"Hahaha, I think these old bones of mine should sit this one out."
Erioh Kure laughed and waved a hand. "It is getting late, and since you have come from so far away, Luke, my clan cannot neglect its hospitality. Why not have a meal and rest first? Tomorrow, this old man will arrange for some experts to spar with you. How does that sound?"
"Then I'll gladly accept. But fair warning: I eat a lot."
Luke smiled. He understood that things had to be done step by step. He had not come to the Kure Clan to challenge their dojo; he had come to learn their techniques. He could not disrespect the clan head.
Though the Kure Clan was a family of assassins, they had principles and respected the strong. He had defeated Raian Kure head-on, so there was no chance they would resort to underhanded methods against him.
Poisoning his food was unlikely. At most, they might let him witness some assassination techniques.
"There is still some time before the meal, and this old man has clan matters to handle, so I will not keep you company..."
Erioh Kure swept his gaze through the crowd before settling on Fusui Kure. "Fusui, show Luke around the compound for now. Remember, Luke is an honored guest of our clan. Do not let anyone disturb him."
Fusui nodded. She was still shaken from the fright. Just now, she had truly thought that her idiot brother was about to be beaten to death.
The fight was over, and Erioh had spoken. The gathered clan members quickly dispersed, leaving only Luke and Fusui behind.
"Come on, Mr. Luke. I'll show you around. Our clan grounds are quite large."
Fusui led the way.
"They really are huge. Assassination must be a lucrative line of work..."
Luke sighed in admiration. The Kure Clan not only possessed an entire city—their central compound was massive as well. It consisted entirely of traditional Japanese-style buildings, all constructed and furnished with premium materials.
Besides the indoor dojos, there were numerous outdoor training grounds. Even now, with the sun sinking low, quite a few figures were still sparring.
"Not really. We simply have partnerships with many corporations..."
Fusui hesitated before speaking again. "Um... thank you."
Luke was briefly puzzled, then realized what she meant. "Oh, no need. I told you I wasn't here to kill anyone. Even if you hadn't shouted, I wouldn't have kept attacking him."
In truth, even if he had killed Raian in their fight, the Kure Clan would probably not have done much to him. It had been a fair spar, and he had held back several times already.
Still, he had come to the Kure Clan to learn the secret technique of Removal. If he killed their number-one prodigy, then learning that skill would be out of the question.
As Luke pondered how to bring up a 'martial arts exchange' over dinner, he suddenly sensed something. So soon? He was already going to get a taste of their assassination arts. Interesting.
He abruptly twisted aside, evading the attack from behind. Then he shot out one hand and accurately seized the throat of the figure lunging at him from the darkness.
The instant his hand closed around the attacker, Luke reflexively applied force. The warm, soft sensation in his grip was not what he had expected, and he froze.
In that instant of hesitation, a pair of long bandage-wrapped legs curled around his neck from either side. At the same time, the attacker reached forward with both hands, grabbed the front of Luke's clothes, and laboriously pulled herself closer.
By the faint light of the setting sun, Luke finally saw her clearly. She was a girl of sixteen or seventeen, still dressed in a sailor-style school uniform. Her long hair was dark purple, and white pupils gleamed with excited light within her black eyes.
"I want to have your babies!"
That was what the girl said.
Luke: ???
His instinctive reaction was to tighten his grip, turning the girl's face red.
"Mr. Luke, don't!"
Fusui hurriedly cried out from the side. "She's the clan head's great-granddaughter!"
Bang—
Luke did not tighten his grip further and snap the girl's fragile neck. Instead, he flung her away, sending her crashing into the wooden wall of the corridor.
Karla Kure showed none of the terror of someone who had just brushed against death. She coughed twice and got to her feet, ignoring Fusui's attempt to support her. Her eyes still shone with excitement as she stared at Luke.
"Grandpa once told me that bearing strong children is the duty of the main family."
Her gaze roamed over Luke's body. "Luke, you're strong. I'm Karla. Be my husband!"
Luke's brain was still half-shut down. It took him two seconds to recover from his shock.
He knew of Karla. She was Erioh Kure's great-granddaughter and one of the Kure Clan's rare prodigies. At such a young age, she could already unleash 85 percent of her potential through Removal.
This high school girl had a rather strange way of thinking. She seemed to possess an inexplicable obsession with having children with strong men. In the original story, she had fallen in love at first sight with Ohma Tokita, the 'protagonist,' and hounded him for a long time.
A miscalculation...
Luke had forgotten it was summer vacation. It was perfectly normal for Karla, this troublesome girl who attended school in Tokyo, to return to her hometown. And he had just displayed the strength to utterly crush Raian in front of her...
Luke rubbed his brow with his left hand and held out his right in a stopping gesture. "Wait... Don't pounce on me!"
He had no intention of getting involved with an underage girl in a mission world. That would be a terrible idea in every possible sense.
Women would only slow down the speed of his sword draw!
After giving it some thought, Luke lowered his hand and released his aura and killing intent without restraint. "Don't come near me. Next time, you won't just be thrown into a wall."
He figured that once he frightened the girl a little, she would know better than to persist.
But Karla's behavior made him realize something else. When he negotiated with the Kure Clan, they were not going to make some outrageous demand, were they?
The Kure Clan loved arranging marriages and seeking strong bloodlines. They used that practice to optimize their clan's lineage and maintain its prosperity over the ages.
Thinking about it carefully, a young and powerful martial artist like him might actually be in danger of losing his chastity in a place like this!
"Luke, let's have children!"
While Luke was lost in thought, Karla gave a loud shout. Her clothes flew upward, exposing her still-youthful but graceful figure as she leaped toward Luke.
Bang—
In the next moment, Karla felt the world spin. She was slammed upside down into the wall.
Luke looked at Karla with a headache, then glanced at Fusui. "How exactly does the Kure Clan educate its children?"
Fusui looked awkward. She walked over and helped Karla up. "Karla, the clan head said you aren't allowed to harass Luke. Calm down first."
"Harass him? I'm not harassing him. I just want to have children with him."
Karla's innocent, puzzled expression made even Fusui struggle to keep a straight face.
The Kure Clan really did have such a tradition. To be honest, Fusui could guess what the clan head was thinking. A powerhouse like Luke had arrived, so naturally, they had to give him a proper 'welcome.'
A man capable of defeating Raian had come to them. If they could not leave behind even a trace of his bloodline, it would be a terrible waste.
Fusui had even been thinking that, since she was responsible for showing Luke around, perhaps she should be the one to entertain him that night.
But she had never expected Karla to charge in so boldly and declare her feelings so directly.
The situation was bad in every sense. First, Luke seemed deeply repulsed by Karla's sexual harassment. Second, if word of this reached the clan head, it would probably cause another earthquake.
Erioh Kure doted excessively on his great-granddaughter; practically everyone in the Kure Clan knew it. If he learned that his precious great-granddaughter wanted to have children with Luke, he would likely fly into a rage.
"Miss Fusui, I'm a little hungry. Can we eat now?"
Luke changed the subject. It was not as though he practiced some indestructible celibate technique, but he had been obsessed with martial arts since childhood. Later, he had devoted himself to avenging his master and senior sister, so he had always maintained discipline in his private life.
His master had told him that in the era ruled by the Company, relationships between men and women outside were chaotic. It was the result of the beastly side of human nature being amplified. Those who practiced martial arts had to control their desires, or they would eventually become beasts themselves.
It was not that they could not enjoy romance and intimacy. They simply had to take such matters seriously and not sleep around.
That was why Luke had always been disciplined. On the long road ahead, having martial arts at his side was enough. At least, that was what he believed for now.
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