Chapter 359 - Exposure

"When are we going to start my training?"

Alinea gave the men a quizzing stare as she unconsciously rubbed Byakuya's ears and tummy on her ŀȧp. Everyone except for Perun sat on the wooden corridor facing the zen garden where the servants set up the breakfast for the day. Spring had totally come and the beautiful flowers and greenery in the Cedar Palace looked magical.

"Training? Are you doing martial arts?" Yuuka asked innocently as her morning meal was served on the small table in front of her.

"Er… yes. Yes, I'm doing martial arts," Alinea answered in a rush. She mentally kicked herself for forgetting that they had a guest.

"Really? Do you think it's possible for me to join you?"

Huh?

"Why?" Alinea gave Yuuka a quizzing glance but realized the reason for her question as soon as she saw how the other's face looked in awe when the breakfast was delivered.

As per usual, the servants had brought them a full hearty Japanese style breakfast which meant that it was a full tray of different vibrant food. Per person was served with a bowl of rice with ikura, a type of caviar which was red and mostly roe of salmon or trout, egg rolls with flavoring, pickled vegetable salad, grilled fish, miso soup, and fermented soybeans.  

Everyone watched as Yuuka's eyes brightened, obviously very delighted with the aromatic food before laughing as she suddenly ġrȯȧnėd. "Do you still have to ask why?" she countered indicating the food. "Oh lord, it's only my first morning here and I feel like I've gained a kilo already from last night's awesome food."

She totally looked like someone whose diet went down the drain and it was so funny. "Please don't tell me that all your meals are like this?"

"All the meals here are like that," Chiaki answered with a grin. She and Aki decided to sleep at the Cedar Palace last night so that Yuuka would have both Alinea and her for company.

"Noooooo…" Yuuka comically ġrȯȧnėd again but still dug in the food and made appreciative noises as she tasted the piping hot rice with seasoning, making everyone smile again at her.

"What have you been eating for breakfast usually then?" Emi asked as she reached out and tickled the puppy's ear on Alinea's ŀȧp.

"Just warm lemon water and some nuts and dried fruit for breakfast."

"That's enough?" Alinea could never imagine starting the day with that small amount of food, most especially since she started staying at the Cedar Palace.

Yuuka shrugged. "It's fast and nutritious. I usually eat in the car going to work."

Even if she was on a loose schedule now since she just returned to the country, Maki Yuuka, as the Vice President of Axis Corporation was a workaholic. She's basically the female version of Aki and Gin. If she didn't have a secretary who managed her schedule well, she'd even forget taking breaks for meals at all.

"If you don't want to get sick, you better pay attention to food," Chiaki scolded Yuuka who smiled.

"Well, after eating delicious meals here, I doubt if I could go back to my usual eating habits," Yuuka said honestly and they all started eating in comfortable silence.

"Where's Sora-nii, by the way? Is he not eating?" Aki asked as he looked around.

"Nah, my brother already ate," Gin answered.

"Ritz wakes up really, really early, so he eats early as well," Ivan said, ending the inquiry and everybody finished their meal.

As she ate, Yuuaka looked a bit distracted as if lost in thoughts. It stayed like that until everyone finished eating and the servants took their trays. She turned her attention to Gin and Ryuu, with a worried and hesitant expression. "Uhm… about my parents…"

Gin smiled at her. "Don't worry. We already sent a message to your father about you staying at the Cedar Palace."

"Eh?"Yuuka looked surprised. "Really? Did… did he say anything?"

"Well, we just sent the message a while ago. We can't have the result until later, no?" Gin told her teasingly, and Yuuka smiled apologetically for forgetting that it's not only eight in the morning, it's also a Sunday. Normal people woke up later than usual since it's an off day.

"But rest ȧssured, your parents will be taken somewhere safe today," Gin continued.

"So, can I be with them?" she asked, but Gin shook his head, confusing Yuuka.

"But I thought…"

"Even if they're not infected, they still got exposed to it so they need to be somewhere a bit isolated before they can be with others," Gin informed her. "We will set them up at a comfortable place where experts will take care of them."

When Yuuka still didn't look convinced, Ryuu spoke up.

"The exposure to the infection causes the people to be mentally unstable. Even if they're not really infected, there's a possibility they'd suddenly be if their minds are not stabilized."

This was normally utter bull, of course, since they were dealing with a harpy and not a shadow lurker. However, the miasma exposure from very strong dark elementals like Ozomene could materialize into a shadow lurker if it was strong enough – which was really the case this time since Ozomene was the mother of all harpies. The dark elemental was similar to Aello in power.

If they were not careful, the miasma that the Maki couple was surrounded with could mutate – and they did not want that. In order to avoid further deterioration of their mentality that could possibly summon a shadow lurker, they should work on getting rid of the couple's obsession – most especially Maki Eito's.

"So, they'll be like in quarantine?" Aki asked.

"Something like that – but a bit more complicated," Gin answered and everyone looked at him to explain.

"How complicated?" Alinea asked after seeing Yuuka's confused expression.

"Well," Gin started as he cleared his throat. "Ozomene – the name of the infection, can cause people who are exposed to it to lose their minds and become violent."

Yuuka inhaled sharply, her hands covering her mouth. "Will my parents really be okay?"

She's very happy they would live, but if they'd go crazy, wouldn't they suffer just the same?

"They will," Gin ȧssured her again. "It's why you have to stay here and let us deal with your parents for a while."