Chapter 38

My brilliant maneuvering allowed me to sell my name to the big boys.

If I could befriend them, it would be to the benefit of my asshole of a father.

I was able to stand out really well.

I had never been in public like that in a previous life, so I was pretty nervous.

I’m sure it’s …… okay, I’m sure that was fine. I think it was good. …… Really?

Are you sure you didn’t miss …… something? Did you make a mistake, like offending someone else?

……The stakes are high……I just remembered a nasty saying.

I’ll believe that ……… was a brilliant strategy.

“I couldn’t have done that if I didn’t know I had more spiritual power than other people.”

The most important part of this operation was to know what I was capable of.

As part of the Onmyojutsu training, I had the opportunity to observe my father at work.

At that time, he was putting spiritual power into the ink, paying the God of Shikigami with spiritual power as a gratitude, and consuming spiritual power frequently.

And by nightfall, he was exhausted. He went to bed right after dinner.

This was the reason why my father could not service his family at all. That was the first time I found out.

“Dad, is it okay if I do the spiritual power giving?”

“There is quite a lot of spiritual power to give to the God of Shikigami. If you feel you are about to faint, tell me right away.”

Surprisingly, he did not object when I offered to help.

I was happy to use my spiritual power, knowing that I would be able to measure how much I actually have… and it didn’t diminish at all.

What, the damn father only has this much spiritual power?

I’d use up all this stuff for refining in 10 seconds.

How can he fight Ykai if he only has this much?

It’s an amount that can’t even make one grain of Daichiku refining spiritual element that I used when I fought the shadow Ykai.

Even with this, the damn father is still quite good in terms of spirituality, and is said to have almost three times higher spiritual power than others.

This means that the average Onmyoji has much lower spiritual power.

I was shocked.

I was shocked to learn that the total spiritual power of an active Onmyoji is this small.

I was elated.

I knew that my spiritual power, which had been increasing since my birth, had become a tremendous advantage.

The damn father also noticed that my spiritual power was quite high and he was pondering about something.

I would really like you to speed up my future Onmyoji training plan. I want to practice summoning Shikigami as soon as possible.

I now understood a little more about my own capabilities.

It seems that the spiritual power I had put into the talisman was excessive, and I was able to achieve both speed and durability with an overwhelming amount of output.

However, to become a professional Onmyoji, one must train in other areas as well.

Spiritual power is only the fuel for Onmyojutsu, and there are many things to learn, such as ritual preparation, replenishment of equipment, meeting with clients, and cooperation with other practitioners.

I will try to do my job in such a way that I can be recognized as a professional while taking advantage of my spiritual power.

If I do so, I will naturally become famous.

“Okay, let’s do our best.”

As I was trapping the mysterious creature today, my mother, who was unusually deep in thought, unexpectedly spoke to me.

“Hijiri*, what kind of girls do you like?”(T/N – Sticking with the name Hijiri from now on to avoid confusion.)

Mother, what are you asking a 4-year-old?

I could reveal my preferences here, but that is indeed too strange for my age.

Oh, but wait. There was one answer I had no problem saying here.

“Hah ……, what am I asking my child? I’m sorry, forget the question I just asked.”

“Me, I want to marry someone like my mom.”

This is my true intention.

With her long, shiny black hair and actress-like beauty, it is hard to believe that she is a mother of two, and she remains a very popular person at the park.

She is always kind to us no matter how busy she is, full of love for her family, does her household chores perfectly, and always has a smile on her face.

As far as she is concerned, she is always willing to support her husband, who never comes home, and she is very supportive of him on the outside and very spoiled on the inside.

My mother, with her perfect personality, appearance, and specs, I would have proposed to her if she wasn’t my own mother.

Well, in my previous life, I probably wouldn’t have been accepted.

My mother smiled broadly at my declaration, which was not a lie.

“Well, well! That makes me so happy to hear Hijiri. Your mother loves Hijiri, too.”

Although I am embraced by my mother’s ample breasts, I do not feel any sexual desire at all. Perhaps it is because she is my own mother, but I only feel affection for her as a family member.

That’s why I feel so relieved when I am hugged by her bosom. ……

I will be forever grateful to her for giving me protection when I was struggling to survive.

“Yes, of course it is better to find someone you like by yourself. Let’s say so to Tsuyoshi. Even if you don’t have a fiance, Hijiri who looks like his father is bound to attract plenty of girls.”

Wait a minute, Mother.

Was that conversation you just had about deciding on me potentially having a fiance?

I thought we were talking about my type of sexual preference for the opposite sex.

Having a fiance is something I admire about this kind of relationships.

First of all, the fact that there is a guarantee of marriage in the future is amazing.

I couldn’t even get a girlfriend in my whole life.

In romantic comedies, there is always a marital relationship. Usually with the losing heroine, though.

In my previous life, I wanted to live a sweet and sour adolescence, such as being with a woman who was conscious of the opposite sex from the time we were students.

However, the fact that the appearance and personality of the marriage partner cannot be changed is a major negative.

If you meet a woman with a striking appearance like my mother while you have a fiance, you will face the obstacle of opposition from the people around you.

And finally, in light of how I look, I can say which one is more nuanced.

As I evolved from an infant to a toddler, I was finally able to properly appreciate my facial features.

To be honest, I looked like my fucking father.

Thanks to the mother factor, I had a much more presentable face than I had in my previous life, but it seems that balance is everything when it comes to human beauty and ugliness, and I am no longer a great-looking man after being ruined just a little bit by my asshole father.

The parts of my face look exactly like my unsociable asshole father, and I would like to change my single eyelid for my mother’s double eyelid or anything like that.

Overall, I’d say I’ m a medium to good looking guy. It seems to leave room for me to turn into a good-looking man if I take care of my appearance. I do not deny that there is probably some wishful thinking mixed in.

In other words, even if I have someone I like, I’m not sure if I can win her over.

If that’s the case, I’d rather have a fiance.

But I don’t think I can choose who I marry. Can I love someone whom my parents have decided for me?

To begin with, I didn’t think that the custom of marriage of convenience still existed in the world of Onmyoji.

I never thought that the day would come when I would have to worry about whether or not to enter into a marital union at the mere age of four. ……!

The partner of your choice…… ah.

“Akari-chan was cute.”

“Akari-chan? …… Oh, the daughter of Abe’s family.” ……

I know I sound like she’s the daughter of an acquaintance, but she’s a big shot.

As you can imagine, I can’t allow myself to marry into her family, but I’d like to make my preferences known anyway.

If possible, I’ll get to know her and earn her liking while I still can and confess to her when she’s in high school.

Since my future is to be a futsumen, I have to make a pact with her at an early age, when facial features are irrelevant. (T/N – Futsumen – normal, average looking guy)

Aim to be a modern-day Hikaru Genji*.

“She certainly looked like she is going to be a beautiful girl in the future. Her mother is beautiful, as well.”

“My mother is more beautiful than hers.”

I got another hug.

I know some of it was half aimed, but I was just telling the truth.

How can I really marry a woman like my mother?

“Mom, why did you marry my father?”

“Oh my, are you curious about how we got together all the way to Hijiri?”

“Yes.”

I wonder if this remark was heard at the get-together.

From mother’s reaction, it seems that no matter how many times she spoke about it, she never had enough to say.

Please let us know for future reference.

“When I was still a college student, my club activities dragged on and I went home late.”

Mother, there are words that toddlers don’t understand that appear frequently.

And it is easy to imagine what follows.

“At that time, winter was deepening, and the sun was setting much earlier. I still remember the mysterious sky with its mixture of sunset and night darkness. I was told later that at such times one is most likely to be attacked by Ykai.”

Mother’s narration is so smooth.

She must have told this story many times already.

“As I was hurrying home, a large Ykai suddenly appeared in front of me. It came out of nowhere, without warning, and I fell on my buttocks as I collided with the Ykai’s stomach. It was only then that I caught a glimpse of the Ykai in all its glory, and I was frozen in fear.

Hey, can you tell me what it looked like?

I wonder if it had an R18 appearance.

When it suddenly appears, it is the same as a shadow Ykai.

“The time that followed seemed very long. The Ykai slowly raised its right arm and tried to slice me open with its sharp claws. I remember its mouth, which was ripped open vertically, twisted with glee. All I could do was stare, and only when the claws were down and death was at hand was, I finally was able to cry out, “Help! I realized that in a real crisis, a person cannot even ask for help.”

Oh, I didn’t know that.

The story of my mother’s past that she tells me with her body language.

I could picture her face stained with fear, the desperate situation where no help was coming, and such scenes.

Before I knew it, I was immersed in my mother’s storytelling.

“But its deadly claws did not reach me. Before I knew it, the talismans that had been placed around me had formed a protective formation. It was your father who saved me as I was stunned in the area of the barrier. Tsuyoshi-san, who happened to be nearby, rushed to my aid. The Shikigami who followed him attacked the Ykai and drove it far away from me. And the sight of that man fighting with me on his back was …… very cool.”

Mother has the face of a maiden.

The development was more tentative than I expected, and I was worried about the mother’s choosiness.

“I tried to thank the benefactor who saved me, but Tsuyoshi-san refused to accept it because it was his job, and he just left. Still, I really wanted to see him again, so I commissioned a detective agency–”

Hmm?

A detective agency?

“After I tracked down his house, I thanked Mr. Tsuyoshi, and then we began to interact with each other and became friends, and we ended up getting married.”

Second half of the story is a little more detailed.

I wondered how a fuddy-duddy like my shitty father married a beautiful woman, but it was my mother who made the first move to approach him.

I thought he had a calm personality, but maybe he is a predator when it comes to opposite-sex relationships.

Come to think of it, the night is also a good time for mother to visit ……….

“That’s how Hijiri and Yuya were born. You must be thankful to your father for saving everyone.”

“Yeah.”

I’m grateful.

I’m appreciative.

I know how hard he works for us every day.

But it’s a little hard to forget the birth ceremony that took place right after I was born.

And I’ve gotten used to calling him that.

However, it’s been four years since then, …… so maybe it’s time to forgive him.

If I were to refer to what my mother told me, I would have to rush to the scene of a very standard but extremely difficult situation, which is to “save a girl in a pinch and make her fall in love with me”.

If that is the case, it would be much more realistic to go on the offensive and try to court a beautiful girl.

After happily chatting with my mother, she went to prepare dinner, while I sat alone in the living room, pondering how to make my unrealistic fantasy come true.

—

*T/N – Thanks to an advice from one of the readers I am going to stick with the name Hijiri from now on because otherwise it is going to get confusing. So, yeah thanks again to the readers for always helping me with this translation. If you see any mistakes, feel free to write it down in the comments and I will correct it.

*Hikaru Genji