4:30 PM.
At the elementary school gates, a crowd of parents and rows of vehicles gathered to pick up their children or nieces and nephews.
The atmosphere was bustling, yet it remained rigid under the watchful eyes of the soldiers.
*RINGGGG!* As soon as the bell signaled the end of the school day, children immediately swarmed out of the school building.
For those with orphan status, they lived in dormitories built directly across from the school.
In this era of World War III, orphans were everywhere, as numerous as the eggs of a spawning snail.
Compared to ordinary orphans, the lives of those who were prospective Magicians were slightly more secure, though still fraught with pressure.
This reality made the local children understand that hard work was the only way to determine their fate—a sharp contrast to the mentality of the Ascendants, most of whom had not yet adapted to their new identities.
In the middle of the crowd of children, Yuuta and Nonoa walked side by side.
More accurately, Nonoa clung to Yuuta as if she were glue.
It was clear the girl had no intention of letting go of a boy with such an extraordinary background.
“By the way, Nonoa.
Do you live in the dormitory or with relatives?” Yuuta asked casually.
“What do you think, Yuuta-kun?” Nonoa teased back.
“If you don’t want to say, forget it.” “Eehhhh~ don’t be mad, I was just joking!” Nonoa shook his arm playfully.
“Initially, I was adopted by my ‘parents’ relatives.
They wanted to put me in an orphanage because of economic problems, but as soon as they found out I had talent as a Magician, they immediately changed those plans.” “That’s a normal choice.” Yuuta didn’t find it strange.
“For a family that has a Magician, they receive large subsidies from the government.
That’s a benefit most people wouldn’t possibly give up.” Upon arriving at the gate, Yuuta was immediately approached by a middle-aged man wearing a neat butler’s uniform.
He was Hanabishi Tajima, one of the core servants of the Yotsuba Clan.
“Good afternoon, Yuuta-sama.” He greeted with a respectful bow.
“Um.
See you tomorrow, Nonoa.” After saying goodbye, Yuuta stepped into the luxury car, the door of which had been opened by Tajima.
Nonoa stood frozen, watching the car drive away and disappear around a bend in the road.
“Yuuta-kun’s luck is always so good.” Yukino, who happened to be passing by, overheard the murmur.
She shot a cynical glance toward the departed car.
“A prestigious family background is useless if the person himself is lazy and incompetent.” “Only shallow-minded people think lineage is a guarantee of success in this crumbling world.
Without his own effort, he’ll just be a burden to his clan.” Nonoa glanced at Yukino in bewilderment, wondering why the girl seemed so hostile toward Yuuta, but she chose not to ask.
She then approached a housewife who was her adoptive ‘aunt,’ and they headed home.
Meanwhile, Yukino bit her lower lip hard.
With heavy footsteps, she walked toward the dormitory along with the other orphans.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆ Inside the car driving through the city streets, Yuuta propped his face on his hand, staring blankly out the window.
The peaceful city scenery he remembered had been replaced by a grim portrait of a dying civilization.
The tension of wartime was suffocating.
At every intersection, concrete barricades and barbed wire restricted the movement of citizens.
Armored military vehicles with dull camouflage paint passed periodically, the roar of their engines drowning out the chatter of people on the sidewalks.
Civilians walked with hurried steps, their faces haggard and their eyes constantly wary—as if the sky could drop a missile at any moment without warning.
(When we talk about war, we also talk about trauma.
Adrenaline and fear become one.
When a soldier kills another soldier, he might be killing a child, a husband, or a father.
He isn’t just killing a human; he might be killing the only ‘world’ belonging to a child…) (When war breaks out, politicians provide ammunition, the rich provide food, and the poor provide their children…) (Then when the war is over, the politicians shake hands, the rich raise food prices, while the poor must search for the graves of their children.) Tajima, focused on driving, did not realize that his nine-year-old young master was contemplating such profound philosophical topics.
Seeing Yuuta looking dazed at the window, he decided to start a formal conversation.
“Young Master.
Genzou-sama and Motosuke-sama are very curious about the results of your magic affinity test today.
They requested that you meet them immediately upon arriving at the residence.” “Fine.
I understand.” Those two names immediately triggered memories from the “second account” implanted by Infinity Reincarnation into his brain.
Yuuta instantly recognized his new family tree.
Yotsuba Genzou was the first head of the clan—the man who held full control over the most feared clan in Japan.
He had two younger brothers: Yotsuba Motosuke and Yotsuba Mahiro.
Mahiro was Yuuta’s biological father in this world.
Unfortunately, the man had fallen on the battlefield while carrying out a secret mission, leaving behind Yuuta, who was five at the time, and his wife as a widow.
That loss was a devastating blow to their small family; Mahiro’s wife, Yuuta’s mother, dissolved into uncontrollable grief until she fell ill and eventually followed her husband to the afterlife.
Although the outside world knew the Yotsuba Clan as cold and ruthless, the clan actually valued sentiment and blood ties above all else.
For that reason, as an orphan of the main lineage, Yuuta was raised with great affection by his uncles and aunts.
In the eyes of the clan, he wasn’t just an “asset,” but a part of the family that had to be protected.
The car continued to drive, leaving the anxiety-filled city streets toward the hidden region that was the heart of the Yotsuba Clan’s defense.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆ The car driven by Tajima sped steadily across a quiet mountain pass before finally entering the old Yamanashi Prefecture area bordering Nagano.
There, hidden behind a narrow valley unrecorded on any map, lay the central village of the Yotsuba Clan.
Because of its “non-existent” administrative status, this village had no official address for mail or logistics.
The security of this place was truly on a different level.
To enter the Yotsuba Village, the car had to pass through a long, seemingly endless tunnel.
Inside the darkness of that tunnel, there were misleading branch paths equipped with locking mechanisms.
Only those capable of injecting a Psion wave flow at a specific frequency at certain points could remain on the path to the village.
The tunnel was the embodiment of a Non-Systematic Magic automated gate—a mechanism that physically and informationally severed this village from the rest of the world.
After a journey of over two hours, the car finally emerged from the darkness of the tunnel to reveal the sight of Yotsuba Village.
In the center of the village stood the most prominent single-story building: The Yotsuba Main House.
(For a clan so feared for its prestige and power, their main house is surprisingly modest,) Yuuta thought as the car came to a smooth stop.
As he stepped out of the car, Yuuta observed the building that would be his home for the next few years.
The Main House was a sprawling structure built in the style of a traditional Samurai residence.
Its roof was green—matching the clan’s name, “Yotsuba” (Four-Leaf Clover)—contrasting with the clean white walls below.
There was no impression of excessive luxury; there was only a thick aura of authority and dignity.
Just as he stepped through the large wooden entrance, a line of butlers and maids who were already prepared immediately bowed in unison in perfect silence.
“Welcome back, Yuuta-sama.” They said almost simultaneously.
Yuuta did not stop to return their greetings formally.
With calm but steady steps, he continued walking into the wooden corridor that smelled of fresh tatami.
“Tajima.” Yuuta called without looking back.
“Take me to where Uncle Genzou is right now.” “Yes, Young Master.
Please follow me.” Tajima answered, stepping forward to lead the way to the Clan Head’s study.
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