Towa sighed deeply at the spot after hearing the story again from Mia.
“I don’t know… why would things turn out like that?”
“Oh. Are you saying that, my dear brother?”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
Towa tilted his head, not understanding the meaning of Mia’s words.
“During your school days, I believe you were quite rowdy yourself, weren’t you?”
When Mia said that directly, Towa’s face became a little hurt, and he tried to reply, “That’s not true.”
However, at this point, an unexpected hidden enemy appeared for Towa.
“….*Chuckle*.”
Daniela unintentionally burst out laughing after hearing the exchange between Mia and Towa.
“…Daniela.”
Towa tried to cover it up somehow, but it was ruined.
In the first place, Daniela had been in the same grade for a long time, so she knew about most of Towa’s and Mia’s mischief.
If Daniela were to laugh at him, it would be impossible for Towa to get away with it.
Daniela bowed her head to apologize to the sullen Towa, but her face was still smiling.
“Haha. As expected, you’re weak to Daniela, aren’t you, brother?”
“What are you talking about? In this case, Mia is in the same boat.”
It wasn’t only Towa who caused all sorts of disturbances in his school days; Mia was the same.
Mia, who was about to retort like Towa, gave Daniela a sideways glance and gave up.
“…Won’t it be fruitless to continue? Shall we stop?”
“Indeed. That would be for the best.”
Realizing that they couldn’t win no matter how hard they tried on this matter, Towa and Mia quickly made peace.
After inserting such a trivial story, Towa and Mia got to the main topic.
“So? Did Mother Peach say anything?”
“No, not at all. She seemed to be completely entrusting it to us. However, as it’s Miku…”
“If handled poorly, will Father step in?”
“Probably.”
Mia nodded at Towa’s words, and Daniela, who had been listening, turned pale.
To reiterate, Daniela grew up in the academy where the Towa siblings attended, making her generation the one that best understood the implications of Kousuke’s involvement.
Of course, Kousuke had never shown himself directly, but the understanding was that Kousuke had suppressed most of the disturbances Towa and the others caused at the academy.
In reality, Kousuke didn’t intervene, and Towa and the others resolved the issues themselves, but the mere presence of an Avatar behind them acted as a deterrent.
It was Daniela’s generation that felt this deterrent force the most acutely.
However, seeing Daniela’s expression, Towa returned a wry smile.
“There’s no need to be so timid. In the end, it was resolved by using Father’s authority. Father was hardly involved directly.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s right. However, whether that will work in this case or not…”
When the nation of Razek Amamiya was first established, people could still directly feel the blessings of the Avatar.
Therefore, it was possible to use his authority.
However, the achievements that Kousuke had made, starting with the Crown Card, had become commonplace.
Generations who grew up surrounded by such things from the beginning had few opportunities to directly perceive the blessings of the Avatar.
Therefore, the methods that worked during Towa’s time might hardly be usable.
In other words, just being Kousuke’s child wouldn’t be a direct deterrent.
These circumstances were partly desired by Kousuke himself, so it wasn’t entirely a bad thing.
“The policy of Razek Amamiya is to operate with Father’s authority weakened, and that hasn’t changed… but this makes things troublesome.”
Mia returned a wry smile to Towa’s overly direct impression.
Her expression conveyed that she wished she could deny it but couldn’t entirely.
“Father’s wish is that the gods shouldn’t be directly involved forever.”
“I understand. I also agree with that policy.”
If gods were to be involved in the operation of a nation forever, it would surely become distorted somewhere.
That’s why Towa had poured his heart and soul into weakening Kousuke’s influence.
Of course, his treatment as the guardian deity of the country would not change.
What Towa had been weakening was solely the direct connection.
As the conversation had strayed again, Mia decided to return to the main topic and ask a question that had been on her mind.
“By the way, are you completely leaving this matter to Tobi?”
When Mia asked that, Towa looked like he was thinking for a moment, then shook his head left and right.
“No. Let’s not do that. Ultimately, I will make the final decision. Of course, I intend to involve Tobi.”
“Understood. Then I will convey that to Mother Peach. Ah, what about Miku? After all, it would be meaningless if the original objective isn’t achieved?”
This commotion was caused to make Miku known as a practitioner.
If that didn’t become common knowledge, it would simply mean that unnecessary trouble was caused.
Both Towa and Mia wanted to avoid that.
To Mia’s question, Towa again looked thoughtful.
“Let me see… I suppose we’ll have Miku appear at the very last moment.”
“Understood. I will convey that, including that.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Seeing Towa nod in confirmation, Mia stood up smoothly.
“Then I must be going. Aren’t you busy, brother?”
While it seemed like words to care for her busy brother… for some reason, Towa gave Mia a sideways glance.
“If you think so, you know, you could help me out.”
“Oh, no, brother. How could someone like me possibly help?”
“Mia, if possible, could you say lines like that with a bit less confidence?”
In Towa’s eyes, Mia’s words, if not entirely confident, certainly conveyed a good deal of self-assurance.
And in fact, Mia had received an elite education that would allow her to assist Towa.
Unfortunately, that education had rarely been put to use until now.
Mia sidestepped Towa’s remark and left the place.
What had just happened was merely a casual brother-sister exchange.
And Towa, having spent time conversing with Mia after a long time, completed his work for the day in a good mood.
Towa and Mia were featured prominently for the first time in a while.
After this, Towa called Tobi and had a talk with him.
The content of that will be shared later.
