203 - - The Boundaries

"You are so easygoing in the face of the ogre, even though there is a distance between us. I have offered to prevent the aftermath so that you will not be bothered, but I would like you to feel a little threatened yourself.

The woman tells Sakon, not me.

"...... sorry."

I made Sakon apologize. I wondered if I should apologize too, but when I awkwardly looked outside, the black clouds were still there, the lightning was gone, and there was no sign of the red plum blossoms except for a small demon bouncing around.

"You wanted to see me, Homura-sama?"

Red Plum appeared as a black blotch in the corner of the room. She appeared before me in her usual neat appearance, wearing a crown.

"What ......?"

The woman hurriedly holds up a sakaki (sakaki) - a sacred sakaki with paper strips on it - to the red plum blossoms. As soon as she held it over the red plum, the white paper turned brown as if it had been burnt.

"Hiccup!

A scream escapes from the woman's mouth.

"The room's warding is intact, how could it be uninvited ......?"

As Sakon looked around the room and muttered to himself, I quietly acquired the [sense of boundary]. I had put it off until after I leveled up, and had put it on hold even after I had obtained the skill points for it.

As soon as I acquired the skill, I found out that there are some very strong wards all over the castle and in the rooms. Well, it seems that the idea is to draw them by showing them rather than hiding them. In addition to these assertive wards, we can expect that there are other types of wards in the castle that can be noticed only at higher levels.

For the sake of his own chastity - which should be safe in the end, since he is wearing pants - and to contain the [inclination], he has for the time being mastered the warding that separates him from the outside world. The existence of the wards is obvious, sound leaks out, and I can't prevent the intrusion of anything higher than my level. I will have to raise my skill level more to be able to create wards that will be of practical use, but it seems to be somewhat beneficial to have [sense of warding].

"Homura-sama called your name."

It seems that he noticed my presence because I mentioned the name of Red Plum. It was not my imagination that I thought I saw her eyes on me.

Red Plum smiled thinly with her mouth covered by a scepter while her eyes were fixed on the woman. Are you harassing her by putting pressure on her to fight against you?

"You interrupted me. You were in the middle of something exasperating, weren't you?"

I'll talk to him to distract him. In the meantime Sakon whispers something to her and the woman quietly leaves the room with a blue face. If I am not mistaken, she seemed to be scared to the teeth, but I hope she is all right.

"It's just a habit of mine when I come here. I'm sorry for my appearance."

It was customary.

The most powerful ghosts are usually those who have been wrongly accused of crimes they did not commit or those who have been treated unfairly. The more guilt the viewer bears, the more intense the vengeful spirit becomes. The more the viewer is indebted, the more powerful the spirit becomes. The more powerful the spirit becomes, not only because of its own mind, but also because of the fear of the people around it.

If the Red Plumbers seem to be holding their own grudge, I would like to do something about it, but it is something that seems to be rooted in history, and I am not sure if it is a problem that can be dealt with by individuals, or if it will disappear once it is quelled.

I am not particularly interested in inciting or actively stopping the Red Plum from taking action to settle their grudge. I have no intention to interfere in the matter without knowing which side is at fault or why it happened in the first place. And I have no intention to expend that effort on a stranger.

"We can't ask you to hold off a little longer. ......"

"No, I don't think so."

He casually refuses Sakon's request.

"If I could do that, I wouldn't be a demon.

"But you are in your right mind now."

"Yes. Beside Homura-sama, the thought-burning resentment, the skin-burning bitterness, and the bile-burning anger that I couldn't manage by myself are mysteriously quenched. ......"

Red Plum and Sakon look at me, and I involuntarily look at the list of titles I don't understand. ...... or is it H!? I thought that the main effect was continuous recovery, but I didn't think it would be this [healing by moonlight], which says something like "makes you feel sad and tender".

"There is a title that says "because of this... ....... If your mind becomes calm, you will become a Buddha?　If you don't like it, I'll seal the title."

In that case, I'm going to have to drink <> regularly. Gghh.

"I don't mind. Besides, a kobold may disappear, but I and sake-drinkers are more in awe of people now. It is rather stronger than anger that drives us mad, isn't it?　-although it's doubtful that the drinkers, who I doubt have any idea in the first place, might not change."

I wonder if Fuso has a Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine: ....... A powerful and irrepressible spirit of enmity is made into a god, and the fear of the people is turned into awe, and replaced with faith and sealed away. When their own grudge and the fears of those around them are gone, they are finally appeased, and disappear when the people have forgotten them. This is the image of a grudge spirit, but in other words, it will never disappear unless people forget it.

"But still, it's a title, isn't it? Not only Momiji, but even Kojiro-dono, who drinks a lot of sake and likes to touch people, has given his name. I don't know what kind of title it is, but I'm sure the demons like you, Homura-sama.

"It's not very nice to be liked by a title. Let's look at the status, shall we?"

I'm a little curious what kind of judgment Fuso Oni, who is familiar with the [inclination] of the nine tails, will make on my [inclination].

"Homura-sama, you must not trust anyone in Fuso who calls himself a man, including myself. Even if they are trustworthy now, there is no guarantee that they will turn against us anytime under the influence of the Nine Tails. I do not recommend that you reveal your hand lightly.

I was admonished. Red Plum looks like a scholar by his appearance and his fondness for books. I would like to meet Al, the researcher type.

We wait for a while in the room with only known faces, eating sweets. I quickly shake hands with Black who shows his face with the snacks. I asked him if he was in the general store during his training, but he ended up residing in his pocket. Ikaruga and Kate told me that I had a strong back and a strong core when I was moving as much as possible without affecting my pocket. I don't know how it works in terms of swordsmanship, but my upper body no longer shakes when I walk, and I can now carry a cup of tea that I've poured close to my mouth without spilling it!　

"Kaname-sama is ready."

The welcome party has arrived. She is dressed as a miko, but she is a different woman from the one before. Before the arrival can see her, Beniume has disappeared, leaving behind the words, "I think it would be better if you didn't see me.

"Is that necessary?"

When I ask, the woman stops moving for just a moment.

"I'm talking about Ukon-sama. Ukon-sama doesn't mind, or rather, he might miss you, but here I will give you the honorific title.

As I had expected, he seemed to be in a troublesome position.

I follow the woman with the candlestick down the dimly lit corridor. A mansion with many rooms would have a tsuboniwa (small garden) to let sunlight into the interior rooms and corridors, but there was no sign of such a garden. The fusuma (sliding doors) are closed on the left and right, and the room is quiet. Walking down the long corridor with no change in scenery, one feels as if one's perception of either space or time has been disturbed.

"You have arrived, sir."

Finally, a room surrounded by a tatami hallway appears in front of the room. The woman walking in front of the room sits down in front of the sliding door and calls out to the inside.

"Come in."

A voice of Amane comes from inside, and the woman opens the fusuma (sliding door) to invite the guests to enter.

Beyond the threshold is a dark floor. Pitch-black clouds are swirling, changing their density. They are horizontally blocked from where Amane is sitting, as if they were made of glass. No, it is blocked horizontally from the flat stone on which Ukon sits, within the boundary of the shimenawa (sacred rope) that connects the four sacred bamboos that surround the center of the room.

It takes courage to step into a place where one cannot see the bottom. <?

"What's wrong?"

As soon as Ukon's voice distracted me, the dark, swirling space became nothing more than tatami mats.

"No, I thought it was quite thrilling."

Is that it or the [Eye of Verus]?　The four-way bamboo wards surrounding Ukon were still in place, and the room was an ordinary, or perhaps not so elegant, but expensive-looking Japanese-style room. A number of beautiful picture candles were lit, illuminating the ceiling paintings of flowers, birds, winds, and the moon painted on each square of the lattice ceiling. It is a beautiful but frankly scary space.

He entered the room and sat down in front of Ukon, who was dressed in a twelve-layered kimono. It looks like a junihitoe, but it is pure white. There are no layers of colors, and only the ornamental strings are red. The difference in the weave does not make it appear to be the same white.

What are you talking about? You are still a man who does not understand.

Amane, who is sitting by Ukon's side, just in front of the boundary, says.

"Well, it seems that you have seen the same scenery as I have.

"Ukon-sama?"

"Here's the letter of introduction I promised you. I can't move from here, so will you take it from Amane?"

Ukon does not answer Amane's question with a doubtful look. It is quite fresh to see him with his hair down.

"You mean, the key to the seal?"

He asks while receiving some letters from Amane.

"Yes. I'm going to give up my name and become a key figure in this country. Is this the last time I can see you in person?

"Last time?"

"In a few days, this whole room will be sealed up. Amane will be the only one who can enter.

"Does that mean Ukon's freedom will be taken away?"

Sacrifice or human sacrifice.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm still proud of this role. I've spent my free time looking around and I still love this country."

Ukon smiles radiantly. It is not Ukon himself who looks stiff, but Amane and Sakon.

"All we had to do was not to leave this castle. And yet, my predecessor ......."

"Amane."

Did my predecessor do something wrong? What he did is a mystery, since Ukon stopped him before Amane could air his grievances, but it seems that this made the conditions for Ukon to succeed him more stringent.

"Thanks to the warding I'm going to put on this room, a year (hitotosei) should feel like a few days. It won't be that bad."

"How long the hell is that going to last?"

A few days a year is like saying you have to stay in the house for a year.

"I'd like to delay the next handover as long as possible. And if possible, I would like you to remember that Ukon was here.

Ukon smiles.

"I liked your freedom - enough to fall in love with you if you didn't have a hint of the Empire behind you."

They said I was a freebie!　No, wait, a bombshell!　No, I was rejected!　And it has nothing to do with the empire!

"I can't give men what they want, though, because of my role."

Ukon winks at me.

"Please don't tease me on that kind of topic."

I'm so miffed I want to run away.

"Hmm."

Ukon laughed at my appearance, and Amane, who had a hard expression on her face, let out a laugh. Sakon, who had been waiting in silence, laughed as if he was troubled.

"Ukon, can't you move from that stone in this room?"

"Yes."

"The force that is trying to push that stone up, is it from the demon world?"

"Oh, to be precise, it is something that has been enhanced and spread by the power of the nine tails, I guess.

He regains his composure and checks it out.

"So, defeating the nine tails will solve the problem?"

"For the most part. But defeating the nine tails is beyond impossible. I'm the one who's dividing the world.

"Yeah?"

He pulls the black from his pocket and puts it in Sakon's lap.

"Don't throw it in a man's lap!"

My body sinks into the tatami mats as I hear Black's protests.

"Tatami ......, no, can you get through to this ward?

"Wait!　It's absurd!"

I cross the boundary, ignoring Amane's astonishment and Sakon's voice to stop me.

"Homura, stop!"

Ukon, the only one who sees the world differently from mine, reaches out his hand.

"If not, I'll come back. Take care of the black."

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...increase...

Skills

[Warding Detection].

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