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As we arrived at the front door, I glanced at the Kisaragi residence, and at this moment, I don’t see it as my own home. I’ve mentioned it to someone before, but for me right now, this is a battlefield. I can’t afford to let my guard down

“Well then, shall we storm in?”
“What are you planning to do?”

Beside me are the now recovered Akira and Kyousuke. I’m sure there is still unhealed damage, but it shouldn’t affect their work. They probably sustained more emotional damage than physical. Losing to amateur civilians surely bruised their ego.

“Welcome home, lady Kotone.”
“I’m back, Sakiko. What’s the situation?”
“Everyone is present.”

She must mean that Kotone’s parents, grandparents, and the twins are present. So that’s why it felt so tense inside the house. Sakiko’s face is a bit stiff, too. I’m sure this must be the most nerve-wracking day for the servants.

“Alright, time to get into it.”
“Lady Kotone, why don’t you loosen up a bit?”
“I know I’m a bit heated, but it’s not a problem.”
“No, you look terrifying.”

Checking my face with the hand mirror Sakiko gave me, I see myself with a smile. A twisted smile that seems to be brimming with excitement yet also tinged with rage. It must look unsettling to other people.

“This is who I am now. Alright then, it’s time to tear everything down.”
“Lady Kotone, I wish you the best of luck.”

I haven’t told the family or the servants what I’m planning to do. Though they’ve probably heard me talking about punching father before, I’m sure they don’t expect me to actually do it. They think it’s just a joke. They surely just assume that I’ll behave as I did before when I see him.

“Happy New Year, everyone.”

Entering the room with everyone, I first gave my greetings. And then a bow. I’m not going to head straight for my target immediately. There are things I still need to do, so that he doesn’t get the opportunity to attack me.

“Grandfather, grandmother, it’s been so long. I’m glad to see that you’re in good health.”
“It’s been so long indeed. You seem to have changed quite a lot, Kotone.”
“Now that we’ve seen you in person, I’m convinced. Otoha previously told us in detail, but it really does feel as if you’ve been reborn as a different person. Of course, in a good way.”

Glancing at mom, she responded with a troubled smile. I’m not really angry about it. It’s her obligation, and changing their impression of me for the better is necessary to win them over as allies.

“I’m grateful for your quick understanding.”
“However, this time’s affair reflects negatively on you. Do you understand?”
“I am fully aware.”

I lower my head, but I don’t regret it at all. Besides, seeing that they already have a grasp of the incident when it happened just earlier, the twelve families information network cannot be underestimated. While they probably have a grasp of my actions, they still shouldn’t know my connection with the rogues den.

“Personally, I prefer Kotone as she is now. She reminds me of your sister.”
“I’d rather not be reminded of my past trauma, to be honest.”

I wonder what grandfather’s trauma is about. Grandmother said sister, probably his older sister. Maybe he’s remembering the time when he got punched. I feel like I would get along with this grand-aunt, but she already passed on.

“Don’t you find it somewhat unsettling?”
“Rather, your previous behaviour was much more unsettling if I had to compare.”
“You gave off the impression that you were forcing yourself to appear a certain way.”

I guess for people acquainted with the original Kotone, the villainess Kotone would have felt extremely out of character. Or maybe even for those who understand the Kisaragi family’s karma, Kotone’s actions back then were just plain strange. From the outside, it must’ve seemed abnormal how Kotone kept digging herself into a deep pit without any self-regard.

“I believe I’ve gotten a lot better compared to back then.”
“I do feel like you’ve heading in an unusual direction.”
“That certainly is in character for the twelve families, though.”

Grandfather’s impression of me feels a bit strange. I’ll admit that I caused a chaotic mess, but it was only for this time. The other times, I didn’t cause it at all. I was just dragged into other people’s business and had no choice but to cooperate. Why does he see me as some kind of mastermind?

“How long do you plan on chattering about?”
“Oh, so you were actually here?”

I was intentionally ignoring your existence. I won’t show any mercy to my final target. I expected him to eventually turn his attention to me if I just had a nice chat with the grandparents. There’s a possibility that I’d be blocked if I just went straight for him. I’m not going to be careless.

“It’s a shame that you seem to be in good health as well.”
“What?”

That’s the proper reaction of someone who hasn’t noticed Kotone’s change. This fool should have gotten recent information about me, does he not believe it at all? Or is he simply uninterested? It’s probably both. That’s why he’s easy to deal with.

“I’m still in the middle of a chat with grandfather and grandmother, could you refrain from being obstructive?”
“The likes of you have no right to talk with mother.”
“This is my first time hearing someone think that conversing with their family is a bad thing. You seem quite deviated from the norm, why don’t you try starting your life again from the very beginning?”

Just like me. That way, he might be able to see things in a new light. Rather than chasing an unattainable dream, he might consider accepting the reality of things and form healthier bonds. In my case, it was one unexpected thing after another. Even I was able to gain many priceless experiences.

“Do you realize the meaning of your own words?”
“I understand every word I’ve said. It’s a shame that the same doesn’t seem to apply to you.”

I feel the fool’s anger boiling up. Mom is anxiously watching over us, while the two grandparents are observing with great interest. I guess they intend to give their final assessment of me depending on how this situation goes. As for the twins, they have their eyes locked on with great anticipation.

“If your intention was to mock me, I’ll dispose of you.”
“What method will you be taking, I wonder? I’m awfully interested in hearing about it. As long as you have a proper grasp of my relations, please feel free.”

One step at a time, I gradually close the gap. I had to remind the idiot to think about the people on my side. Don’t forget that if you dispose of me, the other twelve family people will take action. Besides, there’s no way the two grandparents will allow that.

“Pay proper attention to your family. Realize just how broken this household was because you, b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲.”
“Who cares about the household-… What is the meaning of this?”

With that word as a trigger, I fired a right punch with all my weight, but he easily blocked it. I whittled down his composure as much as possible, but it seems like that wasn’t enough. However, this is still within my expectations.

“Answer me, what is the meaning of this!?”
“You’re wide open below.”

My form was terrible, but I managed to land a clean hit this time. The target, his balls. My feet dug into what’s commonly considered the biggest weak spot for men. The fool was in so much pain he couldn’t speak, ‘serves him right. It’s a shame that I couldn’t put my whole weight behind it. My form was just that terrible.

“Oguh-!”
“Sleep for life!”

As he was leaning forward with both hands on his crotch as if to protect it, I grabbed his head and pulled it downwards. Waiting below was my knee. It’s a fatal attack combining downward and upward force.

‘Mister! Stop!’
“Ah. Guhoc!?”

Hearing a voice reverberate in my head, I quickly pulled the breaks, but it was already too late. Obeying the laws of motion, the remaining momentum was only enough to break the fool’s nose. And suddenly from my side, I was tackled by Akira and separated from the fool.

“Cough, cough. That hit cleanly on my ribs.”
“Kotone, are you insane!?”
“I’m sane, why do you ask?”
“You’re not acting sane at all! If you continued, your family head could’ve died!”

The upward motion of the knee and the downward pull of my hands. Properly combined, it would cave in a person’s face. This would’ve hurt my knee, though. People would probably ask how exactly I injured my knee right at the heels of new year. And I’m sure they’d be taken aback if I say it’s from kneeing my father.

“Did I go overboard?”
“It’s clear to everyone that you’ve gone overboard! Look at everyone’s reaction!”

While pinned down by Akira, I looked around and found my answer. Mom and the twins are doing a fist pump, grandmother has a slightly troubled smile, and grandfather is trembling as though he remembered something.

“””This family’s done for.”””

Akira and I were taken aback, and Kyousuke could only stare at the ceiling.