Volume 7 Chapter 3 Homecoming
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Twenty days before the day Ako visited Nara, Naoshi visited the room of his father, the family head, Kazuramichi Tadayuki, at the Kazuramichi family mansion in Suita City, Osaka, to report on his return.
”Head of the Family. Thank you for creating this valuable opportunity for me. As you can see, I have returned safely. From here on, I intend to apply what I have learned and strive even harder.”
He pressed his hands to the tatami mats, bowing deeply. It was a gesture of sincerity and courtesy that would have surprised even those closest to him.
”Ah, you have done well-I have matters to discuss with you as well. Make yourself comfortable.”
Tadayuki had already relaxed his legs, elbows resting on the armrest. Naoshi shook his head at his father’s instruction.
”Aye, thanks for the concern, Head. But I am fine just as I am.”
”I see.”
Tadayuki’s lips twisted slightly, yet he offered no further comment. The interaction between parent and child remained stiff, as always, but the atmosphere between them had softened just a fraction.
”Head of the Family, I trust you have been well?”
”Ah, it is easier to focus when I have work to do. My condition is actually quite good.”
”That is grand to hear. And tell me, did the Great Youkai oni1 I left behind, Kurikoma, prove useful?”
The Great Youkai oni that served as Naoshi’s shikigami-having been struck down in Ikoma last autumn and having fought fiercely at Ontake this winter-had been left behind as a tactical reserve while Naoshi departed for Kanto.
”Ah, it worked well. You should show it your appreciation as well.”
”Aye, I will see to that.”
The conversation proceeded into a series of administrative verifications. After the exchange, Tadayuki asked a question.
”-How was the East?”
”A mixed bag, if I am honest. I envied their infrastructure, but the way they manage their people just isn’t something we can imitate up here in Kansai. Besides, there are other, distinct dangers involved.”
”Oh? Specifically?”
”The tension, perhaps. Because work is so strangely woven into their daily lives, it feels as though it is constantly being imprinted upon them that they are different from ordinary people-that is the impression I got, like.”
”Interesting. Discuss this with Ako and Yoshiya, and file a report with the Bureau of Onmyō.”
”Aye. Will do.”
”Also, you performed well in that recent incident. I am proud.”
”Thank you.”
For Naoshi, this was the defeat of the Great Youkai Ayakashi, the Ushi-Oni, which could be considered his father’s nemesis. The news of this feat had surely reached his father’s ears.
”However, I was aided significantly by my younger sister and the eldest daughter of the Shiun house. It was not by my own strength alone, mucker.”
”Even so. You truly did well; that is what it means to be the heir of the Kazuramichi.”
”-Your words are too kind.”
At these words, filled with joy, Naoshi bowed his head again. When he looked up, his father was smiling with pride. Naturally, a smile crept onto the young man’s lips as well.
”I appoint you as Acting Head of the Family once again. Strive forward from today.”
”I accept the command. I will serve you with every fiber of my being.”
”Ah.”
”And so, how have things been on this side? Is there anything I should be aware of-“
At Naoshi’s query, Tadayuki’s expression darkened. He held up a hand, stopping Naoshi before he could press further.
”I had intended to clean things up so it would be easier for you, but circumstances have changed significantly.”
”I see… is this due to the influence of Kyoto?”
It was a grave matter if two of the Four Holy Houses were involved in the Kanto incident. Regardless of the friction between the Bureau of Onmyō and the Omyoren, it was impossible for the winds not to shift.
”Indirectly, perhaps. They realized that staying idle would be a liability. Every house has begun to move.”
”I understand.”
”First, the Touin house is effectively useless for the time being. Too many of their people died. At worst, they may fade into obscurity.”
”-Was it that bad?”
The defeat at the hands of the Tsuchigumo at Ontake had been devastating, and the former head’s retirement-a move to shoulder the blame-had only further eroded their standing.
”Niwazono is also changing generations soon. It seems the wild old man of Narita has also decided to retire.”
”Hah, if you mention the next head of Niwazono, surely he took a bride from the main house of Mibu-“
”Lord Niwazono Kagekiyo. And the reason why the old man of Narita decided to retire is the youngest child of the head, Lord Yumeji-it seems both of them have changed.”
”Aye, is that so?”
Neither were names in Naoshi’s memory. However, the growth of an exorcist is not uniform. While there are those who show aptitude from childhood, there are those like Naoshi who grow slowly and steadily, and those who grow greatly due to some trigger. Especially when facing the great wall of a First-Class Exorcist, an explosive growth is often what is needed.
”I wonder if that means I can rest easy, or if things are gonna get right messy.”
”With the current situation where Kyoto is smelling of danger, it will be helpful for us. It means I do not have to unnecessarily send you into dangerous ground-though, one cannot be off-guard.”
From the start, due to the location and the climate, the involvement between both houses and Naoshi was not that deep. However, one cannot prepare as if it will be the same in the future-the newly-minted first-class, this in itself is dangerous. If they are defeated and eaten by a Great Youkai, how much of a threat would that be afterward?
”I will keep a weather eye on it for the time being.”
And when that happens, without a doubt, the one pushed to clean up the mess will be Naoshi. With proper crisis awareness, Naoshi captured this problem as his own.
”Ah-also, in connection with the Niwazono matter, there has been a request from Mibu to discuss the treatment of Lord Itsuki with you.”
”Treatment? Another proper complicated-sounding story, then.”
”What, it is not such a complicated story. It is simply that they want to entrust the person to us.”
”Ahh… is that alright, then?”
The matter is not that of a dog or cat, but a story of a First-Class Exorcist.
”It depends on you, but I suppose they saw that with a daughter who is so self-willed, there would be unnecessary friction with the new head of Niwazono.”
His own misconduct at the meeting after Ontake-and the fact that, although he was the one who rode, it is true that Itsuki instigated the action, and after that, he even caused a scuffle with the Niwazono family head. Naoshi wryly smiled, thinking it was only natural.
”Aye, well, if the word comes down to accept her, we will move in that direction, depending on how the chat goes.”
”Regarding that-Naoshi, the main wife is Suzuri-dono, is that correct?”
”-Aye. So long as no trouble crops up, that is the plan.”
At his father’s sudden question, Naoshi nodded quietly after thinking for a bit. Whenever that time comes, he could not imagine her enthusiasm waning at this moment. If so, there would be no one to overturn that position.
”Then speak to Lord Itsuki in that way as well. Is there anything else you want to confirm?”
”-No, nothing in particular. If there is something else, I will ask Uncle Yoshiya.”
”Understood.”
Saying that, Tadayuki breathed out deeply and changed the atmosphere.
”Finally, regarding the inner quarters.”
”Yes.”
”Shizuka is, as usual… she is spending a spring as usual.”
A mother who spends a year looping without realizing it due to trauma. Spring is the starting point of that loop. Until now, Naoshi has offered his greetings upon taking office as a legitimate child of the great-uncle, Yoshitora.
”Aye, I will make the time to see Okusama again.”
”Ah.”
It is not a pleasant thing, but it was a duty that had to be fulfilled.
”Also, Toyama has hurt her knee, and it is likely that she cannot return.”
She was one of the family members taking care of his mother in the inner quarters.
”Is that so? That is a real shame… what about getting some new hands in?”
”I cannot. I have already tried everything.”
She is a person who has lived without change for about ten years in his mother’s world, taking care of her. Retirement will likely not have a good effect on his mother-Tadayuki continues.
”Perhaps because of that, Shizuka asked me if Takagi had suddenly aged.”
It was not something he remembered hearing in the last ten years. However, ten years have certainly passed, and originally, it is a natural recognition-a natural, obvious thing.
”If it gets any worse, we will certainly not be able to maintain the status quo.”
His mother’s world is quietly heading toward collapse. If that happens, all meaning will disappear. The reason Naoshi remains as Acting Head of the Family, as well. Although Tadayuki himself did not clearly say so, he grasped his intent firmly.
”Keep your mind prepared so that it is fine whenever it happens.”
”Aye-“
Naoshi nodded while praying that that day would be even a little further away.
—
Summary:
Naoshi returns to the Kazuramichi mansion to report his return to his father, Tadayuki, following the Kanto incident. They discuss the shifting political landscape of the Four Holy Houses and the necessity of Naoshi assuming the role of Acting Head of the Family once more. The conversation concludes on the somber, unresolved reality of his mother Shizuka’s deteriorating mental state.
—
Trivia:
Naoshi struck down an Ushi-Oni in the previous winter.
The Touin family is facing potential erasure due to heavy casualties.
The Kazuramichi family has been managing Naoshi’s mother’s trauma for over a decade.
Naoshi’s relationship with his father remains formally stiff despite a slight thaw in atmosphere.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Kazuramichi – The Kazuramichi family name, carried by Naoshi and Ako. This lineage is one of the Kansai Eight Families and holds a significant position within the exorcist hierarchy.
• Naoshi – A man with thin lips and a cynical smirk who possesses eyes that occasionally soften with a rare, gentle light. He is the only son of the Kazuramichi house head and acts as the legal guardian and step-brother to Ako, operating with a ‘fake’ Kansai accent.
• Ako – A young girl with a doll-like, expressionless face who conceals deep emotional intensity. She is the niece and adopted sister of Naoshi and serves as the assistant to the Acting Head of the Kazuramichi family while possessing the blood of a Yuki-onna.
• Mibu – The Mibu family name, carried by Itsuki. The lineage is based in Otsu City, Shiga, and is a prominent house of exorcists.
• Itsuki – A woman who is the same age as Naoshi and serves as a First-Class Exorcist. She is known as a Sword Saint and is the head of the Mibu house based in Otsu City, currently maintaining a mistress-like relationship with Naoshi.
• Toyama – A servant within the Oku who has sustained an injury.
• Touin family – one of the prominent families mentioned in the text as part of the Kansai 8 families, a group of powerful exorcist clans in the Kansai region of Japan. The head of the Touin family is Touin Soji.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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