109: People from all sides gathered

The glow of the crystal chandeliers illuminated the banquet hall as if it were broad daylight, and the air was thick with the rich scent of champagne and expensive perfume. Sawamura Spencer Eriri held an exquisite wine glass, walking gracefully through the mingling crowd—this was the facade she had to maintain as the daughter of a diplomat.

"Really, enough is enough... What's the point of an occasion like this where everyone wears a mask?"

She kept a perfect smile on her lips, but her heart was filled with frantic internal complaints. If it weren't for her father's request, she would be curled up in her studio right now, sketching the latest manga storyboards on her tablet, instead of listening to these political and business elites spout insincere pleasantries.

Just as her gaze swept carelessly across a corner of the venue, a familiar figure made her suddenly freeze.

That slender black figure, that lazy temperament leaning against a pillar—it was clearly Kasumigaoka Utaha.

"No way..." Eriri subconsciously tightened her grip on her glass, her fingertips turning slightly white. "I must be seeing things. Why would she be at an occasion like this..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha wore a sharp, black formal dress, her burgundy eyes shimmering with a subtle luster under the lights. Her lips curled slightly in that signature, slightly playful smile as she slowly approached.

"Sawamura-san, why so surprised?" Her voice was very low, yet it clearly pierced through the surrounding noise.

"You... how can you be here?" Eriri truly failed to maintain her composure as a Young Miss, her tone filled with disbelief.

"Quiet down." Utaha leaned in slightly, her voice carrying a warning. "You're being too loud; it doesn't fit the persona you've so carefully maintained." She straightened up and slowly swirled the wine glass in her hand. "I am here on commission, of course."

"Commission?" Confusion was written all over Eriri's face. "What do you mean?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha sized her up for a moment, then revealed an 'as expected' expression. "You thought this was just an ordinary high-society social gathering?" She shook her head slightly, her tone carrying a hint of condescending pity. "For someone who belongs to this circle, it turns out you really know nothing at all."

"Know... what?" Eriri followed her lead, subconsciously pressing for an answer.

Utaha's gaze swept over the laughing and chatting faces around them, finally landing back on Eriri's eyes. Her voice was calm and meaningful:

"The... other side of this world."

"See that over there?"

Utaha gestured with her eyes toward a spot not far away. A radiant woman was gracefully moving among the guests, smiling and talking with elegant poise, as if she were born for such occasions.

"From the Yukinoshita Family?"

"Yes, Yukinoshita Haruno." Utaha withdrew her gaze and lowered her voice. "Their Family has deep ties with a certain high-ranking official in the Special Affairs Department, which is why the higher-ups specifically sent me here."

"Special Affairs Department?" Eriri blinked, her face full of blank confusion.

Seeing this, Utaha helplessly raised a hand to tap her forehead. "...I've said too much." She looked at the Young Miss who was still out of the loop, her tone carrying some bewilderment. "You clearly know nothing, so why were you brought here?"

Hearing this, Eriri lightly pressed her fingertips to her brow, a gesture that both maintained her lady-like poise and revealed her inner exhaustion.

"I should be the one asking that..." Her voice carried a perfect amount of helplessness, while a standard social smile remained on her lips. "My father only said that the heirs of every Family would be present tonight and insisted I come to see the world."

She elegantly swirled her champagne glass, using the movement of raising it to lower her voice: "If it weren't to maintain the Spencer Family's dignity, I'd rather be home right now drawing the cover for my new release."

After speaking, she didn't forget to nod politely to a noblewoman watching from afar, perfectly fulfilling the etiquette of a Young Miss, as if that whispered complaint had never been uttered.

Utaha gave a soft "Oh," her tone flat. "Then I won't disturb Young Miss Sawamura's world-seeing experience." With that, she turned to leave.

Eriri hurriedly grabbed her sleeve. "Wait! It's rare to run into someone I know; stay and talk with me."

Utaha remained unmoved. "You aren't my employer."

"Don't be like that..." Eriri followed closely behind her. "What was all that you said today? It's so mysterious. Tell me about it."

"Don't follow me."

In the mingling banquet hall, the commotion between the two was but a trivial interlude. At this moment, the venue was a gathering of celebrities from all walks of life in Japan—political and business elites, and scions of ancient families moved through the room, a veritable microcosm of high society.

Yukinoshita Haruno gracefully raised her glass, nodding with a smile to several guests she was chatting with. After taking a light sip, she turned elegantly and returned to her sister's side, who had been standing alone in the corner the whole time.

"Yukino," she leaned in slightly, her voice carrying its usual ease but lowered a few notches, "have you noticed? Not a single truly influential figure has appeared in the main hall tonight." Her gaze shifted, sweeping over the brightly dressed young faces. "The ones left here are all the juniors sent by their families to 'see the world'."

Yukinoshita Yukino merely gave her sister a flat glance, her face remaining expressionless.

"What does that have to do with me?" Her voice was cold and carried a sense of detachment. "Isn't it enough to have Sister representing the Family for social duties?"

The smile on Yukinoshita Haruno's face faded slightly, her voice soft yet solemn: "Yukino, I know you have feelings about Mother's arrangements. But now is not the time to be willful." She leaned forward slightly, her gaze sweeping over the surrounding eyes that seemed casual but were actually observing in secret. "After tonight, the Yukinoshita Family will either decline from here on, or... soar to the heavens."

"I don't care." Yukino turned her face away, her voice still cold.

Haruno sighed softly and reached out to affectionately pinch her sister's cheek. "Even if you don't care, don't make that face. So many people are watching."

Her action seemed affectionate, but her fingertips held a force that brooked no refusal, forcing Yukino to turn her face back toward those subtle gazes.

"Miss Yukinoshita is truly beautiful and moving, isn't she?"

A gentle voice sounded from behind the two sisters. They turned simultaneously and found that standing not far away was none other than that high-profile bodyguard by the Prime Minister's side.

Up close, his appearance was even more stunning than in any media footage—his hair, the color of white oak, shimmered with a soft luster, and those rainbow-colored eyes seemed to hold starlight. Coupled with the gentle smile on his lips, his entire being radiated a charming aura that was hard for women to resist.

Haruno switched back to her perfect social mode almost instantly, responding with a proper smile: "You flatter us. I didn't expect you would come over specifically to say hello."

Yukino stood quietly by her sister's side, keenly perceiving that the man's gaze was subtly falling on her from time to time.

He chatted and laughed with her sister, his behavior impeccable, but those intermittent glances made her feel an indescribable strangeness. This gaze wasn't like those of men in the past—filled with undisguised scrutiny—instead, it was gentle to a fault. Yet, it was precisely this overly perfect gentleness that made her feel a faint unease.

The smile floating in those rainbow eyes never reached the depths, where a cold indifference reminded her of the masks her sister wore in social settings. Both were perfectly hiding their true emotions beneath a friendly facade, only this person performed it even more seamlessly.

She subconsciously frowned slightly, developing an instinctive wariness toward this gaze that seemed gentle but was actually detached.

At this moment, the mingling and laughter in the public banquet hall were merely a carefully arranged curtain. Long before the guests entered, the true heads of the various families and factions had been quietly led to another, more hidden venue.

The decor and furnishings here were identical to the outer hall, but the atmosphere was completely different. There were no hypocritical pleasantries or light music; the air was thick with a silent solemnity. The gazes of all the heavyweights were focused on the main seat, yet they were surprised to find that Prime Minister Takaichi, who should have been leading the proceedings, was currently standing respectfully beside a man dressed in opulent clothing.

That man stood elegantly under the light, his beauty bordering on the demonic. Under the gaze of the crowd, he slowly spread his arms and announced in a voice like a chant:

"I have invited you all here tonight to bestow a supreme gift—a life beyond the mundane... eternal life."

Above his palm, a blood-colored crystal floated quietly. Its crystal-clear facets reflected a blurred luster, and the interior seemed to have a life of its own, with a dense red glow swirling within.

Although most of those present were insiders who knew of the existence of the Supernatural World, the words "eternal life" still stirred a suppressed commotion in the crowd. These well-informed elites exchanged looks of shock and uncertainty—they had seen the power of Talismanic Incantations, heard legends of Shikigami, and even secretly contacted certain secret arts for longevity, but to have "eternal life" presented so tangibly before their eyes was completely beyond their realm of cognition.

That floating blood-colored crystal seemed to be challenging the existing understanding of the world's rules held by everyone in this hall.

Even the elites present who had dealt with the Special Affairs Department could not help but be moved. They knew well what kind of extraordinary power the official agency possessed—those Talismans, Formations, and even longevity secrets had been witnessed firsthand in top-secret files.

But what this floating blood-colored crystal promised was a Domain that even the Special Affairs Department had never touched.

"What is the price?" A blunt question came from the back row, the voice carrying the pragmatism of a capitalist. "I don't believe there's such a thing as a free lunch in this world, let alone a transaction on the level of eternal life."

The man in opulent clothing elegantly held the blood-colored crystal, a smile of worldly insight on his lips.

"Do you know what the essence of life's continuation is?" His gaze swept across the room, his voice as warm as jade. "It is energy, it is nourishment, it is the foundation that allows the flame to be passed on."

"Looking across the universe, plants grow toward the sun, beasts hunt to survive, and the rise and fall of civilizations all attest to one simple truth—growth always requires a price." He tapped his finger lightly, and the crystal slowly rotated, reflecting a demonic light. "Just as spring flowers must absorb the essence of the soil to bloom, and a young eagle must endure the struggle of breaking its shell to spread its wings... if humans wish to cross the boundaries of life, they naturally also need... corresponding nourishment."

He deliberately paused slightly on the word "nourishment," letting the word settle slowly in the silent air with a hair-raising resonance.