Volume 9 Chapter 5 Intrusion Refusal
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
To enjoy our trip to Onigashima to its fullest, we had to finish a few leftover things first.
First things first: our main duty as students. Summer homework. Since we were all in different study paths, our homework tasks were different. Chifumi was the go-to person for helping Risa and Yurina, with Asari and Mitsuki helping for a few subjects.
Our homework progress was slower than last year. Instead of trying to finish everything at the start, we were working at a pace that would easily complete everything by the end of summer break. It wasn’t that we were lazier—it’s just that our schedules were full this year, limiting our time at our desks.
The main reasons were club activities and the Exchange Battles. Club activities continued through summer break. Everyone except Chifumi and Asari was in a sports club. Since most sorcerer club competitions were held during summer break, we had to attend club activities more often.
Swimming club, Sumo club, Kendo club, Shooting club. The days when these clubs didn’t overlap became our group activity days. In the end, that left us with only weekends for proper study sessions and sorcery training.
Even though I was in a sports club, I still had some extra time. Mitsuki, too. But hearing Mitsuki talk about Koki-san’s current situation was enough to make me feel tired for him. He had to carry the Onigahara estate’s hopes, beat dungeons on Onigashima, and lead his club members as the Sumo and Shooting Club President. According to Mitsuki, the tiredness was starting to show on his face. Maybe letting us use the Onigashima Villa was just Koki-san’s easy excuse to make himself rest.
My group’s Exchange Battles with Manaka’s group also continued through summer break. We had joint training at the Onigahara Dojo every weekend.
As I said, our weekdays were surprisingly busy. We couldn’t exactly increase our training how often we trained. But even with those limits, I never missed a single one of Manaka’s post-Exchange Battle… “private sessions.”
The men’s locker room didn’t have an air conditioner.
I’d been hoping for a sweaty, soaked-in-sweat session, but Manaka refused, so she used her air-shaping sorcery to keep the locker room at a comfortable temperature. Having Manaka around was as good as having an AC unit. That’s the cheat part of air-shaping sorcery.
I made Manaka agree to a condition in exchange for refusing the sweat-soaked situation: that I could watch her up close. It was fun watching Manaka-chan moaning “Ah♡ Ah♡” in a quiet voice while I pressed my face into the back of her neck, smelling her scent. Sometimes when I breathed on her, she’d let out a cute “Ah♡” reaction.
Plus, since I was looking over her, I could see her breasts from above. Her hard nipples were peeking out from the gap in her sports bra—just barely visible. I could feel the thrill of the tease. I couldn’t see the wet spot on her pants anymore, but I could still hear the squelching sounds, which only made my imagination stronger.
My dick was very hard from her sweet smell. Watching Manaka—who hates to lose—as she openly pressed into my smell (she’d been sneaking it the first time, but from the second time onward, she did it out in the open), hearing her call my name, “Minoru-kun…♡” as she came from such a close distance… it made me want to jump on her. It took some serious self-control to hold back.
The first weekend of summer break, the event happened.
We were exploring a Free Dungeon as a group. The target dungeon was Kinpira Palace. We were trying to enter the 24th floor to meet rare aberrations and Unique Variants, when it happened. Yurina, Mitsuki, and Asari disappeared into the Black Wall in order, and when I tried to go in next, I hit a wall. I tried to sink my hand into the wall like usual, but my palm wouldn’t go in. It was as if there was a real wall there.
”Huh…?”
”What’s wrong~?”
Chifumi called out to me when she saw I wasn’t entering the dungeon.
”No… I can’t get in.”
”You can’t? Into the dungeon~?”
”Yeah…”
Chifumi’s stretched out hand sank into the wall.
She pulled her hand out, and we swapped places. I placed my hand where Chifumi’s had just gone in… but it wouldn’t enter. The other way around, Chifumi’s hand sank right into the spot where mine had been blocked.
”What the hell…?”
This was a first. I had no idea what was happening.
I called out to Hinoki to ask if they’d ever had anything like this.
’Well… this ain’t good! The dungeon’s rejectin’ ya!’
I could hear a different kind of urgency in Hinoki’s voice than usual.
’Get your sister to try too!’
”Risa, give it a try.”
”Okay!”
Risa, at the back, reached her hand towards the wall.
Her hand sank right into it.
”Chifumi and Risa can get in, but only I can’t? What’s going on?”
”Seems that way~”
No matter how many times we tried, only my hand wouldn’t go through.
”What seems to be the problem?”
An attendant dressed as a shrine keeper who had been standing by the torii gate called out to us as we were fumbling around.
Explaining that I was the only one who couldn’t get in would probably cause a problem. What should I do…? Push it aside? Be honest? I waited. Chifumi and Risa stayed quiet, waiting for my choice.
”…I can’t enter the dungeon.”
I decided to tell the truth.
”I see. So that’s it. …Are you the only one who can’t get in?”
The attendant checked that my hands and feet wouldn’t pass through the wall, while Chifumi’s and Risa’s did, then started speaking into a radio. After what was probably a short talk with a boss, the attendant told all of us to come to the office.
I had Chifumi go inside to get the other three. Once all six of us were together, we followed the attendant’s guidance. We were led to a room in the back of the Dungeon Management Building that we’d never been in before. A small room with a tiny table and ten pipe chairs. It looked like a small meeting room.
”Please wait here.”
The attendant left, and we sat down on the simple pipe chairs.
Asari spoke up quietly.
”Why couldn’t Minoru-san get in?”
”I don’t have any ideas about the cause… but they reacted so quickly, maybe this is actually a common thing? They might be calling someone who knows about this.”
”Perhaps~. The way they handled it seemed practiced, so it might be a common thing~.”
”Yeah. Let’s wait.”
We didn’t say much more after that, passing the time with small talk not related to the dungeon exploration for about fifteen minutes.
Just as I was starting to worry we’d been forgotten, the door finally opened.
”Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Two people entered. Judging by the feel, one was a sorcerer—a Majo around sixty years old—and the other was a Plain-folk Engineer around forty. Both wore traditional Japanese clothing, likely connected to Kinpira Palace. As we stood up, the Majo-san told us to stay seated, sat down across from us, and began to speak.
”I am the manager of this dungeon. I’ve heard there was a person who couldn’t enter. Is that right?”
”Yes.”
”And that would be you?”
The Majo-san turned her look to me.
”Yes. I was the one who couldn’t enter. Everyone else could.”
”I see. Do you have any idea what might have caused it?”
”No, nothing in particular.”
The Majo-san paused for a moment before continuing.
”Sometimes, sorcerers like yourself who can’t enter a dungeon come by. Such people are said to have poor compatibility with the dungeon, or to have acted wrongly within it.”
”Poor compatibility?”
”This dungeon isn’t managed by us, but by Lord Kinpira Daigongen. Sorcerers who carry the protection of a god that fights with Lord Kinpira may be blocked from entry. For instance, those who are connected to what are known as Rebellious Gods or Cursed Spirits.”
”I see…”
’The effect of an Ancient Land Deity…!’
Hinoki’s words gave the Majo-san’s explanation more weight.
”However… I understand you were able to enter this dungeon without problem in the past. And now, suddenly, you can’t. That doesn’t sound like just incompatibility… Have you done anything different than usual inside the dungeon?”
Hmm? The talk is going in a different direction… Ah, right. This Majo-san doesn’t know about Hinoki’s situation, so she wouldn’t think that I might be rejected by Lord Kinpira. So she’s leaning towards the other reason.
What should I do? Explaining would need me to tell my Inherent sorcery, and I don’t want to casually share personal information.
”No, nothing comes to mind.”
I decided to give a not-clear answer. The Majo-san, noticing my short wait, pushed on.
”For example, the Majin I know who was denied entry mid-way was a user of big-scale destructive sorcery.”
”I see, is that so?”
An example? Is she trying to give me a hint?
”As you know, while Kinpira Palace is an open-type dungeon, it does have a planned attack path. Many see the act of following the right path as what the dungeon wants. Among them, that particular Majin was said to blow away buildings, walls, towns, and the monsters hiding within, always moving in a straight line toward the goal. And then, when he tried to enter the ‘Shrine Grounds,’ he was denied. Much like yourself.”
”So, a plan that literally flattens everything isn’t allowed?”
”We don’t mean to criticize any exploration methods. How one moves through a dungeon is up to the explorer. There is value in exploring an open-field dungeon in a straight line, and we have no problem with that. However, this dungeon shows Lord Kinpira’s will. Something about this Majin must have upset Lord Kinpira.”
Chifumi and the others listened quietly. They were waiting to see which direction I would turn the talk.
”I see. So you’re saying that if one uses a method of exploration that upsets Lord Kinpira, they might be denied entry to the middle layers?”
”Such a case has indeed happened.”
”And that Majin—what happened to him after that? Was he unable to enter this dungeon forever?”
”There are no records of him coming back in. Nor any attempts, so I think he simply gave up on exploring this place.”
”Understood. Thank you.”
Somehow, it seemed best to just go along with the flow and let the explanation be that his exploration method had upset the god.
Still, it would be a problem if I could never dive into Kinpira Palace again.
As for dungeon training, I could always explain the situation to the school. But for the Tatemiya estate, our need was beating Kinpira Palace. And in the long run, there was also the matter of Manaka. Kuga had to clear Kinpira Palace—that much was certain.
”By the way, could you tell me about this person who was rejected? Who were they, exactly?”
”I’m sorry I cannot answer that question. Not that it would do you any good if I could. Because, you see…”
”Because?”
”That record goes back nearly fifty years.”
After that, Majo-san made it clear that she wanted me to give up on dungeon entry. I tried asking from every possible angle, hoping there might be some way around it, but apparently even the manager had too few past cases to work with—there was nothing to be done.
By the way, it seems there are quite a few Majin and Majo who can’t get in on their first try, not the same as someone like me who gets blocked halfway through. A few every year, apparently. Naturally, they all make a fuss, but in the end, they have no choice but to give up. Getting turned away on first entry is a fairly well-known thing, even happening at famous dungeons in the Imperial Capital and Old Capital.
For now, there was nothing I could do alone.
I checked one last time at the dungeon entrance—my hand still wouldn’t pass through the Black Wall—and called off today’s trip. I stepped out of the office building.
Mitsuki used a nearby public phone to call Onigahara-san’s aunt and ask for a pickup. They’d be here in two hours. We decided to kill time at a tea house—needed a place to talk about what had just happened. Since the subject was sensitive, we rented a private resting room where no one could listen.
The front desk person didn’t even blink at six fully armed people and calmly showed us to our room. Impressive.
After taking our drinks from the karakuri doll, we shut the door and began our private talk.
Hinoki came out from the shadows.
”So basically, it’s because of Hinoki that we couldn’t get in?”
”Reckon so.”
”She says that’s the most likely explanation.”
My translation earned nods of understanding from Chifumi and the others.
”I always figured Hinoki would be found out eventually, but I didn’t expect it to be this quick.”
”Was there even anything that could have shown us~?”
”Don’t think so. We didn’t use Hinoki or Asunaro in the last boss fight either. Right?”
Risa, at the receiving end of the look, nodded.
”Nothing’s changed since Asunaro. I kept her on standby the whole time. If the fight had gone on any longer, I might have switched to Asunaro, but…”
”As Risa says, I didn’t do a thing.”
”We didn’t use Hinoki in the boss fight either. I’d been super careful not to let her talk at all inside Kinpira Palace…”
”Did Hinoki-chan never come out at all?”
Asari’s question.
When had Hinoki spoken up…
”Unique Variants. When the Oinu-sama showed up, she said a few words—but Hinoki stayed inside the shadows the whole time.”
”So someone might have heard that?”
”Possible. Mighta been careless.”
”Maybe.”
”Even so~, we got in several more times after that. The fact that we can’t today just feels wrong~”
”Exactly. The timing—right after the boss fight—doesn’t make sense.”
”Maybe ’cause I used my Ability during the boss fight?”
”Hinoki’s Ability? Did you use it?”
”I didn’t come out, but didn’t I use ‘Mushi no Shirase’? I didn’t swap with Asunaro, but I might’ve used my power, right? If I did, they coulda marked me as a friend.”
”Ahh… that’s possible.”
Thinking back, we’d dodged enemy battleship shells during the boss fight with better success than I’d thought. I explained to the group that we may have used Hinoki’s Ability without knowing it.
Asari, taking this in, looked at the situation from a different angle.
”There’s something I’ve been wondering about. At the end of the boss fight, I heard a dog’s howl. Did everyone else hear it too?”
”Heard it. A howl, like ‘wooo~’.”
I remembered it too.
”None of the gathered information mentions that sound. Perhaps…”
”At that time, the Ancient Land Deity watching me through the Oinu-sama noticed my connection to Hinoki?”
”That’s one possibility.”
The fact that suspicious sorcery had been found outside Tatemiya estate grounds after the boss fight could also be explained as watching by the Ancient Land Deity. Inside Tatemiya estate, Hinoki had moved freely. If the Ancient Land Deity had seen that and marked her as an enemy, then the reading fit.
”So we can’t go any further in Kinpira Palace?”
”Looks that way~. You said once someone’s denied entry, they never get in again, right~?”
”If the Ancient Land Deity’s the one blocking us, there’s nothing we can do.”
A half-acceptance.
Beating the depths of Kinpira Palace was a condition for taking over Tatemiya estate. If I could no longer fulfill that condition in the future, then I couldn’t take over the family.
”I’m sorry, big bro.”
”It’s not your fault, Hinoki. You’ve helped me plenty of times. Overall, it’s a net positive.”
I comforted the sorry-looking Hinoki and started thinking about what to do next.
Even if I couldn’t enter Kinpira Palace anymore, I could still have the school count other dungeons toward my practical training grades. I’d talk to my teacher about it second term.
”Also, should we check if I can get in while you’re staying home, Hinoki?”
”Yeah. Need to figure out if they know me or if they know you.”
”Even if the estate was being watched, it probably won’t work even if Hinoki stays home. It’s not like my status as her master has changed.”
”Better test it before we talk to the school~.”
With the next steps decided, everyone’s worry eased.
We’d been ready for dungeon exploration, so everyone’s energy and stamina were still high.
So we spent time on physically demanding play.
Not the pain-giving kind—jumping positions that built up tiredness.
Not normal standing or rear-standing positions, but carrying-position types.
In this world, lifting positions aren’t popular among sorcerers. Partly because they’re hard to do without sorcery-improved strength, and partly because they’re seen as a Plain-folk thing. I didn’t care about that stuff, so I tried various things.
Conclusion: not good for group play.
Another lesson learned.
It would be a few more days before I realized this wasn’t the time to be fooling around.
Notes:
• T – A first-year student at District 13 High School who has recruited K and N from East Middle into his group.
• Chifumi – Eldest daughter of the Takino residence, this 160cm, J-cup kimono-clad sorcerer is Minoru’s childhood friend, Lead Majo, and trusted partner. Sporting a long brown side-tail, her bright, casual personality bridges his group with Manaka’s companions. Wielding a staff with flowing ice/water magic, she manages household admin and rearguard combat while secretly protecting him from the truth.
• Mitsuki – Eldest daughter of the Onigahara estate, this 188 cm science-track classmate has short brown hair, a lean athletic build, an I-cup, and a mischievous grin. A determined vanguard and healer in Minoru’s group, she uses a golden mace and Oni-Transformation Sorcery. She bickers friendlily with Minoru, coordinates with Manaka’s companions, and uses recovery magic for service play and training.
• Yurina – A stoic, analytical 165cm Plain-folk vanguard with a black ponytail and G-cup. A humanities student and eldest daughter of seven, she uses a katana and Severing Sorcery in Minoru’s party. She protects Chifumi, fights alongside Mitsuki, and addresses Minoru-sama with polite deference. Efficient and loyal, she trusts his judgment despite feeling unsettled by his escalating violence.
• Asari – A tall (175cm), braided black-haired Kasakura honor student with an E-cup, this analytical, quiet, and pragmatic science-track strategist serves as Minoru’s devoted partner and Risa’s future host. Close to Mari and Nagase, she uses a hand-armor gauntlet and Silicic Armor to manifest crystal barriers, switching between Vanguard and Mid-guard. Polite yet lecturing, she is currently recovering from mana exhaustion.
• Risa – A curious humanities student (167cm, light brown semi-long hair, H-cup, black eyes) and the youngest Naruse sister. Playfully assertive and protective of Minoru’s group, this mid-guard sorcerer has no inherent magic but wields magic pistols and Hinoki’s power. When Asunaro takes control, her eyes turn red, enabling fire and lightning sorcery. She is also known to bake cookies for Tatemiya.
• Yuri – A cheerful, energetic, and curvy Higashi High first-year student dating Shibuya. While calculating, she is fiercely loyal, even winning a third-place Best Couple Award with him. She was an acquaintance of Kibe Yurina in middle school. Known for being aggressive toward Hayato and displaying overt favoritism, she is defined by her intense relationships, vibrant spirit, and distinct presence.
• A – A student from South Middle School described as an idol who has been recruited into R’s high school squad.
• M – A first-year student at District 13 High School and the childhood friend of Anonymous Student 0006, described as an atavistic strong-female who looks plain but possesses significant power.
• R – A first-year student at District 13 High School who has successfully built a squad and added multiple girls, including M and A, into his group.
• S – A first-year student at District 13 High School who has taken B from North Middle into his squad.
• B – A student originally from North Middle School who was added to S’s group.
• K – A student from East Middle who followed N to National High School out of care, successfully remaining pure through N’s protection until a misunderstanding involving Anonymous Student 0008 led to her capitulation.
• Onigahara – Onigahara-san is a stern, disciplined mentor from an influential sorcerer family and Mitsuki’s aunt. Dedicated to her lineage’s legacy, she manages logistics and drives the family microbus for dungeon training. She maintains hierarchical bonds with dojo students and remains involved in the group’s situation after a pickup, potentially having received word from Manaka’s father.
• Koki – Nearly two meters tall, muscular, and handsome, this second-year sorcerer is the eldest son of the Onigahara estate and Golden Oni-Transformation user. President of the Sumo and Shooting clubs and a cautious analyst, he provides vital dungeon data. He dotes on siblings Minoru and Mitsuki, obtained a subset in last year’s Exchange Battle, and is an acquaintance of the protagonist.
• Manaka – Manaka Kuga is an elegant, sharp-featured Shisei High student, authoritative circle leader, and strategist for the top-tier Kuga family’s Founding Strong-Females. Minoru’s refined yet direct childhood friend, she uses a short staff for spatial/air-shaping sorcery. Known for her aristocratic bearing and “-chan” honorific, she manages security, led a year-long deception, and orchestrated an exchange battle request.
• Minoru – The protagonist and narrator is a black-haired Demon reincarnated from Japan, standing 183cm with sharp eyes. Pragmatic yet internally hurt, this eldest Tatemiya son wrongly believed his childhood friends abandoned him. Serving as ‘master’ to a mixed female group, he uses inherent spatial manipulation sorcery to command a handgun and subjugated monsters like Pape in mid-guard combat.
• N – A student from East Middle with an eccentric personality who entered National High School due to complex family circumstances and used herself as leverage to negotiate a protective agreement for K.
• Hinoki – An older classmate and powerful anomaly who speaks with a warm, blunt, Kansai-influenced dialect. Using they/them pronouns, they have a shy yet contrary personality and interact casually with the protagonist. As a mediator in the supernatural community, they secure bodies and support others, having bestowed fragments of their power upon Pape, Kram, and Risa.
• Majo – A member of Minoru’s group whose presence is noted to be vital for success.
• Tatemiya – Tatemiya is the family name of Minoru, a pragmatic protagonist in a world with reversed beauty standards. He leads a strong-female harem with analytical detachment, treating interactions as transactions. Strained by Manaka abandoning Minoru, the family has tense ties with the Kugas. Associated with a symbolic residential gate, the name connects to Manaka’s father’s social circle.
• Kuga – Worn on Manaka and Marin’s garments to symbolize kinship, the Kuga family name carries heavy social weight and authority. This distant lineage, marking the farthest point from the narrator’s home, has a strained relationship with the Tatemiya family due to Minoru being abandoned by Manaka. A family member working as hotel staff also reports Anri’s visit to the sealed dungeon.
• Onigahara-san – Onigahara-san is a stern, disciplined mentor from the influential Onigahara sorcerer family and an aunt to a party member. Dedicated to preserving her lineage’s legacy, she manages logistics and drives the family microbus for the group’s dungeon training. After arriving to pick someone up, she remains involved upon learning of the situation, maintaining hierarchical bonds with dojo students.
• Asunaro – An anomalous White Centipede monster who received a fragment of Hinoki-sama’s power. Known as Lady Asunaro, she resides in Risa’s body, serving as a second interpreter. Saved by Minoru (whom she affectionately calls “Prince Charming”), she speaks with a flat tone but has genuine emotions. Her name is heard during the goodnight sequence, and she belongs to a group with a large presence.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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