Chapter 371 - Most Eligible Man

"Brother, could you just call one of the harpies and end this?" Aoi deadpanned.

The younger Kazehaya was already used to his older brother's peculiar behavior, but there were times when he really thought his goofiness was out of place. As someone who had just been beaten black and blue by the harpy, he was not amused by anything. He just wanted to go home and rest.

However, it seemed he said something wrong as Gin looked upset with his words.

"Er… what's wrong?"

"Ao, how could you?" Gin asked him accusingly. "How could you ask me to make my babies fight their mama?"

Urgh…

"Brother, I don't care anymore. Just end it, okay?"

Instead of answering, Gin grinned up at him and touched his forehead with his index finger, surprising the younger one. As soon as the Wind God's finger connected with Aoi's skin, a light appeared at the tip, and the younger brother felt his body enveloped with a cool sensation. He felt refreshed; the battered feeling from the harpy's attacks earlier was gone.

At this time, Ozomene still stood rooted in place. At first, Aoi thought it was because the harpy could sense Stribog's power and was afraid. However, now that his eyes were clear again, he noticed that there was a seal below the harpy, and its gray body was enveloped with the wind, restricting its movements.

Gin had already subdued the enemy as soon as he arrived.

"Where are the others?" Gin asked.

"Kuro's fighting with the other harpy," Aoi answered. "Aka and Shiro are maintaining the cage. We put everyone in there as we can't extract them anymore."

Perun had already explained to Gin about Ozomene splitting so he was not surprised. But the issue on the shadow lurkers was a bit disconcerting. If the parasites had just recently invaded the hosts' bodies, it would still be easy to extract them. But if Aoi said that his group couldn't do it, it meant that the infestation was already mid-level. A bit more and it would be impossible to extract even for Perun.

"Yikes. Hopefully, it's not too late," Gin said.

If there's nothing they could do, he wouldn't hesitate to kill the hosts. But if possible, he still wanted to keep his word to Yuuka.  After all, this was the first time his sister-in-law ever asked him a favor. In the past, Shitara had never requested anything from him – oh except for that one time he visited them and she asked him to have more patience with his brother's aloofness.

But Gin didn't consider that a request since he's already used to Perun's personality. Besides, his brother was the king and could do whatever he wanted and little Stribog couldn't say no.

"Ao, let's go check the others," Gin said as he raised his hand with his palm open, and instantly, the subtle wind restraining Ozomene grew stronger.

The brothers then flew towards the house to see the others.

"Brother, I will go and help Kuro. He can't handle the other harpy alone," Aoi said but Gin shook his head.

"He's fine. Our older brother got him covered," Gin said, shocking the younger man.

"Our older brother?" Aoi asked in awe. "Sora-nii is here?"

"Why are you surprised? Who do you think would extract the shadow lurkers from the people?"

Saying this, Aoi had to nod. It was a fact that none of them could remove the parasites beyond initial stages. Still, he was surprised that the King of Heaven agreed to help. After all, in the books he had studied, it was clearly stated as per the original god, Rod, that as much as possible, deities were not allowed to meddle too much with the mortals. As the king, Perun was stricter on himself.

Still, Aoi didn't comment anymore. If Perun willingly helped, it would be better. Soon, they entered the house.

"Young Masters!"

Aka and Shiro looked happy to see them. But they didn't bow in respect like they used to do in greeting as the formation they made to seal the people inside would break.

"What do we have here…"Gin hummed as he studied the people inside the cage thoughtfully.

Each person of the Maki household was in a cubicle seal that Aka and Shiro created. All of them were separated. It was a more difficult type of cage, but a necessary one as shadow lurkers tended to cannibalize in their early stages to get more energy. As a result, people infected by them felt enmity which might lead to them trying to kill each other.

Just as Aoi had reported, some of the parasites had surpassed the early stages and were now ready to permanently implant themselves in the hosts' souls. But the others still looked alright and could easily be removed.

The thing was, the people who were mildly affected were only the servants. The Maki couple, however, was a different issue.

"Can Sora-nii still remove them?"Aoi asked.

Gin's lips twitched in amusement as he studied the muddled but angry state of the people – most especially Maki Eito who was screaming in the cage. Although the sound was suppressed by the barrier, Gin could make out what the man was yelling.

"My daughter will marry the best man!"

Gin scratched his chin and sighed. "He can. But the parasites need to be pried a little," he answered.

The servants had no issue. They could even remove their parasites without Perun's aid. But the couple's parasites needed to be worked on a little before they could be extracted.

"But how? Are we going to ask Aki to pretend to be Yuuka's fiancé?"Aoi asked with a frown.

He knew it's necessary, but he still didn't approve of this arrangement as Chiaki and Yuuka were both good women and this was an awful and awkward arrangement for everyone involved.

Gin shook his head. "Maki Eito is only obsessed with Aki because Yuuka told him that Aki is the best husband candidate."

"So?"Aoi was puzzled.

"We'll give him a better one," Gin replied easily.

"I understand. I shall arrange for Shiro to be engaged to Yuuka," Aoi stated making Gin grab him.

"No," the older brother said.

Aoi looked at Gin then at Shiro who was stunned at his sudden engagement. "Why not? According to the most eligible bachelor list in Tokyo, aside from you and the Koutaishidenka, there were no other men ranking higher than Aki other than Shiro. He's the President of the Homura International after all."

"Wrong. There's another one," Gin said, and when everyone looked puzzled, he grinned. "Sora-nii…"