Something Closing In (迫るのは, Semaru no wa?) is the fifth chapter of Volume 3 of the My Happy Marriage novel.
Summary[]
In the morning, Miyo heads to Fuyu's room after breakfast and finds her unwell in bed. Fuyu expresses strong disgust and blame towards Miyo for Tadakiyo's earlier scolding. Despite Miyo's attempts to reconcile, Fuyu remains rejective. Miyo voices her resolve to become a suitable noblewoman for Kiyoka. However, Fuyu insists that Miyo's background and innate qualities make her unacceptable. Miyo leaves in tears and turns to work to distract herself from the pain, laboring until evening. When Kiyoka returns, Miyo shares her conversation with Fuyu and asks him not to intervene, expressing her determination to keep trying.
The next morning, Fuyu joins breakfast for the first time since they arrived at the villa. Miyo tries to talk to her, but Fuyu snaps at her and leaves without finishing her meal. At that moment, Sasaki enters the room in panic. The village youth from before has come seeking help, explaining that a group of villagers tried to tear down the shack due to escalating anxiety over village rumors. A large fiend attacked the men, leaving them behaving erratically and causing them to fall unconscious. Kiyoka rushes to the village, leaving Miyo in charge of the villa. Seeing Miyo's developing strength, Kiyoka feels his growing love for her. The village youth, who was also bitten by the fiend, has fallen unconscious. Fuyu opposes the man's stay, fearing a contagious disease, but Miyo offers to quarantine herself with him. Tadakiyo examines the man and finds his condition severe, with an unknown cause. Sensing a guest at the door, Tadakiyo leaves the room. When Fuyu asks Miyo if she is doing this just to make herself look good to Kiyoka, Miyo replies that she is willing to do anything, even risking her life, to help Kiyoka and become someone who can stand proudly by his side. Miyo then attempts to use Dream-Sight to save the man despite her inexperience but is interrupted by the arrival of Arata, who stops her from blindly using her Gift without his help.
As Kiyoka reaches the village, he encounters unconscious men similar to the village youth's condition. The men are partially possessed by the fiend and are unconscious because their bodies are rejecting the foreign presence. At the shack, he faces a genuine Gift-user who manipulates the ground to create a swamp around Kiyoka to trap him, but Kiyoka freezes it. The man informs Kiyoka about the founder Naoshi Usui's goal of creating a world where every human will receive supernatural abilities and invites him to join their cause. Kiyoka refuses and attempts to capture the man. The Gift-user summons the giant fiend, which Kiyoka discovers is actually a human fully possessed by a fiend. They fight, and Kiyoka defeats the fiend, while the Gift-user escapes. Kiyoka seals the fiend's power, allowing the villagers possessed by the fiend's fragments to soon regain their senses, and heads back.
Meanwhile, Tadakiyo confronts three cloaked artificial Gift-users on the road to the villa. He questions their motives, but they remain silent. The three simultaneously unleash a powerful tornado combined with fire. Tadakiyo directly counters the vortex, dispelling the maelstorm instantly. He then incapacitates the three assailants with electricity. While examining them, he discovers a vial containing a trace of fiend's blood, which he takes with him, and then detains the three individuals.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Miyo Saimori
- Kiyoka Kudou
- Tadakiyo Kudou
- Fuyu Kudou
- Nae
- Sasaki
- Village youth
- Arata Usuba
- Houjou
Mentioned characters[]
Chapter Notes[]
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