soon as the incident occurred," Hayasaka Nao said, visibly relieved after confirming Kaguya's safety.

Yesterday's police notification had given her quite a scare.

If it weren't for the need to avoid unnecessary communication and prevent alarming the drug traffickers, she would have insisted on intervening immediately.

"I never expected that a simple vacation would turn into something like this," Nao sighed, feeling a headache coming on.

Letting Kaguya relax on a weekend getaway was fine, but running into drug traffickers was beyond unfortunate.

Even she hadn't anticipated such a scenario.

"Kaguya-sama, next time you go out, we may need to arrange a higher level of security to ensure you won't encounter such incidents again."

"Aunt Nao, that won't be necessary."

"This isn't about inconvenience, it's about your safety."

Seeing Nao's serious expression, Kaguya had no choice but to sigh in resignation.

She truly regarded Nao as family.

She didn't mind her concerns—after all, it was only natural for an elder to worry.

Perhaps, she should have a conversation with Nao.

Kaguya was beginning to think it was necessary.

"Nagi-sama!"

A loud voice rang out, and an elderly butler with white hair and a beard rushed over.

At the sight of the always-composed Nagi and Maria stepping back several paces, Kaguya couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Nagi-sama, you must take me with you next time you go out!"

"No way! If I bring you along, I won't be able to have any fun!"

Her firm rejection left the old butler completely frozen in place.

"Oh my~ You really caused a commotion this time, dragging me into all this."

"Huh?"

Nagi scowled at the approaching figure, displeased.

Klaus was already an eyesore, and now this woman was here too.

She had an irritating tendency to notice things she shouldn't.

And worse—she was a blabbermouth.

For that reason, Nagi didn't want her knowing too much.

"So, why are you here, Sakuya?"

"Why do you think?"

Aizawa Sakuya crossed her arms, looking down at Nagi with a reproachful expression.

"You made such a huge mess that Grandpa had to contact me personally."

"If he hadn't told me, I wouldn't have believed you'd stir up this much trouble."

Sakuya had always been aware of Nagi's antics.

She would occasionally visit and check on her, keeping an eye on her unstable tendencies.

But this time?

She had just returned from a trip abroad, only to receive a call from her grandfather.

He told her that Nagi had transferred to another school and even dragged Isumi along with her.

When she heard the news, Sakuya could already picture Tachibana Wataru crying under his blanket.

But she set that aside for now.

The bigger issue was Nagi and Isumi.

Sakuya couldn't understand why Nagi-sama suddenly wanted to transfer schools or why she managed to convince Isumi to go with her.

More importantly, why did Grandpa approve it?

And to top it off, Nagi chose an island for her weekend vacation—one with drug traffickers lurking about.

She couldn't believe Nagi's luck.

Of all the places she could have gone, she somehow ended up in the middle of a crime scene.

"Also, we need to have a serious talk about the two of you."

Sakuya was determined to get answers.

She needed to know what had been going on with Nagi lately.

Why had she transferred schools?

Why had she dragged Isumi with her?

And why had Grandpa agreed to it?

The more she thought about it, the more she felt like something was off, like there was an important secret hidden behind all this.

"Sis, why are you here?"

While the others were being greeted by their families, Sonoko was no exception.

The person who had come to pick her up was her older sister, Suzuki Ayako.

"What do you mean, why?"

Ayako rolled her eyes at her sister.

"You have no idea, the business and political worlds have been in chaos for the past two days."

"Several high-profile young ladies, who influence the future of Japan's economy, ran into drug traffickers on a weekend trip. If anything had happened to you, it would've been a disaster."

"Sis, you're exaggerating. Even if something happened to us, it wouldn't be that big of a deal."

"Exaggerating?"

Ayako scoffed.

"Let me break it down for you."

"The Shinomiya family just completed their internal restructuring, and Shinomiya Kaguya is now the confirmed future heir."

"The Shinomiya conglomerate controls industries spanning heavy industry, light industry, and even food production."

"If something happened to Kaguya, the Shijo family would immediately make a move, and the resulting conflict could shake the entire business world."

"And then there's the Sanzenin family, they just officially recognized Nagi as the heir a few days ago."

"If anything happened to her, it would throw the entire Sanzenin empire into turmoil."

"Then there's the Fujiwara family. They're in politics, her grandfather is a former Prime Minister, and her other grandfather is still in the Cabinet. Her father and uncle are current provincial ministers, and her mother is the head of the diplomatic corps."

"If something happened to Fujiwara, do you really think it wouldn't cause a massive stir?"

"For the past two days, the business and political sectors have been in complete disarray because of you all."

"Dad told me that the top brass at the Metropolitan Police Department received multiple calls from the Cabinet, and they've been in meetings ever since."

"...Wait, it was that serious?"

For the first time, Sonoko truly grasped just how much influence their group wielded.

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Chapter 131: See You on Monday

But it seemed that our background wasn't the only factor exerting influence.

Sonoko couldn't help but think about the situation within the club.

Especially those who had obtained the diary and were already taking strides into the supernatural world.

Even without considering their backgrounds, the power they gained from the diary alone was enough to give them extraordinary influence.

However, mysteries were best kept secret, and they had no interest in showing off.

Thinking about Kaguya's extraordinary abilities and how her maid could travel through space, such things were simply unimaginable in the real world.

But on the surface, Sonoko still waved her hand nonchalantly.

"It's not that bad, not that bad."

"We were just unlucky this time. Otherwise, we wouldn't have ended up on an island used as a drug dealer's base during a weekend trip."

Yes, this was indeed just bad luck.

They had only planned a short trip to an island hot spring near Tokyo, yet they had stumbled upon a drug cartel's hideout. The odds of such a thing happening were ridiculously low.

Ayako also felt that the biggest issue here was with the Metropolitan Police Department.

With so many drug dealers and addicts operating near Tokyo, could the Metropolitan Police Department really have been unaware?

They must have known.

The police would have received intel about this long ago.

Drugs weren't like ordinary contraband. Once they entered the city, they would inevitably attract attention. After all, drugs required both buyers and sellers, and their distribution couldn't be completely concealed.

Even if kept secret initially, word would eventually leak, reaching people who would unknowingly spread it further, until it inevitably reached the ears of the Metropolitan Police Department.

That meant official agencies were always the first to know about such matters.

However, their focus wasn't just on the dealers; they also needed to track the suppliers.

That required setting traps—hence, delays in action.

Even so, Ayako felt that the Metropolitan Police had dragged this out for far too long. So long, in fact, that her sister and her friends managed to take a vacation before the police finally made their move.

But there was no point in saying anything now.

The incident had already happened and was already over. Some words were better left unspoken.

"From now on, you might have restrictions on going out~"

Sonoko, however, wasn't at all fazed by her sister's warning.

"Not really, Sister. You're overthinking it."

This time, their discovery of the drug cartel had only happened because Ren detected the presence of an evil spirit, it was an event determined by divination, a method beyond normal understanding.

The likelihood of trouble finding them in the future was indeed high.

But the probability of them actually being harmed was still quite low.

Not to mention Ren—even the others were gradually becoming far from ordinary.

The effectiveness of conventional means against them was diminishing.

And that arrogant brat, Sanzenin, even suggested going to another dimension to train together.

How could she pass up such an opportunity?

Missing it would be a lifelong regret.

Besides, she hadn't forgotten.

Once she obtained the diary, she could go on a date with Ren.

That was far more important to her than getting the diary itself.

Before Ayako could react, her sister had already wrapped her arms around her.

"Ran, let's go together."

"Aunt Eri's place is pretty far from here. I'll give you a ride back."

Ran, who had always been well taken care of like this, didn't hesitate.

"Sorry to trouble you, Ayako-san."

"No worries, it's on the way."

Ayako knew Ran well and had always liked her.

She was gentle and had a great personality. She was also her sister's childhood friend.

There were no financial interests tying them together.

Their friendship had been pure from the very beginning.

Ayako even thought that if her sister had been a boy, she and Ran might have ended up together.

Unfortunately, her sister was just a tomboy, not an actual guy.

What a pity.

"Ren, Ran and I are heading off first."

Ren?

Because of this, Ayako took a closer look at the boy.

"Let's go, Sister."

"Hey, wait a minute, Sonoko—"

Before she could even read the situation properly, her sister had already pulled her away.

Once Ayako and Sonoko left, the crowd at the port thinned significantly.

Nagi walked toward Ren with Isumi in tow.

She gave a slight bow.

"…Thank you for this time, Amamiya."

"This was your own wish. There's no need to thank me."

"No, my wish was only part of it. My wish alone wasn't enough."

Nagi understood this all too well. A wish was just an obsession—no matter how strong it was, without the right medium, it was meaningless.

This thank you was necessary.

The one-star Dragon Ball embedded within the Vision was the perfect token of gratitude.

Ren didn't refuse and instead turned his gaze toward Aizawa Sakuya, who was standing beside them.

"Your nosy sister, you should think carefully before telling her anything."

"Also, let me give you a heads-up, your sister is going to become a priestess, working mainly as Isumi's assistant."

"This girl?"

Nagi looked up at Sakuya in surprise.

"Isumi actually picked this blabbermouth as her assistant?"

Although she complained about it, deep down, she believed it.

"Who are you calling a blabbermouth?!"

Sakuya wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she did understand that she had just been insulted.

"And who are you, anyway, kid? This is the first time I've ever seen Nagi act so polite toward someone."

Sakuya was genuinely curious about this high school boy that Nagi had gone out of her way to thank.

It was the first time she had seen the usually tsundere Nagi bow to a boy without a hint of her usual attitude.

But Ren had no intention of satisfying Sakuya's curiosity.

"Well then, Sanzenin, Saginomiya, see you on Monday."

"Yeah, see you on Monday."