Tadakiyo Kudou

**Tadakiyo Kudou** (久堂 正清, *Kudō Tadakiyo*?) is the former head of the Kudou family, the husband of Fuyu Kudou and the father of Hazuki Kudou and Kiyoka Kudou.

## Appearance

Tadakiyo is a sickly middle-aged man with shockingly handsome and refined features. He is fair skinned, dainty, and slightly androgynous. Though undoubtedly a man at first glance, he exudes the graceful elegance of a highborn princess, secluded from the world. His facial appearance is very similar to his son, Kiyoka Kudou. Despite being in his fifties, he looked in his thirties at most. He could be mistaken as Kiyoka's brother at first glance.

In terms of physique, he differs greatly from his son. He is every bit as fragile and delicate as his slender features suggests. He is also slightly shorter than Kiyoka, and the skin on his hands are so soft that it is almost transparent. His illness causes his complexion to be deathly pale and his body just skin and bones.

## History

Tadakiyo is born with a weak constitution. It happens once in a while with Gift-users in families who have inherited a powerful Gift. Their body wouldn’t be able to keep up with the Gift’s power. Even if they are strong enough to live normally without any supernatural powers, their bodies screams in pain by virtue of their mighty Gift. His health is so delicate that he would frequently suffer from sudden and violent coughing fits. Even the slightest physical exertion, such as carrying a heavy load, could cause him to stumble. The sweltering summer heat would also take a toll on his health.

Tadakiyo has endured much hardship because of this. As the head of the Kudou family, despite his weak body, he had to protect the Kudou family's peerless position and make sure other families don't disrespect them. He tirelessly worked harder than anyone else to fulfill his role. Tadakiyo was so busy that he’d had no option but to entrust everything in the house to Fuyu Kudou. He later regrets having neglected his family and house. Due to his weak health, Tadakiyo stepped down from his role as the family's head and passed it on to his son Kiyoka Kudou, almost immediately after Kiyoka graduated from the university. Afterwards, Tadakiyo and his wife chose to spend most of their days in a countryside villa, rarely venturing into the bustling Imperial Capital. Meanwhile, his children reside separately in the city.

Whenever Tadakiyo would hear of a lady of a suitable age who matched his requirements, he would send a go-between to make the arrangements for marriage propositions for his son. He instigated the marriage proposal between Miyo Saimori and Kiyoka, and is proud of himself for a job well done.

## Abilities

Despite his weak body, Tadakiyo is Gifted individual whose abilities are undeniable and invincible.

* **Spirit-Sight**: Tadakiyo possesses this ability to see the Grotesqueries. Having served as the emperor's retainer in his role as the former head of the family, Tadakiyo wiped out many Grotesqueries.

* **Electrokinesis**: With this ability, Tadakiyo can generate electrical force. He is particularly good at using lightning, and has the nickname "Purple Lightning". He uses it to send subtly crackling electricity along the ground, catching the group of artificial Gift-users from the Gifted Communion that went to the Kudou villa, electrocuting them on the spot. During the battle against the Gifted Communion at the Imperial Army headquarters, he uses electricity again against the enemy. Unlike Kiyoka's high-profile, obvious and destructive lightning strikes, Tadakiyo's method has a bit of an assassin's feel, making people's hair stand on end.

* **Aerokinesis**: Tadakiyo possesses the ability to control and manipulate the air. It allows him to dispel the tornado-like maelstrom created by a group of artificial Gift-users from the Gifted Communion near the Kudou villa.

## Relationships

### Kiyoka Kudou

Tadakiyo's son has a high distrust of him that stemmed from how Tadakiyo had allowed his wife to do whatever she pleased back when the whole family lived together at the family estate. His son's unwillingness to settle on a marriage partner had weighed on Tadakiyo for a long time, without realizing that his wife was one of the driving forces behind Kiyoka’s hesitancy.

## Trivia

* Tadakiyo is a point of view character in Chapter 5 of the third volume of the novel.

### Name Origin

* The name **Tadakiyo** means "right, proper" (正, *tada*?) and "clear, pure, clean" (清, *kiyo*?).

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5  Novel, Volume 3 Chapter 1
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2  Novel, Volume 3 Chapter 4
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4  Novel, Volume 3 Chapter 5
4. ↑  Novel, Volume 2 Epilogue
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2  Novel, Volume 6 Chapter 3