The place Kurato and the others were led to was a large hall laid with tatami mats.

The room, which would normally be divided by sliding doors, now had all of those removed, making it resemble the banquet hall of a high-class ryokan.

Two long tables were set up in parallel down the center and several people were already seated at them.

The kimono-clad woman seated at the highest seat on the far end, right in front of where Kurato was standing now, was probably the owner of the luxury car.

Even further beyond her, there was an upper section raised by a single tatami’s height, with one particularly ornate table placed in the center and two smaller tables arranged on either side of it.

After setting Kurato down, Yanagi leaned close and whispered that he should greet them from the back.

Kurato nodded, then made his way forward, choosing the row with the fewest seated people as he advanced toward the upper seats.

Then, once again, he stopped sensing Yanagi’s presence behind him.

When he turned around, Yanagi was standing at the edge of the room, watching him with a worried expression.

‘I see. She can’t go any farther than this.’

Kurato nodded once toward Yanagi and continued walking toward the upper seats.

Along the way, he had to pass behind several people. Each time, when he said, “Excuj me, pleathe,” he was met with bows and faces softened by indulgent smiles.

After working his way through like that, Kurato finally reached his destination.

In front of him sat a woman lounging in an extremely authoritative manner in the upper seat and beside her, a man sitting rigidly in formal kneeling posture, both looking directly at him.

Kurato straightened his posture as best he could and bent deeply at the waist to greet them.

“Excuj me. I came to offer my greeting. I am Kurato, second son of Makishima Makiko. Thang you for having me today.”

The woman looked slightly surprised and spent some time appraising Kurato from head to toe.

Her mouth was slightly open. =

Her eyes were sharp. As expected, she must be quite formidable.

She carried herself arrogantly, but her posture had no openings at all. Kurato had already suspected she was the strongest person present and her gaze seemed to confirm it.

After scrutinizing him for a while, her eyes softened just a little and she offered Kurato an awkward smile.

“I see. How very polite of you. I am Makishima Ryuko. This is my husband, Akio. You must be Makiko’s precious ‘boy everyone talks about.’”

That boy everyone talks about clearly referred to the miracle A-rank male child, his brother Raito.

Kurato shook his head.

“I’m very thorry. My older brother Raito, who is A-rank, couldn’t come today becauthe he cath a cold.”

At that, Ryuko furrowed her brows again.

“How old are you?”

“I turned two thith year.”

“…Two years old?”

Ryuko looked away from Kurato and turned to Akio.

After Akio quietly nodded in confirmation, she turned back, her previously stiff expression breaking into a smile.

“I look forward to getting along with you, Kurato.”

As she said that, Ryuko extended her right hand.

Almost reflexively, Kurato extended his own right hand and shook hers.

She might actually be a kind person, Kurato thought, feeling slightly relieved.

But that relief was short-lived, as Ryuko did not release his hand.

‘Huh? Why?’

Kurato looked up at her face, puzzled.

“I was told that the younger brother only has the bare minimum of magical power. Was that incorrect?”

“Yes. I am E-minus.”

At his answer, Ryuko glanced behind her once more.

Akio nodded again.

‘What is this? Is Akio a mind-reading ability user? Or does he have some kind of lie-detection ability?’

Unable to grasp Ryuko’s intent or Akio’s ability, Kurato’s eyes darted back and forth in confusion.

Ryuko then turned back to him with a smile full of hidden meaning, a dark smile that suggested she was thinking of something unpleasant.

“Kurato, let’s talk again before you go home.”

With that, she released his hand.

It seemed the exchange was over, so Kurato said “Excuj me” once more and left the spot.

As expected, large households like this probably had plenty of troublesome people.

If possible, he would like to keep his distance from someone with layers like Ryuko.

Kurato already felt worn down just from the initial greeting.

Still, the purpose of today was the New Year’s round of greetings.

Even if he was acting as his mother’s proxy, neglecting relations with the family would be unwise.

For now, the only option was to get through this smoothly and without incident.

Resolving himself, Kurato looked around to see who he should greet next.

At that moment, everyone present was staring at him with wide eyes.

‘What? Did I mess something up?’

Judging from Ryuko’s reaction, it didn’t seem like he had made a blunder.

‘Well, even if I did, I’m two years old. Please forgive me.’

Accepting that, Kurato continued making the rounds.

* * *

After that, while many people did smile warmly, the greetings proceeded calmly compared to Ryuko and nothing particularly troublesome happened.

Eventually, Kurato was able to return to a seat near the lower end of the hall.

Relatives had continued entering during the greetings, so he had to adjust the order repeatedly.

As a result, most seats were now filled, roughly thirty people in total.

Most appeared to be in their thirties, like Ryuko, with the occasional person in their twenties or forties mixed in.

About five people sat at each long table, leaving plenty of space.

That probably meant a lot of food would be served.

Looking around again, Kurato noticed that the farther toward the upper seats, the more people wore flashy kimono or high-quality suits.

Conversely, near Kurato, many women wore subdued clothing and sat with their shoulders drawn in.

Only those seated further back, starting with Ryuko, seemed to have their husbands present.

Incidentally, Kurato was the only child there.

The closest in age was a woman in her early twenties sitting near Ryuko.

She had similarly sharp eyes and a strict air about her.

‘Ryuko’s daughter? Or perhaps her younger sister?’

As Kurato hesitated over whether he should greet her, Karan emerged from the sliding doors at the back, bowed once, surveyed the room and announced, “The head of the family has arrived.”

She then turned her back to everyone and bowed deeply toward the doors.

Following her lead, everyone in the hall straightened their posture and bowed deeply.

Kurato was a beat late, but hurriedly followed suit.

He sensed several people entering above him.

Among them, one presence radiated something intensely prickling.

Pressure from a powerful individual, or perhaps an aura.

In any case, the strongest being Kurato had encountered since coming to this world was now right above him.

“Please raise your heads.”

At Karan’s voice, Kurato cautiously looked around and, seeing everyone rise, followed them.

At the upper seats sat three women.

On the far right, an elderly woman in her seventies.

Her deeply lined face bore a gentle smile, yet her straight-backed posture was like a single white lily.

Her gaze and bearing had no openings.

In the center, a woman who appeared to be in her thirties, pouring a razor-sharp gaze over everyone present.

That overwhelming pressure must have been hers.

Though her kimono was a deep blue and not flashy at all, her presence was profound and beautiful, like a great river.

On the far left, a girl who looked to be a high school student, still in her teens.

She seemed more mild-mannered than the woman seated in front of Ryuko, yet her refined presence suggested she was no ordinary girl.

Karan stepped closer to the upper seats and spoke.

“The head of the Makishima family, Makishima Hisame. The previous head, Makishima Tatsu. And the young lady, Makishima Mizuha.”

At the tail end of the announcement, Karan bowed deeply once more.

Everyone followed suit.

Kurato bowed at nearly the same timing.

It was fine. He was used to this now.

When he raised his head, he felt a gaze on him, coming straight from ahead.

Following it, his eyes met Mizuha’s.

‘Ah. Maybe it’s unusual to see a child in a room full of adults.’

As Kurato thought that, she smiled.

It was such a wonderful smile that he almost hallucinated sparkling light blooming behind her like the sun itself.

She quickly returned her gaze to the others, but Kurato felt as though they had been looking at each other for quite a long time.

It was a different kind of pressure from Ryuko or the head of the family.

For a moment, his consciousness almost slipped away.

“Everyone, I am very pleased that you could gather here despite your busy schedules at the start of the new year.”

The head of the family began to speak.

Though she said she was pleased, her sharp gaze continuously pierced through the assembled crowd as if seeing right through them.

Kurato thought it would be a brief address, but it ranged over many topics and he felt she must have spoken for nearly an hour straight.

He had a hard time keeping his eyes open, blinking repeatedly to avoid blacking out again.

Summarizing Hisame’s speech, it went like this.

The world was aggressively pursuing the development of abilities, including specialized equipment for ability users and the securing of high-rank individuals.

That was something only great powers like the United States, with its wealth, or China, with its massive population, could do.

Relying on machines or simply increasing population numbers would only degrade people and nations.

Japan, instead, must continue to refine itself by holding fast to its inherent strengths and indomitable spirit.

However, modern Japan was overly conservative, obsessed with not falling behind the world.

What Japan needed now was not only conventional magical power training, but a thorough selection of top-tier ability users.

To that end, within Special Zones, even higher-level organizations should be established, gathering those of B-rank and above and raising them intensively.

By preserving superior genetics, the nation should eventually become one composed solely of those with immense magical power.

“First and foremost, we of the Makishima family must act as a model for this country. I expect all of you to devote yourselves with that in mind.”

When she finished, the room erupted in applause and awed sighs.

Kurato understood what she was saying.

She had been strongly influenced by the global obsession with increasing magical power.

But that meant someone like him was completely unnecessary.

He had known that already, yet it still felt hollow.

Clapping along, Kurato smiled wryly.

After that, the previous head offered a very brief and courteous New Year’s greeting.

Mizuha then followed with a warm message about being happy to see everyone and wishing for another healthy year together.

Only then did the banquet begin.

Honestly, it had been long.

His legs were numb, the sensation having disappeared ages ago.

New Year dishes, whole fish, roasted birds and expensive-looking bottles of alcohol were carried in one after another.

Men in charge of distribution sat at the edges.

That seemed to be everything.

But the glasses in front of everyone were still empty.

As Kurato wondered about that, the women seated at the lower end, including those near him, stood up and began pouring drinks from the far end of their row.

‘I see. So the lowest-ranked seats pour.’

And in this row, the lowest-ranked person is—

E-rank Kurato.

Hey, this is not the time to be spacing out!

Kurato hurriedly stood up.

The woman next to him flinched and looked at him in surprise.

But he was in a hurry and ignored her.

Kurato grabbed a large bottle of beer from the table and headed toward the upper seats—

‘Heavy!? There was no way a two-year-old’s strength could lift this. This was bad. No—then I’ll do this!’

Kurato attached an acrylic plate to the bottom of the bottle and floated it up.

Yes. This would work for pouring drinks.

Holding it steady, he bowed silently again and again as he passed behind people, eventually reaching Ryuko.

Now then, time to pour—Kurato looked at the table and froze.

Huh? Ryuko already has a full glass?

In fact, aside from Akio, everyone around here already did.

…It seemed Akio had gone around pouring for them.

Of course. No one would seriously make a two-year-old pour beer.

‘I did it again…’

As Kurato stood there in despair—

“Oh my, what a cute little server. Would you pour for me?”

Ryuko held out an empty glass toward him.

For a moment he thought she had already drunk her beer, but no, the toast hadn’t happened yet.

Looking closely, it seemed she had switched glasses with Akio.

‘How kind.’

Kurato carefully attached another acrylic plate to the bottle for extra stability and slowly poured, keeping the label facing her.

‘There wasn’t much foam, but please forgive me. I was doing my best not to spill.’

“Thank you very much.”

Kurato lowered his head slightly in thanks for letting him pour.

He wanted to bow much more deeply to repay her consideration in preserving his dignity, but any more movement would have spilled the beer.

He expected a casual “you’re welcome” in return.

But Ryuko didn’t say anything right away.

When Kurato looked up at her face—

“That’s a pretty interesting way to use it.”

Ryuko was staring intently at Kurato, at the beer bottle and at the transparent acrylic plate clinging to it, wearing a faintly dark smile.

* * *

Memo

America and China have become great powers ← does that mean there are two superpowers?

Has Japan been left behind by the world? ← its technological level is at a historical-reality level, but is military power (abilities) the cause?