Super God: If I punch you, you will die

"No, the children all left first, so Maria is the only one left there. Unless someone tells her to stop, she'll stay there even if they start raining down spears. She won't even take out her umbrella. I acted on impulse and did something like this."

As her mother, Ushiromiya Rōza knew better than anyone how honest her daughter was, yet she acted on impulse and did something so outrageous.

“Maria—”

He grabbed the shoulder of the right-hand palace tower's top official and ran into the corridor.

Outside the guesthouse.

It's pouring rain outside, looking just like a typhoon. Perhaps due to the terrain, the wind isn't quite typhoon-level; it seems strong enough to make it impossible to hold an umbrella. Even so, the wind and rain are still quite intense, so there's probably no chance to leisurely admire the rain-soaked roses.

"Maria is still the one I'm most worried about right now. I hope she won't hold a grudge and continue looking for that rose after we leave."

"With such heavy rain, it shouldn't be a problem, but Maria can be really stubborn sometimes, and quite silly."

Lin Yan and the others originally thought that she had been taken to the main house by Aunt Louzuo, so they didn't think much of it. However, Jia Yin came from the main house to call us to eat. He thought that Maria should be with the younger generation, which made the others very worried.

“I didn’t see her from the main house, so I always thought Ms. Maria was here. Ms. Roza was taking a nap at the time…”

"Didn't you see it on your way here?"

"I'm so sorry. I was running while holding an umbrella, so I didn't pay attention to my surroundings."

If you take the shortest route between the main house and the guesthouse through the rose garden, you'll be slightly off from where Maria was looking for roses. Besides, with the rain so heavy, it's perfectly normal that Jia Yin didn't notice her.

"Instead of discussing it here, why don't we just go and find them? Should we have a race?"

"You think you can beat me just because you're six years older? Fine, let's settle this once we're done. Come on."

Udai-no-miya Yoshiharu ran out in the rain, followed by Udai-no-miya Zhu Zhixiang and Jiayin.

"Maria. Answer me if you hear me. Maria."

“It’s Auntie Louza. Auntie.” As soon as Ushiromiya Joji answered, Ushiromiya Louza immediately rushed over as if she were about to pounce on him.

"Where is Maria? Isn't she with you?"

"No, we didn't encounter Maria later."

“Maria—”

Six years ago, Maria was only three years old, an adorable little girl so innocent that she believed everything people said. But six years have passed. By the time most people are nine, they've experienced a bit of life, both good and bad, and their personalities have become more sophisticated. But this girl is still so pure and innocent; it's a bit abnormal.

048 Guilt [Please Subscribe]

“Maria.”

After passing the rose garden, a white object flipped over—it was a white umbrella. Maria squatted on the ground, holding the white umbrella, and continued searching for roses.

"..."

Maria's face was red and swollen from crying, and it was also dirty with rain and mud, which was heartbreaking to see.

"You've been searching all this time?"

"Waaah, I can't find it, Maria's rose, I can't find it, waaah!"

Maria had probably been there since the rain started, and even her shoulders were freezing. She looked exhausted, but thankfully she had an umbrella, so she wasn't completely soaked.

Maria probably had an umbrella in her handbag that she always carries with her. That's great, really great.

"Lin Yan. That's great! You found her?"

“Maria. I’m so sorry, Mommy is so sorry.” Aunt Ushiromiya dropped the umbrella she was holding and hugged Maria.

"Waaah, I can't find it, I can't find Maria's rose, waaah!"

"Mommy will help you look for it later, okay? So we won't look for it today, okay?" Ushiromiya Riza had finally realized her mistake and regretted her violent treatment of her daughter. Looking at Maria now, Ushiromiya Riza softened her tone and patiently said to her, "We won't look for it today."

Maria didn't seem to want to give up, but she was still a bit exhausted.

At this moment, Zhu Zhixiang and Jiayin also caught up.

"Maria, have you been staying here all this time?"

"I'll have someone prepare towels in the main room right away."

"I'm so sorry, I'm such a bad mother, I'm so sorry..."

"Auntie Lou, let's go inside first, or Maria will catch a cold if we keep going like this."

“That’s right, Maria, let’s go. If we don’t wash ourselves properly, Grandpa will scold us.”

"hungry."

"It's time to eat. Maria worked so hard. When the weather gets better, we'll help you look for her." Now that they had found Maria, everyone headed towards the main house.

Maria must have been hungry, as she kept saying she was hungry, but she didn't seem very weak. She was full of energy and had completely recovered her usual lively self.

This time, Ushiromiya Ryoza didn't blame Maria for crying.

"So Maria brought an umbrella? You're really thoughtful."

"Maria didn't bring an umbrella."

"What did you say? Then where did you get that white umbrella?"

"I borrowed it from someone."

"Really? Then you should thank them properly. Who gave you the umbrella?"

"Beaterich".

Maria excitedly shouted out the name of the island's witch. Ushiromiya paused briefly, careful not to displease Maria who was in a good mood, and asked again tactfully:

"Really? That's great. Who gave you the umbrella?"

"Beaterich".

Maria immediately sensed that Ushiromiya Rōza didn't believe her and made a displeased sound. Therefore, Rōza stopped asking and thought that it would be faster to ask Maria directly at the dinner table who borrowed her money and returned it.

Meanwhile, in Kinzo's study.

"Dad, please at least attend dinner, otherwise how can the family meeting be held?"

Outside the door came the sound of Ushiromiya Kinzou knocking loudly and pleading. But it was clear from his tone that he had already given up, convinced that Ushiromiya Kinzou wouldn't listen anyway.

“Mr. Kinzo, at least show your face at dinner, okay? Don’t your children all want to come back and see you?” Nanjo said this in a reassuring tone while playing chess with Kinzo.

"Nanjo, shut up. It's useless to mess with the bishop; we're still missing a trick."

Ushiromiya Kinzo seemed preoccupied with how to finish the long-running game of Go against Nanjo. His brows were furrowed, his eyes fixed on the board through his reading glasses, completely oblivious to the shouts from Kurausu.

"Mr. Kinzo, I'm hungry too. Would you like to come down for a meal together?"

"Go ahead and go if you want. I need to stay here and think about my next move. Tonight I'm going to settle this with you, otherwise you'll probably never finish this game."

Nanjo stood up and asked Kinzo to stand up as well, but Ushiromiya Kinzo's gaze remained fixed on the Go board.

Nanjo knew that Kinzo was always so focused on chess that he would ignore everything else, but tonight his focus was far beyond what he usually did. It was as if he was emphasizing that what he said was true: if a winner couldn't be decided tonight, there would be no chance to finish the game. It seemed that no matter how much he tried to persuade him, he probably wouldn't listen.

Nanjo gave up on the idea and walked toward the door from which the knocking had continued.

The corridor outside the study.

The study door opened.

Ushiromiya Kōjiu was surprised that Ushiromiya Kinzō would actually come out, and he immediately took a few steps back, but then he saw Nanjō's figure and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Dr. Nanjo, where is Father?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you. For Mr. Kinzo now, this room is all that's left of his world."

Nanjo shook his head with a completely resigned expression, while Kurausu raised his fist again, banging on the door and shouting.

"Dad, can you hear me? We're going downstairs. You can come down anytime to have a meal with us. We, your children, will be waiting downstairs."

Ushiromiya Kōji was shouting so loudly and knocking so violently, it was impossible for Ushiromiya Kinzō not to hear him; he did hear him.

But he ignored it.

However, he was no longer as irritable as when Ushiromiya Kinzo had come to call him at noon. Ushiromiya Kinzo was now calm and composed, displaying an optimistic acceptance of fate.

“I have no interest in dinner or my children. There are only two possibilities for me to leave here: either when Beatrice is resurrected, or when I am chosen as the living sacrifice for the key. The wheel of evil has already begun to turn. What is the point of having dinner now?”

Ushiromiya Kinzo ignored the piercing knocking and, in a state of detached composure, silently pondered his next move.

……

Kinzo was still conspicuously absent from the restaurant. Zaiji gave a wry smile and returned to the restaurant with Nanjo.

"My father is still not feeling well. He expressed his great regret at not being able to attend the annual family gathering."

Ushiromiya Eiha and Ushiromiya Ryufu couldn't help but chuckle. Judging from Ushiromiya Kinzo's personality, he couldn't possibly feel regret, and none of the relatives present would regret his absence.

"Let's begin our meal. Countryman, serve the food."

"Yes, ma'am. Let's begin serving the dishes."

The family dinner is one of the most important opportunities of the year to make a name for oneself. Finally receiving the signal to begin, Goda nodded with a broad smile.

"Excuse me, who lent the umbrella to Maria?"

Ushiromiya Roza spoke hesitantly in the quiet restaurant, immediately drawing the attention of everyone present.

049 Umbrella [Please Subscribe]

"Umbrella? What are you talking about?"

Ushiromiya Eiha expressed her surprise and doubt.

"Yes, it started raining when Maria was in the rose garden just now, and it seems someone lent her a white umbrella. I want to thank them properly."

"It wasn't us... After you left, we changed rooms and had a very 'pleasant' chat."

"That is to say, we all had a very pleasant chat afterwards."

The tone in which Hideyoshi Ushiromiya uttered the word "pleasant" sounded very off, and even those who weren't present at the time could guess that the conversation itself must have been quite unpleasant.

"At least we can be sure it wasn't me, Eba, Rufu, Hideyoshi's brother-in-law, or Kirie's sister-in-law."

"After Sister-in-law Xiafei and Sister-in-law Louzuo left, we stayed together until it was time to eat."

“My brother and Uncle Yuan went upstairs to invite Dad down for dinner, and we came straight to the dining room, so it shouldn’t be us. We’d be so kind as to lend her an umbrella. I think it was probably the maid.”

"So, is it Mr. Gota?"

The right-hand palace attendant inquired about the local fields.

"I'm sorry, I've been preparing in the kitchen."

Gota seemed a little disappointed, feeling he had missed an opportunity to show off. Just then, Kumazawa and Sanon pushed in a cart loaded with appetizers.

"Is it... Granny Kumazawa or Shana?"

"What did you say? Is there something we've overlooked?" Shana seemed unaware of what they were talking about and was worried that she might have made a mistake.

"No, it's because it started raining when Maria was alone in the rose garden, and someone lent her an umbrella, so Auntie Lou wanted to thank the person who lent her the umbrella."

“Beatrice…it’s Beatrice…”

Maria pouted and whispered the witch's name. Aunt Louza explained the situation again, and Granny Kumazawa responded with a loud laugh.

"It wasn't us either. Shana has been preparing the guest rooms the whole time and hasn't gone outside."

"We're so sorry we're so slow,"

"Prepare guest rooms? What do you mean?"

When Ushiro-no-miya Kōsū asked this question, Natsumi-hime replied:

"What I meant to say was that with the rain falling so heavily, it would be quite troublesome for all of you distinguished guests to return to the guesthouse, so I asked the servants to prepare the guest rooms in this large house."

"You're so clever. You're right, it's really quite impolite to kick guests out when it's raining so hard."

"Eyu, please stop talking,"

After Princess Ushiro finished speaking, Sane and Kumazawa explained further:

"Yes. That's what Madam instructed us to do, so the three of us—Mrs. Xiongze, Jiayin, and I—were preparing guest rooms. When it was time for dinner, Steward Yuanci instructed us to invite the young master and young lady who were staying at the guesthouse. Jiayin made that trip for us."

"So, it turns out that Jia Yin found Maria on her way to the guesthouse and lent her the umbrella?"

"Waaah—no way—no way—" Maria pouted unequivocally, denying the claim.