CH 70.2

At my repeated offers, Mari finally seemed to realize what I was saying.

"That's what I said. Don't be too disappointed, okay? You're making it difficult for me."

"Yes. I'm sorry..."

"So don't be discouraged."

I smile again at Mari, who is embarrassed. And the blind girl, caught by me, gives me a small smile, too. I don't know what she really thinks, but I hope... she feels a little better.

"...And can you play one more game? I'll win this time."

I asked childishly with a straight face, and this time Mari let out a small laugh.

* * *

The last day of the eighth month of the 13th year of the reign of Emperor Seiri. On this day, the Kizuki family and all other exorcists of the northern and eastern regions will perform their appointed duties at once following the royal command. Each house will carry out a large-scale extermination of youkai in its assigned area.

The Kizuki family was assigned a particularly large area because of its position as a prominent exorcism family and a major exorcist in the northern region. This area was more than twice the size of the area under the jurisdiction of the Kizuki family when they were confiscated by the Imperial Court, and overlapped the jurisdiction of other families. This also meant that many of the small families were short of manpower, and their support was also required.

The Kizuki family organized a total of four units in the east, west, south, and north, and a reserve unit was also set up in the main family's house to provide reinforcements in case of emergency.

The leader of the northern strike force was Kizuki Shisui, the head of the servant group, who was assisted by his assistant, Miyamizu Shizuka, an exorcist, and one other exorcist. Based on various information, this area was considered to have the largest number of youkai among the four units.

Four exorcists, Kizuki Yajima, Kizuki Touya, and Kizuki Ayaka as assistants, and a foreigner, were dispatched to lead the west strike force. Kizuki Yajima is also Ayaka's father. There were no strong reports of youkai in this area, and the other exorcists' families had enough time to spare. Therefore, it seemed that Yajima, as a protector, was going to let the rest of the younger members gain experience.

Kizuki Hina led the southern strike force. She was assisted by three exorcists from a branch of the Kizuki family, two of whom were from the Hina faction and one of whom was from the Neutral faction. The neutral faction was supposed to serve as a chaperone to prevent the Hina faction from running out of control.

The leader of the East strike force was Uemon Kizuki. He is not a particularly strong member of the Kizuki family. However, many of the areas to the east of the Kizuki family territory are relatively wealthy. Uemon's main job was to negotiate and deal with these areas. He was accompanied by Kizuki Keiharu, the head of the Rikyushu group (Research group), and one other family member.

Kizuki Aoi, Kizuki Kochou, and others remained as guardians of the valley and reserve forces.

Each troop is accompanied by a group of servants and hidden group, miscellaneous men, and temporarily hired laborers. The number of people in each troop is from 20 to 30. In all, there were about 100 men, and even though most of them were foot soldiers, it was a considerable mobilization. Naturally, the amount of money and supplies poured in was also enormous.

"That's why. We must be careful not to make any blunders."

Uemon Kizuki announced pompously as we made the final checks on the cargo and personnel in the garden in front of the gate before setting out. He stood by his parasol even though the sun was no longer too hot, fanned himself on the table, and slurped down a glass of ice-cold sugar water. No, he's sweating too much.

Well, that's all right. I just had something I wanted to make sure of.

"My lord, there's a package for you."

"What? A package? For me?"

"Yes. Please clean it up."

I order one of the servants by my side to reverently present the package I just received to Uemon.

"Nuh, is this a... lunch box?"

Unwrapping the elegant furoshiki, a lacquered five-tiered lunch box appeared. Uemon looked at me suspiciously.

"Why do I have to look at the lunch box?"

"That is not something that was received from the rabble of the mess hall over there."

"Then who is it?"

"I received it from Madam."

When I answered with a bow, Uemon's face twisted further into a quizzical expression. It was as if to say, "Why her?" Well, because he doesn't think she likes him. And he has never received one before, for that matter.

...But no, it's because Uemon leaves for work without saying anything to Princess Kozumi.

In case anyone is wondering, the contents of the package were exactly to the liking of the fat...... Uemon in front of me. Perhaps his wife had observed him carefully during his regular meals. The food was not bad either. I think it is mentioned in the book of her biography that she was practicing hard to cook.

In the "Darth Tamaki route", she is ruined by Magical Marabo-kun, and her husband misunderstands her cooking in a bad way, which makes her despair even more.

"...Hmph, that one, huh...? Strange things happen. All right. I'll take it."

Uemon sniffed grimly but ordered me to bring it in as luggage. I obediently follow his order, re-wrap the lunch box in a furoshiki (wrapping cloth), and carry it into the oxcart. From a distance, I can see a small shadow patting her chest from a pillar in one corner of the house as if relieved.

"...How admirable."

Ah. Come to think of it, the only time in the game that Uemon understands his future wife's affection is in that NTR event...

Remembering this fact, I get into the oxcart. It was obvious that the space inside the oxcart was dozens of times larger than what I saw from the outside. This is the result of the manipulation of space inside the oxcart by a man-made "stray house" using a forbidden technique.

"This is another..."

The interior of Uemon's private oxcart seems to have reached the peak of his taste for luxury. The carriage of Hina had a calm style, and that of Aoi was gorgeous but had dignity. Compared with them, Uemon's oxcart seemed to be a little excessive, though it was as luxurious as Aoi's.

Gold, gold, gold color. Inlaid with mother-of-pearl and lacquer work. There are numerous luxurious furnishings that use not only gold leaf but also amber and tortoiseshell, and wallpaper that almost made my eyes hurt...

"And it's not like the Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji)..."

I let out a sigh of dismay at the interior design, which I have no idea how much it cost. It's the Kizuki family's wallet, and he is a master of making money. ...Though in poor taste.

"Well, I think the shelves are... hmm?"

As I was looking for a place to keep my lunch box, I suddenly spotted someone in the crowd of furniture and furnishings in the room. It was a figure dressed as a temporary worker...

"Hey, what are you doing!!"

I shouted as soon as I could. There was no way that Uemon would let an outsider like a hired footman into his ox cart, which was full of luxurious furnishings. All I could think of was the thief. Who would have thought that an outsider not bound by a curse or some such would not be greedy in the face of a mountain of treasure? I get ready to take a fighting stance and start to restrain this guy.

...though the opponent was not something as cute as a mere footman.

"Hmm? Well, well, I didn't think a country bumpkin like you would have such a nice collection of booze."

"What!?"

With that brazen voice, the person leaped in front of me. There was no shockwave, no sound, but like a gust of wind, it appeared right before my eyes.

The person was a woman and she had beautiful azure hair. When she took off the hat she was wearing on her head, two horns sprouted out of the hat. They were the very symbol of a demon (Oni).

Like an evil spirit, she is free and unrestrained, a beautiful but horrifying demon. For once, she was one of the four disasters who devoured the capital. Now, she was dressed like a human footman, holding a bottle of sake in one hand, which belonged to Uemon, and a big smile on her face. She grinned at me with her sharp fangs showing from her mouth and reeking of alcohol. There was a hummingbird perched on her shoulder. It looked deeply sickened and looked at me with pity.

...Now, from her demeanor, her clothes, and the overall situation, I already had a bad feeling about her.

"Y-you...!"

"Well, it's good to mingle like this once in a while, isn't it? Anyway, it's our trip, let's take it easy and enjoy it, right?"

The red-haired blue demon declared selfishly without considering my hardships and anxieties. Well, dang it...!

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Aoi?"

Kizuki's adviser asks as she looks down from one of the residences at the departing oxcarts, wagons, and lines of people.

In the room filled with the sweet fragrance wafting from the incense burner, a seductive woman, dressed in a kimono dyed in purple, leans against the side of her body, sighing. She still looks like a woman in her late twenties, but she exudes an overwhelming sense of sex appeal.

Her golden eyes, which give an air of mystery to her fearless smile, and her mouth, which is painted red with a mole, are thick and glamorous. She looks as if she was born to seduce men, and even the finest prostitutes in the city could not produce such a colorful figure.

Facing her, a beautiful girl with peach-colored hair smiles at her. She did it with ease.

"Of course. Rather, it's a good opportunity. I can't just leave the crack in the relationship between that pig and my dear sister alone."

Aoi giggles. With her mouth covered by her sleeve, she sneers with a mean look.

She knows that her sister, that stupid and thoughtless woman, is obsessed with him. And the other day she argued with Uemon to defend him at the discussion. It was a plot by Aoi, but the personnel's aim was to encourage her to do so.

Anyway, it's about that stupid big sister. It's not hard to imagine that her inability to keep him by her side, and the recent incident, have caused her supporters to view Uemon as even more of an enemy, and the Hina faction is not united. There are not a few who feel Uemon's presence to be unwelcome and are seeking to take advantage of his position and wealth. This is also true for Aoi's faction.

In any case, it was in Aoi's interest that Hina and Uemon should be separated from each other.

"Well, don't make it sound like I'm the only one who's bad. It was you who made the first proposal, grandmother."

Aoi remembered that it was the cunning old woman in front of her who initially suggested to stir up Hina and create a conflict with Uemon to divert attention from the interrogation driven by jealousy and vigilance towards him. She had made it look as if Aoi had proposed the idea to distract Hina's attention, but she didn't even show her face at the actual site, but the whole discussion about him was just a planned harmony orchestrated by Kochou.

(As usual, she is very good at plotting without showing herself and without being in the center of the situation.)

Aoi, with such a sarcastic remark in her mind, throws away the letter from her annoying cousin, which she receives every month, into the incense burner without having read it yet. For some reason, she tears up the enclosed letter addressed to him and throws it away. She's persistent, even though she's never returned any reply. With a sigh of disgust, Aoi turns to her grandmother and asks her more questions.

"...Is it OK with you, too...? I knew that my grandmother doesn't dislike the head of the Hidden Group so much, though I and Hina don't care about him. But isn't he supporting us too much despite being in a position to support Hina?"

"......It's fortunate, but it's not a good idea to take Hina's side."

To Aoi's question, Kochou muttered with a sigh. She closed her eyelids and shook her head in disappointment.

"It's for my son's own sake and it's his duty to his stupid brother. Besides, trying to stand up for Hina...? You're not bad yourself, but you're better than Hina by comparison."

"So you're taking my side?"

"I'm taking 'his' side."

Kochou replies indifferently. Anyway, she doesn't think much of her granddaughters. Both of them have too many quirks and are too selfish. Still, Kochou chooses Aoi when she thinks of protecting him. And she doesn't want her lovely boy to be ruined because of Hina.

That's why Kochou is so wise in this plan. Whether it is the recent discussion or the personnel, that's why Kochou arranged with Aoi behind the scene. Well, her activity has been very helpful for her granddaughter. However...

"...I won't give him up, you know?"

"I know how old I am. As for the position, if you become his wife, that would be fine with me. But only if he chooses you."

Kochou boasted as if she was making fun of her. Aoi was not offended. She knew that it was just a light provocation, and above all, she was confident.

"He's going to choose me. There's no other way."

Aoi was sure of it. There was no one who could match her in beauty, in body, in wealth, in blood, in talent, in power, in everything. Any foolish man can understand how good Aoi is. And Aoi could devote herself to him so much and could forgive him whatever he did. She was able to be a woman who was so convenient for him that even she thought she was an idiot. If he had a sane mind, he would not have chosen anyone but her.

"He's not stupid. He would have chosen me if he thought rationally. Of course, I'm not so narrow-minded that I'll forgive his whimsy."

Aoi expects and idealizes him to the utmost, but at the same time, she is a realist to the utmost. No matter how attractive she is, there are times when human wants to eat country food instead of refined cuisine. Men are like that.

Aoi had the capacity to allow any man or woman to be his playmate if he/she knew his/her place and didn't interfere, and it would be better if he/she could reinforce his/her position as a result. Although her stupid sister would have grilled them no matter who they were, Aoi was not so short-sighted.

"Grandmother too, even though you are old enough, you lust for someone younger than yourself, right? But that's only if he asks for it."

Aoi boasted. It was a retort. Well, that's just like him. Even though he's dealing with a crotchety old hag like her, if he knows the circumstances, he might end up showing mercy. Or perhaps she's even aiming to be the one to deflower him before their wedding night.

That's possible with this cunning old woman. She might try to trick him by saying some random thing. She might seduce him with her coquettish voice, saying something about tradition or custom, and when the time comes to start the affair, she might call him "big brother" or something. It's shallow. It's disgusting. It's an ugly alternative.

"Hehehe, are you saying this from the position of a helper?"

"Oh no, isn't he the one you're trying to help, not me? Have you forgotten what you said before? Do you have dementia?"

"Oh dear, that's so rude."

They laugh at each other. The atmosphere was terrifying. If anything, the white fox standing beside the two women looked frightened, her ears shriveled. If she could, she would get out of here right now.

"...By the way, what's that little boy? I don't suppose this is your grandmother's hobby, is it?"

After a long period of invisible fierce fighting, Aoi finally pointed it out. A child was sleeping with Kochou's lap as a pillow as if he had been absorbed by the fragrance. A dainty boy in a miko costume with a dreamy expression on his face while twitching from time to time... if one did not know he was a man, one might mistake him for a real miko.

No, that's not the problem. This drooling, writhing child was clearly something out of the ordinary. Aoi sensed that there was something wrong with the flow of spiritual power in this child's body. It was obvious that he was taking some kind of forbidden medicine. The question is what is he taking...?

"Oh, you know how talented this child is, don't you?"

"Yes. Yes, indeed, he's brilliant. A good backup against that dreadful curse of the Fallen Goddes. But why dress him up as a woman?"

Aoi understood her sexuality as normal. For her, the very existence of a child is an unholy thing, and she does not think it is in good taste to dress him up as a woman.

"Hehehe, he won't be a cross-dresser anytime soon."

"What does that mean? Are you crazy?"

At this point, Aoi finally understood what the grandmother in front of her was doing to the child. So, this sweet smell of incense is an anesthetic. It must be taken little by little, literally rebuilding the body. The pain is not easy. Then it makes sense that this incense is so strong. It makes sense, but...

"Efficiency is the key. This is the best move for him. We have to make the most of this talent, right? He's okay with that too."

"You're going to... use him up?"

"I'm sure this child love to be used by him."

Kizuki's adviser said with a smirk, without any sense of guilt. Aoi opened her fan to cover her mouth. It meant that they were not going to talk about this story anymore.

More insurance for him is fine. However, she can't stay with these abnormalities. Neither this child who tries to become a b*tch nor her grandmother who tries to turn him into a b*tch... should she, the sane one, stand by his side?

Because he is so naive that he might show more mercy to these people than necessary. If necessary, it's important to be ruthless and abandon others. But Aoi knows he is not the man capable of that. Well, if he could, she would not be here. That's why it makes sense for her to be by his side. It is natural for her to get her hands dirty on his behalf.

"...Well, I hope he's okay this time."

Aoi turns her eyes away from the really unsightly and shallow beings in front of her and takes a glance at the line leaving the gate and mutters. It is better to have no problem. Yes, there is no problem, but...

"Bad premonitions are always right, aren't they?"

Especially when it comes to him. So, Aoi takes insurance. She orders her shikigami.

"Follow him. You can do it, can't you?"

He proudly commands the invisible shikigami. There is no reaction or sound. But Aoi knew. Aoi knew that the presence of the huge entity had disappeared.

"Well, shall I wait for the good news? Hehe. I'll look forward to your success."

With such kindness, the pink princess charmed her beloved once more as she watched his departure. She looked just like a wife seeing off her husband.