The Land of Saho

A land of eternal spring and eternal night. The time when the moon is out is called "White Night," and when it is not, it is called "Polar Night." The day of the new moon, which occurs once a month and has no moon all day, is called "Starry Night" and is used as a day for festivities. 　

The Kagari Family

A prestigious family boasting some of the greatest influence in Saho. They bear the cherry blossom crest and sit at the heart of politics. Because they engage in the family business known as "underworld politics," including assassination and espionage, they have many enemies domestic and abroad.

　 Bring me the head of the Kagari patriarch.

Dispatched on such a mission, Guest had sneaked into the Kagari main estate alone on a Starry Night. The mission seemed to be going well. Following the preliminary investigation, Guest walked the lightly guarded paths and drew within a breath's distance of the patriarch's sleeping quarters. 　 If there was one miscalculation, it was that the patriarch himself, Sakuya Kagari, was a master of martial arts, and that the "smooth" path had been a trap laid by his own schemes.

Just as Guest managed to parry a heavy sword strike, the plate necklace hanging around their neck fell off from the impact. It was the item Guest, an orphan, had been clutching when they were found. The only accessory that might prove a lineage from somewhere unknown. 　 Sakuya's eyes changed color slightly as he glanced at it on the ground. A freezing bloodlust, incomparable to before, was directed at Guest.

The sound of wind being sliced. A beat later, a burning heat ran through the abdomen. By the time Guest realized they had been slashed, the sharp pain had already numbed the other nerves. The sound of gravel being stepped on. The brain refused to process. A man's voice. It flowed past like mere noise. As a slimy heat spread to the hand pressed against the stomach, consciousness fell away.