Tokyo Ravens Volume 1 Chapter 2

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"Uh...... Why are you here?"

"......My summer vacation starts today."

"Oh, I see, so you came back?"

"Yes......"

Natsume replied to every question Harutora asked with a stiff voice.

Harutora and Natsume stood side to side on the bridge at twilight, leaning slightly on the railings mottled with paint.

The wind blew lightly by the two of them, bringing a bit of a chill. The sun sank in the west, and the vast sky was quickly being dyed in the colors of the night.

"Will you be here long?"

"......About one week."

"Oh, the Onmyou Academy's summer break really is short."

"......Actually, it's not that short."

"Huh?"

"I have a lot of things I have to do there."

"Uh, oh, I see."

Harutora scratched his cheek uninterestedly, glancing at Natsume out of the corner of his eye.

Her head was slightly lowered, looking at her own feet. For some reason, she looked a bit angry. On the other hand, Natsume's face always had a slight hint of dissatisfaction, and that look contrasted greatly with her beauty.

She was a girl for whom the word 'beautiful' was more fitting than 'cute', who gave off an impression of calmness and tranquility exceeding her true age.

Her eyelashes were long, her nose was turned-up, and her cheeks were thin, with smooth lines from her chin down her neck like a flower blooming in the shadows, but at best this was just an exterior facade. If one probed her more deeply, he would notice the pride and keen spirit that hid inside her heart. The black hair that floated in the wind danced freely with no regard for her image.

There was only a s.p.a.ce of one meter between the two, and they carried out a choppy conversation, each looking for words to say.

Also, they had chosen different directions to move forward in.

They were familiar with each other but didn't understand each other - This made Harutora feel mystified. The two hadn't met in a long time, but he had nothing to say.

They hadn't been such strangers to each other when they were children, but since they had entered middle school, they had kept up this kind of relations.h.i.+p. Natsume who was born in the main family had been expected to become an Onmyouji since she was small, and had received the relevant basic training. The mentality of her and the people around her regarding this matter was different from Harutora's, who never had a bit of spirit-seeing talent.

"How's the Onmyou Academy life?"

"......What do you mean, how is it?"

"Is it interesting?"

"......I don't know, I'm not sure."

"I, I see. Uh, it's different from a normal high school after all. Is it tiring?"

"As for tiring, rather than the Onmyou Academy, the 'tradition' is more......"

Harutora was surprised. It had already been a long time since he had heard that word.

"Huh?"

"Oh, it's nothing, nothing at all......"

Natsume hurriedly glossed over it, and Harutora didn't pursue the question further, awkwardly searching for a new topic.

"What about Tokyo? Is it convenient to live there?"

"......It's pretty convenient."

"I, I see. You probably met some new friends there, right?"

"Friends, you say?"

"Huh? You didn't meet new friends?"

"......I'm not very sure."

Natsume's tone was vague, and her reply was dull. To the eyes of someone who didn't know her, her att.i.tude might seem cold and emotionless.

Actually, Natsume had always been extremely shy since she had been small. The current her was even more reticent, but because the other party was Harutora, she was already talking more than when she conversed with other people.

"Haha, how worrying, you never were very sociable."

"Right."

"You couldn't be being bullied, right?"

"You don't need to worry about that. As long as you have power there, you won't need to fear being looked down upon."

The att.i.tude she spoke with was refined, but the words she spoke weren't bashful at all. Natsume's manner of retorting hadn't changed at all since she had been small, and Harutora couldn't help but smile wryly.

"You speak as directly as before."

"......I'm speaking the truth."

"But, you won't make friends like that."

He carelessly spoke his true thoughts.

Then, he noticed that Natsume's mood was beginning one of its rare swings, as if anger was spilling out of the mask that was her face.

He tried to stop himself, but unfortunately it was too late.

"......Then, Harutora-kun?"

"What?"

"Let me ask you, after you entered high school, what useful friends did you meet?"

"U, Useful...... Friends aren't related to being useful or not, right?"

"Is that so?"

"It is. If you can happily get along together, you count as friends."

Harutora tried not to rock the boat, replying to Natsume's defiant statement with a smile.

However, Natsume continued speaking with a cold tone:

"Friends are those who you compete with and learn from."

"Th, That can't be all friends are, right?"

"No, you don't believe it because you laze around every day, which is why a group of good-for-nothings gathered around you."

"......Hey."

Harutora's tone dripped with an anger that couldn't be held back.

In that moment, a flash of regret showed in Natsume's eyes.

But, in the next moment, her eyes gave off an even stronger aggressive light, as if to dispel her remorse.

"......Harutora-kun, you must be clear on the Tsuchimikado family's current condition, right? I am the next heir who will inherit the Tsuchimikado family. I have a duty as the next family head, and I have no time to pa.s.s empty days, nor do I have time to hang out all day with useless friends."

Her cute image changed, as if to a sharp blade. There was no rage in her tone, but it was like a katana being unsheathed, filled with calm resolution.

Also.

"...I'm different from you."

As she said those final words, a cold smile of disdain even emerged on her face. He really couldn't fight back against that demeanor of Natsume's.

Harutora knew she was right, the two of them were truly different. No, he only felt angry because they were different.

"......Your words are still as vicious as ever."

"I'm speaking the truth, like I said just now."

"As expected of a prodigy, even the words you say are different from others."

"Stating the truth has nothing to do with prodigies or mediocrities."

Harutora was half a head taller than Natsume. He stared down, but Natsume glared up with her head raised, and the gazes of the two clashed in midair, scattering formless sparks.

But, Harutora observed that the situation was unfavorable for him. He 'owed' Natsume. Even if he didn't feel that he had any responsibility, he actually felt sorry.

So...

"......You really aren't cute at all."

He lashed out with those words, quickly turning around as if he wanted to flee.

Natsume's response after hearing those words was far removed from her confrontational att.i.tude just now. Since Harutora had turned around, he didn't notice - his childhood playmate's eyes had reddened.

"......Don't worry."

Natsume desperately suppressed the slight trembling in her voice, telling Harutora.

"I won't ask you to change your current way of living, you can continue your happy days. I'll guard the Tsuchimikado - our family - myself."

Different from the weak blow lashed out by the branch family's son, Natsume's words. .h.i.t Harutora hard.

Harutora could say nothing back, and Natsume quickly recovered her self-control when she saw Harutora's silence.

She nodded lightly with manners that could almost be described as overly polite.

"...Good night."

After saying that, she made a neat turn, walking across the bridge.

After her beautiful black hair dropped across her back, she departed without turning back.

Feeling anxiety and disgust in his heart, Harutora scrunched up his face.

He couldn't move his feet, and just quietly watched Natsume leave.

"......Tch."

He clicked.

..."Liar".

Harutora had to admit, he truly owed Natsume.

The next day's weather was sunny, a good weather suitable for holding a fireworks festival.

The festival location was a shrine outside the city, and included the riverbank behind the shrine. Maybe because of the numerous stands or the enthusiasm given off by the attendees, the day's heat seemed completely unabated. Lively noise sounded out often, and the summer sun blended with the air, as if just by breathing in one could taste the flavor of summer.

"......You hadn't seen the prodigy girl of the main family for half a year, and fought as soon as you saw each other."

Touji leaned against the vast stone wall encircling the shrine, speaking incredulously as well as teasingly.

Harutora and Touji had finished their remedial cla.s.ses, and they waited in the agreed-upon location. Hokuto was late, and hadn't shown up yet.

As they waited for Hokuto to come, Harutora had revealed the business that had happened yesterday evening to Touji. He hadn't planned on talking about it, but Touji's eyes were sharp and had seen that Harutora's demeanor was different from yesterday's, and unexpectedly, this cla.s.smate was a master of persuasion. Somehow, Harutora had not only spilled the conversation on the bridge, but had even thoroughly talked about his relations.h.i.+p with Natsume.

"What do you honestly think?"

"You suck."

"......You're too honest......"

"You guys can't talk at all. The next time I go pick up girls, you better not come with me."

Touji smiled coldly from under his bandanna. Harutora squatted on the ground, looking upsettedly at him.

Harutora would always express as nice of an att.i.tude as possible, but in the end there weren't many girls' numbers in his phone - the number being meager enough to count on one hand - and it would be a great difficulty for him to take a more complex approach.

"I admit I was a bit childish at the end...... But she provoked me first."

"It doesn't matter who it was, you could never talk with girls."

Touji was completely unconcerned as he spoke mercilessly, but Harutora couldn't even muster up the strength for a retort.

"But, as expected of a great family, even the branch family has to comply with tradition and become a s.h.i.+kigami for the main family......"

Touji didn't mind the downcast Harutora, muttering sarcastically.

's.h.i.+kigami' referred to servants that Onmyouji manipulated, 's.h.i.+ki' meaning 'servitude', and s.h.i.+kigami being 'spirits who serve their pract.i.tioner'.[1]

For example, the 'General Onmyoudou' that the Onmyou Agency formally adopted primarily used manmade s.h.i.+kigami, which were created by putting magical energy into a 'core' that was the vessel. There were simple s.h.i.+kigami that the pract.i.tioner could use on the spot, as well as all kinds of individually-created s.h.i.+kigami.

The 'tradition' of the Tsuchimikado family was that the branch family had to serve the main family as a s.h.i.+kigami.

"Hey, slow down, in that case, did Yakou also have s.h.i.+kigami like that?"

"I don't know. He should have, though I'm not very sure."

"Yakou's s.h.i.+kigami Hishamaru and Kakugyouki...... Could they have been human?"

"I just said I don't know."

Touji showed a strong curiosity, but Harutora just dismissed it casually.

"Come to think of it, never mind Yakou's time, don't you think it's too strict to have to comply with these 'traditions' now? That's too pethantic."

"......You couldn't be meaning to say 'pedantic', right?"

Touji's gaze became colder. Harutora's face reddened, arguing: 'It means the same thing!'

"In any case, it's unsuited to the times! No wonder my dad told me not to be too concerned."

"Is that so?"

"Isn't it? Think about it, forcing people to become s.h.i.+kigami, isn't that just ignoring human rights! That kind of tradition doesn't see people as humans at all!"

Most people would think of the manipulation of s.h.i.+kigami and use of charms when asked about the most representative magical techniques of Onmyouji.

However, s.h.i.+kigami were the partners and guards of the pract.i.tioner, and to put it roughly, they were servants or slaves, even 'tools'.

However...

"There were a lot of situations where people became s.h.i.+kigami."

"Don't talk nonsense, s.h.i.+kigami can disappear wherever and whenever."

"That's a metaphor. Simply put, s.h.i.+kigami are actually subordinates that act according to their master's orders. For example the ninjas who served during the Warring States period were a broad kind of s.h.i.+kigami."

"......In any case, that's in the past."

"From a modern point of view, the relations.h.i.+p between the pract.i.tioner and s.h.i.+kigami is about the same as between a coach and athlete...... Uh, it's a bit different with regard to absolute obedience."

"What do you mean, a bit different! That part's the most important!"

Harutora thought of the conversation yesterday on the bridge. Absolute obedience to Natsume's order? Impossible. He couldn't do it. It wasn't even a question of whether he had talent as an Onmyouji anymore.

"......On the other hand, if I were a spirit-seer, there would be a high chance I would have ended up like that......"

From Natsume's tone yesterday, she might be unexpectedly committed to the revitalization of the Tsuchimikado family. Was that as a result of her position or personality? Whichever it was, Harutora was completely uninterested in accompanying his childhood friend in chasing after that lofty ambition.

"What 'useless friends', what 'duty as a family heir'...... Doesn't she get tired of dramatizing things?"

"She's pretty straightforward."

"Straightforward how? Ha."

"'I'm lonely'... That's what the next heir of the main family actually meant, right?"

Touji looked at Harutora, and his gaze momentarily flashed with a sharp light. Those words felt hugely unexpected to Harutora, who went speechless for some time.

...That Natsume, showing weakness to me? But...... how could that......

But, it wasn't impossible. People who wanted to become specialized Onmyouji congregated at the Onmyou Academy that Natsume studied at, and of course these students knew the relations.h.i.+p between the Tsuchimikado family and Tsuchimikado Yakou. Natsume, alone, a.s.sociated with these people, studying Onmyoudou.

Moreover, Natsume was gifted, and that could very possibly lead to jealousy or resentment. Considering her personality, it was really hard to imagine her being able to find a happy group of friends or wash away her negative emotions. In that case, could it be that she spent every day in Tokyo unhappily?

Harutora frowned, looking depressed and staying silent. Touji lowered his head to look at Harutora with interest, as if he thought him to be simple and easy to understand.

"......Okay, you were just rejected, don't be upset, it's not the end of the world, right?" Touji's gaze turned to behind Harutora as he spoke while shrugging his shoulders.

Harutora stopped his deep thoughts, looking upwards with an annoyed expression.

"Who did you say got rejected?"

"......Who got rejected?"

A terrifying voice that sounded like a volcano about to erupt rang out.

It was Hokuto.

Touji grinned, and Harutora who was squatting on the ground hurriedly stood up. Harutora turned around as if to resolve the misunderstanding, but choked just as the words were about to leave his mouth.

His eyes widened blankly.

Seeing Harutora's reaction, Hokuto said: "......What..." and turned her head, glancing at Harutora out of the corner of her eye. She pretended to be calm, but her face was flushed from expectation and tension, and her toes anxiously traced circles in the ground.

Touji coughed lightly.

Harutora hurriedly spoke:

"Y, You're late, Hokuto."

"......Sorry."

Touji coughed again.

"Um, no, it's alright...... Well...... What happened, for you to be dressed like that?"

This time Touji didn't cough again, but sighed lightly instead. The tense Hokuto slowly puffed out her cheeks.

"Nothing! I just wore a yukata because I was attending a festival, something wrong?!"

Hokuto was currently wearing a yukata.

It was a black-colored yukata, decorated with white peonies[2] and b.u.t.terflies near the top, with an elegant pink belt. Her entire body gave off a traditional and mature air, as if a completely different person from the Hokuto of yesterday.

"No, no, sorry! That...... Seeing you dressed like this, I feel like it doesn't seem like you...... I, I was surprised because that appearance looks really unexpected, so I doubted my own eyes......"

The volcanic activity in Hokuto's heart became more and more active every time the fl.u.s.tered Harutora opened his mouth, seeming like it would erupt from the crater at any time. The excitement-filled eyes that she had gazed at Harutora with gradually filled with tears. Touji, standing behind Harutora, covered his face because he couldn't stand it.

But...

"But... it looks good on you. It really surprised me."

The moment before the volcano erupted, Hokuto's anger disappeared.

"......R, Really?"

"Yeah, how should I put it...... It looks fresh, and seems more mature than usual."

Harutora also wasn't really clear on what to say, and spoke hesitatingly, honestly saying his heartfelt thoughts.

Hokuto moved her gaze, as if spying on Harutora's expression. He hadn't done anything of note, but his heartbeat quickened.

Not long after, Hokuto expressed her satisfaction, relaxing and composing herself.

"......Thanks."

She feigned calm, holding the corners of her mouth back from forming a smile, and thanked him quietly.

The two of them sank into silence.

Hokuto's gaze flicked around, seeming bashful, and Harutora stood still, also showing a fidgeting and anxious appearance. The two of them both seemed like they wanted to open their mouths, but they couldn't catch the opportunity.

The silence continued.

Touji silently counted to a hundred.

After that, he decided not to keep waiting.

"Alright, since Hokuto's here too, we should be about ready to go take a look, right?"

Harutora and Hokuto nodded their heads slightly, as if feeling relieved.

☆

Unfortunately, Hokuto's mature air didn't last long.

"Next, cotton candy! I want to eat cotton candy!"

"......Why don't you eat the candied apple in your right hand and the chocolate banana in your left hand first."

"Harutora, there are masks! Hey, which one's good? Which one do you think is good?"

"The clown...... No, I'm kidding! I was joking, don't kick me with your sandals!"

"I see goldfis.h.!.+ Yeah!"

"Wait! Don't run around wearing a yukata! What kind of person can run that fast in a yukata!?"

She was inordinately happy, so excited that she even scared a group of elementary students walking by her, having completely returned to her normal tomboy demeanor.

Touji was stunned.

"......Was she like this last year too?"

"She was even worse last year."

Harutora replied with a dry smile from behind Hokuto.

Hokuto would normally occasionally be childish, but once she entered this celebration, she seemed as if she had truly become a child. "Harutora, look at this!", "Harutora, come here!" - Her eyes flashed with light as she pulled Harutora's arm, pointing to mundane booths one after another.

Actually, Harutora would sometimes feel like he couldn't put up with it, but once he saw Hokuto's carefree smile, he would completely swallow that anger and his derisive words. It was a happy thing to see the sincerely joyful face of others.

Also, when he was with the naive Hokuto, he wouldn't have to remember the past.

Long ago, when he was still a small child. Every time he went to the main family, his childhood friend would be overjoyed, her face flushed with happiness.

She would listen to whatever Harutora had to say, always following him around......

Harutora inadvertently thought about a question.

...Could it be that she attended the festival?

He couldn't imagine it. Natsume might not even know what fun was in the first place, having been ignorantly shackled to the name Tsuchimikado, and living her life by studying and training every day.

While he was having fun at the moment, what was she doing-

Just then......

"......Harutora?"

Touji called out quietly, and Harutora hurriedly recomposed himself in surprise.

"What is it?"

"Uh...... Nothing, never mind."

Harutora smiled, glossing things over and letting his consciousness return to the festival before him.

The sun was setting in the west, and the lights hung on the stalls along with the rows of lanterns illuminated the surroundings. The fireworks performance would begin in a while.

Just then, Hokuto, who had originally been squatting on the ground looking wide-eyed into the small eyes of the goldfish, stood up.

"Ah! What's that? I never saw it before!"

"Oh, it's a shooting range, how nostalgic."

Just as Harutora spoke, Hokuto had already rushed to the booth with the shooting game.

Harutora hurriedly chased after her, and Touji also followed behind. There were a pair of what seemed like college-aged lovers taking the challenge, and Hokuto stood to the side after rus.h.i.+ng ahead, carefully observing them.

"......So it's played like that, you use that toy gun to knock over the prizes in there, right? And then you can get the prizes you knock over......"

"You've never played it?"

"Didn't I just say I never saw it before!"

Saying this, Hokuto paid the price per play (two hundred yen) to the booth manager.

The manager gave her a toy gun.

"......How do I use this?"

She looked at Harutora, and Harutora took the toy gun from her hands, pulled the spring, and stuffed the cork bullet into the muzzle.

"Then you just need to pull the trigger."

"Thanks! Then, let's see, what prizes should I get?"

"Listen, Hokuto, you can't get whatever big prizes you want in this kind of game, not only will you be unable to hit them, even if you hit, the prizes won't fall over if they're too heavy. In theory, you should set your target on the row placed in the very front, those are the comparatively light prizes--"

"Ah, I missed."

"Listen to me!"

Hokuto began shooting on her own, and didn't hit a prize a single time. She bravely aimed the gun at the highest row, with a ribbon-wrapped box as her target, completely unheeding of Harutora's proposal.

Touji chewed a grilled squid that he had bought at some point in time, joining the fun from the side. The fried smell of soy sauce was mouth-watering.

"Uu, really, they all missed!"

"That's your own fault."

"Harutora, I want that prize."

"Don't be troublesome."

"What about Touji? You look like you'd be good at this kind of game."

"Not interested."

Hearing their cold replies, Hokuto showed a reproachful look, saying 'so useless'. Then, she paid another two hundred yen again, and challenged it again.

Of course, her target was the ribbon-wrapped box on the highest row. She leaned forward as much as possible, extending the gun barrel, and the bottom of her yukata was lifted up high, making Harutora blush.

But, the outcome was the same, nothing hit. Hokuto was mad enough to stomp the ground.

"So annoying! It didn't even touch it!"

"I said it's no use to aim at the big prizes."

"One more time!"

"Give up."

"No! I want that!"

She was truly a child. 'Harutora.' Touji stood behind him, putting a word in lazily as if wanting him to think of something. Muttering 'what does it have to do with me' in his heart, Harutora accepted the toy gun that Hokuto handed over, and paid two hundred yen.

"But I'm really bad at this game......"

Just as he confessed, his shots curved one after another.

Harutora's luck was simply the worst possible, and regardless of where he aimed, the bullets would fly in impossible directions. The change in his wallet was spent in moments, and even like that, Hokuto still didn't let him go, and the money he spent quickly broke a thousand yen.

"If the bullet doesn't hit this time, give up."

After saying this, he put in the last bullet, leaning forward.

Hokuto's heart leaped anxiously as she stared at Harutora.

Then, she blushed as if thinking up something.

Harutora was currently aiming. Hokuto seemed a bit hesitant, but she still lowered herself, putting her face close to Harutora's ear.

"Hey, Harutora."

"......Don't talk to me for now."

"If you get that prize......"

"Don't talk to me."

"I'll give you a kiss."

His hand lost control for a moment.

The cork that clearly did not advance in the same direction as the gun barrel traced a beautiful arc, hitting the ribbon-wrapped box dead center. The box let out an unexpectedly hollow sound, falling off the stand.

Hokuto jumped up and down, cheering loudly. Touji stuck the grilled squid in his mouth, clapping his hands leisurely. But, Harutora wasn't as unperturbed.

"H, Hokuto, you......!"

"Huh? What about me?"

"Uh, that, you said...... If I got that prize......"

"What? What is it, Harutora?"

Hokuto faked a casual appearance, smiling sweetly and slightly tilting her head. It was clearly the smile of a criminal.

'Tch!' Harutora regretted it, but the atmosphere right now wasn't suitable for bringing up what had just happened or continuing to pursue the question. Actually, if it were revisited, it would lead to trouble for Harutora.

"......When did you learn that move......"

"Hmm? I haven't gotten anything you've been talking about just now."

Hokuto laughed and turned around, and upon closer inspection, one could notice that half of that was to conceal her shyness. It seemed that Harutora wasn't the only one who feared unknown risks.

What was stunning was that the big prize Hokuto had insisted on getting turned out to be a bottle of soap and a straw.

A bubble-blowing set for children to play with was set inside the prize box, and placing it the highest up was just to fake out the customers.

"No wonder it fell over in one hit."

Touji laughed. Harutora's face reddened as he looked at the result of his fruitless labor.

But Hokuto didn't take it to heart at all.

"It's alright, this was what I wanted."

She untied the ribbon around the box, deftly tying it into her hair.

The ribbon was a beautiful pink, the same color as the belt on Hokuto's yukata. With the ribbon tied in her hair, it seemed as if it had been arranged for from the start.

"Ah." Harutora made a sound of praise.

"How is it?"

"You've also taken up hollow fas.h.i.+ons."

Harutora spoke sarcastically, taking the opportunity to retaliate for his teasing just now.

But, Hokuto didn't budge. She stared into Harutora's eyes with a serious face.

"Is it cute?"

"It's very cute, right?"

"Say it's cute!"

"...Okay, I know. Cute, it's cute."

"Really?"

"I told you, since you forced me to say it..."

"Cute! It's really cute!"

Harutora could only praise it repeatedly upon encountering a look as if she would smack him at any time. Hokuto smiled lightly after hearing it, her entire body loosening.

"I won."

"O, Okay......"

"Really, Harutora really is a Bakatora who doesn't understand girls' hearts. If you properly said that my yukata was cute when you saw it, we wouldn't have had to waste so much effort."

"Hey, slow down. Just to get me to say the word cute, you wore that yukata you're not used to and made me spend a thousand yen on a shooting game to get that ribbon?"

"I won."

"......Fine, I lose."

Harutora felt exhausted, slackening his shoulders. Hokuto smiled brightly, joyfully playing with the ribbon.

"I'll treasure this."

"Do whatever you want, but it's super cheap."

"It's alright, because..."

"What?"

"No...... nothing."

Hokuto smiled shyly, taking out the bubble-blowing toy.

She dipped the front of the straw into the soapy water, and then pursed her lips, blowing into the straw.

Bubbles flas.h.i.+ng in rainbow colors flew through the night sky.

Several children who had come with their parents cheered one after another upon seeing the bubbles. The ones cheering were a small boy and an even younger small girl who pulled at the boy's hand, seeming to be a pair of siblings. Maybe the reactions of the pair had pleased Hokuto, as she blew more bubbles towards the two children. The clump of bubbles wandered around dreamily, bursting and disappearing without a sound.

...This childish person......

Hokuto turned from an adult talking about ribbons to a big sister playing with the children, without even a trace of her normal boyish air. Harutora was first stunned, and then felt humored, unable to help from grinning.

Hokuto noticed Harutora smiling at her, and blew bubbles at his face. "Hey, don't be annoying!" Harutora hurriedly escaped - Hokuto chased, and the siblings laughed even more happily.

At some time, smiles had emerged on everyone's faces.

Maybe this un.o.btrusive scene was a summer memory that would be remembered in the future.

"Alright...... What should we do next, Harutora? We should go over soon, right?"

Touji finished eating the grilled squid, and after checking the time, whispered words in Harutora's ear.

It was almost time for the fireworks performance, and though they could see the fireworks from here, the fireworks were shot from the riverbank, so the view was better from there.

Just then, Hokuto who had parted with the smiling siblings called out: "Ah, wait for me! Just a bit, I'll come right back!", parting from Harutora and Touji, and suddenly running off. Harutora and Touji looked at each other in surprise.

"What's she up to?"

"Who knows."

Though they didn't understand, they didn't think it would be good to wait where they were, so they shrugged their shoulders and followed Hokuto.

Hokuto had run towards the interior of the temple.

They walked up a small flight of stairs, pa.s.sing under the torii[3]. There were no decorative lanterns around the temple, but there were stone lamps lighting the surroundings.

The further they walked inside, the further they went from the hustle and bustle behind them. The sounds of insects entered their ears, and the feeling of a summer night drifted through the dim surroundings with the shrine as a center.

They found Hokuto immediately. She was absorbed in praying in front of the wall of the temple where ema[4] were hung.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah... D, Didn't I tell you to wait?"

Hokuto hurriedly covered her ema once she heard the sudden call to her. Unfortunately, though the luminescence from the stone lamps was faint, the words on the ema were still clearly visible.

'I hope that Harutora becomes an Onmyouji.'

"......You......"

The originally joyful atmosphere froze over in an instant, and Hokuto's furtive appearance and the topic that he hadn't expected to come up at this time provoked him into anger.

"......Hokuto, haven't you had enough? I thought you would have let it go for this kind of time."

"Because......"

"There's no because! Why are you doing everything possible to make me become an Onmyouji, do you hate me living this kind of normal life that much?!"

"I, I didn't say that, it was just for Harutora's sake-"

Hokuto desperately denied it. But this time, the topic that normally made him tired and dumbfounded inexplicably evoked his anger, and he even felt shocked.

He understood the reason.

...'I have no time to pa.s.s empty days, nor do I have time to hang out all day with useless friends.'

Hokuto's words sounded to his ears like the criticism-filled words of his childhood friend.

But, it was wrong. It wasn't like that.

He wanted Hokuto at the least to understand that this wasn't the case.

"......Hey, Hokuto."

He suppressed his agitated emotions, speaking word by word:

"Maybe I'm indeed living a boring, insignificant and lax life right now, but I like this kind of life. I love these unrestricted days where I can hang out with you and Touji and do stupid things every day."

"Liar." Natsume had reproached him like this once.

Natsume had spoken correctly. He had broken their agreement, and hadn't complied with his promise to protect her by her side, and had willfully run off to live a normal life with normal people. He could do nothing about Natsume condemning him because of this.

But, as for Hokuto - He didn't want to hear Hokuto, who lived the same normal life as he did, open her mouth to deny his normal life.

"Hokuto......"

Harutora honestly confessed his innermost thoughts, taking a step towards Hokuto. Touji called out 'Harutora' as if to stop him, but he was deliberately ignored.

Hokuto showed a look as if she were being driven into a corner, holding her breath.

Harutora didn't let Hokuto go, staring intently into her eyes.

"At this point, I don't want to go run to some Onmyouji or the Tsuchimikado family to make relations and destroy my current life. Could it be that you don't think that way? Huh, Hokuto?"

Hokuto bit her lip.

After a long, tormenting silence...

She lowered her eyes, not saying a word.

Hokuto's response brought an unexpected shock to him, and he even felt like he had been betrayed.

"......Oh, so that's how it is."

He felt anger boiling inside him, but he didn't plan on restraining that anger. He reached his hand out to behind Hokuto's back, ignoring the cry and knocking away the arm that tried desperately to stop him, and grabbed the ema.

He tore down the ema, hurling it to the ground.

Hokuto made a weak wail.

"What are you doing!"

She ran to the ema fallen on the ground, brushed the dirt off of it, and held it tightly to her chest. It was as if she was moving to guard a valuable, and was simply intolerable in the current Harutora's eyes. He turned around haughtily, not letting himself look at Hokuto's teary gaze.

"......Harutora, you idiot!"

Hokuto yelled, rus.h.i.+ng out. Her back disappeared in a flash from the other side of the torii. Harutora didn't turn around. The clattering sound of the sandals gradually moved away, but he still stubbornly looked ahead.

After a long while.

"......She's gone."

Touji quietly watched the situation unfold, calmly opening his mouth. Harutora couldn't suppress his rising anger, bitterly muttering: '......d.a.m.n!'

"Oh my, such youth, not bad."

Touji spoke casually as always, but Harutora no longer had the energy to respond.

"......Do you think it was also my fault this time?"

"No, honestly, Hokuto was wrong."

Touji gave an unexpected reply. Harutora looked at Touji in surprise, but only saw him continue to speak with his normal calm:

"You're just 'useless'."

Touji's words sharply p.r.i.c.ked his ears, and Harutora felt a particularly profound sensation when he heard this. His originally overexerted energy disappeared, and he collapsed like a deflated ball.

"Congratulations, you've been rejected two nights in a row. Looking at it this way, you really are a lover boy, Harutora."

"Shut up. Honestly, I'm incredibly frustrated right now."

"It's not only magic that can bite."

"......What does that mean?'

"My meaning is, Hokuto who got hurt is definitely feeling even worse right now."

Harutora couldn't help but go somber when he heard this.

Just now, tears had glittered in Hokuto's eyes. Harutora had gotten furious, hurt Hokuto, and also - he had done it deliberately.

"What will you do? Do you want to chase after her? If you can't make up your mind, I'll punch you a couple times."

"Why would you be punching me?"

"To help encourage you. It's my duty to do that when this kind of time comes."

Touji grinned.

Right now, Touji seemed mellow, but actually he had been a violent delinquent who had fought all the time, punching and kicking people for breakfast. Harutora held up his hands, declining his proposal.

He slightly calmed down a bit.

...I was over the top......

Touji might have said Hokuto was in the wrong because it was the judgment of his friend. Compared to Harutora who was a more important friend, Hokuto wasn't nearby, so he could have said she was 'wrong'.

Friends.h.i.+p wasn't forced. To take things to the extreme, Hokuto might believe Harutora wasn't a 'friend', and she was free to do so.

Of course, Harutora didn't think Hokuto looked down on him, and the two of them had known each other for a long time. But, even if Harutora thought Hokuto was an important friend, Hokuto didn't have to respond to his opinions with similar thoughts or att.i.tudes. However differently the two viewed each other, that wasn't a reason to criticize the other.

"......I'll go after her."

Harutora contemplated the life before him. Touji and Hokuto were both indispensable parts of his life.

Just then.

"...Hold on."

Suddenly, someone spoke.

The one who had spoken to them was a person who seemed to have come out from the darkness of the temple, a man wearing a black suit and sungla.s.ses. Harutora and Touji looked at the clothes that were completely unfitting of a festival, and unconsciously moved backward half a step.

"Sorry to disturb you two, but I heard your conversation just now, and I learned that there was someone from the Tsuchimikado family here."

The man bowed his head respectfully, as if he hadn't noticed the reaction of the two.

He expressed to the confused Harutora:

"Actually, I'm searching for the person from the Tsuchimikado family according to my master's orders. Could you lend me a bit of your time and meet with my master?"

The man brought Harutora and Touji near the stall where they had played the shooting game before.

Harutora had originally planned on refusing when the man told them his purpose. For the time being, the matter with Hokuto hadn't yet been resolved, and even if that matter weren't troubling him, he didn't want to walk with this strange man anyway.

Though Harutora wasn't very willing, Touji had replied on his own, and that was why they had left the temple and were currently following behind the man.

"What will I do about Hokuto?"

"I sent her a text message, telling her to wait a bit."

Harutora asked, unconvinced, but Touji replied very thoroughly.

They walked behind the man while chatting.

"I know you care about Hokuto, but we have to prioritize dealing with the situation here. That person's looking for you because he knows you're from the Tsuchimikado family. If you escape now, it might get even more troublesome later."

"Why? They want to find someone from the Tsuchimikado family, and wouldn't someone from the main family or my dad be more suitable than me?"

"That would be right most of the time, but they deliberately came to this kind of place, and found you who looks totally like a student. Don't you feel that it's strange?"

"Then I should have less of a reason......"

"And there's a high probability that person isn't a human."

"What?"

"Are you interested?"

Touji grinned in front of the dumbstruck Harutora.

Touji was basically a reliable buddy, but the troublesome part was that he loved venturing into dangerous places. No, this wasn't too correct, he hated troublesome things, and more accurately, what he loved was excitement.

"......What 'loving peace'."[5]

"I love peace, but I love excitement more."

He replied with a calm tone, his eyes looking around without pa.s.sing over any corner. Compared to Harutora who was full of an ominous premonition, he seemed happy enough to start singing.

People flooded towards the riverbank, and the festival was still extremely lively. The man's clothing was even more eminent in this happy group of people.

The man brought Harutora and Touji in front of a stand selling hot dogs.

"......I brought the people here."

Not only Harutora, but also even Touji was surprised once they saw the person who turned around.

The one who turned was a young girl.

Her age was clearly less than Harutora's, and she seemed about the age of a middle-schooler. She accepted a hot dog, squeezing a large amount of ketchup (though she didn't even give a glance towards the mustard) before turning around.

Those round eyes keenly looked over the figures of Harutora and Touji.

"......Hm, so it's you."

Her voice and exterior appearance appeared childlike, but her att.i.tude and tone were extremely overbearing and prideful.

She had a head of golden hair tied up in long ponytails. Her clothing was the so-called goth loli style, and on her upper body she wore a bright red and black checkered vest, but on her lower body she wore a miniskirt patterned with lots of complicated lace and trinkets, with painted leather boots on her feet.

Her strange and gorgeous dress along with the uncoordinated feeling it gave off seemed like a northern island flower in bloom that hid a poisonous venom.

After the girl confirmed that they had arrived, her small mouth chomped a bit of hot dog.

She chewed slowly, using her free hand to snap rudely.

The man's figure disappeared along with it.

Harutora's eyes widened, but he hadn't seen wrongly. In the place the man vanished - approximately where his heart had been - appeared a small paper slip.

The paper's shape was like a stick figure, with a triangle drawn on the upper portion. This was a shape similar to a doll - a s.h.i.+kigami's vessel, a kind of tool.

"He was a s.h.i.+kigami!?"

Harutora muttered.

According to his poor knowledge, the man just now was a simple man-made type of s.h.i.+kigami, which the pract.i.tioner manipulated directly or gave orders to beforehand and had the s.h.i.+kigami act on them.

But, a simple s.h.i.+kigami that looked so much like a human was extremely rare. Touji had seen through the man's ident.i.ty, but Harutora had completely failed to notice that the man had been a s.h.i.+kigami all along.

The girl looked at the shocked Harutora, making a 'humph' sound of derision.

"What's there to be scared of, you can tell easily, and I even put down a barrier."

After she said that, Harutora also noticed that, indeed, the man's figure had suddenly disappeared, but not a single one of the festival-goers nearby had noticed it. Perhaps this was what the girl was talking about, that a barrier had been placed which imposed some kind of magic that avoided peoples' eyes and ears.

The girl collected the doll with a calm look, putting it into her pocket.

"You, you......"

Who was she? Touji opened his mouth before Harutora had even finished speaking:

"...I saw you in a magazine. You should be the youngest one of the 'Twelve Divine Generals', the 'prodigy' Dairenji Suzuka, right?"

Hearing the words Touji said, Harutora was speechless for quite a long time.

...The Twelve Divine Generals? This little girl?

Harutora stared wide-eyed at the girl, who made a 'Oh?' sound, and seemed willing to face the two of them.

"You're pretty knowledgeable, but it's natural for someone from the Tsuchimikado family to know that kind of thing. Right, I'm Dairenji Suzuka."

The girl - Suzuka - spoke, showing a provocative gaze as she looked at Touji.

"h.e.l.lo and nice to meet you, I heard rumors about you, and I've wanted to meet you for a long time."

Her gaze was intimate, but Touji hid his expression with a calm smile.

Then, he shrugged slightly.

"Unfortunately, I'm just a normal person, and he's the Tsuchimikado."

"Huh? This guy?"

Suzuka blinked strongly, and then frowned, staring at Harutora with a confused expression, sizing him up.

She had even used 'you' when she had spoken with Touji, but she called Harutora 'this guy'. Harutora felt unhappy, and returned Suzuka's gaze wordlessly. [6]

Looking at her like this, she really looked like a middle-schooler. Regardless of the short choker wrapped around her neck or the vest that showed her shoulders, she gave off a weak and powerless feeling. In particular, her clothing and her arrogant att.i.tude seemed like a child pretending to be an adult.

Looking more carefully, a heap of takoyaki, candied apples, and bagged cotton candy was stuffed into the plastic bag that hung from her elbow. She also chewed on a hot dog in her mouth, and it looked as if she were a child buying things w.i.l.l.y-nilly without any planning.

But, this girl had indeed been the one manipulating the simple s.h.i.+kigami just now. No, if she truly was one of the Twelve Divine Generals, a simple s.h.i.+kigami was nothing to her, after all, she was one of the Onmyouji with the highest ranked power in j.a.pan.

"Hmph, so it's you...... That's really a bit unexpected. I heard that you were the last prodigy since me, but at first glance it doesn't seem like you're much of anything. That rumor couldn't have been fake, could it......"

The way Suzuka expressed her emotions was quite direct, and she seemed extremely dejected, speaking bluntly.

"......Hey, what 'prodigy' are you--"

Harutora felt irritated, and was about to pursue the topic, but Touji suddenly put his hand on Harutora's shoulder.

"Alright, calm down. So that means your fame is well-known throughout the industry, right, Natsume?"

"Huh? ...Ah."

Harutora was surprised, looking at Touji. Touji winked at him.

...I see, she......

Suzuka had mistaken Harutora for Natsume. With that, the question of why her s.h.i.+kigami had called out to an obvious student like Harutora - the question Touji had raised just now - was solved. It had said she was looking for someone from the Tsuchimikado family, but it hadn't said that the person it was looking for was Tsuchimikado Natsume.

"Whatever, whether the rumor was true or not, I can't give you any leeway."

Suzuka spoke and began striding away, showing an att.i.tude as if Harutora and Touji should obviously follow.

Harutora took the opportunity to hurriedly discuss with Touji in a whisper.

"......She doesn't know that Natsume's a girl?"

"......Seems like it, she even said it was her first time meeting her."

"......Should we let her continue being mistaken? She's one of the Twelve Divine Generals, you know."

"It's her own mistake."

Touji replied, his att.i.tude leisurely like normal.

Harutora felt like things weren't very good. Just then, Suzuka turned around, asking "What are you guys doing sneakily?" with a sharp tone. Harutora gave Touji a look, saw that his eyes were indeed expressing 'go on with it', and sighed lightly.

He followed Suzuka.

"......Do you have business with Nat...... with me?"

"That's stupid, why else would I need to come from Tokyo to this kind of rural place."

Suzuka walked forward without turning around, replying with a arrogant att.i.tude.

"But, it's good that I set down a search net. The Tsuchimikado mansion definitely has a heap of annoying barriers, and I was thinking about how to call you out, but I never thought that I'd run into you in this kind of shabby rural festival. How fortunate I am."

Suzuka laughed loudly. Maybe this was good fortune for her, but it was extraordinarily bad for Harutora. But, that kind of thing happened often.

"......Sorry, you seem like you're having some pretty good fun even though this is just a shabby rural festival."

"Sh, Shut up! This is my first time at a festival, so it's very novel. This is just intellectual curiosity, got a problem!?"

She seemed to be planning on verbal intimidation, but unfortunately her cheeks were red. Maybe she had just come to this place to look around the festival.

Was this girl really one of the Twelve Divine Generals? Harutora showed a doubtful look, and he looked at Touji by his side, but Touji was hiding his expression like before, focused on watching the girl.

"......So? What did you find me for?"

"A small thing, I wanted you to partic.i.p.ate in my experiment, and help me with something."

"Experiment? What experiment?"

"Well, that......"

Suzuka stalled, and took a step forward once she recomposed herself.

"I~ am a prodigy in the field of magic, but because I'm still young, right now almost all of the research departments are closed to me. Though that doesn't matter."

She chewed the hot dog, like she were having a chat.

"......So?"

"My research topic is actually an aspect of Tsuchimikado Yakou's Onmyoudou."

Harutora went speechless for a while upon hearing this.

That name was taboo among the Tsuchimikado family - No, among the entire j.a.panese magical community.

"Modern magic has a huge discrepancy with the magic before Yakou, you obviously know that, right?"

"D, Discrepancy?"

Harutora was dumbfounded by the sudden question. Unlike Natsume herself, Harutora was an outsider to magic.

But, Suzuka didn't pay attention to Harutora's reaction.

"It's that in magical 'techniques', we exclude religious denominations."

Harutora replied with an ambiguous sound: "Uh......"

On the other hand, Touji seemed more surprised by that explanation.

"Religious denomination? Not simplification and popularization?"

Suzuka heard Touji's response, and laughed with disdain.

"Hahaha, is that the answer in the textbooks? Right, that was also a major feature, but the most important factor for forming this feature was the 'Exclusion of religious denomination'. Only by completely cutting ties between magic and religion were we able to make the mystic causality-warping property of magic. This was a big leap for the future development of magical techniques."

Suzuka looked back at the two with a fully satisfied expression. As expected of one qualified to be a 'National First-Cla.s.s Onmyouji', she spoke eloquently with a tone filled with confidence.

"But." Suzuka continued explaining. "On the other hand, doing this also caused one of the important goals of magic - the techniques and methodology of a 'certain faction' - to be excluded from the systems...... Do you know what it was?"

Suzuka asked again. Harutora had long since surrendered, and Touji didn't speak this time either, waiting for the answer.

Suzuka stopped walking, facing them again.

Just then, her look that seemed like it was joking around became abnormally grim, and her eyes became fierce as if she wanted to pierce them with her sharp gaze.

"Soul magic, having to do with the existence of souls and the world after death." She said with a solemn tone.

"Soul...... magic?"

Harutora couldn't speak for a while, and a sharp light also flashed across Touji's eyes.

Just then, the faint sound of an explosion rang out from the distance.

First, there was a heavy 'Boom!' tearing through the air, and immediately after, a 'Bang' that shook the atmosphere, and giant flowers of flame began blooming in the sky.

Fireworks.

Colors such as red, green, yellow, and blue bloomed gloriously amidst the backdrop of the black night sky. The festival-goers who had originally been checking out the booths all raised their heads, cheering.

Applause and cheers regularly sounded amidst the praise. The light of the fireworks illuminated the ground, casting fantastic and beautiful shadows.

Suzuka stared at the night sky in a trance, just like the spectators.

This was her first time at a festival, and it seemed like it was her first time seeing fireworks.

"......Hu, huhu, they're pretty gorgeous......"

Her tone was harsh, but her eyes were affixed to the fireworks, not far from Hokuto's reactions earlier. Her appearance had flipped from her high-and-mighty att.i.tude just now to an age suitable for her - No, even younger.

...What was this child up to?

Harutora felt distraught for some reason.

There was a huge difference between her appearance as she gazed at the fireworks and the frightening expression she had shown just earlier, and Harutora felt it incredulous. In particular, this girl had mentioned soul magic and then the world after death, which brought no sense of reality at all, just bursts of foreboding.

The fireworks shone, dropping silver and gold threads like rain.

Harutora coughed dryly, and Suzuka hurriedly composed herself.

"A, Anyways." She quickly recovered her stability, continuing to speak as if nothing had happened: "The 'Modern Onmyoudou' I just mentioned doesn't mean 'General'. In the system of 'General Onmyoudou', which can be said to be a synonym for modern magic, there is no magic related to souls or the world after death."

"......What about it?"

"What?" Harutora asked, and Suzuka quickly made a questioning sound, frowning.

"Are you too stupid? Didn't I just tell you my research topic? Simply put, the Onmyoudou that Tsuchimikado Yakou completed isn't what we see right now."

"Huh, but--"

Harutora was about to ask, but Touji interrupted him again.

"Isn't the Onmyoudou that Yakou created the current widely used 'General' style?"

Touji asked Harutora's question first. Maybe he had considered that Suzuka was mistaking Harutora for Natsume, and if Harutora asked too many easy questions, he might let it slip.

Within his expectations, Suzuka quickly showed an arrogant expression towards him.

"Outsiders are so unknowledgeable! Listen, never mind the basic concepts for now, the Onmyoudou that Yakou developed is different from 'General', it's not as simple as 'General', but it's more complex, and it's the much more vast original! The 'General' left behind now are the sc.r.a.ps used by Yakou's successors to compensate for their powerlessness, and they streamlined it, making it into residue, at best an 'easy to understand' Onmyoudou."

Suzuka raged, but the hint of a smile flitted across her face.

It was a derisive smile, carrying a cold disdain for the world. The smile on the girl's face seemed particularly unfitting under the night sky lit by the fireworks.

"Think about it, at the time Yakou accepted the military's request to create a new Onmyoudou, and had to complete it in an incredibly short time, so naturally something complex, undoc.u.mented, and incomprehensible would be produced in the process, a giant shadow that the current Onmyoudou can't even compare to, containing a strength far stronger. What he - Tsuchimikado Yakou - created was 'Imperial Onmyoudou'."

The fireworks flashed over the girl's head. Harutora held his breath, looking at the girl before him.

He felt that Suzuka's small body gave off a devilish presence, and couldn't help but doubt whether he was a spirit-seer, that he might be seeing a ghost. An inexplicable chill and tremble silently shot through his whole body.

Finally, she threw down these words:

"Of course, magic related to souls is included among it, and mysterious magic that has already been lost."

...This person......

Harutora finally understood completely, the girl in front of him - this girl younger than him who looked weak and powerless - was definitely an 'Onmyouji'. This had nothing to do with the gorgeous clothes she wore and her arrogant demeanor - she indeed possessed 'strength'.

He swallowed.

"You said just now that you wanted me to help with an experiment, right? In other words, that......"

Harutora spoke to confirm, and Suzuka nodded her head leisurely.

"Right, I want you to help me carry out soul reincarnation magic at my hands. But you don't need to be afraid, as long as you obediently follow my instructions, you won't be harmed."

Her words were clearly not a request, but an order, and could even be said to be a threat. In Suzuka's mind, the a.s.sistance of Harutora - more accurately, Natsume - had already been decided.

But, he still had a doubt in his heart.

"......I, I mostly understand what you're saying. But why do you need Na- need my help? Since you're one of the Twelve Divine Generals, you should be able to find the help of other, more excellent Onmyouji, right?"

However prodigal Natsume was, at best she was just a student. Anyone who had become a National First-Cla.s.s Onmyouji could utilize specialized Onmyouji to his or her heart's content.

Suzuka's response to Harutora's direct question was very strange.

Her look turned cold for a moment.

"......I'm not in the mood to play around, are you going to keep playing dumb?"

"W, What did you say?"

"There's only one reason I chose you, and it's because of your 'previous life'."

"Wha......"

Harutora didn't understand what Suzuka was saying, and just felt a chill, inadvertently closing his mouth. Beside him, Touji showed a rarely-seen grim expression.

Fireworks intertwined gorgeously in the night sky, each one lighting up the ground, switching the world between light and darkness with blinding speed.

"The next Tsuchimikado heir, Tsuchimikado Natsume."

Suzuka narrowed her eyes, staring at the speechless Harutora, and slowly spoke:

"It seems like the outside sources were right, you don't seem to have memories of your previous life. Or perhaps, the rumor was fake after all...... But I'll still give it a try, since, after all, you are the successful user of this magic - the 'Taizan f.u.kun Ritual'."

Suzuka took a step forward, and Harutora felt a deep pressure at the same time as he retreated backwards.

--This person was very dangerous!

Harutora's back was covered in a cold sweat.

Just then.

A shadow cut through the night sky s.h.i.+ning with fireworks, flying over to them.

The shadow slipped in through the s.p.a.ce between the two of them, ignoring inertia and coming to a halt while still hovering in midair.

It was a dark blue swallow[7].

When Harutora's eyes widened and Touji quickly took up a cautious stance:

"--Stop right there! Dairenji Suzuka, in accordance with Onmyou law, you are under arrest!"

The swallow spoke, and just when its voice had sounded, its body broke open.

Its wings opened wide, the feathers on them shooting out as if exploding, and becoming countless long appendages that reached out like fingers of a hand, trying to wrap around Suzuka.

"This, this is--"

"A binding type!?"

Touji shouted out beside the shocked Harutora.

On the other hand, though Suzuka was being a.s.saulted by the swallow, her lips raised in a shallow and conceited smirk. She 'hmphed' coldly, threw off the plastic bag on her arm, and the tentacles attempting to catch her were blocked in midair.

A distorted human figure emerged from behind her back.

What appeared before them seemed as if it had stepped in from another dimension, two meters tall, with three long arms on either side of its body, a slim monster that seemed to be made of metal.

It was an Asura.[8]

"W, Why are there more s.h.i.+kigami!?"

The s.h.i.+kigami wore a mask on its face with no expression, and it looked more like a machine that had six mechanical arms installed onto it than an organism. A rigid, inorganic s.h.i.+kigami that didn't seem to show any emotion quietly gave off a sense of intimidation.

The s.h.i.+kigami grabbed the swallow's tentacles, tearing them off forcefully. The swallow's form was destroyed, becoming a torn-up talisman - a man-made s.h.i.+kigami type. The s.h.i.+kigami broke up into countless pieces of paper, descending slowly to the ground.

The barrier Suzuka had set down seemed to have been broken, and the festival-goers who noticed the commotion screamed one by one, running in all directions, and the booth managers also hurriedly abandoned their booths, escaping the vicinity.

Harutora and Touji weren't excluded. They put distance between themselves and Suzuka and the s.h.i.+kigami, hiding inside a booth that sold fried noodles.

"That was a man-made s.h.i.+kigami created by the Onmyou Agency. Multipurpose general s.h.i.+kigami model 'M3 Asura'."

Touji - even in this crisis - spoke excitedly.

"What about that swallow?"

"'WA1 Swallow Whip', the binding s.h.i.+kigami produced by the Witchcraft Corporation."

"I wasn't asking about that, I wanted to know who was manipulating it!"

Just as Harutora asked, the controllers immediately appeared.

"Stop right there! We've already blockaded the surroundings, surrender now!"

Ten men wearing jackets or suits appeared before them, and they attempted to encircle Suzuka, aiming the guns they held at her. Among them, there were also some who held talismans in their hands.

Harutora and Touji hid themselves under the iron frying station.

"What's going on!?"

"Are they Mystical Investigators?"

Touji spoke calmly next to the panicking Harutora.

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