Volume 4 Chapter 3 Kazuramichi Naoshi’s Overworked Days 3️⃣： No Man’s Land Rumble
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Five days after the incident at the Kanbe family, Kazuramichi Naoshi was in the mountains of Nara.
The snow from the recent cold snap still lingered in the deep mountains of Umeda.
The purpose was, of course, to exorcise ayakashi, and the reason for visiting this place was to settle the chaos in Umeda──originally.
However, after someone’s transformation into an oni from the main family, the minor troubles escalated into dealing with select troublesome issues.
Although Naoshi had managed to bring it to an end himself, the various families had not completely ignored the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons just before the new moon.
Even if it ended up being a false alarm, preparations were necessary, and just because nothing happened doesn’t mean it’s all good.
In a situation where even a weak family could face extinction, the Kazuramichi family couldn’t confidently assert their position against calls for compensation──
”This way, please.”
”Hah, here we go again…”
The fox-masked exorcist guiding him stopped at the entrance of a mountain path marked with multiple warning ropes indicating no entry.
More than the intimidating yellow and black warning colors, an unsettling presence leaking out made Naoshi’s throat tighten.
”Eh, ya leavin’ dem dangerous thingies untreated at Ayabe-san’s, aint’cha? Oy, dat’s a mighty big no-no!”
”As you can see, it is sealed. It’s not that we’re leaving it alone.”
”I can’t ya believe dere’s only one funny scenario where ya got nothin’ to say fer yerself, eh? Dat’s a right peculiar thing, ain’t it?”
”There aren’t many of this scale, just 2 more at most.”
”Oh really. Dat sounds like a lil’ thema park. Ah I’m gettin’ all fired up.”
The reason for avoiding direct words was that the woman in front of him──Ayabe Sasara──was the captain of the Ayabe family’s main operational team, and she didn’t seem satisfied with the current situation either.
”can’t ya go ask Matsurida-san fer help, y’hear? Dey got a buncha pros from da main house, ain’t dat right? Why ya gotta go it alone.”
Switching the topic to a more constructive direction, she solemnly shook her head.
”I can’t go into details due to our family policy, but it’s difficult, that’s all.”
”Family policy, huh?”
Naoshi’s already low evaluation of the Ayabe family head was about to hit rock bottom.
It’s fine to retreat against an unbeatable opponent.
Trying to solve things on your own for the sake of pride is acceptable, as long as it doesn’t harm ordinary people.
However, if you avoid asking other families for help and instead jump at the chance to make them work for free, it’s clear you’ve forgotten your responsibilities.
”I’m sorry.”
Sasara, sensing Naoshi’s inner thoughts, bowed her head.
”Aw, no, Sasara-san, ya don’t need ta say sorry. Dis whole thing’s our fault, an’ I’m da one who’s sorry fer complainin’.”
”No, that’s not necessary.”
”Well, we’ll get da job done proper, an’ we got some keen helpers, too.”
”──Good. Feel free to relax and trust us.”
A high-pitched child’s voice spoke in an old-fashioned manner.
The voice belonged to a girl with copper-colored skin and long golden hair, following 3 steps behind Naoshi.
She wore thick-soled geta sandals and a short white kimono with black outerwear, exposing her legs despite it being mid-winter.
Her bangs were tied back, and her face, with its slanted eyes and heterochromatic (gold and silver) pupils, looked both cheeky and timid depending on how you viewed her.
It was hard to imagine that she once surpassed Naoshi in height and build; now, they both looked down at her thin, flat body in silence.
”──Y’ve really shrunk down a good bit, ain’t ya?”
”It seems like there was a change in mindset. Well, doesn’t it suit a fool like you?”
Kurikoma, a female oni (demon) from the Great Youkai that caused a stir last autumn on Ikoma Mountain, pouted at Naoshi’s words.
”Do you dislike me, perhaps?”
Her current appearance, which looked like that of an upper-grade elementary school student, matched her gesture perfectly.
”Course ah don’t like ya, especially female oni, y’hear? Ain’t ah said dat already? If ya wanna get on mah good side, ya gotta do yer job right as a shiki oni, got it?”
At the time, it was seen as a mere plea for mercy, but Kurikoma’s determination to become Naoshi’s shiki oni, even if her broken horn was turned into a lewd tool, remained unchanged.
Aside from his personal dislike for oni, Naoshi had no reason to refuse this.
Considering the chaos at that time, it was only natural that after completing the thorough training and examination by the Bureau of Onmyō, today, Kurikoma was ready for her first job.
”Hmm, that’s true. Well then, let’s get to work. I’ll make sure to protect you all.”
”No, Sasara-san will stop here. We’ll handle the rest.”
”Understood. I’ll wait for your return here. Please be careful.”
Since her original role was just to guide them this far, and considering the difference in their abilities, she would only be a hindrance.
Sasara, knowing this, showed no signs of displeasure and sent them off with a nod.
* * *
”…Yah, as expect’, dis is a right proper mess, ain’t it? But, nah, ah don’t figger dere’ll be no ambush or anythin’…”
The barrier they stepped into was thick with the presence of ayakashi (supernatural beings), making them want to suspect an impossible conspiracy.
If this were happening outside the barrier, the district commander’s office would be in an uproar, like a hornet’s nest being disturbed.
”Hey, you.”
In the cedar forest where no human hands had touched, the branches stretched freely, creating a dim atmosphere even in daylight.
With the snow making the ground slippery, Kurikoma walked lightly and glanced back at Naoshi.
”Are the current practitioners raising ayakashi everywhere?”
Nah, ah wanna think dis is a special case or somethin’──ya got somethin’ on yer mind, don’t ya?”
”Yeah. I thought about it when I came out in the fall, but the boundary between here and there seems weak. I thought there might be a powerful being that someone failed to seal on this side.”
The presence of a strong ayakashi tends to attract other ayakashi.
Kurikoma’s concern was understandable.
”Me too. I briefly wondered if somethin’ busted outta here, but from what ya said, it don’t seem like dat’s da case, y’know?”
”That’s right.”
So, the fact that it wasn’t the case was the problem in this situation.
Faced with a new troublesome presence while coming to deal with someone else’s problem, Naoshi frowned inwardly.
”Oi, what ’bout da Bureau of Onmyō, eh?”
”I haven’t told them. There were only some weaklings there, and I didn’t want to scare them.”
Kurikoma’s response made a certain kind of sense.
However, despite the lack of strength, the Bureau of Onmyō was still the best place to provide information, but Naoshi found it hard to fully trust them right now.
Considering the incident underground in Umeda, it was clear that the mastermind behind it, who Yoshitada also didn’t know about, had some influence in one way or another.
”Den just keep it on da down low, y’hear? No need ta scare ’em wit’ wild guesses.”
”Understood. So it’s just a secret between you and me?”
Kurikoma said this with a seductive gesture that didn’t match her young appearance, and Naoshi shrugged.
”Course ah will. Ah’ll share it wit’ da ones ah trust, y’know? Dis is def’nitely a right proper hassle, an’ I can’t just sit back doin’ nothin’!”
It’s a shame that the Bureau of Onmyō is so long-spanning, but even the district exorcists are not completely without lateral connections.
”Hmm, you’re such a mean person.”
”I dunno,” Naoshi said, dismissing the oni’s complaints and thinking.
”And that’s just for Kansai, right?”
”Nah, Azuma too. Ah didn’t mean ta show mah face dere, though.”
”On? Why?”
”Cuz ah knew dair were some creepy ones out dere, an’ ah don’t wanna go outta mah way ta see ’em suffer, y’hear?”
”Huh. Yuki-kun’s (Yukinojo, head of the Touma family) influence has reached over there, as expected.”
”So wha’s wit’ da pride, eh? Ain’t ya mad ya got looked down on in comparison, y’hear?”
”I’m just stating the facts, why are you angry?”
”Ah don’t get ya anger. Ya are a difficult person.”
As they were talking, the cedar forest suddenly ended and they emerged into the open Umeda.
The small amount of flat land bathed in sunlight and the stone walls remaining amongst the vegetation remind us that life once existed here.
But now, those who stand here will feel a sense of foreboding, not nostalgia.
The dead trees, the low-hanging grass – the reasons for this are visible.
”That’s the boss”
A giant centipede was wrapped around the wax stone monument, which was probably the key to the barrier, so big that it would make the faint-hearted faint if they saw it.
There are also several smaller bugs in the area, each as long as a human.
”Dis is complete poison, y’hear? Dis guy’s almost a Great Youkai.”
”I thought that was definitely what you were aiming for”
Naoshi sighed loudly and scratched his head.
”Kurikoma”
”What’s up, omae-sama?”
”Give ’em da boot, ya can do it solo, can ya, y’hear?”
At her master’s command, the oni’s daughter bares her fangs and laughs.
”If you ask me”
Fast forward, the ground exploded beneath Kurikoma’s feet.
”Phew!”
The oni cuts the dragonfly while flying several meters, then kicks the head of the giant centipede in mid-air and crushes it.
Right after that, new sensory antennae stretched out, fangs, a mouth, and eyes sprouted, forming a new head.
The larger eyes, shining in gold and silver, opened wide with excitement.
”Well, I thought it was just a bug, but it seems I was wrong. Are you going to play with me?”
”Eh, sorry ta bust in on ya fun, but a centipede ain’t no bug, it’s an arthropod, y’know.”
”You really get hung up on strange details, don’t you? Are you a bug expert?”
While they exchanged words, Kurikoma crushed the head twice, grunting as the opponent merely shifted its head like a stacking toy.
”What a hassle, let’s see…”
”Ah, you fool──”
Before Naoshi could stop her, the oni reached out to the writhing giant centipede and tore it in half at the midpoint.
Immediately, the severed tail segment became a head, while the front segment became the tail, splitting the giant centipede into 2.
”Wha’s da point a’ increasin’ da numbers, eh? Da danger an’ effort just double up.”
”Don’t worry, I’ve got it all figured out.”
Saying that, the oni plunged her hand into the mouth of the centipede attacking from the sides and ripped it apart.
As she tore off the segment next to the head, she pulled her arm out, which had been swallowed up to the elbow, and laughed.
”See? Doing it this way makes it twice as fast to clean up, right?”
”Dat’s so sloppy, y’hear?”
──”Doesn’t it suit you?”
Shaking off the phantom voices of acquaintances saying that, Naoshi sighed in disbelief.
Perhaps due to the fierce battle, the ayakashi were completely focused on Kurikoma.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Naoshi decided to watch the oni, who seemed like a child playing with bugs, considering her size and speed.
”Come on, just increasing your heads isn’t the only trick; show me your good points in front of me.”
Despite being bound by many restrictions as a shiki oni, Kurikoma possessed power that nearly rivaled a first-class exorcist, surpassing a second-class one.
On the other hand, there was a slight sense of dissatisfaction.
It was likely due to her personality, but she tended to be strong against the weak while hesitating against equally strong opponents, which she felt during the fight.
(Well, if it’s Yuzura and Itsuki, they should be solid. Ako-chan is not my type, but with Suzuri-chan, she might have a chance.)
Overall, they weren’t bad as pawns.
As long as they don’t misuse them, they could be calculated as sufficient fighting power.
He originally wanted to borrow any help he could get, so he couldn’t be picky if it was an oni.
”So, what do you think? I can be useful, right?”
While he was thinking, Kurikoma returned after crushing all the centipedes, walking back with a strangely unsteady gait.
Despite being covered in the curses and filth of ayakashi like blood, if she closed her eyes, she looked quite innocent.
She had the vibe of a cat showing off her catch.
”Yeah, that’s right. Ah’ll be countin’ on ya from now on.”
”Leave it to me!”
Responding casually to Naoshi’s words, the oni grunted and reached into her pocket.
”Hey, your smartphone is ringing.”
”Oh, right.”
Looking at the smartphone she handed me, it was a call from Ako.
Feeling a sense of foreboding, I answered.
”Hello? Ah just finished up wit’ Ayabe-san’s situation.”
’Thank you for your hard work, step-brother. I’m glad to hear that. I’m sorry to bother you so soon, but is now a good time to discuss the next matter?’
While she seemed to fully agree with Naoshi, she was a coldly calculating stepsister when it came to practical matters.
She would schedule things for the Kazuramichi family within the limits that Naoshi could tolerate.
”Bein’ popular’s tough. So, where do ah need ta head ta, eh?”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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