It was a relatively quiet afternoon at the Kouzuki household. As the sun set, an eventful night was slowly coming to

Inside his research area, Kazuya was wearing a smile as he practiced magic. He was in a relatively good mood ever since the negotiations with SummerBreeze were successful. Though he wasn't very optimistic about gaining such a person he looked up to in his previous life, the personality of this quirky inventor was easy to get along with.

There was only one problem, Kazuya had introduced himself as Kazuno Kaguya when the two of them had a video conference. It would not have made sense if Kouzuki Kazuya was the person behind Kazuno Tech because the Kouzuki Corporation and them were publicly competing with one another.

Kazuya didn't want to take the risk of his lie being exposed because there was too much at stake. Even though he idolized SummerBreeze from his previous life, for the sake of his plans, he can only hope that the genius inventor would understand the choice he made.

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There were only a few years left before his return to Edea and the preparations he made was slowly falling into place. There were only a few things that still needed to be done along with his own preparation for when he returned.

"I wonder if I should tell them…" Kazuya whispered to himself.

This was one of the hesitations Kazuya was still undecided about. Though he had been telling them most of the secrets he held, it was not the complete truth. Kazuya had no idea how long his stay in Edea would be nor had an accurate estimate in the time difference between the two worlds so telling them about it or even his reason for going back would only make them worry about him or worse, stop him.

He had previously lived for over 8 years in Edea in his previous life. Kazuya had more memories of Edea rather than the time he spent after waking up until the time of his departure. His life was relatively a struggle which made a complete 360 turn where he was hailed as someone of great importance.

Though Kazuya only read about the people who were hailed as great sages, he felt a little bitterness towards them. They were the ones who created the limitations on the hero summoning circle in which it exploited the ones who would fit the criteria. He left as though the limitations were set upon the people who were easily manipulated.

Kazuya gave himself a bitter smile as he mocked his naïve self when he thought about how gullible he had been to those who would have caused his demise. Though still human, he actually shared the opinion of most demi-humans that the human race was a dangerous race that cared about nothing but themselves.

*knock knock*

"Young master? The mistress is calling for you." Akane informed him that it was almost time. Kazuya moved quickly and went out of the building because he had lost track of time.

"Is it that time already?" looking at the dark sky, he knew that he was going to get in trouble if he didn't get cleaned up. "I'll take a quick shower!" he rushed into the house. Though Kazuya could have cleaned himself with magic, he would get scolded by his mom if he didn't smell like he took one. Though magic was pretty convenient, Kyouko didn't let Kazuya neglect living like a normal person.

Tonight was a special night. It would be a charity event that was held by various influential organizations. Kyouko who initially didn't want her son to get involved with the people in her world had reconsidered after learning the achievements he made on his own. There was no one else who would take over their company after all. Meeting those behind the future people in his generation would let Kazuya get an opinion of those he would be competing and cooperating with in the future.

Kazuya went to the living room with a bag of his things over his shoulder. While going together with Kyouko tonight, he would be going back to stay with the Kuroganes because the compet.i.tion he would be partic.i.p.ating in would start tomorrow. The mother and son would be apart for a few days so it helped Kyouko to make a decision to bring him with her. This way, she would have more time to keep Kazuya to herself.

"You're late" Kyouko frowned at the sight of his luggage. Though she was confident that her son would never side with the Kuroganes, their influence in him was another matter. She had experienced first hand just how heartless they were so she was worried that s.h.i.+s.h.i.+o may have been putting bad things into her son's mind.

Kazuya wore a formal suit that was tailored for him. It complimented him quite well and he looked like a das.h.i.+ng young man. He looked at his mother who was wearing a dark blue dress that made her look absolutely stunning. No one would think that she was a mother of such a young man from the way she looked.

"You look very beautiful mom." Kazuya quickly put into action one of Miyamoto-sensei's most repeated lessons.

"Glib tongue!" how could she not notice the quick change of the topic?

"I'm not lying though. You look very beautiful mom. Is this a new dress?"

"Do you like it?" While she knew that Kazuya was avoiding trouble, how could she not be affected with her son's honest compliments? She turned around to show him the dress she bought for tonight's event and was satisfied when she saw her son nodding in approval.

"I like it but… don't you think it is too…" Kazuya wanted to say revealing but refrained. The dress highlighted all of Kyouko's greatest a.s.sets so he didn't know if there would be men that could stop themselves from approaching her.

"I have you to escort me so I don't think there would be any problem." Kyouko didn't usually wear this kind of dresses but since Kazuya was accompanying her, she felt that it would only be appropriate to wear something that would cause quite an impact. What her son was oblivious to however was that his own looks were slowly making the mother worry about his eventual pursuers.

"Hmm…" Kazuya crossed his arms and thought for a bit before giving a nod. "Right."

"You won't be taking care of me alone." She looked towards the door leading to the kitchen. "How long are you planning on hiding? Come and let Kazuya take a look!" Kyouko smiled as a figure shyly walked out of the kitchen.

"Whoa…" Kazuya's eyes was immediately attracted by Yumi who walked out wearing an elegant velvet dress. Kazuya saw her almost everyday but never had he seen her wearing something like this. "You're really beautiful Yumi-nee."

"T-thank you for the compliment young master." With a slight stutter, she tried to hide the blush on her face after being complimented by Kazuya.

"See! I told you Kazuya would like it!" Kyouko smiled and pushed Yumi to stand beside her son. "You two look quite good together! What do you think Kazuya?"

"I will have to work extra hard to keep all the flies away from Yumi-nee." Not knowing what his mother was up to, he replied honestly as he knew that Yumi had only been growing prettier as time pa.s.sed by.

"You'd date a pretty girl like Yumi-chan if you had the chance right?" Kyouko tried pus.h.i.+ng further.

"I would be considered lucky if I entered Yumi-nee's eyes." Kazuya thought nothing of the question and replied. He had already mentioned quite the number of times that he had no plans of dating or otherwise until he was in high school.

Kyouko was appreciative of this but worried that her son was focusing on the future too much that he was wasting his youth. While it gave her a sense of security that her son wouldn't be fooled by women who would look to him for what he had, the worry of something as illogical as love taking over her son's rationality was still present. This was why she tried putting his attention towards Yumi who she definitely approved of.

"Young master…" Yumi was of course surprised by his reply. Though she had already decided that the feelings she held towards her young master will be buried deep within her, both mother and son didn't make it easy for her.

Akane saw the three of them off as they boarded a car that was driven by none other than Mame. They headed towards the venue which had a red-carpet walkway where the press would be able to take pictures of the attendees. This event was not limited to people from the business world after all. Many celebrities were also going to attend as well.

"We've arrived at the Jazz Star Hotel." Mame announced as their vehicle lined up with the various ones that waited their turn to make an entrance at the red carpet.

Kazuya immediately caught a glimpse of various people that were familiar to him. Kyouko paid attention to her son's expressions and hoped that he wouldn't be nervous in such a setting. This may have been a little too much for his first attendance but she believed that if Kazuya could handle the pressure from attending such a big event, there would be little that would faze him in the future.

Unfortunately for Kyouko, her worries were for naught as Kazuya already labeled this event as something very similar to what he had been used to attending in his previous life. Humans were really similar no matter what world they were in. They sought out extravagance and liked big events like these.

As a hero, he wasn't a stranger to large banquets. He was even hailed as the main focus of parades that would be held in the different kingdoms that he visited. He looked at the business people and celebrities like he did the n.o.bles and merchants of Edea.

Though he was not part of the main focus of this gathering, his social standing was something that wasn't below many people. Just being able to attend such an event spoke of how the Kouzuki clan considered him as the next generation bearer of their legacy.

"Whoa…."

"Isn't that beautiful lady a celebrity?"

"Idiot! That's the head of the Kouzuki Corporation!"

The crowd as well as the reporters were all focused on Kyouko as soon as she got off the car. Kazuya of course was alert as he felt various stares that were mixed with ill intent. As numerous as they were, he couldn't quite discern which of them were dangerous.

"Who is that handsome young boy escorting her?"

"Is he her young lover?"

Their gazes fell upon the long haired boy who came with Kyouko and was helping another lady out of the vehicle. The men especially were feeling envy as he was able to stand beside Kyouko and their jaws continued to gape as soon as they saw Yumi step out and stand on his other side.

"Let's go" Kyouko didn't mind the stares as she was already used it. Yumi on the other hand put on a cold expression as she gently held onto one of Kazuya's arms.

They walked across the red carpet stealing the attention from the well-known celebrities who were currently walking through. Kyouko was looking more radiant than ever especially after finding out that this kind of thing didn't even faze her precious son.

"Kazuya! Kyouko!" A man who immediately made the trio frown came and stood in their way as they walked. He was holding a bouquet of flowers and immediately presented it to Kyouko.

Who had the guts other than the shameless Kurogane s.h.i.+s.h.i.+o himself? He didn't care about how the public would react but he openly tried to pursue Kyouko in front of reporters. Since his official wife had died, there had been rumors that he was finally pursuing the love he had lost because of his responsibilities towards his family.

s.h.i.+s.h.i.+o wasn't aware that his plans have been compromised by Kazuya but his son didn't react much to him openly pursuing Kyouko. He took this as a sign that things were going according to plan. s.h.i.+s.h.i.+o didn't realize that Kazuya was allowing this because he would serve as a deterrent to anyone who even had the thought of approaching Kyouko with those kind of intentions.

"The rumors were true…"

"Kurogane s.h.i.+s.h.i.+o is finally trying to repair his broken family?"

"Kazuysama, we will escort you into the venue." One of the security personnel accompanying s.h.i.+s.h.i.+o tried to lead him and Yumi away from Kyouko. What upset both of them was that these men weren't even being as courteous as their words and tried to block them away from Kyouko.

Kazuya stopped his steps and caused the man to b.u.mp into his back. To the man's surprise, the boy who was a lot shorter than him wasn't even knocked from the spot he stood.

"I am escorting my mother and Yumi-nee tonight. You can recover my things from the vehicle we came in." Kazuya spoke in a commanding tone that didn't leave any discussions.

How could he leave Kyouko alone with s.h.i.+s.h.i.+o knowing well that this reptile was planning something? Separating him from his mother was something that put him on high alert. Could they be planning on doing something during this event?

Like the Kouzuki family, the Kuroganes were just guests attending this event. Kazuya didn't believe that the Kuroganes could have collaborated with the organizers of this party because for one, the venue itself was one of the properties of Stockton International.

"I said it many times, don't bother me." Kyouko coldly looked at s.h.i.+s.h.i.+o. She had already forgotten her grudges with this person long ago but the fact that he wanted her precious Kazuya was something she could never forgive.

Even someone as prideful as s.h.i.+s.h.i.+o shuddered under Kyouko's look. Never had she shown that much hostility towards him. This made him lose some of his confidence because he thought that this woman would still harbor sentiments towards him.

"(Father was right. This woman will definitely stand in our way)" s.h.i.+s.h.i.+o's eyes had a strange glint in them as he finally made a decision. He walked closer to Kyouko and held the bouquet directly in front of her.

Both Kazuya and Yumi found this to be strange. Yumi moved to get past the man who blocked them but the man had no intention of letting Kazuya pa.s.s.

"s.h.i.+s.h.i.+o-sama has a few matters to talk about with—"

*BANG*

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