Novel Volume 4 Chapter 5

## Without Fear

**Without Fear** (おそれを知らず, *Osore o Shirazu*?) is the fifth chapter of Volume 4 of the *My Happy Marriage* novel.

## Summary

Arata Usuba, taking a break from his public role as a negotiator, focuses on tracking Naoshi Usui. Despite his efforts to gather clues by visiting places connected to Naoshi, he found no leads on Naoshi's whereabouts. Suspecting that Naoshi may target the Emperor, he heads to the Imperial Palace. There, he senses artificial Gift-user's presence and identifies vulnerabilities in the palace's defenses. In a startling turn of events, he sees the Emperor, flanked by a few people, leaving the palace by car, completely unnoticed by anyone. Realizing that Naoshi is manipulating the sights of guards and pedestrians, Arata dispatches a familiar to tail the car and another to warn the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit, and begins pursuit.

Meanwhile, several days after Miyo Saimori and Kaoruko Jinnouchi reconcile, they continue doing chores together at the station. When they rest in Kiyoka Kudou's office during a break, he receives a message from Arata and reacts in shock. At the same moment, Mukadeyama rushes into the room, bearing news that Takaihito, through Divine Revelation, has seen that the Emperor has been kidnapped. Kiyoka tells him that Arata is already pursuing and will soon know the location. Distrusting Arata, Mukadeyama imagines the possibility of Naoshi and Arata conspiring together. As Kiyoka hesitates, Miyo urges him to rescue the Emperor, but Mukadeyama dismisses her input as that of an outsider. After some consideration, Kiyoka orders Mukadeyama, who initially protests, to stay and protect the station in his absence. Throughout the conversation, Kaoruko seems noticeably distressed. After Kiyoka gives Miyo a brief embrace, he leaves with two squads. Kaoruko, Mukadeyama and his squad encircle Miyo in a defensive ring as they barricade themselves in the dojo. Suddenly, Mukadeyama yells that the barrier around the station has been broken and they hear Naoshi's voice thanking them for their fiery welcome.

Kiyoka rushes to the location shared by Arata, who surmises that the kidnappers are likely heading to the imperial family's vacation home. Concerned about the possibility of the Emperor being used as bait to target Takaihito and Miyo, Kiyoka realizes that having both Arata and himself pursuing the Emperor is far from ideal. If Naoshi actually attacks the station, no one would stand a chance without Gift-users of Kiyoka or Arata's skills. Suddenly, a fast-moving car arrives, and Masashi Ookaito emerges. Acting on Takaihito's instructions, Masashi orders Kiyoka to return to the station alone. Meanwhile, he takes charge of the pursuit of the Emperor's kidnappers with the remaining personnel under his command.

In the dojo, an invisible Naoshi announces he has come for Miyo and materializes when prompted. Mukadeyama questions how he got inside, and Naoshi thanks Kaoruko for aiding him by tampering with the barrier. Kaoruko confesses under pressure and asks Naoshi if he kept his promise to spare her family, to which he admits he never harmed them and she just fell for his lie. Naoshi draws his sword, and quickly shatters Mukadeyama's saber on his first strike. Seeing Mukadeyama's shoulder wound and realizing Naoshi could easily kill everyone, Miyo leaps out and tries to stall him through conversation, but Naoshi sees through it. He turns invisible and slams Kaoruko to the floor, threatening to harm everyone if Miyo doesn't cooperate. With his blade pressed on her neck, Miyo has no choice but leave with him.

Suddenly Naoshi is kicked down and his back is crushed by Kiyoka's boot. Naoshi counters by swinging his hilt at the boot. As Kiyoka moves his foot, Naoshi seizes the opening and flips himself, lithely landing back on his feet. Water projectiles, suspected to come from Houjou, attack the soldiers, giving Naoshi the opportunity to escape. When Mukadeyama reports to Kiyoka, he is struck two times by a stern Kiyoka for his lapse in guarding, putting Miyo in danger, and warns of impending consequences for his failure. After Mukadeyama departs, Miyo defends him, but Kiyoka assures her he will face both reprimand and reward. Miyo then inquires about Kaoruko's fate for her betrayal, Kiyoka grimly suggests not holding hope for a positive outcome.

Arata and the squads led by Masashi reach the imperial family’s vacation home. Guards at the gate testify that no one has passed through. After an exhaustive investigation, they find no evidence of anyone having been there. Arata suspects that the sight of his familiar was manipulated to lead them astray. The soldiers accuse him of collaborating with Naoshi. As Masashi orders withdrawal, Arata begs for permission to continue his search alone, but he finds no clues at all until nightfall and fears the consequences he and the Usuba family will face. Naoshi suddenly appears, and Arata aims his gun at him. Mentioning how he isn't the one oppressing the Usubas, he offers Arata a chance to improve his life by joining the Gifted Communion.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Arata Usuba
* Emperor
* Miyo Saimori
* Kaoruko Jinnouchi
* Kiyoka Kudou
* Mukadeyama
* Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit members
* Masashi Ookaito
* Naoshi Usui
* Houjou

### Mentioned characters

* Takaihito
* Sumi Usuba