The Takayanagi main house was in the countryside, but Takayanagi Ichiro managed to find it easily from memory. The mourning hall was already set up, showing that Rika Tohsaka had been handling things.
Someone had informed her when Ichiro's car arrived. Parking in front, Ichiro saw Rika standing with a short-haired girl keeping vigil. When he came over, they stepped forward.
"Ichiro, you're back." Rika greeted him, then noticed the curious look he gave the girl beside her and explained, "This is my daughter, Kaoru. For certain reasons, I've had her dress as a boy all these years."
"Hello, big brother," Kaoru said respectfully after her mother's introduction.
Ichiro was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected the child Rika had once brought to be a girl—and one who had now grown up.
He also understood why Rika had made her dress as a boy: their family head, Takayanagi Musashi, had been a pervert. Now that Musashi was dead, the source of fear hanging over Rika was gone, so Kaoru could return to dressing as a girl.
"Hello," Ichiro replied simply, then asked Rika, "What's the main family's attitude now?"
"They're busy with your uncle's funeral. Because of Koji's situation, they support you inheriting the family head position. But you'll need to locate the main house's loan records," Rika explained briefly, pointing out his next step.
"I understand. Let's go inside," Ichiro said, entering with Rika and Kaoru following behind.
…
The rural funeral was simple. Aside from greeting some relatives, Ichiro did little else—he'd come mainly for the family's loan records.
With the monks gone, only Ichiro and Rika's mother-daughter pair remained.
"Did my uncle ever mention the loan records?" Ichiro asked.
"No. That pervert valued them greatly and never told me a thing," Rika said apologetically. "After he died, I searched the house but found nothing."
"If he kept quiet, it means he still had some resentment before dying. I'll search myself," Ichiro said without blame—he knew her status in the household wasn't high.
"I'll tidy up elsewhere. Let Kaoru accompany you—she knows the house well," Rika suggested.
"I can help," Kaoru offered.
"All right, Kaoru, let's search together," Ichiro agreed. Kaoru happily came to his side.
They searched the property for quite some time without finding where Musashi had hidden the records. Clearly, his hiding skills were impressive.
"Kaoru, is there anywhere in the house you've never been?" Ichiro asked.
He knew the areas they had already checked, but it was natural that he might not be aware of certain secret spots after being away for so long.
After thinking a moment, Kaoru said, "There's one place. I once saw Mom sneak there, but she always warned me never to go."
"Take me there." Ichiro's interest was piqued—the records could well be hidden there.
"But Mom told me not to…" Kaoru hesitated, a girl who took her mother's words to heart.
"She probably warned you because she feared my uncle. From now on, I'll be head of the family. I won't harm you, so just lead me there," Ichiro said gently, reasoning with her.
Kaoru thought about it. Her big brother was right. Before Ichiro returned, Rika had told her to listen to him. Her refusal just now was an instinctive reaction from years of warnings.
"All right, I'll take you there now," Kaoru said, leading the way.
(End of Chapter)
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