Villain: Your Heroines Were Delicious

Chapter 183: Chapter 48

The front door of the Kageyama household clicked shut, sealing out the encroaching night as Seijirou and Yuko stepped back into the warmth of the foyer.

The house was quiet, save for the low hum of the television emanating from the living room.

“We’re back,” Seijirou called out, his voice echoing slightly against the high ceilings.

On the plush sofa, Haruka and Erina were sitting side-by-side, with the glow of the TV screen dancing across their faces—one perfectly stoic, the other carrying a trace of lingering anxiety that softened into relief at the sight of the newcomers.

“Welcome back,” both girls greeted them.

Haruka’s greeting was, as always, a model of monotonous voice, while Erina’s held a note of genuine warmth.

Yuko, still clutching the bags of fresh produce and meat, didn’t waste a second.

The encounter at the supermarket was already tucked away in the back of her mind, replaced by her duties as the heart of the household.

“Haruka, come help me prepare dinner,” she directed, already heading toward the kitchen. “We have a guest to feed, and I want everything to be perfect.”

Haruka said nothing, but she rose with a fluid, disciplined motion, not unlike a robot as she cast one brief, analytical glance toward Seijirou before following her mother into the kitchen, her mind likely already calculating the optimal chopping speed for the vegetables.

Seijirou exhaled a long breath and moved toward the living room where he sank into the sofa beside Erina, the leather creaking slightly under his weight.

On the screen, a news anchor was delivering a stern report on the rising frequency of “gas leaks” in the metropolitan area, flashing graphics of cordoned-off streets and advising citizens to remain indoors after dark.

But of course, they both knew the “gas leaks” were merely the church and Grand Order’s preferred euphemism for the supernatural anomalies and violent outbursts that were becoming harder to hide.

Still, Seijirou couldn’t help but wonder why they have become so frequent lately. Is it related to those things that Rindou had fought? Or maybe because of the ongoing war between the Bully Society and the Rebel Council?

But he shook his head to rid of those thoughts and decided to focus on the issue at hand.

“What do you plan on doing now?” Seijirou asked, his eyes remaining on the screen but his attention fully fixed on the girl beside him. “You’ve made your stance clear today, but you can’t keep hiding like this forever. I believe your father isn’t the type to just let a ’valuable asset’ walk away, right?”

Erina bit her lower lip, the flickering light of the television highlighting the tension in her jaw.

The reality of her situation was a heavy weight, one that even the safety of this mansion couldn’t entirely alleviate.

After a moment, she shook off the gloom and turned toward him, a playful, slightly daring smile dancing on her lips.

“Yes, you’re right, of course,” she mused, her voice dropping into a melodic lilt. “But… everything would be so much easier if Seijirou-sama were simply willing to marry me. A Kageyama bride is untouchable and my father would probably weep with joy before he ever thought of bothering me again.”

Seijirou let out a short, dry sigh as he leaned his head back against the cushion, staring at the ornate molding of the ceiling. “Even if I were willing to go along with that, my mother wouldn’t agree. She’s… particular. Although she has no problems with me having a collection of women in my life—in fact, she almost seems to encourage it—she is adamant that the one who officially carries the Kageyama name must be of the same status.”

“That will be hard,” Erina admitted, her smile fading into a thoughtful frown. “The Kageyama family is incredibly powerful, like a mountain in a world of hills. Unless you began looking overseas at foreign nobility or corporate dynasties, finding a woman of your own age from a family whose influence truly equals yours will be an extremely difficult task.”

“Yeah,” Seijirou nodded slowly. “In this school, the only ones I know whose family background even comes close to our level are the Shirohara Family.”

“Ah, yes. They are very influential,” Erina noted, her business-trained mind instantly pulling up files. “Especially the old patriarch, Shirohara Ichibei. It’s said he has been close friends with the Prime Minister for decades. Their roots in the political world are deep.”

Seijirou nodded at that, but his thoughts drifted further into another family that might be considered as on the same level as them.

The Kobayashi.

He knew that Rindou’s family, the Kobayashis, were also immensely influential, but their power was rooted in the “Supernatural World.”

In the mundane world, they maintained a carefully crafted image: a family of heroes who had served with distinction in the war and continued to maintain peace, with almost every member of their lineage holding high-ranking positions in the police force or the military.

They were the shield of the nation, both seen and unseen.

“So, marrying me to solve your problems is not an option,” Seijirou stated, bringing the conversation back to the immediate crisis. “That’s why, if you really don’t want to get married to whatever ’ally’ your father has found, you need to find a way to make him see that this new alliance wouldn’t be beneficial in the long run. You have to strike at the logic of his greed.”

Erina shook her head, her purple eyes clouding. “But that would only be a short-term solution, Seijirou-sama. After all, unless our family can learn to support itself and handle the constant, predatory attacks from the various old lineages that want to see us fail, my father will always be searching for a powerful ally. If it’s not this current ally, it will be someone else tomorrow. My father is just addicted to the safety of a benefactor.”

“That’s easy then,” Seijirou said, his voice cold and decisive. “If the head of the house is the problem, just replace your father. I don’t believe for a second that there is no one else in the Kurosaki family capable of taking the reigns.”

Erina’s breath hitched as she looked at him, startled by the bluntness of the suggestion, however, she also somewhat agreed.

“Mother… she might be able to,” she whispered, the idea taking root. “She has always been far better at handling the intricacies of the business than my father. All he has is sn ambition, but she has the mind for it. The only reason she doesn’t have much power is because she’s a woman in an old-fashioned system, and she only married into the family. She’s technically an outsider.”

“Then, isn’t it easy?” Seijirou countered. “I don’t believe that with your intelligence, the two of you together couldn’t find a way to replace him, especially since he’s proven himself to be so incompetent lately.”

Erina’s expression darkened, and she shook her head again, a look of genuine worry crossing her features. “It’s not that simple. I don’t know why, but I’ve tried contacting my mother several times today and she hasn’t answered. Or rather… I couldn’t contact her, and not just my mother either, I haven’t been able to reach my aunts or even my cousins. It’s like a total blackout.”

Seijirou’s eyes narrowed, his casual posture tensing. “Now, that is weird. A family of that size doesn’t just go silent all at once.”

“Indeed. It feels deliberate,” Erina said, her voice trembling slightly. “Not to mention, I always feel like my father has been acting strange lately. There’s an energy about him… something strange and wrong.”

“Yeah, I can feel it as well,” Seijirou said.

His mind flashed back to the supermarket—to the boy, Yumanbi, and the dark, suffocating aura he had sensed when he looked at him.

That feeling… it’s almost the same. Is Kirei and that boy somehow related? Or maybe…

He shook off the thought for now and looked at Erina. “Anyway, until you can establish contact with your mother and figure out what’s happening at your manor, you can stay here. Your father wouldn’t dare try anything on Kageyama ground. He knows the price of trespassing.”

Erina looked at him, and for a moment, the heavy atmosphere broke as she leaned in closer, her shoulder brushing his, and gave him a sweet, mischievous smile. “Are you absolutely sure you don’t want to consider marrying me? Although I look like a frail heiress, I’m actually very durable. Not to mention, my tutors always praised how flexible I am.”

Seijirou flicked her forehead gently. “Think about how you’re going to escape this predicament first, you idiot. You’re in no position to be making sales pitches.”

Erina chuckled, rubbing her forehead, her eyes shining with a mixture of amusement and something deeper.

“That’s not a no.”

Seijirou looked at her, his expression unreadable, before he gave a slow, deliberate nod.

“Indeed, it is not.”